Hu Tao found the comments hilarious and patted Zhongli. "Hahaha! Guest Official, look at the Anemo Archon in the video. He actually said you'd fake your death? Hahaha, I'm dying here. If you really planned to fake your death, wouldn't you have to arrange your own funeral?"
"The deceased arranging his own funeral, then eating at his own funeral banquet... Even I couldn't make something like that up."
Zhongli looked at Hu Tao laughing beside him and did not know what to say. Could he really tell her that he had indeed planned to die once and hold a funeral for himself?
It had seemed fine before. Since he was about to retire, he had not thought much of it. But now that she put it that way, even he found it rather strange.
Seeing Hu Tao act like this, Ningguang and the others felt their hearts leap into their throats. That was the Lord! Liyue's Geo Archon, Morax, the strongest God of War. Who knew how they had felt when they first arrived and saw Hu Tao smack Zhongli on the head with her spear?
Now, they did not even dare sit down. It would have been one thing if they had seen the majestic Lord during the Rite of Descension, since they would have known he had come to guide them. But now, they had witnessed the Lord making a fool of himself! Though they knew he would not do anything to them, they still felt guilty.
Ningguang, for one, saw the room suddenly fall silent. Gathering her courage, she hesitantly asked, "Lord, you wouldn't truly be planning to..."
"That's right. I do intend to retire." Zhongli had guessed what they wanted to ask. This Livestream Room would expose him sooner or later anyway, so he did not intend to hide it.
"What?! Guest Official, you really intend to retire?" Hu Tao, who had been laughing so hard her stomach hurt, froze upon hearing Zhongli's answer. She cried out, "No way! There really is someone who wants to arrange his own funeral!"
Ganyu also asked Zhongli worriedly, "Lord, you really intend to retire?"
Seeing their expressions, Zhongli patiently explained why he wished to retire.
Ganyu: "So that's how it is!"
Ningguang: "An age ruled by humans? Keqing will probably be very happy to hear that."
There was one thing Zhongli had not said: before Liyue could transition from rule by gods to rule by humans, there would be one final test. If they passed it, he could retire peacefully. But if they failed...
Furina heard about Zhongli's method of retirement and inwardly exclaimed, Huh? So that was possible too?
After teasing Zhongli, Venti noticed that Furina beside him seemed a little tempted and hurriedly cautioned her.
"Hey! You can't learn from that. You're human, after all. What if something goes wrong and you suffer True Death?"
[Navia: What?! Lady Furina is actually human!] [Charlotte: This is huge news!] [Clorinde: How is that possible?! Lady Furina has been the Hydro Archon for five hundred years!] [Navia: Right! If Lady Furina were human, how could she have lived for five hundred years?] [The Doctor: If all you want is to live longer than five hundred years, aren't there plenty of ways in our world? Isn't that right, Rosalyn? @La Signora] [La Signora: Don't mention that name!] [Jean: Rosalyn is La Signora's real name?] [Lisa: Rosalyn? That name sounds familiar...] [Lisa: Wait, I remember now! According to the records, there was a "Witch of Flames" in Mondstadt five hundred years ago, and her name was Rosalyn.] [Amber: Could it be... La Signora is...] [Venti: That's right. La Signora is the Witch of Flames from five hundred years ago.] [Neuvillette: Then it is indeed possible that Lady Furina is not a God, but a human.] [Clorinde: How could that be...] [Lyney: Now that you mention it, in all these years, I have indeed never seen Lady Furina display any divine miracles.] [Wriothesley: Indeed. In the five hundred years since Lady Furina became the Hydro Archon, the only ability she has ever displayed is the Oracle Mechanism.] [Clorinde: There's no use discussing this among ourselves. Why not ask Lady Furina directly? @Furina] [Charlotte: Right! @Lady Furina, are you really not a God?] [Furina: This...]
Furina stared at the scrolling comments, sweating profusely, her eyes filled with despair.
"Over, it's over! I've actually been exposed!"
Hydro Element gradually spilled from Furina's eyes.
"Damn it! I've held on for five hundred years... I'm sorry, Mirror Me. I might already be..."
"No, I can't!" Although Furina felt that things could no longer be salvaged, she remembered that if she were exposed, Mirror Me's plan would fail and Fontaine would be destroyed. She forced herself to pull herself together.
"For Fontaine's sake, I absolutely cannot be exposed! Besides, they only suspect me right now. They have no solid proof. If that's the case, there must be a solution..."
However, before Furina could think of a solution, someone in the group had already come to her rescue.
[Kachina: What is wrong with a god being human?] [Marani: Exactly! Isn't it perfectly normal for a human to serve as a god?] [Kamisato Ayato: Judging by your names, you two should be from Natlan. From what you are saying, are the gods in your country human?] [Marani: That's right. Our Pyro Archon was originally human.] [Keqing: How is that possible?! They actually allow humans to become gods!]
Although Keqing wanted Liyue to become a nation ruled by humans, she had never imagined humans becoming gods.
[Kachina: Huh? Isn't it like that in other nations?] [Jean: Ever since Mondstadt was founded, our Anemo Archon has only ever been Lord Barbatos.] [Ningguang: The same is true for Liyue.] [Marvika: Hahaha! Every nation has a different system.] [Marika: In Natlan, anyone who achieves victory in the Holy Night Pilgrimage of Fire and the War of the Night Watchers is qualified to become the new Pyro Archon.] [Marika: Of course, only Natlan people are qualified to participate.] [Keqing: That is truly astonishing...] [Navia: Then... perhaps it is not so strange for the Hydro Archon not to be a God.] [Venti: Not only that!] [Venti: As far as I know, most second-generation gods were not Gods from birth.] [Nilou: But our Lesser Lord Kusanali is a God, isn't she?] [System: No. Your Dendro Archon was actually formed from the purest branch broken off the World Tree by the previous Dendro Archon.] [Nahida: So that's how it was!] [Venti: Ehehe! And that's not all! I wasn't originally a God either.] [Venti: I was merely a wind spirit. I was simply lucky enough to obtain the power of a God and become the Anemo Archon.]