Facing Venti's question, Li Mo, in a calm tone, revealed a startling answer.
After young Venti died in his third life, he not only began his fourth reincarnation but, in that fourth life, had met Barbatos once more.
Hearing this, even Barbatos, the Anemo Archon who had lived for three thousand years, was moved.
He asked eagerly, "Storyteller, tell me—"
"In his fourth life, where was he reincarnated?"
"What was his name?"
Barbatos, under the name and appearance of the bard Venti, had traveled Teyvat for over a thousand years, meeting countless people.
But never once had he sensed the presence of his friend Venti in anyone.
Never once had he seen in anyone the same passion for poetry that his friend had possessed.
So hearing this answer, Barbatos could hardly believe it.
He could not accept that he would have failed to recognize Venti's reincarnation.
He could not accept this truth.
Now, Li Mo was ready to tell the story of the fourth life.
He decided not to hide the truth from Barbatos any longer.
"In his fourth life, the boy's soul seemed reluctant to leave Mondstadt, so he was reincarnated there once more."
"Only, the being he became in this reincarnation was not a human like before."
"He was an elemental being—a dragon."
Yes, in his fourth reincarnation, for the first time, he had been reborn not as a human but as a powerful elemental dragon.
Below, the audience was stunned by this revelation.
A human, through the power of reincarnation, had become a powerful elemental dragon?
Storyteller, are you sure you're not making this up?
And besides, though this was Liyue Harbor, the people of Liyue had heard tales of Mondstadt's dragons.
In Mondstadt's history, only two dragons had ever appeared.
One was Dvalin, the Dragon of the East, once one of the Four Winds.
The other was Durin, the black dragon—the evil dragon that had invaded Mondstadt.
Though Li Mo had not yet said it, the listeners instinctively assumed that this reincarnation would surely be a righteous one.
Surely he would be reincarnated as Dvalin, the Dragon of the East, the powerful being who had slain Durin.
Most importantly, the stories they had heard of Dvalin were sweet and happy.
Now, the audience cheered.
"Storyteller, you've finally come to your senses! Finally telling a sweet story—"
"Reincarnated as Dvalin, incredibly powerful—this is a straight shot to victory! The only thing to watch out for is Durin's poison—"
"I can't wait to hear the storyteller tell of Dvalin slaying Durin—"
"Before the dragon disaster, Dvalin was a hero of Mondstadt—"
"Finally, in the fourth life, no tragedy!"
Though Dvalin's current state was not good and he had caused the dragon disaster, his contributions to Mondstadt were undeniable.
So the people of Liyue had a favorable impression of him.
But Barbatos felt uneasy hearing this.
He knew Dvalin so well, yet he had never sensed his friend Venti's presence in him.
So he asked Li Mo again, "In his fourth life, was the boy truly reincarnated as Dvalin?"
He could not believe that Dvalin, the Dragon of the East, whom he had spent so much time with, was the reincarnation of Venti.
Facing Barbatos's question, Li Mo said slowly, "No. The being the boy was reincarnated as was not Dvalin, the Dragon of the East."
"It was Durin, the black dragon."
The dragon whose body carried deadly poison.
The "evil" ancient weapon named Durin.
As Li Mo spoke the words "black dragon" and "Durin," the entire inn fell into stunned silence.
What was this?
He was not reincarnated as the righteous Dvalin, but as the evil dragon Durin?
The audience was dumbfounded.
After three lives of reincarnation, he had become a villain in this one?
Was this really happening?
More than the ordinary listeners, it was Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, who was most shaken.
He could not accept this.
Because he and Dvalin had joined forces to slay the "evil" dragon Durin.
Barbatos remembered clearly that Venti's dream had been to bring freedom to Mondstadt, to protect it.
How could his reincarnation become a black dragon? To destroy Mondstadt? To bring poison and disaster to Mondstadt?
The audience could not accept this outcome, and Barbatos could accept it even less.
He could not believe his dearest friend had been reincarnated as an evil dragon.
On stage, seeing Barbatos's agitation, Li Mo sighed.
Before that reincarnation, he had not wanted to become an evil dragon. He had not wanted to bring disaster to Mondstadt.
But through a twist of fate, a tragedy had occurred.
Li Mo said slowly, "Barbatos, I understand how you feel."
"But if your friend were alive today, I am sure he would want you to hear this story to the end."
With that, Li Mo swept his sleeve, and the elemental power throughout Wangshu Inn trembled, calming the agitated audience.
Seeing this, even the Raiden Shogun and Zhongli frowned.
Such power.
Barbatos, too, calmed himself and said slowly, "Forgive me. I was rude."
"Storyteller, please continue. Tell me the story of my friend's fourth life."
With that, Barbatos sat down slowly, picked up a cup of Dandelion Wine, and downed it in one gulp.
Zhongli said quietly, "Barbatos, things may not be as you think. Perhaps Durin was not an evil dragon."
Barbatos replied, "Thank you. I understand."
...
When silence returned to Wangshu Inn, Li Mo took a sip of bitter tea to moisten his throat and began to tell the story of the fourth life.
As he spoke, the Electro projections above the inn began to play.
The image showed a dark, unknown land, stretching endlessly.
Nothing existed there save elemental power and empty void.
In the darkness, a wisp of elemental spirit was born.