Genshin Impact: A Guide to the Unofficial History of Teyvat — Chapter 39

Chapter 39: The God of the Stove, GuobaYou're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

After cleaning up the dishes, the deep satisfaction brought by that brilliant soup still flowed through her limbs and bones, a warm tide that coaxed out a deep, lazy contentment.

Lovia let out a delicate, completely unladylike burp. The strange, alluring aroma of the broth still clung to the air inside, rich and heavy. Deciding she needed fresh air—lest she accidentally make herself hungry all over again just by breathing it in—she stepped outside.

She slumped into the small high-backed chair by the door, her sapphire-blue eyes drifting upward to the boundless, starry firmament.

‘Mm, it looks exactly like the broth I just stewed.’

Her gaze swept lazily over the glittering expanse. The longer she stared, the more those distant celestial bodies resembled the small, crushed granules of Jueyun Chili floating in her dinner. Crunchy. Spicy. Delicious.

With her body and mind thoroughly relaxed in the cool night breeze, a certain familiar instinct began to quietly awaken.

Since she had crowned herself a gourmet tonight, then… for her next article, why not write something related to food?

When speaking of Liyue cuisine, the mind inevitably drifted to Wanmin Restaurant and its energetic head chef, Xiangling. Oh, right. And that perpetually dazed, round little bear, Guoba.

‘Hmm…’ Lovia stroked her chin, a glint of mischief flashing in her eyes.

Everyone in the harbor knew that Chef Xiangling possessed exquisite culinary skills and unrestrained creativity, making her an absolute titan in the Liyue culinary scene.

But… was there another possibility?

What if, behind those peerless new dishes and seemingly coincidental flavor fusions, there hid a secret culinary consultant? Say, a certain someone who appeared to be nothing more than a cute mascot, but was actually a hidden master?

A title, incredibly bold and utterly thrilling, popped into her head. Her tail swayed happily under the starlight.

Unofficial History of Wanmin Restaurant: Is Guoba the Real God of Cooking?

Lovia snorted, quickly slapping a hand over her mouth as her eyes curved into delighted crescents.

It was absurd. It was hilarious. It was completely perfect. Readers would lose their minds. Anyone who had eaten at Wanmin Restaurant knew Xiangling, and anyone who knew Xiangling had seen her inseparable companion. Just the title alone would make curiosity explode.

Besides, Guoba was originally the God of Cooking. It was just that nobody in the modern era knew it. For once, she would be writing actual historical facts, not just spinning wild rumors!

Inspiration crashed through her mental floodgates, an unstoppable tide. She could already picture the scene: Xiangling scratching her head with a confused expression, wondering, ‘Is that really how it is?’while Guoba tilted his round head, blinking innocently with a soft,’Rua?’

Lovia let out a low, wicked little laugh. The lingering fear of the Adepti from earlier today had long since evaporated. She definitely needed to avoid writing about the illuminated beasts for a while—she had just sent that peace-offering of Almond Tofu to beg for mercy, after all—but Liyue was massive. There was plenty of prime material left.and support the real translator.Read at elysianreads.com This is a stolen translation. You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

Guoba was the ultimate subject. Friendly, adorable, and boasting a mysterious background. Best of all, he absolutely would not come knocking on her front door wielding a Primordial Jade Winged-Spear.

At worst, he might breathe a little fire on her skirt or aggressively go ‘rua rua rua’ in protest.

Leaning back in her chair, her tail tapping a rhythmic beat against the floorboards, she immersed herself in the brilliant premise. As a transmigrator armed with forbidden plot knowledge, she knew the truth.

“Guoba, oh Guoba,” Lovia whispered to the night sky, a smile playing on her lips. “Who would have thought that this little bear, spending all day crying ‘rua’ and waddling after Xiangling, was once the ancient God who governed the hearth fire and livelihood of Liyue?”

Her thoughts drifted back to the deep lore she used to read on the forums in her past life.

Guoba—or rather, Marchosias—was once a powerful God of grand stature. He wasn’t a warrior. Instead, he poured his wisdom and compassion into the mortal realm. He taught the ancient ancestors how to build fires, stay warm, and cook meals. He used his flames to banish the cold and the dark, gifting humanity the earliest warmth of civilization.

He traveled across Liyue’s rugged terrain, dredging rivers, leveling reefs, and paving roads so settlements could prosper. He was the God of the Stove. The God of Pioneering.

But absolute power required absolute sacrifice. To protect the nascent harbor, Marchosias gave his essence without reservation to the land, calming disasters and nourishing the soil. He saved a Liyue shattered by the Archon War.

Through that selfless sacrifice, his power faded. He overextended his divine spark until his grand stature shrank away, taking his wisdom and memories with it, leaving behind a spirit as pure and blank as a newborn.

“So,” Lovia murmured, her eyes softening with genuine respect. “Calling him the ‘Real God of Cooking’ isn’t wrong at all. Without the spark he sowed back then, where would the smoke from Liyue’s ten thousand kitchens come from today? The hearth fire of Wanmin Restaurant literally burns with the source power of a God.”

Even if he was ignorant now, that divine intuition for heat control and flavor had to be engraved in his soul. It was instinct. Xiangling’s wild ideas were her own talent, sure, but who was to say Guoba wasn’t helping?

Lovia imagined Xiangling hesitating over a spice rack, only for Guoba to unintentionally knock over the perfect jar. Or while simmering a delicate broth, the bear might happen to drop a Jueyun Chili into the pot.

An image burst into her mind: a steaming, chaotic kitchen. Xiangling vigorously tossing a heavy iron wok, flames roaring, while Guoba stood nearby, clumsily holding a Starconch that just accidentally slipped into the sizzling oil.

“Yes. Exactly.” Lovia’s tail swished wildly. “On the surface, Xiangling leads the charge. But the true God of Food is silently guiding her, completing the culinary arts by her side! The shocking truth hidden beneath mundane daily life!”

The drama. The contrast. A modern culinary anecdote about an amnesiac God that subtly revealed the tragic, beautiful sacrifice of Liyue’s local deity.

“Perfect! I’ll write it exactly like this!” She slapped her thigh, her sapphire eyes burning with creative fire. “Unofficial History of Wanmin Restaurant: Is Guoba the Real God of Cooking? The culinary wisdom of a thousand years hidden beneath a dazed, fluffy exterior!”

She could already see the readers’ knowing smiles.

However, just as Lovia barely drafted the opening lines of this brilliant fanfiction, a major event occurred—one that forced her to immediately scrap her plans and switch to an entirely different article.You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.