Genshin Impact, I, a mere mortal, cannot accompany you to the very end.

The girl in front of me stood on tiptoe, trying to be the same height as me, her body leaning slightly forward. Her delicate cheeks were slightly flushed from excitement. She kept saying that I had to promise her first, like a silly and stubborn little otter.

“She doesn’t know what you look like yet…” Ying said confidently, “Even if she does see you, she definitely won’t recognize you.”

“This tofu shop is the right place,” Ying muttered to herself. “We need an identity to cover up our filth until it’s washed away.”

"Um," Qing Nuoyan said weakly, "could you let go of me first...?"

Ying blinked her eyes.

Only then did they belatedly realize that they were now very close to each other.

In a moment of impulse, she seemed to have misjudged the distance and suddenly felt a little embarrassed and annoyed. Her ears turned slightly red. She was not embarrassed because she was too close to Qing Nuoyan, but annoyed because he told her to let go first.

Why should I let go?

"Idiot. No way," Ying didn't let go, instead taking advantage of the situation and getting even closer to Qing Nuoyan. Their breaths almost mingled, and she said with an imposing air, "What, are you shy?"

She seemed quite shy; her ears were even turning red.

"No...no." Qing Nuoyan gasped, her face turning pale. "You used too much force."

His cheeks were almost bruised from being pinched; Ying, that woman, has incredible strength!

Even more muscular than a macho man!

'You're using too much force.'

Miss Ying froze.

puff.

Behind me came Miss Fox's mocking snicker.

The blush on the fluorescent surface was so thick it looked like it was about to drip.

-

Regardless, the Kiyono Tofu Shop is open for business today.

The morning customers weren't many; most were regulars.

I heard that the tofu shop has hired a new employee, a young man from the outlying island. The older folks are skeptical of his skills – can this young man do a good job?

Could this tarnish the reputation of the Pillar of State General?

Therefore, the gazes directed at him were filled with distrust.

However, Qing Nuoyan quickly won them over with his skills. He discovered that he had a real talent for making tofu. Whether it was fried tofu or plain tofu, he could learn it after just one try, as if he had mastered it all along.

"Leah."

He took out a salt ruler from his shirt pocket and said softly, "Make some salt."

Salt made by Salt Chip is delicious.

“How can you treat your own gods like this?” Lia sighed helplessly. “It’s not devout at all.”

“Then, great and noble Heureia, your devout and only believer begs for your protection, begs for your divine grace—let me stew this pork bone.”

He was solemn and sacred.

"...You're so glib," Lia said with a smile.

“Because you are my only god,” Qing Nuoyan said with a smile.

“Then you cannot worship a ‘second god,’ Qingnuoyan, you can never have one,” Liya said softly, the salt ruler emitting a faint light. “If you do, then I’ll have no choice but to settle accounts with it.”

Her tone was calm, but what she said was terrifying.

Lia can be terrifying at times...morbidly terrifying.

Especially when it comes to this aspect.

She had been abandoned by believers before, so she could no longer bear to be abandoned by them, and Qingnuoyan was her only believer.

“No,” Qing Nuoyan said. “For example, who…?”

“For example, Narukami of Inazuma, Balzebu. She symbolizes eternity.” Ria said warily, like a cat afraid its dried fish would be stolen, “Many people believe in her, don’t they?”

Who is Balzebub?

“Besides, eternity is too long, I can’t stay that long,” he said. “It’s exhausting, and ultimately, I don’t even know her. And what does Narukami have to do with Kiyono Iwa?”

“Since so many people believe in her…” Qing Nuoyan sprinkled salt grains from the salt field into the bone broth, “then there must be many people accompanying her… with so many people, one more won’t make a difference.”

"Kria only has me." He said earnestly, the warm summer breeze ruffling his long, pale hair. "I will be by your side."

"...Glib talker," Leah said softly, repeating it gently, "...Idiot."

"Keep your word."

----

"Then let me stay by Shadow's side forever."

"If I can withstand one of your blows, you will grant my request."

...Ying remembered things from the past.

In the midst of eternal, lonely battles, she often finds herself thinking about the past.

The dim afternoon light covered the eaves of the mansion, and the old plaque of the Pillar State Mansion was filtered by the yellowish sunlight. The pine and cypress in the courtyard still stood tall, and the layers of branches blocked some of the sunlight. Under the pine and cypress was the cenotaph without a tombstone.

What no one knows is that Kage didn't always stay at the castle tower.

Occasionally, she would think of returning to the Zhuguo Mansion.

At these times, General Thunder would stop fighting with her, and they would briefly find peace.

It seems that returning here is the time to rest.

For the first time in a long time, I can feel inner peace.

It also makes it easier to recall things from the past.

She recalled the imperial duel, that swaying summer day, and that spirited young warrior—who had challenged her to a duel, promising to make him her close attendant if he could successfully parry Wuxiang's blade.

He said he would always protect her by his side.

Ying recalled her own words from back then. She had dismissed the boy's words, saying calmly and indifferently, "Ha, mortals... in the face of eternity, are but a fleeting life..."

Indeed, she's right, it really is—

How fleeting and short is life!

She stared blankly at the cenotaph covered with fallen leaves, the yellowish sunlight bathing it. After a long while, Ying said softly, "Long time no see, Qingye Leiming."

Long time no see, Qingye Leiming.

But she had never met Kiyono Raimei.

Throughout those hundred years, even after his death, she never saw him again—she didn't even know what Kiyono Raimei looked like after he turned one hundred.

How ironic.

She lowered her head slightly.

Suddenly, she said calmly, "Come out."

Ancient, lonely, and profound, the oppressive power of thunder blurred the sunlight. Narukami's terrifying majesty covered everything around him, the thunder rumbled in a low rumble, and the branches and leaves of the pines rustled.

Even as an executive officer, the lady felt uncomfortable in the face of such authority.

“Your Majesty Narukami.” The woman emerged from the shadows, paused, and said gracefully, “I simply wish to make a deal with you.”

Ying glanced at her coldly, "...Leave here."

-

P.S.: Oh my god, I'm going to die! So many classes, so difficult!

Why am I useless when I'm writing, and useless when I'm studying... a double failure.

This is the second time I've taken leave this month.

null

Chapter 122 "Narukami Never Glanced at That Boy"

[Beast Hound.]

【lv.20】

Qingnuoyan never expected that Inazuma also had this thing.

He slowly exhaled, and a refreshing aura gathered around him, illuminating the scene before his pale blue eyes.

It was early summer, and dappled sunlight streamed through the gaps in the branches of the cherry tree.

The shadows of cherry blossoms floated in the wind on the mountain path leading to the mountain. In the shadowy places where the light did not reach, one after another canine abyss monsters gushed water, their white teeth reflecting a cold, icy light. Those monsters were staring at the boy with hungry eyes.

To ensure the smooth conduct of the Divine Cherry Blossom Exorcism Ritual, these abyssal monsters must first be eliminated.

Thanks to a certain old man, Inazuma was not harmed by the filth at all last year, but filth is filth after all, and it cannot be completely and permanently eradicated. Now that summer has arrived, those dark resentments that lie dormant underground have begun to grow again.

—The number has decreased considerably, at least the filth of the Orochi lineage is gone.

Filth is most likely to attract the gaze of the abyss, and these beast-like hounds before us are messengers from the abyss.

According to the Inatsume tradition, it is time to go up the mountain to cleanse oneself of impurities again—during this period, the priests of Narukami Taisha Shrine have also begun to take action one after another.

Qing Nuoyan is quite willing to help with this kind of thing.

Firstly, he also needed the purification of the Divine Cherry Tree; secondly, he wanted to practice on these monsters.

He's not strong now—his original level was reset after his heart shattered.

He had been on Narugami Island for almost half a month and had pretty much adapted to life there: he worked half a day at the tofu shop, then went to Shadow Mountain to kill monsters in the afternoon, and went home for dinner at dusk.

He must climb the long staircase, and these monsters are his stepping stones.

Amidst the swaying shadows of the flowers, Qing Nuoyan lowered his body slightly, his light-colored long hair cascading in the air. Accompanied by the whistling wind, his figure disappeared from the spot.

He was incredibly fast, leaving a trail of afterimages in the air. As the light and shadow shifted, his figure moved with them, and in an instant, he appeared in front of the lead hound. With a sharp, piercing blade, he descended with a powerful strike.