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

He is not qualified to cook, not qualified to replace the Pillar of State, and not qualified to bear this memory of hundreds of years—this is a desecration of the Pillar of State.

Of course, a young man can cook, and he can certainly make traditional dishes like fox udon, but he cannot do it in the name of the Pillar of State or in the name of 'Qingye Tofu'.

Kiyono Sara would rather that shop never open than have that faith in her memory...that taste changed.

She still remembered that taste. When she was little, when she was just a little tengu, when the Pillar of State brought her back from the mountains, the first thing she ate was fish tofu made by the Pillar of State.

The last meal too.

On that clear morning after the snow, His Majesty the Pillar of State said he was about to die and that he wanted to entrust Inazuma's future to him. He coughed violently and made one last batch of tofu.

For this taciturn, almost stubborn, samurai, some things were like her life.

She didn't know what Lord Miyaji was thinking, but she disagreed; Kiyono Tofu Shop didn't belong to Miyaji alone.

...

amount.

Qing Nuoyan was completely dumbfounded.

He imagined countless reasons why Kiyono Sara might suddenly launch an attack; he considered all sorts of possibilities:

From the moment her identity as a Liyue spy was exposed and the female colonel tried to bring her to justice, to the moment she failed to kidnap a boy and became enraged and tried to force herself on him... but the one thing she never expected was that she would say, "Don't be the chef at that restaurant!"

...What the heck?

"Why?" he finally couldn't help but ask, "...Why?"

"Leave that shop." Kiyono Sara pursed her thin lips and said coldly, "I won't say it a second time. Next time, I won't hold back."

"So why do you ask..." Qing Nuoyan asked tentatively, "Is it because you think I didn't do a good job?"

"No one can replicate His Majesty the Pillar of State's tofu." Kiyono Sara's tone was proud, but his expression was indifferent, as if he were stating something that was taken for granted.

Ke Qingnuoyan felt that his skill level was acceptable.

Moreover, this guy is Narukami-sama's close attendant, a genuine high-ranking official in Inazuma... If she were to forcefully intervene, she might actually be able to kick her out.

Kiyono Tofu Shop is his current safety net; he can't leave it yet.

And he doesn't want to leave.

He had been in Inazuma for half a month and found that he was gradually getting used to the little shop.

"How about..." He looked up at the slowly darkening sky; dusk was approaching, and it was time for him to go home. "Or would you like to try my cooking yourself?"

Kiyono Sara stared at him coldly, her naginata crackling with faint lightning. "I won't say it a second time. Are you insulting me?"

"I won't say it a second time, and besides, you're the one insulting me."

Qing Nuoyan stared at her. This guy was naturally stubborn and never gave in.

Even when threatened with a knife, he doesn't have the good temper to suffer injustice.

"Yae no Miko said my cooking is delicious, and many regular customers say it's delicious... but you say I'm not qualified. You're not only insulting me, but also the Miko, and the former customers of that shop. In other words, you're insulting your so-called 'Pillar of the Nation' title. Kiyono Sara."

Qingnuoyan said calmly:

"You should go and try it for yourself. If I fail, I will leave Konta Village. If it is delicious, you should apologize to me."

Kiyono Sara gave a cold, indifferent snort, "You..."

"If you are an upright warrior, then please accept my challenge."

Kiyono Sara remained silent.

-

P.S.: Phew, today was my university physical fitness test, both long-distance and short-distance running, I'm really going to die!

Congratulations to Sigu for discovering a third useless area besides studying and writing... sports.

Chapter 123 Shadow, You Are Still Running Away

Ying stared blankly at the wooden box in front of her.

The box, made of redwood, looked somewhat old. When the lid was opened, there were ten compartments in total, each containing a pure white pastry. It was soft and chewy, like specks of snow adorning the ancient pines and cypresses, shimmering with a gentle, intoxicating light.

Milk dumplings.

I don't know if it's milk or dumplings.

The pastries looked very fresh, as if they had just been taken out of the steamer—but in fact, the box of pastries had been stored for more than half a year.

More than two hundred days ago, on that small boat, a boy named 'Kiyoka Fuue' handed her this snack, saying:

"Lord Pillar of State... he had a premonition you would come, so he asked me to give you these snacks."

All of this is still vivid in my mind, as if it happened just yesterday.

Even the pastries were so fresh.

For gods who pursue eternity, 'preserving' a dessert is not difficult. But while gods can preserve a dessert, they cannot preserve the thunder that flashes across the sky in an instant.

She could seal off the entire Inazuma territory, and use thunder to block the entire sea, but she could never block that small boat trying to escape.

What was that guy thinking at the end of his life?

They never met again. If she could see him again, what would she say?

If they could meet again, perhaps she wouldn't have missed it.

But this is all just an illusion.

Lei is dead.

Ying gently shook her head, dispelling these inexplicable emotions and thoughts.

She closed the wooden lid of the confectionery box and tucked it into the hem of her kimono.

It's getting late.

As dusk slowly descended, the large pine tree in the courtyard of the Pillar State Mansion swayed in the twilight. Under the setting sun, the grand yet old courtyard appeared even more withered and yellow. Every brick, tile, and pavilion rustled in the evening breeze.

Ying, dressed in a plain white kimono, stepped on osmanthus trees, the dim yellow shadows of the leaves swaying on her pure white clothes.

Shadow didn't care much about the agreement proposed by the outsider named "Lady" and her so-called plan.

She felt her heart slowly closing off, and nothing in the outside world, whether it was diplomacy or politics, had anything to do with her anymore.

She was thinking about other things.

The filth of the Divine Cherry Tree

"Narukami..." A slightly surprised voice suddenly came from behind, "Lord Narukami?"

Ying turned around.

She is Kiyono Raimei's adopted daughter, a descendant of the Tengu, and the second-generation Narukami attendant, Kiyono Sara.

Her bright golden eyes reflected Ying's face as she slightly bowed, her long, violet-like hair cascading down, and said calmly, "Hello."

A close attendant...

“Saro.” After a long pause, Shadow suddenly asked, “If we could meet again—just if, but if we could meet again today, what would you say?”

Saro was somewhat stunned. She wasn't stupid; she naturally knew who Ying was referring to. She lowered her eyes and shook her head slightly: "I don't know."

"But if Sara could see him again."

Saro paused for a moment, "I can't really say anything too impressive, I'm not good with words... Perhaps, the first thing I'll say to His Majesty the Pillar of State will be to tell him to wear more clothes—it's going to rain today."

It's definitely going to rain soon. Somewhat gloomy clouds are painted around the sunset glow. Looking further into the distance, you can see sparse white lines intertwined between the evening clouds and the dark clouds.

Kiyono Sara answered very seriously. She was a girl who took everything seriously, and as she said, she was indeed not good with words.

"And then, I asked His Majesty the Pillar of State to stop smoking... If I could meet him again, if such an opportunity truly existed, I would like to make up for the regrets of the past,"

"Is that so?" Ying said softly.

This is a very strange topic. They both tacitly understand that the person they are talking about is already dead, and the so-called "what if" can never become a reality.

"What about Lord Narukami...?" Kiyono Sara asked tentatively. "What will Lord Narukami do?"

Lei Movie doesn't know the answer.

She lowered her head slightly, gazing at the lifeless cenotaph. The setting sun and rain made the courtyard dim and gloomy, and the branches of the pines and cypresses trembled slightly in the lingering drizzle.

"Perhaps," Ying said softly after a long pause, "I won't miss it again."

The general was right when he told her that a missed opportunity is a missed opportunity, whether it takes a hundred years or three days. To think that something can remain unchanged forever is just wishful thinking.

She missed it for a hundred years, and she missed it again during the last three days of Qingye Leiming's life. The only thing she could not miss was his funeral. But when the pure white lightning streaked across the night sky and the thunder roared into mournful music, she realized that she and that lightning... and her and his life... had brushed past each other.

"Tell me about filthy things." Shadow paused, then suddenly said, "Is the Divine Cherry Blossom Purification Ceremony starting again this year?"

"Yes," Kiyono Sara replied earnestly, "...the soldiers have already begun cleaning up the filth."

Soldiers...

Kiyono Raimei spent his final days working for those soldiers, and he eradicated four hundred years of pollution from Hachiyū Island in one fell swoop...

That foolish mortal.

"Kiyono Sara, have the soldiers seal off the area deep in the mountains." After a long pause, she said softly, "I'm going to make a move."

It's still early in the evening.

-

A single, unintentional strike.

Every Inazuma resident understands what this strike means: it represents the supreme and boundless martial arts, the barrier that has allowed Inazuma to reach where it is today. Under the general's blade, all demons and monsters will be reduced to ashes.

From the very top of the castle tower.

Thick, dark clouds, carrying towering thunder, seemed poised to crush the sky. A pure white figure stood beneath the sky, Lei Yingdian slightly closing his eyes. His naginata opened and closed gently, and lightning spread out along the blade, weaving through the sky. The sea of ​​clouds along the way rolled and split apart to both sides.

The gaze of the gods transformed into thunder, traversing hundreds of miles to reach the cherry blossom-covered island of Shin'yō. The shadow opened its eyes, its depths revealing only indifference and tranquility. Looking down upon the world from the vast sky, everything seemed so insignificant.

Kiyono Sara acted swiftly and decisively—before it was even completely dark, she had already arrived at Kami-Sakura Island and dispatched shogunate soldiers to evacuate the priests from the depths of the contamination.

The shadow is waiting.

The naginata slowly emerged from its sheath, emitting a clear, ringing sound as it landed on the dome of the sky, on the distant Narukami Island, and on the thick clouds that stretched for miles, creating a deep echo that transformed into wave after wave of thunder.