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

"Hmm." Hana Sanri, holding the basket in her hand, made a rough estimate, "About half a basket."

"That's enough." Qing Nuoyan nodded.

With enough petals available, the next step was rinsing. Under Qingnuoyan's direction, the two of them worked together, washing the dust off the petals with mountain spring water. They also removed any excess sepals.

That's amazing.

Hua Sanli stared at Qing Nuoyan, tilting her head.

They used to brew wine together.

It wasn't cherry blossom wine, but barley wine, brewed and fermented from wheat, sealed in a thick jar, and then buried under the big pine tree at Kiyono Raimei's house. The agreement was that when the barley wine was ready, it would be dug up from the ground and shared with everyone at the next summer gathering.

Everyone needs to be there: Kage, Shin, Tora Chiyo, Kitsune, Kiyono Raimei, Shizuka Yuri, and that little fox Yae.

But before the beer was ready, and before the cicadas could sing, the war in Kyria broke out.

"Don't space out," Qing Nuoyan said. "Snap out of it, snap out of it. If you keep washing, the petals will all wrinkle."

"You can't slack off."

Qing Nuoyan hates three kinds of people the most in his life: people who have double standards, people who slack off, and people who don't let him slack off.

Moreover, his work as a miner at the Qingye Tofu Shop wasn't considered slacking off; it was legitimately making money!

Hana Sanri blinked again, and after a long while, she said, "...Okay."

"Next comes sealing it in jars. Hmm, I'll add a little sugar," the master brewer of Qingnuoyan pondered. "Do you like it a little sweeter?"

"Either is fine," Hana Sanri said.

"it is good."

Qingnuoyan slowly placed the flower petals into the wine jar, poured in sake and sugar, and waited for the latter to slowly settle and dissolve. While concentrating on his work, he said, "The next task is to find the guests, right?"

Hana Sanri lowered her head, her mask obscuring her vision.

“Torachiyo, Yuri…” Qing Nuoyan recalled the names on the list, “Zhen, Ying, Miss Fox, we have to find them all. After we find them, we’ll hold the Divine Cherry Blossom Purification Ceremony.”

“Qingnuo Rock,” she suddenly interrupted. “Let’s begin the Divine Cherry Blossom Purification Ritual directly.”

"what?"

“There are some guests you can’t find,” she said softly, “because they’re no longer here. I deliberately made this list that can never be completed.”

Qingnuoyan paused.

"Is that so...?"

"Hmm." Hana Sanri lowered her head, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly, "...because if we do this, the Great Purification of the Divine Cherry Blossom will come later. Or rather, it will never come."

"I'm sorry, I lied to you."

“I was already prepared. I have nothing to hold on to. I was never Fox Palace, never your friend, I was just a tainted memory. In the Great Purification of Divine Cherry Blossoms, I will vanish.”

"I know that perfectly well..."

Qingnuoyan watched her quietly and listened attentively.

Hana Sanri chuckled self-deprecatingly, “But when I saw you, when I heard you say you were going to brew another pot of fine wine, I couldn’t help but look forward to it, and I didn’t want to leave so soon. I wanted to stay a little longer, even if it was just a little while.”

'I am a cowardly and incompetent person. I didn't come to see you because once I saw you, I wouldn't want to leave.'

—A similar passage was written in Kiyono Raimei's last letter to Kage.

“This is shameful,” she said. “I am nothing but filth. I have never been your friend, nor have I been Fox Palace. I have been lying to you all along.”

“I know,” Qing Nuoyan, who had been listening quietly, suddenly said, “I’ve always known.”

"...What?"

Hana Sanri was stunned.

“I knew it from the beginning,” Qing Nuoyan said softly. “After all, I have devoured filth and karmic obstacles before, so I am very familiar with them. I could tell from the start.”

"...Then why?"

What's wrong with being friends with filth?

Qingnuoyan stared intently at Huasanli.

"I am not who I used to be, and you are not who you used to be either, but if you are willing to taste my wine now, then I am also willing to be your friend. It's not because of who you were or who I was in the past, but because of who I am now. The important thing is the present. I want to be your friend now."

Qing Nuoyan paused for a moment.

"You are willing to help me purify myself of the impurities. But once the Divine Cherry Blossom Purification is completed, you will die with me. You are willing to leave for me—this is the most sincere friendship."

Qing Nuoyan is not stupid; just now, he figured out a lot of things.

"...This isn't just for you." Hana Sanri shook her head. "I was meant to leave. This is my destiny."

"But I don't want it to be like this... Even if it's a farewell, we should say goodbye properly."

Qingnuoyan gazed at the scattering of flowers, where the summer sun cast hazy shadows of blossoms, and the cherry blossom wine exuded a faint floral fragrance. The young man spoke sincerely and resolutely:

"To throw the biggest summer party ever—that's the only thing I can do for you."

"All the guests are coming, and I will find them all."

He paused, then said seriously:

— "Before our cherry blossoms ripen."

.

.

P.S.: Whew, time for a nap!

Chapter 127 That Heart Was on the Verge of National Collapse

"Eye Hunting Order?"

Guo Beng frowned slightly as he looked at the lady across from him.

The executor from the Kingdom of Winter seemed to always be so elegant. She leaned back in the wooden chair, tilting her head slightly, her delicate hand supporting her exquisite profile.

The golden rays of the setting sun pierced through the gaps in the leaves of the trees in the courtyard, gently falling on her pale golden hair. The hair and the light intertwined, making it difficult to distinguish where the hair ended and the sunlight began.

“Eye Hunt Order.” She repeated calmly, “The Winter Kingdom is quite dissatisfied with the current progress in Inazuma… Inazuma is too peaceful now.”

"We should exacerbate the conflict between Inazuma and his wife."

The woman said elegantly, "The Eye Hunt Order is a very good method. Now that we have several magistrates under our control, we can restart the Eye Hunt Order."

The country collapsed, and he closed his eyes.

He naturally knew what this so-called 'Eye Hunting Order' was.

In accordance with the Eye Hunting Order, Inazuma was tasked with confiscating the God's Eyes scattered throughout the town.

In fact, this concept is not a recent one. A hundred years ago, with the help of the Fools, it was introduced and implemented along with the 'Lockdown Edict'... Like the Lockdown Edict, the Eye Hunt Edict is beneficial to the so-called 'eternity'.

But this decree was never actually implemented.

They all knew the reason but kept it to themselves.

The old man is still alive.

While Kiyono Hashirakuni was still alive, the various officials dared not act recklessly, and the infiltration of the Fools into Inazuma remained only on the surface... But now that the old man is dead, the undercurrents he suppressed for a hundred years, the dark side of Inazuma, are finally beginning to flow.

The lady's aversion to the so-called Pillar of State was not without reason; in fact, most of the seats in the Fools' Clan were annoyed by this stubborn old man.

But mortals are ultimately just mortals, their lives as fleeting and fragile as grains of sand. When the grains of sand disappear, the edifice that was sustained by them will also collapse.

What Pillar of State...?

How ridiculous, pillars made of sand?

They were just weaklings who died of old age.

Now that the lockdown order has been implemented, it's time to move on to the next step of the plan. The 'deal' that the lady mentioned to Narukami at the Pillar of State's residence half a month ago refers to restarting this Eye Hunting Order.

“That old man is dead—such frailty is the nature of mortals,” the woman said softly. “Now is the best time.”

Narukami is now residing in the castle tower, no longer in power. Most of Inazuma's authority has fallen into the hands of the magistrate. Now is the best time; everything is ready.

To steal my eyes...

But to the lady's surprise, Guo Beng gently shook his head.

"Do not."

Guo Pang slowly said, his eyes coldly fixed on the woman, "I disagree... now is not the time."

He disagrees.

The woman narrowed her eyes slightly.

The temperature plummeted to its lowest point in an instant.

The sunset had dissipated, leaving a few wisps of clouds hanging haphazardly on the leaden sky. The falling sun dragged the sunset down with it into the grave of the mountains. In this traditional Japanese courtyard, the two foolish rulers stared at each other coldly, the air itself seemed to freeze.

"The country collapsed."

The woman said calmly but gloomily, "You've gotten carried away."

“I’m here… just to inform you of this,” the woman said softly, a cold, indifferent light shining in her dark purple eyes. “I’m not here to ask for your permission.”

“You should always remember,” the woman said coldly, “that it was winter that gave you life... not Inazuma.”

“I have never loved Inazuma—I deeply loathe this land,” Kunihiro said calmly. “I am only informing you of my disagreement.”

This is the truth.

The country collapsed, and he never loved Inazuma.

Whether the eyes of the people of Inazuma are confiscated or not is none of his concern.

"Then what do you think..." The woman stared indifferently into Guo Pang's eyes, her voice as cold as if it had been pulled from an ice cave, "When is 'the right time'?"

Guo Pang fell silent. He lowered his eyes slightly, and after a long while, he said, "At least not now."

"Why?" Deep purple eyes stared intently at Guo Pang. "Why?"

why...