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

"Why bring her along?" Ying asked expressionlessly. "Don't you think it's unnecessary?"

Such a strong aggression so early in the morning, Miss Ying is full of energy today... Qing Nuoyan thought to herself.

"If we encounter danger... we can ask Leah for help."

The Salt God is a true demon god. Relying on the power of the demon god, he can do whatever he wants in the land of Inazuma, at least in most areas.

"I will protect you too."

Ying wasn't buying it. His amber eyes were fixed on Qing Nuoyan, and he didn't back down. He calmly said, "It was agreed that it would be a trip for two."

"Then why bring Paimon along?" Qing Nuoyan stared at little Paimon, who was fast asleep on Ying's shoulder.

"Paimon is an emergency food."

"If we have food, we should have seasonings too," Qing Nuoyan joked, taking advantage of Liya's deep sleep. "We should have emergency seasonings. Otherwise, how can we eat emergency food?"

"Hmm..." Ying blinked and thought for a moment, then realized that Qing Nuoyan's words actually made a lot of sense...

The salt god, who was fast asleep, was unaware that his status had been reduced to 'food grade' along with Paimon's.

"Then, let's set off."

"Set off."

-

"mortal."

"Karakka...how do you play it?"

Kiyono Raimei blinked, looking somewhat bewildered.

Or rather, they felt surprised.

Quite unexpected.

Before him stood the Shadow General, who wielded eternal solitude and thunder, His Majesty the Thunder Movie.

She wore white socks on osmanthus-colored shoes, her long kimono collar cascading down her back, a hydrangea pinned to her waist, and her long, flowing purple hair tied into two strands that fell naturally down her back. Her clear eyes reflected the boy's surprised face.

"Kiyono Raimei, how do you play karuta?" she asked earnestly.

Kiyono had been his attendant for several months and had pretty much figured out his personality.

For this aloof and persistent princess, it seems that only martial arts can capture her interest...

She had no interest in anything, whether it was food, poetry, calligraphy, painting, music, or chess. In the eyes of this martial arts fanatic, these things were meaningless.

Stubborn to the point of being unreasonable.

Kiyono Raimei never imagined that this aloof Raimei would one day seriously ask him for advice on 'how to play karuta'.

Kiyono Raimei carefully observed the shadow's expression and wondered if he was hallucinating.

"I lost the karuta game at the party," Ying said calmly. "Tell me... you're really good at karuta, could you teach me?"

She readily admitted her failure.

The gathering that Kage mentioned was under the largest cherry blossom tree at Narukami Shrine, where everyone skipped work to get together and have fun. The Raiden sisters would also attend, creating a joyful atmosphere. Kiyono Raimei, of course, had attended many times, being forced to drink by Kitsai-gumi, racing with the Great Tengu, and dueling with the Oni clan's Mikoto Chiyo Masato...

He really enjoyed the party. It was really fun, and he had a lot of fun.

Karuta was one of the entertainment activities at this gathering.

Shadow is least skilled at playing karuta.

“Alright.” Kiyono Raimei nodded in agreement. As a guard, he had no reason to refuse. “This is His Majesty’s wish, and I am happy to help.”

“Just call me Shadow,” Lei Yingdong said seriously. “I’m not some Your Majesty.”

"Others call Narukami by his name..." Kiyono Raimei paused, "In Inazuma, that's extremely disrespectful."

“You are not just anyone,” Shadow said naturally. “You are my attendant, a mortal.”

"In exchange, can you please stop calling me 'mortal'?"

How would you like me to address you?

Call me Kiyono.

Kiyono Raimei gazed intently at the shadow's face. It was springtime, and the swaying spring sunlight scattered the shadows of cherry blossoms, layers upon layers of pure white petals intertwining between them. The boy earnestly requested of the shadow...

"My name is Kiyono Raimei. I would be very happy if you could remember this name."

"Kiyono." Ying nodded, and in the swaying spring sunlight, she said earnestly, "I won't forget, so it's a promise then."

“Hmm.” Kiyono Raimei said with a smile, “I will teach Kage the secrets of 'karuta'. At the next gathering, Kage and I will definitely be able to defeat them. We will definitely surprise them.”

...

True death is being completely forgotten. If you can remember my name, if I can be a fleeting flash of lightning in your eternal life, then I will be content.

...

I hope you will remember my name, because I will forget myself.

...

I'm sorry, Shadow, I couldn't come to find you.

...

If I never see you again, good morning, good afternoon, good night.

...

[Yours sincerely, Qingye Leiming]

These days, I keep thinking about things from the past. Things from a very, very long time ago, so long that the memories have faded, but whenever I think about them, it feels like they happened just yesterday.

Lei stared at the slightly yellowed letter; she had read every word on it many times.

She still remembered what the little girl from the Kamisato family had said, and now, upon reflection, it did indeed make some sense.

Many emotions are conveyed through the white envelope and the black ink, and even across a long time, we can still share the same feelings... So, almost a year after Kiyono Raimei left, when she reads this letter, she always thinks of things from long ago.

Karuta (a type of Japanese card game).

It's been a long time since I've played karuta.

I'm almost forgetting the rules of karuta.

She used to always lose, so she asked Kiyono Raimei for the rules of karuta. Thinking back, this was probably their first real time together. Unfortunately, the party was over, and those who left could never return.

She is still in the attic of the castle tower, reading letters and thinking about the past.

It's all just an illusion.

Thick clouds shrouded the sky in gloom. As dawn broke, Inazuma Castle remained as somber as ever, with even the first light of day shrouded in a thin layer of shadow. The morning glow did emerge, falling on the clouds and spreading out, looking as desolate as a faded old photograph.

Shadow lowered his head, his eyes slightly downcast, staring at the naginata lying across his knees.

"Shadow, do you still want to continue?" General Raiden asked softly. "Ever since you returned from Narukami Island, you've been acting strangely... Are you wavering?"

Have I undergone any new changes?

There was a vague, inexplicable sense of unease.

Ying gently shook her head. "I have never wavered."

"So, do you still want to continue?" General Thunder asked calmly. "You've killed me millions of times."

"Hmm." Ying glanced one last time at the dim, oppressive light. "I'm going to continue."

"This time... will it be hundreds of years again?" General Thunder asked.

She drew the naginata from her knees, its cold blade gleaming with a chilling light that reflected her face. Her clear, cold eyes held no superfluous emotion, only an eternal loneliness, much like the oppressive sky of Inazuma Castle.

“Before I defeat you,” Shadow said calmly, closing the letter and stating expressionlessly, “I will not come out again.”

"Kiyono Sara has brought over a lot of documents... Won't you take a look?"

"...No need."

Ying closed her eyes.

At the far end of the horizon, thunder rumbled faintly.

-

PS1: Whew. It's that time of day again, the fourth brother from the underworld, another update from the underworld, ugh, damn it, I have to think of a way to get back to the living world, I can't let the readers look down on me.

In short, let's go to sleep now!

Huhu.

PS2: Seeing that some readers asked about the prize draw in the previous chapter, let me explain one last time: those who voted with monthly tickets automatically qualify. I will randomly select the first, second, and third prize winners from the reader list and upload the results to Bilibili.

Chapter 131 "Goodbye, My Friend"

filthy.

When Mikoto Chiyo tore open the otherworldly beast with its tiger's body and snake's tail, emerging from its belly covered in blood, deep red, almost ink-like blood stained her cheeks, and her magnificent twelve-layered kimono was also stained with crimson blood.

Oni-gnawed Torachiyo.

She lowered her eyes, a dim crimson slowly seeping into her pupils. Barefoot, she walked through the crimson earth, passing among the jagged, grotesque corpses of those monsters.

The abyss has descended.

The Keria War, the invasion of the demon god Aurobas... and then the abyss descends.

Now is the most dangerous time for Inazuma—a time of life and death.

Further ahead of her, leaden clouds hung in the sky, and a deep twilight enveloped the island. It was early spring, the time when cherry blossoms were in full bloom, but Mikoto Chiyo could not see them. In her hazy, delirious eyes, all that hung on the slender branches were... heads.

The night wind pressed down on the branches on both sides, and the slender branches rustled in the cold wind, like tens of thousands of demons whispering.

The filth of the beasts from beyond the world has not been eradicated; on the contrary, that filth is slowly seeping into the very marrow of Mikoto Chiyo.

Gradually, it became infected.

Tyrannical and bloodthirsty.

Mikoto Chiyo bit her lip, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth; only the pain kept her somewhat conscious.