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

The first thought that came to mind was simply confusion.

Miss Fox saw the campsite left behind by Qingye. The remains of the campfire were still not buried by the heavy snow. Miss Fox suddenly imagined the night the old man spent here. The snow was falling heavily and the cold wind was howling. The old man was wrapped in thick winter clothes, hugging himself, squatting by the campfire, coughing incessantly.

He wanted to go to bed early because he would continue to exorcise the filth the next day, but he was too cold to sleep, so he warmed himself by the fire, his body trembling slightly.

In the pale world, he was all alone.

She suddenly began to complain about her own imagination. Even though she didn't want to think about it, those images lingered in her mind like a persistent ailment.

Miss Fox could only stop thinking about these things by quickening her pace and focusing her attention on getting there.

She needs to walk faster, she needs to walk even faster.

Kiyono Raiming was old, so it would take him three days and three nights to walk, but Miss Fox was young and light-footed, walking on the snow as fast as the wind.

The wind whistled past my cheeks, and everything in front of me rushed past as the fox darted through the jungle toward the island.

She had a vague idea of ​​what Kiyono was planning to do.

Because Yae smelled a familiar filth, unlike other filth, it was deep and eerie, carrying a chilling bloody stench, mixed with four hundred years of resentment—Yae was familiar with this filth, and knew who this scent came from.

Narukami Shrine had tried countless times to expel it, but it remained hidden deep within Inazuma and never showed itself.

The giant snake, Obaros.

Kiyono Raimei wanted to kill it.

Use your nemesis's body—that is, your own body—as bait to lure it out.

But why was Kiyono so certain that he could lure out the giant snake?

Yae didn't want to go on anymore, nor did she want to think about it anymore.

That conclusion was firmly rooted in my mind:

Kiyono is about to die of old age, and if the lingering resentment of the giant snake doesn't emerge soon, it will never be able to take its revenge in this lifetime.

It could no longer end this fate that had haunted it for four hundred years.

Will not!

No way! No way!

No, no, no, no.

-

I'll post two chapters in a row first, please don't scold me for stopping this time...

Then there are one or two chapters in the evening.

I won't tally today's bounty results until tomorrow... but judging from the current situation, Si Gu might really be doomed...

Volume One: Chapter Twenty-Two: New Year's Gift

The next time I saw him, he was lying in the snow.

It was dawn, and the warm sunlight bathed his body, while the snow covered him, making him appear half-covered in snow and half-covered in light;

His knife lay quietly beside him, along with the water jug ​​that had fallen to the ground, both buried deep in the snow.

Blood was on his cheek, blood he had coughed up, which also stained half of the snow red. The deep red contrasted sharply with the pure white snowflakes, and the blood had dried up.

He looked cold, his lips were dry and cracked, and his breath was barely a whisper.

"...Oh. I see."

"I see."

My heart feels completely empty.

It was as empty as this snowfield.

Yae no Miko felt herself trembling.

Still feeling nothing, she tentatively reached out her hand, the shrine maiden's sleeve resting on the snow—she tentatively pulled Kiyono into her arms.

It feels very cold to the touch.

It's very cold.

The texture is like snow.

She still didn't know what to do. She gently stroked Qingye's cheek and wiped away the blood. Only then could she see his face clearly.

The old man seemed to still have a smile on his lips, a silly, hearty smile, just like his old one, as if he were very happy.

Looking at that smile, that familiar, habitual smile...

She was suddenly overwhelmed by a huge torrent of emotions.

The snowfield in my heart collapsed, as the last snowflake fell.

As she pressed down on the layers of ice, her heart cracked layer by layer.

Miss Fox finally felt emotions.

On the way, she thought she had made the worst preparations and built up enough mental defenses, but when she saw his smile again, all of that collapsed.

An avalanche was about to engulf her.

She held Qingye tightly, trying to warm him with her body. Her lips trembled slightly, but she couldn't speak, only managing to utter murmurs—

'asshole'

'You old bastard...'

She was cursing Kiyono Raimei, but it seemed more like she was cursing herself.

Lantern Festival, goldfish, lantern riddles, smoking, New Year, fried tofu, stove, tea, kotatsu, temple fair

She made so many plans, she clearly made so many plans, and you clearly agreed to them, you clearly promised them, you old bastard, you said you would live for hundreds of years, you clearly said last year that we would meet again next year!

asshole.

asshole.

Why, why...

Yesterday, I waited for you on the roof beam all day, from morning till night, from the warm winter sun to dusk. The streets were so lively, and there were so many new things... but you weren't here.

You're on an island, in the snow, and you're going to kill some damn giant snake... Why, why, why!

Is a samurai's honor really that important?

Old man, you've been stubborn your whole life. When you were young, you were as stubborn as an ox; now you're even more like a dead turtle. You bastard, you bastard! You always hide everything from us. No matter what injury you suffer, you refuse to give up. You were like this when you were young, and you're still like this now, clinging to your worthless honors.

You are just a mortal! A weak mortal, a mortal who will grow old and die! Don't forget, you are just a mortal!

She rested her face against Kiyono's chest, and Yae no Miko heard her own slightly choked voice, very soft.

"Lend me a little while...you damn mortal."

Miko remembered the fox udon she had eaten that day. It was delicious, with a savory flavor and warm broth. Swallowing it made her feel all the chill in her body disappear. It was truly delicious, but back then she had told Kiyono it was just "so-so."

This might be the last time Kiyono Raimei makes tofu for her.

He already knew about his physical condition.

Dragging his frail, sick body, his fingers cut by a knife, he made her one last bowl of tofu. Then, tomorrow, Kiyono would leave Inazuma Castle to go to a distant island to die.

This was their final farewell, but she said to him:

'generally'

What were his feelings at that time?

I don't want to think about it anymore.

Huff, huff.

The sun was still shining brightly, a warm winter sun, and the sky after the rain was so clear. The goddess took a deep breath.

She took out a scarf from her sleeve, a snow-white, fluffy scarf, and wrapped it around Kiyono's neck.

Yae no Miko said softly:

"Old man, this is a gift I wanted to give you personally. Hey, talk to me, I, the High Priestess, have a gift for you."

"Hey... talk to me."

"Hey..."

She paused for a moment, then said, "It's getting cold, so I wanted to give you this. I knitted it myself, and I wanted to give it to you personally. You must live well."

"You'll be alright. Let's go home."

Her voice was still trembling slightly.

Hearing the call, Kiyono slowly opened his weak eyes and gazed at her feebly.

"Little fox..."

His lips trembled, but he couldn't speak. Yae no Miko leaned down and finally heard what Kiyono said:

"Look down the mountain."

Look down the mountain.

Yae no Miko heard clearly, and she subconsciously looked down the mountain and found that much of the snow had melted.

With the removal of the giant serpent Obaros, thousands of curses and filth vanished into the air—the once gloomy and eerie Ba Yun Island, filled with ghostly figures, overgrown with wild trees, and covered in endless snow, now presents a different scene.

Even though spring hasn't arrived yet, the warm sunshine makes it feel like spring is just around the corner.

The first rays of dawn flowed through the forest, and a light mist rose and swirled. In the far distance, the cherry blossoms of the sacred cherry tree could be seen dancing with the snowflakes. As the cherry blossoms fell, the impurities were continuously purified.

The world is so beautiful in this shower of cherry blossoms.

"This scenery is my New Year's gift to you... Happy New Year, little fox."

He whispered, his strength failing him again, and Kiyono closed his eyes drowsily, losing consciousness.

He could faintly hear crying.