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

More and more people live near Yingxiang Mountain, and with more people, Qingnuoyan has to move to a deeper place.

Fortunately, he is not old yet.

After he severed the snow covering the mountain in a single thought, Qingnuoyan temporarily stopped practicing swordsmanship.

In Fushe's legacy, besides swordsmanship, he also inherited the cultivation methods of Aozang Mountain in Jueyun, but he didn't have time to practice them.

Even the True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng praised Qingnuoyan's talent and wanted him to stay in Aozang Mountain to cultivate immortal techniques, but Qingnuoyan refused because he could not sever his ties with the mortal world and could not leave the human realm.

He has time now.

But as he breathed in the morning mist and sunlight atop Yingxiang Mountain, he still longed for the New Year below; his spiritual practice could not bring him peace of mind.

It only made him feel more lonely.

.

Hello, Miss Ying, twelve hundred years in the future!

This is my third hundredth year here.

With the construction of Narukami Taisha Shrine, the snow on Mount Kagehiko has finally melted, and gradually, flowers will bloom here.

Right in front of me, crimson cherry blossoms are falling softly. They're so beautiful. I want to see them with you.

My health is still excellent, and my memory is still good.

My dinner tonight is smoked mackerel. Do you remember what I told you? 'I'll make it taste the best, so that when I miss you, I can go back and enjoy that dish.'

I'm eating mackerel right now because I'm thinking of you.

I will never forget you, I never will.

Qingnuoyan is already three hundred years old and has reached the fourth level of godhood.

Yingxiang Mountain was crowded with people, so Qingnuoyan stopped going out—even if there was no one around, he wouldn't go out.

For the past hundred years, he has stayed in a mountain dwelling that is covered with talismans.

He often sits in a daze, not practicing meditation, but simply lost in thought, sometimes for days at a time.

Three hundred years is a very long time, both for mortals and for demons.

Qingnuoyan now realizes that what limits mortals is not only lifespan, but also wear and tear.

He could not leave a ripple in history; to anyone in this era, he was forever just a passerby.

For three hundred years, no one met him; he was always alone. He was alone when he woke up and alone when he fell asleep. For three hundred years, there was only eternal desolation.

This kind of wear is a hundred times more severe than ordinary wear.

The wear and tear of loneliness is something even demons find hard to endure.

That wear and tear lasted for a thousand years—which is why human reason says that time cannot be defeated.

He liked to eat sardines and mackerel, but sardines were fish from the sea and not found in the mountains, so he ate two mackerel every day, which he smoked.

When Qing Nuoyan chews on the tender white fish and feels the warmth spreading through his limbs, he thinks of that girl.

He dared not forget the taste of the mackerel, nor the girl; he could not forget those days and those years. As he swallowed the mackerel, his shoulders trembled slightly.

.

Hello, Miss Ying

This year marks the four hundredth... or maybe the five hundredth, I can't quite remember. Hmm, I can count how many letters I've written to you, and that will tell me. Hmm, it's four hundred and ninety, so this is the four hundred and ninetyth year.

【To Miss Ying, 1110 years from now, hello】

The disaster that struck Mount Kage, though eventually quelled by the shrine, left a lasting legacy of ecological pollution—the mackerel in the lake have become extinct.

I haven't eaten that fish for almost a hundred or two hundred years, and I've almost forgotten what it tastes like.

Four hundred and ninety years, plus ten more years, and that will be the day when Kiyono Raimei dies of old age.

Qing Nuoyan also felt that he was getting old. His face hadn't changed much, but he knew he was old, so old that he was about to die.

.

Hello, Miss Ying

This is the 700th anniversary.

[My name... I'm so stupid, I've almost forgotten what my name is, but I still remember Ying, because your name was written on every letter.]

I've forgotten a lot of things.

Qing Nuoyan had forgotten many things, and he was almost forgetting his purpose. He only knew that he should wait here and persevere, but he didn't know why he should persevere.

He felt tired.

Today is no different from yesterday, and tomorrow will be no different from today. All days are meaningless, without joy, happiness, or pain; we are simply living, living in time unknown to anyone, living through the long years.

He didn't know why he should continue living.

Forget what the end of this long wait is.

Qing Nuoyan rarely sleeps or dreams, but in his dreams, he always sees a beautiful sacred cherry tree and a gathering that has been brewing for hundreds of years under the sacred cherry tree, where many people are waiting for him—although he can't see their faces clearly.

"...It hurts so much." He murmured softly in his dream.

"It feels so bad."

Was he crying? But he had no more tears left.

"Who are you...?"

I miss you all so much.

.

【Qingnuo Rock】

[Ascension to the Fifth Stage of Divinity]

[lv95]

Qingnuoyan, you forgot to write this year.

Qing Nuoyan opened his eyes, his grayish-white pupils as white as snow. He seemed to have been sitting for a long time, a thin layer of frost forming on his shoulders.

"write a letter....?"

He murmured softly.

Writing a letter... Why write a letter... He's about to die.

His martial arts skills reached the level of worldly rulers.

But eight hundred years have worn away his consciousness. His body seems to be able to live for a long time, but his soul is already decayed and rotten, like an old tree riddled with holes.

Nothingness.

He may die today, or he may die tomorrow.

This ended the eight-hundred-year-long prison.

What about your dream?

Human reason.

"Dream?" Qing Nuoyan murmured, seemingly puzzled by the word.

【dream】

Human reason.

You told me you had two dreams: one was to live a happy and carefree life, and the other was to become the strongest in the world. Have you forgotten your dreams?

This is something you promised me.

“...I’ve forgotten everything.” Qing Nuoyan shook his head, looking exhausted. “It’s pointless now.”

You've forgotten everything, but you haven't forgotten your dream.

You must live for someone, you must become the strongest, to protect those you want to protect—this is your dream—your dream still exists, but you buried it, buried it in that iron box, written in eight hundred letters.

[Qingnuo Rock, this is the lesson it taught me: mortals are weak, and the only way for mortals to fight against the passage of time is through their dreams.]

Your heart is a barren wasteland, utterly worn away.

Rebuild it with your dreams.

【Qingnuo Rock, climb that last step】

【One Dream】

[This is the shape of your consciousness space.]

— [Go read those letters, then write your 801st letter, continuing your dreams and longings.]

.

P.S.: Phew, time for bed!

Chapter 144 Qingnuo Rock, ascending to godhood today (Chapter 2.5)

Unlike Yingxiang Mountain 1,500 years ago, Yingxiang Mountain now has no snow, but is covered with wildflowers.

As the setting sun dips below the mountainside, and the fiery orange clouds blend with the burning red cherry blossoms, the boundary between day and night becomes blurred and ambiguous. At this twilight, the flowers are in full bloom.

I did not see Qingnuo Rock.

When Ying arrived at Yingxiang Mountain, she did not find Qingnuo Rock.

Tatami mats were laid out under the cherry blossom tree, with milk dumplings, fox udon noodles, and other treats placed on them. The aroma of freshly brewed cherry blossom wine wafted through the air, and the afterglow of the setting sun bathed the scene in a yellowish hue—everything was so beautiful and serene.

But Ying did not find Qingnuo Rock.

She searched for a long time, but couldn't find it.

For some reason, as she gazed at the empty cherry blossom tree, Ying felt a strange stirring in her heart.

It feels empty.

She turned around, and at the far end of her gaze lay the afternoon.