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

-

So Ying went to grill fish again, but Qingye didn't plan to wait for her to come back and they all ate together slowly.

He has other things to do.

The Fools set out for Mondstadt at dusk.

There is still some time.

'I buried a barrel of ale brewed for a hundred years under the big pine and cypress tree in the courtyard of the Pillar of State's mansion. Remember to go and get it.'

Qingye Fengyin lay on the bed and unfolded the note, which contained the following words.

When he woke up at sea, all he had besides a sword was this note.

He took out a candle and heated the back of the paper. Under the heat of the flame, the writing slowly began to distort.

This is a double-layered note, which Kiyono noticed from the beginning.

No matter how much of a drunkard and frivolous he was in his previous life, he could never have left such an outrageous message.

As the flames heated it, the writing on the inner layer slowly became visible:

'By the shores of the Fallen Star Lake in Mondstadt, a boy named "Kingdom Collapse" awaits me. Show him the Pillar of State Decree, and he will understand. Do not let anyone know of this.'

The country collapses?

This name doesn't sound lucky at all.

Kiyono had never heard of this name before. Was it a hidden agent he had arranged?

Undercover agents or something?

In short, he was going to keep his appointment.

The Fools' group is definitely here with ill intentions; they probably have other motives. Moreover, Kiyono Raimei has a grudge against that woman.

I've been lying here all night. I haven't seen any other benefits from the Heart of the Demon God, but it's been healing my injuries pretty quickly. The wounds inflicted by Dvalin have mostly healed, and the broken bones have started to grow back.

Only his lungs felt a chill when he breathed; that coldness still lingered in his body, and sometimes he coughed up blood.

The woman struck him hard; his heart stopped for half an hour as it froze.

I'm afraid I'll develop a chronic illness.

But it doesn't matter anymore, he can get out of bed now.

Kiyono burned the note completely, destroying the message, then pushed open the door, lowered his footsteps, and went out.

-

This chapter is a combination of two chapters, to avoid any disjointedness or emotional discontinuity.

Then it's time to update intensively to pay off the debt; I need to save up some drafts first.

Volume 1: Chapter 48 The puppet's name is "The Collapse of the Nation".

Heading east from Mondstadt, once outside the city gates, follow the paths of Whispering Woods. The quiet, deserted forest trails are muddy and damp.

Hundreds of millions of leaves rustled gently in the wind, making a sound like whispers. After passing through the forest, if you look up, you can see a valley, which the Mondstadt people call 'Windshort Valley'.

At the border between Windrise Valley and Whispering Forest, there is a natural lake. The azure lake reflects the white clouds and blue sky. If you don't look closely, it looks as if a piece of the sky has been missing and fallen onto this quiet and peaceful land.

At night, the lake reflects the starry sky of Mondstadt, the stars merging into the water, creating a shimmering, iridescent effect—and because of this beautiful scene, the lake is named 'Starfall Lake'.

Guo collapsed, his eyes closed, leaning against a tree by Xingluo Lake.

"The Collapse of the Nation" was the boy's real name, but few knew it; he was often referred to by another code name: "The Scatter Soldier."

The Scattered Soldier, the sixth seat of the Fools' Executive Officers.

He was dressed in an Inatsuma-style costume similar to that of a Kabuki actor, wearing a straw hat inlaid with a monster mask, a short-sleeved shirt with furisode, and shorts. The mask covered the boy's face and also concealed his aura.

Unlike the lady who made a grand diplomatic mission, no one knew about the collapse of her kingdom and her arrival in Mondstadt—not even the executors of the Fools.

He came without permission because of a secret letter.

The boy leaned against a tree, head held high, gazing at the sky above Starfall Lake.

His purple eyes, unusually, revealed a hint of bewilderment.

The Pillar of State has left.

When he first heard the news, Guo Pang didn't have much of a reaction. The long years had worn away his emotions. Besides, as a heartless "puppet," he couldn't shed tears.

He had long understood that all mortals die.

no big deal.

From the moment of birth, the collapse of the nation is a calamity.

No one expected him, and no one rejoiced at his birth. He was simply abandoned as an eternal defective product. He was neither human nor object, without a past or future, and didn't even have a name. He was a blank slate, and the Inatsume people did not welcome him.

The boy wandered the world for several years, yet he still did not know what he sought.

The first time I met Zhu Guo was in the village of Ta Ba Sha. The filth caused a disaster, so the villagers wanted to sacrifice him to quell the disaster.

Countless eyes—fearful, apprehensive, disgusted, chillingly cold—stared at him. The boy heard their voices; each one was low, damp and sinister from the depths of their lungs. They murmured in unison:

"monster."

"monster."

Then the Pillar of State arrived.

The man was powerful; with a single strike, lightning rolled and the plains roared. As the sky brightened, all filth was swept away. He untied the ropes binding the boy, looked him up and down, and grinned:

“From today onwards, you will be called [The Collapse of the Nation].

"...National collapse?"

"In Inazuma dialect, it means cannon."

The Pillar General nodded smugly, very proud of his talent for naming things, and laughed heartily: "When the wind rises, the clouds fly; when the cannons fire, they blast his mother."

"Young man, are you interested in joining the Pillar of State Army?" He patted the puppet on the shoulder. "From now on, you will be the Pillar of State Army's cannon."

"Anyone who insults you, you shall blow them to smithereens! You shall unleash the roar of a cannon, you shall drown out all other noises with your own voice, you shall make it resound to the heavens!"

The words spoken by the Pillar of State were not elegant; his voice was loud and echoed high in the sky: "You will eventually become a genuine person."

.

The memories of the past have become blurred, and even now, Guo Beng still cannot understand what the Pillar State meant by "a genuine person".

However, he was no longer so confused after that.

Many years later, after the country collapsed, he left Inazuma and wandered the world as a wanderer. The Fools were very interested in his identity, and naturally, he joined the Fools.

Over the centuries, his status rose higher and higher, eventually becoming the sixth seat of the Fools, codenamed 'Scrapped Soldiers'.

In the eyes of the soldiers of the Winter Soldiers, the Scatter Soldier was unpredictable and loved to observe the fear and helplessness of humans. He specially selected a subordinate with a rich and foolish expression for his amusement. His temperament was strange and absurd.

It is a terrifying existence to be willing to use any means to benefit the masses of fools.

What they didn't know was that the Soldier was still corresponding with an old man in a distant country. They wrote letters infrequently, sometimes only once every few years, keeping it very secret.

Nevertheless, centuries have passed, and they have exchanged many letters.

The movements of the Fools, the attitude of the Winter Kingdom, the news of the lockdown order... a lot of information was hidden in the letter, hidden in the code they had set.

The last letter Guo received was a month ago.

It was the will of the Pillar of State.

Kiyono Raimei is dead.

Kiyono Raimei is dead.

He wanted others to roar to the heavens, but his own voice fell silent first.

From now on, he will never be able to write letters again.

Kuni was not loyal to Inazuma, nor to the woman in the castle tower. On the contrary, he deeply hated her. After Kiyono died, he had nothing to do with Inazuma anymore.

Kiyono Raimei is dead.

He secretly came to Mondstadt after the fall of his kingdom, following the last instructions of the Pillar of the Kingdom, to wait for someone on the shore of Lake Starfall.

【Qingye Fengyin】, that's that person's name.

He had been waiting by Xingluo Lake for two weeks, but the person named Qingye Fengyin had not yet appeared. Guo Beng hated people who were not punctual, which made him feel irritated.

If they are gone for too long until winter, the Fools will become suspicious. If they do not see that person today, they will leave when the kingdom collapses.

The sun slowly sank below the horizon, the afternoon sunlight lazy and languid. Guo Beng squinted slightly, watching the boy emerge from the forest.

He was sizing up the other person, or rather, scrutinizing them.

Since the latter is named 'Qingye', they must not be ordinary people.

This person walked lightly and loosely, breathing lightly and rapidly; this was a special breathing technique (he was so tired from walking that he was out of breath).

The boy was leaning on a fierce sword, so he must be a martial artist who never parted with his sword (he was too weak to walk and was using a sword to support himself).

Deep within his eyes lurked a greedy, hungry glint, as if a ferocious young wolf were hiding within. (So hungry, so hungry! I should have eaten the fish before I left.)

The visitor is not good.

As expected of an elite cultivated by the Pillar State Mansion.

Guo Pang secretly prepared himself, having already figured out how to deal with this ferocious wolf.

Having served as an executive for so many years, and having seen countless people and situations, I wouldn't make a mistake in my judgment.

He approached aggressively, reaching out to grab his right hand with lightning speed. Guo Beng had heard of this move; it was Liyue's 'grappling technique.' This young man was also testing him—

Qingye Fengyin gripped Guo Beng's hand tightly, a look of relief on his face as if he had met a comrade, and spoke in the tone of an underground party agent:

"Your work, Inazuma Tomohito's?"

'Inazuma's friend's work'—this was their reunion and first meeting.