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

That's all.

A gentle breeze from the town caressed the lady's hat. Guo Beng reached out, and the warm, translucent sunlight bathed the back of his hand.

The town was bustling with activity, decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers. Large lanterns hung throughout the alleys, and young men carried heavy loads of New Year's goods down the street. Laughter and cheerful voices filled the air, with old people and children laughing and joking loudly—it was time to celebrate the New Year.

In previous years, it was rare to see so many young faces in the winter, because there was fighting, and people had to cleanse the newly born impurities. All the men had been conscripted, leaving only women, children, and the elderly in the village to celebrate the New Year.

But this year is different. The filth has been swept away, and the men no longer have to leave home or die. They can stay in the village and spend a happy New Year with their wives, children, and parents.

For ordinary people, this is their happiness.

So they laughed loudly.

Peace and tranquility enveloped this small village.

Guo Chong calmly observed all of this, walking alone on the bustling streets like an outsider.

He did not intend to disrupt the peace that the country had collapsed, because it was something he had earned with the rest of his life, and he did not want to tarnish the rest of his life.

Following his memory, he strolled along the alley, paused, raised his head, and squinted slightly.

【Qingye Tofu】

This is a small shop, only about five tatami mats in size, with an old wooden signboard and two red lanterns hanging in front of the door. The dim light illuminates the slightly worn words on the signboard: Qingye Tofu.

Actually, the shop had already closed down before Guo Pang was born.

He had eaten the tofu made by Kiyono Raimei before, but unfortunately, the doll couldn't taste it—or rather, the doll didn't know what taste was.

To Ling Guobeng's surprise, the store seemed to have opened for business.

The lanterns were newly lit, and the signboard was polished.

"It's not open yet."

"I'm exhausted."

A soft female voice came from beside me.

Miss Fox twitched her ears, her beautiful, narrow eyes reflecting the doll's image.

Her profile was beautiful and captivating, yet it gave off a faint, aloof impression—a bright sadness. She wore a white shrine maiden's outfit, as white as a plum blossom, with white sleeves hanging to the ground, her legs bare, and a pair of wooden clogs on her feet.

Son of the Eightfold God.

The chief priest of Narukami Taisha Shrine.

The country is collapsing. He frowned as he thought to himself.

“Mr. Kokubun,” the Divine Child said. “I know you, the executor of the Fools.”

She knows her real name... very few people know this name.

"Do you own this shop?" Guo Beng asked.

"Yes, it's been open for a long time." Miss Fox smiled proudly, her eyes crinkling with arrogance. "My cooking skills are superb!"

“I’ve always been here,” she said softly. “This shop will always be open.”

What does the priest of Narukami Taisha want to do?

"I want to ask you about someone."

As she spoke, the goddess pushed open the wooden door of the tofu shop. She bent down slightly, dragged her wooden clogs, and stepped barefoot onto the tatami mat. "About Kiyono Fuuin."

Miss Fox stared intently into Guo Pang's eyes and said earnestly.

"I want to know about Kiyono Fuuka."

These days, the goddess often dreams of the past, of that snowy night.

A vast, boundless snow blanketed the world, leaving nothing but heavy clouds rolling across the pristine white sky. She walked alone across the desolate plains, searching desperately. Blood stained the snow, and the corpses of monsters lay strewn across the road...

She often wakes up in a fright from her dreams.

Her heart trembled slightly. Miss Fox curled up into a ball, hugging her fluffy tail, burying her head under it, trying her best to forget that night.

But the more you try to forget, the easier it is to remember—to remember the vast expanse of snow, the heavy clouds, the ripped corpses of monsters...

Monster corpse.

The monster's corpse, sliced ​​open by the wind element.

Yae no Miko suddenly realized what she had missed or overlooked, almost as if by a flash of inspiration.

She still remembered the appearance of the corpse she saw that day; it was clearly cut open by wind elements.

However, Kiyono Raimei cannot control the wind element.

Was he accompanied by servants?

Miss Fox quickly dismissed this conjecture.

When she found Kiyono, he was lying alone in the snow. If the goddess had arrived a quarter of an hour later, Kiyono would have frozen to death.

If he really had attendants with him, they would never have left him alone in the snow.

Moreover, based on Yae no Miko's understanding of Kiyono's temperament, this old guy was stubborn and proud, with a terrible temper. He wouldn't take anyone else with him when he went to his death.

He went alone, but the wind element wounds on the monster's body were inexplicable, which was the first point of doubt.

Immediately afterwards, his adopted son, Kiyono Fugen, appeared.

Yae no Miko and Kiyono Raimei had been together for five hundred years, and she had never heard of him having any adopted son.

He seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

Even the magistrate of the society was unable to find out his origins.

Then, Kiyono Raimei left without a sound.

How could an elderly man on his deathbed escape from such tight surveillance so quietly?

It was impossible to station over a thousand soldiers around the Pillar State Mansion.

Meanwhile, the boy named Kiyono Fuuin used the Pillar of State Decree to summon a fast ship and left Inazuma Castle that very night.

Kiyono Sara questioned all the soldiers on duty that night, and one of them said he saw Kiyono Fuin come out of the Pillar Kingdom's room.

This is the second point of doubt.

Despite having sealed off the entire Inazuma area, Kage followed Kiyono Raimei's scent and found a ship, but Kiyono Raimei wasn't on board at all.

Instead, a boy named Kiyono Fuue took his place.

This is the third point of doubt.

Miss Fox remembered what Kiyono Raimei had said to her that day:

——'

This time next year, I will still meet you again; this is my vow.

Kiyono Raimei kept his vow throughout his life.

As he spoke, he looked intently into his own eyes.

Very serious.

There may be hope.

That old guy is awful. He loves playing pranks on people, especially during Chinese New Year. He'll pretend to be on the verge of death, and when you're worried and anxious, he'll make a face and laugh, saying you've been tricked...

The New Year is almost here, and he'll definitely be making this silly joke again. He'll definitely be making a funny face in front of me again.

Kiyono Raimei may be hiding some secret, a secret that absolutely must never be discovered.

The more Yae no Miko investigated, the more she realized this.

—There may be some kind of connection between Kiyono Raimono and Kiyono Kazeino, a very deep connection, far exceeding the connection between an adopted son and the head of the family.

This idea might just be her own delusion, or perhaps just wishful thinking, so she didn't tell anyone, not even Ying.

While cleaning Qingye Fengyin's room, Ying found a letter from a stranger, signed "[Kunibō]".

Shadow didn't know who he was, but Yae no Miko did.

She had seen this doll before in the Pillar State Mansion, and she still remembered what it looked like.

Before his death, Kiyono Raimei wrote a letter to Kunibaku... Perhaps Kunibaku knew something.

Perhaps the truth will be revealed when the country collapses.

This is the only clue we have.

-

"It's a pity."

Guo Pang leaned back in his wooden chair, his hands clasped together, and said coldly, "I know nothing. I have no interest in your Inazuma affairs."

It was almost sarcastic.

Guo Pang despised all the Inatsume people; they were hypocritical and self-righteous, squandering their wealth when they had it and regretting it when they lost it. He hated these kinds of people.

"I see."

"It's a divine child," the god said softly.

She showed no sign of disappointment, simply giving a soft "hmm," as if she were already used to disappointment. She paused, then added, "Are you hungry? This meal is free."

"what?"

"Are you hungry?" Yae no Miko took out a piece of snow-white tofu. With her fox ears drooping, she said, "Since we've come to Kiyono Tofu Shop, we should at least have some tofu before we leave."

Fox udon is actually udon noodles with tofu added.

Guo Pang had eaten fox udon made by Qingye Leiming.

He didn't leave any special impression.

At that time, he didn't think there was anything special about it, nor did he like it. In his view, it was simply a way to replenish the body's nutrients. Taste was irrelevant to the doll.

"No need," Guo Beng said.

"Oh, I said it's free. You don't even want it for free?" Miss Fox was very surprised. "Besides, you should want to try it."

"why?"