He changed Tiwat

Although Ying's heart had wavered, the will of a god could not be so easily suppressed.

The divine child seemed oblivious to the confrontation, showing no intention of offering any assistance—the one currently bearing the greatest pressure was actually her, and the power to break the time-stopping "Dream of the Untimely" was maintained by her Kagura dance.

“I didn’t know what you were thinking before… but thanks to him, I know now.”

She turned around and looked at the amulet in Han Fulai's hand.

Han Fulai saw the faint smile on Shenzi's lips.

Immediately, the priestess rang the Kagura bell once more.

“Shadow… During the five hundred years you were in seclusion, you missed so much, so many things… so…”

"You don't know that in the past five hundred years, humanity has been moving forward continuously, leaving you, who has stopped, far behind."

"The people before you come from a land where humanity races forward, leaving the gods behind. When people go all out, they can exceed the gods' expectations and even take over their work!"

“To replace the work of the gods…” Ying frowned slightly.

She had actually heard of the deeds of the vanished wind god and the rock god who feigned death… But she simply couldn’t believe that humans could take over the work of gods.

But Han Fulai's earlier statement, "Even without the protection of gods, humanity can save itself," echoed in her ears once again.

The divine child raised his hand, pointing to the starlight filling the sky: "Shadow, why can't you trust your people, trust the power of their desires? Those desires transcend distance, space, and time; they are things that no one can extinguish."

As if to prove the divine child's statement, Han Fulai stepped forward and stretched out his hands—one hand on Ying's shoulder and the other on Xingqiu's shoulder.

That was all. Yet Ying and Xingqiu suddenly felt the pressure on their swords lessen, and the dark power wrapped around the naginata began to retreat little by little.

Ying unconsciously took a half step back.

This was the first time she had retreated since the start of the war.

“Someone once told me this,” Han Fulai began, “'Life is vanity, death is vanity. All things are vanity… therefore, all is permitted.'”

"He said that all people are merely composite beings, their physical bodies nothing more than cages and bonds, and only the soul within those cages is 'real.' In order to liberate people's souls, he decided to kill everyone in the world equally and grant them 'eternity' of souls. General, do you think this is the right thing to do?"

He didn't say who said those words, but Lei knew who he was referring to and understood the implication in his words.

—If she believes that the “reincarnation” under the “false heaven” is all an illusion, then why does she “save people”?

—If she doesn't believe that the lives in those "reincarnations" are illusory, then why should she sacrifice the current Inazuma people?

If the beautiful memories of five hundred years are the "eternity" she wants to protect, then why does she regard the "present" five hundred years later as a "dream bubble"?

She suddenly realized that there was a huge contradiction in her "eternity" from the very beginning.

"This moment" is a fragile illusion, only "eternity" is closest to the truth of nature... Is that really the case?

Why would the older sister say that she should pursue the fleeting light?

The Kagura bell in the princess's hand shook again.

The "shooting stars" in the sky followed the movement of her wrist, converging into a galaxy that flowed into Kagura Bell.

A nostalgic, silvery voice suddenly appeared in "Pure Land of One Heart".

"In this life, I have also taken on the form of a human, walking alongside these short-lived but beautiful little creatures, becoming a close friend to many in different capacities."

"Whether it's the shrine maiden who came to Narukami to study for her hometown shrine, the child who got separated from the adults during the summer festival because of the Kamiya team, or the easygoing boy who eventually went to Liyue to study the arts of the immortals; whether it's the Kanjo who devoted himself to the prosperity of the town, the craftsman who was obsessed with forging incredibly sharp swords, or the clan that used their ingenuity to make artificial meteors bloom in the deep sky..."

"...Everyone of them are dear friends I never expected to have the privilege of making."

"Now, even in the darkest places, I will hold onto these images tightly, letting them shine like the moon piercing through the clouds, illuminating my small and fragile heart."

"All of this, everything, is what I miss now."

"So, you tore at my dark will, now that I have lost all power, you may freely use my White Star blood. But, despite my humble position, I still hope you will heed my plea..."

"If you can see what I cherish, then please forgive those lives. If you will grant me one wish, please return my eternally bright memories to this land I love. I hope that, after your ravages, something beautiful will still remain..."

Five hundred years later, the last words of Fox Palace finally reached Lei Movie's heart.

A silver light floated out from Kagura Bell and flowed into Kage's body.

The crimson moon behind her slowly turned silvery, and the "Wheel of a Hundred Wishes" floating behind her head was also bathed in this silvery light.

The silver moonlight soothed the scars of the crimson moon, and the "Evil Eyes" slowly closed their eyelids and disappeared without a trace.

The crimson moon disappeared, and the silvery moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the land of "pure land of the heart".

The thousands of torii gates and the tomoe-patterned floor, under the caress of the moonlight, transformed into lotuses and udumbara flowers that never fade, exuding unparalleled gentleness.

Lei stared blankly at the scene before him.

"'The new world I want is not something given to me by anyone, but something created by the combined hands of everyone.' — That was my answer to that person."

Han Fulai's voice came again.

Shadow saw him reach out again and grasp the blade of the naginata, as if picking up a flower with his fingers.

"General, let's end this war together."

Chapter 205 Yuyin broadcasts, the final battle edict [4k]

According to local folklore, in the sacred land of the gods, there is a magical flower called the Ephemeral Flower, which takes a thousand years to sprout, a thousand years to form a bud, and a thousand years to bloom, only to wither away in the blink of an eye, its beauty fleeting.

Meanwhile, in the "Pure Land of One Heart," the Udumbara flower, which is said to bloom only once every three thousand years, is blossoming under the ethereal moonlight.

A gentle breeze, seemingly from nowhere, swept by, swirling up the petals of the epiphyllum. The pure white petals drifted like snowflakes, brushing against Lei Yingdian's fingers and hair.

She suddenly remembered a waka poem: "On the snow, in the moonlit night, I pluck a plum blossom."

This is a waka poem that Fox Prince used to really like.

"Snow, moon, and flowers" have always been representative of the beautiful scenery of Inazuma, and there is a line in a waka poem that says, "When snow, moon, and flowers are in bloom, I miss my friends the most."

When people see the beauty of snow, the beauty of the moon, the beauty of flowers, and the beauty of the four seasons, when they feel happy because of those beautiful things, they often think of their close friends and want to share this joy with them.

The "bright memories" that Fox Palace wanted to leave her five hundred years ago were actually these "snow, moon, and flowers".

Perhaps only a place as beautiful as this deserves to be called a "pure land"?

Unbeknownst to him, the naginata in Lei's hand disappeared.

Ying and Xingqiu also silently put away their longswords.

No one could bear to disturb such a beautiful scene.

The will to fight has melted away amidst the flowers and the moon.

And what about war?

If the scene within "Pure Land of One Heart" represents Lei's state of mind, then is she, whose state of mind has already changed, willing to end this war?

Everyone was waiting for Lei's movie response.

Lei looked up at the bright moon in the sky.

Han Fulai had once told her, "To stop war is true martial arts."

The people of Inazuma have a martial spirit and have been known for "Bushido" since ancient times. Their best resources are used to forge swords and armor, so there is no philosophy of "stopping war is true martial arts" or any similar idioms or allusions.

Lei Yingdong, as a "shadow warrior," has always been the person furthest from "stopping war."

But upon seeing the scene before her, Lei suddenly understood what "stopping war is true martial arts" meant, and also understood why the "Dream of One Heart" sword her sister left her had never been sharpened.

—Because the human heart is more powerful than a blade.

He grasped her knife twice, was he trying to tell her this?

As he said, he came to stop the war; he genuinely wanted to end it.

However, ending a war is always more difficult than starting one.

After a long silence, Lei Yingdian spoke to Han Fulai: "I am willing to end this war. But... you should know that both of us have reasons not to lose."

"Yes, neither of us can afford to lose." Han Fulai nodded slightly.

He knew, of course, that "stopping the fighting" was not such a simple matter—he and Lei Film had both "made a vow."

His "great wish" was to "defeat General Thunder"; while Lei's "great wish" was "eternity that remains unchanged for thousands of generations".

He cannot afford to lose, for losing means death. From the moment he made his vow before the "Thousand-Handed, Hundred-Eyed Statue," there was only one path he could take: "victory."

Lei's film also cannot lose. If it does, it will fall from the rank of "Eternal God" and will no longer be able to revive its relatives and friends or protect its beloved Inazuma.

They are all people burdened with "wishes," and they are all people who cannot afford to lose.

"So...why can't it be a 'win-win' situation? Your Excellency, our cooperation is a 'win-win' situation."

Han Fulai stepped forward and extended his right hand to Lei Yingdian.

Lei saw the smile on his face.

It was the same smile he had when he called himself a "wallbreaker".

This time, however, Lei Movie felt that the smile wasn't so infuriating.

only……

"What is 'win-win'...?" Lei Yingdian looked at Han Fulai's outstretched hand with a puzzled expression, repeating the somewhat unfamiliar term.

In the world of martial arts, there is never any such thing as a "win-win" situation. The battlefield is always a matter of life and death—especially when facing threats from outside the world or the apocalypse of world destruction.

Ultimately, if Han Fulai cannot defeat her, he will be killed on the spot by the backlash of the "willpower." For Lei Movie, losing here means losing the last means to protect Inazuma, which is equivalent to letting her watch Inazuma perish.

This is a very real "life or death" problem, and there is no room for "win-win" situations.

She really couldn't think of any possibility of a "win-win" situation.

Besides Han Fulai, there is another person who can answer this question.

The Divine Child walked between Han Fulai and Lei Yingdian, and subtly used the Kagura Bell to push Han Fulai's hand away—the General's body, do you think you can just touch it like that?

Inazuma doesn't practice "handshake etiquette" at all. Forget physical contact; even eye contact between a noblewoman and a man is considered ambiguous. When Ayaka and Hikari first met, they spoke through a screen – that was the proper etiquette. When court officials met the shogun, they had to bow and kneel, never looking directly at the shogun's imposing figure.

The only person who has ever touched the General's body is the one who once warmed His Highness's hands and feet... no, it was the Thunder God's servant, the one who served His Highness closely.

“Shadow, you once said that only ‘eternity’ is closest to the law of nature… but the law of nature is something I don’t understand.”

"In short, you just want to protect your beloved Inazuma forever, right?"

Ying frowned slightly: "Divine Child, your words are a bit too frivolous."

"Then why don't you think about why I, as a member of the 'Eternal' family, am here, and why I stand against you?" The shrine maiden sighed softly and said, "In my view, neither the Inazuma of the past nor the Inazuma of the present has the value of eternal existence. Without desire, without change, a kingdom that merely exists... is nothing but an empty shell. In that case, what does it matter if it is destroyed?"

"Divine Child, retract your delusions!" Shadow glared at the Divine Child, her voice tinged with anger. "Eternity, unchanging for a thousand generations, is the promise I made to my subjects. I will never allow Inazuma to be destroyed."

“But what your subjects need is not your promises, they want your ‘gaze’.” The divine child met the shadow’s gaze without backing down.

"Of the officials who submitted their petitions to the castle tower today, how many do you recognize? How many of the guards protecting the castle tower do you know? How many of the samurai in the shogunate army and the residents of Inazuma Castle have you seen before?"

"Do you know how this country operates when you are self-enclosed in your 'pure land'? Do you know what the people of Inazuma eat, what they wear, what books they read, and what songs they sing? No... you don't know any of this. You still don't truly understand people's hearts and don't understand why people no longer pursue 'eternity'."

“You’ve entrusted everything to the puppet general—but in the puppet’s eyes, these are just numbers that have nothing to do with ‘eternity’.”

The voice of the divine child grew louder.

"Human life is but a hundred years, which is but a fleeting dream to you. Human love and hate are but pointless attachments to you. Most people's lives, if recorded in a book, would amount to no more than a few lines, and in your eyes, they are probably just boring stories..."

"But they are not flowers, not the moon, not snow, not some scenery adorning 'eternity.' They are real people with beating hearts and vibrant souls!"

"You think you're the only one who can guide them toward 'eternity,' but you won't even ask them what kind of 'eternity' they see? What kind of 'eternity' do they want?"

Every question uttered by the divine child was like a thunderclap in the heart of the shadow.

Yes, five hundred years ago, when she held that "Naginata no Inari" and made that "out-of-time dream," she did not ask anyone's opinion.

The people of Inazuma today do not agree with her "eternity," but what about the people of Inazuma five hundred years ago? Would they have agreed with her "eternity"?

Will my sister and Fox Palace agree with me?

She recalled the advice Han Fulai had given her when she first entered the Pure Land: "If you try to win the hearts of ten thousand people with the heart of one person, what you gain will not be the beautiful 'eternity' you imagine."

She suddenly realized that she seemed to have never thought about these questions before... Why? Why had she ignored them?

Ying looked once again at the empty moon in the Pure Land.

As memories of the Fox Abode Palace flowed into her mind, it seemed as if something else vanished along with them…

The priestess lightly flicked her sleeve and quietly put away the Kagura bell in her hand.

The bells on Kagura Bell, which should have been shaped like cherry blossom petals, have all been stained with a jet-black color.

Han Fulai then interjected, "For the past 3,700 years, the Rock King has guided the people of Liyue toward the future every year during the 'Summoning Ceremony'—the guidance he gives during the 'Summoning Ceremony' is all the inspiration he has gained from walking alongside the people for these 3,700 years, and the reality he has seen in the everyday life of the human world."

"Just like my brother Xingqiu, who personally travels the martial arts world to uphold justice in order to write martial arts novels; Miss Ying, as an adventurer, also needs to conduct on-site investigations for her commissions; including Yaeguji... She was able to lead me to you after a long period of preparation, gathering all the necessary conditions step by step."