Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

Narukami Taisha, which manages all the shrines in Inatsuma, is naturally also responsible for their maintenance.

The thunderstorm on Qinglai Island was sudden, and with the disappearance of the only priest of the shrine, the Qianlai Shrine was already in a state of semi-abandonment.

The island was destroyed by a thunderstorm, and most of the surviving residents were evacuated.

This deserted shrine naturally had no value in being maintained.

But things are different now.

There are cats in the shrine.

It speaks human language, has developed intelligence, maintains the existence of the shrine, and appoints itself as the acting priest.

If Yae no Miko knew about this, she wouldn't ignore it.

The next day, Jiang Bai and Hu Tao took out the books from the shrine to air them out.

These books have been stored for a long time but have not been well protected. Some of them have been eaten by insects, and you have to be very careful when handling or turning them over.

Qinzi was illiterate and unaware of the value of these books.

Like most things in the shrine, these books have never been touched since Hibiki left.

Jiang Bai tried to find some books about the island's seal inside.

The information that the dog knows is all from the palace attendant, A-Xiang. Its knowledge is very limited. If it wants more comprehensive information, it still has to find it itself.

We haven't found anything about the seal yet, but we did find a diary.

This was written by Ah Xiang, the one mentioned by the students.

Her name is Asahi Hibiki, and she grew up at the Asahi Shrine.

During her teenage years, she went to Narukami Island to learn archery, where she met someone.

As a teenager, she was dull and stubborn, saying one thing but meaning another, and unable to speak frankly.

She and the disciple of the Tengu developed feelings for each other, but never revealed them.

But as he grew older, the man he once loved had already married.

They maintained an ambiguous relationship; their budding romance was too unrealistic to ever blossom into marriage.

Later, a dark filth swept across the land.

Her beloved went to the front lines to fight against the dark pollution.

They all knew that this time there was no chance of survival.

Before leaving, he made a bet with her.

He used his beloved bow as a wager, betting that he would definitely return here alive.

He handed his bow to Asarai Hibiki.

The dark pollution gradually subsided, Fox Palace departed, and her beloved never returned.

However, if the story were to end here, perhaps it would be a period of closure.

One day, in the woods where the two had arranged to meet.

My beloved has returned, but she is no longer human.

He had been corrupted, twisted into a pitch-black monster. Yet, he remained a sliver of reason and obsession, coming here to fulfill a decision deep within his will.

With tears in her eyes, she drew her bow.

The shimmering arrow pierced his body.

She killed her lover with her own hands.

After that, she returned to Qinglai Island and became the priestess of Qianlai Shrine.

The sadness is buried deep in my heart, but the memories are like rolling waves that never stop.

On the island, there lived a boy.

She watched him grow up.

The boy was unrestrained and rebellious, much like his former crush.

She thought that if he came back, their child would be this age by now.

Later, the boy became a notorious pirate, which provoked the shogunate to launch a campaign against him.

The shogunate's fleet surrounded and hunted down the pirates, chasing them all the way to Qinglai Island.

She boarded the pirate ship, and the grown-up boy looked more and more like her former lover.

She didn't want the boy to die here.

She wanted him to win the bet.

So she made a crazy decision that went against her duties as a priestess.

The diary didn't specify what Qian Laixiang wanted to do, but Jiang Bai had already guessed it.

Nothing comes out of nowhere, just like the thunderstorms on this island.

The Thunderbird, which was once sealed away, is its source. Once the seal is broken, the thunder that once raged and ravaged the land will naturally reappear.

Jiang Bai didn't know how to evaluate Qian Laixiang's behavior.

He thought the witch had gone mad.

He had already gone mad when he killed his lover with his own hands.

To save the boy who resembled her lover, she broke the seal on the island, completely disregarding the consequences of the devastating thunderstorm.

The once peaceful and tranquil Qinglai Island has become a desolate wasteland because of her madness.

Purple lightning filled the earth, leaving desolation and barrenness in its wake.

Whether the boy survived is still unknown, but far too many shogunate soldiers and island residents perished in the thunderstorm.

Jiang Bai's gaze fell on the last sentence in the diary.

This is perhaps the only pure land in Qian Laixiang's heart.

[Neko, you absolutely must hide inside the shrine.]

However, the dormitory occupies the place after escaping the thunderstorm, only to be plunged into endless waiting.

She didn't consider what would happen to the dormitory after she left, nor did she consider whether the dormitory would be safe during the thunderstorm.

All she knew was that she had to save the boy.

Jiang Bai felt that the soft murmur was unworthy of the dormitory's centuries-long, unchanging wait.

Chapter 547 What would you do if the person you love died?

Jiang Bai did not intend to tell the roommate about Asarai Hibiki.

No need.

The kitten's world is simple. It doesn't know what is right or wrong. It only knows that Ah Xiang is good to it, and it will wait for Ah Xiang to come back.

What Ah Xiang actually did is not important to the kitten.

Jiang Bai handed the diary to Hu Tao with a complicated expression, "That's Ah Xiang's diary."

Hu Tao curiously took it; she was genuinely curious about Ah Xiang, whom the other girls in the dorm were talking about.

However, she didn't rush to open it, but carefully put the ancient book down.

This book is so old that the paper will tear if you apply even the slightest pressure.

"I found the information about the seal on the island. There are four large stones that Ah Xiang mentioned as seals, three of which are located on Qinglai Island, and one is located above Tianyun Pass."

"According to my analysis, restoring the seal will gradually weaken the thunderstorm. Once the thunderstorm weakens, we can enter Tianyun Pass. After the seal is fully restored, the thunderstorm should be completely dispelled."

Does it describe the recovery method?

"Yes, I've written it down."

"Then let's restore the seal on the way back. When we go to the castle tower on our way back, we'll have to ask General Raiden to thank us properly."

I don't know what kind of treasure Thor has. He's not greedy. He'll just give me a relic that can enhance elemental power, like the old man's wine vessel.

Hu Tao glanced sideways. "You really dare to dream of having General Thunder and Lightning express his gratitude."

That was a god, and he almost killed him with a single blow. This guy has some nerve.

Hu Tao had never come into contact with God, or rather, she thought she had never.

She felt that the aloof and incomparably powerful Thunder General wouldn't care about such things.

Just like the thunderstorms that have been happening on Qinglai Island for hundreds of years, but she has never paid any attention to them.

"What's there to be afraid of? We helped her reseal the thunderstorm, restored the island's ecosystem, saved Qinglai Island, and even found out the cause of the thunderstorm. Isn't that something to be thanked for?" Jiang Bai said, hands on his hips, speaking with righteous indignation.

He had never seen Lei's movies, but he still managed to get a general's personality in general.

Both Lei Yingdong and the General have to admit that he was a great help.

"If you get slashed again, I won't come to save you."

Hu Tao snorted and prepared to read Asarai Hibiki's diary.

After reading it, her expression was extremely complicated.

"Master, what are your thoughts?" Jiang Bai had been waiting for her to finish reading, and now he came over with a grin.

"I think my blood pressure is a little high."

As the head of the Hall of Rebirth, Hu Tao has shouldered the mission of the Hall of Rebirth since childhood, and her education has been about family, country, and the world, and protecting Liyue.

Asahi Hibiki's previous behavior was quite normal; he could be considered a hero.

But what he did later completely overturned the image he had built up from reading the earlier diaries. The hero fell into the mortal world, was corrupted by love, and lost all the unbridled spirit of his youth, leaving only gloom and sorrow, revealing a petty and narrow-minded nature.

It made her feel awkward and uncomfortable.

"I don't want to comment on her actions; I need to calm down."

"Just treat it like reading a novel."

There are all kinds of people in the world, and not everyone is great. Just treat it as a story; there's no need to force yourself to understand it.

As for empathy, that's even less necessary.

"Honestly, if I were Asarai Hibiki, I would have gone to the battlefield with my sweetheart. At least we could die together, right?"

Jiang Bai wasn't one to wait. Since he was capable, why didn't he go together?

Asahi Hibiki is also a disciple of a famous master and has excellent martial arts skills. If you are worried, why don't you go together?

Simply waiting will not yield good results.

"Yes, if you feel powerless, then go and change it. If it's love, then fight for it; if you feel weak, then become strong! If your loved one dies because of darkness and filth, then go and cleanse all the filth!"

"As expected of the Hall Master, this is true vision!" Jiang Bai clapped his hands, applauding Hu Tao's speech.

Hu Tao snorted, "Don't even try."

"Master, what would you do if the person you love died?"

Hu Tao glanced at the grinning fellow and said, "Give him the grandest funeral possible, and then bury him yourself."

Jiang Bai chuckled, looked up at the sky, and seemed somewhat worried.

He seems like he'll outlive Walnut...

Without discussing the topic further, Hu Tao took out her pen and ink, preparing to make another copy of the ancient book that recorded the seal on the island, so that she could send it to Narukami Shrine when she returned to Narukami Island, lest such a precious book be lost.

Jiang Bai continued to air out his books and repair the shrine.

The group stayed at the shrine for several days, and the dilapidated shrine finally began to resemble a shrine again.

Ichito formed a deep friendship with the cats and made a promise to come back and play with them next time.

After saying goodbye to the cat, the three seals were restored according to the directions recorded in the ancient book. Most of the thunderstorms on the island stopped, except for Tianyun Pass, which was still shrouded in thunderstorms.

However, the lightning element inside has faded considerably, and the thunderstorms are much smaller than before.

"Tianyun Pass! Let's go!"