Yes, Lady Funina!

“If you want to go, give me your hand, and I will share my elemental perception with you.” Richard extended his hand, and Navia hesitated for a moment before placing her hand in Richard’s palm.

Because of the gloves, there wasn't much of a feel to it. When Funina saw this, she figured that since there were so many people there, it shouldn't be a big problem. So, unable to suppress her curiosity, she took the other person's other hand.

When Claudia saw this, she was speechless for a moment. She wanted to see it too, but Richard only had two hands...

Then she saw Lynette calmly walk to Richard's side, place her hand on Richard's shoulder, and close her eyes.

Following suit, Clarin placed her hand on Richard's other shoulder, requesting to share elemental perception.

Clarinde's request for a visit was quickly approved, and everyone finally saw the scene in Lujingquan.

What comes into view is a water elemental life form that is entirely blue, and this life form also has its own name - Pure Water Sprite.

However, the water in this water sprite is not pure. Generally speaking, the more abundant the water element in a water sprite, the purer its water, and the stronger its corresponding power.

The water sprite before them was not only not pure in water, but its form was also somewhat disorganized, as if it were a product of various mixed forces rather than a natural elemental life form.

Vasher stood in front of the pure water spirit, not even reaching its waist. He looked up at the elemental spirit before him, absolutely certain that Vinier's voice was coming from its body.

“Veneer…is that you? It’s me, Vasher, Venere…” Vasher said in a trembling voice. For him, his lover’s physical form was no longer important. He only cared whether she was Venere, whether she was the lover for whom he was willing to give everything.

“Vashe? What brings you here? I told you… I didn’t need you to come…” This was Vinier speaking.

"You...look like you've aged a lot. How long has it been?"

Before Vasher could even ponder why Vinier would say such a thing, he hurriedly replied, "It's been...it's been over a decade. I've been suffering for over a decade since the day you left."

"For the past ten years or so, I've lived solely to restore you; everything else has no meaning to me..."

"Ah, am I dreaming? I can't believe I have this opportunity to tell you everything that's on my mind..."

“Venere…you are my everything. Without you, I don’t know how I could live…”

Vasher's words, his emotions, were known to the pure water through the flowing water.

Even Navia had to admit that the depth of the other party's feelings for Vinier was touching—but that was not a reason for his evil deeds, much less an excuse for harming countless lives and destroying countless families in Fontaine!

Navia was about to speak, wanting to tell Vinier about the many crimes he had committed over the years, but Richard squeezed her hand.

Navia looked at Richard, only to find him shaking his head at her, indicating that he should watch patiently.

With Richard's reminder, Navia finally calmed down and refrained from acting impulsively, choosing to trust the man beside her.

Having led the Rose Society for many years, Navia is no longer the impulsive, emotionally driven young lady she once was.

Just as Navia looked again at the old and frail figure of Vashe in the distance, and the huge pure water spirit in front of him, a sudden change occurred.

Then the pure water sprite spoke again: "And I think... Vashe, it would be better if you weren't there."

Everyone present except Richard was stunned, especially Vashj, who stared wide-eyed at the elf before him, his voice trembling with disbelief: "What...did you say?"

Then the form of the pure water sprite began to change, its head transforming into the faces of many young girls, and its voice also changed along with the changes in the faces.

"Without you, I could have finished my law degree and perhaps become a top-notch 'agent'..."

"Even without you, I could continue my dream of painting, and one day my paintings would fill the Mo Mang Hall..."

"Without you... at least I can still be with my mother, so she won't grow old alone and die in tears..."

The numerous voices intertwined, and the content became indistinguishable. Finally, the voices suddenly rose, becoming sharp and hateful, containing the strongest and purest hatred in the world.

"It's all because of your selfishness, Vashe, it's all because of you."

This bizarre scene struck Vasher like a thunderbolt. Looking at the approaching water sprite, he involuntarily took a few steps back and said, "You...wait, you're not Vinier...who are you?!"

Let alone Vasher, seeing this bizarre scene and hearing that resentful voice, even Furina couldn't help but hide behind Richard, peeking out from behind him and placing her hands on Richard's back to ask, "What... what is that?"

"【Sacrifice】, also a victim of the serial disappearances of girls, is the collective consciousness of every girl who died at the hands of Vasher."

"Although their physical bodies have dissipated, their consciousness flows in the water of the womb, eventually merging into one like converging streams of water, no longer scattered."

"What Vasher is now facing is the real trial he deserves for the crimes he committed over the past decade or so."

As the words fell, the 'judgment' in the distance had already begun.

"Why...what about Vinier?"

"She won't want to see you anymore; every vestige of her consciousness avoids you. This is the consequence of your selfishness—selfishly taking our young lives, while claiming you'd do anything for her..."

"But you never considered whether she would want to see these things, or whether she would be disappointed in you. You are a liar, a murderous demon, a self-absorbed coward. But you are not Vinnie's lover."

“From the moment the first girl you killed died and her consciousness merged with Vinier’s, she has hated you to the core.”

“I…I…no…Veneel, she hates me…don’t…let me see her, please…” Vashe could no longer organize his words. With the words of this pure water spirit born from sin, Vashe’s heart had collapsed.

He realized that what the other person said was true, and not out of revenge, but that was what he found most unacceptable.

Lies don't hurt people, the truth is the sharpest knife.

“Remember? I told you from the beginning not to come looking for me. That was what Viner truly meant; she really didn’t want to see you…”

"But at the same time, it also means that she has the last bit of pity for you."

"Because she knows... if you come here, 'we'... will not let you go."

Here, the trial was drawing to a close, and with the Pure Water Spirit closing in, Vashe had nowhere to escape.

Embraced by the giant pure water spirit, I was completely dissolved into its body. However, this dissolution was not fusion... but true dissolution, leaving no residue.

Without exception, all the collective consciousnesses within the Pure Water Spirits rejected the integration of 'Vashe'. What they wanted to see was Vashe completely disappear from the world, so even an alternative remnant was something they were unwilling to accept.

Only then was Vashj truly annihilated, but the wounds he left in Fontaine would not heal quickly with his disappearance.

After dissolving Vasher, the pure water sprite turned its gaze to Richard and then to Furnessa behind him.

Funina was so stared at by the pure water sprite that not only did her ahoge stand on end, but even her goosebumps stood up. Richard, who was standing between her and the pure water sprite, spoke up at this moment: "The grudges are settled, please disperse."

"No...you...water god..."

Before the Pure Water Spirit could finish speaking, this Pure Water Spirit, which was a mixture of many consciousnesses, began to dissipate. It broke down from a giant Pure Water Spirit into many smaller Pure Water Spirits, which then turned into people. Among them was a familiar face, the leader of the treasure-hunting group who had been dissolved by the Primordial Seawater.

At this moment, these people's faces were filled with calm, as if all the emotions in front of them had settled beneath the spring water along with Richard's words, leaving only the most essential part of their souls.

"May you all rest in peace." After saying this, Richard led the women behind him to disconnect from Lu Jingquan's consciousness.

"What was that just now..." Funina was still somewhat shaken; she could clearly feel the malice directed at her by those consciousnesses.

She didn't understand where this malice came from, or why it was being targeted at her.

“It’s just a senseless outburst of anger, Lady Funina, please don’t take it to heart. Those are just a collection of fragmented consciousnesses. The various consciousnesses that make up a consciousness are inherently full of prejudice and resentment, so it’s not surprising that they are aggressive towards external consciousnesses,” Richard said.

"What did you just do?"

"Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. Having fulfilled their long-cherished wishes, this is their best resting place." Richard did not want to say more, but instead showed a look of regret, "It's a pity that I didn't hear the voice I wanted to hear today."

You won't hear this anymore!

"Is that so? That's wonderful, Lady Funina."

Volume 1: Chapter 86 The Emperor is assassinated, Richard intends to go to Liyue

Vasher's death did not cause much of a stir. After a doctor's diagnosis, it was determined that Vasher died from excessive shock.

As the guarantor for Vashes Travel, Richard was naturally subjected to an internal inquiry from the Momo Palace due to Vashes's unexpected death. Since it was an internal matter, the department responsible for the inquiry was the administrative department.

To avoid any appearance of impropriety, Richard specifically asked Lynette to write the document, while Frynn presided over the questioning.

After thorough and detailed questioning, it was finally determined that Vasher's death had nothing to do with Richard, the Permanent Secretary of the Executive Department, and was purely accidental.

"You predicted from the beginning that Vasher would die?"

After the questioning, Funina signed her name on the file and then handed the documents to Clarinde, instructing her to throw them in the trash... inside the archives.

"Does this fall under the scope of questioning?" Richard asked.

"No, it's just my personal curiosity."

"Do you have recording equipment?"

"Who would keep this in their office?!"

Richard subtly shifted his gaze.

"Oh, there really is!" Funina began to recall whether she had said anything she shouldn't have when she went to Richard's office.

"At this point, it doesn't matter whether Vasher lives or dies. Even if I told him not to go see Vinier because it would be dangerous for his life, do you think he would listen to me? Besides, there's no need for me to warn someone like that."

“That makes sense…” Funina thought Richard’s words made a lot of sense.

"On the contrary..."

“I’ve already accompanied you to Lujing Spring. The voice you’ve been talking about has probably sunk to the bottom of the pool by now…” Richard hadn’t finished speaking when Funina warily interrupted his spellcasting.

Richard chuckled and said, "Lady Furina, that's not what I meant..."

“?” Fu Ningna slowly typed out a question mark.

"What I was trying to say was, Lady Funina, why do you look so listless today? Did you not sleep well last night?"

Richard noticed early on that Funina wasn't in very good spirits today; in the short time they were chatting, Richard had already seen Funina yawn several times.

Upon hearing Richard mention this, a somewhat unnatural expression appeared on Funina's face, and her eyes darted around uncertainly.

It's all because of that pure water spirit I saw in Lu Jingquan's sea of ​​consciousness yesterday. After dissolving Vashes, the spirit turned its gaze to Funina.

That gaze, containing the purest malice in the world, left a very deep impression on Funina, so much so that she had several nightmares that night.

Can't sleep, can't sleep at all.

It wasn't until almost dawn that Funina managed to get a short nap, but it was clearly not enough, which explained her listless state that day.

"N-nothing, I just stayed up late last night reading a new script..."

"You must have had a nightmare."

"!!!" Funina's ahoge stood up, and her almond-shaped eyes widened as she stared at Richard.

And you say you can't read minds!

“A normal person would have bad associations if they encountered that situation, and it’s normal to have nightmares at night.” Richard said, pouring a cup of black tea and then pushing the cup in front of Funina.

"Let's have a cup of black tea to calm our nerves first."

"Oh, thank you..." Funina thanked her subconsciously, then quickly added, "Wait, no, I'm the Water Goddess, how could I have nightmares? I already told you I stayed up all night reading the script..."

"Does Lady Furina still remember the contents of the script?"

"This...this script is confidential, how can I tell you?"

"Oh, so this is a secret too. Lady Funina is truly unfathomable. It seems I still have a long way to go before I can completely gain your trust." Richard said, pouring himself a cup of black tea.

Seeing that Richard didn't pursue the matter further, Funina breathed a slight sigh of relief, secretly marveling at how her ability to adapt to changing circumstances was becoming increasingly strong.

Watching Richard calmly sip his tea, Funina suddenly remembered what Richard had told her not long ago: that he had found a way to completely gain her trust.

In the end, nothing happened at all!

Thinking of this, Funina breathed a slight sigh of relief, but for some reason felt a little lost. She couldn't help but say, "It's normal for a god not to be understood by mortals. You don't need to care or delve into it."

"Oh? Is Lady Funina going back on her word?"

"Who, who went back on their word! I was telling you not to waste your time and effort! You don't appreciate kindness!" Funina's angry expression was incredibly cute. Her eyebrows furrowed, her cheeks flushed pink, and her heterochromatic eyes held a reproachful glint as she stared intently at Richard's face.

She both hoped Richard would give up and didn't want him to give up; even Funina herself didn't know whether she hoped for the former more or the latter more.

I'm really torn.

Fu Ningna's thoughts are so easy to understand~

Upon hearing Funina's words, Richard couldn't help but smile and said, "Don't worry, Lady Funina, things will be clear in a few days."

Richard has already written a letter and sent it to Liyue. Although he hasn't replied yet, it should be soon.

In a few days, it will be the annual Summoning Ceremony in Liyue. The Geo Archon will make an appearance at the ceremony, and he should see my letter then, which will save him the trouble of going to Liyue to ask for the contract in person.

After all, a contract concerning the gods cannot be made binding like an ordinary oath, where simply saying "the god of the contract is above" is sufficient to make it binding.

And most importantly, if it weren't made to look fancy, Funina wouldn't believe it, right?

Come to think of it, it's been a long time since he last went to Liyue. He remembers the last time he went to Liyue was more than 20 years ago.

Along the way, Richard encountered many interesting things, but what impressed him most was not the prosperity of Liyue Harbor, but the two little girls.

A man walked barefoot from Yaoguang Beach to the South Wharf, carrying a basket of goods on his small shoulders, hawking his wares along the way. His perseverance and determination left a deep impression on Richard.

So they traveled together, which makes the word "alone" somewhat inappropriate. However, the girl was not good at accepting other people's kindness and liked to measure feelings in Mora. Fortunately, this situation had improved before they parted. I just don't know how she is doing after he left.

To be honest, I haven't told the other person my name yet, and the other person hasn't either. This is in line with the old saying in Liyue: "A gentleman's friendship is as light as water."