Honkai, why do you only play high-end games?

"Because I accidentally knocked over the medicine that my sister had worked so hard to make for me this morning, I thought about not letting my sister worry about me anymore. I wanted to make the medicine myself, but my health is really too poor..."

Lin's voice became lower and lower, and then he was silent for a while, sniffed, and raised his head to show Lin Wei an innocent smile.

"But I have thought of another way. Just crush these herbs in a bowl and make them into powder. Then I just need to soak them in water and a bowl of medicine will be ready! This way, I won't have to let my sister work hard to light a fire and boil medicine for me in the future..."

Lin became more and more excited as he spoke, and in order to demonstrate to Lin Wei, he took out a small piece of herbs from the pile on the bed, put it in the bowl, and picked up a small spoon to pound it hard. He was sweating profusely, but he only managed to get a tiny bit of powder off.

Plop! As the food was pounding, a tear dropped into the bowl.

Lin stretched out his sleeve to wipe it, and stubbornly continued to stir the medicine with the small spoon he usually used to take medicine...

"Am I useless?"

Lin's physical strength was very low and her energy was quickly exhausted. She wanted to continue laughing, but she couldn't stop her tears.

"How could that be? Lin is so well-behaved, sensible, and strong. We can't wait to like her..."

Lin Wei reached out to wipe the tears from her face, helped her back to the most comfortable sitting position, then took the small bowl from her hand and put all the herbs on the bed back into the medicine basket.

"Ying asked me to help take care of you, so, can I help you make a bowl of medicine?"

"This... is so rude. How can this be allowed?"

Lin struggled to get up, but Lin Wei easily pushed him back.

"Just think of it as listening to your sister. Let me do it, okay?"

"Well... okay, I'll trouble you then."

Lin thought about it, then nodded hesitantly with a grateful smile.

Lin Wei smiled and rubbed her head, which made Lin unhappy. Then he picked up the medicine basket and walked out of the house.

The pot and stove for cooking medicine were outside the house. I saw them when I just entered the door.

The pottery pot was cleaned very well, but a strong smell of medicine lingered. Lin Wei lit the fire, placed it firmly on top, put in the prepared herbs, added water, and covered the pot.

Then pick up a small fan and carefully control the fire so that it does not go out or burn too fiercely.

"Rin, would you like to tell me about your sister?"

Through the window, Lin Wei and Lin began to chat.

Rin happily told him the story of herself and her sister, telling him how she had been weak since she was young and could not go out, so her sister would pick a branch of cherry blossoms every year and bring it back to her to see. They also agreed that after they recovered from their illness, they would go to the place with the most luxuriant cherry blossoms in Shinano, travel together, and become shrine maidens together...

I also talked about how my sister would go to the forest every day to collect herbs for her in order to treat her illness, often getting herself covered in wounds, but she would come back pretending nothing had happened to cheer me up, play with me, cook herbs for me, and feed me mouthful after mouthful of them...

"I also know that my sister secretly raised some bees, because the glass of water she drank after taking the medicine always tasted sweeter than the water she usually drank... Moreover, I saw several times that my sister often had traces of bee stings. Although she always carefully hid them in front of me, I could always see that her arms, neck, and even forehead were sometimes swollen..."

"I know it hurts. But my sister never gets sad in front of me so that I don't worry. But I can't do anything. I have to pretend that I didn't notice it, so that I can be happy every day and stop my sister from worrying about me..."

As he spoke, Rin's voice became deeper.

"I am so useless. This disease can never be cured. I can only become a burden to my sister. I watch her suffer for me every day..."

"How could that be? Rin is so well-behaved and sensible, how could she be a burden to her sister?"

Lin Wei opened the door, walked back to Lin's bedside with a bowl of steaming hot medicine, picked up a small spoon and fed her one spoonful at a time. Lin drank obediently, one sip at a time.

The medicine was bitter, but Lin's expression did not seem sad at all, as if she was drinking some sweet nectar.

This kid...

Lin Wei felt sad when she looked at the well-behaved and sensible Lin.

After drinking the medicine, Lin Wei helped her rinse her mouth, helped her sit back in her original seat, and then chatted with her and made her happy. Lin also listened carefully and laughed happily.

Who wouldn’t like a girl like this?

As they chatted and laughed, Lin suddenly looked melancholy, turned his head and looked at the windowsill, as if he wanted to see the outside world through the closed window.

"Unfortunately, I can't seem to see the cherry blossoms..."

Lin Wei's heart moved, but before he could open his mouth, the door behind him was pushed open, and a decadent middle-aged man walked in. He was thin and looked old.

"Father...is it time?"

Lin looked calm, first smiling apologetically at Lin Wei, then asking about the man who came in. She was so mature that she didn't look like a little girl at all.

The man walked over slowly, as if he didn't see Lin Wei at all. He walked to the bedside in silence.

"Want to escape from here?"

Lin Wei felt hot in his heart and asked Lin.

"Sorry, I can't listen to your story!"

Lin smiled and shook his head, then made a naughty face at Lin Wei.

"Please, don't tell my sister what happened today!"

"cold……"

The man's voice was hoarse.

"Father, what's wrong?"

Lin stopped looking at Lin Wei and turned to look at his father in confusion.

The man opened his mouth, took two steps back, and spoke dejectedly, his voice extremely old and hoarse.

"Ying will be back soon, you should leave with her! The farther you run, the better, and never come back... Remember to listen to your sister in the future, eat well, take medicine well, and grow up well..."

Then he raised his head and looked at Lin affectionately, stroking her hair affectionately.

"Live well, my daughter..."

The voice was extremely sad, sending out the last and most sincere blessing.

Only then did Lin Wei notice that the man also had a teardrop mole at the corner of his eye.

Rin looks even more like her father than Sakura.

"Thank you, Father..."

Lin smiled and nodded, tears couldn't help but flow down, then she shook her head, wiped away her tears, and seriously rejected her father's kindness.

"But if I leave, what will happen to the sacrifice?"

"Don't worry about it. I have my own way."

Father is getting ready to leave.

Lin didn't know where he got the strength from, but he grabbed his father's sleeve and stopped him from leaving.

"My father is the village god, and my sister is the village priestess. If my sister and I leave like this, the uncles and aunts in the village will not let you go!"

"This is an adult matter, Rin, you are still young, you don't understand..."

The father tried to break free, but Rin held on too tightly. Fearing that he might hurt his daughter, the father had to resort to gentle words of persuasion.

"Father, this is my responsibility. I will not run away."

Lin's eyes were stubborn, firm but pleading.

"In previous years, when the village held sacrifices, other families had to offer their daughters as sacrifices. People are all made of flesh and blood, so which family wouldn't be sad? But they didn't run away in the end. Why can I run away now that it's my turn to fulfill my obligations to the village? This will make the people in the village lose their morale!"

"These days, everyone's life is hard. It doesn't rain, and crops can't grow in the fields. People are starving to death. If we can't unite, more people will die! Father, you are the chief of the shrine and the head of the village. You should lead everyone through this famine! How can I just leave?"

Lin loosened his grip, and as if he had run out of strength, his voice became lower.

"Father, I am so useless! I shouldn't have embarrassed you at this time... You see, I have never recovered from this disease since I was a child, and it may be difficult to recover in the future... I understand that I have been a burden to father and sister for so many years. At least at this time, I can do something for father and sister. This is an extremely happy thing for me..."

"Ugh……"

The father sighed to the sky. His daughter was right. He was not only a father, but also the chief of Yae Village. So many villagers still depended on him...

I slapped myself hard.

This damn world!

The father was filled with great grief and anger, but he still tried his best to give his daughter a guilty smile and nodded stiffly.

Lin smiled with relief, and nodded happily as if he had been praised.

"Ok!"

Lin threw back the quilt and carefully got out of bed. She first declined her father's hand and slowly put her feet on the ground, then carefully stood up and slowly let her weak body adapt to the new balance.

"Father, look, I can get out of bed by myself!"

Lin seemed very excited, raising his little face as if he was showing off his toy to his father.

The father also nodded sadly and gently stroked his daughter's cheek.

"Yes, my daughter is the best... Sakura too, Rin too... You are all my pride..."

"Thank you, father."

Lin took a deep breath, staggered slowly, and walked towards the door step by step. He almost fell several times, but he stood firm stubbornly, not asking his father to help him, nor did he ask Lin Wei to help him.

I walked to the door and pushed it open with great effort. After trying for a long time, I just couldn't step over the obviously low threshold.

Lin tried several times but failed, so he had no choice but to give up, sighed, turned around and said to his father apologetically,

"Father, my sister will be back soon, but I'm afraid I can't walk the rest of the way. So, please help me..."

Her father squatted down, carried her steadily on his back, then staggered out of the room step by step, in silence.

Lin Wei just watched without saying a word, and followed silently behind him, walking towards the predetermined destination.

Chapter 47: Rin and Ling, Sakura and Sakura

There is another path behind Sakura and Rin's house that leads directly to the shrine on the back mountain. This is not a regular mountain road, but a very narrow and simple dirt road, winding and covered with sand and gravel. If it rains, it will be easy to fall.

Lin Wei carefully memorized every bend and every weed on the path, because Lin had mentioned the origin of this path when they were chatting before.

Originally, the village had only one mountain road leading to the shrine. The villagers raised funds and went to the mountains to mine stones to build the road. The road was carefully maintained on weekdays, and villagers would often come to clean it voluntarily.

Later, Yaezakura became a shrine maiden. In order to balance her duties at the shrine and taking care of her sister, she found a way to open a small road outside the main road, leading directly from the shrine to Yaezakura's residence.

This way, she can reduce the time she spends at home every day by more than half, and have more time to take care of her younger sister.

Ying was just a little girl at that time, how much strength could she have?

This simple mountain road is probably the limit of what she can do.

There is even a fork in the road at the mountainside, one end leads to the Yae Shrine, and the other end leads directly to the mountains and forests in the distance. The purpose is self-evident.

Lin Wei walked on this unsteady path, sighing and feeling a little sad. He could imagine a weak little girl gritting her teeth and desperately swinging a hoe that was not commensurate with her body size, once, twice...

She might accidentally roll down the hillside because of exhaustion, getting bruised all over, and then stubbornly get up, climb back to the middle of the mountain, back among the soil and stones, continue swinging, continue fighting, and continue her unfinished work.

But now, it is forced to undertake another completely opposite mission.

This damn world, this damn era!

Lin Wei also began to curse in his heart.

But he could do nothing, because the ending of everything was already determined, and he could only silently become a spectator.

My father is not very old, perhaps only in his thirties, and he is very light, so he can be blown down by a gust of wind; but at this moment, my father's steps are old and heavy, as if he is an old man who is carrying a weight that his life cannot bear, but he walks steadily step by step, and there is no need to worry about him falling.

Lin Wei followed quietly behind him, saying nothing, just taking everything in and keeping it in his heart.

It was getting dark when we arrived at the Yae Shrine.

The man walked up the stairs without stopping, carrying his daughter on his back;

Lin Wei stood at the intersection of three roads. After a moment of silence, he followed the same route as last time, heading towards another similar yet different destination.

Everything seems like a lifetime ago, familiar, but ultimately different.

Lin Wei followed the footsteps of the father and daughter and climbed the last staircase. It was much shorter than the last time and he soon reached the end and stepped into the final torii gate, reaching the end and the beginning of everything.

Looking past the father and daughter who had already stopped, Lin Wei first admired the familiar yet unfamiliar Yae Shrine.

Although it is small in size, it is majestic and grand. It is the only building in the village that is truly built with blue bricks and black tiles.

There are also the solemn torii gates along the way, and the clean and tidy bluestone mountain road leading directly to the shrine.

Lin Wei's heart moved, and he turned his head to look at the poor and simple Yae Village at the foot of the mountain...

You can say those villagers are stupid, ignorant, and vulgar;

But it really cannot be said that they are greedy, arrogant, or cruel.