The Embers of King's Teyvat Journey

"Should I call you a wanted criminal or a great adventurer, Mr. Ember?"

"It's up to you, it won't affect me anyway." Yu Jin waved his hand, indicating that he would follow the wishes of Yae no Miko.

Anyway, it doesn't matter what Yu Jin calls him, as long as he's not insulted.

"Never mind, let's just call him by his name." Seeing Yu Jin's nonchalant attitude, Yae no Miko shrugged and called him by his name.

“No problem. In that case, let’s end the pleasantries and get down to business!” Yu Jin said, and began to look around.

"Important business?" Yae no Miko seemed thoughtful after hearing Yu Jin's words. Seeing Yu Jin looking around, she waved to the shrine maidens who were spying behind her.

"All irrelevant people, get out of here. Clean up the area outside the shrine before you come in."

"Quite adept at handling things." Yu Jin heard footsteps, some visible and some hidden, echoing within the shrine, and gave Yae no Miko a thumbs-up in appreciation.

It seems she still knows that these people are useless against Yu Jin.

“Naturally, even a demon would become a human in this position.” Yae no Miko glanced at Yu Jin, seemingly harboring some resentment towards the position.

But then she saw the crater behind Yu Jin, created by the meteorite he had smashed, and the calmness in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a hint of amusement.

"Since Ember says you're here to discuss serious matters, then very well, let's begin."

"So fast?"

Yu Jin scratched his head. He hadn't expected that the people from Narukami Shrine would start talking so soon after they left.

That's way too fast! Could it be that Yae no Miko is as decisive and efficient as Coral Palace Heart Sea?

"Of course, the job of a palace attendant is much busier than you think. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can leave... and move on to the next task!"

Yae no Miko kept a straight face, afraid that Yu Jin would find out that she had almost let something slip.

"The first thing is about compensation."

"compensation?!"

Yu Jin was startled by Yae no Miko's words. How did she know that he had come to demand compensation?

"Yes, regarding Mr. Yu Jin's compensation for damaging Narukami Shrine." Yae no Miko looked around at the hissing meteorite crater below, a slight smile playing at the corners of her eyes.

She was getting bored staying at Narukami Shrine so much that she was practically rusting away. Finally, someone who seemed really interesting came along, and she could at least kill some of the time.

"The wooden planks of Narukami Shrine were made from the fallen branches of the Inatsuma-gami cherry tree, and it is no exaggeration to say that they are priceless."

"And the white sand in this temple is sand picked from the flow of fresh water, so that not a speck of dirt can be seen on it."

"Mr. Ember, you should consider the value of this yourself."

After Yae no Miko finished speaking, she looked at Yu Jin with great interest, seemingly very curious about his next reaction.

"Damaged Narukami Shrine? And it was expensive? I'm not taking the blame for that." Yu Jin looked down at the deep hole he had created by sitting on it and immediately waved his hand to distance himself from the situation.

He defended himself, saying that there was a reason for it, and it was definitely not because the things he broke were too expensive.

Then, as if remembering something, Yu Jin said indignantly, "Do you know why I came up here like this?!"

"Why?" Yae no Miko was also curious as to why Yu Jin would choose such an unconventional way to come to Narukami Taisha.

When Yae no Miko first saw the streak of light in the sky, she really thought it was a meteorite falling to the ground.

"If you have time, go down the mountain and see for yourself. What kind of rubbish is this road you built up there?!"

"A dead end, no fences, a broken bridge—you're probably hoping no one will come up here, aren't you?"

"Do all the Inazuma people know how to fly over walls and scale rooftops? That can't be right."

……

Once the topic turned to the mountain road, Yu Jin became incredibly talkative. He could talk about how ridiculously bad the road was for three days and three nights! He had never seen a road built like this before.

"Stop, stop, stop! That's enough!" Yae no Miko quickly stopped Yu Jin from criticizing the path to Narukami Taisha Mountain in a rapid-fire manner.

In just a short while, Ember had discussed human kinship more than once, and if he continued like this, he might go even further.

Considering Ember's strength, Yae no Miko decisively stopped Ember from speaking.

"I rarely go down the mountain, and I don't usually take the usual route. This was my oversight." Fearing that Yu Jin wasn't satisfied with his explanation, Yae no Miko immediately took the blame upon himself.

Yae no Miko was unaware of the path. As the priestess, she mostly sat solemnly in the shrine, playing the role of a "priestess."

With rare free time, Yae no Miko wished she could use it all for fun, so how could she have the patience to walk down the mountain?

She's already being quite leisurely by not hopping around.

"What about compensation?"

“It was just a joke, Yu Jin, you don’t need to take it to heart.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Jin nodded. Then he asked Yae no Miko, "Who is in charge of the guards on Hachiyū Island?"

Yae no Miko found Yu Jin's question puzzling, but considering that these weren't exactly secrets, she replied:

"The soldiers are under the jurisdiction of the Tenryo Magistrate, the priestesses and the talismans are the responsibility of the Myojin Taisha, logistics are under the jurisdiction of the Kansei Magistrate, and the comfort and festival activities are under the jurisdiction of the Sha Magistrate."

"That's none of your business, that's good." Yu Jin nodded, then took out a piece of paper and a scroll.

"Now, it's my turn to demand compensation!"

"You want compensation?!"

Yae no Miko, who had been drowsy, lifted her eyelids. She never expected that Yu Jin would take the initiative and demand compensation from Narukami Taisha.

"Could it be that you want compensation for emotional distress because of that lousy road?" Yae no Miko looked at Yu Jin with suspicion, now suspecting that Yu Jin was just looking for trouble.

"Do I look like I'm mentally unstable?" Yu Jin pointed to his face.

When Yae no Miko saw his sharply defined iron helmet, she almost nodded in approval.

"Look at yourself! What kind of palace official are you?"

After throwing the note and scroll into Yae no Miko's arms, Yu Jin turned his back and waited quietly.

Chapter 457 The Undercurrents Beneath Eternity

2024-01-31

Looking at the back of the embers, Yae no Miko unfolded the paper with specks of crimson in her hand, filled with doubt.

Through the fox's keen sense of smell, Yae no Miko instantly realized that the red on the note was not decoration, but blood.

Unfold the note, and it reveals the reality that the seal of the evil spirit on Bayun Island has been broken, and the island's guards have been nearly wiped out.

When Yae no Miko closed the note again, the previous ease on her face was gone. The deep purple beneath her eyes began to flicker.

Picking up the scroll beside her, Yae no Miko already had her own guesses about its contents.

As expected, upon opening the scroll, Yae no Miko's eyes were met with a series of names.

She glanced at them briefly and immediately recognized many familiar names. These people were either soldiers who had come up the mountain to collect supplies or registered shrine maidens of Narukami Shrine.

Now, without exception, their names are all written on the scroll.

“I understand. The families of these people were arranged by Narukami Daisuke.” After taking a deep breath and calming his emotions, Yae no Miko solemnly nodded to Yu Jin.

"Why didn't you do this sooner?" Yu Jin muttered under his breath and turned around.

Upon hearing this, Yae no Miko's expression showed a rare hint of apology. However, she quickly concealed this subtle change in expression.

"I really didn't expect this to happen. I've been busy with other things lately, and I've actually been tricked by that kid from the Kujo family..."

The slip of paper and scroll in his hand disappeared, and Yae no Miko's expression remained unchanged, but his tone became increasingly icy.

"What could be so busy that you can't even do your own job properly?" Yu Jin stared directly into Yae no Miko's eyes and questioned her.

Yae no Miko was not intimidated at all and met Yu Jin's gaze head-on.

Having served as a palace priest for hundreds of years, Yae no Miko has long since mastered the art of managing her expressions flawlessly.

Everything in her eyes could be real or fake; only she herself knows the truth.

But she was quickly defeated. Yae no Miko's expression and gaze were indeed as multifaceted as a shattered prism.

But someone has to be watching, right? Not even light can get through the slit in the embers' peephole.

Looking into his eyes is like trying to make faces in the dark at night without turning on the lights; you get absolutely no feedback. It's better to find a mirror and look into yourself.

Turning her head slightly, Yae no Miko looked at the sacred cherry tree behind Narukami Taisha Shrine. After a moment of silence, she slowly said:

"I'm busy with something that will prevent this from happening again."

Yae no Miko thought of the Divine Heart in her hand. The Divine Heart of the Thunder God could be considered the Divine Heart with the most concentrated divine power.

It is estimated that only the Ice God, who rules over the entire winter, can rival it.

Thor and Ice, both gods, directly rule their respective kingdoms, and their prestige among the people is immense.

The divine power condensed from such faith is bound to be profound.

If they can figure out how to collect faith and transform it into power from the Heart of God, she, a suitable person, along with the wishes of everyone in Inazuma, is enough to open Kage's heart!

As for why it couldn't be herself, Yae no Miko understood perfectly. She was a fairy, and a powerful fairy with a thousand faces and a thousand forms, destined to be unable to perfectly resonate with the desires of humans.

Moreover, bearing the wishes of many people sounds like a troublesome matter, which she neither wants to nor can bear.

Those who can fulfill their aspirations must be people with upright beliefs and unwavering perseverance.

Thinking of this, Yae no Miko turned around and glanced at Yu Jin, who was rummaging through the pit.

With just a glance, the Eightfold Divine Child dismissed Yu Jin. Yu Jin was indeed upright, but his persistence was unwavering…

Yae no Miko felt that Yu Jin was not a persistent person.

However, if Yu Jin knew this, he would definitely refute Yae no Miko's statement. What do you mean by lacking perseverance? He just sticks to a lot of things, which makes him seem like he lacks perseverance.

"What are you doing down there? It's not enough that you've smashed the floor of my Narukami Shrine, you're trying to dig through the ground too?"

"No, I was just wondering about the fertility of the soil after it was hit by the meteorite," Ember replied absentmindedly, rubbing a cooled rock between his fingers.

"???"

Upon hearing Yu Jin's words, a rare hint of doubt appeared in Yae no Miko's eyes. Weren't they just talking about the Demon God? How come Yu Jin's thoughts suddenly shifted to soil fertility?

As he opened his palm, Yu Jin saw the dark-colored rock grains in his hand, each grain distinct, just like black sand.

“The experiment failed.” Yu Jin threw away the rock fragments in his hand and shook his head.