The Embers of King's Teyvat Journey

It's a pity for the normal people in the Crane Temple. Although they remained silent, their crimes did not warrant death, nor did they have to accompany Aru through thousands of reincarnations.

Fortunately, what is being reincarnated is only the phantom of the earth's veins. The only one here with a real sense of soul is Aryu, who is right in front of us.

This might be Thunderbird's last effort, or it might be Aru's own regret that played a role.

"There's no need to hold the festival. The cycle of reincarnation is easy to resolve; we just need to eliminate the power left behind by the Thunderbird."

"As for whether you want to sing for Thunderbird?"

Ember pondered for a moment, then asked the stragglers and the young master behind him, "Does Inazuma have this Thunderbird? I've never heard of it."

This Thunderbird was able to cause such a commotion in Tsurugashi; its strength is probably second only to the Thunder God in Inazuma. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that a creature of this power can stir up a storm with every move it makes.

"I don't know. I'm from Zhidong. Don't ask me." The young master shook his head vigorously. He knew almost nothing about the history of Inazuma.

After listening to Ember's words, the stragglers pondered for a while. Then, as if he had thought of something, he spoke up:

"Yes! In the legend of Inazuma, there was a large purple bird that once ravaged Qinglai Island, but was later killed by General Leidian with an arrow."

"The soaring resentment on Qinglai Island is the transformation of the great bird after its death."

"Alright, we're doomed!" Yu Jin clapped his hands, delighted. He had originally planned to secretly make bird soup for the Fools after dragging Aru to sing. But plans don't always go as expected, and now the bird soup was gone.

"Ka...Kapaciri is dead?"

"Waaah—" Aru burst into tears upon hearing the news of Kapachiri's death; he was deeply saddened.

Chapter 488 The Desire to Die

2024-02-15

"Tsk, why are you crying? Is this Thunderbird so good to you? Is it more worthy of your kin's affection?" Ember smacked his lips as he watched Aru wail.

Kids are so hard to understand!

"Waaah~" Aru choked back tears, but still managed to nod.

This greatly surprised Ember, the young master, and the stragglers. What kind of abuse had Aru suffered that his feelings for his people were less than those of a proud thunderbird?

"No way? That's ruthless?" Yu Jin muttered to the young master and the stragglers.

"Tsk! If I saw this, I would definitely wipe this place out!" The young master shook his head and sighed, not remembering at all that he had once planned to flood Liyue.

It's probably not a big deal if he remembers now. After all, he flooded Liyue, not only did he flood nothing, but he also released Oser, who seemed to be a friend of Ember.

Looking back now, what did he do in Liyue? It seems like he did nothing at all, except collect some debts.

"..." The soldier looked up at Yu Jin and the young master, who were discussing how to pack up and take the Crane Observer and the Thunderbird away. His throat seemed to be blocked, and he couldn't say anything.

Seeing the stragglers stammering, Ember immediately realized what was going on. The Fools didn't seem to be going to back down either, did they?

After all, Cole and Galuro were the best examples. So he gave a big shove, pushing the prince and the scattered soldiers far away.

"I'm warning you, don't let my current joking around fool you. If I catch you doing something shady, I guarantee you'll be worse off than the people of Heguan!"

With one hand pointing at the two men, Ember drew a thin line on the ground with the other, signifying that he and the Fools were sworn enemies and could never be tolerated!

"Do you know why I'm not using you as fertilizer now?" Standing on the other side of the thin line, Ember asked the young master and the stragglers who had already drawn a line between themselves.

"Because we're obedient?" The young master looked distressed. He couldn't disobey; otherwise, he'd be lying in the ground. He wanted to live.

"That's part of the reason, but more importantly, I like to know where the wronged are and where the debts are owed."

"You'll have to clean up the mess you left behind, and settle the scores you've created!"

"Remember this, clean up your mess properly. If you don't, and someone comes after you, I'll hand you a knife immediately," Yu Jin warned, pointing at the stragglers and the young master.

"What if we don't wipe it?" the soldier asked tentatively, his tone for the first time showing a hint of caution.

“Then I’ll do it! But when the time comes, I’ll be the one seeking revenge!” Yu Jin cracked his knuckles, making the stragglers and the young master shrink back.

"Understand?!"

"Understood!"×2

The soldiers and the young master nodded hastily, just like the common soldier, afraid of being misunderstood.

Then they saw Ember approach again, and looking down, they saw that the thin lines on the ground had long been wiped away by Ember.

"Why is this kid still crying?" Yu Jin scratched his head. He only had one way to deal with a crying child: let him cry it out!

But there's no sign of Aryu stopping. The fact that he can howl for so long shows how deep his feelings are for the Thunderbird.

"..."

Yu Jin's change of heart was so sudden that the young master and the stragglers were momentarily caught off guard. They looked around but didn't reply.

"Why are you looking at me like that? We're in a partnership now, so it's normal to discuss things with a partner, isn't it?"

Seeing the young master and the scattered soldiers remain silent, Yu Jin grabbed their necks with both arms and pulled them closer.

However, just as Yu Jin was about to discuss with the two how to get Aru to stop, the faint sobbing sounds from afar disappeared.

"Are you done crying?" Yu Jin saw Aru walking over and let go of her arm.

The crying stopped, replaced by heavy breathing.

"Yes, thank you. Actually, I already had the answer in my heart, but... but..."

"Stop!"

Seeing that Aruru was about to cry again, Ember took out a piece of bread he had taken from the Fools' camp and stuffed it directly into Aruru's mouth.

"Ugh... Ha!" After pulling the bread out of her mouth, Aryu stood there mechanically opening and closing her mouth.

This taste... it's like the "sweetness" from my memory, isn't it? Aryu wasn't sure; since he woke up, he hadn't tasted anything at all.

After briefly reminiscing about the distant memory, Aryu hesitated for a moment before finally returning the bread to Ember.

"You can keep this. I don't need to eat."

"We should keep some on hand, right? We might get hungry later."

Ember pushed the bread back.

"No, can you take me to the place where Capachelli died? I want to finish singing the song for it."

Aryu hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't answer. He just stared blankly into the distance, his small body giving off a sense of impending doom.

This completely baffled Yu Jin; he had never seen a kid so eager to die.

"Really? Don't you have anything worth keeping?" Yu Jin quickly tried to comfort him.

"Aside from not being able to sing the song in its entirety to Kapachiri, I have nothing to regret."

Aru nodded affirmatively. Before the three surprised people could say anything, he murmured to himself as if reminiscing about the past:

“I am the son of the priest, and my father was the one who organized the annual blood sacrifice in the tribe.”

“When I was very young, my father had me watch him perform the festival.”

"Drawing knives, killing people, drawing blood—my father always forced me to watch these things. He wanted me to watch them carefully; he wanted me to learn them..."

Seemingly recalling the resentful and malicious eyes of the sacrificial priest, Aryu covered his cheeks, squatted on the ground, and trembled all over.

"I don't want to see it, I don't want to learn it, I don't want to become like my father..."

Fear and escapism filled Aru's heart; the bloody experiences of her childhood still poisoned her even a thousand years later.

"You don't have to do that now. You've met us, and a new beginning is beckoning you."

"No... I don't want a new beginning. I just want to put an end to the past. The silver boat is waiting for me, and the golden land has made room for me."

Aryu's eyes were hazy, and in the dim light, he saw the legendary silver boat from the Crane View. In the legend, the silver boat would carry souls to the golden land, where everything would finally find its home.

"Hey! Are you stupid?!" A nauseating dizziness washed over her, and everything before Aru's eyes was like a mirage, just an illusion.

Ember put his arm around Aryu's shoulder and shook his head so hard it left a blur.

"Ugh—" Under the full force of the embers' shaking, Aryu finally came to his senses. He rubbed his forehead and said with relief:

“The land I live on has become like this, all the people I know are dead, and even the friends who listened to my songs have been killed by arrows. My three elder brothers, I am a little tired.”

"Fine, fine, you win! It's been thousands of years, and there's not a trace of it. Humans and birds certainly couldn't have survived. But this land might just be able to be revitalized."

Meeting Aru's brighter eyes, Yu Jin pointed to the young master and the scattered soldiers beside him.

"To express?"

Upon hearing Yu Jin's words and seeing the only glimmer of light on Aru's ashen face, the young master cleared his throat, then scratched his head and said:

“That’s right, that’s right, that’s exactly it! We are the development team from Zhidong. This place is so big, but no one lives here, which is a pity, so we came here to develop it.”

"That's about it." The soldier turned his face away, and although he didn't say much, he still nodded.

"Th...thank you!" Aru nodded emphatically to the three of them after hearing this.

"Aren't you in a hurry to die?" Yu Jin asked Aru, extending his hand.

"No rush." ​​Aryu shook her head.

"That's good. Come on! I'll take you to see the resentment your friend left behind before leaving Heguan!"

Yu Jin grabbed Aru's hand and ran towards the highest peak in Tsurukan—Mount Sugamei—without looking back.

Chapter 489 The plan cannot keep up with the changes

2024-02-15

Sugamyōzan was once the name of the highest peak in Tsukami, but this name has probably long been lost to history.

Even Aru, who has watched over Crane View for a thousand years, probably wouldn't remember the name of this mountain after the passage of time.

Meanwhile, Yu Jin was dragging Aru towards the mountain peak. Behind him were the young master and the scattered soldiers, who were completely out of breath.

The mountains of Heguan are quite strange; almost all of them are cylindrical and stand on the ground, like giant chimneys rising from the earth.

Upon arriving at the foot of Mount Suga, their path was blocked by the towering mountain range.

"I wonder if there's a path up the mountain. Let me check." After catching his breath for a while, the stragglers prepared to unfold the newly drawn map.

However, before he could take it out, he saw Yu Jin wave his hand in front of him.

"No need for all that trouble." He released his grip on Aru's arm and took a deep breath.