I am Kamen Rider who reverses dimensions

Yuanxiang had three question marks on his head. This was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing. Could it be that he had a special fondness for honey back then?

"I know that."

Hu Tao had been doing most of the talking, but now that she'd finally caught something the hall master didn't quite know, she quickly interjected:

"According to Grandma Ping, the black-armored warrior liked to eat a fruit called 'peach,' but there were no peach trees in Liyue. So the ancient people of Liyue gathered together and discussed it. They felt that fruits were just sweet, so they decided to use honey instead. Grandma Ping also said that they originally wanted to coat the statue with a layer of sugar, but that would attract a lot of insects, so they simplified it to smearing it on the mouth and nose."

"Wait, Peach... never mind, it's alright."

Yuanxiang wanted to give the two little ones a proper lesson on how delicious peaches are, something that honey can't replace. But then he thought that there was no point in telling them that. Customs have been passed down for thousands of years, and no matter how much he complained, it wouldn't make a difference. So he gave up on saying what was on the tip of his tongue.

However, according to what they said, it was basically just reading out their ID cards, so Yuanxiang became even more eager to meet the Rock King Emperor and see if he could get some information from him.

“Source~Hometown~~~~”

"Hehe, they're here?"

Hearing Paimon's long call, Genshou chuckled, pressed 'Fang', and tossed it in the direction the sound came from. He had seen the two of them when he was using his ultimate skill in the air, but he was too curious about what was going on in Liyue to go pick them up. Anyway, most of the monsters here had been cleared out, and he believed that Ying could easily deal with the remaining ones.

Oh, right, I need to take the walnut off myself, otherwise it looks too unseemly.

Just as Gensho grasped Walnut's shoulders and placed her on the ground, Ying and Paimon appeared in their sight. 'Fang' also nimbly returned to Gensho's hand like a living creature. Before Gensho could even greet her, Ying rushed over, holding a piece of cloth in her hand. When she lifted it, she found a limb resembling an octopus tentacle inside. Although it was motionless, it seemed to be full of life.

"This was found in the wreckage of the Ruin Guard when we just destroyed it."

Just as Ying was about to speak, Paimon began gesturing wildly as he spoke:

"Yuanxiang, you don't know, when the guardian of that ruin was first destroyed, a huge amount of black smoke came out of it. No, it was thick smoke from a broken machine, it was... it was... in short, it was smoke from something bad!"

Seeing Paimon seemingly unable to find the words to describe the scene, Genji silently shifted his gaze to Ying. The Traveler paused slightly, as if he hadn't expected her to speak, tilted his head in thought for a moment, and then said softly:

"Smoke like an evil spirit."

"That is karmic retribution."

At this moment, Hu Tao's playful expression vanished, and he looked seriously at the tentacle, saying:

Simply put, they are the remnants of the demons who suffered a crushing defeat in the "Demon God War". They were defeated by the Rock King and suppressed under solid rocks.

But demons are all immortal beings; though their consciousness dissipates, their power and resentment remain, transforming into accumulated filth that repeatedly plagues all living beings. The Great Sage Who Subdued Demons left in haste to cleanse his karmic burdens, but... this master has never heard of karmic burdens turning into something like this.

"However, the strange phenomena here are not good; they are indeed caused by karmic obstacles."

Yanfei looked at the gloomy sky, adjusted her hat with a slight headache, and at the same time, Yuanxiang took the tentacle and said softly:

"You all stay here and take care of each other. I'm going to go look around, to see..."

Before Yuanxiang could finish speaking, he suddenly sensed an unusual fluctuation of power. He instinctively protected the children and looked behind him. He saw a golden halo appear in the center of the gloomy sky. Then, a meteorite fell from the sky with overwhelming force, crashing down near the foot of the snow-capped mountain connected to this area. With a terrifying tremor, the strange phenomenon in the sky suddenly disappeared, and warm sunlight poured down on Yuanxiang and his group. A feeling of rebirth lingered in the hearts of Yanfei and Hutao.

However, what excited Yanfei and Hutao even more than seeing the light of day again was that the celestial star that had just descended was undoubtedly the work of the Rock King Emperor. Could it be... that lord really came here!?

"Master, are you alright?"

At that moment, a clear, cold voice came from behind everyone. They turned to see a man with black hair and golden eyes, wearing a tight-fitting trench coat, slowly walking towards them. His expression was serious and earnest, yet not overly cold, giving off a sense of distance. He possessed a refined and handsome appearance, with a touch of gentleness, and his demeanor was courteous and cultured, suggesting he was a man of principle. However, just by looking at him…

"Zhongli, what are you doing here?"

Hu Tao looked at the man curiously and asked, "The newcomer is a guest elder of the 'Hall of Rebirth'. He has knowledge far beyond that of ordinary people. Although his origins are unknown, he knows etiquette and rules and can perform the rituals of heaven and earth. Even the most picky old scholar cannot find any fault with him."

“Wangsheng Hall has been quiet lately. I heard that you, Hall Master, have taken on a big deal, so I came to see if I could help in any way.”

Zhongli walked unhurriedly to Hu Tao's side, glanced down to check if the little one was injured, then looked up at Yuanxiang, who was still in his transformed state beside her. A smile suddenly appeared on his solemn face, and he said softly:

"I suppose this is the black-armored warrior who fought in Liyue a thousand years ago. I am Zhongli, it is an honor to meet you."

"Eh~~!"

Hu Tao stared wide-eyed at her guest, asking in bewilderment:

"How did you guess it so quickly? Confess honestly, have you been spying on us the whole time?"

"I just arrived too, as for why I could guess..."

Zhongli smiled again and looked at Yuanxiang, saying:

"Isn't the answer obvious according to general theory? Oh? Little girl, let me see what you're holding."

At this moment, Zhongli noticed what Ying was holding. He pinched his chin, and as if naturally endowed with subtle golden eyeshadow, he raised an eyebrow and said in a tone of great interest:

"I didn't expect someone to be imitating this. Interesting, but the technique is too crude... So that's how it is. So this is the reason for the natural phenomena in Mingyun Town?"

Zhongli seemed to have found the source of all this from this tiny tentacle, but only he understood what he was muttering. The curious little walnut was anxiously circling around him, waiting for him to continue.

Seeing his master's state, Zhongli calmly straightened up, took the tentacle from Ying's hand, and said softly:

"Master, why don't we take these friends to Wangshu Inn to rest for a while? With this black-armored swordsman here, the remaining things should be easy to deal with."

"how about you?"

"I?"

Zhongli looked at Hu Tao and said with a smile:

“Naturally, I will stay and assist. Since you didn’t understand what I was saying, it means you don’t know anything about this, so let me do it.”

"Hmm... okay."

Hu Tao was well aware of the mystery surrounding her guest advisor. Rather than wasting her energy getting entangled with him, she decided to go to Wangshu Inn and have a few more sips of water.

“Great hero, head southeast. According to general theory, the most suitable place to create this is near the sea.”

After seeing Hu Tao leave with the others, Zhong Li's smile became impossible to hide, completely masking his previous composure and experience. Hearing Zhong Li's words, Yuan Xiang reluctantly deactivated his transformation, looking at the person before him with a subtle expression, and whispered:

"Lord Rock King?"

"No need to be so polite, just call me Zhongli. Calling me that makes us seem too distant."

Zhongli waved his hand and said without any pretense:

"Although judging from your appearance, you probably have lost a lot of memories about the past, just like me, the friendship between us has not disappeared. Forget it, forget it, we can get to know each other again. We were friends before, and we can be friends again now."

"Now that you've said that, I don't know how to respond."

Yuanxiang scratched the back of his head, still somewhat uneasy, and looked at the elegant Zhongli, tilting his head slightly as he said:

"How about we chat casually while we're busy?"

"Okay, do whatever makes you comfortable around me, but before that..."

Zhongli reached out and gestured on Yuanxiang's head, as if measuring his height, then pinched his arm and said thoughtfully:

"Although I've forgotten a lot, your childlike appearance seems to have remained unchanged."

"You didn't actually have to say that."

Gensou, exasperated, casually tugged at his cheek. Now that he thought about it, his height and appearance hadn't changed much since he climbed out of Gaia's Well. Now that Zhongli had mentioned it, Gensou suddenly started to worry that if he still looked like this when Nanoha grew up, even if he was tall, would people mistake him for her younger brother if they walked down the street together?

No, I have to think of a solution for this. When Tsukasa Kadoya comes down, I'll have him take me to Shotaro-senpai's place and ask Philip-senpai to give me a proper check-up.

"How are things going? Having trouble figuring out how to look like an adult?"

At this moment, Zhongli's voice rang in Yuanxiang's ears. The emperor looked at Yuanxiang with a smile in his eyes and said:

"I can't read minds, but seeing how troubled you looked just now reminded me of something from the past. Back when you weren't transformed, you were often mistaken for a child when you were walking around Liyue Harbor. During that festival when we went for a stroll, you ended up being stuffed with candy..."

"Alright, alright, let bygones be bygones."

Yuanxiang quickly waved his hand to interrupt Zhongli, looking at him with a subtle expression and saying:

"Have you really lost your memory?"

"According to general theory, I do indeed suffer from amnesia."

Zhongli casually waved his hand, and the rock spear protruding from the ground killed the attacking demon. He then calmly said to Yuanxiang:

"Although I am the one among your old friends with the most lingering memories of you, those memories are usually like the moon in a mirror or a flower in the mist—seemingly within reach, yet actually unattainable. But after reuniting with you, those memories seem to have naturally awakened in our conversations, however..."

A hint of helplessness flashed in Zhongli's eyes as he sighed and said:

"I clearly remember the scene at the festival that involved you, but as soon as the topic passed, those scenes became blurry again. My friend, what exactly happened to you in your hometown?"

"do not know."

Yuanxiang shook his head with a wry smile and looked at Zhongli, saying:

"I came to Liyue hoping to get some information from you... Tsk, now it's getting more and more complicated. Things really do become complicated when they get involved with 'time'."

"time?"

Upon hearing this, Zhongli seemed to remember something. She stopped in her tracks, pinched her chin, and frowned as she recalled, saying:

"When you left, you said a demon king had descended upon your homeland, and that war was imperative. You also forbade us from traveling with you, saying that even though you were ill, you were confident you could protect your homeland..."

At this point, Zhongli paused, then shook his head helplessly and said softly:

"No, I can only piece together this memory roughly, but I really can't remember the details. However, since it was the word 'time' that made me recall this, then the demon king you faced back then must also be related to 'time'."

"I see..."

Yuanxiang tapped his chin in thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and asked Zhongli:

"By the way, regarding my front door, the portal that allows me to travel between your place and the agency, did I mention what it was about back then?"

"You said it, you definitely said that."

Zhongli answered without hesitation and with unwavering certainty, but as Yuanxiang eagerly awaited the rest of the answer, the Emperor said without changing his expression:

"But I forgot."

"......All right."

Nearly choking on his own, Genji replied helplessly. Then, after a moment's thought, the boy decided to tell Zhongli about the curse and reincarnation. How to put it... it's a bit of a mouthful, but the Genji he knew wasn't the Genji standing before him now, even though they looked alike. If their experiences were different, then...

"I did not admit my mistake."

Zhongli understood Yuanxiang's implied meaning and looked at him solemnly, saying:

"Even if, according to you, you've reincarnated countless times, one thing I'm certain of..."

As Zhongli spoke, he extended his clenched hand towards Yuanxiang. Yuanxiang, thinking it was something for him, reached out to take it, but halfway through, Zhongli suddenly released his hand, and a fluffy thing sprang out with a 'whoosh'. This immediately brought back unpleasant memories for Yuanxiang, and he jumped back abruptly. After realizing it was just a trick Zhongli had played on him, the boy clenched his fists in annoyance and intimidation, groaning, but then he saw the Rock King Emperor looking at him with gentle eyes, smiling as he said:

"The person I've known all along has always been the same one, and at least for now, there's no difference."

193 I have a bad feeling.

"Even if you want to verify something, don't use this to play a prank."