The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

"Huh? How would I know that!"

"There's no other way, Paimon, I'll have to sell you to pay off my debts!" ​​Ying whispered this dangerous statement into her best friend's ear.

Paimon was so frightened that he trembled all over and almost flew away.

However, because Ying was holding her cloak tightly, the poor girl could do nothing but look at her best friend with teary eyes.

"No, Ying! How can you bear to leave me here to fend for myself?!"

Seeing Paimon crying so sadly, Ying felt a pang of pity and let go of his hand. She steeled herself and asked:

"...How many Mora do we have in total?"

"It seems there are only six hundred left?"

"Wasn't it 600,000?! Where did my Mora go?!"

"Uh... Hey!"

Paimon tapped his forehead, trying to get away with it by being cute.

At that moment, Ying was filled with murderous intent.

She had gone through countless hardships to make her way from Mondstadt to Liyue, and with great difficulty, she had saved up some money, planning to use it to live a good life after finding her brother.

Now that it's Inazuma's turn, this dishonest little guy actually tells me that the money is gone?

And she actually dared to pretend to be stupid?

"Awooo!" Yingqi opened her mouth and bit the little guy's cheek.

"ah!!!"

At that moment, Paimon felt an unprecedented threat and began to frantically try to escape, crying uncontrollably.

Seeing this, the shrine maidens of Naru-sho looked at each other, some of them gathering together in bewilderment.

"What kind of behavior is this? Is it foreign etiquette?"

"I'm not quite sure. If you want to convey emotions, shouldn't it be... a kiss?"

"Is this their special way of expressing their feelings? Perhaps, it's like, 'I love you so much I want to...eat you up'?"

The interaction between Ying and Paimon was not only incomprehensible to them.

Even the high priestess of Naruto Shrine, Yae no Miko, slowly turned her head to look at Kiana.

"What are they doing? They can't be hungry, can they?"

"Maybe? It's been a long time since lunch..." Kiana clutched her stomach, looking around the shrine covered in fallen cherry blossoms, drool unconsciously trickling from the corner of her mouth. "Is there anything to eat?"

"Hmm...you guys didn't even pay attention to what I said? That's...surprising."

Yae no Miko rubbed her forehead with a bit of a headache, gradually losing interest in lingering with the three of them.

She had thought the foreign traveler who was willing to help her complete her purification ritual would be such an interesting person.

But now...

"Let them do what they want. Maybe interfering with them will only cause trouble for both of us."

Thinking of this, Yae no Miko smiled slightly and turned her gaze to Kiana.

"As a token of our gratitude, we can offer a discount on the one million Mora reward."

"Oh? That's great? Then..."

"One hundred moras will do."

Kiana's eyes lit up at this generous gesture, and she clapped her hands in gratitude, saying:

"Only 100 Mora? Hahaha, Yae, you're so kind!"

"hehe."

Since Yae no Miko, as one of the parties involved, has said so, all the contradictions can be said to have fallen apart on their own.

Ying was naturally delighted to learn that she wouldn't have to pay the exorbitant fee she was already unable to pay.

But she never stopped pouting her little face.

"Waaaaah! Kiana, please talk to Lumine!"

Paimon frantically waved his arms and cried pitifully.

"Forehead..."

Although it's unclear why Ying suddenly got so angry, it would be heartless to ignore Paimon's desperate pleas.

So Kiana reached out and, after some effort, managed to free Paimon from Luminous's clutches.

"Paimon, you'll never need to eat again in your life!"

Ying couldn't outmaneuver Kiana, so she could only sullenly lecture her with her arms crossed.

"Waaah..."

Paimon hid behind Kiana, looking aggrieved.

What exactly happened between the two is an unsolved mystery in Teyvat, but Kiana isn't really concerned about it right now.

No matter how fierce their arguments are, they always make up eventually.

So next.

However, just as Kiana was about to bid farewell to Yae no Miko in order to leave and complete the Great Purification Ritual,

"Uh..." A little ninja who had been ignored for a long time suddenly appeared in everyone's sight.

She ignored the pink-haired older sister and paid no attention to the white-haired Kiana, but simply rolled straight to Ying and hugged her legs.

"You promised me, now come back with me..."

It wasn't until Hayato appeared that Ying finally remembered that she seemed to have asked this little ninja to help guide her when she went up the mountain.

It must be said that Inazuma is indeed a native ninja, and with her leading the way, we can easily reach Mount Kage.

It was incredibly easy to walk on.

However, making a promise is easy in the moment, but keeping it can be a bit of a hassle...

Ying silently turned her head and looked at Kiana and Paimon.

The three looked at each other, then huddled together to discuss it.

"What should we do? Should we go see Shinri first?"

"Well, maybe we should wait a bit. We've already agreed to the Masked Shrine Maiden's request."

Ying and Paimon talked calmly, without holding any grudges against each other.

Paimon even had a few tears on his face...

Seeing the two reconcile so easily, Kiana smiled with relief and then succinctly revealed the crux of the matter.

“If we go to the Kamisato family first, we will definitely have to take a long detour later. But if we purify the tree roots first, we can come down the mountain on the way back.”

"Really? If that's the case..." Ying blinked, then squatted down and patted Zaoyou's head, smiling apologetically.

"I'm sorry, my sisters have very important things to do, you..."

"No! You promised Zaoyou!"

Before Ying could finish speaking, Zaoyou hugged her leg and refused to let go.

So sometimes it's okay to lie to anyone, just don't lie to children.

Otherwise, she simply won't listen to any explanation afterward.

Knowing she was in the wrong, Ying whispered a lot of things, but she still couldn't get the little ninja to give in.

"How to do?"

Feeling utterly speechless, she looked up at Kiana for help.

The Song of Flames and Lightning (Genshin Impact Inazuma Main Story): Chapter Twenty-Eight - I was almost drained dry by her...

Why are you looking at me?

"Think of something, she..." Ying held onto Zaoyou's shoulder, trying to get the little ninja who was sticking to her to let go.

However, the other party refused to compromise and stubbornly held onto her leg, refusing to let go.

Although, in the person in question, she was even more annoying and clingy than Paimon.

But to the shrine maidens, this was simply accepting her younger sister's coquettishness.

This scene brought a knowing smile to everyone, including Yae no Miko.

"Hehe, now that you have decided on your path, it is time to take your leave. Finally, this place welcomes you."

Yae no Miko brushed aside the hair that was covering her forehead and spoke with grace and poise.

In her view, the matter was settled, and all she needed to do now was to silently pray for them.

We just need to wait for the filth that the divine cherry blossoms have accumulated over a long period of time to be completely cleansed.

However...

"Yae, come here."

"Kiana? What are you doing... Don't hold me," Yae no Miko was startled and tried to break free from her grasp, but the girl held on so tightly, as if she was afraid that she would escape.

Helpless, she was reluctantly pulled aside and whispered among herself.

Fortunately, she glanced back and found that her priestesses were all focused on Ying and the flustered Paimon, and no one was paying particular attention to her.

Realizing that she no longer needed to maintain her dignity as the High Priestess, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Excuse me..."

"Can you do me another favor?" Before Yae no Miko could recover, Kiana leaned in close, pleading earnestly.

Caught off guard, she was startled and hurriedly took a step back, only to find herself backed against the wall, just like when they first met.

Kiana's pretty face drew closer and closer, and for some reason, the more Yae no Miko looked at her, the more beautiful she seemed. What was most captivating were her eyes, which reflected her own image.