From "Beginning," Through "End," But... Not to "Nothing" (Continued)

After realizing this, Acheron admitted that he had gotten carried away and then swung the knife.

... Although after swinging that blade, Acheron felt an emptiness from another angle.

Because the facts were laid bare before her eyes— the Eclipse was gone.

From the beginning, through the end, but not to the point of "nothingness".

"I'm sorry... I may have been a bit emotionally unstable lately, and I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

"... I'm just an idle young man, I really don't know how to respond to your story, which sounds quite complicated. Never mind, let's move on."

"Yes, I will try to adjust my mindset."

Another reason for Acheron's complicated feelings was that another path had appeared before her.

His past path had been cut off, but it was clear that the path was not a good one; in fact, it was predictable that he could see the end of it at a glance.

— That is, "nothingness".

But now, another path has appeared beneath my feet... a path I used to know very well.

"Looks like I'll have to make fish..."

Liu Bai refocused his attention on the ingredients.

—Unless Acheron wants to hear profound truths, he certainly doesn't need to say anything.

"... But have I become lazy lately because Little Gui has spoiled me?"

Liu Bai used to rely entirely on Natasha to hone his cooking skills.

After all, Natasha's cooking skills are probably at level 0—or rather, completely locked.

This resulted in her not being picky about food; she could eat anything that was edible.

Liu Bai managed to hone his cooking skills to level two by cooking for Natasha.

Then these past few days, Little Gui has been helping to cook breakfast and dinner... Liu Bai hasn't gotten any exercise at all.

"Acheron, could you help me pull some weeds?"

"Grass?"

"Grass."

"Hey! You heartless bastard, you're feeding the wounded this kind of stuff?"

"It has a healing effect."

"Isn't this just weeds? Do you think I've never seen weeds before?"

After cleaning herself and changing into clean pajamas, Yelan looked at the herbal soup in front of her with a look of resistance.

Firefly watched this familiar scene with a slightly embarrassed smile.

Hmm, Yelan's treatment seems pretty good from this perspective. She was eating dry, sour, astringent, and bitter roasted weeds back then.

Some things are really not suitable for baking.

Besides... isn't there some conditioning in the soup?

Although Firefly wouldn't dare say she's an expert in cooking, she knows that if you add enough seasonings, even shoes will taste delicious.

"Trust Liu Bai! Miss Yelan, you are already very fortunate."

Is this what happiness is?

"You're really full of energy, I can't tell if you're really injured or not—don't worry, the fish soup is already simmering, drink this bowl of soup if you don't want to die."

Liu Bai brought the soup to Yelan's lips.

"Tsk, okay, I'll trust you this once."

Having said that, Yelan became serious.

"Ah--"

"Eh?! Wait, wait, wait?"

"... Is something the matter, Firefly?"

Liu Bai, who was ladling out a soup and blowing on it to cool it down, looked at Firefly, who had just screamed, with a puzzled expression.

"Ah... no, no, nothing at all."

No, no, this is clearly not the time to worry about feeding play...

"Go, Liu Bai!"

"... Thank you for your encouragement?"

Liu Bai was still puzzled. Would cheering really increase the effectiveness of the treatment?

However, it's also cute that the girl is a little superstitious... although Firefly doesn't seem like the kind of person who would be superstitious at all.

In addition, the healing effect of the herb soup is 3, which is three times that of roasted herbs. Congratulations!

"Open your mouth."

Ah~~

After Liu Bai fed her the first bite, Yelan savored it.

"The taste seems alright? Grass... well, that's not quite the right way to describe grass, but it's quite soft and tender?"

"Because a master gave me guidance."

Liu Bai encountered a bug— Acheron told him what to do, and he just did it.

Acheron's cooking skills should be pretty good.

No, according to the Mei face law, Acheron should be a very good cook.

—Mei's face can only be either a great chef or a kitchen disaster.

—If any other types of Mei faces appear in the future, then their Mei face status will be revoked.

This is the fundamentalist Mei religion.

"The flavor is pretty good... Well, although I hate to admit it, this stuff is actually drinkable."

Yelan looked like she had given up.

"Think of it on the bright side, tea is also a kind of herbal soup. Come on, open your mouth."

"You'll get killed by tea lovers, ah~"

Late at night, in the living room.

"It's actually healed..."

Dressed in white Yelan stood up, stretched, and jumped around.

But then she sat down again, clutching her stomach.

"No... I feel like my stomach is full of water as soon as I move... Herb soup, fish soup, gurgle, it's all water."

Yelan found it hard to say whether she was full from food or water.

Especially since I was forced to drink the fish soup—although the treatment was indeed very effective.

"Isn't fish the food you eat the most of?" Bai rolled his eyes. "Are you sleeping here tonight or going out?"

"Sleep here. Although your place isn't as grand as the Jade Chamber, the environment is just as good. You can make a profit by staying here for one night. I've already informed the Chamber of Commerce. They can continue operating without me."

"Oh, so you're completely useless."

"... You have to say something to the wounded before you're satisfied, don't you?"

"Your wounded soldier experience card has expired, La Signora Excellency Yelan."

Liu Bai stood up while laughing.

We're all a bit stuffed.

Liu Bai and Acheron each made a pot of fish soup.

The terrible food Liu Bai was reserved for Yelan, while everyone else ate the delicious food Acheron made...

"That's enough, let's clean up the table tomorrow morning." Even Guinaifen didn't have much motivation to clean it up anymore.

Acheron's cooking was unexpectedly delicious, and unsurprisingly, they ate until they were stuffed.

"... I haven't cooked in a long time."

Acheron was still slightly... shy about the group's praise?

However, Acheron remained calm on the surface.

Good night, sir.

Good night, Liu Bai.

Acheron and Firefly both went back to their rooms.

Just as Liu Bai was about to go back, Yelan called him back.

"Liu Bai, aren't you curious about who ambushed me?"

"I'm more curious about how you ended up in a place like that."

Although Liu Bai was scathing in his words, he still sat down again.

"Tell me about it."

"Well—but first, let me thank you. Without you, I really wouldn't know how I would have gotten out of this mess."

Yelan knew that her situation had simply changed from being on the verge of death to being caught in a dilemma.

"Sigh... Really, as the head of intelligence, how come I always owe people favors? But if we become enemies in the future, I still won't show any mercy."

[Yelan's Affection Level: 2737]

[Liyue Affection Level: 020]

"Then I guess I can hope they'll go easy on me—but back to the point, what's going on over there?"

"Herrscher, besides your World Serpent, only Herrscher can command such a massive Honkai creature. In addition, those high-ranking Honkai zombie are not so easy to control."

Yelan made a very decisive judgment.

"Moreover, at the moment when Miss Acheron unleashed the blood-red blade, I saw a fleeing figure whose physique did not match any of the extraordinary individuals I had recorded in my register."

"Intelligent high-ranking Honkai zombie... you mean those sorcerers?"

Including the first one, Liu Bai did see several Thunderfly Brute inside.

"You know Zero? Hmm, their intelligence is not much different from that of humans. They have strong learning abilities, but as a price, they are byproducts of the birth of Herrscher. They are very rare. Moreover, these guys will spontaneously gather teams to form Antimatter Legion. From a troublesome point of view, they are no less than Herrscher."

As elite monsters, the Cicin Mage have really made a name for themselves...

However, it's understandable that the young lady has special privileges in design.

Design a female monster that is big, round, and revealing. When others complain about why the monster is like that, you can retort with "You incessant chatterbox."

It's better than designing some... well, weird little boy.

Monsters should either be a little lewd, or handsome or eerie; effeminate ones are out of the question.

"Especially since I saw more than one Cicin Mage, being able to command multiple Cicin Mage, it can be said that he is undoubtedly Herrscher... However."

"Too weak for Herrscher?"

Following Yelan's train of thought, Liu Bai understood what Yelan wanted to say.

If we consider the Herrscher as a premise... Liu Bai has even identified a candidate for the Herrscher.

At this point, who else but Dominion could be the Herrscher could only cause trouble in secret?

"... Yes, if the Herrscher makes a move, I'm definitely done for."

Although Yelan has some confidence in her strength, she is not arrogant enough to think that she can ignore the Herrscher.

Even due to habit, most of the Yelan do not carry weapons.