Chapter 97
Ying was very surprised. She had no idea where the Sacred Sakura Tree came from, and how could she have planted it?
"That's right, you planted the Sacred Sakura Tree, and you planted it in the future."
"Future?"
The Inazuma Sacred Sakura Tree is very special. It was planted by Kage 500 years in the future and then grew in the past 500 years ago. For Kage, the tree spans 1,000 years of time. This is the Miracle created by the time power possessed by Istaroth. During these 500 years, it has protected the entire Inazuma Islands.
However, Shadow is unaware of this. She doesn't even know where the Sacred Sakura Tree grew from. She only knows that she went to Cainrea and returned with news of a real death. Then Mt. Yougou and a Sacred Sakura Tree appeared. Moreover, in Inazuma's memory, this tree has existed since ancient times.
Kage didn't know what happened, but the power of the Sacred Sakura could protect Inazuma, so she asked Yae to guard the Sacred Sakura Tree, which is why the Sacred Sakura Tree has turned into its current fox-like appearance.
"That's right. I can't tell you the specifics now. You need to experience it for yourself. Just like I said, you can only fully understand it when you can unleash the full power of your Dream of One Heart. You will understand this in the future."
After Zhen finished speaking, he handed his Dream of One Heart to Ying.
"Now, put it away and use it properly."
History cannot be broken. On the Teyvat, if history is broken, reality will truly change, and new memories will be added to everyone in the world of Teyvat to cover up the true history of the past.
Li Yue didn't want her Dream of One Heart to go awry, causing her true consciousness to dissipate, and then the true essence within her to vanish as well. Although she wasn't affected by the World Tree, she didn't know if the true essence would be affected. Before she could control the World Tree through Nahida, she wanted to ensure her safety as much as possible.
Ying withdrew her Dream of One Heart and looked at Zhen.
"Then why were you inside the Sacred Sakura Tree?"
"After you planted the Sacred Sakura Tree, my consciousness dissipated."
"Wait, didn't you say you were alright? Why did you disappear?"
Ying was getting anxious.
"Shadow, don't panic, listen to me."
He pressed his hand against Ying's shoulder.
"I'm right here now, which means I'm fine."
"Although my consciousness dissipated, the Sacred Sakura Tree completely collected it, and my consciousness was planted with the Divine Sacred Sakura Tree, sleeping in it until recently when it was awakened by this new Rock King."
"I know, the Yae Miko told me before."
Shadow was also surprised that this new Rock King had such an ability.
"It's probably because he's not from Teyvat. Li Yue is from outside Teyvat and can come and Teyvat freely. Plus, he's a very nice person, so Morax chose to entrust the godhood to him."
"Moreover, he has good insights into many things about Teyvat."
"Indeed, although we didn't talk much before, some of the things he said really enlightened me."
Ying recalled what Li Yue had said on Yashima: she should stand in front of the Inazuma soldiers, not stay in the Tenshukaku.
"So what are you going to do next? Do you need to find a way to get out of his body?"
"No, Li Yue's power is very special. We Demon God have completely merged into his soul and are nourished by a special power within his soul. If we leave his soul, we will completely dissipate."
"Then it's better not to come out!"
Although it was true that it could not be separated, it was still better than dissipating. Ying immediately chose to let it stay in Li Yue's body.
"And this is enough. Your return is enough."
"It's not just me. According to Li Yue's memories, Lady Kitsune's consciousness hasn't completely dissipated. In other words, as long as Li Yue is willing to take action, Lady Kitsune can also come back to life."
"Really!?"
The door was pushed open, Yae Miko rushed in.
Both Kage Kazuma looked at Yae Miko speechlessly. So you've been eavesdropping outside all this time!
"Hahaha, sorry, I've come at the wrong time."
Yae Miko smiled awkwardly and prepared to leave.
"No, little Yae Miko, you've come at just the right time."
He waved to the Yae Miko.
"Come here, quickly transform into a little fox and let me pet you!"
The Yae Miko rolled her Byakugan in exasperation, but still obediently turned into a pink fox and jumped into the real person's arms.
Touching the beautiful, soft fur of the Yae Miko while leaning against Shadow's shoulder was incredibly pleasant.
"Lady Kitsune was devoured by filth, but her memories were too vast for the filth to completely consume. Instead, the filth and Lady Kitsune's memories mixed together, creating a vessel containing Lady Kitsune's memories. Li Yue has the ability to separate matter and even concepts. As long as we ask Li Yue to remove the filth from that vessel, Lady Kitsune can return to us."
"That's wonderful!"
Ying laughed with joy. 500 years had passed, and she was happier than ever before. They were really back, and the Lady Kitsune was coming back too. Two of her former companions had returned at once. There was nothing happier than this.
"Alright, I've finished talking about my business. Now it's time to talk about yours."
She spoke with a genuine smile, her eyes almost completely closed, and her smile looked so gentle.
"Hey, Shadow, can you tell me how you turned Inazuma into this mess?"
Ying, who had just been happy, froze instantly.
"Yes, yes, how did Inazuma become such a mess? It's really intriguing."
Yae Miko was also in Shin's arms, smiling as she looked at Kage and chiming in with a question, only to be met with a death stare from Kage.
But so what if I'm stared at? Am I, Yae Miko, afraid?
Ah, that feels so good! If I had dared to talk to Shadow before, Shadow would have drawn his sword and slashed at me. Although I was able to dodge every time thanks to my agility, I would still get hit by the lightning from time to time. It would take a long time for the burnt fur to fall off and for new fur to grow back.
But now!
Shadow! The days when you could cut me down at will are over! Now, I've returned to the embrace of truth!
"Hey, Shadow, can you tell me why?"
Holding the triumphant Yae Miko in her arms, she softly pressed for an answer.
However, to Ying, that gentle voice and the smile that seemed incredibly gentle to outsiders were terrifying. Her back was instantly soaked with sweat, and she gave the answer she had prepared beforehand with extreme stiffness.
"This... this... this was all done by the general!"
[?]
162. Naughty little sister deserves a spanking!
"You issued Sakoku Decree, which made it impossible for the villagers on Narukami Island to survive by growing commercial crops for foreign trade. Do you think we should fight?"
"But I issued the Sakoku Decree in order to..."
"Um!?"
"He deserves... he deserves to be hit."
Snap—
Feel the texture in your hand; Raiden Shogun's butt is indeed incredibly soft! Is this a super puppet created using Raiden Ei's own body? Amazing!
The hand that was patting Shadow's buttocks gently rubbed it, while [True] continued to scold him.
"You allow your subordinates to Kanjō Bugyō wealth everywhere, exploiting merchants, even those from Inazuma, making it impossible for them to survive. Shouldn't you be punished?"
"What? The Kanjō Bugyō actually did..."
"Um!?"
"He deserves... he deserves to be hit."
Snap—
Woohoo—
Although it really didn't hurt at all when I slapped her, and I was even worried that I would hurt myself, so I gently rubbed it afterward, it still felt so embarrassing. After all, it would be one thing if no one was watching, but there was a Yae Miko watching. If I was really spanked in front of the Yae Miko, she would laugh at me for a long time.
"Your subordinates, the Tenryou Commission, have been persecuting the people of Inazuma. The villagers on Yashima have fallen ill because of Corrupted God, and instead of helping them, they have drowned them all. Yet you so easily believed their claims that nothing happened. Shouldn't you have been punished?"
"What? The Tenryou Commission their lead..."
"Um!?"
"Yes... he deserves to be hit."
Snap—
"Your subordinates Kanjō Bugyō and the Tenryou Commission, collaborated with the Fatui for money, deceiving you into issuing the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree. In essence, it was all a scheme to deceive you so that they could make money, and you didn't even realize it!"
"How could that be? They are..."
"Shadow, do you... suspect that I'm lying?"
"No, I just..."
"Little Yae Miko, I'm so heartbroken! My dear sister has started to doubt me, just because I haven't returned for 500 years. She's begun to distrust me. I'm so miserable... sobs"
"That's right, Shadow has changed. He doesn't trust us anymore. Zhen, do you know how hard these past 500 years have been for me? sobs"
Shin covered his face with both hands, looking pitifully at the Yae Miko. The Yae Miko, still in her fox form, raised one front paw and patted Shin's shoulder, while using the other front paw to cover her face, looking utterly pathetic.
Seeing that this was true, Ying quickly tried to explain.
"Really, I didn't! I believe you!"
Snap—
I haven't even said I deserved to be hit, so why did you start hitting me?
"Um!?"
"I deserve to be hit."
Faced with a genuinely questioning tone, Ying honestly chose to admit her mistake.
Snap—
He slapped her again, but Ying didn't dare to argue back.
There's no way around it. No matter how big the world is, my sister is the most important. Even if it's something I've always insisted on, I have to give way to Zhen, who has finally returned!
The excuse that everything was done by the General is completely irrelevant. Isn't the General you? You've been living inside the General's body all along. I can know about the outside world through Li Yue's body, and you can also know about the outside world through the General, right?
You say you don't know? That's your fault! You say you do know? You know and you still don't care? That's even more of your fault!
Shadow's attempt to shift the blame to the general was directly thwarted by Zhen, leaving Shadow with no choice but to lie on Zhen's lap and accept Zhen's punishment.
"Sorry, Shadow, did I hurt you?"
After slapping her a few times, she gently stroked the spot where she had just been hit and asked softly.
She still cares about me just as much as before.
Ying shook her head repeatedly, and a smile reappeared on her face.
"No, not at all. I am a martial artist, this level is no problem for me."
"Oh, I see. It seems I didn't hit him hard enough!"
Ying's smile froze again.
"Um!?"
With a genuine smile, Zhen asked, and Ying quickly lowered her head.
"Yes... I hit too lightly."
Snap—
This time it was a bit harder than before, but Ying still didn't feel any pain. In fact, Zhen was still worried about hurting her after patting her, so he gently rubbed and pinched her.
While rubbing Ying's buttocks, Zhen began to explain earnestly.
"The reason why the Kanjō Bugyō made you issue the Sakoku Decree is because the Fatui promised them many benefits. They could get enough profit from the Fatui, so under the Fatui's inducement, they persuaded you to issue the Sakoku Decree, because only after you closed the country could they monopolize trade with the Fatui in the name of the Enforcer."
"Later, in order to gain benefits from the Fatui, especially to cooperate with the Fatui' experiments on the Delusion, the Tenryou Commission persuaded you to issue the Vision Hunt Decree. You thought that the Vision Hunt Decree Hunting Order would allow Inazuma to approach eternity by confiscating the Eye of Vision, but in reality, that was just a lie told to you by the Tenryou Commission and the Fatui. Because after the person who possessed the Vision of Vision lost it, the Fatui could issue the Delusion to replace the Vision, thereby perfecting their research on the Delusion."
"The Tenryou Commission and the Kanjō Bugyō collaborated with the Fatui to seek their own selfish interests, bringing much suffering to the people of Inazuma. The emergence of the resistance army was almost entirely orchestrated by the Tenryou Commission and the Fatui. They caused the outbreak of this war and the deaths of many Inazuma people who trusted you."
"The method you thought could achieve eternity was nothing more than a tool for exploitation from beginning to end."
After hearing all this, Kage lay down on Shin's lap and fell silent. She did not doubt what Shin said, because Shin could not possibly deceive her. In other words, it was all true. The Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree she issued had only brought suffering to the Inazuma people.
What Shadow didn't know was that the reason the Kanjō Bugyō and the Tenryou Commission dared to do this was because they were loyal to Raiden Shogun. That's right, they were completely loyal to Raiden Shogun. In their eyes, Raiden Shogun was invincible, and they could not possibly betray Raiden Shogun. And precisely because Raiden Shogun was invincible, they could use Raiden Shogun power to make deals with the Fatui, and they were certain that the Fatui would not dare to offend them. How outrageous!
The thought of her Inazuma subjects, who trusted her, losing their lives because of her mistakes filled Kage with immense guilt.