It's All My Fault (Continued)

She blinked and silently stared at the man in front of her.

After feeling extremely uncomfortable staring at him, Maria slowly began to speak.

"What's your relationship like?"

"Fine."

When Maria asked about his family, Ji seemed to relax and slowly began to speak, his expression softening.

"Although we don't see each other often due to various reasons, we all care about each other. If we have the chance, we will meet up and talk about what's been happening to us..."

As he spoke, Ji couldn't help but sigh.

The siblings rarely see each other, partly due to their own busy schedules, but also partly due to the interference of the Sui Office.

The Great Yan was extremely wary of every meeting they had, and would even intervene!

It could be said that without the Sui Office, although they would still be separated more often than not, at least they wouldn't be like they are now, only able to meet once or twice every few years.

"But I don't care about any of that... I'll just stay with my sister."

Ji let out a sigh of relief.

Although it was terrible, he was fortunate enough to be able to stay by his sister's side... which was enough of a blessing for him.

After saying that, he looked at Maria.

Although he looks well-behaved, he's not really stupid or clueless.

He could sense the kindness Maria was showing him at that moment...

Based on the behavior of the person who had previously Sui Office and Maria's current state, he was certain that the person before him was none other than the Exorcist General from hundreds of years ago!

In other words, the other party is an existence from the same era as their own original selves.

Ji didn't know what had happened back then.

But he could tell that Maria's attitude towards them was also complicated.

There must be all sorts of past and history involved, and there must be countless stories within it.

But when it comes to performance, he really doesn't care about these things.

He prefers to live in the present moment.

"Is that so...? That's fine too."

Maria nodded slightly and said nothing more.

After a while, Shu finished dealing with the people from Sui Office and slowly walked back to her room, looking at Maria with complicated emotions.

"Well..."

She sighed, but wasn't at all reserved, and sat down directly in front of the two of them.

"Elder sister."

Ji seemed to really like his older sister; as soon as she sat down, he immediately got up and sat down next to her.

Shu nodded slightly, then looked back at Maria.

After a moment of silence, he slowly began to speak.

"Are you... really Exorcist General?"

Although her own lifespan could be considered infinite, she was still somewhat surprised to see someone whose appearance remained unchanged for at least seven hundred years.

You know, they practically grew up listening to the stories of Maria.

It has a strange, disorienting feeling, like someone who has stepped out of a fairy tale book.

After a moment of silence, Maria nodded slightly.

There's nothing to hide.

"If you're referring to the Demon-Subduing and Calamity-Suppressing Campaign- Exorcist General... then it must be me."

"Should?"

"If the Yan hadn't launched its second Demon-Subduing and Calamity-Suppressing Campaign..."

Maria's tone was so calm that the two Sui Fragment in front of her hesitated.

After hesitating for a while, Shu clenched his fist slightly.

"If that's the case, then why have you come back now?"

She looked at Maria, her tone somewhat uneasy.

Ji, standing to the side, looked at his older sister with concern.

He could sense that something was off about Shu's tone.

That shouldn't be the case.

My sister is usually a very easy-going person.

"... I just came back to visit."

Maria keenly sensed that the other party's attitude was off, but she didn't point it out directly. Instead, she spoke softly.

Does this make you feel uneasy?

"... maybe a little."

Maria's words were so calm, but Shu could only shake his head with a wry smile.

She did feel uneasy.

It's worth noting that, according to legend, Exorcist General was a ruthless killer who wouldn't blink an eye when slaughtering beasts.

Although they felt they had long since separated themselves from the Great Beast, this did not prevent them from knowing that they actually belonged to the category of Great Beast as well.

Therefore, upon realizing Maria's identity, Shu's mood became panicked at a visible speed.

Fortunately, Maria did not return with malicious intent.

Even if it were, this malice wouldn't be directed at Shu and the others.

Taking another deep breath, Shu rubbed his face and gently patted Ji's head as he looked at Ji, who was frowning with worry.

"You go back and rest first, I'll talk to her."

"Elder sister..."

Ji's face remained full of worry.

Although his instincts told him that there was absolutely no need to worry about what was going on... Maria was a trustworthy person.

But the fact is, the current situation is indeed not good.

They don't remember exactly what happened back then.

But they knew that Exorcist General was from the Yan.

As for the Yan, their attitude towards these Great Beast was, if not friendly... at the very least, wary and hostile.

If they could, these people would certainly choose to take them all down.

"It's fine."

Shu smiled, patted the other person's head again, and watched as the other person returned to their room, looking back every few steps, before turning to Maria.

"I feel like I have so much to say, so many questions to ask, but..."

Shu paused for a few moments before tilting his head back. "You probably have more questions for me, right?"

"... Yes, a little."

Maria didn't deny her own thoughts; she simply blinked and silently looked at the girl in front of her.

Seeing the other person's slightly uneasy appearance, he leaned back in his chair.

"My original intention was to ask you about the situation on this land, but more importantly, I think there's something else I should ask first..."

Maria paused for a few moments, then looked up again.

Are you... happy?

"Huh?"

Millet was fully prepared to deal with Maria's question, but she still couldn't help but stare blankly after hearing Maria.

No...

This...

Looking at the woman before him, as serene as a flower under the moon, Shu paused for a long while before shaking his head helplessly.

"I thought you were going to ask some more pointed questions..."

"As for your question... I don't know how to answer it, but at least, I don't hate my current life."

That's enough.

Maria nodded and sat quietly.

Shu's initial wariness gradually dissipated.

The two remained silent for a while before Shu shook his head helplessly.

"These aren't the questions you really want to ask, are they?"

"... I don't know how to start."

Maria nodded.

Those weren't the questions she really wanted to ask.

"This happened a long time ago..."

Shu shook his head.

Her toes touched the ground lightly, and the pale yellow energy flowed back into her body, causing her brows to furrow involuntarily.

The stinging sensation was unpleasant; it felt as if her feet were stepping on a floor covered in steel needles...

Even so, she did not lift her foot, but silently absorbed the pain from the earth.

"I believe you also know that, at one time, the food problem was an intractable and persistent problem for the Yan..."

Even at its peak, it was barely enough to sustain a little extra food each year.

"But if a major disaster strikes next year, this food supply will be far from enough for Yan to survive..."

"The threat of famine could catch up with the Yan at any moment..."

As the girl spoke, her face gradually turned pale.

Maria frowned when she saw this.

She stretched out her foot, trying to hook the girl's foot up.

But Shu shook his head firmly.

"Later... a person, in order to solve this problem, began searching everywhere for suitable seeds and food, and started cultivating and developing..."

"She measured every inch of Yan's land with her own feet, step by step. She tried foods that ordinary people couldn't even imagine, time and time again, to determine their toxicity and how to modify them..."

"And she did indeed do it in the end..."

"She devised a method, improved farming techniques... and cultivated entirely new seeds that could greatly increase food production."

"But... that's not enough..."

"Simply improving technology and breeds is not enough to ensure that Yan can live a life of basic sustenance..."

"We need more varieties... to improve more seeds."

"Then... she went north..."

As Shu finished speaking, his eyes lowered, as if he were reminiscing.

Maria frowned as she looked at the other person's white knuckles.

Clearly, suppressing this land is not something she can do easily.

She needs to expend all her energy to handle this...