Meanwhile, in Liyue, inside the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Hu Tao was uncharacteristically quiet, her eyes closed, hands clasped together, holding a closed book.
There was a moment of silence, then she slowly opened her eyes, revealing her plum blossom pupils.
The corners of her mouth curved slightly, and finally, she broke into a smile.
"Follow your heart, do your best."
"May you not linger in that world."
Hu Tao rubbed her small nose.
"Oh, it's getting cold, my nose is itchy, I'm going to catch a cold! It's all Qiu Qiu's fault!"
Outside the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, inside a teahouse.
Zhongli knew how to enjoy himself.
He didn't even read himself, but came directly to listen to Tian Tiezui tell stories.
At this moment, Tian Tiezui had just finished his story.
Zhongli put down his teacup and looked towards Guili Plains.
"I wonder if you are satisfied with Liyue as it is now?"
"Next time that drunk bard comes, I'll reluctantly have a drink with him."
Like Zhongli, Raiden Ei, one of the victors of the Archon War, had also finished reading the story.
The book was sent by Yae Miko, and Ei didn't want to see Yae Miko.
So the two didn't meet. If it weren't for the fact that the Eightfold Fox said this book foretold the future and might affect eternity, Ei wouldn't have even looked at it.
Yingbao is a stubborn person. If you try to persuade her to abandon her current eternity, you will certainly not succeed.
Yae Miko wanted to use the book to make Ei abandon her obsession with unchanging eternity.
Unfortunately, it seemed things didn't go as planned.
"As long as there are no 'wishes,' such tragedies won't happen."
In Raiden Ei's view, if Stanley hadn't had the wish to explore Junjiji Sea, then he wouldn't have died, would he?
Only eternity can prevent these tragedies from happening.
Ei couldn't help but recall Makoto.
"It is precisely because this scene is fleeting that one must grasp and enjoy it even more."
These were words Makoto once said to her.
If Ei were to answer now, she would say:
"No, fleeting is too short. Only the ancient and unchanging eternity is correct."
"Therefore, I confiscate my people's Visions, so they cannot step into an unknown future."
Ei closed her eyes again, letting the book fall to the side.
The last page of the book read: [Only those with 'courage' can walk towards the 'future'.]
Yes, Ei was running away; she was afraid of the future.
My sister, my friends, my people—they all died before my eyes.
And yet, I could do nothing.
Ei was afraid that future changes would be beyond her control.
She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to protect the future her people were heading towards.
She only wanted to maintain this unchanging eternity.
"Sister, Inazuma, which you entrusted to me, is as it was then."
"If you return, you won't feel unfamiliar."
At the Yashiro Commission, Kamisato Ayaka put down the book.
She looked out the window. In the bird's nest on the tree, the mother bird was feeding her chicks.
"Mother, am I the continuation of your life?"
"Can I, in your stead, see this world?"
Thinking of this, Kamisato Ayaka lowered her head in disappointment.
How could she see this world, given the current state of Inazuma?
"I'm sorry… right now, I am just a bird in a cage…"
Nahida was also a bird in a cage.
"Senior Barbatos… is truly a great God."
"If I could do as well as Senior Barbatos, would the people of Sumeru acknowledge me?"
By then, would the people of Sumeru celebrate the Flower God Festival for me?
I still need to work harder and learn how to be a qualified good God.
Nahida didn't know that she had always been a qualified God.
At least in Dinazade's heart, Nahida was a great God.
Dinazade was crying at this moment.
Dehya was flustered, trying to comfort her.
"Miss, please don't cry."
"It's all my fault for buying this book for you."
Dinazade shook her head.
"No, Dehya, it's so good that you bought this book for me."
She herself had almost become someone who abandoned the present.
Dinazade's will became a bit firmer; she must never be defeated by Eleazar.
Although it wasn't 'The Chapter of the Little Rabbit,' this story also gave her courage.
Sad dramas were playing out everywhere, but only Fontaine had nothing worth mentioning.
This was mainly because almost all the named characters had a good relationship with Lin Qiu.
They had all read the story in advance and cried in advance.
The reactions from all sides were different, but without exception, everyone was moved by this story.
Even if their final insights were not entirely the same, at least they were the same in providing emotional value to Lin Qiu.
Lin Qiu was happy; today was truly full of good things.
"What's wrong? Why are you smiling so happily?"
Furina saw Lin Qiu, who had been frowning earlier, suddenly smile, and asked curiously.
"Nothing, I just saw hope for helping you all."
Lin Qiu replied with a smile, feeling that even the fish in his mind had quieted down a lot.
"Really!?" Furina was overjoyed.
"How do we save Fontaine?"
Lin Qiu didn't answer Furina's persistent questioning.
He couldn't possibly say that he wanted to create a puppet similar to the Raiden Shogun to replace Focalors, could he?
That would expose Focalors.
"I can't say, just trust me."
Lin Qiu was helpless; he also felt that saying this was very pale and powerless.
Who knew that Furina just nodded obediently, really having no intention of pressing further?
Yes, the one in the mirror didn't explain much when she made the promise, and she still believed for five hundred years.
"Then, can I see you again next time?"
Furina asked cautiously.
In front of Lin Qiu, she wasn't the Hydro God; she was just an ordinary girl.
This caused her to lose some confidence when she said this, worried that Lin Qiu would refuse.
Of course, Lin Qiu wouldn't refuse; he nodded as a matter of course.
"We can meet anytime."
"That's great." Furina smiled, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
She really enjoyed being with Lin Qiu, because in front of him, Furina could 'play' herself.
Her loneliness and struggles could finally be confided to someone else.
She took a bite of the small cake. Hmm, so sweet!
Looking at the happy Furina, Lin Qiu felt a shared joy.
It was already a happy thing to have gained so much emotional value.
Coupled with Furina's adorable appearance, it was simply double the joy.
He took a bite of the fishy chanson. Don't tell me, it tasted really good, even the scary memories from before were healed.
He checked his emotional value. The emotional value, which had almost returned to zero, instantly soared to tens of thousands of points.
The emotional value that ordinary people could provide was very small, not even single digits, but now, accumulated, it had surpassed ten thousand.
This was only the first batch of readers; more people would continue to read later.
Although ordinary people couldn't continuously break through their defenses and provide emotional value like named characters.
But he figured the emotional value would continue to rise for some time.
As more and more books were released, the increase in emotional value would only accelerate.
After all, the previous books were still being reprinted and sold, and there would always be people who hadn't read them yet who would go and read them.
Lin Qiu already had a new plan; he was going to return to Liyue.
In a month or two, the Rite of Descension would begin, and Liyue would undergo tremendous changes.
Lin Qiu planned to help Liyue when the Fatui caused trouble, as it was his second home after all.
It was just a pity that his strength wasn't enough to solo Osial yet.
But if I can't beat Osial, can't I beat you, Tartaglia?
Saving Focalors wasn't something that could be done overnight; he still needed to improve himself first.
Lin Qiu used all ten thousand points of emotional value to improve his strength.
In the end, he found that ten thousand emotional value could no longer bring him any significant improvement.
Now, he needed to use even more emotional value to achieve a more noticeable improvement.
He decided not to exchange it for now and just save the rest.
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Character Voice Line · Hu Tao: About Life and Death
"Yin and Yang have order, but fate is unpredictable."
"Only by respecting 'death' can one truly understand the meaning of 'life'."