After staying in Mondstadt for a few days, Durandal suddenly took Shenhe back to Liyue.
Lumine and Paimon were still in Mondstadt. The reason Durandal brought Shenhe back to Liyue was because Shenhe wanted to return to the village where she once lived.
During her cultivation in the mountains, Shenhe had secretly gone down the mountain, wanting to see how the village was doing now.
But things had changed; the former village was deserted, and her father had long since passed away. She had no relatives left in this human world.
Because of this, she abandoned all worldly attachments, and until she met Durandal and Lumine, she did not have much interaction with humans.
"At that time, father wanted to use my flesh and blood to save mother's life. Father loved mother very much. For his beloved, he could disregard everything. Even his most beloved daughter, he could bear to abandon."
On the way to the village, Shenhe recounted her childhood to Durandal. Although it sounded uncomfortable, she did not show too much emotion when telling the story.
But... if one paid attention to her eyes, one could see the sorrow contained within them.
"When he threw me into the cave, I once hoped he would come back to save me. But I waited for a long time, one day, two days... At that time, I fought with all my might against the monsters, and I never saw him until I finally collapsed from exhaustion."
"Don't you hate him? Hate him for abandoning you, hate him for doing such an excessive thing to you."
Shenhe shook her head: "Initially... perhaps, but that feeling vanished when I discovered father's passing. If I could... I wish father were still alive. I want to ask him if he regrets what he did back then."
She still remembered that when her mother was alive, her father doted on her. Everything changed after her mother's passing.
She wanted to find out if her father, who once doted on her, regretted his past actions.
Durandal did not understand such emotions. She was born on a planet full of deadly pathogens. Having never had parents, she could not understand what it felt like to be abandoned by parents.
But... it must have been very painful, to make Shenhe show such eyes, it must not have been easy.
But... even after experiencing such behavior, Shenhe couldn't bring herself to hate the father who abandoned her. Her feelings for her biological father were very deep.
"Since there are sad memories there, why do you still want to go back and see? Won't going there just bring back those sad things?"
"Yes, whenever I see the house where I used to live, past memories will resurface in my mind."
"Since it brings back memories, why do you still want to go back and see?"
Since it hurt her so much, why did she insist on returning to that sorrowful place? Durandal couldn't understand it.
Shouldn't she be running far away from a place like that? At least, from what Durandal had learned about humans during her time, that's what they usually chose to do.
"Perhaps... that would be the right thing to do, but I just can't help wanting to go back and see. I want to go back and see the old place, I want... I want..."
Ever since she took off the red rope and her emotions returned, this feeling had grown stronger. After seeing children interacting with their parents in Mondstadt, this emotion finally became unbearable, which is why she suggested to Durandal that they return.
She took out a photograph from her person. It was the photo Shenhe always carried with her, a picture of an old, dilapidated house, completely lacking any aesthetic appeal.
Yet, Shenhe often took out this very photograph to look at it, and each time, her eyes would fill with melancholy.
In this atmosphere, Durandal, led by Shenhe, arrived at the village where she once lived.
Just as Shenhe had said, the village was already desolate, uninhabited, with only some crumbling buildings remaining.
As they approached, an old man holding flowers stood before a certain house, placing the flowers in front of it, gazing at the building without a word.
"Is that... Uncle Mingjun?"
Seeing the old man from afar, Shenhe recalled the uncle who once cared for her, and her steps quickened slightly.
Mingjun, who was lost in his memories, heard movement behind him. He couldn't fathom who else would come to this deserted village besides himself.
Turning around, he saw two beautiful Damselettes walking towards him. The white-haired Damselette felt familiar to him; he seemed to have seen her somewhere before.
"Uncle Mingjun, I didn't expect to see you here."
"You... you are..."
"Shenhe, you still remember me, right? Uncle Mingjun."
"A-He, A-He, you're alive? You're alive! That's wonderful, I thought you had already..."
Mingjun's voice trembled. The Shenhe before him gradually merged with the little girl from his memories.
Although she had changed dramatically, he was certain that this Damselette was the daughter of his closest friend.
"Yes, I'm alive, Uncle Mingjun. Are you... here to remember Father?"
"Every year I bring flowers back. I've always felt I owed you all an apology. I had a chance to stop him from holding the ritual back then, but I was soft-hearted and let him go, which resulted in a great tragedy."
To prevent Shenhe's father from making another mistake, he had hidden the book containing the story of the transaction with the evil god. He thought this would stop him, but it was eventually discovered.
Even then, he could have done something, but his stance wasn't firm. If he had been more resolute and tried harder to stop it, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way.
"No need to apologize, Uncle Mingjun. Even if you had truly stopped Father, given his state at the time, he would surely have found other ways. The outcome would have been the same, and perhaps even worse."
Although she had fought monsters in the cave for an unknown duration, nearly dying at their hands, she was ultimately saved by an Adeptus, which was a good outcome.
If other methods had been used, she might not have been so lucky as to be discovered by an Adeptus, and she probably would have died then.
"Then... do you still hate him? Hate his actions, hate him for abandoning you in the cave?"
"...When I was abandoned in the cave, I cried constantly. I kept hoping Father would come back and rescue me. But I never saw him until the very end. At that time... I probably hated him."
It was precisely because of her love for her father that Shenhe felt hatred, but this emotion was suppressed by the red rope and not expressed.
Mingjun sighed. This answer was within his expectations; if it were him, the result would probably be the same.
"But... a few years ago, I secretly returned here without my master's knowledge. Seeing the dilapidated house and learning of Father's death, that feeling was gone. I... I miss him greatly now. I want to know the answer from him. I want to know if he regretted abandoning me in the end, but now... there's no chance."
The dead cannot be brought back to life; even the Seven Archons cannot accomplish such a feat.
Shenhe and Mingjun stood before the house, both seemingly lost in memories of the past.
Durandal stood behind them, feeling somewhat out of place, unsure what to say or do.
Having nothing to do, she looked around. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a guiding Seelie on the roof of a nearby house.
They are very special beings; by following them, one can find treasures or trigger other events.
Lumine had told her that she had found many treasures with the help of these Seelies, calling them her good helpers.
Durandal wasn't interested in these Seelies, but... Durandal was very curious about how Seelies exist, and with this Seelie appearing in this village, Durandal was very curious about what it would lead to.
She easily reached the rooftop and approached the Seelie.
As Durandal drew near, the Seelie began to move. It slowly moved in a certain direction, stopping at intervals, seemingly giving Durandal time to catch up.
Shenhe, who was lost in thought, noticed Durandal's actions. Seeing her following a Seelie, she couldn't help but walk over.
Mingjun also noticed the actions of the friend who had come with Shenhe. Seeing Shenhe walk towards the other Damselette, he followed along to join them.
The place the Seelie wanted to take them was not far; it flew to a large tree and then disappeared.
Durandal didn't understand why the Seelie had brought them here, but if the Seelie led her to this place, it meant there was something here.
Thinking this, Durandal crouched down and used her hand to dig where the Seelie had just stood, perhaps something was buried there.
Although digging in the dirt with her hands was a bit undignified, it was the best option to avoid damaging anything that might be buried underneath.
Shenhe and Mingjun, who had caught up, exchanged glances. Neither of them understood why Durandal was doing this. They wanted to help, but Durandal had already dug out the object buried in the ground.
It was a box, clearly containing something, and it must have been buried there by someone.
Thinking it was just some ordinary treasure, Durandal opened it with a hint of disappointment, but there were no valuables inside, only a letter and a hair tie.
The moment Shenhe saw the hair tie, her eyes widened: "That... that's Mother's hair tie from when she was alive. This... this is something Father left behind."
This was left by Shenhe's father? Did that Seelie just happen to bring them to this place? Or was there some other reason?
Durandal handed the box to Shenhe. Shenhe took the box, gently picked up the hair tie, confirmed it was something her mother had used, and then picked up the letter inside to read it.
Soon, tears streamed from Shenhe's eyes, yet despite crying, a joyful smile appeared on her face.
"Father... Father..."
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