books44 Chapter 324 The Upholder of Justice: Why do I feel like someone is talking badly about me behind my
Chapter 324 The Upholder of Justice: Why do I feel like someone is talking badly about me behind my
"Qiqi? Are you really Qiqi?"
Paimon looked at Qiqi in surprise and asked, after all, Qiqi not only had a different aura now, but she also had marks of being corrupted.
More importantly, Qiqi's pupils were no longer their original color, but a deep crimson.
“It’s you guys.” Qiqi glanced at Paimon and the others and said indifferently, “This is the second time we’ve met since we first met in Ochikanata, right?”
"Ochikanata? Qiqi, what are you talking about? And how do you know this name?"
“Paimon,” Kong interrupted, “it’s obvious she’s not Seven Seven herself.”
Qi Qi glanced at Kong, then a slight smile appeared on her lips as she asked, "So, who do you think I am?"
"You are the ruler of death, aren't you?"
"Eh?"
Paimon opened his eyes wide in surprise and looked at Qiqi, making a sound that was hard to understand.
"Smart. Since you've already guessed my identity, just do as I say and don't ask any more questions."
It was obvious that Ronawa's last words were directed at Lan Yan and Hu Tao. After all, the two hadn't had time to ask questions earlier due to the urgency of the situation. Now that they had time, it wasn't the right time to discuss these matters. To prevent any unforeseen complications, leaving as soon as possible was the best option.
Even though Sora still had many questions in her mind, she called out Xiao's name. Xiao then opened a passage in front of everyone. After taking one last look at the captain, Sora led the others away from the boundary between life and death.
Upon returning to Liyue Harbor, the group immediately went to Kiana's mansion, where Bella, as before, was already waiting for them at the door.
Upon entering, one sees Kiana sitting in the living room, holding her child and waiting for everyone. The child, Fuuhi, is sleeping peacefully in Kiana's arms, her silver hair softly covering her forehead, while the orange highlights on her bangs assert her presence.
Upon seeing everyone's arrival, Kiana gently handed the baby, Furyi, to Ishtar. Ishtar glanced at Qiqi, or rather, Jonathan, before leaving the living room.
Of course, Ishtar didn't win by defeating the others; rather, with Kiana's coordination, she finally reached a consensus with the others to take turns teaching Furyi every day, and it just so happened that it was Ishtar's turn today.
“I understand the specific situation now. I will treat your symptoms of erosion later. If you have any questions now, please ask them.”
After a moment's thought, Kong asked the question that concerned him most.
"I want to know if they already knew about this crisis in Liyue?"
"What can I do even if I know?"
"you……"
There was nothing to say for a moment. After all, for Kiana, as long as Teyvat was not destroyed, it was never too late. The crisis in Liyue was not something she needed to intervene directly.
However, this Kiana was not the Kiana he knew at all. Although they hadn't spent much time together, he had learned quite a bit about Kiana through the group chat, and he couldn't imagine that such a kind Kiana could become so full of divinity rather than humanity.
“Kong, I know what you’re thinking. But there’s one thing I need you to remember: relying on me to solve everything will create a path dependency. I don’t want everyone in Teyvat to end up just praying to God to solve problems whenever they arise. People need to learn to be independent so they can grow out of childhood and move towards a more distant future.”
He knew Kiana's intentions, but...
With that, Kong sighed and decided not to interfere any further.
"Next question: Is the gradual collapse of the boundary between life and death real? Is there any way to resolve this?"
"It is true that it is gradually collapsing. The formation that originally refined Tao Du was only temporary. As time goes by, the remnants of the demon god after Tao Du's death cannot be obediently bound to the boundary between life and death forever. Every once in a while, the death energy in the boundary between life and death will overflow. This is the evidence that the remnants of the demon god are trying to break through the boundary between life and death and return to reality."
For so long, the affairs of the Wangsheng Hall had been handled by the people there, until the flood more than a decade ago.
“A flood?” Paimon asked.
“I’ve heard about that flood too,” Lan Yan said. “Kong and Paimon have been to Wuwangpo, so they should know that it’s full of village ruins, right?”
Kong and Paimon nodded.
"Actually, there was a village there more than ten years ago, until a sudden flood swept it away, killing most of the inhabitants and leaving only a few survivors. It's just unexpected that that flood would be connected to the boundary between life and death in Liyue..."
"Because...that flood...cough cough! It was caused by my old man's failed methods...it was caused by..."
Having finally regained consciousness, Hu Tao began to explain the details of the flood that occurred more than a decade ago, albeit haltingly...
“So that’s what happened. But why does it sound like you’re blaming your father, Walnut?” Paimon asked.
"Hehe, because what we at the Hall of Rebirth emphasize is being born at the moment of birth and dying at the moment of death. The most important thing is not to have any attachment to the human world... Even during one's lifetime, only one thing will be left behind as one's own keepsake... Everything else that might become a source of regret will be burned together."
But when I was sorting through my father's belongings, I discovered he left behind so many things... enough to fill an entire room... From that moment on, I knew... My father still had too many attachments to the world of the living, which led to the fact that my father, who was clearly the most talented man in history, died in that simple ritual..."
As she spoke, Hu Tao struggled to get up and dragged her badly injured body outside.
"This matter was originally my responsibility; there's no need to drag the captain into this mess..."
Before Hu Tao even reached the door, she felt a force pulling her back. In the blink of an eye, Hu Tao felt herself entering a maternal embrace. Then, she felt a warm sensation in her body, and the wounds and traces left by the erosion were gradually fading away.
"Honestly, no matter how responsible you are, you can't carry out your duties while you're seriously injured. Besides, this is Liyue. You wouldn't want your friends to know you're badly injured and worry them, would you?"
"..."
Kiana's gentle tone calmed Kurumi down. Perhaps because she had just had her own child, Kiana was now radiating maternal glow, which Kurumi found herself somewhat captivated by.
Kurumi's treatment was over in no time, and Kiana then beckoned to Jonathan. Jonathan readily came to Kiana to begin her treatment. Although somewhat displeased that Jonathan hadn't sat in her lap, Kiana's work didn't stop.
"I see." Kiana understood why Jonawa relied on Qiqi the moment they made contact. "This child gained some authority over death due to her own characteristics after being corrupted by the abyss..."
Realizing that Kiana's words had a hidden meaning, Ronawa didn't say anything but instead used her eyes to signal Kiana not to say it.
Kiana naturally understood Rona's concerns, but just smiled and didn't say anything more. The treatment ended in a short while, and as soon as the treatment was over, she immediately started asking about Nana again.
"Should I tell you about this, or will you tell me yourself?" Kiana asked Jonawa with great interest.
Finally, Jonawa sighed and said, "I'll do it myself. Son of Man beyond the world, as you think, I am indeed the ruler of death."
Upon hearing this, everyone present, except those who knew the truth, looked at Qi Qi in astonishment.
"But don't overthink it. I only descended into this body to check the situation because I sensed someone coveting the power of death."
Although Kong knew that Jonawa's arrival in Qiqi's body was definitely not as simple as someone coveting the power of death. After all, if that were all, she could have directly descended to the boundary between life and death in her true form, without having to resort to such a troublesome method to check the situation.
Furthermore, even with the power that Qiqi gained later, her own strength was not enough to defeat the Abyss. If it weren't for the others at the time, even if Jonawa controlled Qiqi's body, she would still be helpless against the Abyss.
However, due to a lack of clues, Sora understood that it was not appropriate to casually mention matters related to these four rulers in Teyvat. Therefore, Sora suppressed his curiosity and signaled Paimon not to speak carelessly.
On the other side, Lan Yan and Hu Tao saw that Kong and Paimon did not react much, and immediately understood the current situation. Seeing that no one reacted, Ronawa continued her performance.
"After arriving, I discovered that the Abyss had invaded Teyvat again through some unknown method, so I joined you in expelling the Abyss. However, because this body has been corrupted by the Abyss, I cannot rashly send my consciousness back to my original body, otherwise it would be troublesome if my divine body were also corrupted."
After explaining, Kiana signaled the others to leave first, while Qiqi would have to wait until she asked Jonathan some questions to help him release his dependence before she could leave.
After Kiana repeatedly assured them, the others left Kiana's mansion, glancing back every few steps.
After everyone else had left, Istaru carried Furyshi back to the living room through the side door. At the same time, Kiana waved her hand, and a barrier instantly enveloped the room, preventing those outside from monitoring the situation inside. Rona knew that she probably couldn't escape.
After giving up the struggle, Jonawa asked, "What else would you like to know, my lord?"
"Nothing much, I just wanted to know how many shadows you projected on Teyvat. If I'm not mistaken, Qiqi herself is one of your shadows. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible for the Abyss to actually draw a 'pseudo-Herrscher' with the power of death."
“That’s right, Qiqi is one of the shadows I cast. Unlike Istar and her, I and the Regent of Life cast at least one shadow in each country because of our duties, so that we can observe whether there are any situations in the region that violate the laws of life and death.”
"And Qiqi is your shadow in Liyue?"
"Yes and no. Initially, the shadow I cast was the Hall of Rebirth, which was established at my instruction. However, due to the lifespan of humans, after Wuwang Tongzi passed away, I was unable to personally monitor the balance of life and death in Liyue for a period of time. Originally, I planned to continue casting my shadow inside the Hall of Rebirth and make him the Hall Master."
"In other words, the Hu family was originally the clan you regularly cast shadows in Liyue?"
“Yes,” Jonawa nodded.
"Then why didn't you do that later?"
"Later I realized that constantly casting shadows was too troublesome, so I came up with a solution that would solve the problem once and for all: to create an immortal being to become the shadow in Liyue. The situation was similar for the shadows in other countries."
"Is this why Qiqi turned into a zombie?"
"That's right. During the war between the demon gods, I descended into a family that made a living by gathering herbs, and intentionally or unintentionally caused her to be accidentally caught up in the battle between immortals and demons. Of course, it was my mistake that the child's body could not fully withstand the power of the immortals and went berserk. At the time, I did not expect that the child's body was not as resilient as that of an adult."
Therefore, after being sealed away, I was forced to restart my original plan, reincarnating in the Hu family until someone accidentally found this body and broke the seal. After realizing that the body I needed was complete, I used the flood from over a decade ago to erase the shadow of that time.
"Wait! So, the shadow you were in over a decade ago was actually Hu Tao's father?"
"Yes."
"To be honest, wasn't Hu Tao partly responsible for your eagerness to get others away from the brink of death?"
"…no."
It was obvious that Jonathan hesitated, but Kiana and Istar chose not to point it out and gestured for Jonathan to continue.
The rest is pretty self-explanatory; the zombie body caused severe memory loss, making it impossible to remember things for extended periods. However, for Jonawa, Qiqi was merely a shadow she used to monitor the balance of life and death in Liyue. Gaining an immortal body without breaking the rules, and only paying the price of memory loss, was already a bargain.
“However, there aren’t many immortals or long-lived beings among humans… By the way, could that obsidian grandma from Nata be one of your shadows?” Kiana asked.
"Her? She's somewhat special..."
"special?"
"She was originally on the side of the ruling class, but one day she suddenly came to me crying and said that her Nata shadow had been ruined and had become a shut-in like me. She insisted on transferring that Citrali under me. At the time, I was worried that I didn't have a suitable candidate for Nata, so I went along with her wishes. Although to this day I still have some resentment towards her for calling her a shut-in."
"Um, can your shadows be transferred to each other?"
“The so-called shadow is actually just us projecting our authority onto a certain being,” Ishtar explained. “Besides creating shadows by reincarnating a part of our own consciousness, there is another way: to directly anchor our authority into a person’s body. Most of the four of us use the latter method, since this is the only way to avoid establishing too much contact with humans.”
"Most people use it, which means..."
"Well, apart from the idiot who is the maintainer of the natural order, who actually split his consciousness and reincarnated it into Alice, the other three of us used the latter method."
"..."