Chapter 436: Meeting

The Tatarasuna area was very familiar to Li Mo. When he first arrived in Teyvat, he had landed on Yashiori Island. Back then, he had helped a group of ronin fight against the private soldiers of certain families. After that night, they had returned to Narukami Island by landing near the Tatarasuna area.

The Tatarasuna of that time was quite different from what it was now.

Li Mo didn't feel much about these changes. Young people, after all, are like that—always ready to accept new things. He was far from the stage of old age, where one might reject anything new.

After descending from the Grand Narukami Shrine, Li Mo had released his "Shadow of the Dragon" constructs to hunt down the Riftwolves. The Riftwolves' corrosive abilities had no effect on the shadow soldiers, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming.

It was only a matter of time before all the Riftwolves near Mount Yougou were eliminated, and it wasn't particularly difficult. The only challenge was figuring out why Riftwolves had appeared on Narukami Island in the first place.

These monsters should only appear on Tsurumi Island.

However, he had originally planned to wait at the former site of the Grand Narukami Shrine, the place where he had once set off fireworks with Hanachirusato. But for some reason, he changed his mind and ended up in Tatarasuna.

There, he stayed and conversed with an elderly blind man.

"How's the tea?"

Li Mo replied, "It's excellent. As expected of the Shogun's tea master."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the pile of Riftwolf corpses brought back by the "Shadow of the Dragon" constructs. Further away, he noticed Lumine and Paimon approaching.

"Not at all, not at all. It's an honor to receive your praise, Your Excellency. It's just a pity that the Shogun can no longer taste my tea…"

"There will be opportunities," Li Mo said, humoring the old man while raising his hand. A shrine maiden apparition emerged from the shadows to communicate with Lumine and Paimon.

"No, no. I'm old now. Compared to the eternal Shogun, this old man will soon return to the earth. Thank you, Your Excellency."

The shrine maiden apparition stopped halfway.

Because the tea master had vanished into thin air.

There was no longer any need to stop Lumine and Paimon from approaching. Next, there would likely be another place where memories would leak out. Who would appear there? A soldier? Or an ordinary person? Probably a soldier. An ordinary person wouldn't have lasted this long.

As he pondered, Paimon and Lumine arrived.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency! Why did that person you were talking to just disappear like that? Where did he go? How did he leave?" Paimon asked.

Li Mo replied, "Where do you think someone who died 500 years ago would go?"

"Wha—?!" Paimon covered her mouth and flew backward, her face filled with shock.

"Don't be so surprised, Paimon," Li Mo said, pointing to the damaged roots of the Sacred Sakura nearby. "The Sacred Sakura is the divine tree that purifies the filth of all of Inazuma. The filth it absorbs flows through its roots and is purified."

He then pointed to the pile of Riftwolf corpses. "The Riftwolves damaged the roots of the Sacred Sakura, causing the purified filth to leak out, resulting in this phenomenon. They are just remnants of memories."

Having completed the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual and become the priest of the Grand Narukami Shrine, Li Mo was well-versed in the workings of the Sacred Sakura. When he saw the soldier who had died in battle earlier, he immediately understood the nature of his existence.

They were weaker versions of Hanachirusato.

Lady Saiguu's memories were so strong that even the filth couldn't completely erase her existence, giving rise to someone like Hanachirusato… Li Mo suspected that the tumor-like entity purified during the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual was due to the inability to erase Lady Saiguu's memories…

"So, the memories of those who have passed are resurfacing?"

"Yes."

Li Mo gestured to the table. "Come, have some tea. It's the last pot brewed by that old man."

After a pause, he smiled. "Later, I'll take this teapot back to the Grand Narukami Shrine."

"Won't it get cold by then?"

"Paimon, I have a special way to keep it warm," Li Mo said.

This "special way" referred to storing it in his inventory. Based on his previous research, time stood still in the inventory, so food and drinks wouldn't spoil. No matter when he took them out, they would remain exactly as they were when stored.

It was perfect for preserving food and drinks.

Li Mo found the inventory incredibly convenient—one of the few useful features of this otherwise frustrating system.

After the two of them each had a cup of tea, Li Mo stored the teapot in his inventory.

Naturally, the conversation turned to Lumine's purpose for being here.

"So, you came because you saw the shadow soldiers fighting the Riftwolves? I didn't expect you to take on this commission. I was planning to cancel it at the Adventurers' Guild after finishing up here," Li Mo said, stroking his chin.

Paimon asked, "Was the commission issued by you, Your Excellency?"

"Yes, I was planning to handle this matter slowly. The Riftwolves' activity was limited to the wilderness. But Ei is very concerned about this."

"Then, Your Excellency, will you cancel the commission?" Paimon rubbed her hands together, looking nervous.

"Too lazy to cancel. You can just complete the commission with these materials later."

"Yay! Your Excellency is truly a good person!" Paimon raised her hands high, extremely happy. Then she flew over to Lumine, cheering, "Traveler, Traveler, we can go eat delicious food now!"

Lumine patted Paimon's little head and asked, "Your Excellency, is this really okay?"

"The commission reward is just a small amount of Mora. It's nothing," Li Mo said. "By the way, Lumine, after leaving the Grand Narukami Shrine, you went straight to Seirai Island, right?"

"Yes, Your Excellency. Paimon and I took on an adventurer's commission to investigate Seirai Island," Lumine replied.

She had met the Raiden Shogun at the Grand Narukami Shrine. Later, she had another conversation with the priest, learning more about his speculations.

Li Mo shook his head. "What puzzled me was that I didn't see any related reports. I assume you just returned? Is your next destination Sumeru?"

"Yes."

"During this time, I've been studying historical records about Inazuma. Although Khaenri'ah was a godless nation, it had interactions with the seven nations. I found records of it in historical texts from hundreds of years ago."

Thanks to the comprehensive system established by Raiden Makoto, Li Mo was able to thoroughly research these historical records. The name Khaenri'ah appeared in texts from decades ago.

Li Mo continued, "If my deductions are correct, Khaenri'ah is located deep underground near Sumeru. So, heading to Sumeru is necessary."

"I understand. Thank you, Your Excellency," Lumine said. She was well aware that her sibling had deep connections to Khaenri'ah.

"Speaking of help, there's something I need your assistance with, Lumine," Li Mo said.