After the lightning faded, arcs of electricity flickered across Qiuqian's body a few times, yet he remained completely unharmed.
"You really didn't have to go that far," Qiuqian said with a light laugh as he glanced at his arm, then toward the trembling Yae Miko in the distance.
"Hmph, it's not like it could hurt you anyway," Yae Miko snorted.
She had struck him, cursed at him, and vented her anger.
Even though this unserious ancient god was still perfectly fine, more than half of her frustration had finally dissipated.
"I should be the one asking you that," Yae Miko said as she walked up to him, glaring angrily. "Just to watch me embarrass myself, you actually kept acting for two whole days?"
At this moment, her beautiful eyes were locked onto him, brows raised sharply, lips tightly pressed together. Her chest rose and fell with anger.
Looking at the furious Yae Miko before him, Qiuqian found it rather amusing.
After all, back when he played the game, he had never once seen Yae Miko make an expression like this.
It was honestly pretty cute.
One could say it perfectly satisfied both his love for entertainment and his strange little sense of mischief.
"Mm… I suppose so," Qiuqian admitted directly without the slightest attempt to hide it.
"I've seriously never met a god like you before!" Yae Miko exclaimed.
The anger she had just suppressed instantly reignited.
If you said this ancient god was unserious, then whenever certain topics came up, he would suddenly become incredibly composed and solemn.
But if you said he was serious, then he could also deliberately mess with people like this just for his own amusement.
She couldn't beat him, so she genuinely had no idea what to do anymore.
In all her centuries as Guuji Yae, when had she ever been toyed with like this?
"Alright, don't be angry anymore," Qiuqian said, struggling not to laugh. "I'll apologize, okay? If that's still not enough, I can help you with one thing."
"One thing?" Yae Miko repeated softly, the anger on her face gradually fading. She rested a finger against her chin thoughtfully.
"Fine, then it's settled," she said with a smile that carried an indescribable meaning.
"As for what I want you to do… I haven't thought of it yet."
"I'll tell you once I decide."
After speaking, Yae Miko walked past him on her slender legs and headed toward Mt. Yougou ahead.
"I suddenly have a bad feeling about this…" Qiuqian muttered as he watched her back, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
Still, as long as her anger was gone, it was fine.
Thinking that, he stopped dwelling on it and followed after her.
As he walked, Qiuqian kept his head slightly raised, gazing at Mt. Yougou in the distance.
The mountain was far larger than it had ever appeared in the game—far taller too.
This majestic peak standing upon Narukami Island was wrapped in clean, misty clouds beneath the azure sky.
Its twin summits pierced through the fog like guardian deities silently protecting the island below.
Because the Grand Narukami Shrine sat atop Mt. Yougou, while a large village—Konda Village—rested at its base, the mountain was full of life.
In this peaceful mountain village, people lived simple lives, rising with the sun and resting at dusk. Everything felt tranquil and beautiful.
As they drew closer, Qiuqian noticed scenes completely different from the game.
Many villagers had set up stalls near the foot of the mountain, selling fox-themed toys and decorative charms symbolizing blessings.
There were even snack stalls.
And notably, every single one of them sold fried tofu.
Still, all of these vendors kept a respectful distance from the path leading to the shrine.
None of the noisy calls of merchants disturbed the shrine maidens above.
After some time, Qiuqian and Yae Miko arrived at the base of Mt. Yougou.
Cherry blossoms drifted down endlessly from the sky, while countless petals already carpeted the ground.
Their fragrance rode upon the breeze.
More than a dozen shrine maidens dressed in elegant red-and-white robes carefully swept the fallen petals from the shrine pathway with brooms in hand.
"Lady Guuji."
The moment they saw Yae Miko, all of them stopped what they were doing and bowed respectfully.
"You may continue," Yae Miko replied with a slight nod before walking forward onto the shrine path.
Qiuqian followed leisurely behind her.
As he walked, he observed the rows upon rows of vermillion torii gates lining the path.
"Who was that gentleman?" one shrine maiden whispered after Qiuqian and Yae Miko had gone farther away. "Is he Lady Guuji's friend? He's so handsome."
"He really is," another shrine maiden nodded in agreement. "It's my first time seeing such a handsome man."
Qiuqian stood at 183 centimeters tall, with long black hair tied by a bamboo hairpin.
His pale cyan and white hanfu robes resembled flowing ink wash paintings, paired with a large cloak.
Combined with his handsome features and elegant temperament, the shrine maidens were utterly bewildered, immediately beginning to gossip among themselves.
"Judging from his clothes, he should be from Liyue, right?"
"But hasn't the Sakoku Decree already been issued?"
"Yeah, aren't foreigners forbidden from leaving Ritou?"
"Stop talking and keep sweeping. Lady Guuji brought him here herself."
After climbing the steep paths of Mt. Yougou for who knew how long, Qiuqian looked down from above.
It gave him the feeling of overlooking all mountains beneath him.
Eventually, the two finally reached the summit of Mt. Yougou.
Looking at the scene before him, Qiuqian smiled faintly.
A vast vermillion shrine complex sat atop the mountain.
The blooming cherry blossoms around it spread like rosy clouds, creating an indescribably peaceful atmosphere.
In the pond beneath the courtyard floated pink sakura petals reflecting the clear blue sky.
Sunlight painted the cherry blossom trees in warm shades of pink, while petals swayed gently in the breeze.
In one corner of the shrine, numerous shrine maidens stood with eyes closed and hands clasped together, faithfully serving their deity.
"The scenery here is truly beautiful…" Qiuqian couldn't help but sigh in admiration. "As expected of the sacred land where the people of Inazuma worship the Sacred Sakura and serve their god."
"Come with me," Yae Miko said. "I'll show you the Sacred Sakura behind the courtyard."
With that, she walked forward.
Not long after, the two arrived behind the courtyard.
The area here was extremely spacious, and atop the vermillion wooden steps ahead stood a colossal Sacred Sakura tree.
The trunk itself resembled the shape of a fox.
The fox's eyes, along with crystal-like structures embedded within the trunk, emitted a faint purple glow.
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