Genshin Impact: One Hundred Confessions? Just a System Task

Page 53

Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun pointed at Yi Chen and Shen He on his wings, issuing an unquestionable order:

"You two will stay together with your master at all times!"

"Eat together, live together, practice together, and walk together!"

"One must be familiar with each other's breath, rhythm, and even the slightest thought to be able to practice together without any hindrance!"

Yi Chen and Shen He were both stunned and subconsciously exchanged a glance.

Eating and living together... inseparable?

However, before they could even process this arrangement, True Monarch Liuyun Jiefeng seemed to remember something, his eyes widening suddenly, his wingtip almost poking Yichen's nose, as he added sharply,

"but--!"

"Remember this, your teacher! This is to guide you to focus on your cultivation and refine your mind! You are not allowed to do anything wrong!"

"in particular--"

Her gaze swept back and forth between the two men.

"—Especially that kind of nonsense about 'dual cultivation' that you were just thinking about!"

Don't even think about it! If I discover any transgression, I will punish you by making you stand facing the wall in the back mountains to reflect on your actions! Do you understand?!

Yi Chen was startled by his master's stern warning and quickly straightened his back, loudly promising.

"I understand, Master! I promise not to have any wandering thoughts! I promise not to do anything bad! I will focus solely on cultivation!"

But his shifty eyes and slightly reddened ears betrayed his inner turmoil.

Although Shen He remained expressionless, her slightly pursed lips and her earlobes, which had turned a pale pink again, showed that she was not entirely indifferent.

Seeing the two of them like this, True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng felt a little relieved.

She flapped her wings, as if trying to drive away some unpleasant scene.

"Alright! Now that you understand, Shen He, take Yi Chen to put away his luggage. The cultivation will begin immediately!"

"Yes, Master."

Shen He responded in a low voice.

Yi Chen responded listlessly.

The two of them, one in front of the other, maintained a subtle distance and silently left the cave of True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng.

Watching their departing figures, True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng let out a long, deep sigh, muttering in a voice only he could hear:

"Sigh... Did I do this to save someone... or did I just bring the most troublesome pig to my own cabbage patch?"

The two walked one after the other along a quiet path in Mount Aozang, with clouds and mist flowing slowly around them, creating a subtly peaceful atmosphere.

Yi Chen scratched his head, still feeling a bit guilty about the blunder earlier, and broke the silence first:

"Um... Senior Sister, I'm sorry about earlier. I was just talking nonsense and steered the conversation off-topic, and I even made Master angry."

Upon hearing this, Shen He did not stop walking, but merely turned his head slightly to glance at him and gently shook his head.

Her voice remained cool and detached, but there was no blame in it. Instead, she paused, then added,

"You were also...acting out of good intentions."

She could sense that Yichen's desire to help her was pure and passionate, although his way of expressing it was always unexpected.

Soon, Shen He led Yi Chen to the entrance of a cave dwelling located in a secluded corner.

Unlike the main cave of the True Lord of Clouds and Wind, this place is more secluded and simple.

"This is my residence."

Shen He pushed open the stone door. The furnishings inside were extremely simple: a bed, a table, and a futon. There were no other superfluous items. It was so clean and tidy that it seemed uninhabited. A faint, icy, and cool atmosphere permeated the air.

“From this day forward, we shall follow our Master’s instructions and live here together to cultivate.”

Shen He glanced at his overly simple room and seemed to think that some adjustments needed to be made to accommodate two people, so he said to Yi Chen.

"Go and get your luggage first. I... will tidy up a bit and make some room."

She seemed to be stating something completely ordinary, but upon closer inspection, one could see that her fingers, hanging at her sides, curled slightly, and her gaze also slightly avoided Yi Chen's eyes.

Having cultivated in solitude for several years, Shen He was suddenly about to welcome another person, a... male junior brother, to reside there for an extended period. Even with his calm and indifferent nature, Shen He's heart was far from unmoved at this moment.

She simply kept all her emotions hidden beneath that cold, aloof expression.

A moment later, Yi Chen returned carrying his not-so-large bag.

As soon as he entered, he saw that Shen He had moved the only futon in the center of the room to a corner, freeing up a considerable area. He had even wiped down the stone bed and stone table, which still looked simple and almost empty.

"Senior Sister, I'm back!"

Yi Chen walked in with a grin and began taking things out of his bag.

Then, Shen He watched as the once extremely simple, even chilling cave dwelling was rapidly "invaded" by all sorts of strange things at a visible speed—

Several brightly colored changes of clothes were hung on a clothes rack in the corner;

A small pile of fancy-packaged toys brought from Mondstadt was placed on a corner of the stone table;

An adventure novel with an exaggerated cover and several trinkets of unknown purpose were scattered around the bed;

He even threw a soft, comfortable-looking pillow onto the stone bed, replacing the original hard, square pillow...

In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the atmosphere of the entire cave has undergone a dramatic transformation.

The room, which was originally cold, empty, and filled only with the atmosphere of cultivation, is now filled with traces of life and a vibrant, even somewhat chaotic, vitality that belongs only to Yichen.

Rather than calling this the same icy calming room where Shen He had cultivated for several years, it was more like Yi Chen's own room, full of personal style, only it happened to be located in Mount Aozang, and with her added to it.

After fiddling with the last little gadget, Yi Chen clapped his hands, looked at his "masterpiece," and nodded in satisfaction.

"Hmm! This looks much more comfortable! It feels more like home!"

Only then did he belatedly remember to ask the original owner of the room for his opinion, and he looked somewhat embarrassed at Shen He, who had been standing quietly to the side, silently watching him busy himself.

"Um... Senior Sister, I have a lot of things. I hope I haven't made your place too messy? If you feel anything is inappropriate, I'll put it away again!"

Shen He slowly swept his gaze across the newly renovated room.

Her cave dwelling had never been so "crowded," nor had it ever been so... "warm."

A strange feeling lingered in her heart, but it did not make her feel repulsed or annoyed.

She didn't find it messy or inappropriate; on the contrary, she felt... it seemed quite good this way.

There's a sense of security... that I'm no longer alone.

She withdrew her gaze, looked at the somewhat uneasy Yi Chen, and shook her head very slightly.

"...It doesn't matter."

"That's good."

Chapter 45 One Heart and One Body

After packing his luggage, Yichen sat on the stone bed.

He looked up and saw Shen He still standing in the same spot, his posture upright, like an ice sculpture, completely out of place in this room that had suddenly become full of life.

He recalled the fear of him by the evil spirits in the forest and his master's words about the need for tacit understanding in "dual cultivation," so he patted the empty space on the stone bed next to him.

"Senior sister, don't stand there, come and sit down!"

He pointed to the spot next to him.

"Didn't you say that evil aura seemed quite afraid of me? If you get closer to me, you should feel more comfortable and at ease, right?"

"Don't we still need to cultivate that... unity of purpose? Let's start by getting closer!"

Shen He's gaze fell on the spot where Yi Chen was taking pictures.

She was very close to him, close enough to clearly feel the warm aura emanating from him that brought peace and even fear to the murderous energy within her.

She did...long to get closer.

That sense of ease, which comes from the depths of her soul and doesn't need to be suppressed, is too tempting for her.

After a moment of silence, Shen He finally took a step.

She didn't sit down next to Yichen immediately, but instead walked to the other side of the stone bed and sat down carefully with slightly stiff movements.

There was a small, polite distance between the two.

Even so, as Yi Chen's clean and warm aura became clearer as the distance closed, Shen He couldn't help but take a light breath, and his tense shoulders and neck seemed to relax slightly.

The murderous aura that had been stirring within her body obediently subsided once again, becoming so docile that even she was surprised.

Yi Chen saw that she had sat down. Although it was a bit far away, it was a good start!

"Right? Do you feel much better?"

Shen He didn't look at him, but instead lowered his eyes slightly, staring at his hands clasped together on his knees, and responded in an almost inaudible voice:

"……Um."

Much better indeed.

A long-lost sense of tranquility, so profound it almost made her want to sigh, was slowly enveloping her.

She quietly raised her eyelashes and quickly glanced at Yi Chen beside her, who was swinging his legs and seemed to be in a good mood.

Sunlight streamed in through the cracks at the cave entrance, casting a warm glow on his smiling profile.

Shen He silently and extremely slowly moved his body an inch toward him.

But the coldness and alienation that permeated between the two seemed to melt away a little.

The two sat side by side on the stone bed, and the cave fell silent for a moment.

Only the faint sounds of the flowing clouds outside the window and each other's soft breathing could be heard.

This extreme quiet was pure torture for Yichen, who was used to the hustle and bustle of Mondstadt and the noise of Liyue.

He hadn't been sitting for long when he started to feel uncomfortable all over, as if fleas were crawling on his body.

He first idly swung his legs, then picked at the edge of the stone bed with his fingers, and finally couldn't resist. He leaned back and collapsed onto the stone bed covered with soft pillows, staring at the cave ceiling.

"Ugh—Senior sister—I'm so—bored—!"

He turned to the side, propped his head up with his hand, looked at Shen He who was still sitting upright as if in a trance, and complained.

"This sacred mountain is nothing but clouds and mist, nothing but rocks and trees, there's not even a single person to chat with or play cards with... Senior sister, don't you guys need any entertainment? Is there really no fun place around here?"

Shen He's quiet contemplation was interrupted by his sudden outburst.

She turned her head and looked at Yichen, who was lying paralyzed on the bed with a look of utter despair, and was somewhat confused.

Fun places to go?

She carefully recalled her years of spiritual practice.

Aside from meditation, gun practice, suppressing evil energy, and occasionally being ordered to go down the mountain to exorcise demons... it seems there's really no concept of "playing".

Every blade of grass, every cloud, and every stone on Mount Aozang was so familiar to her that she was almost indifferent to it.

She shook her head honestly, her voice flat.

"There is no such place. Those who practice spiritual cultivation should focus on calming the mind."

"what--!"

Yi Chen let out an even more pitiful wail, rolled half a circle on the bed, buried his face in the soft pillow, and complained in a muffled voice.

"Calm down, calm down, if I stay still any longer I'll turn into stone! Master told us to cultivate tacit understanding, but staring at each other like this, I haven't developed any tacit understanding at all, I'll be bored to the point of ascending to heaven first!"

Suddenly, he sat bolt upright in bed, his eyes lighting up as if he had come up with a brilliant idea.

He leaned closer to Shen He, a mischievous smile on his face, and whispered:

"Senior sister! Anyway, Master isn't watching us right now! She's probably somewhere studying her profound teaching plans!"

"How about...we sneak off to Liyue Harbor for some fun?!"

The more he talked about it, the more he thought the idea was fantastic, gesturing wildly as he spoke.

"Look, we can fly down with the wind, it's super fast! We can go eat at Wanmintang, listen to storytellers, watch acrobatics, and buy sugar paintings! The storyteller is telling 'The Emperor's Journey in the Dust' today! It's much more interesting than just sitting here!"