Genshin Impact: I am best at sacrifice, don't cry

Qinglai Island, Asase Shrine.

"Well, this place feels so shabby, it's a complete ruin."

Kurumi and Nandou boarded the island, and Kurumi said while looking at the dilapidated shrine not far away.

"Because this place was abandoned hundreds of years ago, the shrine has naturally become dilapidated as no one has taken care of it."

"But there's a very interesting fellow here, whom you'll meet in a moment."

Nan Dou kept the secret for the time being and wandered around the island aimlessly with Hu Tao.

It would be pointless to go straight to the source, so Hu Tao planned to take a walk around the island first.

Along the way, the two could see traces of the humans who once existed on the island.

"Hmm, why are there traces of lightning strikes in some places, like those on Heguan Island?"

The small island where the Asase Shrine is located is not very large. It is part of Qinglai Island and will be temporarily called Asase Island.

On the edge of Asase Island, Kurumi discovered traces of lightning strikes.

"This place is so far from Tianyun Pass, how could lightning strike here?"

Kurumi looked in the direction of Tenun Pass and found that it was almost like a small dot, and she couldn't help but feel confused.

"Meow~~"

While thinking, Walnut suddenly heard the cry of a kitten at his feet. He looked down and found a cat with pure white fur.

"Hey~ Why are there cats on this deserted island?"

Without caring where the cat came from, Walnut squatted down, grabbed the kitten that was trying to escape out of fear, and started stroking it skillfully.

Nan Dou waved his hand in the air, and a kitten with a puzzled look on its face was grabbed by the scruff of its neck by a vine that looked like a palm and pulled in front of him.

Nan Dou, who was also petting the cat skillfully, said, "Everything within the scope of Qinglai Island is related to the Thunderbird back then, so this island is naturally no exception."

"That dilapidated shrine was actually the place where the seal was placed to suppress the remaining power of Thunderbird after its death. The shrine maiden was guarding the seal."

"It's just that something unexpected happened a few hundred years ago. Although the seal was stabilized again, it also caused most of Qinglai Island to suffer a devastating disaster."

The kitten in Nan Dou's arms squinted its eyes with an intoxicated look on its face, enjoying Nan Dou's superb cat-stroking technique.

When it comes to petting cats, Nandou is a professional. Not only cats, but he has also petted quite a few lions.

In fact, the white lion Baiyun that Nandou gave to Hutao was modeled after the lion raised by Jingyuan.

The thunderclouds in the sky of Qinglai Island did not dissipate due to the disappearance of Lei Yin's authority, but they became less violent than before.

In the former Qinglai Island, the remaining power of the Thunderbird after its death gathered into thunderclouds that never dissipate in the sky, and its remaining soul formed the manifestation of Leiyin.

Lei Yinquan, who was filled with resentment towards the Thunderbird, controlled the thunderclouds and attacked all those who invaded Qinglai Island.

Now that the thunder sound has disappeared, the thunderclouds in the sky of Qinglai Island have become ownerless, or simply a natural phenomenon.

Unless the lightning rod becomes a spirit, the thunderclouds in the sky will never strike you.

"Well, let's go to the shrine. I'm a little curious about who this interesting guy brother is talking about."

"Let's go then."

The two of them held the kitten and walked towards the shrine in the center of Asase Island.

I don’t know if it’s Inazuma’s tradition, but they always like to plant a big tree next to the shrine, or build the shrine next to the big tree.

Nandou wanted to complain when fate intervened before: "Aren't you afraid that the roots of the big tree will break the foundation of the shrine?"

The closer Walnut got, the more she could see how dilapidated the shrine was. It was no exaggeration to say that it was just in ruins.

Without maintenance, even the strongest materials will decay and break under the baptism of time.

This is true even for places like shrines that are protected by formations.

"Brother, the shrine has become like this, it's definitely uninhabitable, right? The "interesting guy" you mentioned is not a ghost, right?"

Seeing the dilapidated shrine, Kurumi was a little confused and wondered why she was dealing with ghosts even in Inazuma.

Hearing Kurumi's words, Nandou couldn't help laughing and patted her head gently: "Don't worry, it's not a ghost this time, although Inazuma does have a lot of ghosts."

The two of them quickly walked to the shrine with the cat in their arms.

Walnut didn't see any human figures, but he did find a pure black kitten.

"There are so many kittens on this island, and I don't see anything edible. Is there someone feeding them?"

What Kurumi didn't notice was that the black cat in front of her was a little different. Its eyes were full of intelligence and had been staring at them since she and Nandou appeared in their sight.

The black cat squatted on the only intact platform at the main entrance of the shrine.

Walnut leaned over without noticing.

"I haven't seen a human being for a long time, meow meow."

Walnut: "Who is talking???"

The sleeping child suddenly spoke, causing Hu Tao to be stunned for a moment. Then, he looked down at the innocent-looking sleeping child uncertainly and asked, "Are you talking, little kitty?"

"It's me who's speaking. My name is Neko, and I'm the acting chief priest of Asase Shrine."

Black Cat Qianzi stared at Walnut motionlessly and explained seriously.

"Acting chief priest?"

Thanks to Nandou's popular science, Kurumi knew what the role of a priest was. Simply put, he was the person in charge of a shrine.

Kurumi looked at the shrine behind Neko that had long since become ruins, and nodded secretly: He is indeed very responsible. He still sticks to his post even though the shrine has become so dilapidated.

"No, no, that's not the point. The point is why cats can talk."

But Hu Tao immediately thought of Yu Yu and Thunderbird, as well as the talking fox that Nan Dou had told her about on the way here, and suddenly felt that it was very reasonable for cats to be able to talk.

"Hello Neko, my name is Kurumi, my brother's name is Nandou, and we are here to travel to Inazuma."

After thinking for a while, Hu Tao stood up straight and formally introduced herself and Nan Dou to Qinzi.

"Well, I haven't seen humans for a long, long time. I'm very happy to see you, meow meow."

"Nice to meet you too, sir."

Kurumi turned around and gave Nandou a questioning look: Is this the interesting person my brother was talking about? But this is clearly a cat.

Nan Dou understood Hu Tao's eyes, gave her a reassuring look in return, and then took the initiative to communicate with Qin Zi.

After a conversation...

"I don't know how long I've been here. After that thunderstorm, I haven't seen Ah Xiang again, and I can't find any humans in the nearby villages."

"Before Xiang comes back, I want to help her take care of the shrine, but I'm just a cat. I can't take good care of the shrine, so it has become what it is now. Can you help me repair the shrine?"

"At least... at least when Xiang comes back, the shrine he sees won't be in ruins."

Qinzi is a monster who has a very weak concept of time. She has no idea that a few hundred years is enough time for humans to reproduce for several generations.

The Hibiki she mentioned is the first and only chief priest of Asase Shrine. Even the shrine is named after her, Asase Hibiki.

"Brother, let's help her."

Hu Tao guessed that the person Qin Zi was waiting for might be in danger, so she pleaded with some reluctance.

"Of course, as long as you are happy on this trip, that's fine."