Chapter 03

"Do ghosts also chase after the light?"

"Ghosts were once human." The girl with colorful butterfly-patterned feathers sat beside her, her warm purple eyes lifted, looking at the boundless blue sky. "There are all kinds of reasons, whether it's chasing out of fear or hiding out of terror."

"They don't deserve it." Yingjian lowered her head, wiping her Daylight Sword. "Those who climb to their desired heights on the backs of black calamities will only be met with deeper calamities."

Butterfly Shōnen chuckled softly. "It's just a pity that one ghost's mistake resulted in so much misfortune... Oh? Your injuries haven't healed yet. Where are you going?"

Yuzawa Yingjian had already leaped off the stone and sheathed her sword. The words "Banish the Evil Ghost" were locked in the scabbard, hidden and ready to strike.

"To kill ghosts."

Yingjian raised her hand, and the black crow that had been circling in the sky landed on her arm.

"Don't you even give yourself a moment of leisure?"

"The Lord has not allowed me to retire yet." After hearing the mission delivered by the crow, Yingjian didn't look back and simply walked forward, waving her hand. "It's not enough to be lazy in these troubled times, is it?"

"Come back this time, alright?"

"Yes, you take care too."

Butterfly Shōnen silently watched the fading figure of the girl and sighed softly.

"Alright." She said, "Then... may you have good fortune and success, Ayin."

Accepting her good wishes, even though this mission encountered a very difficult challenge, she returned alive against all odds. However, the darkness did not devour the wicked ghost as she had expected. It only scattered the woman who floated like a butterfly, beautiful and graceful.

Her heart felt a piercing pain. In the most detestable nightmare, Yingjian felt her whole body turn cold. Just when she thought she was about to plunge into the abyss, someone pulled her back.

Someone called her name in her ears, a feeling both familiar and unfamiliar. As the pain gradually subsided and she woke up, she saw the true face of Raiden Shōnen.

"Are all kids so fragile?"

Raiden Shōnen didn't move her mouth; the sound came from behind her. The discomfort in her body disappeared completely. Although she still felt a bit weak, Yingjian turned her head to look back. Before she could move, her head was gently pressed down by a finger. When the finger released her, Yingjian vaguely felt something new on the long fur next to her ear.

"Oh, it's so pretty."

Seeing Yingjian's curiosity, Raiden Shōnen placed a copper mirror from the table in front of her. "This is a head accessory specially made for you by Ayakashi. Do you like it?"

"It's not an accessory, it's a sacred artifact," Raiden Shōnen corrected, "It contains my divine power, so ordinary curses dare not touch you. As long as you stay within the domain of Inazuma Island, wearing it will protect you from harm."

Yingjian looked at the mirror and blinked her red eyes. She stared at the decoration next to her ear in the mirror, engrossed.

This design was similar to the hair accessories worn by the Raiden sisters. It had a black fan as the base, with small flowers blooming in pink or light purple, and matching white fluffy balls and golden tassels that matched her fur color. It looked very nice.

"Although Mama's naming skills aren't great, her aesthetic sense is still on point."

While Yingjian was admiring the hair accessory with her head tilted, Raiden Shōnen was startled and looked at her.

"Well... as long as you like it."

"I love it!"

"Cough." Raiden Shōnen coughed lightly and shifted her gaze. She covered her hair, and her ears turned slightly red.

"That being said, as you can see, Ayin's condition hasn't stabilized yet. She needs constant care." Raiden Shōnen said, "You could find a shrine maiden to accompany her, but we are often not in the palace. It would be useless even if we noticed something abnormal. So..."

"I have already agreed to her request. If I fail to fulfill it, I would be an untrustworthy person," Raiden Shōnen furrowed her brows, pondered for a moment, then seemed to have thought of something, relaxed her brows, and said seriously to her sister, "During this time, if you have no official duties to attend to, entrust Ayin to Asase and wait for me for a few days."

Raiden Shōnen was surprised, "What are you planning to make again?"

"I have been researching all this time, but I was too busy with battles recently, so I couldn't progress. I'll come find you in a few days," she said, "Oh." Raiden Shōnen smiled and waved her hand, "Take care, sister is looking forward to it."

"...I understand. I won't let you down."

After watching her little sister leave, Raiden Shōnen felt Yingjian's curious gaze and rubbed her head.

"I've heard before that Ying was practicing the art of creating puppets, and I've been looking forward to seeing her work for a long time," Raiden sighed. "Creating living beings is an extremely difficult task. I only know that she seemed to have suffered a great blow because of it recently... but now it seems that Ying is going to make a comeback."

"Puppetry?"

Although Ying didn't know what that meant, it didn't stop her from being excited along with Raiden.

At the same time, her understanding of Raiden Ying deepened.

"Her mother is amazing."

After reflecting on her previous thoughts, Ying came up with a more concise and straightforward expression:

"Raiden Ying is awesome!"

*

"Come, Little Princess, look at what interesting thing I found!"

Ying was lazily sunbathing and dozing off when a shadow cast over her, forcibly waking her up.

Yawning, she stretched and found that the cherry blossoms were almost poking her nose.

"Oh, another familiar fox game."

Ying looked expressionless at the branches shaking in front of her eyes, yawned again, and lay down.

"Eh... don't you like it? I thought the little foxes at the shrine love playing with flowers... Oh!"

With a momentary lapse, her hand moved a bit too slow. By the time she reacted, the cherry blossom that was on the branch had disappeared. The shrine maiden looked down, and the culprit was chewing and swallowing something, even licking her lips before lying down again with closed eyes.

"Ugh... when did a little fox ever play with a prop until it's gone?" The shrine maiden held the bare branch and almost shed thick noodle tears, but soon she regained her spirit and stood up. "I'll go find another good one then."

Ying lifted her eyelids to take a look at the energetic girl over there and adjusted her posture to make herself more comfortable.

This apprentice shrine maiden with fluffy feet was the one who brought her to the lodging on the first day, and she usually worked with the Kamisato Clan. Her name was Naru Asano, and it seemed like she always had something that made her happy.

"Youthful energy is good, but unfortunately, her soul is that of a human. Although she's not an adult, the difference between her and a cub is quite significant." Ying occasionally played along with her happiness, but after a while, she found that it was more comfortable to nap under the sun.

While Ying was pondering how to brush off Naru Asano later, footsteps could be heard outside the door. Ying's ears perked up, and she looked up to see Raiden Ying in a gorgeous kimono, smiling and waving at her.

"How have you been recently? Are you happy?"

Seeing the ball of fur running towards her, Raiden Ying bent her knees and lifted Ying up with both hands.

"Oh, it's General?" Naru Asano was busy rolling up her sleeves and searching for something. When she noticed someone had come, she quickly saluted.

"No need for formalities. You've been of great help recently."

"You don't have to say that. It's my duty," Naru Asano replied, flattered.

"Sakura Palace has been feeling the absence of a lively little troublemaker. And with the shrine's affairs being so busy, they've asked me a few times for help." Raiden Ying gently stroked the fur of the little one in her arms and spoke softly, "You should go to the shrine and report to Sakurai first. As for taking care of Ying, I have other arrangements."

"Eh? Okay..."

Naru Asano seemed reluctant after hearing that. But she couldn't refuse the General's words. Besides, she was just a fisherman who owed a debt to Lady Kamisato. It was her duty to do her job as an apprentice shrine maiden.

"If you have some free time later, I'm sure Ying would like to see you."

Naru Asano's eyes widened slightly, and delight appeared in her eyes.

Raiden Ying said, "You should go get ready. I have something to do with Ying."

"Yes! I'll see you off, General."

During the conversation between Raiden Ying and Naru Asano, Ying played dead and lay silently in Raiden Ying's arms.

"Alright, you can go to the shrine anytime to find her."

Listening to Raiden Ying's comfort, Ying tilted her head and adjusted her posture to continue lying down.

"Do you remember what I told you before? The thing I was looking forward to."

"Before?" Ying recalled that Raiden Ying was always busy with state affairs. If there was something really worth paying attention to, it would probably be...

"Do you remember now?"

Raiden Ying saw Ying's drooping ears stand up, and her damp eyes blinked at her without blinking. She smiled.

"Let me take you to see your mother's masterpiece."

*

Arriving at a side hall, Raiden placed her on the table and teased her with the snacks on the table. As she enjoyed the delicious snacks in her mouth, her body honestly expressed her happiness, but her mind had long drifted to somewhere unknown.

It would be a lie to say that she wasn't excited. Ever since Raiden mentioned the words "Puppetry" to her last time, she had been fantasizing about what kind of existence it could be.

She could only guess that Raiden's creations were probably much more powerful than ordinary immobile puppets, perhaps even capable of making simple movements like humans, just like the shikigami used by the Onmyoji in legends. After all, they were creations of the divine, and in an era like the Taisho period where humans relied solely on themselves for salvation and never dared to imagine that the divine would favor humans, she found it hard to imagine the extent of the divine's power.

What Rasei Tsukinogi had told her was merely a story passed down through word of mouth, far from witnessing it firsthand. But the reality proved that she, as a mortal, had a very limited imagination within the land of Teyvat.

As the sound of the door opening rang out, sunlight poured in. Turning around, she saw her adoptive mother whom she hadn't seen since their last parting. And standing beside her was...

"General, Princess Yae," the young man in the white hunting attire bowed respectfully, his voice gentle. "Good day."