41. Beidou Returned To Liyue Harbor

"So that's how you convert negative energy into positive, huh?"

He always failed to perform the reverse cursed technique due to misinterpreting the meaning of combining two sources of energy. So after he combined the negative energy of those monsters and his own energy, he understood that the "two sources" meant different sources of energy with the same output, negative energy.

For example, one source was from his negative emotions, while the other was from his surroundings, like the karmic debt from those monsters earlier, which was formed by lingering hatred of the fallen gods.

Ryūhei was satisfied after seeing the devastating blast of the technique earlier. All of the Mitachurls and Hilichurls were dead, even the thick shield of the Lawachurl was broken. But, when he saw the abyss mages, he was surprised that their shields were fine, even though they weren't as thick as before.

Still, he was delighted since he understood how to reverse negative energy to positive, creating a reverse cursed technique. Moreover, if he could perform cursed technique reversal flawlessly, unleashing the Hollow Technique: Purple wouldn't need to wait for too long.

Since Ryūhei had confirmed that he could absorb the karmic debt and turn it into his power, he didn't want to play around with the monsters in front of him anymore. At that moment, he created a blue orb near the three abyss mages and Lawachurl which pulled them into it. Simultaneously, the shields of the three abyss mages collided with each other causing their shields to shatter due to the reaction of the elements. Then, all of them were crushed under the pressure of the black hole.

It was just, the Lawachurl was still alive while roaring in pain.

"Its life force is amazing. No wonder it is called a chieftain. Do I need to add more force?"

But, he didn't do that. Instead, he slid the katana from its sheath, then disappeared from his spot.

*Click*

*Slash*

In an instant, Ryūhei appeared on the opposite side while sliding his katana back to its sheath.

Then, the Lawachurl body was chopped into pieces.

After that, he lifted the dark curtain and disappeared from that place.

— — — —

Ryūhei appeared at the top of Mt. Tianheng. And he saw Zhongli still reading the manga. It seemed he didn't observe Ryūhei's fight against those monsters.

"Mr. Zhongli."

"Hmmm, done? How is it?"

"I can absorb and turn it into my power."

Zhongli lit his eyes for a moment, then he put a smile on his face.

"That's good to hear. Your power is unique. Since it can be used as your power, you might be able to save a lot of people. But, let me check your body first."

Ryūhei shuddered when Zhongli said that.

"Mr. Zhongli, I'm still normal. I'm not interested in men." He said while waving his hands, intending to refuse.

"What are you talking about? I just wanted to check on your condition after you absorbed karmic debt. It will be dangerous if it seeps into your soul."

Hearing Zhongli's reason, Ryūhei sighed in relief. What's more, he was also a little surprised because he didn't expect that karmic debt affects one's soul, not the mind. Knowing that, he let Zhongli check his soul.

Using his Adeptus Art, he checked whether there was something unusual with Ryūhei's soul or not. Fortunately, there's nothing wrong. And his soul was as good as ever.

"It's clean."

Zhongli didn't expect much from Ryūhei at first. But after knowing this, he became curious if Ryūhei's power could suppress or even eliminate Erosion.

— — — —

Meanwhile, a woman with waist-length brown hair, ruby eyes, and a red eyepatch covering one eye arrived at Liyue Harbor. Beside her was a teenager with platinum blond hair and a single orange-red streak on his right and red eyes.

Those two were none other than Beidou and Kazuha. There were also some people behind the two as well, which were Beidou's crew members.

"It's been 3 weeks. I wonder if your friend is living well here." Beidou wondered if she could meet Ryūhei again. And then, Kazuha replied with a poem.

"The days will continue to change, and the time will always flow. Things just couldn't be the same, 'cause he's as free as a bird now."

"Heh, poetic as always. Does that mean, your friend is doing whatever he wants?"

Kazuha nodded at Beidou's question.

"I believe so. He is a person who is always looking for a chance, then taking advantage of the situation. Just like his fighting style. Deceit, provoke, or something along the lines."

"Pffttt. It means I should be careful around him."

Kazuha just replied with a smile as if telling her so. At that moment, he heard some people mention something intriguing. So he looked around.

To his surprise, many people read the same book and some of them seemed to be discussing the contents of the book. Some laughed, some were excited, and some gulped. Anyway, some of their expressions were different from each other.

He was curious about what kind of book people were talking about. In fact, no one discussed it three weeks ago. So his curiosity peaked.

Beidou was intrigued by that as well, so he suggested Kazuha,

"Follow me, I know someone nearby I can ask."

Beidou led Kazuha in the direction of Liyue Harbor's entrance.

There, they met an ex-crew of the Crux, Zhang Shun.

"Eh, Captain Beidou. Long time no see." Zhang Shun greeted Beidou.

"You seem fine all along."

"Hehe, as you can see. I'm just living a normal life."

Looking at Zhang Shun, Beidou saw a kind of book similar to what people read. So, she couldn't help but ask.

"Zhang Shun, what is that book?"

"Oh this? This is called Manga. Have you been at sea long enough? This manga is quite famous, even known to other nations although it has only been open for three weeks."

"Three weeks? How come there are a lot of things that happened in that period?"

Beidou was dumbfounded. While Kazuha pondered over something. The time was exactly the same as when he was here three weeks ago.

"I want to ask, where did you buy this so-called manga?" Kazuha asked Zhang Shun. He turned to Kazuha before replying.

"If you know the Wanmin restaurant, you will know the place because the manga shop that sells the manga is beside the restaurant."

"Do you know who the owner is? Is he perhaps an Inazuman like me?"

Zhang Shun pondered for a moment. He certainly met the owner a couple of times, so he was sure.

"Now that you mention it, it seems the owner has a trait of an Inazuman."

"As I thought."

Kazuha couldn't think of any other person than Ryūhei. But, he still couldn't believe that Ryūhei did all of these in just three weeks.

To confirm it, he proposed to Beidou visit the manga shop. Beidou herself was interested in the new shop, so both of them decided to visit.

After they arrived at the manga shop, they confirmed that Ryūhei was the owner after they asked Atsuko. However, they didn't find Ryūhei's shadow in the shop as he was still with Zhongli at the top of Mt. Tianheng.

In the end, Beidou just bought all of the manga series in the manga shop. After all, a lot of people liked to read it, which made Beidou decide to buy them all.

She visited a tavern in the Feiyun Slope area to have a drink with Kazuha. While relaxing in the tavern, she started to read the One Piece manga. The reason was, well, it was because of the pirate story.

As she read the manga, she was excited about the treasure left behind by the pirate king. Especially when she found out about a Devil Fruit that can make a person have a certain power.

"Hehe, a Devil Fruit. Should I try to find it myself?"

Hearing what Beidou said, Kazuha commented.

"Captain Beidou, you're drunk. And this is fiction, so please don't believe everything in it."

"Why not? There are a lot of incredible things at sea. While there may not be a Devil Fruit, there must be something similar to it."

Kazuha put his hand on his face as he couldn't believe what Beidou said. But, what she said might be true since there are many mysterious things in the ocean.