Jinjou followed the sound, turning to see a young man dressed in Snezhnayan formal robes standing before him, wearing a gentle smile.
Ever since the thunderstorms and the war had overtaken Yashiori Island, few foreigners dared to venture here. Those who did, mostly adventurers, would leave in a hurry, not staying long. Yet, a group of Fatui had settled at the southern end of the island, their purpose unknown.
Jinjou raised an eyebrow. "This is the shrine of the Almighty Shogun. What business does a foreigner like you have there?"
Luo Qing didn't rush his answer, his words slow and deliberate. "Sightseeing. Is that a problem?"
"?"
"Hmph, follow me."
Jinjou sized up Luo Qing, noting the absence of any visible weapons or Vision. Deciding the stranger posed no real threat, he led Luo Qing toward the shrine.
Chouji's mother had disappeared, and perhaps this foreigner might fulfill "his" needs.
Watching Luo Qing and Jinjou leave the village together, Bohboh silently shook his head, bewildered by the foreigner's decision to seek out such trouble. The shrine was the very source of the lingering spirits, the root cause of the village's sickness, and yet this outsider willingly walked straight toward it.
In the past, Bohboh might have tried to intervene, but now Jinjou had fully lost his mind. To speak ill of the shrine in front of him was to invite a swift death.
Sighing, Bohboh turned in the opposite direction, resuming his search for herbs in the hope of finding a cure for the villagers.
Elsewhere...
Luo Qing followed Jinjou out of the village, walking southeast until they reached a cliff. There, on a stone pedestal, sat the shrine. A faint purple mist lingered around it, occasionally crackling with arcs of lightning. Offerings of jewelry and other valuables were scattered before it, with incense continuously burning—a sign that it received daily worship.
Luo Qing studied the shrine, a strange sensation tugging at his thoughts.
"This is the shrine of the Almighty Shogun. Since you're here, why not pay your respects?" Jinjou settled beside the shrine, placing his unsheathed sword across his knees and began to clean it.
Luo Qing glanced at him and then leaned closer. "So, is your Almighty Shogun reliable?"
Jinjou blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I'm asking if she's dependable. Why should I offer prayers if she's not going to deliver? A god who takes offerings should deliver results, don't you think?"
[Frustration Value +1 from Jinjou]
"..."
"Hmph, you'll find out if you pray!" Jinjou's tone held a hint of anger, his motions sharpening as he polished the blade.
"Touched a nerve, did I?"
"Are you going to pray or not?!"
Jinjou's hand hovered over the hilt of his sword, the threat clear.
"Tsk, what if I choose not to? What are you planning to do?"
Luo Qing's smile didn't waver, unfazed by Jinjou's attempt at intimidation. He was far more curious about the lingering will within the shrine. These ancient spirits lacked raw power but were remarkably skilled at manipulating mortals.
Jinjou hesitated, releasing his grip on the hilt. "If you refuse, then leave. This place isn't meant for foreigners like you."
"Oh?"
Luo Qing was genuinely surprised. Hadn't Jinjou been completely bewitched by the lingering spirits? Yet, he managed to hold back from violence.
"So, I'm free to go?"
"Whether you stay or leave... it's none of my concern," Jinjou replied, returning to polishing his sword. Outwardly, he was calm, but inside, his mind was a storm of turmoil.
Bring him to me... I need him...
The haunting whispers echoed ceaselessly in his thoughts, urging him to act.
...
Seeing Jinjou's apparent lack of aggression, Luo Qing thought he had missed his chance. With a slight shrug, he turned to leave.
Just as he turned his back, Jinjou's hand clenched around the hilt, and he lunged forward, aiming for Luo Qing's exposed neck.
Jinjou's body, strengthened by the power of the lingering spirits, was far beyond that of an ordinary person. Even the soldiers of the Shogunate were no match for him. The foreigner before him was the perfect sacrifice—he had said so, and Jinjou couldn't let him escape.
But in that instant, Jinjou felt something cold press against his chest. His frenzied thoughts froze.
Disbelief filled his gaze as he looked down.
A pale brown spear had pierced his chest, lifting him off the ground and leaving him suspended in mid-air.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Jinjou stared at the Snezhnayan, whose once-black eyes now glowed a deep golden, reminiscent of a serpent's gaze.
"Tsk, I thought you wouldn't go for it," Luo Qing's lips curled in a faint smile. Before Jinjou could speak, Luo Qing flicked the spear, sending him crashing back in front of the shrine.
"How... did you know..."
Jinjou struggled to rise, his back pressed against the shrine, fury and fear mingling in his eyes. He still couldn't understand how the foreigner had managed to summon the spear or when it had pierced him.
"Just a hunch."
Luo Qing stepped closer, his tone indifferent. "If you hadn't attacked, I really wouldn't have had a reason to help Lumine deal with you."
"Hah... You think killing me will save them? 'His' power has enveloped the whole of Yashiori Island! You'll all become 'his' sacrifices!" Jinjou's voice was filled with deranged fervor.
"I think you misunderstand."
Luo Qing's voice was calm, almost cold. "You and they... none of you matter to me."
With that, he drove his spear downward, ending Jinjou's life before the shrine.
"Tsk... Teresa and Scaramouche weren't wrong. This really is a cursed land..."
Luo Qing shook his head, returning the spear to his inventory without a second glance at the body, now abandoned at the shrine's steps. He turned away, heading back to the Fatui camp.
This man, Jinjou, would have died anyway when Lumine arrived. It was only a matter of who dealt the final blow.
Higi Village was nothing but a tragic footnote of the war.
The Resistance forces from Watatsumi Island had shattered the warding stones, releasing the lingering spirits and cursing the struggling village of Higi with sickness and death. Yet, they still believed they were the heroes, liberating the island's people.
Meanwhile, those who placed their hope in the Shogunate's supposed aid had no idea that the "rescue" was merely a cover to quarantine and eliminate them, preventing the sickness from spreading to Narukami Island and jeopardizing the Tenryou Commission's stability.
As for the villagers who remained, barely clinging to life, Jinjou had already sacrificed them to the lingering spirits haunting the shrine.
By the time the game events occurred, the only ones to have survived from Higi Village were Chouji and perhaps his mother, who had left for Sumeru.
The memories of those in-game tragedies surfaced, making Luo Qing feel a chill of disgust.
---
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