If he had just traveled through time, he might not have made such a choice.
But today, this choice has become the only option.
The reason is simple: he has experienced too much.
Whether it was the "TuTu" that was plowing the fields in most of Europe or the behavior of allowing an old world to be destroyed and taking the opportunity to create two new worlds on it some time ago, it was enough to change his perspective.
The Honkai beasts that blocked the way, the Herrschers who couldn't be persuaded, and even the enemies that had to be dealt with were all killed, not to mention the phantoms that weren't even alive at the moment.
The noise Lu Mian made grew along with the endless and increasingly heavy rain in the sky, and finally disturbed some beings.
But the person who came was not Feiyukumaru, but... Yaezakura.
"Qiang——!"
In the heavy rain, Lu Mian, who had just finished saving the last area, confronted the attacking Yaezakura sword and the two were in a stalemate.
Sparks from the friction between the sharp swords sank into the rain and disappeared in an instant.
The cherry-haired priestess warrior, who was not good at speaking and did not often express her emotions, had her purple eyes stained by the rain, and a rare hint of coldness appeared in them. "Why did you do this?"
This time the emotions were extremely complicated, but absolutely not a single one of them was due to the death of the villagers of Yae Village.
It was she who killed all the villagers of Yae Village five hundred years ago, so she would not feel sad no matter how many villagers died.
This happened simply because Lu Mian's method of killing to pray for rain had accidentally touched her sore spot.
In response to Yaezakura's questioning, Lu Mian smiled calmly and did not answer. Instead, he waved his hand to block the samurai sword that was approaching her.
Then, while the opponent was retreating to relieve the force, he stretched out his hand and snapped his fingers.
"Snapped--"
The sudden and crisp sound unique to finger snaps was so clear amid the pouring rain.
Along with this comes a movement in a certain direction.
Yaezakura's almond-shaped eyes were full of vigilance. She looked in the direction of the scene and was shocked by it. The strong heart that had been honed for five hundred years was instantly lost.
But Theresa, holding the Oath of Judas in one hand and carrying Yae Rin, came through the rain and looked at Yae Sakura quietly.
Looking at Yaesakura, whose mouth was so wide open out of surprise that it looked like one could stuff an entire forearm in, Lu Mian, the big director hosting this comedy, raised his eyebrows slightly, but was still a little dissatisfied.
According to his idea, Theresa should have taken out Yae Rin hidden behind her by "taking".
The effect will definitely be even more explosive.
Unfortunately, considering that Theresa is not as tall as Yaezaki Rin, this idea has to be abandoned.
Not only that, in order to take Theresa's feelings into consideration, Lu Mian didn't even bother to mention such a thing in a subtle way.
All I can say is that he was unexpectedly considerate of his companions' feelings in this regard, but it's a pity that such an absolutely good idea was wasted.
Chapter 17: Lu Zhishen Fights the Fox (Two in One)
The heavy rain has not stopped yet.
The raindrops as big as beans hit Yaezakura's head, knocking down the pair of slender animal ears that were the same cherry color as her hair.
She didn't even glance at Lu Mian, who was not far in front of her and might pose a threat. Her pair of purple eyes full of resentment stared at Yae Rin who was standing quietly beside Theresa, without shifting her gaze for even a second.
The scarlet demon sword in his hand also slipped out of his hand and fell powerlessly onto the bluestone-covered ground.
"Dang Cang——"
The sudden sound of metal falling to the ground was not covered up by the noisy rain, but instead went straight into the ears of everyone present.
Obviously, Yaezakura had lost all her fighting spirit at this time.
Lu Mian was not surprised by this.
Rather, from the moment he met the "very abnormal" Yae Rin, he had already foreseen what was happening before his eyes.
Yaezakura has actually always been a girl who is very easy to guess.
Give her Kallen and she will be happy.
No matter whether that Karen is real or fake, and no matter whether the other party likes her or not, it does not affect her happiness.
Using "meal replacement" can also replenish the wonderful energy of "Saint Karen".
It is worth mentioning that in this respect, Yaezakura and the Fool who is sitting far away in the headquarters of Sentient Being can actually be roughly regarded as a group of mirror control groups with similar starting points but completely opposite ones.
Apart from their unquestionable and complete agreement in their almost "faithful" affection for Kallen, the two were opposites in almost everything else.
Give a simplest example:
Yaezakura is more like she'll do anything for Kallen; but The Fool is different, perhaps because he carries the sinful past of "killing Kallen with his own hands", he is more conservative and hopes that the world can return to the way it was before, and thereby erase that absurd and embarrassing history with his own hands.
Such thoughts and ideas directly led to his very strict definition of "Kallen" - it's not okay if it's not Kallen, it's not Kallen in this world, it's not Kallen in the original timeline...
Perhaps in the eyes of this fool who had been lost for five hundred years and could not find his way home, Lu Mian's Karen was just a special individual who represented all the beauty in the world, and not Karen.
This is probably the fundamental reason why he has always only called her "Her Highness the Saint".
To the naked eye, there is actually not much difference between this vast Milky Way and the millions of stars in the vast starry space.
——But those who truly yearn for "stars" must have a particularly shining star hidden in their hearts, which is unique and irreplaceable.
Unlike the fool who seeks "specifics", Yae Sakura opens her heart to "generals". All her feelings for Kallen started with one thing:
She killed her own sister Yae Rin "with her own hands" under the control of her father Yae Shinshu.
Such things unreasonably tore a huge hole in the girl's heart that could never be filled.
And Kallen, who appeared at the right time many years after this incident, happened to be the person who could fill the void.
The current development of things is completely different from the above.
The reason for the huge void in Yaesakura's heart: Yae Rin has appeared in front of the former again.
There was even no need to fill the hole. The hole would find a place to bury itself and disappear without a trace in an instant. Not even a needle could be inserted into it, let alone the forearm.
Lu Mian, who had already calculated this, smiled in an unpredictable way under the rain, and spoke in a gentle voice:
“Teresa and I found this cute little guy under a cherry tree at Yae Shrine.
"Rin, Yae Rin, what a cute name. I guess you two must have a lot to talk about?"
"...Rin...is it really you?" Yae Sakura still ignored Lu Mian and kept her eyes fixed on Yae Rin, afraid of wasting even a minute or missing even a second.
Her originally clear and melodious voice was now particularly hoarse, and her thoughts seemed to be disrupted by the raindrops falling from the sky.
Seeing this scene, Yae Rin, whose heart was filled with complex emotions similar to "the closer you are to home, the more timid you feel", narrowed her moist almond eyes slightly, and raised the corners of her mouth slightly to reveal an impeccable smile.
The rain was so heavy that even the hawks overlooking the sky could not tell whether the drops sliding down the girl's tender face were raindrops or tears. "Sister, it's great to see you again."
It’s this smile, it’s this warmth, there’s no doubt about it.
There was no time to wait for the next second to arrive. Yaezakura, who had already made up her mind, ignored the red sword lying alone at her feet, and kicked it several meters away as if it was in the way.
Lu Mian: (._.)
Lu Mian, who had been in control of the whole situation, looked at the red demon sword kicked at his feet, immediately activated the automatic pickup function, bent down and picked it up.
Feeling grateful for the gift of nature?
In his memory, this sword had a certain origin. It seemed to be called "Demon Sword: Akazaki Sakura".
All in all, it's a good thing and should be useful if you keep it.
With such a simple idea in mind, Lu Mian casually threw the magic sword in his hand into the system space and kept it for safekeeping.
Yaezakura didn't care about the whereabouts of the demon sword at all. Without saying a word, she took two steps at a time and then jogged to Theresa and Yaezakura.
Then he slid to his knees and hugged Yae Rin in his arms.
This 500-year-old pseudo-herrscher finally couldn't hold it anymore. She was like a child begging for attention, innocently wanting only a candy.
Rin blinked when he was suddenly hugged, then chuckled and stretched out his tender little hands to pat Yaesakura's back lightly and heavily in a very rhythmic manner, just like a little adult.
After a pause, she spoke softly:
"Sister, let's never separate again, okay?"
"..." Yaezakura didn't even have the heart to reply. She just tightened her arms, greedily enjoying the warmth of the moment.
On the side, Theresa, who was ignored the whole time, silently put down the Oath of Judas that she had raised in her hand out of vigilance.
She stood in the rain and looked at the pair of pink-haired sisters beside her, who were so happy and harmonious. She was speechless for a moment.
Maybe it was the "family" gene that hated pink-haired foxes that made her feel lonely and sad for no apparent reason.
...like a loser who is not so defeated.
Although the timing, place, people and even the relationship were all wrong, Theresa shook her head, still feeling as if there was something heirloom on her head.
Watching the water splashing, she couldn't help thinking:
Could this timely rainstorm be specially caused for her in this scene?
Don’t do that kind of thing!
Thinking this, she opened her mouth to say something.
At this moment, a sudden change occurred.
Feiyukumaru, who had been lurking in the shadows and secretly watching Yaesakura's condition, showed up. His huge fox body was entangled with black and red flames of hatred, making him look extremely terrifying.
Long before this, Lu Mian had guessed that the core purpose of Feiyuwan's weaving of this illusion was to disrupt Yaezakura's mind and then win the resurrection match by taking over her body.
Now, seeing Yae Rin, Yae Sakura is in a state of confusion and has lost all her fighting spirit.
If you miss such a good opportunity, you will have to worry about it in your next life.
It makes sense that Feiyukumaru would appear in a hurry.
Lu Mian, who had also figured all of this out, was still not surprised at all. His expression did not change at all, and he looked quite calm and composed.
In fact, it doesn’t matter even if you don’t calculate anything.
Anyway, he had already forced this illusion to come to Niu through Yu Duchen and Dizang Yuhun.
In such a state, as the "victim", what waves worth mentioning can Feiyuwan make?
nonexistent.
Under the heavy rain, Lu Mian quietly stared at Feiyuwan who was hesitating about something, and said loudly:
"Feiyuwan, I wonder if this play I specially arranged for you is still reasonable?"
"Lu Mian, right? You may not know that the five hundred years of long coexistence has already bound Yae Sakura and I together. We are now in a state of coexistence, and we all prosper together and suffer together. If you kill me, she will not survive!" Feiyuwan did not respond to the drama, but said so with his narrow scarlet animal eyes.
Perhaps only God knows what kind of emotions and thoughts drove Him to say these words.
This is like the villain summoning 100,000 troops to besiege one person, but the declaration before the battle is:
"No matter how powerful you are, you can't kill all 100,000 of us!"
To be honest, I'm a bit scared.
As for Feiyumaru himself, he also had something to say. It was all because of that damn love-brained Yae Sakura who followed Lu Mian all the way because of the scent of Kallen.
He was also forced to watch the entire process of how Lu Mian, a veritable Honkai killing machine, dealt with Honkai beasts, death warriors, and pseudo-Hermenders.
Too cruel, too cruel...
It was simply outrageous. Even Feiyuwan, the culprit who caused the destruction of the previous civilization, felt that the other party was a bit too extreme.
You can imagine how it feels.
Now, the two are going to face off on stage.
Just thinking about it, Feiyuwan felt an inexplicable sense of humor rushing to the top of his head.
So don't worry about your face, just say the most useful words possible, even if it can only make Lu Mian hesitate a little.
Unfortunately, Lu Mian was unmoved by this, and only raised an extremely sunny and cheerful smile, "Prosperity and adversity are common... Haha, then today I will let you see what the 'Black Cutter' is!"
The words fell amid the sound of heavy rain, like spring thunder exploding out of nowhere. The irresistible firmness in them was even colder than the rain.
