Honkai Impact: Grandma Pine Sparrow is still chasing me!

Chapter 355 If Your Excellency cannot understand reason, I do know a little about martial arts.

"From your position, head west. According to the Honkai energy reaction, Yae Sakura's consciousness is just ahead. But be careful! The instruments show that besides Yae Sakura, there is another high-Honkai energy consciousness. It should be the source of Yae Sakura's coma... By the way, listen carefully."

"I understand, Uncle Yang. I'll beat it into a stupid fox!"

Qiong couldn't wait to pull out her baseball bat.

"Sora, listen carefully!"

Old Yang's previously relaxed tone turned somewhat serious.

"No matter the outcome, neither I nor the others will blame you, but please remember that safety comes first! Especially Seele! Qiong, the current Seele is not as good as you... Of course, she will definitely be no less capable than you in the future, but right now she still needs to grow, she is not yet a qualified—"

"Seele won't hold us back!"

Walter's words, "The future will not be inferior," did not sound like comfort to her, but rather a denial of her current abilities—in other words, a warning to Qiong that "Seele might hold her back."

Normally, Seele would probably have been secretly hurt and saddened for a while, or even backed down, before being half-heartedly pushed forward by the stronger and more decisive "other me." But this time, the courage in her heart inexplicably took the lead.

Why? Is it to repay Welt and Sora for their help? Is it to acknowledge that the snake is "with Sora"? Or is it because she is kind and simple and wants to help Yae Sakura, who also has a stigmata? Perhaps, it's a combination of all three.

But one thing is certain: she genuinely wanted to help; she didn't want to be looked down upon, much less become a burden.

Seeing Seele's high spirits, the person clicked their tongue and let out a cryptic chuckle. With her help, a huge scythe appeared out of thin air in Seele's hand, almost slipping from her grasp before she could react—as for that "person," they exclaimed, "That's more like it!"

But then I thought about it again. With Seele's lack of combat experience and her rudimentary fighting skills—she hasn't even had two practical combat classes since coming to school—it's impossible to feel at ease letting her fight.

Looking at the scythe teetering precariously in Seele's hand, Black Seele sighed inwardly—although it was a bit sudden, she hadn't been able to hold the weapon steady for several seconds, so she didn't look like someone who could fight!

"Don't be stubborn, let me help you. No, cough cough... I mean, if you sincerely ask me, I might fight for you."

Black Heimer offered his advice to Seele with his characteristic condescending attitude—if Seele had listened carefully, she would have noticed a subtle, almost imperceptible expectation hidden within it.

However, Seele did not answer "okay," but remained silent for a short while.

Looking at the gray-haired man with a baseball bat slung over his shoulder, Seele's resentment and eagerness to prove herself, which had been stirred up by Walter, collided once again with Black Seele's words. Under the influence of her rebellious psychology, this sparked an even more determined idea.

No, I can't keep relying on this like a coward.

That day in Haiyuan City, when Kevin knocked her flying, she hurriedly called for "another me" to come and help (although they didn't end up fighting). But if she needs "another me" to save the day every time, what is her current fighting spirit? Just empty words?

Seele couldn't deny that Walter was right. She wasn't strong enough yet. But precisely because of that…

"No, this time I want to try it myself, by myself."

"ha?"

Black Seele's voice was filled with astonishment, and the playful smile froze instantly. She almost thought she had misheard—it was one thing for Seele to reject Bronya, but why was she rejecting her too?

They are one!

"What did you say? By yourself? Look at that sickle in your hand! You were barely able to hold it steady! Now is not the time to throw a tantrum!"

Hei hope's rapid-fire tone became somewhat hurried and even annoyed, carrying a sense of exasperation.

"Do you really want to hold them back? Do you want them to think you're just a boastful burden? Let me do it—"

Hei hope sensed that hope Er's will was tense to the point of trembling slightly, yet stubborn.

"Let me try first. I really want to help myself. I know what you mean, but this time, let me do it myself."

Seele immediately severed her connection with Black Seele's consciousness. Black Seele's urgent voice wanted to say something more, but she chose to completely ignore it.

"That guy! Hmph! Hmph! Hmph!"

Hei hope stomped her feet in anger on the beach in the consciousness space, then picked up a stone from the sand and threw it into the sea—how could this guy be so stubborn?!

Help save people? A guy who can't stand blood and screams at the sight of a caterpillar is going to help fight and save people?

Let's see how long you can keep up your stubbornness! In the end, when the battle turns against you, won't you still have to beg her? Without her, how much fighting power does that naive and innocent Seele have?

Thinking of this, Hei hope took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down—be stubborn, be stubborn! Stubborn Qiong's lack of fighting power in a one-on-one battle led to the failure of the plan to save Yae Sakura; stubborn her turned into a burden and fled in a sorry state, losing all face. She would simply take over forcibly when the time came and stage a desperate counterattack!

Thinking this way, Hei hope felt much better—no matter what, wouldn't they still have to come to her for help in the end? She was her guarantee!

"Brother Qiong, can you teach Seele how to use a scythe?"

"Ask Brother Qiong, you should ask me. I definitely know more than that stick-wielding guy, right?"

Hei hope, who had already figured things out on her own, got angry again when she heard hope Er ask Qiong about the scythe but not her.

"You're asking me?"

Through Seele's eyes, Black Seele saw that Qiong, who was in charge of clearing the way ahead, suddenly put away his baseball bat, walked thoughtfully to Seele's side, took the scythe, and carried it on his back in a half-bent posture.

“Of course, Seele. Watch closely, I’ll only perform once! This will set you free—vanish with the butterflies, you old phantoms!”

Hei hope: ?

Is this the correct way to use a sickle?

"Then, using the power of quantum mechanics, the person rushes out... You know what a rocket headbutt is? It's basically a series of quantum leaps, get it?"

Hei hope: ? ? ?

What is all this nonsense?! How can he say such outrageous things so seriously?

--------------

Yae Village is not located in a prosperous area; on the contrary, this small village is not rich in resources and often suffers from severe droughts in years of famine. These devastating droughts can lead to complete crop failure and widespread starvation…

So how did the people of Yae Village cope with drought 500 years ago?

In ancient China, people would likely have two choices: building water conservancy projects or offering tribute to the all-powerful Crimson Kite Immortal to pray for rain. Whether it was psychological or the immortal was genuinely kind, the people of China would always find a way to solve droughts. However, in this small village of Yae in the far east, the only option is something like offering tribute to the Crimson Kite Immortal.

And it's even more cruel—because the Yae Shrine's Yae Shinto priest seems to be more enthusiastic about human sacrifices than cattle and sheep.

In Yae Village, only by offering pure girls as sacrifices to the gods under the cherry blossom tree at Yae Shrine can the gods bestow their blessings as rain upon the parched earth... This has been the case for countless years, including Yae Sakura's younger sister, Yae Rin.

No one would grieve for the death of a sacrifice, and the day of the sacrifice would even be treated as a festival—until an outsider named Kallen Kaslana forcibly ended the priestess Yae Sakura's human sacrifice.

Today, Yae Sakura and Kallen live happily in the village. Because of this, the entire Yae Village is like a delicate and fragile dream, beautiful yet easily broken.

……

Yae Shrine, lunch spot.

"cherry!"

Hearing the shouts, Yae Sakura turned around, and a gentle smile immediately appeared on her face—who else could be shouting the real name of Yae Village Shrine Maiden Yae Sakura, besides her beloved Kallen?

"Karen, you're here."

Yae Sakura turned around, her red and white shrine maiden robes fluttering gently with her movement. Combined with her slender ears and smiling face, she resembled a blooming pink cherry blossom. Seeing Kallen running towards her breathlessly, Yae Sakura couldn't help but chuckle.

"Karen, why are you running so fast? I'm not going to disappear."

She will never disappear; she will protect this village and stay with Karen forever.

Karen stopped a few steps away from her. Her strong physique meant she didn't even need to catch her breath, except that her white hair was slightly disheveled and stuck to her slightly flushed cheeks.

"Sakura, it's lunchtime! I can smell the aroma! That's ready, right?"

Yae Sakura couldn't help but chuckle: her lover's nose was as sensitive as ever—and his appetite was probably as big as ever too.

"Which one?"

"That's the one!"

Kallen, standing in front of Yae Sakura, was so anxious that she stomped her feet.

"The cherry blossom rice balls even taste like cherry blossom wine! I'm absolutely certain I can't be mistaken!"

"Yes, that's right!"

Yae Sakura finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, and took out a food box from her wide sleeves that was about the same size as Kallen's appetite.

Yae Sakura leans against the cherry blossom tree and opens the box, revealing four neatly arranged rice balls, each with a whole salted cherry blossom embedded in the center.

Karen's eyes lit up immediately, but then she pouted.

"Sakura, only four? That's not enough..."

"And this too! Cherry blossom wine!"

Yae Sakura took out another ceramic pot, intending to sit down next to her lover and watch him happily enjoy the lunch she had prepared...

But she didn't have the time.

"Brother Qiong, are the salted cherry blossoms and cherry blossom wine delicious?"

"Who goes there?!"

Yae Sakura, whose lunch time with Kallen had been interrupted, immediately became alert and drew her katana from her waist—even though she was disturbed, her shrine maiden upbringing told her that she shouldn't adopt a hostile attitude right away... but a voice in her heart told her that she had to do so, or everything would be over.

Yae Sakura noticed that the gray-haired boy holding the baseball bat was talking to the little girl as he approached them.

"Seele, trust me. Eating salted cherry blossoms is not as good as eating tricolor dumplings and dumpling milk, and drinking cherry blossom wine is not as good as making some sweet rice wine, at least it won't have excessive nitrite... By the way, minors are not allowed to drink alcohol."

"Nitrate?"

Yae Sakura felt like she must have heard this word somewhere before. It was such a strange word; she was sure she'd heard it before, but where?

Who are you? What are you doing here?!

Perhaps because Sakura's loving lunch had been disturbed and slandered, or perhaps because of Yae Sakura's wariness, Kallen threw down her rice ball and loudly questioned the two men holding a sickle and a baseball bat.

"Um... Yae-sensei, we've come to rescue you!"

Mustering her courage, Seele took the initiative to start the conversation.

"Everything here is fake! Yae-sensei, you're unconscious in the infirmary. He's Qiong-nii, and I'm Xi'er. Do you remember me?"

Yae Sakura and Kallen exchanged a glance, their faces full of confusion.

"help me?"

"You must have made a mistake. Judging from your appearance... are you perhaps travelers from elsewhere?"

"Oh, so you're a traveler!"

Hearing Yae Sakura say that, Kallen started eating again. She quickly finished all the rice balls, licked her lips in front of the three of them as if she hadn't had enough, and then boldly leaned her head on Yae Sakura's shoulder.

"Sakura, forget about them! I want more! Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after that! I want to eat sakura rice balls and sakura wine!"

"Karen, they are guests. You should be polite to them."

Yae Sakura gently patted Kallen's head, then looked at Seele and Sora.

"Gentlemen, although I don't understand what you're saying, and perhaps you mean well? Everything is normal here, and I haven't fainted. So... please leave!"

That's strange. She clearly meant to say "Welcome to Yae Village," so how did it turn into "Please leave"?

"Yae-sensei, you really can't remember anything at all? Why don't you just ignore it and come with us?"

Yae Sakura shook her head.

"No, I have no recollection of you or your words..."

Although it was a lie, Yae Sakura clearly remembered the strange word "nitrite," even though she didn't understand what it was. She just lied unconsciously—even though it was a trivial lie.

"Besides, I can't possibly abandon Karen and the village to go with strangers."

Although, it didn't feel so unfamiliar.

Seeing Yae Sakura's response, the gray-haired man shrugged.

"Sigh, Uncle Yang, the negotiations have broken down. What do you suggest we do... Plan B? No, is it really that hasty?"

Yae Sakura: ?

Who is Uncle Yang?

Yae Sakura noticed that the gray-haired man talking to himself seemed to be talking to someone they couldn't see. A moment later, both the man and the woman stared at her.

"Ahem... Um, Yae Sakura, are you sure you're not coming with us? Seriously?"

"I think I've made myself quite clear."

As soon as Yae Sakura finished speaking, Seele raised the scythe she had been dragging and Sora's baseball bat simultaneously.

"Then I'm sorry... If you don't understand reasoning, I do know a little bit about martial arts."

You call sticks and clubs "fists and feet"?

--------------

The error chapter has been fixed... If you're interested, you can read the revised interlude at the end of Volume 5 (so I didn't actually miss yesterday's update!).