Chapter 518: Hu Tao and Lei Dianying's first meeting
Before entering Liyue Harbor, Tianhe decided to teleport to the Hall of Rebirth to avoid unnecessary trouble. One of the reasons was that he wanted to see Little Hutao.
At the same time, in the Hall of Rebirth, Little Walnut was improvising in his room. Suddenly, Walnut seemed to sense some movement next door. If I remember correctly, that room was currently unused and no one was there.
Kurumi put down his pen, jumped off the chair, and walked towards the next room.
When I arrived at the door of the next room, a female voice came from inside, "Tianhe, what...place is this?"
A male voice responded, "This is Liyue's Hall of Rebirth. You don't need to know what it does specifically. We came here just to avoid causing unnecessary trouble, and by the way, we came to the Hall of Rebirth to meet a little girl. Her name is Hu Tao."
Hearing the familiar voice, Little Hutao let down her guard, she knew it was Brother Tianhe. Although Tianhe was older now, his voice had not changed much compared to before.
Noticing the movement at the door, Tianhe knew that Hu Tao was outside, "Oh? Looks like Hu Tao is here, let's go."
Before Hu Tao could react, the door opened from the inside, and the person who came into view was not Tianhe, but an unfamiliar older sister.
Although Lei Dianying did not show the pressure of a superior, Hu Tao was still frightened by her and jumped back. The door then opened completely, and Tianhe was behind her. Compared with before, he had changed a lot, becoming more mature and charming.
Tianhe saw that Lei Dianying had frightened Hu Tao, so he patted her shoulder and motioned her to step back so that he could talk to the other party. Lei Dianying knew that her action had frightened Hu Tao, and she silently took a step back, knowing that she was in the wrong.
Tianhe took a step forward and came in front of Hu Tao. He stretched out his hand and showed a kind smile, "Hu Tao, do you still remember me? I am Tianhe. The one behind me is Lei Dianying, you can just call her Sister Ying.
I'll tell you a secret, don't tell anyone else, she is Inazuma's Thunder God, I kidnapped her to Liyue. How about me, am I awesome?" Tianhe made a little joke about Lei Ying, but Ying didn't take it seriously.
"This sister is... Inazuma's Thunder God?" After learning about the identity of Lei Dianying from Tianhe, Hu Tao couldn't help but look at Lei Dianying behind him. Lei Dianying also looked over, and the man and the god looked at each other, and Hu Tao withdrew his gaze.
If the person who was talking to Hu Tao just now was not Tian He, Hu Tao might have doubted this matter. But because it was Tian He, and his current identity, Hu Tao believed that Tian He would not deceive her at this time.
After confirming that the other party was not a threat, Hu Tao finally let down her guard and introduced herself openly. "Hello, Sister Ying, I am Hu Tao. The "Hu" in Hu Tao is the "Hu" in Hu Tao, which means eating and drinking lavishly, but the "Tao" in Hu Tao is not the "Tao" in naughty, but the "Tao" in peach, hehe. Hey, isn't it funny?"
Lei Dianying's first impression of Hu Tao was that this child was very cute. Perhaps because of Tianhe, Lei Dianying now had more emotional intelligence than before. She nodded seriously to Hu Tao without hesitation.
"Well, Hu Tao, I think you are quite cute." Originally, Hu Tao saw Lei Dianying was silent and thought that she was not interested in him, so she felt a little disappointed.
As a result, Lei Dianying suddenly praised himself, which surprised Hu Tao and made him happy from the bottom of his heart. Perhaps it was because of his special status that the compliments from others were different.
This made Kurumi feel a little shy, and she didn't know how to answer for a moment. However, as a future social leader, Kurumi quickly reacted and responded with a smile.
"Then... I'll accept Sister Ying's compliment, hehe. By the way, Sister Ying, can we... be friends? Being able to be friends with Inazuma's Thunder God... sounds like it would be great."
Friends, this seems to be a strange yet familiar word to Lei Dianying in the past. Five hundred years ago, Lei Dianying had many friends, including some as quirky as Walnut. However, most of them were not human, but Inazuma's unique monsters.
If it weren't for the outbreak of the Kanreya War five hundred years ago, which affected the entire Teyvat and caused heavy losses to Inazuma, the only friend left by Lei Yingying would be the fox Yae Shinko.
If it weren't for Tianhe, Lei Yingying knew that he would have remained autistic. Once the abyss came again, Inazuma's future would be foreseeable.
Looking at Hu Tao's expectant eyes, Lei Dianying took a deep breath, "If it's Hu Tao, I'm willing to be your friend. But..."
Lei Dianying thought that human life span was not long and one day they would be separated from her...would she be worn out again? Thinking of this, Lei Dianying's eyes were a little lonely, and Tianhe saw what she was thinking.
"If you are worried about your life span, don't worry. I have plenty of ways to prolong your life without any side effects." Hearing Tianhe's voice, Lei Dianying was delighted. She finally put her mind at ease.
"Just what?" Hu Tao was a little confused at first, but after listening to what Tianhe just said, she was smart enough to guess what Lei Yingying had just said. It was nothing more than that she felt that her life span was not as long as hers.
As a Liyue person, Hu Tao certainly knows that the life span of a demon god is very long. Take the former Geo King as an example. He has seen off countless generations of Liyue people and witnessed unimaginable separations. Hu Tao cannot understand the pain, but knows it must be painful.
"Hahaha, Grandpa once told me that yin and yang are orderly, fate is unpredictable, and death is hard to predict, but it also has its rules. If, Sister Ying, you are worried about the pain of separation and don't want to make friends, then why don't you think about the laughter and joy in the past? Aren't those more than the time of separation?"
Seeing Hu Tao suddenly pretending to be serious and giving her a lecture, the haze in Lei Dianying's heart was swept away. Perhaps, this is the special thing about the future 77th head of the Wangsheng Hall.
"Well, Kurumi, you have a point. I think too much. So, let's get to know each other again. I am the incompetent Raiden General of Inazuma. Now I am studying with Tianhe. My name is Kaname Raiden. And now, the Inazuma Raiden General is my elder sister Raiden Shin, and my younger sister Raiden Mei."
"Huh? Three Thunder Generals? Sister Ying, you have an older sister and a younger sister." Kurumi widened her eyes. She really didn't know that Inazuma had three generals.
Lei Dianying looked at Hu Tao and decided to tell this new friend about her past. Maybe it was because Tian He was by her side, or maybe Lei Dianying believed that Hu Tao was not the kind of person who would talk nonsense.
"I want to tell you a secret about my past. Please don't tell anyone, okay?"
Tianhe naturally agreed, he was not the kind of person who would go back on his word. Hu Tao was not that kind of person either, she was curious about the past of this Inazuma god, so she agreed.
Lei Dianying looked at Tianhe, "Can you take us to that mysterious space?" Tianhe waved his hand, and their figures appeared in that space.
As he used it more and more times, Tianhe became more and more proficient in this ability, and no longer needed to rely on the portal to get in. Now Tianhe could directly pull people into this space.
Hu Tao's first reaction after entering this space was not panic, but curiosity. Because Hu Tao believed that Lei Dianying and Tianhe would not harm her, she was very relieved.
Tianhe snapped his fingers, and the surrounding space changed, turning into a lounge. They sat on the soft sofa, with snacks and drinks on the coffee table next to them. Seeing this, Lei Dianying began to narrate.
"Before... I only had one sister. She passed away five hundred years ago. Now, with the help of Tianhe, she returned to Inazuma. And Raiden Mei... In the past, I made my body into a puppet in pursuit of eternity. This is the origin of Raiden Mei. I let her manage Inazuma."
"Perhaps, this is why I am incompetent. As the Raiden General of Inazuma, I betrayed the trust of the people of Inazuma and almost caused a disaster. After all, I am really not good at managing Inazuma. I think I am actually better at solving problems with force."
After listening to Ying's story, Kurumi understood the origin of the three thunder generals, but her focus was on another direction. "That is to say, Sister Ying, as the Inazuma God, has things she cannot do."
"That's right." Lei Dianying did not deny it, because it was the truth. Even someone as strong as she was could not protect everyone. "After all, there are things that gods cannot do. In the battle five hundred years ago, I failed to save my sister, and I failed to protect everyone. God is not omnipotent."
At this point, Lei Dianying clenched his fist, and finally, he let it go weakly. Seeing that the atmosphere was a little wrong, Tianhe held Lei Dianying's hand and gave her a gentle smile.
"Shadow, let the past be the past. The trauma experienced by humans in the battle of Kanreya was not much less than you, but they have long since moved on from the sorrow and moved on."
"Liyue's Thousand Rocks Army, Yakshas, and immortals are like this. After paying so many sacrifices, Liyue Harbor was not disturbed by the flames of war and was able to develop to its current state, ensuring peace and prosperity for the country and the people."
"The same goes for the Shogunate army of Inazuma and the monsters. They fought bloody battles for the future of Inazuma and made so many sacrifices in exchange for the peace of Inazuma Castle. Can you deny their achievements? At least, you can still remember their existence, and that's enough."
Lei Dianying held Tianhe's hand tightly, "I... understand. Thank you, Tianhe, I won't forget it."
Kurumi seemed unwilling to be forgotten by the two. She raised her little hand and said, "Well, I don't know what to say, but can I hug you?"
Hearing Hu Tao's voice, Lei Dianying let go of Tianhe's hand. She turned her head and showed a gentle smile, "Of course."
Hu Tao jumped down from the sofa and came in front of Lei Dianying. Lei Dianying also stood up, bent down slightly, and gently hugged Hu Tao. Hu Tao was instantly wrapped by Lei Dianying's two soft arms. After hugging for a while, Lei Dianying was determined to let go.
"Well, thank you too, Hu Tao. I'm much better now. Let's go back and don't make your family wait anxiously." Tianhe thought about it, and the three of them returned to the Wangsheng Hall. Fortunately, no one noticed that Hu Tao had disappeared from the Wangsheng Hall for a while.