Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

Chapter 167 Preparatory Plan

"so--"

"You all know this, but not a single one of you has mentioned it to me!"

Xuan Qing's voice was cold; he hadn't been this angry in a long time.

The last time was 500 years ago.

He looked at the bowed immortals before him, the kneeling Xiao who remained kneeling, and the silent Zhongli.

"We apologize, it was our dereliction of duty, Your Majesty." Li Shui was the first to speak when the immortals bowed their heads in apology, expressing his remorse to Xuan Qing.

"I'm sorry, Lord Heaven..." Xiao lowered his head, blaming himself as well.

Seeing their expressions, Xuan Qing couldn't help but laugh at himself, "No, I'm not angry at you, I'm angry at myself. A-Yue has been by my side for so long and I didn't notice anything amiss..."

"I'm really not qualified to be the older brother..."

From Lei's few words, from the feelings of the crowd, and from Xuan Yue's unusual behavior back then, he had come to understand what Xuan Yue's inner conflict was.

It's him.

It was his departure.

At first, he only groomed Xuan Yue as his successor, speaking coldly to him because "order" should not have emotions; this was his own realization.

Even so, just a few indifferent words of concern can make Xiao Xuan Yue happy for a long time.

Later, once on the ground, Xuan Yue was deeply attracted by the people and things of Li Yue, and when he coaxed him into wanting to settle there, he actually agreed.

After a series of unexpected events, he was pushed off course by those people and separated from Xuan Yue. Initially, he thought he didn't care, but when he heard Xuan Yue's death from Morax's own ears, he lost control of himself…

He also asked himself whether he should meddle or not.

But in the end, he still used his last breath to repeat himself for a thousand years in the river of time.

Later, a life-or-death trap was set up for him as part of the overall strategy. However, his own side was almost always in a dead end.

He could understand Xuan Yue's feelings, but when asked if he regretted doing it, his answer was, "Never."

He only regretted not shattering his own soul and merging it into Xuan Yue's soul from the beginning.

In this way, Xuan Qing would never exist again, and Xuan Yue would never develop inner conflicts or demonic tendencies. And all of this would never have happened.

As he pondered, Xuanqing's aura weakened, and some black energy appeared on his body.

The immortals: "!" (We're doomed!)

Their consciousness conveyed a message:

Slice the Moon!!!∑(°Д°ノ)ノ: "Liu Yun, hurry—think of a way!"

Liu Yun also said anxiously, "The Emperor is right next to you! Why don't you call him the Emperor? I don't know how to comfort people!"

Li Shui: "You blockhead, think faster! If this continues, forget about saving Xuan Yue, even the Heavenly Lord might develop inner demons!"

Xiao: "How about... I transform into my true form and try to appease the Heavenly Lord?"

Liu Yun shook his head: "This trick probably won't work anymore. Look, Tianjun is trapped in his own consciousness and can't get out."

After speaking, the immortals glanced around and saw that the black aura had worsened...

Zhongli finally interjected, "By the way, isn't the Lantern Festival coming up soon?"

Li Shui: "What does Your Majesty mean by this?"

Zhongli: "Let's bring back Xuan Yue with the theme of the Lantern Festival."

Retain the clouds, manage the water, shave the moon: ? ? ?

Xiao nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty's actions must have a deeper meaning."

Actually, Zhongli was thinking: (I almost forgot, the Hall Master instructed me to invite Xuanqing and Xuanyue to dinner. If this doesn't happen, I probably won't be able to go to the market for a while. I heard there will be a lot of exotic foreign goods; I can't miss it.)

After they finished discussing it, Zhongli advised, "Xuanqing, the Lantern Festival is coming soon. Why don't you explain your current situation to Xuanyue in person? He might listen."

Upon hearing Xuan Yue's name, Xuan Qing finally snapped out of his daze and wearily waved his hand, saying, "No way... I'm in a very bad state right now. If he sees Xuan Yue, he might fall into demonic possession even faster."

Liu Yun: "Heavenly Lord, why don't you give it a try? After all, Xuan Yue is worried about you, but he will also prioritize your opinion. He is very strong and rational, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to endure so many years alone."

Li Shui also advised, "Yes, Heavenly Lord, you won't know what Xuan Yue is thinking if you don't do it. This is like a thorn in your side, and you don't want to have any regrets, do you?"

Xuan Qing: "..."

Zhongli: "If you're worried about the occasion, the headmaster is hosting a dinner party during the Lantern Festival and has invited you and Xuanyue as well."

"I'm afraid I won't be able to attend."

"It's alright, just appear for a moment, you don't need to actually go there."

Xuan Qing looked at Zhong Li suspiciously, having no idea what he was up to.

"Morax, can you predict the consequences?"

"Haha, old friend. The unknown is what makes it challenging. If you always rely on prophecies, you'll end up making it harder to make your own moves. Do you remember that chessboard?"

"The predetermined outcome for the black pieces among thousands of paths was unexpectedly disrupted by the white pieces' reckless actions, creating a fork in the road. This resulted in both sides advancing simultaneously."

"You dared to gamble back then, how about we gamble again this time?"

Xuanqing remained silent, and the other immortals retreated to the back as background figures. They were completely confused by what he was saying about black and white pieces, feeling that it was implying something, but they couldn't figure it out after thinking about it carefully. They felt that they had missed something.

"One thing at a time, but I can't control the consequences this time..."

"Xuanqing." Zhongli looked directly into his eyes and called his name.

In the end, the illusory figure in front of him lowered its head...