[Remaining Lifespan: 148 Days]
Jewelry Soup was Bird Lady's favorite dish.
The recipe was simple: simmer leafy greens into a light, clear broth. Once the water boiled, add Snapdragon, tofu, and lotus seeds. When steam rose and the fresh aroma filled the air, the soup was ready.
The white broth floats the lotus seeds, and the jade-like appearance of the dish, its shape and meaning, led people to jokingly call it "Jewelry Soup."
It had a fancy name, but in truth, it was just a simple home-cooked dish.
Bosacius added the tender cabbage to the pot, then chopped some tofu into pieces and set it aside for later. As he worked, he lowered his gaze and opened the gourd at his waist. A faint smell of wine wafted out, and he tilted his head back, taking a generous drink.
The hot liquor flowed down his throat, turning into a mild warmth. He exhaled slowly, the mist of breath dissipating in the air as his chest gently rose and fell, suppressing the darkness in his eyes.
"Ha..."
With a knife, he sliced through his palm, letting the blood trickle down the lines of his hand. He allowed the pain to bring him back to his senses, knowing it would help him remain awake.
This method worked well.
[Nuo Exorcism Progress: 95%]
[Status: On the Edge of Rationality]
[Bosacius, you DON'T have to do this.]
[Your purpose in this life has already been fulfilled. You don't need to torment yourself anymore.]
"That's the meaning of the Human Principles System, not mine," Bosacius said somewhat proudly. "And I'm about to succeed…"
Bosacius was almost there.
He had a little over one hundred days left, enough time to complete what he needed to do.
[You DON'T have one hundred days left.]
The system seemed to read Bosacius's thoughts.
[You could die at any moment.]
He paused. In front of him, the air seemed to shimmer with mirages, and eerie whispers filled his ears. Bosacius took another swig of alcohol.
Over the years, he had almost learned to coexist with the karma inside him—not because he had suppressed it, but because it had already consumed him almost completely.
One more step forward, and he would be a full-fledged demon. Stronger, more powerful than ever. There was a saying, "Falling into darkness makes you three times stronger, but purifying yourself weakens you." This was the reason.
The last thread of rationality was the only thing keeping him in the human realm.
Jewelry Soup was almost ready.
"Bird Lady loves this."
He muttered to himself,
"Bird Lady can eat, but she can't cook. When Ganyu and I were young, we hardly tasted any proper food—we lived on mountain dew. I used to gather wild cabbage and herbs and boil them into soup. Later, people added tofu and started calling it Jewelry Soup. Really, it's just a pot of mixed vegetables."
The "Bird Lady" he meant was Cloud Retainer, one of the mighty and illuminated adepti, and master to both him and Ganyu.
Bosacius took another drink. The wine was strong and made him feel slightly tipsy.
"Whenever I made it, Lady Crane would say, 'Such indulgence in food is unbecoming of an adeptus,' then sweep away. But I knew she wanted to try it, so I'd leave a bowl on the stone table outside her cave. Sure enough, it would be empty the next morning."
He mimicked Bird Lady's tone as he joked about their master's past. Bosacius needed to keep talking, if only to distract himself.
The malevolent aura in his eyes grew more intense, thickening like a heavy storm cloud, almost overflowing.
No one could associate Bosacius with the heroic Marshal Vritras anymore.
He was now closer to a full-fledged demon.
The karma began corroding his soul again, fiercer than ever, like a thousand needles grinding inside his skull.
His spirit was being devoured.
His twisted gaze and clenched teeth revealed the toll it was taking.
[Remaining Lifespan: 148 Days]
...
[Remaining Lifespan: 121 Days]
...
[Remaining Lifespan: 111 Days]
...
[Remaining Lifespan: 91 Days]
This was the reason why the Human Principles System predicted that Bosacius didn't have much time left.
"He is about to die."
"From now on, I'll make Jewelry Soup every day... every day, and leave it on the stone table."
Bosacius clenched his teeth, staying awake.
"Bird Lady… will always come and eat it."
[This is your unspoken agreement.]
"Yes, that's right," Bosacius said quietly. "But I haven't made Jewelry Soup in years... and I haven't seen her in a long time."
They lived so close to each other in Jueyun Karst.
Jewelry Soup was done.
He packed the soup into a food box, paused, then opened the door and stepped outside.
The summer sun shone brightly, the heat rising like a thick wave—Bosacius hadn't stepped outside in a long time.
[What do you plan to do?]
"I'm leaving Jueyun Karst."
Bosacius spoke softly, lifting his hand. The dark blood beneath his pale skin flowed like a slow stream.
"I'm going to a desolate place—only Rex Lapis knows where I'll be. My body is close to losing control... If it happens, I might hurt her."
"I'm a disaster now. It's too dangerous to stay here."
Bosacius lowered his gaze. "I must leave."
The karma he had swallowed over the centuries—the festering remnants of dead gods—had corrupted him. If he lost control, only Rex Lapis might be able to stop him.
Bosacius knew his state was on the verge of collapsing.
[You must leave... but the karma within the yaksha has not yet been fully cleansed.]
"I will return secretly once a month, to consume the filth."
Cloud Retainer lived on Mt. Aocang in Jueyun Karst.
Jueyun Karst was a haven of the adepti, its towering peaks and sheer cliffs wreathed year-round in cloud. Bosacius followed the winding mountain path.
This was a path he had walked often as a child.
But when he was younger, he couldn't walk this sacred path alone. Cloud Retainer couldn't do much but carry him up the mountain.
He had no family, only Cloud Retainer had raised him.
As a child, Bosacius would lie on his master's back, listening to the wind pass by his ears... It felt like it was a lifetime ago.
Bird Lady was away from the mountain today, discussing the adeptal arts with old friends such as Moon Carver.
Bosacius knew this, so he chose to come today.
He was an unworthy disciple.
He knew this.
He reached the final step and saw the lake before him, its surface shimmering under the clear sky. In the center was a small pavilion, with four stone chairs and one stone table.
The adepti often gathered here.
There were four chairs—God of Dust, Rex Lapis, Cloud Retainer…
And Bosacius's own chair.
He couldn't remember the last time he had been here. The chairs were dusty, moss had grown on them, and the vines hung down like curtains, covering everything in green.
They hadn't gathered here in a long time.
Bosacius pulled the vines away, cleared the moss, and placed the food box in front of Cloud Retainer's seat.
"I can't make Jewelry Soup for you anymore."
He paused and spoke softly.
"But Jewelry Soup is easy to make. You have a long life. You'll meet another disciple... one who will cook Jewelry Soup for you."
He knew Cloud Retainer wasn't here, so he said what he wanted to say.
Bosacius's eyes darkened, his jaw tightened, and the whispers in his ears grew louder. He suppressed his growing agitation.
"I'm an unworthy disciple."
"I'm weak and useless. This is the only way I could think of."
He was apologizing.
"I will leave as a sinner. Bosacius... I have brought shame to you."
"Ganyu, I leave her in your care. Please remind her to eat well. Please take care of her. I'm a useless older brother... I'm a useless disciple."
"I'm sorry."
"Apologies."
"But I don't regret it. If I could do it over again, I'd do it the same way."
Bosacius lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly. No matter what happened, no matter who was around, he would always be fearless.
Before the other yakshas, he was their big brother, and a big brother could not be afraid. Before Rex Lapis, he was a friend, and a friend could not be afraid. Before the people of Liyue, he was their grand marshal, and a grand marshal could not be afraid. Bosacius had never allowed himself to show weakness.
Only before Bird Lady could he relax, if only a little.
Just as he had when he was a child, walking the narrow paths of Jueyun Karst with one hand wrapped around Bird Lady's wing, whispering, "Master, I'm scared."
After a long moment, Bosacius finally lifted his head and knelt.
This was a solemn ceremony in Liyue.
He slowly lowered his body, pressing his fingers to the ground, and lowered his head towards the seat that symbolized Cloud Retainer. His forehead touched the ground for a few seconds, and he whispered,
"The kindness of nurturing... Bosacius can never repay it in this life."
Summer sunlight shimmered.
——"I will succumb to madness. Please take care of yourself afterwards."
This was the last bowl of Jewelry Soup.
He said his final words.
All his worries had come to an end.
Bosacius stood up, took another swig of liquor from his waist, and laughed again, his laughter echoing across the cliffs, ringing through the empty valley.
And so, he descended the mountain once more.
Just like the summer six hundred years ago, when the young man answered Rex Lapis's call, left the adeptal mountains behind, and descended to fight that glorious battle in the mortal world.
Marshal Vritras had aged. He was no longer young.
He had fought his whole life, and now, he was going to fight his last battle. Towards the towering summer trees, to the sound of cicadas, in the hot wind of midsummer, he would die as a sinner and proudly meet his end—this was his life.
He walked on, leaving the bowl of tofu soup quietly on the stone seat. After a long, long time, a crane landed on the stone chair, pausing in confusion as it gazed at the now-cold tofu soup.
"Bosacius...?"
Was it really Bosacius?
Cloud Retainer was a little disoriented. Had Bosacius just been here?
If he came, why didn't he come in and sit down?
She stared at the Jewelry Soup, feeling uneasy for some reason.
This child...
He didn't even say a word when he came.
The crane looked around. Where had he gone?
But Cloud Retainer had another title besides "Bird Lady": the Great Inventor.
She excelled in the art of divine crafts and clever mechanisms.
In recent years, while alone in her cave, she had invented several devices, such as the Repeating Shadow Stones array in Mt. Aocang, which could record sounds and images and replay them.
In modern terms, it was like installing a surveillance camera at the front door—an invention so recent that even Bosacius didn't know about it.
She began to review the recordings.
After a while,
Cloud Retainer was stunned. "...What?"
——
"Who are you?"
A tall woman stood in front of them, tilting her head. White hair framed her green eyes, her presence cold and flawless, like a clear green pool reflecting Kiyo Seigan's face.
The woman had a slender build, wearing intricate clothes adorned with cloud patterns and golden threads. She was draped in a dark robe, with only the tips of her feet visible—her feet so pale, almost transparent, that the faint veins could be seen under her skin.
Such a majestic aura—could she truly be an adeptus?
Kiyo Seigan thought he had encountered a genuine adeptus and nearly stepped forward to greet her, but Lumine moved in front of him, her golden eyes studying the unfamiliar woman warily.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Shenhe," the woman replied softly. "I am a child of the mountains."
"Why have you come to the mountains?"
Kiyo Seigan scratched his head.
All these arrangements were strange to him—aside from the one to drink, the others were all bizarre, like grave-robbing, drinking at tombs, and now, bringing offerings to the mountain.
"We want to go to the peak of Mt. Aocang." Kiyo Seigan gestured with the food box in his hand. "We're offering these as tribute."
These were dishes he had worked hard to learn to make.
Jewelry Soup—when he first heard the name, Kiyo Seigan thought it meant actual jewelry cooked into a soup...
So extravagant, it's a miracle Lumine didn't kill him on the spot.
The woman called Shenhe's nose twitched, and she seemed to sense the aroma coming from the food box.
Were they here to seek immortality?
But since they had prepared offerings, they weren't being disrespectful, so she decided to guide them.
She frowned for a moment, then, seeing no malice from them, nodded. "Follow me."
"However," Shenhe added coldly,
"Place the offerings and leave."
"Do not disturb the peace of the mountains."
Today, her senior sister would be visiting. Shenhe had heard of this esteemed Qilin sister's name but had never met her before as she had left the mountain a long time ago.