Now, regarding Makoto.
After bidding farewell to Morax and the others, he prepared to send the girl back to her village.
However, as soon as he made the plan, he encountered a problem: Makoto didn't know which village the girl was from.
He tried calling out to wake her up, but after several attempts, he didn't succeed.
The girl had been controlled by Azhdaha's malevolent thoughts earlier, which had consumed a lot of her stamina.
Now, she was sleeping soundly on the grass, looking utterly exhausted.
Makoto wasn't in a hurry and quietly waited for the girl to wake up.
Just like Ningguang, this girl was also restless when she slept, prone to moving around.
Especially her small feet, which seemed to be kicking.
Makoto found this a bit amusing and exasperating, thinking the little girl was fiercely cute.
He began to examine the girl carefully.
The little girl was fair-skinned and clean, with a head of beautiful black hair intricately braided.
It was clear that she was a budding beauty, sure to be very pretty when she grew up.
While waiting for the girl to wake up, Makoto, having nothing else to do, decided to try a gacha pull.
He had previously obtained an intertwined fate from Azhdaha's precious treasure chest.
And then, the spirit inducing lamp compensated Guizhong's regret, granting him another intertwined fate.
All in all, Makoto had two intertwined fates.
He opened the gacha pool to draw.
The first pull was a blue sky and white clouds, yielding an item.
It was somewhat similar to a treasure compass.
However, this item not only searched for treasures but could also be used to find people and objects.
Its functions were quite comprehensive.
As long as he stated what he wanted to find, the compass would guide him there.
The second pull, however, showed a purple light.
It was a four-star element skill, 'Spirit-Warding Talisman'.
Perhaps many people were unfamiliar with the name of this combat skill,
but Makoto had some impression of skills related to talismans.
This was Shen He's element skill,
and it could be said to be Shen He's core skill.
When used, the character would dash forward, dealing Cryo DMG to enemies in their path.
Among these, the 'Spirit-Warding Talisman' was divided into two methods: Tap and Hold.
Tapping increased element skill and element burst DMG by 15%,
while holding increased DMG from normal attacks and charged attacks by 15%.
In the game, Shen He was an auxiliary character specifically designed for Cryo characters.
It could be said that Shen He could significantly increase the DMG of Kamisato or Ganyu in the team.
However, Makoto currently didn't have many Cryo skills.
He only had Ganyu's 'Shan Ze Lin Ji' which he had obtained from a previous draw.
Now, Makoto possessed Mona and Shen He's DMG-boosting skills.
He alone could greatly increase Ganyu's DMG, significantly reducing Ganyu's workload.
Thinking this, his cooperation with Ganyu would also become increasingly easy and enjoyable.
Makoto unlocked the skill into his skill library.
After completing all of this, Makoto exited the interface.
It was now completely dark, and he could only vaguely see several villages in the distance with torches lit.
He didn't know where the girl's home was.
At this moment, Makoto felt the girl in front of him stir, as if she was waking up.
The girl sat up from the grass, looking around.
She was startled for a moment, then instinctively took a step back, looking at Makoto with full vigilance.
It was clear the girl was a bit scared.
After all, waking up to find oneself in an unfamiliar environment with a stranger in front of you, it would be a lie to say one wasn't nervous or scared.
In response, Makoto quickly explained, "Little One, don't be scared. I'm not a bad person."
"I just saw you unconscious in the wilderness, and it's already dark now. There are many wild beasts around, and possibly even monsters."
"I was worried you'd encounter danger, so I stayed here to guard you."
The girl in front of him observed her surroundings. Indeed, as Makoto said, it was pitch black all around, and there was a possibility of encountering danger.
And when she woke up, Makoto had indeed kept a certain distance from her, as if protecting her.
The girl had also learned how to discern people from her parents and knew that Makoto was not lying and had no ill intentions.
Facing Makoto's kindness, the girl felt a sense of goodwill and lowered some of her guard.
A moment later, the girl looked up and said earnestly to Makoto, "Thank you, Big Brother."
This was the first time Makoto had heard the girl speak.
Her voice was soft and sweet.
When the girl smiled, it gave people a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze, very healing.
He thought that when she grew up, she would probably be very lively and cheerful, right?
Recalling his thoughts, Makoto also asked, "Little girl, what's your name? And where is the village you live in?"
The girl blinked her watery big eyes and said in a childlike voice, "Big Brother, my name is..."
Before she could speak, footsteps sounded nearby.
Makoto and the girl almost instinctively turned their heads to look.
It was a middle-aged man, dressed in clothes for slaying demons and monsters, looking full of righteous aura.
The middle-aged man looked at the girl and then said softly, "Shen He, I finally found you."
"Why did you run so far from home?"
Upon hearing this, the girl shook her head repeatedly, "Daddy, I don't know why I'm here."
"I should have been cultivating at home, but suddenly everything went dark, and when I woke up again, I was here."
"It seems like something happened during that time, but I don't remember any of it."
The middle-aged man frowned slightly upon hearing this, then said seriously, "You must have been controlled by something impure, which is why you came here, but thankfully, you're unharmed."
"Alright, it's getting late. Let's go home early."
The girl's father paused, then said very kindly, "I've also prepared a gift for you in the back mountain. Hurry and go see it."
Upon hearing this, the girl's eyes sparkled with joy.
She was very curious about what gift her father had prepared for her.
The girl instinctively took her father's hand, showing how dependent she was on him.
However, as she was leaving, she stopped and turned to look at Makoto, not forgetting to look up at her father and say, "Daddy, when I was unconscious, this kind big brother took care of me."
The middle-aged man looked at Makoto and then said with a smile, "Young man, thank you so much for taking care of my Shen He."
The middle-aged man kept thanking Makoto, showing that he was truly grateful for him protecting the girl.
"It's a small matter, not worth mentioning." Makoto waved his hand casually.
The middle-aged man, however, smiled and shook his head, "This is not a small matter. Right now, Shen He is my everything. If anything happened to her, I really don't know what I would do."
"I've already lost my wife; I can't lose her too."
Upon hearing this, the girl tightly held the middle-aged man's hand.
"Daddy, don't be sad. Shen He will be obedient and stay by Daddy's side."
The middle-aged man reached out and dotingly ruffled his daughter's head, then looked at Makoto.
He clasped his hands and said, "Young man, we still have some matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave for now. I'll properly thank you another day."
The girl wanted to say goodbye to Makoto, but she found her father pulling her hand and walking quickly towards home.
They walked very fast,
looking very anxious.
She didn't know what had happened at home.
She just felt that her father was a bit strange today.
She couldn't quite pinpoint where.
Makoto also waved goodbye to the father and daughter, then headed towards Liyue Harbor.
He had been away for a day, so Ningguang, Qiqi, and Beidou, those three little ones, must be waiting for him to return.
He had to get home quickly.
As Makoto walked, he suddenly stopped.
Something was wrong.
No matter how he thought about it, something was off.
The middle-aged man was dressed in clothes for slaying demons and monsters, looking very righteous and upright.
This indicated that he was engaged in exorcism work.
And he called the girl Shen He.
Makoto immediately thought of Shen He.
That girl just now was Shen He!
Oh no, Shen He is in danger!
In the original plot, Shen He's father said he had prepared a gift for Shen He in the back mountain,
but in reality, he sacrificed Shen He to a hideous black Seelie.
Thinking of this, Makoto immediately gave chase.
But by then, the father and daughter were nowhere to be seen.
Makoto immediately took out the treasure compass and searched for Shen He.
The compass needle began to move, pointing in one direction.
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