Watching the Staff of Homa burst into brilliant light, the old uncle was now absolutely certain.
He had been 100% set up by Morax.
This was truly bad. It was fine if he himself knew his own mental weaknesses—being schemed against by an old antique who had lived for thousands of years was just too much.
But the old uncle still knew what was most important right now.
"Hey, kid over there, come here. This broken place is extremely dangerous. Who brought you here?"
Little Shenhe looked at the old uncle and immediately trotted over.
"My Master… told me to bring a comb and find you to comb my hair."
The current little Shenhe was vastly different from the Shenhe in the original Genshin plot.
In the plot: white-haired immortal, detached from the mortal world, emotionless, one punch from her would make you cry for a very long time.
Little Shenhe: cute, quiet, sensible, introverted, with just a tiny bit of a child's liveliness. If she punched you, she would cry with tears in her eyes while tugging at your sleeve.
"A comb? Let me see it."
Cid, the old uncle, took the jadeite comb that little Shenhe handed him. Through his Vision, he instantly understood what that woman meant.
Shenhe was born under the "Solitary Star" and "Calamity Evil." She needed to sever all mortal ties before she could step onto the path of immortality.
This comb was the tool to sever those mortal ties. And because Cid had provided information that altered the future, the karmic consequence began with him—it must also end with him.
Cid, the old uncle, reached out and gently patted little Shenhe's head.
"Do you know what it means to comb your hair?"
Little Shenhe shook her head. "I don't know."
"Then how did your Master bring you here? Did she inform your parents?"
"Yes."
It had to be said—the old uncle had played with children a lot, so he had a natural advantage in taking care of them. Just one head pat was enough to completely lower the guard of little Shenhe, who had little life experience, and she began speaking more.
"Mommy was sick and always lying in bed. Daddy was very busy because of it, but even after a long time, Mommy still didn't get better.
Then Master flew over. Oh, right—my Master is a big blue bird! I've touched Master's feathers. They're warm and fluffy—so nice!"
The old uncle said nothing about little Shenhe suddenly changing the topic; he simply nodded in satisfaction.
"I want to touch too, but unfortunately that's not my Master."
"There's really nothing I can do about that… but I heard birds molt. When Master molts next time, I'll secretly take one of those feathers and let Uncle touch it."
"That would be wonderful. And what happened after that?"
"My Master is amazing. She came and cured Mommy in just one day, and then…"
Little Shenhe looked at the old uncle.
"And then I came here. Master gave me a little lantern and told me to come straight here."
"Your mom and dad didn't object?"
"Daddy was very happy. Mommy was very reluctant to let me go. She held me and said a lot of things—like I have to eat properly, pay attention to going to bed early…"
So it was done through proper procedures. It seemed that woman hadn't told little Shenhe about the Lone Star of Heavenly Evil.
"I'm not a little child anymore! I'm already a big five-year-old! Mommy still likes treating me like a little kid…"
Once little Shenhe started talking, she had a lot to say. It could only be said that introverted children aren't necessarily born introverted—sometimes there's just no one to listen to them, so they keep everything inside. After holding it in for too long, they become introverted.
"Little Shenhe, do you know what kind of person this old uncle is?"
"I don't know."
"I am the legendary Herrscher who holds authority over life and death…"
In this place of light amidst death-filled darkness, the young man clad in black robes introduced himself thus.