This letter was Shenhe's father's last will. He placed this will with his beloved wife's hair tie and buried them under this tree in the place where they once lived.
After abandoning Shenhe in that cave for three days and receiving no news, he realized that the person who promised to revive his wife, claiming to be a god, was deceiving him; she was merely using him to get his daughter.
Finally realizing his mistake, he rushed to the cave, but Shenhe was nowhere to be found. He thought Shenhe had been taken away, perhaps even killed.
Thinking of this, he was utterly despondent. Not only had he lost his beloved wife, but now his only daughter was also gone because of him.
He didn't believe Shenhe could survive in the hands of that mysterious entity. She was no match, so she was most likely dead, killed by a demon, dead because of his foolishness.
Having lost all his loved ones, he recalled his wife's dying wish, asking him to take good care of Shenhe. He lost all hope of living.
He... he didn't keep his promise to his wife. Not only did he fail to take care of Shenhe, but he also caused her to lose her life.
Having lost the will to live, he eventually took a rope to this tree. After placing his will, expressing his remorse, and his wife's hair tie in a box and burying it under the tree, he hanged himself with the rope.
Through this will, Shenhe understood that her father regretted his actions. He was merely deluded. He... loved her.
Mingjun read the will and looked at the crying Shenhe, letting out a soft sigh.
As a close friend, he had witnessed the traces of Shenhe's family. Things had changed; if his friend had realized sooner, their lives might have been ordinary, perhaps difficult, but... they would surely have been happy.
"Could that Seelie... be your father?"
Although it was just Miss Durandal's conjecture, could the Seelie that led them to these relics be Shenhe's father after his death?
He still held a glimmer of hope that Shenhe was still alive in this world. To tell her to find the relics under the tree when she returned, he transformed into a guiding Seelie, staying here to await Shenhe's return.
"Father..."
No one could be certain if this deduction was correct, but Shenhe was willing to believe it. Otherwise, why would the guiding Seelie only pay attention to them and not to others who came here?
Guiding Seelies usually lead people to places where treasures are hidden. The relics in the box were certainly not treasures to others, but to Shenhe, they were indeed priceless.
So, that Seelie must have been Shenhe's father.
He persisted, waiting until he had led them to the relics before disappearing.
Shenhe took out the hair tie she had just placed in the box and skillfully tied it in her hair, replacing the original red string.
"Thank you, Durandal. If it weren't for you, no matter how much time passed, I would never have found this."
If it weren't for Durandal, this regret would probably have accompanied her for life. At this moment, Shenhe's gratitude towards Durandal reached its peak, and the emotion in her eyes as she looked at Durandal was almost overflowing.
"I just didn't know what to do, so I was bored and found a Seelie. I just followed it out of curiosity. I didn't do anything worth thanking me for."
Unaccustomed to being thanked, Durandal habitually deflected the gratitude. She couldn't quite handle Shenhe's intense gaze and was defeated in their interaction for the first time.
Mingjun, having lived most of his life, naturally saw through Durandal's way of hiding her true emotions, and a smile finally appeared on his face.
Shenhe had truly made a very good friend. With her by Shenhe's side, she would no longer be as sad as she was in the past.
Shenhe chatted with Mingjun for a long time, learning many past stories from him. Time unknowingly passed into the evening.
Mingjun, who had planned to leave, was forcibly kept by Miss Durandal, who took both of them back to Liyue Harbor. They had a meal at the Wanmin Restaurant, and only after they finished eating did she let him leave.
When Mingjun left, Shenhe kept watching his back until he completely disappeared, her gaze unwavering.
"You'll see each other again in the future. You can just meet up then; there's no need to feel reluctant to part."
Shenhe nodded. Although their relationship was close, they were not family after all, and they would eventually have to part.
Fortunately, she was no longer alone. Although she was reluctant, she wasn't sad.
Having adjusted her spirits, Miss Dur Durandal and Shenhe prepared to return to their villa in Liyue to rest.
On the way back, Miss Durandal saw a familiar figure supporting an unfamiliar person walking towards the Bubu Pharmacy.
"Xingqiu?"
"Ah, it's Miss Durandal. This is great, we're saved!"
Xingqiu saw Miss Durandal as if he had seen a savior. He quickly helped the person to a nearby chair and sat down, briefly explaining the person's condition.
The person he was supporting was Chongyun. Xingqiu and he were very good friends, and they often acted together.
Chongyun's constitution was very special. He had the Pure Yang Body since childhood, and merely sitting in a certain place could dispel nearby evil spirits.
This constitution was very powerful, but it also brought Chongyun many inconveniences. Firstly, he was very sensitive to Yang, and a moment of carelessness could lead to a surge of Yang energy, drastically changing his temperament.
For example, eating stimulating foods like jueyun chili would be unbearable for Chongyun. Every time his temperament changed, he couldn't remember what happened at the time.
"So, knowing he has such a constitution, you still induced him to eat a dish with jueyun chili, right? What a good friend."
After listening to Xingqiu's account, Miss Durandal was speechless with this young master who was very polite to outsiders but had a very mischievous sense of humor with acquaintances. He must have deliberately wanted to see his friend make a fool of himself.
Fortunately, this wasn't a difficult problem. In less than ten seconds, Chongyun's problem was resolved.
Slowly waking up, Chongyun looked around in confusion, not quite understanding what had happened, like someone who had just woken up and was completely out of it.
"Hey, are you alright, Chongyun? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just a bit dizzy."
Chongyun shook his head vigorously, barely recovering a little. Looking at the faces of those present, the memories of earlier came to mind.
He looked at Xingqiu with a mixture of anger and helplessness. This wasn't the first time Xingqiu had played such a trick on him; he was already used to it.
"Seriously... please don't do this kind of thing again, Xingqiu. ε = ('ο｀*) ) ) Sigh~ I have to apologize to the boss tomorrow. I must have caused them a lot of trouble."
Although he never did anything harmful when his temperament changed, he certainly caused trouble for the shop owner and affected their business.
He should find time tomorrow to go and apologize. Although it was Xingqiu's fault, he was the one who caused the impact, so he had to admit his mistake.
"Don't worry, they didn't blame you. Not only did they not blame you, but they even want to thank you."
Xingqiu patted Chongyun's shoulder, signaling him not to feel guilty. He hadn't caused any commotion at the time.
"After you ate the dish with jueyun chili, you became very excited and started performing. The performance was excellent, and all the dining guests cheered. Because of you, the business there tonight was much better than usual."
"...Forget it, I'm too tired to scold you."
Was this a blessing in disguise? But if it weren't for Xingqiu's malicious prank, this wouldn't have happened.
Wuwuwu~ Many people must have remembered his face. He should spend less time in Liyue Harbor for a while and go out to exorcise evil spirits.
"By the way, why am I here? Didn't you take me to the Bubu Pharmacy?"
Usually, when this kind of situation happened to him and Xingqiu was present, Xingqiu would take him home or to the Bubu Pharmacy. Why did he wake up on the street this time?
"That's all thanks to Miss Durandal. I was just about to take you to the Bubu Pharmacy when I coincidentally met her here. She solved your problem in an instant."
"Is... is that so?"
Chongyun then realized that besides himself and Xingqiu, there were two other people standing nearby watching them.
Thinking of how he had just been, Chongyun couldn't help but feel a little shy. Fearing that his Yang energy would surge again, he quickly suppressed his emotions and simultaneously searched his body for popsicles to deal with such situations.
"Um, thank you very much for your help, Miss Durandal. I am Chongyun. My family has long resided in Liyue, and for generations, we have been in the business of expelling evil demons. Today, I have received your help, and I will surely repay you."
"It's no big deal. Even without my intervention, your problem would have been resolved."
Miss Durandal was not interested in his repayment; she was just a little curious about his role as an exorcist.
Expelling evil demons? This was somewhat similar to what Shenhe was doing. She remembered Shenhe saying she was from a branch family of an exorcist clan. Perhaps there was some connection.
Chongyun rubbed his head, not knowing how to continue the conversation. Noticing Shenhe beside Miss Durandal, he politely nodded to her.
"You are?"
"My name is Shenhe, a person of the mountains and wilds, not worth mentioning."
Shenhe's spirits were also low; she seemed reluctant to chat much.
Without Lumine and Paimon, who helped liven the atmosphere, it was truly difficult for ordinary people to have a good conversation with them.
Xingqiu also felt it was not good to stay any longer. He prepared to bid farewell to the two with Chongyun, saying they would talk about thanks later.
But he noticed Chongyun had no intention of leaving. He was staring at Shenhe's face, seemingly deep in thought.
Could it be that he was captivated by this elder sister? She was indeed very beautiful, but he also had to consider the timing!
"You said... your name is Shenhe?"
Chongyun's voice was a little shaky. After receiving Shenhe's affirmative reply, Chongyun swallowed and, under everyone's gaze, said,
"Which means, you are my... aunt?"
"...Huh?!"
Xingqiu looked at his friend in confusion. Why did he suddenly claim kinship? This wasn't quite what he had imagined!
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
👉 patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!