Chapter 307

Hearing him say this, Lei Dianying finally raised her head, her reddened eyes looking pitiful.

The cold, mature woman's temperament was now mixed with a touch of fragility and sensibility, which could be called a lethal weapon.

"Then carry me up."

To this willful request from his obedient apprentice, Luo Li simply couldn't refuse.

"Alright, I'll carry you up."

As a small, insignificant compensation, he scooped Lei Dianying up in a princess carry.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Lei Dianying pressed her head tightly against his chest, listening to his heartbeat and feeling an unprecedented sense of peace, her unblinking eyes staring infatuatedly at that familiar face.

Not using any clever way to cross space to return to the top, Luo Li just walked step by step from the training ground to the very top of the ancient tree.

Lei Dianying was very satisfied with this method; she would surely fulfill any condition that could prolong this very moment.

Unfortunately, even the longest road has an end.

Returning to the top of the ancient tree, Lei Dianying reluctantly got down from his arms, and the two entered the room one after the other.

After this buffer period, Lei Dianying's emotions finally calmed down, though she still held Luo Li's hand tightly, refusing to let go.

With no other choice, Luo Li had to let her be.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, which was filled with a faint, feminine fragrance, he pondered for a moment: "Let me think, where is the best place to start."

Staring at Master, Lei Dianying desperately wanted to know what had happened over the past five hundred years, why Master was alive and well, yet never came back to find them.

It was as if she had been a living widow for five hundred years, with no reason to live.

This resentment would have to be compensated for later by acting spoiled and willful.

"Cough, let's start from the time the Seven Archons besieged Khaenri'ah."

The source of everything came from that war of national destruction.

Organizing his words, Luo Li said: "Do you remember the day Baal and I suddenly disappeared?"

"Mm."

"That time, summoned by the Heavenly Principles, the Seven Archons all went to Khaenri'ah, which had been meddling with Abyssal power. I followed Baal, preparing to carry out the war of destruction..."

Lei Dianying had already learned this from the current Raiden Shogun, Raiden Ei, but she didn't know the specific circumstances.

Luo Li then told her everything that had happened back then, how the war was conducted, how intense it was, and how gods had nearly fallen during the process.

Learning that the Abyss had descended at that time, with millions of monsters pouring out, even seeing Luo Li sitting there safe and sound, Lei Dianying couldn't help but hold her breath in fear.

She could fully imagine what kind of scene that was.

After all, Inazuma had experienced a siege by monsters, and that was just the aftermath leaking out from Khaenri'ah; it had taken the Shogunate a great deal of energy, and it took several years of back-and-forth to roughly clear them out.

That was with the entire Inazuma going all out, plus the formations Luo Li had set up before leaving, that they had managed to get through it relatively easily.

How heavy were the losses on Watatsumi Island, which had no formations to defend it? People of that era were very clear; the population had decreased by more than thirty percent, and that was with the Shogunate army going over to help.

One could imagine how terrifying the location of Khaenri'ah was.

Especially when she heard that Master and the first Raiden Shogun had fallen into the Abyss, Lei Dianying became even more nervous, her slender fingertips pinching until they turned white.

Luo Li soothingly held her hand back, his heart moved, and he said softly: "For the next five hundred years, True and I were constantly fighting in the Abyss, unaware of the passage of time, until not long ago when we fought our way out and successfully returned to the Teyvat continent."

Not mentioning the specific time he came out, Luo Li used the vague concept of "not long ago" instead.

Sure enough, Lei Dianying hadn't thought of that, her heart entirely focused on the suffering he had endured.

Fighting in the Abyss for five hundred years—this was a terror Lei Dianying couldn't imagine...

She knew that if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't return, Master would never have had the heart to abandon them for so long.

Seeing Lei Dianying's grievances dissipate, Luo Li breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that he had finally fooled her.

By the time the whole story was told, it was already late at night.

Through the villa's skylight, one could see the moon high in the sky and the twinkling stars.

"I haven't seen Inazuma's night sky for a long time."

Luo Li couldn't help but show a look of nostalgia.

Looking up at the starry sky with him, Lei Dianying felt unprecedented satisfaction.

Only because she had lost him did she understand the surprise of regaining what was lost.

"Master, you won't leave again, will you?"

Hearing the same question Ganyu had asked, Luo Li didn't find it nagging; instead, he could feel the worry and fear within it.

There was no doubt that if he were to disappear again, the blow to these girls would be even heavier.

"Rest assured, now that I'm back, I won't disappear again without a word."

Making a solemn promise, Luo Li noticed her gaze had already drifted onto him.

"Really?"

"Really."

"What if Master lies to me?"

"This..."

Luo Li was speechless for a moment; how was he supposed to provide proof?

While he was deep in thought, Lei Dianying, whose eyes were already fixed on him, didn't pursue the matter; instead, after a moment of silence, she mentioned something else.

"Does Master remember the promise you made to me before you left?"

"What?"

"To grant me one condition, within the scope of what you can do."

"..."

Luo Li realized, it seemed there was such a thing.

He turned his head, meeting Lei Dianying's gaze, which contained a special emotion.

"Does what Master said still count?"

"Cough, of course."

"In that case, please, Master, fulfill my long-held wish."

Burning emotions permeated her heart, the barrier that had been frozen for hundreds of years quietly shattered; that emotion she hadn't had time to express before could no longer be hidden.

To avoid the result of regretting it again, Lei Dianying decisively made her move.

"What?"

"Please, Master, take everything I have!"

"..." ===== CHAPTER 309 =====