Chapter 81: Tsurumi

Over the following few days, Jiang Yan took Raiden Ei with him and swept through the remaining islands of Inazuma.

Generally speaking, there were gains.

But not many.

Only a few scattered precious chests truly left Jiang Yan feeling numb.

Meanwhile, Raiden Ei, through her interactions with Jiang Yan over these past few days, gradually discovered that Jiang Yan did not seem as... difficult to get along with as she had imagined.

"Eh? By the way, what island is that?"

Flying in the sky, Jiang Yan asked Raiden Ei out of curiosity.

Raiden Ei looked in the direction he indicated.

They saw an island shrouded in fog, which was constantly exuding a strange feeling.

"This island... it should be Tsurumi Island..."

Raiden Ei frowned slightly, a look of slight confusion on her face.

As the shadow warrior and the symbol of the Raiden Shogun's martial might, tasks like planning islands were all handled by Raiden Makoto; Ei only concerned herself with fighting.

Therefore, she did not know much about the affairs of Tsurumi Island.

"Tsurumi Island?"

Jiang Yan frowned, as if he had recalled some unpleasant things.

On Tsurumi Island... he remembered there was a very heartbreaking storyline there.

Called... Ruu?

"Say, Ei, have you ever slain a Thunderbird that flashed with lightning?"

Jiang Yan did not remember this storyline very well; he vaguely recalled it being a story about the Thunderbird and Ruu.

It was very heartbreaking.

Since it wasn't part of the main storyline, Jiang Yan had followed a guide at the time and hadn't paid much attention to the plot.

Raiden Ei thought about it very seriously, and finally shook her head.

"I have not."

Raiden Ei gave Jiang Yan a definitive answer.

Jiang Yan nodded; it seemed this story had not yet begun.

Should he... go take a look?

There was nothing else to do right now anyway.

Thinking this, Jiang Yan said to Raiden Ei, "Let's go to this island and take a look."

"It just so happens this island hasn't been explored much."

Raiden Ei nodded; she was accompanying Jiang Yan, so she had no objections to wherever he went.

"Then let's go."

Seeing Raiden Ei agree, Jiang Yan brought her to the coast of Tsurumi Island.

Looking at the fog-filled Tsurumi Island, Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes.

This fog was not naturally formed!

Something was constantly influencing it.

Jiang Yan's perception never failed, and this time was no exception.

However, Jiang Yan was not in the game, nor did he have the feather left behind by the Thunderbird to help him.

But this bit of fog was not enough to stop Jiang Yan and Raiden Ei.

Jiang Yan reached his hand into the fog and waved it slightly.

Vector Manipulation was activated instantly, and the surrounding fog seemed to be pushed aside by something, automatically scattering the moment Jiang Yan walked through.

As for Raiden Ei, a flash of purple light appeared in her pupils, and the surrounding fog seemed to have seen something terrifying, immediately fleeing from her surroundings.

Jiang Yan and Raiden Ei entered the fog-filled Tsurumi Island together.

As they ventured deeper, the surrounding fog became increasingly thick.

Although it had no effect on Jiang Yan and Raiden Ei, it was ultimately somewhat uncomfortable to look at.

Before long, a village appeared before Jiang Yan and Raiden Ei.

"Here... there's actually a village??"

Raiden Ei said, somewhat stunned.

She had always thought this was just an uninhabited island.

She hadn't expected there to be residents on this island.

"It's a bit strange; let's observe for a while."

Jiang Yan looked at the expressions on the people's faces and said to Raiden Ei.

Raiden Ei nodded and entered the village with Jiang Yan.

"Eh? Hello!"

"Where did you come from?"

Along the way, these villagers acted as if they were ignoring the two of them, going about their own business.

The one who had just spoken was a boy who looked very young.

The boy had a bright smile and looked quite cute.

"Hello there, little brother."

Jiang Yan leaned down, patted the boy's head, and asked with a smile:

"We are travelers passing through; are you people from this island?"

"Wow! You actually came from outside the island!"

The boy nodded, his eyes shining as he looked at the two of them.

"My name is Ruu; I have never seen the world outside the island!"

"Can you tell me about the world outside the island?"

Was this Ruu?

Jiang Yan was stunned for a moment; even he hadn't expected that the first boy to speak to him would be one of the protagonists of the Tsurumi Island storyline.

That tragic boy, Ruu.

"Of course I can, Ruu."

Jiang Yan smiled and patted Ruu's little head, saying:

"But could you tell me the story of this island first?"

"After you finish telling me, I'll tell you about the stories I've seen outside the island, okay?"

"Okay!"

Ruu's eyes shone; he was very curious about the world outside the island!

Next, under Ruu's guidance, Jiang Yan and Raiden Ei took a tour of the village.

On a small hill at the edge of the village, the three of them sat on the ground, and Ruu kept talking incessantly about the stories of this island.

"The Thunderbird loves my singing very much, and I've made a promise to it that the next time we meet, I will definitely be in my best state and sing a song properly!"

Ruu looked very excited as he told Jiang Yan the story of himself and the Thunderbird, Kapatcir.

Jiang Yan watched the little boy in front of him with a smile and said:

"Then, the next time you sing to the Thunderbird, can I listen in too?"

"Of course you can!"

"Hmm... I just don't know if the Thunderbird would mind..."

Ruu was happy and about to agree, but then said hesitantly.

"It's fine, I'll just stand a bit further away."

Jiang Yan laughed and ruffled Ruu's little head.

"Alright! Big brother, it's time for you to tell me about the stories outside the island!"

Ruu looked at Jiang Yan with shining eyes.

Raiden Ei also looked at Jiang Yan curiously.

She also wanted to know what Jiang Yan would talk about.

"Hmm... then I'll tell you about some of the things I've experienced..."

Jiang Yan thought for a moment and began to speak slowly.