Chapter 7: Yae Sakura
"Gurgle... gurgle..." The instant noodles bubbling in the pot released a mouthwatering aroma that made Li Xuan's appetite surge.
He tossed an entire ham into the pot, intensifying the savory fragrance. Watching the noodles cook with the ham, Li Xuan felt as if he had returned to his pre-transmigration life as a shut-in, everything so familiar.
Except for the pink-haired girl with fox ears squatting beside the pot, chin resting on her hand, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Would you like some?" Li Xuan asked politely, though he expected her to refuse. After all, she had saved his life—without her, he would have long since been digested into... well, you know.
Ever since this girl—human or youkai, he still wasn't sure—had helped him defeat the Honkai Beast, she had followed him everywhere. Despite his gratitude and inquiries, she remained tight-lipped, offering only terse replies. At least he had learned her name: Yae Sakura.
As for those fox ears... well, Li Xuan had already accepted being transported to the Honkai World. What else could he possibly reject? He could only think: "Who else could possibly be more outrageous?!"
Ah, why are my eyes filled with such world-weariness?!
"I want some." The girl named Yae Sakura said.
*Huh?!* Li Xuan, momentarily stunned, snapped back to reality and stared at her in surprise. "You... you want what?"
"I want to try the cuisine of later generations," Yae Sakura replied expressionlessly.
As it turned out, the Beast-Eared Girl was now slurping down a bowl of Old Altar Pickled Cabbage Beef Noodles with gusto, completely abandoning her earlier cold-faced goddess demeanor.
"The taste of home," Yae Sakura said, licking the noodle broth from her lips.
"..." *Girl, does your hometown specialize in instant noodles?* Li Xuan felt her hometown's prestige plummet instantly.
Under Yae Sakura's gaze, Li Xuan picked up his own bowl of noodles, ready to eat. After all, as the saying goes, "Iron is forged by fire, and food is the foundation of life." Besides, he had expended a lot of energy fighting monsters today and was already starving.
*Clang!* Suddenly, Yae Sakura drew the sword she carried at her side and swung it at Li Xuan, who stood frozen in confusion.
The long blade, gleaming with a hint of pink light, stopped a mere centimeter from Li Xuan's nose. Impaled on its tip was the corpse of a mutated mosquito. Li Xuan's hands, still clutching his bowl, were warm, but his back was drenched in cold sweat. That blade had nearly ruined his face.
In this city, only a tiny fraction of insects had mutated and survived. Most had perished in the Honkai Energy. The mutated mosquitoes had become smaller and far more aggressive. Unlike the long lifespans of Honkai Beasts and Dead Soldiers, their lives were even shorter.
Li Xuan had witnessed her swordsmanship firsthand. On their way back, she had dispatched Dead Soldiers as casually as if she were strolling through a market. Her movements were clean and decisive. Before her, Dead Soldiers were as harmless as stray cats and dogs, while Honkai Beasts were little more than oversized wolfhounds, easily dispatched with a display of her skills.
*But why use a mosquito to show off your swordsmanship?* Li Xuan silently grumbled to himself. *A simple 'smack' with your hand would have been much more pleasant under the lamplight. Why resort to blades and guns? The atmosphere instantly turned into a murder scene.*
"Yae Sakura, I'm going to sleep now. Do as you please," Li Xuan said with a smile after finishing his noodles, his leg cramping slightly. Without waiting for Yae Sakura's reply, he slipped into his room.
"..." Yae Sakura watched Li Xuan enter his room in silence, saying nothing.
*Whew~* Li Xuan exhaled, feeling like he had narrowly escaped death. He was actually quite helpless. Someone had saved him, so he couldn't just kick them out—that would be incredibly rude.
*Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it,* Li Xuan thought.
Rubbing the silver ring on his finger, Li Xuan summoned the Gate of Wishes into his right hand. Though he had nearly been killed by the Honkai Beast this time, he had still gained a significant reward, accumulating a total of 280 Crystals. The first use of the Gate of Wishes required only 60 Crystals, but subsequent uses cost 280 Crystals each.
Li Xuan carefully placed the Crystals onto the mirror-like surface of the gate, watching as the surface rippled and swallowed them. He felt a surge of anticipation. After consuming all 280 Crystals, the Gate of Wishes began to slowly glow with golden light. Curious, Li Xuan leaned closer to examine it.
Suddenly, a golden beam of light shot from the Gate of Wishes, piercing through the ceiling and soaring into the heavens, as if piercing through the very fabric of the world. Li Xuan was blinded by the sudden flash and couldn't open his eyes.
Not far from Nagazora City, at an altitude of over a thousand meters, a massive warship hovered in the sky.
"Headmaster, there's a suspected Herrscher-level Honkai Energy fluctuation detected in Nagazora City!" a young woman in a crisp military uniform reported to the short figure standing before her.
Meanwhile, in an abandoned house, the silver-haired girl Kiana said, "Sister Mei, ah~ open your mouth. I'll feed you."
"No need, Kiana. I can feed myself—" Mei turned her head to avoid the spoon, but suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong, Sister Mei?" Kiana asked, puzzled by Mei's sudden look of shock. Following her gaze, Kiana saw a golden beam of light piercing through the heavens in the distant sky. "W-what is that?" the girl stammered in awe.
"This fluctuation is much stronger than last time," a dark fox-like figure materialized behind Yae Sakura, speaking either to the girls or to itself.
"...Hmm."