Honkai Impact 3rd: Catching the Herrscher of Sentience at the Start

"Sorry! Can you help me get down from the wall?" Fu Lin's apologetic voice came from the wall, and once the Herrscher of Sentience saw he had returned to normal, she helped pull him out.

Fu Lin brushed off the dust from his clothes and returned to his previous position, pretending nothing had happened.

Of course, it would have been perfect if there weren't a human-shaped indentation in the wall behind him.

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Because of what had just happened, Yae Sakura was filled with wariness toward Fu Lin and didn't dare to get too close to him.

"There's no need to be so wary of me. If I wanted to, you wouldn't be able to walk out of this room," Fu Lin said, waving his hand to try to ease Yae Sakura's anxiety.

"Are you a herrscher?" Yae Sakura asked, still not daring to lower her katana as she looked at Fu Lin.

"You're asking too directly. Aren't you afraid that I will kill you?" Fu Lin supported his chin and looked at Yae Sakura jokingly. He felt that Yae Sakura's innocence was a little cute?

"This one beside me is the herrscher; I'm not," Fu Lin said, pushing the Herrscher of Sentience forward, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and playfully shaking Fu Shi's face up and down as he introduced her.

Yae Sakura: ?

"Do you want to die, Fu Lin?!" The Herrscher of Sentience tightened her fist, veins bulging on her forehead. With a shoulder throw, she knocked Fu Lin to the ground, then sat on him, delivering left and right punches. The cries of Fu Lin startled the surrounding dead soldiers and honkai beasts, causing them to look over.

Yae Sakura watched the two fighting, doubting whether they were truly on the same side.

After Fu Shi was satisfied with her beating, she got up from Fu Lin, whose face was already swollen like a pig but was visibly healing at an impressive speed.

"Hiss!" Fu Lin rubbed his face, but upon seeing Yae Sakura staring at him, he suddenly felt uneasy!

"Fu Shi! Quickly modify her memory and make her forget what just happened."

"Absolutely not." The Herrscher of Sentience placed her hands on her hips, refusing with righteous indignation.

Fu Lin had no choice but to stand up, pick up a brick, and walk toward Yae Sakura with a dark expression, scaring her into retreating step by step.

"I'm sorry, Miss Yae Sakura, but I can only help you forget in a physical way."

"Mr. Fu Lin, you wouldn't actually hit me, would you?"

Realizing things were getting out of hand, Yae Sakura jumped out the window and ran to a certain place, wanting to hide in the black box. It looked like hiding, but for Fu Lin, it was more like leading the way.

Thus, Fu Lin silently followed behind Yae Sakura, turning left and right, until they finally arrived at a shrine, where she suddenly vanished. Below, an ominous aura began to emanate.

"Looks like this is the place." Fu Lin arrived above where the aura was flowing, executing a technique called "Phoenix Soaring Kick," effortlessly shattering the ground. A long, slender black box appeared in the pit.

Before Fu Lin could pick it up, he suddenly fainted and fell heavily to the ground.

"Hey? Fu Lin, what happened to you!"

Seeing this, the Herrscher of Sentience came over, shook Fu Lin, but to no effect. She had no choice but to pick up the black box from the ground and carry Fu Lin into the shrine.

Looking at the unconscious Fu Lin and playing with the black box in her hands, she threatened, "If anything happens to him, I'll take you apart, do you hear me?"

"I can't— I need to find a way in."

...

"I was careless." Fu Lin rubbed his head, looking around at the scenery, realizing he had been pulled into the space created by Higokumaru.

He looked at the distant shrine and began to walk toward it.

Before he could step into the shrine, a little girl with pink hair collided into him.

"Ouch~" The little girl rubbed her slightly red and swollen forehead, looking at the frozen Fu Lin with a wronged expression. Seeing a child cry left Fu Lin feeling somewhat at a loss.

"Rin!" A familiar voice came from a distance, and another older girl with the same pink hair appeared. It was Yae Sakura, who he had just had tea with, but the fox ears on her head had disappeared, and she looked even shorter, with a flat chest.

Upon hearing Yae Sakura call out "Rin," Fu Lin realized that the little girl in front of him was Yae Sakura's younger sister, Yae Rin.

"Big brother, it's because of you that I got caught by my sister. You have to help me!" Yae Rin quickly got up, hiding behind Fu Lin, looking up at him with pleading eyes.

Fu Lin scooped Rin into his arms and turned to run. Yae Sakura happened to see this scene and rushed after him.

"Stop!" What goes around comes around; he had just chased Yae Sakura, and now he was being chased by her.

But how could Yae Sakura catch up to Fu Lin? In the end, she could only watch him disappear into the crowd.

"Why are you hiding from your sister?" Fu Lin set Yae Rin down and curiously sized up the girl.

"My sister always says I'm weak and sickly, so she won't let me go out to play. That's why I sneaked out myself. Pretty impressive, right?" Yae Rin took small steps, looking proudly at Fu Lin.

"But you almost got caught just now." Fu Lin bluntly shattered her fantasy.

"That's because you blocked my way!" Yae Rin pouted, staring resentfully at Fu Lin.

"Even if I hadn't, someone your size would still get caught." Fu Lin held Rin's head down, making it impossible for her to reach him no matter how she waved her arms.

Seeing she couldn't reach him, Yae Rin could only sit to the side in a huff.

Fu Lin wasn't sure how to comfort a child, so he took out some "Spring Onions" from his system space to give to Yae Rin.

"What is this? The color is so weird. Delicious." With that, Fu Lin picked one up and started eating.

Seeing Fu Lin enjoying it, Yae Rin curiously grabbed a smaller one, put it in her mouth, but quickly spat it out.

"So salty!" Yae Rin rubbed her tongue, her face nearly turning pale.

Noticing Yae Rin's discomfort, Fu Lin hurriedly took out some water and fed it to her.

"Phew~ I feel alive again." Yae Rin sighed in relief, then pulled Fu Lin to wander around the temple fair.

Looking at the bustling street, Yae Rin wove through the crowd, looking here and there until she spotted some bright red candied hawthorn. Her face lit up with desire.

Fu Lin felt a bit of a headache; he didn't have any currency from this era. But thinking of the herrscher's powers, he thought he might be able to use them.

"The herrscher has modified your perception, so now your candied hawthorn is being given out for free to children." When he reached the vendor, he awkwardly said something the herrscher often used, but quickly felt embarrassed and fumbled for change.

"Are you crazy? I'm not handing out freebies for nothing!" The vendor cursed, picking up the candied hawthorn and walking away.

"Ah no!" Fu Lin watched the vendor leave, feeling somewhat awkward, but the core of the herrscher inside him was strangely cut off from its powers, rendering him unable to use any abilities. He could only turn and lead Yae Rin away.

"Pfft!" Yae Rin covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Just laugh if you want to," Fu Lin said, noticing Yae Rin's face turning red from holding it in, his own expression turning grim.

"Hahaha, sorry! Hahaha! I didn't mean to laugh, but I couldn't help it. You looked so silly just now, hahahaha, cough cough!"

Yae Rin let go of her mouth and started holding her stomach, laughing until she began to cough.

"Drink some water first." Fu Lin handed her the leftover water.

"Phew~ Maybe my body really is weak."

Yae Rin clenched her fists in disappointment, feeling exhausted after only a short while outside, while her sister was busy taking care of everything, and she felt helpless.

"You'll be okay." Fu Lin sat down beside Yae Rin, gently stroking her soft pink hair.

"Mm, I still don't know your name." Yae Rin felt the gentle hands on her head, lay down on Fu Lin's lap, and soon fell asleep.

"My name is Fu Lin." Fu Lin looked up at the sky full of stars, not knowing who he was speaking to. Maybe it was for Yae Rin, or maybe it was for himself; who could say?

"Let go of my sister."

Finally finding the two, Yae Sakura was a bit out of breath. But seeing Yae Rin lying motionless on Fu Lin's lap and his hand stroking her head, her expression instantly turned cold.