Genshin Impact: I am the Great General of Liyue

Chapter 373 Lively Anne & Cold Marta

Martha accepted Amber's encouragement and learned to use the Wind Wings under her tutelage.

"But courage alone is not enough; we need to think more to determine whether the next step is the right one."

She went to her sister Barbara, hoping she could provide the answer...

Even she could only offer a little encouragement.

Afterwards, Martha sought advice from many people... Xiangling, Guizhong, Aunt Ping, Diluc, Xingqiu, and other friends of her brother.

"But the problem remains, as if it has no answer, no solution...no weakness..."

Martha strolled through the streets of Liyue Harbor, her mood extremely low...

She watched the birds soaring into the sky—"What perfect life! They can fly high in the sky with just a pair of wings."

Why is it that those who strive for perfection are often the furthest from achieving it?

She arrived at a teahouse and met a mysterious storyteller.

He was a guest elder of the Hall of Rebirth, eloquent and knowledgeable in various philosophical principles...

Marta asked him, "Sir, what do you think... I should do?"

The storyteller simply put down his teacup and looked ahead...

"Just look forward."

This was his unspoken answer, and Marta, somewhat enlightened, returned "home".

No matter what happens, home will always be there...

The people there may not be related to you by blood, but they are definitely your best family.

"Yo, Marta, welcome back! How's your recovery going?"

Approaching us was my older brother... the eldest among us [Sori].

I smiled and nodded in response to their enthusiasm.

"That's good. So many days have passed, and we have so much to share with you—we heard you went to the Golden Apple Islands? Come chat with us!"

He led me to the center of the group and we talked about everything from daily life, like food and clothing, to the arduousness of cultivation...

This joy makes you open your heart and grin from ear to ear.

Just then, my sister Hannah said:

"Sister Martha, you look... a little different today?"

"What's the difference?"

I asked that question in return.

She tilted her head, opened her booklet, and started flipping through her notes.

This is a notebook she uses to record animal stories. She loves animals very much, and therefore her dream is to become a veterinarian...

Even so, isn't it a bit inappropriate to treat others like small animals?

Well, in her eyes, I'm probably just a little kitten...

She flipped to some unknown page of her notebook, pointed to my portrait and the annotation beside it, and said:

"Sister Marta used to be the kind of person who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Why do you seem a bit more extroverted now?"

Yes, I don't know when it started, but I suddenly developed this habit of easily expressing my feelings.

Generally speaking, such habits are not conducive to combat, and I have been deliberately hiding my facial expressions for a long time.

Indeed... without confronting your former self, you cannot become a stronger version of yourself.

And so, Martha chose to accept her master's treatment, regardless of the outcome.

"Brother... the formation is starting to activate. My life is in your hands. You must take me home!"

The surrounding magic arrays set up by the system and True Monarch Liuyun began to operate...

Gradually, Huiyuan and Marta's consciousness entered the same mental space.

"It's pitch black all around. According to the system, the next step is to find young Marta."

Huiyuan pondered, then moved forward in the dark...

The darkness seemed to stretch on endlessly. After walking for an unknown amount of time, a voice suddenly came to my ears.

"It's you, big sister! Come and play with me!"

I looked in the direction of the sound, where there was a puddle of water on the wall.

The pool of water was like a piece of glass; it didn't reflect my image, but rather showed what Qingquan Town looked like hundreds of years ago.

Her intuition told her, "Go through it, and you'll find young Marta."

So, without hesitation, I rushed in...

The sudden appearance of birdsong and fragrant flowers stunned her for a moment. When she came to her senses, Huiyuan was already standing on the muddy pavement after the rain.

Soon after, that voice came again, carrying a hint of childhood mischief...

"Big brother—I'm here! Let's play hide-and-seek! I'll hide!"

I stepped forward, admiring this landscape from 300 years ago.

Soon, relying on my ability to sense the wind, I quickly found young Marta hiding behind a tree.

"Wow, big sister is amazing!"

"Thank you for the compliment."

"Hehe? Let's play another round, okay?"

"Of course, but if I find you this time, you have to promise me one thing, okay?"

"Okay! Sure~ Then count to 100, and I'll go hide."

I gently rubbed young Marta's face, then turned my head, closed my eyes, and began to count.

"1...2...3..."

Huiyuan counted carefully, and after reaching 100, she began to search.

"Just like before, use your wind perception to search..."

Just after Huiyuan activated her senses, something strange happened.

"What's going on... There are several breaths of energy, exactly the same as young Martha's. Does she have the ability to create clones? No, this is a mental space; anything can happen here. Looks like cheating won't work; I'd better look carefully..."

Inside an old wine barrel, Huiyuan found young Marta...

She grinned playfully and said:

"You picked the wrong one~ As punishment, you have to listen to a story!"

"Ah... tell me, what story?"

In a mysterious Eastern dynasty, there lived a legendary cat-like heroine named Annie—she vanquished countless demons and monsters, robbing the rich to help the poor, and was beloved by the people. The emperor held a banquet in her honor, wishing to recruit her as a bodyguard...

"The protagonist of this story is named Anne. I remember that name... I think it was Marta's former name, given to her by her father, Olaf. Is there any meaning behind the name Anne? Also, why would she know the term 'Eastern Dynasty' even as a child?"

I thought to myself, looking forward to what would happen next.

Young Marta didn't keep the audience in suspense, and continued her story:

"But Annie only drew her sword for the common people; she politely declined the emperor's offer of amnesty... Just as she was about to leave, she found the gates already tightly shut, realizing it was a trap. Outnumbered and without her sword, she was quickly killed, her body left unburied..."

After telling the story, she vanished like a wisp of smoke.

I found her again, in the haystack of the stable...