After leaving Miko in the city, Lu Chen located the Ley Line Anchor on Narukami Island.
"Hold on tight!" he said, extending both hands.
Ei and Nahida grabbed hold without hesitation, and Lu Chen immediately activated [Spatial Authority: Ley Line Anchor].
In the blink of an eye, the three of them appeared somewhere on Yashiori Island.
Unfortunately, their timing couldn't have been worse—a bolt of lightning exploded overhead, casting their faces in an eerie pale light.
"Ah! That scared me..." Nahida looked around in surprise. "So this is Yashiori Island? It feels really creepy here..."
Lu Chen hadn't been here in ages. Now, the island was wracked with thunder, lightning, and heavy winds. Looking out, he could only see storm clouds blanketing the sky—visibility was next to nothing.
Raindrops nearly soaked them before Lu Chen quickly reacted. With a wave of his hand, a Jade Shield appeared overhead, shielding them from the downpour.
"What's with this weather?" Lu Chen muttered. It had been at least 500 years since he'd last been here, and he didn't remember the place being this harsh. The environment had clearly worsened.
Ei lifted the brim of her straw hat slightly, as if sensing something. "There's a lingering resentment in the air."
Lu Chen scanned the area again, extending his perception in every direction. It didn't take long before he, too, felt what Ei had noticed.
Beneath their feet pulsed a familiar hatred and resentment—undeniable and oppressive.
"It's the resentment of the God Orobashi," he said firmly.
"So it's God remnants?" Nahida looked up at Lu Chen. "Like the stuff Xiao usually takes care of?"
"Exactly." Lu Chen nodded. The power left behind after an Archon's death had nothing to do with their original will. Even if an god had loved their people deeply, their residual divine energy would still affect all life around it indiscriminately—sometimes even taking physical form as monsters. This force was called "evil spirits" in Liyue and "god remnants" in Inazuma.
Ei's gaze, hidden beneath her straw hat, was still clouded with doubt.
"I've been here before. Not long ago, Yashiori Island wasn't like this..."
"I think I know the reason," Lu Chen said, trying to recall.
But it had been too long. His memories were hazy, and it took him a moment to piece the original storyline together.
Ei and Nahida both looked at him as he slowly explained:
"The island changed after the people of Sangonomiya destroyed the artifact that was suppressing the remains of the serpent god. That's what caused the spread of corruption, affecting both the weather and the land."
Ei's expression darkened. "Sangonomiya..."
Lu Chen noticed her mood and quickly added, "Let's put that aside for now—we have more pressing concerns."
He turned toward the southeast beach of Yashiori Island. After spreading out his senses earlier, he had picked up signs of a battle there.
"Not sure if it's the Shogunate forces, but we should go and ask them about the situation."
"Alright..." Ei nodded.
...
On the beach, a fifteen-man squad from Sangonomiya was locked in combat with a group of Nobushi.
Though well-trained, the soldiers were vastly outnumbered by the bandits. One by one, they began to fall.
Corpses piled up on the blood-soaked sand, the rain washing away the blood but not the stench.
Forced to retreat, the soldiers eventually huddled into a defensive circle.
"Captain! What now? Should we retreat?" one soldier shouted, panic in his voice.
Their captain, face grim and resolute, barked back, "No! We're carrying supply rations. This is critical! Just hold out a little longer—reinforcements are on their way!"
His refusal to retreat crushed what little hope remained in the squad—until someone spotted figures approaching the battlefield.
"Look! Someone's coming! Are they reinforcements?"
The soldiers turned to look—only for their excitement to fade into confusion.
"Just three civilians... and one's a kid?"
The captain deflected a blow and shouted in warning toward the newcomers, "It's dangerous! Stay back and leave!"
But the trio kept walking casually forward, as if they were out for a stroll.
"Are they insane? Do they want to die?"
"What the hell is going on...?"
...
As Lu Chen descended from the higher ground, he got a clearer look at the uniforms.
To his surprise, they were Sangonomiya troops.
That meant the Ley Line Anchor had dropped them right into rebel territory—enemy territory.
"Looks like the situation's worse than I thought. Even Yashiori Island is under Sangonomiya control..." Lu Chen thought through the battle lines. From the looks of it, the only place left to reach the Shogunate was Tatarasuna.
"We might as well help them first," he said to Ei. "They're all Inazuma citizens."
"Very well," Ei replied without protest.
"Besides..." Lu Chen added, "Lumine and the others should still be in the Sangonomiya camp. It's been a while... I do kind of miss them."
"Lumine?" Ei turned toward him. Her face was hidden under the straw hat.
"Yeah, the Traveler. She was there when you cut me down in front of Tenshukaku. You probably don't remember..."
"I remember her," Ei said flatly. "You've mentioned her to me too many times—it's impossible to forget."
"Oh, I see." Lu Chen still couldn't read her expression, so he kept talking without thinking. "We're on good terms. Maybe she can introduce us to Sangonomiya's leadership."
"Good terms?"
"Yeah, we traveled together, fought side by side... we got along really well—"
Halfway through his sentence, Lu Chen paused.
Ei slowly lifted her straw hat, revealing an utterly blank expression—but her eyes had grown ice cold.
That was killing intent.
"Got along that well?" she said, her brows tightening. "Even in wartime, with you on opposite sides, she still trusted you enough to introduce you to their leaders without hesitation?"
"Uh..." Lu Chen recalled something from before—Ei had once gotten jealous over how casually he said "Lumine."
He let out a helpless laugh. "Well... let me explain—"
"I'll wait for your explanation."
With that, Ei drew her blade and charged into battle. Her first strike, laced with divine thunder, obliterated a towering Kairagi on the spot—leaving behind only a scorched corpse.
"Holy..." Lu Chen stared at the remains. "That guy got vaporized. What kind of grudge was that...?"
"Is Ei okay?" Nahida asked, wide-eyed. "She looks really upset..."
"She's a little... unhappy," Lu Chen said quietly.
A cold, murderous aura swept across the beach.
The Nobushi, who had just held the advantage, suddenly found themselves being slaughtered. With Ei on the field, the tide turned instantly.
Screams filled the air, and chaos erupted.
Lu Chen sighed. "We'll talk later. Let's finish off these bandits first..."
"Okay..." Nahida nodded.
With that, Lu Chen drew a Traveler's Handy Sword and joined the fight.