Chapter 73: Sakura x2

Upon seeing Xin Yu appear in an instant, Future World Yae Sakura's expression gradually shifted from its initial blank astonishment. As the memories of the altered past surfaced, Yae Sakura had already snapped back from her daze. She looked at the young man before her. Originally, they were strangers, but now, he had become the Lord God who had traveled back to the past and fundamentally changed all tragedies. "Lord God." Hearing Yae Sakura's voice and seeing her gentle smile, identical to that of the Yae Sakura from the past, Xin Yu felt a momentary daze, as if he were still in the past. "Sakura, since you already have the memories of the past, I won't say much more. Right now, I want you, the future you who possesses the original history, to have a good talk with your past self. Don't let her focus all her attention on me, someone who is destined to leave." "...Lord God, please take me back to the past quickly. If my memory serves me right, the current me is trying to kill Kallen." "...Ah! What happened? Could it be that the fellow sealed in that black box just ran out during the time I was gone? That shouldn't be! The you whose past I changed shouldn't have such a fragile heart. How did you turn dark so quickly?" Xin Yu was baffled, completely clueless as to what had transpired. Yae Sakura looked at the perplexed Xin Yu before her, a hint of helplessness in her smile. It seemed this Lord God of hers was completely unaware of what it meant when, at a person's most desperate moment, someone descended like a heavenly god, saved that person from despair, and even, through miraculous means, forgave the sins that person had committed. In such a situation, how could the reverence and love in the heart of the saved person for the god possibly be diminished? Even her current self had probably already been won over by Lord God. Xin Yu grasped Yae Sakura's hand and immediately used his spatio-temporal power, heading towards a point in the past. This time, traveling back 500 years, Xin Yu had prepared himself to bear the cost. Yet, he still couldn't suppress the impulse and, right in front of Yae Sakura, collapsed to his knees, his face extremely pale, and even spat out a large mouthful of blood. "Lord God!" Yae Sakura's face instantly turned white with fright. She immediately knelt to check Xin Yu's condition and even used her own sleeve to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. Xin Yu waved his hand, reabsorbing all the blood he had spat out and the blood wiped away back into his body. After ensuring it wouldn't cause any corrosion, he slowly exhaled. Discovering the numb sensation throughout his body still persisted, he said helplessly. "It's alright, we should hurry and stop the current you. I just lost a little bi—... I didn't lose anything. Let's go quickly..." Xin Yu almost blurted out that he had merely lost a hundred years of lifespan, nothing to fear. Mm, this time it was indeed only a hundred years. Perhaps because it wasn't my first time coming to this spacetime. As the saying goes, all beginnings are difficult; only after the first time can there be a second. Plus, with my cultivation progress over these years, it only deducted a mere hundred years of lifespan. However, the state of full-body paralysis still persists; there's truly nothing to be done about that. However, Xin Yu didn't know that his current appearance strikingly resembled the frail state Yae Rin was in when she was critically ill and bedridden, looking as if his illness had reached a terminal stage. Combined with his earlier words, Yae Sakura quickly deduced: how could something like traversing time and space possibly come without any cost? Yet, Lord God, for her sake, had traversed time and space multiple times. How much had he paid for this?! And he hadn't even asked for anything in return, only hoping she could achieve a happy and fulfilling life, not even planning to tell her about this matter. "...Why are you so foolish." Yae Sakura felt her fingertips trembling. This time, it wasn't from memory but a tangible, personal experience of what selfless love truly meant. This was a pure, unadulterated love from another towards her, asking for nothing in return, something she had never experienced before. Inexplicably, Yae Sakura suddenly felt a little jealous of her past self. That self truly got to enjoy so many years living with such a Lord God, while she could only experience the feeling that existed solely in her memories. "Sakura?" Xin Yu turned his head, somewhat mystified, looking at Yae Sakura whose body was trembling slightly. He didn't understand what was wrong with her. "...I'm fine." Yae Sakura pursed her lips, hoisted the collapsed Xin Yu onto her back, and then hurried towards the direction of the shrine from where the sounds of fighting were coming. ... "Miss Yae Sakura, I bear no grudge against you, nor do we have any enmity. Why do you hate me so?" Kallen, as the strongest of this generation's Kaslana family, naturally had no problem dealing with a mere miko from the Far East who had only practiced swordsmanship. But unfortunately, her previous severe injuries hadn't fully healed, and she couldn't exert much strength. Furthermore, Yae Sakura was also her lifesaver, so Kallen was completely unwilling to use her dual pistols to retaliate. But such a stalemate couldn't last long. Kallen could already feel several wounds on her body starting to split open. If this continued, her wounds would surely start bleeding profusely again, and she probably wouldn't last much longer. Fortunately, this situation didn't persist to its worst point. Another Miss Yae Sakura suddenly appeared. "Sakura! What are you doing!" Xin Yu's voice reached Yae Sakura's ears, causing the Yae Sakura whose eyes were filled with killing intent and whose expression was somewhat twisted to change drastically. The longsword in her hand also clattered to the ground. "L-Lord God! What's wrong with you!" Yae Sakura turned around and saw Xin Yu being carried on the back of another her. Although she was surprised by the appearance of another person who looked exactly like her, differing only in build and temperament, Yae Sakura was more concerned about why her Lord God looked so weak! "It's nothing serious, just haven't quite recovered... This is the future you, or rather, the future you from the original timeline." "Also, what's wrong with you? Why did you suddenly draw your sword and attack someone? What on earth happened?" "..." Hearing that the one carrying Lord God was indeed her original future self, Yae Sakura (Past) immediately rushed forward, wanting to carry Xin Yu on her own back. However, Future Yae Sakura dodged her with a light sidestep. "You are not qualified to carry him!" Yae Sakura (Future) glared at her past self. "Sakura? What on earth is wrong with you?" Xin Yu didn't understand. How had the Yae Sakura who had always presented a dignified and elegant demeanor before him, never getting angry, turned into this? "Lord God, I will have a good talk with myself. Rin! Help your sister take care of Lord God." Future Yae Sakura called out to Yae Rin, who was crouching in a corner looking somewhat dazed. Then, she carefully lowered Xin Yu from her back and looked at her past self who was glaring at her, saying, "Let's have a good talk. I think you should also know what Lord God has sacrificed for us." Hearing this, the angry expression on Past Yae Sakura's face gradually subsided, but she still maintained a cold demeanor. In her current eyes, this future self, who shouldn't exist now, was simply a stain representing her betrayal of Lord God. And also the fundamental reason why Lord God might leave her. The two Yae Sakuras walked away in one direction. Yae Rin, emerging from the corner, looked utterly bewildered, completely unaware of what had happened. And Kallen, the victim, looked at the blood seeping from her body and sighed helplessly. "Sigh! I should really change my way of speaking in the future. Being too frivolous really gets you chased and hacked."