Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

[Current progress: 17%]

【Kamisato Hanayo feels comfortable with you.】

[A suitable candidate for the Stigmata has been detected]

Name: Naganohara Yominomiya

[Current progress: 10%]

[Yomiya tries to back out, not wanting to give you her first kiss.]

Nobody wants your first kiss! You've been indulging in all sorts of fantasies, haven't you?

—But who is this Kagami Kadai?

—The Kamisato family?

—No, no, no, Kamiri is just a surname. There are probably many people with the surname Kamiri in Inazuma, right? Is it like what happened with Ms. Kazumi, who secretly observed me, became interested in me, and then the system recorded it?

—But what do you mean by feeling comfortable with me?

"Great!" Xiaogong cheered and rushed over to hug Shen Liang. "I knew you were beautiful inside and out! Thank you, Liangzi, for your kindness. Come to my house, I'll treat you to dinner!"

Then she leaned on Shen Liang's shoulder and whispered, "You didn't kiss me either, so let's just forget about my first kiss. Someone as chaste as you probably wouldn't want it anyway, right?"

Shen Liang really wanted to reply that he wanted to see her reaction, but considering that Kujo Sara was also there, it would ruin his image as the "Inazuma Executioner" and "Savior of Umijima," so he had to give up.

However, since Yotomiya is also a system-approved candidate, it seems I need to work on winning her over.

Since Shen Liang was idle in Daoqi anyway, he decided to first raise the favorability of the Holy Mark suitable candidate.

The carriage continued its journey towards Inazuma Castle, soon passing through a small village outside the castle. Unable to enter the castle grounds, the group disembarked and immediately saw the clean and tidy streets and alleys of Inazuma Castle.

Inazuma Castle, which occupies half of the island, is home to hundreds of thousands of people. The city has a complex network of streets and alleys. Because it is built on one side of the island, the terrain gradually rises, and the city's buildings are also layered and winding up the streets. This is one of the reasons why carriages are not allowed to enter the city.

At the base of Inazuma Castle lies the city, while ascending northeastward to higher ground, one can see the towering castle tower reaching into the clouds, its purple-red roof tiles gleaming majestically amidst the ever-present thunderclap. It was the political center of the shogunate, the residence of the Raiden Shogun, and a sacred place in the hearts of the people of Inazuma.

Shen Liang hadn't walked far from the post station. After crossing two streets and turning a stone step, he came across a fragrant alley.

The street is lined with fluffy cherry blossom trees, and there are small Japanese-style shops selling local delicacies, as well as blacksmith shops where the furnaces are blazing with the sounds of hammering steel. The fragrance of cherry blossoms and the aroma of delicious food fill the air at both ends of this little street, and the people walking around are mostly leisurely and peaceful. It is neither as bustling as a dock nor as dilapidated as a village on a sea island.

Shen Liang quite liked this kind of place with a lively atmosphere.

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"Dad, I've brought guests back! Make room for a table and cook!" Xiaogong shouted, hands on his hips.

Then an old man peeked out from the pile of fireworks, saw the night palace, and beamed with joy, "You must be hungry after running around all day, I've saved you lunch."

"Hey! Dad! I've brought guests back!" Xiaogong shouted, then turned back to Shen Liang and the others with a troubled look. "Sorry, my dad Ryunosuke is a little hard of hearing. He can't hear me unless I call him that."

Shen Liang nodded in understanding, walked over and took Xiao Gong's father's hand, activating the Hua Hai Yue. Xiao Gong's father had clearly suffered from noise-induced hearing loss due to prolonged work with fireworks, mainly due to inner ear spasms. Hua Hai Yue was adept at treating this relatively simple pathological injury, and Shen Liang estimated that he would recover completely in about a month.

"Haha, why are you speaking so loudly, young lady?" Naganohara Ryunosuke's hearing had just returned when he heard Yoshimiya's loud voice coming from close by, "It's deafening, can't you hear me?"

"A miracle doctor, Ryoko!" Yoomiya exclaimed, her eyes wide, looking completely bewildered. "Such a great favor from the Nohara family... Well, how about I give you a kiss?"

"You can't get over this joke, can you?"

"No, although it's a small matter for you, Ryoko, I don't think so... I'll repay you sooner or later!" Yomiya clenched her fist, her smile full of energy. "When you're out in the world, you rely on your friends. Enough said, let me treat you to a meal first! Watch Yomiya-neechan show you her skills! My tricolor dumplings are even better than those made by Kinan Ryotei!"

When Shen Liang was dragged into the shop by Xiao Gong, the two people outside did not follow immediately. Chun looked at Kujo Sara with a smile and said, "If I am not mistaken, that person is the culprit who caused Sara-chan's defeat and impeachment, General Shen Liang, the peerless warrior of the West."

"The word 'culprit' cannot be used to describe him... Mr. Shen is doing this for true peace, which is the same goal as Sara's," Kujo Sara said calmly.

"Oh, right?" Miss Tsubaki grinned mischievously. "Such a high evaluation! Is it possible that Sara-chan actually has some strange feelings for Ryoko-chan, as some people maliciously speculate? Auntie sees you two getting along very well."

"Aunt Hua is joking. I've always thought that outsiders' gossip is not worth a second glance."

"So you don't like Ryoko kissing, right?"

"Of course, while we wouldn't become enemies, I certainly wouldn't have such thoughts. Aunt Hua Dai should know that Sha Luo has never been interested in matters between men and women."

"I see..." Kayo Kamisato smiled slightly. "Then, let's leave this boy to the magistrate. If the Kujo family isn't interested, then the Kamisato family isn't really stealing someone else's love, right? Auntie doesn't have many days left to live. Leaving aside Ayato, Aya has always been a worry for me."

Kujo Sara remained silent, not wanting to comment on Kamisato Hanayo's family affairs.

“But, my dear…” Kamisato Hanayo deliberately poked at her heart with her soft voice, “Auntie remembers, you once said… that you would marry the same husband, didn’t you?”

"Aunt Hua! I'm going in first!"

Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Hundred-Man Uprising is About to Begin

In the end, I still ordered takeout from the neighboring Munan Restaurant.

Ryunosuke Naganohara was old, so he finished dinner early and went to bed. Shen Liang and the three Inazuma women continued eating around the kotatsu. As the saying goes, "a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home," and he, Yoomiya, and Kujo all had very good appetites. The kotatsu table was full of bowls and plates.

A steaming pot of fragrant, street-style stew served as the main course. We also ordered some fried or cold dishes, such as quail eggs, grilled sweetfish, grilled eel, shrimp senbei, and various flavors of hand-made sushi. The main course was pork bone broth ramen, made by Yonomiya himself, topped with thick slices of char siu pork.

“Yes, yes, that’s how you should eat! Life would be so boring if you couldn’t eat heartily.” Xiao Gong rested his chin on his hand, looking at Shen Liang’s appetite with satisfaction. “Every time I go out for late-night snacks with other people, they all order one or two pieces of sushi or grilled lanterns and say they’re full. How could they possibly be full? But I’m too embarrassed to order a lot. It’s so great to have met you guys!”

“The military is very demanding, so it’s normal for Sara to eat more than the average man.” Kujo Sara picked up her bowl, finished her soup, and unconsciously licked her cold, beautiful lips. “Mr. Shen, is it because you’re still growing?”

“We Liyue people eat more than the Inazuma people,” Shen Liang said.

He was telling the truth. Although he had never been to Liyue, the Japanese were ridiculously small by Earth standards.

He had once invited an editor to his home for dinner. According to Siberian custom, when hosting a dinner party, the guest must be fed until they are full and cannot finish the food. As a result, the editor thanked him while eating voraciously. Shen Liang was amazed by the editor's appetite and, to be polite, continued to add more dishes. The editor ate as much as he was given, until he could no longer eat and went to the bathroom to vomit.

Later he learned that Japanese people have small appetites, so it's traditional for guests to finish all the food the host offers, since they usually don't serve much anyway. His actions were misunderstood by the editor as the author considering the publisher's sincerity, so the editor decided to show Shen Liang his true nature.

He casually changed the story to Inazuma's worldview and told it to everyone. Yoshimiya laughed heartily, and Tsubaki took a sip of tea and said softly, "Ryoko seems to have a wide circle of friends. This kind of experience doesn't seem like something a fourteen or fifteen-year-old child could tell."

“I’m sixteen,” Shen Liang glanced at Xiao Gong, “about the same age as her.”

The three girls were stunned for a moment. Xiaogong scratched his head and said, "Really... that means I'm only two years older than you. That's good. I was just wondering if I would have any legal or moral issues if I actually kissed you."

"Do you have a girl you like?" Chun asked.

Shen Liang sensed a familiar environment. Sure enough, when she was with older women, the conversation would inevitably turn to this topic after only a few sentences. Aunties are the same all over the world, even across different worlds.

He had no relatives. When he contacted the orphanage after arriving in Japan, the nuns who had raised him would ask about his girlfriend if they didn't get along. Even a soldier as tough as Dean Cocolia would usually ask him about his love life within four sentences, suggesting that if things weren't going well, he could come back in a few years and marry Bronya.

Good heavens, he'd never even considered it! There were only a few people in the orphanage; Bronya wasn't even an adult yet. How could she possibly be talking about marriage? No way, it was impossible.

"Yes," Shen Liang admitted.

Although his feelings for Kokoro no Kokoro might not have reached the level of "love," he definitely liked her. Moreover, there were quite a few girls from the Fatui Clan in Kokoro no Kokoro who he found attractive, and the little priestess was aware of all of this but tacitly approved of it.

That sounds like a scumbag, but Shen Liang didn't care. He had always felt that romantic relationships were rather pointless. For him, instead of thinking about marriage, he was more interested in how to make the girls in the orphanage live a more carefree life.

Whether it's Coral Palace or Xin Hai, or whether he'll meet other women he likes in the future, Shen Liang is actually somewhat indifferent. If this behavior qualifies as that of a scumbag, then he's too lazy to hide it.

Ultimately, girlfriends are just external things; a sister is the family member who can accompany you for life.

—Although Shen Liang doesn't know now, he will regret such a foolish idea a long time from now.

"I already have one..." Tsubaki looked a little regretful. "Would you mind having one more?"

Shen Liang chewed the tuna rice ball thoroughly and swallowed it. He looked up and stared at Chun for a long time without saying a word.

Tsubaki met his gaze expectantly, but after a long while, she realized something, and a blush appeared on her fair face. "Oh dear... Ryoko, don't overthink it. I have a daughter."

Yoomiya and Kujo Sara couldn't help but laugh, while Shen Liang helplessly lowered his head to drink water to hide his embarrassment.

Just then, shouts and chants suddenly came from outside the house. Xiao Gong opened the window, and all four of them saw a row of young men in white kendo uniforms walking down the street, carrying several huge banners and shouting as they strode forward. There were also musicians playing instruments beside them, which attracted many citizens to come out and watch. Children circled around the men, shouting and yelling.

It was obvious what kind of event was taking place. Before Shen Liang could ask, Kujo Sara noticed his gaze and explained, "You've come at the right time. This is the Inazuma Group Martial Arts Tournament, held once every five years. It's called the 'Hyakunin Iskyu,' or more formally, the 'All Inazuma Free Combat Exchange Tournament.' It's known as the most free and prestigious martial arts tournament, and they're currently warming up the atmosphere."

"Ho ho ho, the martial arts tournament!" Xiao Gong peered out the window, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, but then felt a little disappointed. "Damn it, if I didn't have to support the family, I would love to go too! I'll be twenty-three by the next time the martial arts tournament is held! I'll be too old!"

Chun glanced at Shen Liang, who was drinking tea, and smiled slightly, "Liyue doesn't have a martial arts tournament like this, does it? Doesn't Ryoko care?"

"I don't know how to fight, and I'm not interested in fighting at all," Shen Liang shrugged.

But then he suddenly saw someone in the middle of the group holding up a large flag that looked very similar to the one he had obtained on Haiqi Island, with a dragon's head on it.

"The Eastern Jade Dragon Flag." Kujo Sara also saw it. "That is the glory of the victor. If you can fight your way up in the competition, the final battle will be held in front of the castle tower in the Imperial Tournament. The winner will get the Eastern Jade Dragon Flag and become the 99th generation 'Peerless Warrior of the East' of Inazuma."

"The ninety-ninth generation? What a coincidence!" Shen Liang asked.

“Yes, the Hyakunin Ikkyu has been held for over 500 years now. Except for a few years when it was interrupted due to the Battle of the Wild Sea, it has been passed down almost continuously. This year should be the most grand one yet, with contestants from not only Inazuma, but also from various countries.” Kujo Sara smiled. “For example, Mr. Shen from Liyue, you are the peerless warrior of the West.”

Chapter 100 is not even half the size of my Da Feng.

Shen Liang didn't have much interest in things like the Jade Dragon Flag or the title of "Peerless in the Country."

However, the words "Eastern Kingdom Warriors" reminded him of Sangokiya Ryuka, who was the 94th Eastern Kingdom Warrior, who easily captured the Jade Dragon Banner with a single sword and crushed the contemporary warriors.

A girl from Umijima Island, despite her extraordinary talent, was constantly constrained on Narukami Island at the time. Yet, she still managed to force all her contemporaries to submit through her unparalleled strength, making the fame of Sangoku-no-miya resound throughout the shogunate.

Thinking about it this way, it seems kind of fun.

It's just a pity that he really doesn't have the ability to participate in the so-called martial arts tournament.

--------

The next morning, Shen Liang woke up during breakfast at the hotel and heard someone knocking on the door.

The person who brought in breakfast was a lovely lightning mage. Breakfast wasn't part of the hotel service in Teyvat, but almost everyone in the Inazuma Fatui tribe knew him. At the lady's request, he took care of her like a butler.

Then the lightning mage yelled in anger.

"Tatiana! Damn it! What are you doing here? Isn't your work area on that outlying island?!" The Thunderfire Sorcerer glared angrily at the woman stretching and basking in the sunlight on Shen Liang's bed. "Mr. Liangzi belongs to me today!"