Lu Bu, the Thunder General, is my adoptive father in Genshin Impact.

"What about Liyue? How are they solving the energy and regional issues?"

Although Liyue is a vast area and not afraid of being bombed, most of the desolate wilderness is the territory of the immortals, who would not agree to Xiao Yi's actions.

“Guyun Pavilion is the area where the Emperor’s Rock Spear suppresses the Vortex Demon God,” Xiao Yi explained. “The Vortex Demon God Oser is suppressed there, and it can serve as an energy source. Moreover, it is relatively far from Liyue Harbor, so even if an explosion occurs, it will not cause casualties or property damage.”

Xiao Yi then pulled out blueprints from somewhere: "This is another new invention of the Doctor's, a formula for a magic potion that can quickly turn rock into nutrient-rich, fertile soil. If I fail, I'll use this to transform Eight-Yun Island."

The doctor originally intended to use this highly efficient and advanced invention to expand into the frozen lands of the Winter Country, but it's clear that the Northern Country is currently unable to enjoy it, and Inazuma can only take its place.

With backup plans already prepared, Ying had no interest in stopping Xiao Yi, nor did she intend to prevent him from doing these things. She readily agreed and said that they could start taking action today.

If the construction of the portal proceeds smoothly, wouldn't we be able to enjoy the freshest fruits and pastries from Liyue every day? Of course, these personal desires are not the main point; the general is primarily thinking about Inazuma's economy and eternity.

"I withdrew the operating funds myself from the national treasury," Xiao Yi said, his tone as casual as if he were taking pocket money from his wallet. "Besides that, regarding talent recruitment..."

Without hesitation, Ying replied, "Yes, whatever you say."

She knew Xiao Yi was aware of the situation and wouldn't wake up tomorrow to find the national treasury empty.

With Thor's permission, Xiao Yi moved the statue, which had been warmed by his buttocks, back to the shrine and prepared to leave the shrine to begin the construction of the teleportation portal.

Before leaving, Ying suddenly called out to him.

"Xiao Yi".

"what happened?"

"Your martial arts skills and strength have improved; you can now catch the general's sword with your bare hands."

"Thank you for the compliment. After all, I exercise with Gan Yu every day in Liyue—bye!"

"and many more."

"Is there anything else?"

"Remember to turn vision sharing back on."

Chapter 200 Will Madam be angry?

It has been a full half month since Xiao Yi returned to Daoqi.

On the flat ground of Bayun Island, a large number of scaffolds were erected, and workers worked hard to complete various tasks to build the prototype of the teleportation gate. A large amount of high-grade steel was produced from the Yuying Furnace and escorted here by the Tianling Envoy for use.

Anyone could see that this was a major project approved by the shogunate. No sane sea monster or other bandits or wandering samurai would bother them. They just wanted to steal something and make a living, and they wouldn't risk their lives to go against the government.

After all, the fact that the shogunate army had set up camps nearby was enough to prove the importance that the higher-ups attached to it. Moreover, there were rumors that the adopted son of the god was also involved in this matter. Mere bandits did not have the courage of mortals to challenge the gods.

As for the workers here, they are very well paid. They enjoy good food and drink, and have plenty of time to rest in shifts every day. The 996 work schedule is completely nonexistent.

Moreover, unlike the temporary camps set up by the soldiers, the workers lived in an uninhabited village called Feimu Village near the construction site, where all the necessary infrastructure was available, and they had no worries about food, clothing, shelter, or transportation.

Upon learning that all of this was arranged by Narukami, the workers couldn't help but exclaim: "Praise to our adopted son!"

In the remote location of Hishiki Village, there are two large wooden buildings standing side by side. It is said that they were the residence of Narukamiko, who was in charge of the construction, and the temporary residence of Princess Shiraga.

But the workers had no intention of delving too deeply into the matter of the gods; otherwise, it would bring them misfortune.

……

On a clear morning, the workers got up and went to work together, while those who had returned from the night shift fell fast asleep, making the village of Hiki exceptionally quiet.

After washing up, Xiao Yi pushed open the door and walked out of his small villa, admiring the slowly falling maple leaves and breathing in the clear, pure country air.

The village is named Hiki because a large number of maple trees grow around it, turning this small village on Hachiyun Island crimson.

However, a tragic event occurred in this village during the Inazuma Civil War. The village chief, who was originally a kind-hearted man, was bewitched by a demon and massacred most of the villagers under the guise of sacrifice, turning the place into a veritable ghost village.

In other words, all the buildings where the workers lived were undoubtedly haunted houses.

Of course, these workers were unaware of this. All they knew was that Xiao Yi paid them high wages, provided them with excellent accommodations, and offered them fish, meat, vegetables, and fruit as dessert every day. All of this made them quite content.

Xiao Yi didn't think it was immoral to hide anything from the workers. The village was right near the construction area, so why not stay there? Besides, with him there to keep things under control, evil spirits, ghosts, and vengeful spirits shouldn't be able to cause trouble.

perhaps.

"Good morning, my godfather." A clear female voice came from the side, as pure as the air in the wild.

Having finished dressing up, Ayaka Kamisato happened to walk out of her room and met her distinguished neighbor, so she naturally greeted him.

It was only natural for Ayaka to come, because the shogunate defined the teleportation gate as an important building personally approved by the Raiden General. They gave the teleportation gate a unique religious nature, so the Shinsato family, who were in charge of the rituals, had to send a representative to supervise the construction.

However, the real supervisor should be Raijin's adopted son, who directed the entire project. Therefore, the company's executive officers who came to supervise the project were more like his secretary.

This kind of thing should have been done by the practical Ayato, but Xiao Yi considered that Ayato was busy with work and did not want him to be overworked with paperwork all day, so he let the more relaxed Ayako do it—not because he thought that having a beautiful girl by his side would make life more interesting.

In short, that's how Ayaka arrived.

The initial construction of the portal was very boring, and Xiao Yi basically didn't need to participate. There was nothing to guide him on in building the prototype, and Xiao Yi couldn't possibly know more than the workers. If he actively interfered and gave unsolicited advice, it would only delay the progress of the project.

Right now, it's far more useful for him to do nothing than to do anything.

So, with nothing else to do, the two of them took a walk in the village and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

Linghua suddenly said, "My adopted son, please forgive my presumption, but if you spend too much time in private with other girls, won't the lady in Liyue be angry?"

Princess Egret's reminder was very obvious, almost as if she was telling Xiao Yi directly: I advise you, as a married man, to be more chaste!

Of course, Ayaka would never say such harsh words; if she had such thoughts, she would only express them in a roundabout way.

“It’s alright. Although Gan Yu is easily jealous, she’s quite tolerant of you.” Xiao Yi reached out and caught a maple leaf. “Besides, based on what I know about her, she’ll definitely work tirelessly for Liyue after I leave, and she might even forget about me while working overtime.”

"You're joking!" Kamisato chuckled, covering his mouth with his fan.

……

Liyue Harbor, Yujing Terrace, Moonsea Pavilion.

Ke Qing walked into Gan Yu's office and stared at the mountain of documents on her desk, as well as Gan Yu writing furiously behind a book.

Yu Hengxing helplessly fiddled with her purple ponytail, pretending to say it casually: "Gan Yu, you haven't slept for more than a month, to be precise, forty-three days and six hours. Don't you want to take a rest?"

The only person in all of Liyue Harbor who could get Keqing to personally advise him to rest is probably this demigod.

"Thank you for your concern, I will." Gan Yu continued flipping through the documents. "Once I've finished all this, I'll go and rest."

Ke Qing shook her head. Even if she could finish, she would probably go on to other work. Besides, Gu Yun Pavilion was building a teleportation portal recently, and the number of documents Qi Xing received had almost doubled. Gan Yu's desk was also constantly receiving new documents, and she simply couldn't handle them all.

"Tsk, I don't care, but Xiao Yi would definitely be heartbroken if he saw it," Ke Qing said.

"Hmm?" Gan Yu, completely absorbed in her work, said absentmindedly, "Who?"

……

The engineering team's meals were all provided by the military camp's cooking squad, and were divided into three levels.

Samurai and soldiers, accustomed to simple meals, were the lowest class; engineers and workers enjoyed a more superior treatment, with food close to the nutritious meals of shogunate officials; finally, there was a high-class, membership-based aristocratic meal, provided for the overseers, Xiao Yi and Ling Hua.

Originally, Xiao Yi's meals were delivered by fast horse from the Tenshukaku, but considering the cost, he chose to eat the same things as Ayaka, since this level was already high-class enough.

At this moment, the samurai brought them a box carved from maple wood, bringing them hot food.

As he opened the box, he introduced, "Lord Narukami, Princess Shiraga, this is today's breakfast bento box. The ingredients are eel and violet..."

“It’s alright, I’m not a picky eater, and neither is Linghua.” Xiao Yi interrupted the soldier’s introduction after confirming that there were no animal organs in the box that Linghua didn’t like. Then he asked, “How’s the situation at the construction site lately?”

The samurai delivering the food hesitated for a moment, then suddenly bowed deeply and said, "Please forgive our negligence. Thieves have appeared near the construction site, and some of the goods were stolen last night!"

Chapter 201 Catching a Thief? Catching a Ghost!

When he first heard the news, Xiao Yi was stunned for a few seconds and couldn't react for a moment.

He couldn't imagine what kind of brave thief would dare to steal the shogunate's building materials, especially since the surrounding area was a menacing military camp, and the thief could easily end up covered in sweat if he wasn't careful.

Nevertheless, this is how it happened, and it even bypassed the guards of the Heavenly Territory Enforcers, which is enough to prove that the thieves were skilled and not just people who acted on impulse when they saw the money.

That said, this island is practically a natural no-man's land, and hardly any people stay in this godforsaken place.

Is it possible that the worker stole the goods?

Xiao Yi provided extremely high-level treatment precisely to avoid such a thing from happening. Besides, if it really was the engineers and workers who joined forces to transport the materials, some news would definitely spread internally. It's impossible for all the workers to betray him.

"I'll go check the site after I finish breakfast," Xiao Yi ordered. "Don't bother bowing; bending over won't change anything. Quickly get someone to count the number of workers in the residential area and find out who didn't return to their dorm this morning."

If someone goes missing, there is a high possibility that the guards stole from the building. Of course, it is possible that the construction workers witnessed the theft and were thus killed... If a worker were killed, it is impossible that the guards on duty would not have noticed it at all.

Xiao Yi quickly finished his breakfast and told Linghua not to rush and to eat slowly, while he went to check the scene by himself.

In terms of aristocratic etiquette and a sense of responsibility, Princess Bailu resolutely chose the latter. The girl's throat was much narrower than the man's, and she could not swallow a large amount of food in a short time. Linghua quickly stuffed all the food into her mouth, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster, and at the same time quickened her pace to follow Xiao Yi.

When the two arrived at the scene, Ayaka had already swallowed all of her breakfast.

"Lord Narukami!" said the soldier guarding the scene.

"How's the evidence investigation going?" Xiao Yi asked. "If we go in, is it possible that we'll tamper with the scene or interfere with your investigation?"

The guard said nervously, "Of course not, please come in."

His anxiety stemmed from a simple fact: half an hour earlier, the early shift workers had come to inventory the goods, discovered that some items were missing, and promptly reported it. Since then, the soldiers had been investigating, but had found absolutely nothing that could be called a "clue."

In other words, the investigation is progressing at almost zero.

The samurai who brought the food also came over, and he respectfully asked Xiao Yi, "Lord Narukami, the Tenryo Magistrate has a detective department, should we...?"

“No need. Detectives should focus on handling civilian cases. This kind of large-scale theft case…” Xiao Yi cracked his neck and fidgeted with his knuckles. “Leave it to me. You might not believe it, but I’m a professional in this area.”

Back when he was hanging out with Miyamoto Jiro, he did a lot of things like robbing the shogunate's goods, and now is the perfect time for him to recall those memories and work backwards.

Xiao Yi and Ling Hua headed towards the crime scene.

The area where building materials were stored was isolated from the outside world by a temporary fence made of wooden stakes, with only one entrance for access, guarded by two soldiers each night.

In addition, the top of the wooden stake is sharpened, no less so than a bamboo spear. If you jump over it recklessly, you might end up with the terrible sight of a boy turning into a girl, or a girl turning into a woman.

Upon entering the fence, one sees steel, wood, and other debris covered with tarpaulins; at first glance, nothing appears to be missing.

Xiao Yi looked up and glanced around, quickly observing the sharp ends of the temporary wall. He saw no signs of damage or bloodstains.

Ayaka asked the samurai who delivered the food, "Excuse me, what goods are missing?"

The food delivery warrior replied, "According to the workers' inventory this morning, the missing goods were crystallized bone marrow intended as an energy relay device. There were two boxes in total, weighing about seven or eight hundred pounds, but they were all missing this morning."

Things are very strange.

If there are many thieves, they will be noticed by the guards. If there are few thieves, how can they steal seven or eight hundred pounds of crystal ore without making a lot of noise and bypass the guards? Are the thieves born with superhuman strength?