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

Yae no Miko paused for a few seconds, then her expression gradually brightened as she said, "Hehe, you really haven't changed much, Sister Gan Yu. You still retain that gentle kindness and caring nature. That kid really got off easy, even getting a seniority over me..."

"Shadow, you've gotten used to being alone. If you get close to her now, you might just see the goddess's shy side!"

Normally, Thor would probably electrify the pool to teach this scumbag fox who doesn't know how to spell "respect" a lesson, but now that Gan Yu is in the pool, it's not convenient for her to lash out at the divine child.

Let's be reserved for now; we'll train the fox slowly later.

Yae no Miko, however, pressed her advantage, grinning mischievously, "By the way, Sister Gan Yu, would you like to hear about my dear friend's dark history? Her true face, that adorable side, is not something ordinary people can easily see, and it's completely different from the rumors about Inazuma."

To maintain Inazuma's stability, she certainly wouldn't spread this interesting truth around, at most tacitly allowing Yaedo's light novel to include his "personal touches." But who is Gan Yu? Letting her know Thor's secret is nothing to her.

Therefore, she planned to share Ying's cute little secrets with Gan Yu as a topic of conversation, which would also subtly bring Gan Yu and Ying closer together.

"That's not a good idea," Gan Yu said hesitantly. "The secrets of the gods are not something I can bear, or rather, everyone has their own privacy..."

Despite saying that, Gan Yu was actually quite curious about what kind of secrets the Thunder General, who ruled over Inazuma, had, and what kind of cute side he might have... Could this god really have a cute side?

In addition, her husband rarely mentioned his godfather in front of her, and the curiosity that had been lurking in her heart showed on Gan Yu's face, which was not good at hiding it.

Every now and then, she would have her embarrassing past recounted. But one day, she was going to have to listen to someone else's embarrassing past, and it was from a god who controlled lightning in the Eternal Land. Just thinking about it made even Gan Yu a little excited.

The fox quickly noticed the details in the other person's expression.

“It’s less about ‘privacy’ and more about the true inner self.” Yae no Miko glanced out of the corner of her eye at her best friend, who appeared silent and indifferent but was actually about to jump up in excitement. “I’m going to start now. Kage, she has always…”

Splash! Splash! Splash!

Suddenly, hot spring water splashed onto the fox woman's face, stopping her from revealing her secrets.

Ying remained in the gesture of splashing water with both hands, her expression a mixture of emotions, as if she were about to embed the fox into the statue at any moment.

"Oh dear, my dear friend, it seems you've broken down." The fox wiped the water from its face. "I'll continue, Sister Ganyu, listen carefully..."

Before Yae no Miko could finish speaking, another wave of water bullets hit her face, stopping her wicked behavior. The shadow, like a merciless water-splashing machine, continued to splash water at the fox.

Not to be outdone, the Divine Child clasped his hands together and retaliated by squeezing water at Thor. The pressure created a water gun that hit Shadow squarely in the face.

She actually did such a thing to a god?! Gan Yu's mouth dropped open in astonishment.

Although she knew that the fox was Thor's servant, she was surprised to find that the difference between servants was so great.

She couldn't imagine the scene of the Emperor and the Dragon King Ruotu soaking in a hot spring together, with the Dragon King spraying water on the Emperor's face.

Since the atmosphere has become like this, I should also...

Crash!!

Shadow made a mistake; due to the god's dodge, all the water splashed onto Gan Yu's face.

By the time the Qilin girl wiped the water off her face, Thor had already looked away, pretending to be admiring the scenery, and that he hadn't done the splashing.

"The scenery of this floating world remains unchanged for hundreds and thousands of years..."

"Excuse me, General, I should have the authority to do this, shouldn't I?" Gan Yu suddenly said.

The next moment, she suddenly scooped up the hot spring water and splashed it onto the face of the general who had "accidentally injured" her.

The fox-woman looked surprised. She then grabbed Gan Yu's hands and exclaimed excitedly, "Sister Gan Yu, you did a great job! You did a great job!!!"

Splash! The goddess was splashed with water again.

War is imminent.

And so, the atmosphere in the hot spring pool began to warm up, and the previous restraint vanished. The three "girls," whose combined age was in the thousands, happily started a water fight.

……

The highest point of the castle tower, the balcony.

Xiao Yi leaned against the railing, enjoying the delicious sake, and muttered to himself happily, "Playing in the water? We're not getting any younger... But Gan Yu and Miss Ying are finally getting closer, which isn't a bad thing."

Suddenly, he frowned.

Xiao Yi immediately flung the cup into the shadows of the room, but it shattered in mid-air.

He faced the shadowy area and teased, "Stop hiding, you skirmisher. Did you come here specifically to spy from this high vantage point with such a wide view?"

Chapter 217 The Collapse of the Nation Causes Anger

Xiao Yi stopped looking into the shadows and continued to pour wine from the flask, as if he didn't care about the stragglers at all.

In fact, he wanted to use this almost mocking approach to trick the other party into revealing their intentions.

If the stragglers come with malicious intent, given that this guy has a bad personality, he might directly attack Xiao Yi, at which point a counterattack would be the end of it.

If he wasn't acting maliciously, even though Xiao Yi didn't particularly like this guy, he shouldn't have started a battle directly at the castle tower. Otherwise, it would have been such a pity to accidentally collapse this ancient building, and it would have had a bad impact if the people of Inazuma Castle had seen it.

Furthermore, even if the scattered soldiers launched a sudden attack, Xiao Yi was certain that this guy couldn't kill him instantly, and he would still have room to retaliate.

"Hmph, you look so confident, or rather, smug." The black-haired boy wearing a huge straw hat slowly emerged from the shadows. "Your blind confidence is truly pathetic. You're just a tool of Inazuma Goddess."

"Tools? You're overthinking it." Xiao Yi licked his lips. "I get along very well with her."

"It seems you have no clue what's really going on, kid," the skirmisher said sarcastically. "In her eyes, everything is just a tool to maintain eternity, that illusory eternity—whether it's you, the puppet general, or that fox... or me."

Xiao Yi was stunned for a few seconds: What exactly is this guy here for?

"Trying to sow discord? You'd better save your breath. I have a very good relationship with Thor." Xiao Yi retorted without any mercy. "By the way, I've also heard a little about your story. If she really used you as a tool, she wouldn't have released you in the first place."

Immediately afterward, Xiao Yi smiled and said even more harshly, "Perhaps, is it because I took your identity with lies, and you're unhappy about it, that you're deliberately saying these strange things to me? Is your aim to take Ying back from me? I never expected that the former Executor of the Fools would be such a mama's boy."

"But it's alright, I'm a generous person and don't mind sharing with you. From now on, I'll continue to call the General 'Dad,' and you can call Ying 'Mom.' How about we each call each other what we want?"

He didn't look at the soldier's expression, but the guy was definitely not in a good mood right now.

"Ha, you think I want to take her back from you?" The soldier's tone suddenly turned icy. "What a childish and disgusting conjecture."

"You've broken down, you're angry?" Xiao Yi said sarcastically. "Don't deny yourself. I know very well that you're just trying to get revenge on Miss Ying because you're still angry and can't vent your anger. You even hang out with those bad kids from the Fools' Clan, right?"

The atmosphere suddenly turned chilly.

Xiao Yi felt that if he continued to provoke him, even if he didn't come here to fight, the two of them would soon start fighting. So he changed the subject and said, "So, what do you want from me? If you're inviting me to betray Miss Ying and join you in messing with Daoqi, then forget it."

Who would abandon a graceful deity to cause trouble with a brat? Unless Xiao Yi is out of his mind, no matter what conditions the soldiers offer, he won't follow this guy to do bad things.

Maybe... if the genders were reversed, Xiao Yi might consider it, maybe.

"Invite you? Don't be so arrogant. You're not even worth my invitation." The skirmisher in the shadows spoke with disdain. "I'm here to threaten you. When Inazuma and Liyue hold their celebration for the successful completion of the portal, I'll give you a big gift!"

Xiao Yi understood. This guy's purpose was obvious: to retaliate against Dao Qi and vent his emotions. However, the act of notifying him in advance was probably meant to make him and Ying live in fear, spending every day searching for and eliminating potential threats... He was really overthinking it.

Both he and Miss Ying were in an exceptionally good mood. Even after the militia issued a declaration of a terrorist attack, they continued to eat and drink as usual, sipping milk tea and living happily.

"You should just give up. If you end up as an enemy of Liyue and Inazuma, even the heavens won't protect you." Xiao Yi became slightly serious. "Doing other things is fine, but plotting against a teleportation portal? You're practically asking for trouble. Can't you just be a little more discreet?"

Xiao Yi's tone softened as he tentatively advised, "Don't think too much about it, Brother Guobeng. Your conflict with Ying isn't that big. Just admit your mistake and soften your stance, and maybe she'll forgive and accept you. Then you can be a good mascot for Tenshukaku..."

Negotiation experts can be categorized into three levels.

The best negotiators are those who are adept at understanding the other party's psychology. They may seem to be going along with the other party's topic, but in reality, they keep the conversation firmly in their own hands. In the end, the other party is like a small insect in a spider web, unknowingly led astray into the thinking of a negotiation expert.

While average negotiators may not be able to control their targets through words, they can soothe the other party's emotions, stabilize the situation, and gradually steer it in the direction they desire. Although their skills may not be outstanding, they will not make the situation worse.

As for Xiao Yi, he is an absolute expert at breaking down negotiations. Although he is good at deceiving people, when he tries to appease and persuade the "enemy," he always comes up with tricks that backfire.

Even if you are sincerely trying to persuade someone, your tone and content may sound sarcastic, constantly stimulating the "anger" string deep within their heart.

In the minds of the scattered soldiers, the one who was wrong and should apologize was the irresponsible Thor, not themselves, the "victims." Meanwhile, Xiao Yi, enjoying the benefits brought by the Shogunate and Thor, stood high and mighty, criticizing from the perspective of the accuser...

The nation is in turmoil!

He originally only came to warn of terrorist attacks, but now it seems he should teach this loose-tongued brat a lesson.

*Crack!* The wine pot in Xiao Yi's hand suddenly shattered.

……

Ying looked up at the top of the castle tower. Her expression was completely different from before. She was extremely serious and ignored the fact that the Divine Child and Gan Yu were splashing water on her face.

The fox and the qilin noticed this as well, stopped spraying water, and looked in the direction Thor was looking.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared atop the castle tower, a scene no less dramatic than when the general or the shadow was cooking.

……

"Damn, this wine is very expensive!" Xiao Yi said somewhat displeased.

The air was thick with the leaked lightning element. He knew very well that the negotiations had failed and they were about to be overwhelmed. A tough battle was about to begin.

However, he was not flustered at all. At most, he would cause some damage to the castle tower. Besides, his strength was only stronger than that of the scattered soldiers. In addition, Miss Kage was taking a bath downstairs. How could he lose?

Xiao Yi was even a little puzzled: How dare he make a move now?!

"Then I'll play with you." Xiao Yi conjured a lightning spear in his hand.

Chapter 218 High Diving

When the stragglers announced their impending trouble, Xiao Yi had already formulated a plan in his mind: either persuade them to reconcile with Thor and at least stop causing trouble, or disregard the damage to the castle tower caused by the aftershocks and immediately eliminate them to prevent future problems.

Clearly, given his "excellent" communication skills, the country was already on the verge of collapse, and the possibility of a peaceful resolution through dialogue had vanished.

Although the top of the castle tower was already crackling with lightning due to the opponent's energy, the scattered soldiers had not yet made any moves. Perhaps by suddenly attacking, I could seize the initiative.

Xiao Yi planned to destroy this tragic Prototype quietly, without causing severe damage or affecting nearby cities.

He gathered energy in his hand, forming a lightning spear that he swiftly drew out, and hurled it mercilessly at the stragglers in the shadows, aiming for their fatal chests.

Xiao Yi knew that this was not enough to completely eliminate the guy. He would definitely block or dodge, so he took advantage of the opening to summon his halberd, thrust and attack, and try to kill him in one move.

With a plan in mind, all that's needed is to wait and observe how the skirmishers deal with the lightning spears, then seize the opening and break through instantly.

However, the scene before Xiao Yi greatly surprised him.

The lightning spear struck the figure in the shadows, and Xiao Yi discovered that it was actually a dummy. The skirmisher had used some secret method to imbue the dummy with his aura, while his real body was probably hiding far away, relying on the dummy as a communication device to communicate with him.

The lightning and thunder effect just now was also triggered by the dummy acting as a medium to transmit elemental power.

The lightning spear erupted, causing the dummy to explode and scatter like fireworks, bursting into numerous purple light spots.

However, Xiao Yi was still puzzled as to who had quietly placed the dummy here, as he hadn't seen it when he came in.

He looked at the charred tatami mats and said helplessly, "We'll have to get someone to repair the floor..."

Just as Xiao Yi's attention was entirely focused on the tatami mat, lightning elemental power surged out of the corridor again. An energy blast, resembling a Kamehameha, pierced through the wall and accurately struck Xiao Yi's chest.