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

Caught off guard, Xiao Yi was lifted into the air.

Because the matter was kept extremely secret, there were no guards present, so some military officers had to draw their weapons and prepare to take matters into their own hands to rescue Xiao Yi, who was in grave danger.

It seems that Xiao Yi's status as an adopted son is now confirmed, and they really want to hear Xiao Yi finish explaining the whole story, rather than being interrupted at the crucial part.

Besides, saving his adopted son guarantees a promotion and a raise.

As the military officers approached the irrational, hot-headed young man, a purple light suddenly appeared behind Xiao Yi. The light condensed into a huge, half-open eye, and an intense sense of oppression erupted from it, causing even the seasoned warriors to stop in their tracks.

Evil Star, open your eyes!!!

Thor's authority?!

No, it is the authority of the adopted son of God!

Those who were armed dropped their weapons, while those who were empty-handed bowed slightly to Xiao Yi, who was being held up in mid-air with a gesture of reverence, in the manner of worshipping the gods.

The Son of God remained lucid, thinking to himself: Damn, these people are crazy!

Chapter 26 I am a stragglers

If the courtiers previously only believed that Xiao Yi could become an adopted son, then after Evil Yao opened his eyes, they began to suspect that Xiao Yi and Naruto were related by blood.

Private, illegitimate child? !

The half-open thunder eye behind him undoubtedly represents the general's authority, something no one else in Inazuma could achieve.

If there really is a blood relationship, why doesn't the general acknowledge it, but instead goes through the roundabout process of adopting a son? The ministers don't have time to think about this question right now, nor do they dare to think about it recklessly.

The military officers who intended to rescue Xiao Yi misunderstood the adopted son's actions, thinking that he was displaying his power to control lightning in order to show off his strength and personally teach the disrespectful Takatsukasa Maru a lesson.

Since that's the case, there's no need to do anything now. Just maintain respect and let your adopted son do what he wants, let him show off to his heart's content, and then everyone will tacitly praise and flatter him. The troublesome situation will naturally come to an end.

In this way, the adopted son will be happy, the ministers will be relieved, and we will all have a bright future.

Logically speaking, Iron Hand could easily snap a normal person's neck, like snapping a dead tree branch. However, Xiao Yi, who was being strangled and lifted into the air, was unharmed. His black eyes emitted a purple light, and a dense pressure was about to burst forth.

However, this was not Xiao Yi's original intention.

Halfway through his speech, Xiao Yi was suddenly choked. In a moment of shock, he accidentally unleashed the power of Thor.

He was worried that he might not be able to control his new ability and might just turn the hothead into a charred corpse. After all, although Mr. Scoundrel was a bit arrogant, he didn't deserve to die and shouldn't be punished by the gods.

Fortunately, the military officers reacted quickly and climbed onto the arena to save themselves. However, when they saw Lei Yan, they suddenly stopped trying to save him and instead stood there worshipping him.

Then you'll have to rely on yourself.

The light in Xiao Yi's eyes reached its limit, and the half-open lightning eye behind him fully opened, instantly darkening the bright sunshine in the sky, as if divine punishment was about to fall upon the world.

The military officers qualified to meet Raijin and participate in the meeting, apart from Kujo Sara, were mostly old men. However, their reaction speed was as fast as ever. Before the lightning struck, all the old samurai had already jumped off the stage to take refuge.

Immediately afterwards, a bolt of lightning struck Takashimaru precisely from the sky, its light blindingly bright.

As the lightning dissipated, Xiao Yi stood there as if nothing had happened, with the hot-headed young man from the Takatsukasa family lying next to him, his body charred black but actually unharmed.

Xiao Yi thought to himself: It seems that he controlled his strength well and no one was killed. Congratulations.

He looked down at the assembled officials below the arena and said indifferently, "Quickly carry Takatsukasa Maru away for treatment. There's no need to punish him after he's healed; it was just a normal accident."

Xiao Yi's recent heavenly lightning confirmed everyone's suspicions and also spawned a group of sycophants: "Our adopted son is magnanimous, and we old ministers greatly admire him!"

Ignoring the flattering words, Xiao Yi spread his hands and continued to announce the colossal lie that had been interrupted midway.

"My real name is Guo Beng. I am a puppet created by General Lei Dian five hundred years ago using technology from the realm of gods. In a sense, I am similar to an heir!"

The saying goes, "If the name is not correct, the words will not be proper; if the words are not proper, things will not be accomplished." Xiao Yi had readily available identity information, which he could use to legitimately deceive the ministers.

The audience below the stage were skeptical, and a commotion ensued.

Ignoring the gossip, Xiao Yi continued to fabricate lies.

"Now, I have long since abandoned my old name and embraced a new name and a new life. Now I am called Xiao Yi, and I only have this one name!"

Back in the day, before Thor created the puppet general, he first created a practice puppet, and that puppet was the one who caused the collapse of the kingdom.

Later, Thor released the fallen kingdom.

However, the foolish child did not learn good things and joined the Fools' Clan of the Winter Kingdom. Not only did he become the Fools' Clan's executive officer, but he also replaced his real name with a strange nickname—Scattered Soldier.

From then on, the scattered soldiers became accomplices of the tiger, doing all sorts of dirty work for the Winter Kingdom, until recently they rebelled again.

According to normal thinking, impersonating such a villain with enemies everywhere is practically suicidal.

Xiao Yi, however, took an unconventional approach, because he had already planned how to deal with those in the know.

When asked, he said that he was captured by the Kingdom of Zhidong five hundred years ago, his physical data was collected, and a clone was created. He escaped not long after.

And since then, the stragglers who have been running rampant in Teyvat are actually clones of themselves.

Later, he went to Liyue and asked the Liyue Sage for help. Using the Sage's skills, he not only recreated the character's face and changed his appearance, but also transformed his body from a puppet created by Thor into a more human-like body.

In this way, the identity issue is resolved, all doubts can be explained, and all the bad things can be shifted onto the stragglers who are called clones but are actually the real original.

Moreover, lies that are a mixture of truth and falsehood are the hardest to detect and expose. People will believe the part they want to believe, thus converging the parts and believing the whole lie.

Sometimes, when enough people believe a lie, it becomes the truth. Guo Beng, who was away from home, never imagined that one day he would become a substitute.

He probably doesn't care... Xiao Yi pondered.

Because of Xiao Yi's superb persuasive skills and the convincing power of the Thunder God, most people gradually believed his lies. Even the skeptical Kujo Sara veered towards believing him. Only Ayato Kamisato still wore an inscrutable smile.

……

Ba Yun Island, a remote mountain cave.

In the deep chamber of the cave, the torchlight shone brightly and steadily, and occasionally the squeaking of mice could be heard.

Inside the secret room, ten people were having a meeting, sitting in a circle around a huge natural stone table.

They were the organizers and leaders of the war fanatics, but they were not soldiers who were hopelessly addicted to war. Instead, they were merchants who made a fortune from the war, as well as corrupt officials of the shogunate.

After the war ended, this group of people, who had no money to earn, gathered together and used their wealth and power to win over soldiers who could not adapt to peaceful life, deceive them and form a war fanatic group, attempting to start another war and make a fortune.

The criminals started discussing it amongst themselves.

"I'm asking you, is it really appropriate to store the Heavenly Thunder in a warehouse on an outlying island?"

"It seems that the Grand Trial will probably be canceled, and the Heavenly Thunder will not be needed for the time being."

"If the Shogunate army hadn't been chasing us so closely that night, we wouldn't have resorted to this desperate measure. Let's wait until things calm down before moving the bombs. Besides, we can trust Tadokoro Koji's abilities."

"Tadokoro? Does he really take things seriously?"

"Cough cough!"

A soft cough interrupted the conversation, drawing everyone's attention to the source of the sound—a thin, bony old man with sharp eyes.

The silent old man finally spoke, his voice like withered wood rubbing against dry grass: "Forget about the bombs for now, the most urgent thing is to solve the problem of the 'weirdo'."

The other nine people pondered for a moment and then agreed.

"That guy has become increasingly lawless lately, he's completely disregarding us!"

"Moreover, he acts strangely, not only does he disobey orders, but no one has ever seen his true face."

"After seeing him, I had nightmares every night, and all I could hear in my dreams was that damned breathing sound!"

The so-called "weirdo" is not a member of the War Maniacs. This guy approached the War Maniacs a few weeks ago, saying he wanted to help them.

It turns out that the strange man's strength was not just empty boasting; however, this guy had strange living habits, often disappeared without a trace, and didn't seem like a greedy or lustful person.

In short, although we don't know what his goals are, they are certainly different from those warmongering high-ranking officials who profit from war.

To prevent any unforeseen complications, the leadership of the War Maniacs decided to strike first and eliminate any destabilizing factors.

"The question is, how do we kill him?"

The old man calmly replied, "I've hired the 'Number One Blade of Eight Brews Island' to assassinate the strange man. I guarantee it will be foolproof."

The crowd was in an uproar.

"The number one swordsman of Hachiyū Island? A wandering samurai on par with Miyamoto Jirō and Miyamoto Tsubasa?"

"This is safe now."

Where is he now?

"Hehe, where? Wait at the door." The old man looked at the tightly closed wooden door of the secret room. "Come in, the number one swordsman of Ba Yun Island. They want to see you."

The torch, which had been burning steadily, suddenly flickered, as if an invisible wind was trying to extinguish it.

Bang! ! !

Something crashed through a sturdy wooden door and landed on the table where everyone was meeting. The ten people looked closely and saw that it was a human being cut in half at the waist, with clean cuts, but the person's expression was distorted with fear.

"The number one swordsman of Ba Yun Island!" the old man almost screamed.

Meanwhile, the flickering torches failed to illuminate the area outside the door, and strange noises came from the shadows.

whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

It's like a broken bellows working slowly.

Chapter 27 Robbing the Kamisato Family

It must be said that Xiao Yi, this adopted son, is truly low-key in his actions.

After fabricating lies and gaining the approval of civil and military officials, he did not publicize them extensively, nor did he build any altars or hold any ceremonies, embodying the spirit that simplicity is the true essence of life.

However, he should still enjoy himself. He no longer needed to live in the simple and unadorned Kujo military camp, but instead rightfully moved into the castle tower.

Because the puppet general is in a state of indifference and desirelessness except for governing the country, Xiao Yi can basically enjoy the extra resources to his heart's content.

Stay in the most spacious luxury room overlooking the entire Inatsuma Castle; enjoy the most delicious sushi and savor the special ingredients of Narukami Island; when you're tired from playing, just lie down and sleep; and when you wake up, take a bath in your godfather's private hot spring...

Moreover, none of the troubles he was worried about and had prepared for occurred.

Thor didn't show up to investigate why the puppet malfunctioned; Yae no Miko didn't come to visit, so she questioned her best friend about why she had taken in a son; even when Xiao Yi claimed that the country had collapsed, the general remained indifferent, as if she had never heard of it.

And so, Xiao Yi no longer had to work, worry about affairs, or fear the danger of exposure, and comfortably experienced the ultimate treatment—a royal enjoyment.

The reason for this retaliatory hedonism is probably the inhumane living experience he had previously endured, as well as the pressure of being caught between various forces.

Now that the pressure is gone, of course I can do whatever I want.