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

Miyajiro shook his head in despair, gritting his teeth as he said, "I wish the situation were really serious!"

"The fox witch told me that there was no evil spirit on the wing. All her cruel actions were done willingly because they brought her extreme pleasure. Her twisted mind was clearly different from that of ordinary people!"

"So what are the signs of extreme suffering caused by the evil spirits...?" Xiao Yi couldn't help but ask.

Miyamoto Jiro roared in response:

"It was pure acting, a wingsuit trick to fool a fool like me, but I still fell for it!"

"The fox's words completely woke me up. I wanted to refute them, but I couldn't find any evidence. Recalling everything that had happened, I discovered many flaws in her 'acting.' I finally believed that the fox witch was telling the truth—I had been deceived by Yi's disguise."

"Anger from being deceived for years, remorse for the victims—all these emotions erupted at once..."

The veins on Miyajiro's forehead bulged. He paused for a few seconds before continuing to recount his unknown past.

“I rushed out of the shrine out of control, killed the unsuspecting Tsubasa, and threw her body off the cliff, making her pay for her evil deeds.”

"I am burdened with sins, I should have gotten rid of her sooner instead of letting her harm innocent villagers!"

Miyamoto's voice gradually faded.

"The truth is cruel: the little one I remember, the little one who was with me for nineteen years, apart from that seemingly innocent face, all other memories are just illusions, all an act of deception she put on to fool me..."

"Her true character and temperament, which she tried so hard to hide, were so vile that they were disgusting, yet the pretense she showed me, that false version of her, was so beautiful that I can never forget it."

Miyajiro's breathing became rapid, and he ruffled his hair to calm himself down.

"From then on, I wandered around atoning for my sins, until half a year later, I met you, who was starving to death."

He then recounted how he snatched the Heavenly Thunder from the War Maniac. With the first anniversary of Wing's death approaching, Miyamoto planned to repair the Heavenly Thunder and release the most beautiful fireworks in a deserted area, thereby severing the painful memories that had haunted him for a whole year.

Xiao Yi understood that his elder brother's feelings for Miyamoto Tsubasa were complex, a distorted and intertwined turbid emotion that was difficult to describe in any language.

This emotion stems from the contradiction between Miyamoto Tsubasa's disguise and her true, cruel nature.

The false image was deeply etched in his mind, so even though the older brother knew Tsubasa's true nature, he could not completely forget this series of memories, and Miyamoto Tsubasa as the protagonist of those memories.

clap clap!

Miyamoto clapped his hands, forcefully sweeping away his negative emotions and returning to his carefree and unrestrained state.

"Phew, that makes it much easier to say it out loud." Miyajiro winked and tried to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

"Brother, thank you for telling me so much." Xiao Yi sighed softly. "Now it's my turn. I will tell you the truth about how I gained the trust of the gods and how I became their adopted son."

There's no need to hide the truth about the system anymore—at least not in front of my older brother.

Miyamoto Jiro shook his head.

"No need for further words. I'm content just to know you're doing well. I don't care how you fooled General Raiden or how you can switch elemental attributes. As long as I'm sure you're not Miyamoto Tsubasa, it doesn't matter whether I know the rest or not."

Miyamoto smiled calmly:

"By the way, Mr. Xiao, don't even think about bestowing upon me an official position, no matter how high, not even as the leader of the Heavenly Territory. If I join the Shogunate, wouldn't I become your subordinate? I can't accept that no matter what. I've made up my mind to continue my wandering and atone for my sins."

"Big brother..." Xiao Yi was speechless.

"The one-year anniversary is just a few days away. I'm going to fix the Heavenly Thunder before then and give that brain-dead brat the most beautiful fireworks display ever," Miyajiro said with great delight. "The whole Inazuma family will be shocked, and your godfather might even send you to investigate the real culprit behind the bombing, hahahahaha..."

“No casualties, no property damage, what kind of bombing is this…” Xiao Yi reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of things. “Besides, Ming Shenzi might be an accomplice!”

In his palm lay several gears and a small, golden sphere—the core of the Heavenly Thunder.

"I managed to steal it," Xiao Yi said with a smile. "Big brother, you can assemble it yourself, right?"

Miyamoto Jiro was overjoyed. He tightly grasped Xiao Yi's hand as he placed the parts and praised him incoherently, "Xiao-kun, you did a great job! You truly deserve it, amazing, amazing!"

Xiao Yi also gripped his elder brother's hand tightly: "Brother Miyamoto, put together the Heavenly Thunder, set off the most beautiful fireworks, and completely forget that madwoman who shares my name. You don't owe her anything—from now on, be a free and unrestrained redeemer!"

Miyamoto nods solemnly, takes the core of the Heavenly Thunder, and turns to leave the alleyway.

"I will. Goodbye, Xiao Yi."

The disheveled samurai had a rough nodachi hanging from his waist and a long staff on his back, the staff covered with patched gray cloth... He left the dark alley.

Goodbye, Brother Miyamoto Jiro.

Xiao Yi waved his hand gently and took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Now that I've caused such a huge mess, I should go back to the castle tower to find my adoptive father and receive my punishment. I hope the puppet general's big beating won't hurt too much.

Chapter 51 The General Cooks to Make Amends

In the spacious room at the highest point of the castle tower, the general knelt on a cushion, surrounded by dozens of thick scrolls, and she held a scroll in her hand.

The Othellos guarding the entrance dared not approach, for they did not know what the scroll contained and feared they might inadvertently glimpse contents beyond human comprehension.

However, the contents of this ancient book are neither ancient secrets nor a sealed history; it is just an ordinary parenting manual, a manual to help parents raise their children to be successful.

Unlike ordinary manuals, ancient books record ways to deal with children from eight months to eighty years old. As long as the parents are still alive, they can take out this book anytime and anywhere to discipline their children.

The reason the general wanted to read this book was simple: her adopted son had committed a grave error, but her database lacked knowledge on how to be a good wife and mother.

The database told her that if she lacked knowledge, she should learn it.

So the gods revered by the Inatsume people read thick scrolls late into the night, studying how to educate the filial son who had disrupted the grand examination.

"A heavy slap on the cheek, infusing the child with your spirit, is beneficial in helping them to awaken," the general read the scroll. "If the child shows a good attitude in admitting their guilt, you can abandon the spirit-infusing approach and use loving education to influence them."

“Xiao Yi is old enough to be slapped,” the general muttered to himself. “But the book says that beatings, depending on the severity, can cause children to rebel, but it doesn’t specify the exact amount… I can’t judge how hard I should hit.”

She put the scroll she was holding aside, took another bundle of scrolls of the same thickness, and continued to peruse them.

"The volume on love and education teaches how a mother can influence her rebellious child by cooking delicious food, ideally making the child realize the mother's good intentions..."

"'Mother'... What about the godfather? Does he also have to cook for the child?"

The guards at the gate couldn't hear the general's whisper. They noticed that the deity looked troubled. They had never seen the general show such an expression when governing the country and handling state affairs.

This proves that what the General is doing now is far more difficult than governing the country.

The Imperial Guards couldn't help but wonder: Should we ask Lord Narutoko to come and help the General overcome this difficulty?

General Thunder suddenly stood up, and the guards immediately reacted by bowing slightly to her.

"General, where are you headed next?" the officers asked. "I will send my men to remind the people there to prepare in advance."

The deity replied with an air of authority, without anger: "Go to the kitchen, I want to cook myself."

"Yes, sir—Huh???" The valiant warrior almost cried out, "General?!"

……

Xiao Yi bid farewell to his elder brother and prepared to return to Tian Shou Ge.

He confirmed that the cracks on his face had healed by looking at the puddles by the roadside, but unfortunately his white hair remained permanently, probably becoming a permanent feature.

The carriage stopped in front of the castle tower gate. The moment Xiao Yi jumped out of the carriage, he was surprised to find that lightning and thunder were flashing above the castle, a spectacle no less spectacular than the battle between him and his elder brother.

Who's fighting with the general? Could someone be plotting to assassinate my adoptive father?!

Xiao Yi wasn't worried about this. If someone really tried to assassinate him, it would be a minor matter for the general. The castle tower was still standing, which meant that the assassin couldn't force the general to use his full strength.

He walked up to the guards standing at attention and casually asked, "What's the situation at the castle tower?"

"Please do not worry, Lord Narukami," Okuzawa said hesitantly. "The Shogun is cooking. This is an unprecedented situation since the founding of Inazuma. The Shogunate historian rushed upstairs with paper and pen, crying and recording this once-in-a-millennium event."

I heard that the historian was a tough character. Not counting when he was born, he only cried twice in his life, and both times it was related to his work, when he was moved to tears by a once-in-a-lifetime scene.

First, Thor recently adopted a godson; second, Thor is cooking dinner for himself tonight.

To be precise, they are all related to Xiao Yi.

"It would be better to have an assassin!" Xiao Yi thought to himself.

At the same time, the dazzling lightning suddenly stopped, and Xiao Yi stepped into the castle tower. He wanted to go to the kitchen to see how his adoptive father was doing, but he was stopped by Okuzaki, who had come specifically to find him.

"Lord Narukami, please go to the room on the top floor of the castle tower. The Shogun is waiting for you to dine."

Dining?!

Xiao Yi arrived at the target location with trepidation. His godfather was kneeling upright, with a large pot full of food placed on the tatami in front of him.

The pot was steaming hot, emitting wisps of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet smoke, creating a dreamlike scene.

For a moment, he doubted that he had seen correctly.

Looking into the pot, I couldn't tell what was simmering inside; it was a multicolored black.

It's likely that if you add even one less seasoning or cook for even one minute less during the preparation process, you wouldn't be able to achieve such an effect.

"Godfather..."

“Come, taste the food I’ve cooked myself,” General Thunder demanded.

To Xiao Yi, the sentence sounded more like: "Go ahead and count your sins."

I only disrupted the grand trial and injured a few nobles; is such punishment necessary?!

"What ingredients did you put in here?" Xiao Yi asked cautiously. "What seasonings did you use?"

Without hesitation, the general said, "Sea eel, sea cucumber, seaweed, Sichuan peppercorns, black pepper, and extra-rich peppercorns, sweet flowers, ice mist flowers, and deceptive flowers, wild boar meat from ancient times..."

"Alright, alright, that's enough." Xiao Yi hurriedly interrupted, continuing to change the subject and buy time. "What cooking method did you use? Frying, braising, stir-frying, boiling, cooking, deep-frying?"

"Use lightning," the general calmly replied. "A powerful electric shock to stir-fry, then a gentler electric shock to simmer."

What kind of particle collider?

Xiao Yi was now certain that this thing was inedible, so he decided to call on Thor for help and opened the chat room that had been muted for a long time.

(Xiao Yi: Is Miss Ying here? Is Miss Ying here? Please help!)

The chat room was deathly silent, giving Xiao Yi a sense of foreboding.

He continued to stall for time: "Godfather, have you let anyone taste this?"

“I called Ying out and had her try it,” General Thunder said, slightly puzzled. “Then I couldn’t contact her anymore. Maybe she was embarrassed to eat too much.”

Xiao Yi completely lost his composure.

Just then, a soldier from the Heavenly Commandery ran in and, by a twist of fate, helped Xiao Yi out of his predicament.

"General, Lord Narukami, urgent report! The entire garrison of the Mikage Furnace Heart has been wiped out; not a single one of the 300 elite soldiers survived. Evidence indicates that it was the work of the War Maniac!"

The general began to ponder.