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

Whether it was a hallucination caused by the overuse of divine power and the collapse of his body, or something real, Xiao Yi actually heard his elder brother Miyamoto calling his name amidst the ruins of the military camp.

He trudged through the muddy ground to the ruins of the burned wooden platform and found his elder brother there.

Miyajiro was still dressed in his ronin outfit, squatting on the ground with the Eye of God emitting an emerald green light on his chest. Next to his older brother lay a young man with extensive burns on his skin.

Although the man was burned beyond recognition and his lower body was completely gone, Xiao Yi recognized him instantly and immediately crouched down beside the young man.

Miyamoto explained in a simplified way: "I came to Tasakasa to find a suitable area to set off fireworks, but I didn't expect to see a burning military camp. When I rushed in, I found that everyone was dead in a terrible state. Only this child survived, but he was cut in half at the waist and there was no way to save him..."

“I originally wanted to end his suffering, but I found that this guy kept muttering about waiting for someone. He firmly believed that ‘that person’ would come. I wanted to ask him to find out, but he was delirious, so I had to forcefully help him breathe to see if the person he couldn’t forget even on his deathbed would come.”

“I sensed something was wrong with the distant lightning and thunder. I was just about to end his suffering and go check on him when I heard your footsteps—I hope you are the one this silly child is waiting for.”

"Takatsukasa Maru," Xiao Yi called out the young man's name.

Upon hearing Xiao Yi's voice, the dying Takatsukasa Maru experienced a sudden surge of energy and opened his weary eyes.

"Naruto, Naruto-sama... You've come! I knew you'd come, you definitely would... Damn monster, you hit me too hard, my butt, my butt hurts so much..."

"Don't be afraid, you samurai of the Takatsukasa family," Xiao Yi said futilely. "I will find a way to save you. Don't worry, you'll be back in a few days..."

Takatsukasa Maru weakly interrupted Narukamiko, the devout man who had never acted so presumptuously before.

The loyal and brave bald youth laboriously turned his head and looked at a charred, withered tree nearby, with his lower body, which had been severed and kicked away by the evil spirit, hanging from its branches.

"With my backside stuck in a tree, I'm beyond saving. I'm content to have sacrificed myself for Lord Oogami and Lord Narukami... and my soul can rest in peace. I know you didn't do it, but the others, the surviving soldiers, might not think so..."

"The journey ahead will be difficult, please persevere. By the way, that cauldron... I was choked and thrown to the gate of the military camp, where I saw Lady Kujo. She wasn't seriously injured and was still breathing. I hid her inside the cauldron at the gate, and the monster didn't find her in the end."

"Please, you must save Lord Kujo... to avenge our soldiers!"

The brief moment of lucidity ended, and Takashimaru breathed his last, his eyes staring blankly at the sky.

The last time Xiao Yi saw the members of the War Maniacs who had been cut in half at the waist, it was Takashimaru who explained to him how painful it was to be cut in half at the waist. As a result, faced with this unbearable pain, Takashimaru chose to endure the torment and live on until the Son of God, who symbolizes hope, arrived.

Enduring such pain without losing consciousness is something only those with extremely strong will and loyalty, or those who are single-minded, can do, and Takashimaru is both.

Xiao Yi closed the deceased's eyes, then quickly got up and rushed towards the large cauldron at the main gate of the camp.

Miyajiro wanted to follow, but found that he could only barely keep up by using the Eye of God to accelerate.

Xiao Jun's growth rate... has advanced by leaps and bounds!

However, he also noticed the cracks on Xiao Yi's cheeks and his hair, which proved that gaining power was not easy and required a high price.

Arriving at the large cauldron, Xiao Yi tore it open with his bare hands and took out the robe inside.

The unconscious female soldier had a gash on her waist, running horizontally from the middle to the left, like a piece of paper cut in half with a paper cutter; it was a horrifying sight to behold.

"Brother, how is Shaluo's injury?" Xiao Yi asked anxiously.

To better utilize the power of the Eye of God, Miyamoto Jiro is an expert in human anatomy, so when no doctor is available, his older brother can act as a makeshift doctor.

“Like the other soldiers’ corpses, her wounds were scalded, but that also stopped the bleeding.” Miyamoto Jiro’s eyes glowed with a faint green light. “I used elemental power to help her exchange gases in her lungs, which temporarily saved her life. To save her, we still need to go to the city.”

"Brother, do you have a means of transportation?" Xiao Yi asked hurriedly, "Something fast."

If he didn't have it, he would carry the Kujo Sara on his back and run all the way back to Inazuma Castle.

“Yes,” Miyamoto Jiro replied without hesitation, “a shogunate carriage and two high-class horses.”

Xiao Yi carried Saro on his back, while Miyamoto remotely channeled energy to the injured man and led the way. After confirming that there were no other survivors, the two nimbly left the wreckage.

After walking a few steps, Xiao Yi saw a carriage parked by the roadside. The two horses pulling the carriage had thick manes and looked majestic, but the carriage itself was shabby and had no lid.

Just like the prison van that takes people to be beheaded at the beginning of Skyrim.

Xiao Yi placed the robe on the carriage and climbed on himself. Miyamoto Jiro jumped into the driver's seat with practiced ease and flicked the reins to urge the horse forward.

"Brother, where did you get these two horses?"

"This is the carriage of the Shefeng (a local organization). I saw a young, blond-haired member of the Shefeng driving this carriage to transport goods. When he got off, I stole the carriage and ran away. But that young man had divine eyes and released flames to stop me, burning the carriage to this state."

"Brother, the method used to attack the military camp, was it..." Xiao Yi hesitated before speaking.

"It seems you know more than I do. Yes, the damage looks very familiar, but the method is not 'bloodless' at all, or rather, it was forced to be bloodless."

After a moment's hesitation, Xiao Yi decided to tell his elder brother the whole truth. Miyamoto listened in silence for a long time.

“Then kill them all again.” That was his answer, concise and resolute.

“There’s no need to kill them again; I’ve already reduced them to ashes,” Xiao Yi explained.

"Thank you, Mr. Xiao," Miyamoto Jiro said seriously. "I suppose this is a kind of relief."

"To put it bluntly, brother," Xiao Yi scratched his head, pulling out a large clump of hair, "it's a bit too easy for the evil spirit to die so easily."

“I don’t deny it,” Miyamoto replied briefly.

They remained silent for a long time.

Xiao Yi suddenly remembered something and broke the silence, saying, "Brother, there's something I want to confirm: what did Miyamoto Tsubasa usually refer to herself when she was alive?"

"Self-reference?" Miyamoto Jiro looked slightly puzzled, but answered without hesitation, "When Tsubasa was alive, he always used 'I,' so why are you asking about this?"

The carriage traveled smoothly along the bumpy mountain road toward Narukami Island. Miyamoto's driving skills were exceptionally good, and Xiao Yi in the back seat could not even feel the bumps. However, his heart was in turmoil and he could not calm down for a long time.

What did I just chop?!

……

On a nearby mountaintop, a dark figure watched the carriage disappear into the distance.

whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

Chapter 62 Saving General Sara

"Xiao Jun, where can we find a doctor after we enter the city?"

"Find my godfather," Xiao Yi said without hesitation.

After hesitating for a long time, Miyamoto no Jiro nodded and flicked the reins to urge the horse to speed up.

"Although I don't really want to see Narukami, things have come to this point, and I have to let go of the resentment that's deep in my heart. After all, my hometown wasn't destroyed by her lightning."

Doing the right thing at the right time is Miyamoto Jiro's life principle.

As for Xiao Yi's decision, it was absolutely correct. Kujo Sara is seriously injured now. Rather than ordinary medical treatment, it would be better to try some mystical methods. If all else fails, the general could transform her into Doll Number Three, which would also prolong her life. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

But they encountered trouble just as they were about to enter the city.

Several Shogunate carriages caught up with them, performing impressive drifts to block their path. Their driving skills were so sharp and their coordination so tight that for a moment Xiao Yi felt as if he had traveled from Inazuma to North America and witnessed the clean and efficient American-style interception.

The well-trained Tenryo magistrates jumped down and immediately surrounded the open carriage driven by Miyamoto Jiro.

The leading samurai said respectfully, "Lady Narukami, your willful actions have aroused the dissatisfaction and anger of the nobles. We have received orders to escort you to your room in the castle tower, where the shogun will deal with you when she is free."

The meaning is simple: the nobles already know about the indiscriminate killings, and they are furious. We have no choice but to be ordered to place you under house arrest so that Thor can give the nobles justice.

Xiao Yi remained motionless, his mind filled with complaints: Did the survivor fly back in a Dvalin? I sped to the city gate, and he not only arrived at the shogunate but also finished lodging his complaint!

"When my godfather is free?" Xiao Yi questioned the warrior leader. "Where is she now?"

"I'm very sorry, I don't know," the leader replied tremblingly. "Our orders were to escort you to the castle tower and prevent you from wandering around..."

"Received orders? Whose orders did you receive?" Xiao Yi said with an air of authority, "I'm afraid it wasn't the general's orders, but rather the orders of the shogunate nobles!"

The enforcers remained silent.

Xiao Yi's white hair and eyes shone faintly.

"First of all, although I am responsible for this matter, I did not kill their child, and I can understand their grief... Secondly, do you, mere nobles, have the right to arrest me? Or rather, do you have the ability to detain me? You should take me to see my godfather quickly."

The lead warrior's actions surprised everyone; he knelt down on one knee without hesitation.

"Lord Narukami, we can't afford to offend you, nor can we afford to offend the nobles. If we don't arrest you, the nobles have plenty of ways to deal with us. My brothers and I have elderly parents and young children to support... So either you have mercy and go to the castle tower, or you can just turn us into ashes!"

Xiao Yizhen never expected the warriors to pull this stunt. Thinking about it carefully, they really had it tough, caught between the two behemoths, the adopted son and the nobles.

"Brother, you know what I want to do," Xiao Yi whispered. "Get ready to make your move!"

Miyajiro, in the driver's seat, performed a backflip and gracefully jumped into the convertible. During the process, he had already drawn his nodachi and held it to Xiao Yi's neck.

Miyamoto roared, "Get out of my way, or the adopted son of God will be beheaded on the spot!"

The soldiers were clearly frightened and involuntarily took a few steps back; even the kneeling leader was stunned.

"Xiao Jun, wasn't that a clean slate?" Miyamoto Jiro lowered his voice and said smugly, "I knew what to do as soon as you opened your mouth. Our plan was perfectly in sync."

"Big brother, it's not like that..."

"No?" Miyamoto Jiro suddenly realized, "I see, I understand now."

He reached out and grabbed the unconscious Saro by the collar, pulling her up by the neck and placing her in front of the blade.

Miyamoto shouted, "I'll give you ten seconds to think it over. If you don't get out of my way, Naruto and the general will both lose their heads. Who will take responsibility then?"

The soldiers surrounding them were completely intimidated. They looked at each other and retreated at the same time. Even the leader who had just pressured Xiao Yi raised his hands and slowly withdrew.

Disobeying orders only offends the nobility; accidentally causing the death of Narukamiko offends General Raiden—minor nobles are like leeks, changing every now and then, but the general will always exist, and one's descendants will have to live in Inazuma...

The executors thought it over and over. Offending the nobles would only make life difficult, while offending the gods would mean having to travel to other countries. So they decided to choose the lesser of two evils.

Xiao Yi was surprised that Miyamoto had stumbled upon the perfect solution.

He had only asked his elder brother to cooperate with him to take down the soldiers surrounding the carriage, but as usual, he misunderstood the meaning and, by a twist of fate, the effect was outstanding.

"Stop!" The elderly voice echoed throughout the hall.

An elderly man with white hair but a robust physique strode up to Xiao Yi's carriage, and the surrounding Tianling Envoy warriors immediately made way for him.

The head of the Takatsukasa family, Takatsukasa Susumu.

"Lord Narukami, I have only two questions, please be sure to answer them."

"Keep it brief, I'll answer truthfully," Xiao Yi agreed. "I still have to save people here."

"Were the punitive expeditionary force slaughtered by you?"

"No."

"Was Maru... killed in battle?"

Xiao Yi replied seriously, "He sacrificed himself very bravely, exchanging his life for the survival of General Kujo. I believe he was a true samurai."

The head of the Takatsukasa family looked somewhat dejected. Although he disliked the troublemaker in the family, Takatsukasa Maru was, after all, a relative and a child he had watched grow up.