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

Forget it, no need for such a formality.

Ding! ! !

The gemstones reached their brilliance, Xiao Yi's eyes shone with a bright purple light, and his gray bangs gradually turned purple, radiating an incredibly strong lightning elemental force.

The overwhelming aura caused Beidou to slurp her noodles halfway through her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at Xiao Yi. In addition, the dazzling lightning even attracted the attention of the other warship crew members.

"About ten seconds," Xiao Yi muttered to himself.

Don't go all out, avoid hurting your teammates, and try to keep the octopus intact. Finish it off in ten seconds!

Sensing the elemental force and the oppressive feeling, the octopus identified Xiao Yi as its primary enemy, raised all its tentacles high, and attacked the ship where Xiao Yi was.

In an instant, the dense tentacles pressed down like a wall, overwhelming everything in their path.

The escort ship hurriedly turned to escape the attack range, but Xiao Yi's ship continued to fearlessly head towards the tentacle wall, as if to compete with it to see who was tougher.

boom!!!

A halberd formed from lightning appeared in Xiao Yi's hand. He transformed into a bolt of lightning and soared into the air, but instead of destroying the tentacles, he plunged into the sea like lightning.

He planned to strike at the heart of the matter and attack the octopus itself.

A muffled sound came from the depths of the ocean, and the tentacles exposed above the sea surface flashed with electricity, but there was not a trace of lightning element flowing with the seawater to damage the ship.

In an instant, a fragrance spread for a radius of a kilometer. The exhausted tentacles drooped back to the sea surface, creating a spectacular wave. Then, a huge octopus emerged from the sea.

It took a total of 9.58 seconds to kill the sea monster, and the udon noodles were still piping hot.

Xiao Yi leaped out of the sea and returned to the deck. Ling Hua, who still hadn't eaten any noodles, immediately went to greet him and dried his wet hair with a towel.

Beidou brought the bowl and chopsticks to Xiao Yi, gave him a thumbs up and praised him highly: "To be honest, I asked you to demonstrate your power before because I was suspicious. Now it seems that I was blind to Tianheng Mountain. Ming Shenzi, you are truly amazing!"

As she praised him, she glanced at the gem on Xiao Yi's chest. The moment the light disappeared, the lightning element and the oppressive feeling vanished.

"Lord Narukami, I've prepared chili powder." Ayaka put away the towel and took out a jar of seasonings. "Eat something spicy to prevent catching a cold."

Xiao Yi smiled and replied, "Thank you. Could you add a little more for me?"

Linghua nodded obediently and walked to the chair left for Xiao Yi, adding seasoning to the udon noodles on the chair.

The frigate approached the octopus that had surfaced, extracting its essence as a delicious food supply.

"Such a big octopus must have delicious tentacles," Beidou said, eager to try it.

"Anyway, let's just eat it and be done with it." Xiao Yi agreed, smelling the aroma in the air. "Let's keep some of the best parts and give them to Gan Yu as a gift."

"Haha, you really love your fiancée!" Beidou said, holding a bowl of udon noodles in one hand and patting Xiao Yi on the back with the other. "You've never even met her before, and you don't even know her."

"Actually, we've met before," Xiao Yi said with a smile.

Not far away, Ayaka Kamisato was adding seasonings, but she was actually listening absentmindedly to Xiao Yi and Beidou's conversation, and before she knew it, she had already poured half a bottle down.

Chapter 92 Sweet and Carved

After several days at sea, the fleet was finally about to dock.

Although there was some fog at sea, obscuring any trace of land, the seagulls flying around the ship proved that it wouldn't be long before they reached the shore.

The original speed would have been faster, but Beidou wanted to transport the whole octopus back to Ligang, so the speed was slowed down a lot. The escort ships in front had to slow down and wait for the supply ships that had slowed down because they were towing the octopus.

Of course, Hokuto would only do this with Narukami's tacit approval.

At this moment, Xiao Yi stood at the bow of the Death Star, looking up at the white seagulls circling overhead. These big guys who came to the dock to buy fries would swarm around when they saw a ship about to dock, trying to get a share of the pie.

“I was shocked when I first heard your real name.” Beidou approached him from behind. “I never expected that Narukami’s adopted son would be from Liyue.”

“Actually, my background is far more complicated than you imagine,” Xiao Yi joked, then changed the subject, “There’s something I’m particularly puzzled about, something I forgot to ask before: why are the crew so keen on dragging the octopus back? They could have just cut off a few pieces of meat.”

Beidou laughed frankly, "Haha, this is probably the romance of sailors. Transporting such a huge thing back to port will earn them admiring glances from everyone, so it's not a wasted trip."

"Moreover, the physical evidence is right here. Please, storyteller, spread the word a little. The story of Thor's adopted son slaying the sea monster will become a popular tale. I'm sure it won't be long before the people of Liyue accept you from the bottom of their hearts. After all, everyone admires heroes."

"Besides these, many sailors like to offer the good things they have caught along the way to the Emperor after returning home, to thank the spirit of the gods in heaven for protecting them during the voyage. The treasures they have caught on this voyage are the best of the best, and nothing dares to claim second place. They are suitable for offering to the gods."

Even though the emperor has passed away, this activity has not stopped and will continue to be passed down.

After all, the people of Liyue worship the gods not to please them, but to bring comfort to their own souls; the more dangerous their work, the more likely they are to do so.

As for the feelings of the gods, that's not so important. The emperor is still dead, and he won't jump out to give a score to the offerings or anything like that.

Speaking of offerings, Miss Ying personally cooked the food and asked Xiao Yi to give it to Zhongli in Liyue as a gift, adding that you should eat it yourself before it's given away.

He knew Thor meant well, but judging by actions rather than intentions, this behavior was tantamount to murder.

However, rather than eating it myself, I'd rather feed it to Mr. Zhongli; he seems to be quite robust.

That thing is still kept in the storage room of the shogunate's main ship, inside a large cauldron specially prepared for it.

Xiao Yi didn't dare to open the seal and peek, for fear of polluting his eyes.

A few minutes later, Xiao Yi saw the port and the magnificent city built along the sea and mountains.

Liyue Harbor.

More than ten ships were docked in the designated area, and the sailors began to unload cargo. Xiao Yi specifically instructed the porters to handle the large, luxurious-looking cauldron with care.

Before long, a large crowd of onlookers gathered around, commenting on the enormous sea monster at the stern of the ship.

However, the crowd could not get close to observe, because the Chiiwa Army had already formed a human wall along the shore to clear a spacious area for the upcoming VIPs.

The wooden planks stretched from the Death Star to the ground. Xiao Yi and Bei Dou walked side by side at the front, with the rest of the group following closely behind, stepping onto the vast land of Liyue.

The diplomats responsible for welcoming them stood in a row, seemingly having been waiting for a long time. Xiao Yi's sharp eyes immediately spotted the girl with the purple cat-head hairstyle at the head of the group.

Wanting to be greeted by seven stars in a line is probably a very extravagant idea, since others still have to work during the day.

However, for the busiest workaholic among the Seven Stars, Ke Qingkong of Yuheng Star, to take the time to personally greet guests is already a great gift in a sense.

Standing next to Keqing was an old man with white hair, who must be Tian Shu, one of the Seven Stars.

Xiao Yi thought to himself: Two important figures? It seems that Liyue is paying great attention to this diplomatic mission.

However, although Yuheng and Tianshu appeared calm and composed, they were actually somewhat unsettled.

A few days ago, when Keqing told the Seven Stars the truth about the mistaken marriage, they immediately held a meeting to discuss how to deal with the consequences of this error.

As a result, for some reason, Tianquanxing Ningguang was busy with other things and did not attend the meeting, so there were a total of seven people including Ganyu.

The group decided to vote on Gan Yu's future. The two options were to pretend to be crazy and fool her, as Ke Qing suggested, or to let Gan Yu get married naturally.

With Gan Yu abstaining from voting, the total vote count was 4 to 2, leading to the conclusion that Keqing's plan should be followed to deceive Narutoko, while maintaining cooperation between the two countries as much as possible.

This is an extremely risky move. The best-case scenario is that Narukami's adopted son gives up on marrying the silly girl, goes on vacation for a few days, returns to Inazuma, and manages to sign the trade contract as scheduled.

The worst-case scenario is that the truth is exposed, and Narutoko flies into a rage...

Ke Qing took this welcome very seriously. She wasn't usually one to flatter, but since the trouble originated from her, she had to honestly take the blame.

Feeling uneasy, she feigned happiness, walked up to Xiao Yi with a beaming smile, and recited the lines she had prepared beforehand:

"I am Keqing, Yuheng of the Seven Stars. Your esteemed guest has come from afar. The tedious sea voyage must have left you no time to savor the finer things in the world. I have already reserved private rooms at Liuli Pavilion and Xinyue Pavilion. You may choose a restaurant according to your own taste, and I will accompany you for your meal."

"If you would like to try both dishes, please go to Yujingtai. I will have the two restaurants send you the freshest food. It is located on a high ground with a beautiful environment and flower beds in full bloom. We can enjoy the flowers and the view of Ligang while we dine."

Xiao Yi was stunned.

This Ke Qing is different from the one I remember!

Logically speaking, tasks like receiving guests shouldn't be assigned to a workaholic girl. As the Seven Stars who values ​​efficiency the most, Keqing might discuss contracts with guests at the dinner table, quickly resolve the issue, and then politely take her leave to complete other tasks...

In short, the guest experience won't be very good.

But the girl in front of him not only tried to please him, but also personally accompanied him to dinner, which was both a waste of time and money—was the sun rising in the west?

Xiao Yi had a bold guess: Could it be that Li Yue is having a grand sale, offering Gan Yu as a gift and Ke Qing as a prize?

This makes the problem easier to explain. Since he is also her fiancé, Ke Qing took time out of her busy schedule to get to know her fiancé through a dinner party.

It's both sweet and hard-earned; there's no such thing as a free lunch! Even Xiao Yi himself couldn't quite believe it.

Moreover, it seems very strange that Gan Yu didn't come to greet her. Is it because the legal wife wants to maintain an air of mystery?

In fact, Keqing is making amends for her mistakes.

The old man next to Ke Qing spoke up: "I am Tian Shu, one of the Seven Stars..."

Xiao Yi grasped the old man's hand and shook it: "Uncle Tian, ​​hello, I've heard so much about you."

Uncle Tian and Ke Qing were somewhat surprised, as Naruto had done his research beforehand and was very polite.

Keqing pointed to the carriage not far away and said gently, "Please get in the carriage, Narukami-ko. Let's go for our meal right away."

Xiao Yi nodded slightly, thinking to himself: This unique impatience must be Ke Qing.

Chapter 93: Keqing's Favor

There was nothing he could do since he couldn't see Gan Yu for the time being, so he had no choice but to accept Ke Qing's invitation and go to the members-only restaurant she had booked.

As Xiao Yi stepped into the luxurious carriage, Ke Qing followed closely behind, but he noticed that the old man had no intention of entering the carriage. Xiao Yi looked at Uncle Tian with slight confusion.

"Aren't you going to eat?" he asked.

"I'm not very good at chatting with distinguished guests; I'm much better at fishing," Uncle Tian said with a smile. "I'll stay at the dock and fish; whatever I catch I can bring you for an extra meal, how about that?"

"It's quite a special gift, a pleasant surprise," Xiao Yi replied with a smile. "I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to taste fish caught by Qi Xing himself."

"You flatter me, Narutoko," said Uncle Ten.

The carriage door closed immediately, and Xiao Yi sat down in the soft seat, gazing at Ke Qing sitting opposite him.

Ke Qing remained silent, observing Xiao Yi in a quiet manner.

After staring at each other for a moment, the carriage started moving.

Xiao Yi looked out the window toward the port and saw that Linghua and the others had gotten into another car.

Given their status, it would have been ordinary diplomats who greeted their companions, so this action was perfectly reasonable.

Xiao Yi continued to look at Ke Qing. The quiet atmosphere made him a little uneasy. He waited silently for Ke Qing to speak.

Unexpectedly, Keqing shared similar thoughts with him and was filled with guilt for deceiving Narukamiko. She couldn't think of any way to face this guest who had come from afar, except in Mandarin.

On the other side, Xiao Yi wanted to ask about Gan Yu, but the current atmosphere made it difficult for him to speak. In the end, he decided to ask Gan Yu where she was during the banquet.