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

At present, there seem to be only two possibilities.

Either she's waging a protracted war for some important goal and can't tell her colleagues, or she's genuinely mentally unstable and is recklessly spending money on worthless land with no economic benefit.

If the truth is the latter, then Seven Stars will need to consider temporarily removing her from the list.

"When did Tianquan become like this?" Xiao Yi asked curiously.

“It’s been a month already,” Ke Qing said.

“A month ago…” Xiao Yi murmured.

During that period of unusual circumstances, Xiao Yi could only think of the terrible things that the chuunibyou girl Miyamoto Tsubasa had done, causing all the demons in the world to be corrupted and sucked into Inazuma...

But what does this have to do with Ningguang's mental instability?

Could it be that Miyamoto Tsubasa, while absorbing the energy, somehow absorbed a certain thought from Tianquan's mind, who was far away in Liyue? That just doesn't make sense!

Although Keqing and Ningguang often disagree, they have been colleagues for many years, and the cat-headed girl is also very anxious about this matter.

Xiao Yi sensed Ke Qing's emotions, but felt that given his current status, it was not appropriate for him to ask too many questions about the internal situation of Liyue.

He decided to change the subject and chat about random things to ease the tension at the table.

By this time, it was completely dark. It wasn't that the setting sun had enveloped Liyue Harbor, but rather that dense cumulonimbus clouds had gathered, obscuring the sun that was about to set.

Is it going to rain tonight?

Xiao Yi jokingly remarked, "I wonder how well the lightning protection measures at Qunyu Pavilion are? Look at the dark clouds now. If a bolt of lightning were to strike Qunyu Pavilion right now, wouldn't that be extremely dangerous?"

Normally, this sentence would be taken as a joke and laughed off, and then the topic would become lighter, and he and Keqing would start talking about other things.

Unexpectedly, the world seemed to be playing a trick on Xiao Yi, giving him a huge surprise.

A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, and because the Jade Pavilion was located at a very high position, the loud noise and the light arrived almost simultaneously.

Rumble!!!

Based on Xiao Yi's words, Ke Qing was so frightened that she dropped her chopsticks.

Chapter 99 The Fox Girl I Live With

Seeing Ke Qing's panicked reaction, coupled with the sudden lightning, Xiao Yi immediately realized that he had frightened her.

Either she feels she's out of control, or she feels she's being threatened; in any case, if she doesn't explain herself quickly, things will get a little complicated.

Xiao Yi picked up the chopsticks that had rolled to his feet and handed them to Ke Qing across the table. With a peaceful smile, he explained, "This lightning is just a normal natural phenomenon. Don't be afraid. It wasn't an attack I attracted or anything. It's just a coincidence."

Ke Qing put away her chopsticks with some skepticism, and at the same time, another unexpected event occurred...

Rumble!!!

A bolt of lightning struck from the sky, hitting the ground not far from the table. Startled, Ke Qing jumped up from her chair as if she had seen a cucumber.

At this moment, Xiao Yi finally sensed something was wrong. The lightning element in the air seemed to be deflected by some force and concentrated towards the direction of Qunyu Pavilion.

Just as he placed his hand on the pendant on his chest, intending to unleash its power to investigate the flow of elements, Keqing interrupted him.

"It's too dangerous here, the banquet must be stopped for now." She gestured for Xiao Yi to leave, "Go back to the hotel and rest first, I'll send someone to bring you food."

Xiao Yi released his hand from his chest: "Do as you please."

Led by Ke Qing, he left Qunyu Pavilion and arrived at a high-class hotel for VIPs. The hotel had already been cleared out by the General Affairs Department, and the entire hotel was only for Xiao Yi to stay in. Even diplomats like the Shenli siblings stayed elsewhere.

The inn was surrounded by dozens of elite Thousand Rock Army soldiers, so its security was undoubtedly top-notch—Liyue would not lose to any country in terms of showing sincerity.

Ke Qing escorted Xiao Yi downstairs. Looking up at the gray sky, she sensed something was wrong but couldn't quite put her finger on it. Her expression turned serious, and she could only say goodbye to Xiao Yi and leave.

Following the servant's lead, Xiao Yi headed towards his room. As always, he didn't want to cause too much trouble for others. After finding out the exact location of the room, he asked the servant for the key and then told him to go about his business before walking to his room alone.

He played with the key, which seemed to be made of pure gold, marveling at the unique craftsmanship of the Liyue people, before inserting the key into the beautifully patterned lock.

Click, the door opened, and the spacious interior of the room, resembling a medium-sized swimming pool, came into view.

However, Xiao Yi stopped marveling at the attentive service because he saw something surprising.

The pink-haired shrine maiden held a gohei (a type of shrine offering), and at her feet were drawn runes that occupied half the room. At the key point of the runes were placed candles. She slowly shook the ethereal gohei, and the candlelight flickered with her movements, as if she were performing an ancient and mysterious ritual.

Xiao Yi narrowed his eyes and asked with a helpless smile, "Master, what do you do for a living?"

Yae no Miko put away the gohei, looked at Xiao Yi who entered with a mocking gaze, and twitched her ears.

"This trip to Liyue was fraught with hidden anomalies, and you, oblivious adopted son of Narukami, didn't notice a thing," Yae no Tamamo said with a smile, showing no mercy. "Who knows, one day you might suffer a great loss because of this!"

An unusual situation?!

Xiao Yi roughly understood and spread his hands to answer, "Do you mean Gan Yu is faking illness? I also have my doubts about that, but even if it is true, we need to find evidence before we expose it. Compared to my marriage contract, the trade agreement is of course more important. We can't afford to break ties with Li Yue right now."

"Hmph, if you only care about Sister Gan Yu, then you're even more superficial than I think." Yae no Miko's expression was like that of a Tibetan fox as she continued to berate Xiao Yi. "Close your eyes and feel the elemental power surging in the earth's veins. Can't you sense something, you slowpoke?"

Following the fox witch's words, Xiao Yi quietly observed the direction of the elemental force's movement.

He discovered a strong lightning element that followed the earth's veins to the inn, specifically directly beneath his room.

From this, we can infer that the thunderstorm in the sky was caused by the residual power of this force.

"Speaking of which, how did you get in with such heavy guards outside?" Xiao Yi asked, puzzled.

“Guess!” Yae no Miko immediately became serious again. “I tried to use a spell to clear the abnormal ley lines below, but I found that the energy was very stable and I couldn’t shake it at all.”

"Wouldn't it be dangerous to leave it unattended?" Xiao Yi asked.

“The earth’s veins have the ability to purify elements on their own, so they should dissipate over time, and the probability of them erupting is infinitely close to zero.” The fox looked at the talisman on the ground. “I just didn’t like this energy, so I sneaked into your room to try to get rid of it.”

Xiao Yi thought to himself: This fox is so careless in his actions...

The divine child twitched his ears again: "Tsk tsk, because of this lightning elemental energy, all the hairs on my ears have stood up."

Just then, Qianyan Army suddenly pushed open the door and entered.

The soldier at the door held a tray in his left hand with several plates of exquisite snacks on it, but his gaze was not on the food he was carrying; instead, he quickly scanned the interior of the room.

He heard a woman's voice just as he arrived at the door.

If, during the marriage alliance between the two countries, the groom were to have an affair at an inn in Liyue Harbor, it would not only be a loss of face for Lord Ganyu, but also for the dignity of the entire nation of Liyue.

But no matter how he looked, he couldn't find any trace of a woman. Xiao Yi was sitting in the center of the room, holding a pink, fluffy little fox in his arms.

"Sorry, I forgot to knock before coming in." The soldier put down the wooden tray, then asked with a puzzled look, "Excuse me, what about this animal, and the incantations on the ground...?"

"The rare pink fox of Inazuma is a pet," Xiao Yi quickly added. "As for the runes on the ground, as the adopted son of Narukami-sama, it shouldn't be a problem for me to add a touch of ceremony to my resting place, right?"

"No problem, of course no problem." The soldier retreated towards the door. "The food is hot, please enjoy it quickly, and let us know if you need more."

Xiao Yi nodded with a smile.

Click, the door closed.

He threw the fox away and rushed to the door, locked it, then moved a chair to block the door and piled up a lot of miscellaneous items on it before he could finally pick up the tray with peace of mind.

“I’ve had enough good food today.” He looked at the pink-furred fox who had returned to human form. “Miss Yae no Miko, would you like some more? After you finish this, leave through the window, or my purity will be stained with mud.”

Yae no Miko did not answer, and slowly picked up the props on the ground. Not long after, a strong wind blew outside the window, and the flashes of lightning became more frequent.

Rumble—splash—

The moment the fox finished packing, a torrential downpour began, sweeping across the entire Liyue Harbor, while thunder roared incessantly as accompaniment to the downpour.

"Oh dear, it's raining!" Yae no Miko asked, feigning trouble. "As a gentleman, would you like to take me back to my lodgings, or would you like me to stay the night?"

Xiao Yi felt utterly helpless.

Chapter 100 The Jade Pavilion Falls Down

Sending the fox back now would be tantamount to openly telling Chiiwa Jun that there really is a woman in Narukami's room.

Even if they manage to avoid the soldiers, they can't escape the torrential rain. In the end, even if they manage to return safely to Yae no Miko's residence, what will Ayato and Ayaka think when they see themselves and the fox returning from outside soaking wet in the middle of the night?

In any case, social death is inevitable.

Why not let the goddess stay here for the night, and release her back into nature in the form of a pink fox tomorrow morning? The clever girl can come up with a reason for not returning home all night.

This is good for both sides.

"There's no other way, you'll have to stay here for one night," Xiao Yi said helplessly. "But if anyone comes, you must turn back into a pink little fox."

As he made the request, Xiao Yi placed the tray in front of Yae. The shrine maiden nodded happily in agreement, then sat down on the ground to eat, picking up the fried tofu from the plate.

"Hmm, hmm!" Yae no Miko said with a happy expression, "Liyue's tofu-making technique, although slightly different from Inazuma's, has its own unique flavor."

Xiao Yi paid no attention to the fox's gourmet assessment. He focused on the flow of elemental energy underground while pondering how to sleep that night.

First of all, although it is a single room, the bed is definitely big enough to fit him and Yae, plus Raiden General.

This means that even if the divine child doesn't revert to his fox form, they can still safely get through the rainy night without having to squeeze in.

Nevertheless, he was still a married man and had to maintain his composure. Even if Yae no Miko returned to her fox form, he could not share a bed with her.

Xiao Yi looked at the bathtub in the corner of the room.

Considering that Inatsume people enjoy taking baths, the hotel has specially placed a large bathtub in front of the window, allowing guests to enjoy the brightly lit night view while taking a bath.

And the bathtub was unusually large.

Xiao Yi roughly estimated that if he stuffed all the diplomats who came to Liyue this time, Ayato, Ayaka, and the Divine Child into the bathtub, plus his own bathwater, he wouldn't drown.

The method is now clear!

The fox sleeps in the bed, while I sleep in the bathtub.

After figuring out how to rest, Xiao Yi looked at Yae no Miko. The fox woman was still silently savoring each dish. As the delicious food entered her mouth, her ears would twitch, as if responding to the deliciousness of the snacks on the plate.

He suddenly realized that although Yae no Miko was cunning and occasionally sharp-tongued, and he mostly treated her as a mount or assistant, the sly fox was actually quite cute as long as she kept quiet and didn't say anything out of line...

Xiao Yi shook his head to clear the thought from his mind. He couldn't have such thoughts of disloyalty to Gan Yu. His next step was to heal Gan Yu and then spend a thousand years with the gentle and considerate Ye Yang.

Fox spirits are terrifying; I almost fell for them!

He shifted his gaze to the window, no longer staring at Yae no Miko.

The view from the window of the upscale hotel was expansive. Xiao Yi could see streaks of "cracks" cutting across the sky. These were intense thunderstorms caused by the earth's vein lightning elements. The loud noises soon reached his location, causing the windows to vibrate and buzz.

With each lightning strike, he could clearly feel the energy beneath the earth decreasing. It seemed the fox witch was right; the ley lines had the ability to purify excess elements.

However, the reason why this energy was gathered at the bottom of his residence was that it was so concentrated that even the shrine priest could not remove it.