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

Xiao Yi and Gan Yu jumped off the carriage, only to find a strange device by the stream not far away.

A mechanical wheel, shaped like a cross, was placed on the riverbank. A plump carp was tied to each of the four ends, with only two ends able to be submerged in the water.

Immediately afterwards, the machine started, causing the cross to rotate at high speed, and the fish were continuously submerged in the stream and then brought out again.

Chapter 116 Immeasurable Merit in Releasing Life

The high-speed rotating machine carried four fish, repeatedly entering and leaving the stream, splashing water onto the muddy ground a few meters away, and incidentally weeding the wild grass.

"Release them at the speed of light..." Xiao Yi exclaimed, "Immeasurable merit, immeasurable merit indeed!"

Xiao Yi and Gan Yu approached the amazing integrated release and capture device and saw a middle-aged man sitting on a chair next to it, staring at the machine that was operating like a waterwheel.

Because of the thick fog and the eye-catching special machine, Xiao Yi and Gan Yu only realized there were people next to them when they got closer.

Gan Yu recalled for a moment and whispered, "I know him. I think he used to be a member of a treasure-hunting gang. After being arrested, he retired from the business and became a merchant in Liyue Harbor."

Xiao Yi pondered, "Does he know you?"

"There's a very high chance we don't know each other," Gan Yu replied immediately.

In an era where information dissemination relies primarily on text and oral communication, and high-definition images such as photos and videos are lacking, the public's understanding of important figures is still limited to their names. Therefore, Keqing preferred to travel incognito, pretending to be an ordinary person and blending into the community.

Gan Yu, as Yue Haiting's secretary, usually buries herself in her work and rarely meets with people outside of her duties unless she has a specific task. She is more low-key than Qi Xing.

Xiao Yi approached the middle-aged man observing the machinery. Gan Yu, unaware of her companion's intentions, silently followed behind him.

"Hello," Xiao Yi greeted.

The sudden greeting startled the man, causing the chair beneath him to tip backward. He tried to run away but nearly slipped and fell into the babbling brook, nearly releasing himself back into the water.

"You scared the hell out of me! I thought the Fools were here to collect a debt!" the man cursed as he sat back in his chair. "And who are you guys? Why are you here to mess with me for no reason!"

Xiao Yi saw a number made of fire elements above the man's head, short and concise: 5.

He thought to himself: A combat power of less than 5...

However, he was there to gather intelligence, not to fight, so there was no need to stoop to their level.

Xiao Yi forced a friendly expression and fabricated a lie to introduce himself: "We are tourists from Inazuma visiting Liyue. We got lost in the fog and ended up here. May I ask what the fog and the numbers above our heads are all about? And this strange machine..."

Before Xiao Yi could finish speaking, the middle-aged man's tone became even more agitated, and he continued to curse, "Inazuma, Inazuma, it's Inazuma again! You bunch of closed-off island fishing bumpkins, if it weren't for your Narukami-ko, would I have ended up in this situation?"

"Narukami-ko, what's going on?" Gan Yu tilted her head and turned to look at her companion.

Xiao Yi shrugged, indicating that he didn't know either, and then winked, silently rebuking the Liyue people for blaming everything on Naruto.

"What's going on? This is serious!" the middle-aged man complained to himself. "The Inazuma isolation order is about to be lifted, and I've purchased several cargo ships' worth of wine from Mondstadt. I'm planning to take advantage of the lifting of the isolation order and sell these wines at high prices to the Inazuma country bumpkins who have never tasted good wine."

Xiao Yi had already guessed what the other party wanted to say.

Ultimately, it was because Narutoko blew up Lady Ningguang's Jade Pavilion that trade between the two countries came to an end, leaving the merchants unable to sell all the wine they had painstakingly stockpiled.

"Even if that guy is proven innocent in the end, it will take several months to resume business. By then, all my premium wine will have turned into vinegar!" the middle-aged man gritted his teeth and angrily rebuked. "Damn Thor's adopted son, couldn't he have waited until the agreement was signed before the marriage?"

"And I heard that not long after he went to jail, he was kidnapped by two women. He's got quite the luck with women, I'm so envious... no, I'm so angry!!!"

"Kidnapped"? Gan Yu blinked.

Xiao Yi remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was extremely pleased. It seemed that Ayato Ayaka's operation had been very successful. Now that Miss Kage had arrived, he could take advantage of the rumors to make a big splash.

Gan Yu continued, "Then what about this machine? You just mentioned the Fools, didn't you?"

“Machine? Of course it’s related to this fog.” The middle-aged man spread his hands helplessly. “After the Qunyu Pavilion collapsed, a thick fog spread out, and numbers began to appear above people’s heads.”

"The next day, the unified dream of the number above his head saw a mysterious guy who called himself 'Great Righteousness Boundless Heavenly Venerable'. He told people that this number was called 'Justice Value' and that they had to do more good deeds to increase it. People with low Justice Values ​​would be punished and deprived of their luck."

Xiao Yi thought to himself: The mastermind behind this has really bad taste. What kind of bizarre name is this, "Great Righteousness and Boundless Heavenly Venerable"? Does he dare to challenge me, the righteous and chivalrous Mr. Xiao?

The reason why he and the Traveler's numbers are so high has now been explained: Xiao Yi rescued Inazuma from the evil spirit's calamity, and Ying helped out everywhere during the journey, doing both big and small things, so their initial justice values ​​were ridiculously high.

As for the fact that neither he nor Ying, who had numbers above their heads, received any dreams, it's probably because they were sleeping inside a barrier.

Nevertheless, what is the mastermind's purpose? To concretize "justice" and create a beautiful world where everyone is a good person?

The middle-aged man, unaware that Xiao Yi was deep in thought, vented his anger by cursing: "Not long after, I discovered that merchants generally have a low sense of justice. That damned righteous heavenly being actually thinks that 'no merchant is honest,' and assumes that all merchants are morally inferior."

Xiao Yi touched his chin.

It seems that the specific calculation of the justice value is artificially defined, or at least some special algorithm exists.

"I had a 4 on my head, and the warehouse caught fire not long after the fog appeared. I was completely plunged into the lowest point of my life," the middle-aged man said dejectedly. "I finally understand that if I want to make a comeback, I have to raise my 'justice value'."

"Then, Laozi heard that the Fools were selling this, 'Boundless Merit for Releasing Life,' made by the technology of the Winter Kingdom, which can automatically increase justice points. So he took out a loan to buy it, hoping to use this thing to increase the number above his head."

"Will it work?" Xiao Yi wondered, feeling that the man had been deceived.

"Of course it works. I've been releasing animals all day. Yesterday it was 4, but now it's risen to 5."

The man looked at the operating machinery.

"The Fools said that when the wheel rises up and scoops the fish out of the water, it is considered 'labor' in capturing food, which can increase justice points slightly. When the wheel falls down and puts the fish back into the water, it is considered 'releasing' out of pity for the weak, which can also increase justice points."

"Furthermore, the Celestial Venerable told us in a dream that the function of exchanging Justice Points for Mora and Mora for Justice Points will be added in the future, reducing the wealth gap between the rich and the poor..."

Xiao Yi scratched his head.

He was increasingly unable to understand the mastermind's thinking. Besides, the program seemed to have many bugs that could be exploited, giving the fools an opportunity to make money.

No, it seems that the Fools and that so-called Great Righteous Heavenly Venerable are in a cooperative relationship!

The middle-aged man waved his hand like he was shooing away flies: "Get the hell out of here! I'm out of my mind. I'm wasting my breath talking so much nonsense to you. It won't add any Mora to my pocket, it'll just make me thirsty!"

The meritorious act of releasing life continued, and Xiao Yi and his companion, having gathered enough clues, stopped asking questions and left.

Not long after, a figure with a red mask on his head and a long crimson scarf around his neck appeared behind the middle-aged man.

Chapter 117 An Arrow to the Knee

Even with the thick fog, it did not affect the Kirin girl's ability to find her way. Over the long years, her long, black-stockinged legs had traversed every inch of Liyue.

After wandering around, Xiao Yi followed Gan Yu to the fields on the edge of the village. He looked down at the glass lilies at his feet.

“If it weren’t for the fog, the fields would be covered in flowers, which would be very beautiful,” Gan Yu said with a smile. “The fields of Qingce Village are full of rare and beautiful plants.”

"We came here to dispel the thick fog," Xiao Yi said without hesitation, then asked with a puzzled look, "But what's next? Where are we going?"

Just then, a hunched figure walked towards the two of them. Xiao Yi became alert, but Gan Yu still had a smile on her face.

“Hello, Mr. Hanfeng,” she said.

The old man finally emerged from the fog and came before the two of them.

Hanfeng, the most famous blacksmith shop in Liyue Harbor, and the former shopkeeper of Hanfeng Ironware.

The reason he is called the ex is because he has been retired for a long time, his son manages and operates the shop, and he lives alone in Qingcezhuang.

“Miss Gan Yu, the world is not very peaceful these days!” The old man looked at Xiao Yi beside him. “If I’m not mistaken, this must be Naruko of Inazuma, right?”

"Are you willing to believe Mr. Xiao Yi and me?" Gan Yu didn't explain further, but said sincerely, "Everything we've done is to dispel this fog."

“Dispel the fog…” Han Feng looked up at the white sky and remained silent for a long time before speaking, “Tell me, what do you want this old man to do? I will do my best to help.”

"Can you forge the Inazuma sword?" Xiao Yi asked. "Also, there's Miss Gan Yu's bow."

"Inazuma katana? To be honest, I can even forge the Favonius sword from Mondstadt." Hanfeng turned and walked towards his temporary workshop. "Please follow me, both of you. Choose your preferred ore or steel, and I will do my best to forge the best weapons for you."

Xiao Yi and Gan Yu followed the old man to the small wooden house next to his residence, which was a workshop for forging and refining.

The workshop entrance and the tools inside were very clean, which showed that Han Feng usually did some handicrafts for the villagers, such as repairing hoes or helping with other things.

The old man pulled over a small cart and dumped the ore inside onto the ground like unloading cargo, allowing the two guests to choose whatever they wanted.

Soon, the knowledgeable Gan Yu and the sharp-eyed Xiao Yi both found suitable ores for forging bows and samurai swords, and entrusted them to the old man to help him forge them.

The furnace, still warm from the heat, burst into flames again. Xiao Yi and Gan Yu wanted to help, but Han Feng stopped them and asked them to wait outside.

Seeing the hunched old man pick up the forging hammer, as if he had become a different person, with sharp eyes and prominent arm muscles, Xiao Yi had no choice but to let him work alone.

Upon discovering a pile of miscellaneous items at the entrance of the workshop hut, resembling scraps and waste from forging, Xiao Yi, feeling utterly bored, started rummaging through the pile of junk to see if he could find anything interesting.

Soon, he found a hunting bow that looked cheap among a pile of scrap metal.

"Grandpa, may I borrow your hunting bow to play with?" Xiao Yi asked politely.

“Take them if you want, they’re all junk anyway,” came the reply from the workshop, louder than the sound of hammering. “There are arrows in the pile of junk too, they should be under the bow.”

General Lei Dian is skilled in all kinds of martial arts. Xiao Yi was originally able to benefit from using the archery skills of the goddess Inazuma. However, since his body was severely damaged, he can no longer use even the general's martial arts freely.

Perhaps the divine arts have an invisible influence on the body; now, without the support of the amethyst, Xiao Yi's body can no longer perform the divine martial arts.

In short, he is currently an amateur who doesn't know how to use a bow. Compared to Gan Yu next to him, he is probably better at using a bow and arrow than any random village hunter.

Therefore, Xiao Yi couldn't possibly search for arrows. The fog was so thick, and he was a complete novice; it would be terrible if a stray arrow accidentally injured someone.

He decided to have a go at it and put the bow back.

Xiao Yi drew his cheap hunting bow to its full extent, then released it, firing a single shot into the air.

Bang! ! !

While Xiao Yi was playing with the bow, Gan Yu was standing there in a daze. The loud noise attracted her attention. She frowned slightly and snatched the cheap hunting bow from Xiao Yi's hand. Then, realizing her rudeness, she immediately returned it with both hands.

Just as a sniper can't stand someone fiddling with their scope, an archer also has their Achilles' heel: an amateur firing a bowstring without an arrow, causing the weapon to bear all the potential energy and suffer immense damage. Even the gentle Gan Yu couldn't tolerate such a sound.

By the time she realized her mistake, the bow was already in her hand.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Xiao Yi." Gan Yu handed the weapon back with both hands. "I was being rude by accident, please forgive me."

Xiao Yi's heart was surging: It was just like when she snatched the bow, that kind of mature and elegant Ye Yang, that's the kind of woman who should be my lord!

Overwhelmed with excitement, he took the bow and said gently, "You did nothing wrong. I just let my hand slip. By the way, could you teach me how to use a bow and arrow?"

Gan Yu found an arrow in the junkyard, handed it to Xiao Yi, and walked behind him. Just like when he taught Ling Hua swordsmanship to fight against Miyamoto Jiro, Gan Yu adjusted Xiao Yi's posture from behind, making him nock the arrow, draw the bow, and maintain the posture of shooting the eagle.

"That's about it. This is my Flowing Sky Shooting Technique. I don't know if it's suitable for you." She specifically instructed, "Don't let go of your fingers. With the thick fog, the arrow will fly very far when shot from this angle. It would be terrible if it accidentally hit someone."

Xiao Yi no longer had the energy to think about swordsmanship. The faint milky scent of Gan Yu, the feeling of her hair brushing against his cheek, and her soft voice made it impossible for his brain to function properly. At this moment, it would be better to think about how to suppress the flow of blood.

Suddenly, the cheap bow, which had been fired without firing, reached its limit and made a clicking sound.

Then the bow broke in two, and incredibly, just before it broke, the bowstring actually shot the arrow out.

Something terrible has happened!!!