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

Once the former treasure-hunting team started talking, he began to recount his story at length:

“I am an orphan, without parents or money. If I don’t hang out with those tomb raiders, I will starve to death on the streets. I have been working as a handyman for the tomb raiding gang since I was a child, doing dirty and hard work. I rely on the money they give me to buy books and study hard, hoping to pass the imperial examinations in Liyue Harbor and turn my life around.”

"My hard work paid off. I got good grades and qualified for a position in the General Affairs Department. But then a rich young man interfered and took my place. He was rich and powerful, and I couldn't fight back..."

"There was no other way. To make a living, I had to return to the treasure-hunting gang. I used the knowledge I had learned over the years to concoct potions and explore tombs, becoming a complete member of the treasure-hunting gang. My language habits and style of doing things started to resemble those of the treasure-hunting gang."

“One day, my companions kidnapped a young lady from Liyue Harbor, wanting to exchange her for ransom from her father. She was in poor health and looked sickly, so the brothers entrusted her to my care, because I was the only intellectual who knew how to make medicine.”

"It was the first time I, a humble person, had spoken to a beautiful city girl and felt gentleness for the first time. She did not look down on me because of my status, but spoke to me as an equal and thanked me for preparing the medicine for her—that was the first time in my life I had been thanked by someone."

"Only in front of her do I feel like a human being, a dignified person."

Hearing this, Xiao Yi could roughly guess what would happen next: Lu Renjia would be rescued by the young lady, secretly let her go, and then get into trouble and leave the treasure-stealing group, etc.

Lu Renjia raised his gloved hand, wiped his forehead, and continued telling his story:

"Not long after, I discovered that her illness was getting worse because we were short of medicine and the camp was dirty. Her illness was not getting better at all. So one night I stole my companion's horse and took her back to Liyue Harbor."

(Shadow: Xiao Yi, you guessed right.)

(Xiao Yi: So you were listening to my inner thoughts while telling his story—eavesdropping is wrong!)

(Shadow: But I'm right behind you. You can't help it if you don't want to hear it. The sound is coming with the wind.)

Lu Renjia continued:

“My accomplices have forgiven me. They have already received money from the young lady’s family, but they just don’t intend to let her go. I let the young lady go on my own. They only lost the opportunity to party all night. Considering that my knowledge is irreplaceable, they did not punish or expel me.”

"Later, the young lady married a wealthy young man from Liyue Harbor. I didn't think much of it, because only a marriage between equals could bring her happiness, until... until I found out that her fiancé was the guy who took my place in the official position!"

The sudden reversal almost made Xiao Yi exclaim "Holy crap!"

“A complete tragedy,” Sara murmured.

Xiangling blinked her teary eyes: "The uncle is so pitiful."

"Lulu Lulu," Guoba agreed.

Gan Yu and Ke Qing then began discussing ways to revise the exam procedures to prevent substitution incidents from occurring.

Lu Renjia originally only wanted to tell Xiao Yi the story, but the story traveled with the cold wind of the snow mountain all the way to the end of the procession, and even the last Otsuka clan members heard it clearly.

He sighed heavily, exhaled a puff of white mist, and continued:

“I didn’t pay much attention to what happened after that. I only know that the young lady became pregnant a few days later. Although the child was born safely ten months later, the young lady was weak and sickly and died in childbirth. At the same time, her husband squandered the family fortune in gambling.”

"Due to his gambling addiction, the young lady's husband owed the Northern Bank a large amount of Mora. The foolish creditors repeatedly tried to collect the debt but to no avail, so they killed his entire family to pay off the debt."

"When I arrived at the scene, I found an infant lying among the bloodstains and piles of corpses—the people of Zhidong still have some conscience and did not kill the child."

“I adopted that baby, and I knew that the Treasure Thieves were not a good place to raise children, so I left the Treasure Thieves and went to Liyue Harbor to do business. In the past few years, I have made and lost money. When business is good, I am very successful. When business is bad, Xiaozhen and I live on salted vegetables and steamed buns.”

Xiao Yi knew everything that happened after that.

Lu Renjia intended to sell wine from Monde to Daoqi, but due to the Qunyuge incident, the signing of the trade decree was delayed, causing his wine to stagnate and slowly turn into vinegar in the warehouse.

“I wonder how Xiao Zhen is doing now…” Lu Renjia looked up at the gray sky. “Although she’s unlikely to listen to the crew, I still hope she’ll behave herself.”

"Dad, I'm fine!"

Ta-da!

The group immediately stopped moving forward. Xiao Yi and Lu Renjia at the front hurriedly turned around, while Ke Qing and Gan Yu at the back also stared wide-eyed in surprise.

The most shocked was Xiangling. From the big bag that Guoba was carrying next to her, the head of a little girl with pigtails peeked out, shaking her head and looking around. She shivered a few times because it was too cold, and then crawled back into the warm, thick backpack.

Meanwhile, the sailors on the cargo ship that brought them were frantically searching for them.

"Where is my child? Where is my child?"

"Did it fall into the sea?"

"Go check below deck!"

……

It was too late to turn back now, so they had no choice but to continue on with the little girl. Xiao Zhen somehow managed to get some thick clothes and snow boots that fit her well, so there was no problem keeping her warm.

Moreover, the children had extraordinary energy, running around in and out of the group without affecting the overall progress.

"Uncle Narutoko, tell me a story!" The girl ran up to Xiao Yi. "Don't tell sad stories like Daddy did just now. Sister Xiangling cried."

uncle……

Xiao Yi couldn't find any inspiration for the time being, so he had to find a way to make him give up: "But Uncle only has sad stories, so you'd better not listen to them."

The girl thought for a moment: "I want to hear sad stories too. Tell me one, tell me one!"

Xiao Yi continued his intimidation: "The protagonist dies in the end!"

"I want to hear it too!" the little girl persisted.

Ah this!

Just as Lu Renjia was about to take away the unreasonable Xiao Zhen, Xiao Yi stopped him. Xiao Yi said that he didn't care and that it wouldn't matter if he just said something to appease her.

He couldn't think of anything in a short time, so he had to piece together the scattered thoughts in his head and make up a story that sounded somewhat familiar but whose origin he couldn't recall.

Xiao Yi fabricated a story:

"Once upon a time, there was a great demon king who ruled over many humans. One day, the demon king issued a very harsh policy, and the people suffered terribly, but no one dared to resist."

"Later, a warrior came before the Demon King, who promised to withdraw his harsh laws if the warrior could defeat his subordinates."

"Did the Warriors win in the end?" the girl asked curiously.

"No, the warrior lost to the Demon King's subordinates and was killed by the Demon King. The laws were not changed, and people still live a life of suffering." Xiao Yi told the story with a wicked smile, revealing an ending unsuitable for children. "So it's a sad story—how about it, Xiao Zhen? Do you still want to hear Uncle Naruko tell more stories?"

Unexpectedly, the girl did not back down, but instead began to seriously consider the story.

Finally, she innocently said, "The hero died so tragically. Daddy said that a tragic death turns one into a vengeful spirit... Will the hero's vengeful spirit seek revenge on the Demon King and his lackeys at night?"

Xiao Yi rubbed his forehead.

"Don't use words like 'lackey'!" Lu Renjia scolded. "Where did you learn that from!"

Kage and Kujo Sara, standing behind, felt a strange chill after hearing the girl's words.

Suddenly, Xiao Yi, who was at the forefront, stopped. Although the snow-capped mountains halfway up the mountain were covered in white snow and the snow falling from the sky was getting heavier, he still saw the magnificent castle built on the edge of the cliff and the soldiers guarding the castle.

"Brother Lu, you didn't lead us astray," Xiao Yi said excitedly. "We've found that bastards' base."

"What should we do next?" Lu Renjia asked.

"Proceed according to plan. Pretend we're joining the group to infiltrate and gather intelligence," Xiao Yi said seriously.

However, according to the original plan, there should only be five of them. Now, they are walking up in a line, which looks more like a family registering together, and even a child is brought along, which looks very strange.

……

The soldiers guarding the castle gate were tall and burly, with a high justice rating of 60 above their heads. They immediately became alert when they saw the large procession approaching.

"What are you doing?" the leading soldier asked.

"I pledge allegiance to the Righteous Society, and to the Boundless Heavenly Venerable of Great Righteousness," Xiao Yi declared loudly.

The soldier leader was dumbfounded. There were indeed quite a few Liyue people who came to join him today, and some even came in groups, but he had never seen an expedition team formed.

"State your identity and introduce the people you brought," the soldiers' leader said routinely.

Xiao Yi then revealed his false identity: "My name is Xiao Yi. I make a living selling wine in Ligang. Over the years, I have accumulated some assets that I wish to offer to the Heavenly Venerable."

“This is my distant relative who is down on his luck, and his daughter.” He looked at Lu Renjia and Xiao Zhen.

The leader nodded to indicate that there was no problem.

“This is my cook and pet.” Xiao Yi pulled Xiangling and Guoba from the group.

The leader felt that the girl did indeed have the air of a chef, so he believed her.

“This is my wife.” Xiao Yi pulled Gan Yu over.

The leader thought to himself: Beautiful, I'm envious...

“This is my maid.” He pulled over the reluctant Ke Qing.

Leader: Damn, I'm even more envious now!!!

“This is my bodyguard, and behind him is her bodyguard team.” He pointed to Sara and Ojaku.

Boss: Even the head bodyguard is a beauty. No wonder they're rich in Li Harbor. They really know how to have fun.

The soldier looked at General Thunder, who hadn't been introduced yet: "Is this your first wife?"

“No, she is my father,” Xiao Yi said calmly.

The leader's expression gradually contorted; although he didn't quite understand, he was deeply shocked.

"Your father's pectoral muscles are so exaggerated?"

Chapter 132 Don't step on the general!!! (4k)

According to Xiao Yi's precise biological clock, it is now 8:10 pm, and there are still 20 minutes left before his strength is restored.

The castle guard captain stared at the general in astonishment. Xiao Yi feigned anger and said, "You dare to assume my father's gender? Why can't a woman be a father? You're trembling with rage..."

A series of "combined punches" from another world left the leader dizzy. He had never heard such remarks before and did not know how to refute them. He stared blankly at the imposing figure, then looked at Xiao Yi again, as if deciding whether to let him go.

Xiao Yi then regained his composure and warmly grasped the other person's hand: "Of course, I certainly won't take this small matter to heart. It's just a small gift."

Instead of shaking hands with empty hands, he grabbed a money bag and slapped it into the leader's palm. Xiao Yi believed that since Mora could be exchanged for Justice Points, it meant that the henchmen of the mastermind would not refuse high amounts of money, so "bribery" was a great way to get by.

“I have another question,” the soldiers’ leader suddenly said. “As a wealthy merchant from Liyue Harbor, why did you risk your life to bring your family to the snowy mountains?”

Xiao Yi feigned embarrassment and casually lied, "Actually, the General Affairs Department recently discovered my tax evasion, so I had no choice..."

The reason for its perfection.

Normal wealthy people would choose to live a good life. Even if they wanted to connect with a society, they would not risk going to the snow-capped mountains themselves. Instead, they would send their entourage to establish contact, unless they had a secret or a reason to hide.

The leader remained hesitant.

Just then, a girl named Xiao Zhen approached and said, "Uncle, you guard the big castle in the snowy mountains, you must have seen a lot of interesting things, can you tell me a story?"

Faced with the heavy purse in his hand and the innocent little girl, the guard's doubts vanished instantly.