Genshin Impact, all those behind-the-scenes big shots are me

“It’s a custom from the Dragon King Festival,” Kujo Sara explained. “Legend has it that the Dragon King, Lord Kadodia, comes from the depths of the sea and loves seashells. So before the Dragon King Festival, the Inazuma people make seashells into ornaments, some wear them on their bodies, and some hang them in front of their doors.”

Su Chen felt strange. When did he start liking seashells?

"The Dragon King Festival is very lively," one of the messengers said expectantly. "It seems we're in luck; we just finished celebrating in Liyue, and now we can celebrate in Inazuma."

Another person muttered quietly, "Anyway, as long as nothing goes wrong."

"What problems could possibly arise from the Dragon King's Sacrifice? It can't be like what happened to the Rock King Emperor..."

The two quickly shut their mouths under Kujo Sara's sharp gaze.

As Su Chen looked around, he found that the situation on the island was not bad, except that the samurai patrolled quite frequently. After leaving the island, he could see squads of magistrates patrolling around.

The Dragon King Festival has arrived, so the battle with the rebels must be put on hold for now. Ensuring the safety of Narukami Island is the top priority.

"Narukami Taisha Shrine." Su Chen looked up at the highest point of Mount Kagehira and smiled, "May I go over and have a look?"

Kujo Sara hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "It's on the way anyway, but we can't take too long."

"it is good."

...

the other side.

Inazuma Castle, the solemn castle tower.

Yae no Miko, dressed in a shrine maiden's outfit, swayed her large hips as she entered the hall.

Ignoring the gaze of the cold purple figure at the top, he walked to the side and casually sat down, placing a small tea table that he had somehow found.

A pot of tea, a snack, and a light novel.

"Hey, the Dragon King Festival is coming up soon, aren't you going to participate this time?"

Despite countless unanswered words, Yae no Miko never gave up. Every year at this time, she would come to convey her longing to her friend in the Pure Land.

"I remember Chiyo telling me that you often challenged him to martial arts matches, but you never won... Pfft~ How lame of you."

"By the way, I went to Qinglai Island last month. The Dragon King Palace was still locked down. Those guardians are really heartless; they wouldn't even let us in for a look."

"Lord Fox Palace still hasn't woken up."

"This year, I'm paying my respects to him alone again... It's always like this. He must be lonely."

"Hey, Shadow, are you listening?"

...

A pure mind.

It was an eternal land without beginning or end, where the blood moon had faded and the sky and earth were in ruins.

The figure sitting upright in the void heard the soliloquy and slowly opened its eyes.

"Cardodia...you said we would meet again...but where are you now?"

Ying lowered her eyes, her expression sorrowful.

In her hand, she held a crystal that was entirely purple—a creation made by the ancient dragon king at the end of his life.

...

Chapter 69 The biggest Cardodia hater in history, old friends meet, the clingy ghost [8k5]

Narukami Taisha Shrine.

As you ascend the blood-red torii gate, the steps are familiar, the scenery is familiar, and even the breeze in the air feels familiar.

"The scenery here is really beautiful!"

"Just like in our Mondstadt, look how well these cherry trees are growing."

"I've heard that the cherry blossoms in Inazuma never fall?"

"Let's go see the cherry blossoms."

It has to be said that the people of Mondstadt are indeed very 'free'. One minute they're shouting that this place is dangerous and that place is dangerous, but the next minute when the scenery comes, they're charging for freedom and don't care about life or death!

Kujo Sara had quite a bit of contact with Mondstadt people. Before the country closed itself off, Mondstadt had the most adventurers, and these guys often did some 'earth-shattering' things in their pursuit of freedom. Back then, in order to manage them properly, Kujo Sara even consulted with Ms. Catherine of the Adventurers' Guild.

Knowing the nature of Mondstadt people well, Kujou Sara was not surprised by the current performance of the delegation. However, what concerned Kujou Sara was Su Chen's reaction along the way. It didn't feel like a sightseeing trip at all. The natural sense of familiarity he showed was more like... coming home?

No, no, no, how could that be? I must be imagining things.

Kujo Sara couldn't help but take a second look and noticed that Su Chen always had a smile on his face and a leisurely demeanor.

"How nostalgic!"

Hearing Su Chen's remark, Kujo Sara asked, "Has Lord Su Chen ever visited Inazuma?"

“That was a long time ago,” Su Chen said with a smile. “But nothing has changed over the years… By the way, is Yae no Miko the current chief priest of Narukami Shrine?”

So many years? You don't look that old... Kujo Sara nodded: "Always."

"Is that so? It seems that guy is still asleep."

Fox Palace is not dead, but has fallen into a deep sleep. As a demon, it should not need as long a recovery time as a demon god. I thought I would be able to see Fox Palace as soon as I came up, but it seems I still have to meet with the Divine Child first.

Su Chen couldn't help but smile when he thought of the little fox who had been teased by him with a piece of fried tofu and ended up lying on its back.

Meanwhile, Kujo Sara, standing to the side, became increasingly puzzled. She guessed that Su Chen was probably revisiting the place, perhaps having been there a few years ago, which was why he had come as a member of the delegation this time.

We walked until we reached the summit of Yingxiang Mountain.

Narukami Taisha Shrine: Stepping through the torii gate and walking inside, the shrine is bustling with people, mostly busy preparing for the Dragon King Festival. The shrine's steward is in charge of the Inatsume festival, while the steward manages the Narukami Taisha Shrine. Such an important matter as the Dragon King Festival naturally has to be decided by the chief priest.

Besides these, there were also ordinary people who came to burn incense and pray for the war to end soon.

The delegation couldn't wait to go inside, eager to see the legendary Divine Cherry Blossom. Su Chen, however, was in no hurry. When he arrived at a certain place, he heard several girls dressed as priestesses 'rehearsing'.

"...Of course, we should say, 'In remembrance of the great Lord Cardodia, ah, supreme dragon, return, thunder!' That would be more in line with Cardodia's reputation. Using thunder as a metaphor, isn't that cool?"

"Luye, don't overdo it. This is a ritual, not a light novel."

"Lord Kuji will definitely like it."

"Of course she likes it, she loves light novels, but that's not how you perform a ritual... Never mind, I'll think about it some more and make a decision before the priest returns."

The older shrine maiden was discussing with the others, seemingly troubled about the activities of the festival. Kujo Sara explained that the Dragon King Festival was a grand and unprecedented festival with stages in various places. Narukami Taisha, as the 'main battlefield,' not only had to perform dances for the Dragon King, but also had to choreograph plays every year as required by the chief priest.

This type of drama differs from Liyue dramas. It needs to incorporate the theme of rituals and can be done in various ways, but it must promote the prestige of Kaldordia. Ideally, it should leave the audience with the impression that "Kaldordia is the boss, second only to the heavens."

The priest's impulsive decisions have caused the shrine maidens of Narukami Shrine endless suffering every year.

"Actually, I think what she did just now was pretty good."

Hearing the sound, the shrine maidens turned around and saw Su Chen and Kujo Sara.

"Who is this..."

Kujo Sara glanced at Su Chen and said, "This is Lord Su Chen, a diplomatic envoy from Mondstadt. I brought him here to visit Narukami Taisha Shrine."

“The Mondstadt people certainly don’t understand Lord Cardodia.”

Feeling somewhat impolite, she spoke very softly, but Su Chen still heard her.

He smiled and said, "I used to study history, and I have knowledge of the history of various countries."

"Oh?" asked the shrine maiden named Kano Nana. "Then tell me, how much do you know about Lord Cardodia?"

"This..."

"Hmph~ Can't say it now, huh?"

"It's alright, if it's just this."

"What do you mean 'just this'? Lord Cardodia is the faith of the Inazuma people, second only to the General!"

Because of Yae-no-ji, a group of shrine maidens showed even more reverence for Lord Cardodia than the Shogun, which was truly outrageous. However, everyone seemed to take it for granted, except for Kujo Sara, who regarded the Shogun as her supreme deity.

However, she was also curious to know what Su Chen, an outsider, could possibly know.

“You’re right, Cardodia is indeed second only to the Shogun in Inazuma… Well, speaking of which, his origins can be traced back to a very distant time. Cardodia’s first appearance was due to his encounter with Hakuchen Kosai-gumi, at that time…”

Su Chen briefly recounted Cardodia's deeds from the perspective of a witness.

After she finished speaking, the shrine maidens became unusually quiet, all immersed in the scene depicted in the story. After a long while, Kano Nana exclaimed, "Your storytelling skills are amazing! If you added a harp to the story, you would definitely be even better than that bard!"

Su Chen asked in confusion, "A bard? What bard came from?"

"Oh, not long ago a bard came here to apply for the Dragon King Festival program. He said he knew a very interesting story about Lord Cardodia, and it was about the Seven Gods. As long as we pay him an appearance fee, he can perform at the Dragon King Festival."

"Well, that guy was really impressive. He casually told a story from the epic tale of Mondstadt heroes, and everyone found it very interesting."

The witches nodded in deep agreement, saying that the bard was incredibly talented.

Su Chen was silent.

This tactic... feels a little familiar... doesn't it?

Did that guy say his name?

"Huh? I think her name is... Oh right, Wendy the Bard!"

"..."

...

Su Chen was too lazy to care about Wendy's appearance anymore; that guy could be found anywhere except Mondstadt, as expected.

However, after discussing it together, the priestesses felt that Su Chen's story was too 'ordinary'. Leading the dragon lizards to fight on all sides and finally managing to find a place to live was too much for the great Lord Cardodia!

If these qualities were bestowed upon any human hero, everyone would applaud them.

But it's not enough for Cardodia, not nearly enough!

Faced with the witches' doubts, Su Chen said that Cardodia was not as exaggerated as they thought at first; he was even chased by monsters for three days and three nights.

Unfortunately, when Su Chen said these words, he was met with unanimous glares of anger from the shrine maidens. Then, Kano Nana nailed a title to his forehead—Inazuma's biggest Cadodia hater in history!

Even the tourists passing by to pay their respects criticized Su Chen for his rudeness and disrespect for the Dragon King's authority, saying he would be punished by the gods sooner or later.

Kujo Sara quickly pulled him away from the scene.

"What you just said, was it true or...?" Kujo Sara couldn't help but ask.