Genshin Impact, Teyvat's own beloved immortal.

"Ha! Apologize? You two should be apologizing to me!"

Just as the atmosphere was about to explode, the official behind the screen suddenly burst into applause.

"Excellent, what an excellent debate."

After a brief pause, he continued, "You are all loyal ministers, none of you are treacherous. You each have your own difficulties, which I understand."

"Now that things have come to this, what I need is a solution, not to get bogged down in who is responsible."

Tengu had already prepared a plan before he arrived, and immediately replied, "I think the first thing to do is to find out the source of the rumors in the city and curb their spread from the source. So I have already sent Kujo Sara to investigate, and by tonight we should be able to effectively control the spread."

The priestess then suggested, "Everyone in Inazuma Castle worships Narukami Taisha. I can hold a festival and use magic to brainwash the people so they will forget about this."

Ōtakemaru chimed in, "That's a good idea. Our shrine will fully cooperate in holding the festival."

After going around in circles, it turned out that only Kidomaru hadn't prepared a solution.

He froze on the spot, at a loss for what to do.

Fortunately, the regent did not blame him. On the contrary, he was quite lenient with him and allowed him to continue to perform his duties as the investigating commissioner.

This is an ending that Kidomaru could never have imagined.

"Thank you, Lord Guanbai! I will never betray your trust again!"

"Alright, you can go back now. Leave this to me. After all this time, there must be a lot of merchant ships piling up at the docks. Get the goods moving quickly so the people don't go hungry."

Suzuka Gozen's words moved Kidomaru to tears, and he immediately bid farewell to the Regent and returned to continue serving as his steward.

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly as soon as he left.

Suzuka Gozen stood up from her kneeling position and said calmly to the rest of them, "What are you all standing there for? Your gloves are dirty, why don't you throw them away and get new ones?"

"What does 'Kanpaku' mean?"

"If you understand, there's no need to ask again. I've already chosen the new principles. Remember to be decisive in your actions and don't leave any hidden dangers."

"understand!"

The three below agreed in unison.

The outlying island is the residence of the magistrate.

Kidomaru returned home laughing and put on the human skin that Ah Huang had repaired.

"Who would have thought that after causing such a huge mess, the Regent would still let me continue as his magistrate? Haha, Ah Huang, you're the smartest one, you dog brain! Today at the Imperial Conference, I kept pinning my eyes on the Tengu and that sly fox. You didn't see how ridiculous they looked; they were so angry their noses were crooked! Hahahaha!"

However, Ah Huang did not show any signs of relief; instead, he looked worried.

"Master, I think there's something wrong with this!"

"Oh? What's the problem?" Kidomaru asked.

"Even if the Regent intends to let you go, you shouldn't be allowed to return as the Magistrate. You should think about this carefully, Master. This matter has already spread, and the entire Inazuma community is paying attention to it. If you neither suspend yourself from your duties to accept the investigation nor provide a reasonable explanation, but instead continue to serve as the Magistrate, how can the Regent quell public resentment?"

Kidomaru then realized what was happening and broke out in a cold sweat.

"You mean... Kanpaku is planning to sacrifice me? Why should she?! It's not just my fault! Besides, I risked my life for Inazuma! I bled for Inazuma! How can she treat me like this?"

Ah Huang shook his head and reminded him, "Master, don't you understand yet? This collusion with pirates wasn't the idea of ​​the Tenryo magistrate at all! It was... the Kanpaku!"

"So those two were never the ones who used me as a tool... and I was so loyal to her! What am I supposed to do now? I'm at my wit's end!"

The strategist's eyes darted around, and he came up with another plan.

"Why don't we just make this a real show and head out to sea to become pirates! Anyway, we're familiar with several of the major pirate leaders. With Master's abilities, becoming the Pirate King won't be a problem at all!"

After pondering for a long time, Kidomaru finally sighed, "Alas, now that things have come to this, there's no other way! I was forced into this!"

"Let's go! Ah Huang! Let's head out to sea!"

Inazuma Arc: Chapter 81: The True and False Yae no Miko

"What do you mean by saying that Yae no Kami has a problem?"

Inside the secret base, Ayaka took Rikuo to a secluded spot and revealed to him a secret known only to a very few people.

Although Lu Sheng had sensed that this Yae no Miko was a bit strange, he thought that the strangeness was just abnormal behavior, not that she had completely changed as a person, since she looked perfectly normal from the outside.

Ayaka believes the problem is that this Yae no Miko is a complete fake.

This is also the key reason why Ayaka decided to assassinate Yae no Miko.

After this close encounter, Ayaka is 90% certain that the Yae no Miko of Narukami Taisha is a fake.

As the head of the Kamisato family, who are in charge of the Inazuma Festival and celebrations, he often has to deal with Narukami Taisha, so he has many opportunities to meet Yae no Miko and knows her to some extent.

"Actually, I started to suspect it a long time ago. Ever since Yae Miko went to see Suzuka Gozen, everything has changed. Although her appearance hasn't changed, many things about her are quite different from the Yae I knew before."

"A person's personality may change, but their behavior is very difficult to change, especially when it comes to diet."

"You may not know this, but our chief priest is a foodie. He especially loves tender and juicy fried tofu, but fried tofu has never appeared on the menu of the Yae no Miko in the shrine."

"Also, Inazuma used to have a publishing house called Yaedo, which was a place that sold and published light novels. The reason it was called Yaedo was because Yae no Miko loved reading light novels. In order to be able to read different novels every day, she founded Yaedo and took on the position of editor-in-chief. This passion is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people."

"But the one now, let alone light novels, hasn't even read a single book. If a person's personality changes, would their most beloved hobbies and food also change?"

Ayaka Kamisato presented a series of evidence, all of which were quite shocking.

Lu Sheng was new to the area and didn't know any of this, but he was very clear about Yae no Kami's preferences. There was no doubt about the charm of this scumbag fox. Even though she wasn't very strong, he immediately married her and filled her house with resources when she first appeared.

Because he understood, he knew how obsessed Yae no Miko was with fried tofu and how much she enjoyed reading light novels with melodramatic plots.

Ayaka is absolutely right. A person's personality may change due to their surroundings, but what is ingrained in their bones can never be changed.

If all of this is true, then it can be confirmed with 100% certainty that the Yae no Miko in the shrine today is an imposter.

But who is the imposter? Why would she do this? Where is the real Yae no Miko? Who has the Heart of God now?

Lu Sheng suddenly realized, what was Ling Hua's intention in saying all this to him?

Looking for a tool?

"You want me to investigate for you?"

Seeing that her little scheme had been exposed, Ayaka lowered her head awkwardly and let out a soft "hmm".

“We’re all wanted criminals. As for Zaoyou, fighting isn’t her forte, so…”

“Okay, I’ll check.” Lu Sheng agreed readily, but he never did anything for nothing. Helping others meant giving something in return; that was his principle.

"However, I also need your help to investigate something."

Linghua looked up and asked, "What is it?"

"I want to know the whereabouts of the fools of Inazuma."

"The Fools? Why are you asking about them?"

The last time Ayaka heard news about the Fatui was from Hayato, who said that a female Fatui member had been caught trying to sneak onto the island. Apparently, she was an important figure, an executive officer.

At the beginning, there was an executive officer named Sanbing, who was immediately captured by the three generals under Guan Bai.

But as far as she knew, Kanpaku did not kill them, for reasons unknown.

Why is Tie Niu trying to find out information about the Fools? Could he be a member of the Fools himself?

It doesn't look like it at all.

After some internal deliberation, Linghua agreed to Rikuo's conditions.

“Okay, I’ll have Zaoyou investigate. I hope we can both get the information we need.”

Lu Sheng nodded and left, satisfied.

To get the real answer, we need to start with the people closest to Yae no Miko.

There are so many shrine maidens at the shrine; it's impossible that they were all imposters.

Whether it's true or false, you'll know as soon as you ask.

Rikuo's first target was the shrine maiden named Inashiro Hotaru, who was in charge of drawing and interpreting fortune slips for those who prayed for blessings. She was a long-time employee of Narukami Taisha Shrine and the person who knew Yae no Kami best.

Following the assassination attempt, Mount Kagemō was temporarily closed to the public, leaving only a few shrine maidens frolicking among themselves at Narukami Shrine.

Rikuo crouched on the roof of the shrine and secretly observed, confirming that Yae no Miko was not currently at the shrine.

She must be busy dealing with matters concerning the Commissioner of Imperial Sacrifices and doesn't have time to come back.

The target, Inashiro Hotaru, came into view. Rikuo put on a mask, and his figure flashed through the air.

In the blink of an eye, Inashiro Hotaru, who was cleaning, was suddenly kidnapped into a small dark room.

She panicked and tried to scream, but her mouth was covered by a strong hand, preventing her from making a sound.

"Shh~ If you want to live, you'd better behave yourself."

Feeling a cold, sharp object touch her lower abdomen, Inashiro Hotaru was so frightened that tears streamed down her face, and she nodded vigorously.

"Don't worry, I'm not some kind of serial killer. I just want to ask you two questions. Just answer them truthfully."

Inashiro Hotaru continued to nod.

"My question is simple: what is your Lord Miyaji's favorite food? What is his favorite light novel?"

Upon hearing these two questions, Inashiro Hotaru's horrified expression turned into one of confusion.

That's it?

What kind of question is this?! She thought the other person was going to ask about some shrine secret!

Could it be that someone trying to get in through connections came specifically to find out the priest's preferences and send him a gift?

Rikuo slowly released his hand, and Inashiro Hotaru took a deep breath and blurted out without the slightest hesitation: "Our Miyaji loves to eat fried tofu, and his favorite novel is 'Reincarnated as the Eighth Miyaji'."

She actually answered correctly; it seems that Inashiro Hotaru hasn't been replaced.

"Very well, now I have one more question."

Inashiro Hotaru's tears started falling again. When will this ever end?

Lu Sheng then asked, "Have you noticed that your Lord Gong Si has been acting a little strange lately?"

Inashiro Hotaru's eyes darted left and right as she carefully recalled the events.

If there was anything amiss, she did notice it.