Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

Chapter 240 Practicing Swordsmanship in the Middle of the Night

The young master looked the handsome young man with a high black ponytail up and down, then glanced at his two colleagues beside him, and then revealed an incredulous expression.

Before he came, he knew that Shen Liang was not tall and had a beautiful face. If you didn't look closely, you could tell she was a pretty girl with long, straight black hair. After meeting her, he found that it was indeed true. Even if he stood up straight, he couldn't seem to touch Tatiana's chin.

The young master felt that Tatiana could even pick him up in a princess carry without any sense of incongruity!

But what did he hear?

They actually have... this kind of past with Xiguo Wushuang?

The young master dared not think about it too much, feeling that the image would be too shocking to contemplate.

"Eh—Lady Ryoko is so cold!" Lyudmila said with dissatisfaction.

“How can you say you don’t know us? We are clearly Ryoko-sama’s closest friends.” Tatiana smiled slightly. “You still remember our names. There are many fools on Umijima Island. The fact that you can remember our names means that we have at least left an impression on you.”

That's true. During that period, almost every young lady from the Fools' Clan who came to him to experience the Transformation of the Sea Moon was different. It's said that they were even numbered internally, and only those on duty had the opportunity to try it out.

Shen Liang barely remembered their names; those he could usually recall were those with decent cooking skills. For example, some liked drinking milk, some liked role-playing restaurants, and others would enthusiastically invite him to eat rice bowls.

Tatiana and Lyudmila made rice bowls for him.

However, it was inconvenient to say these words to the eleventh executive officer who was staring at him in astonishment.

At that moment, he saw a flash of anger in the eyes of the man named Yegor, who pointed at him and said, "I am Yegor, the vanguard of the Northern Group! We will definitely settle this the day after tomorrow. You had better defeat Kujo Sara and meet me."

"That's outrageous," Shen Liang muttered.

"What did you say?" Yegor didn't hear clearly.

Shen Liang waved his hand, ignoring him, which made his expression even angrier.

This is such a classic scene; there's always some mutual animosity before the competition. Ninety-nine times out of ten, one of the two girls hugging me right now is his sweetheart. Damn, this trope is all too common!

At this moment, Lyudmila slapped Yegor's finger away, put her hands on her hips, and scolded him: "How many times have I told you! Don't point at people! When we left Sergei, my aunt told me to teach you a lesson! You have no manners at all. You're not just a member of the Fools, you're part of a diplomatic mission!"

Yegor gave the beautiful lightning mage a complicated look, but said nothing more.

Shen Liang understood immediately from that look. Alright, no need to think, this is the person he loves, probably even his childhood sweetheart from back home. So, it's certain he'll be inexplicably drawn into hatred again.

Shen Liang sighed.

[If you want to build a harem, you have to be prepared for this: every girl you get will be someone else's unattainable dream.] Torachiyo sighed.

Where did you learn the term 'white moonlight'?

I've recently been reading Eileen Chang.

"How could someone with your brain possibly appreciate Eileen Chang?"

"By the way, ma'am, is she still in Inazuma?" Shen Liang suddenly remembered this. "Is she alright?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," the young master said with a smile, "because I don't know either."

"You do not know?"

“Executors rarely share information; everyone has their own tasks, and I happen to have none. I’m just here to enjoy the competition,” the young master said. “In fact, I’m getting a little tired of Inazuma’s overall level, and Kujo Sara is probably no match for me either. I even considered withdrawing from the competition. After all, it would be a bit disrespectful for a Shifu-koku (people from the Kingdom of Winter) to take down the Jade Dragon Flag, which would be detrimental to diplomacy.”

"Then why didn't you withdraw from the competition?"

"Because of you." The young master laughed heartily like a normal, cheerful young man, but then his eyes, when he looked at Shen Liang, held a hint of excitement and fervor. "Because of you, Shen Liang, I'm very interested in Mr. Shen Liang. No, I'm practically burning up, my blood is about to boil!"

Shen Liang subconsciously took a step back under his strange gaze, and the two girls immediately stepped forward to shield him from the young master's burning gaze.

—Why does your attitude make it sound like you're interested in me? Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm a real man!

—No, judging from my experience on Haiqi Island, my appearance isn't bad for attracting men. Besides, the Kingdom of Zhidong has always been known for its open-mindedness… Damn it!

Shen Liang was lost in thought when the young master realized the atmosphere was temporarily awkward. He immediately cleared his throat and said, "You can feel it too, right? This bloody aura from all the battles we've fought our way up here. Well, according to Li Yue, it's called 'fierce aura.' Mr. Shen Liang, only fellow martial artists can clearly sense the fierce aura on you. I'm very happy. As expected, the highly praised 'Peerless Warrior of the Western Kingdom' can bring me some joy!"

"Highly praised?"

"Those lads I defeated were all indignant and told me not to be arrogant, warning me that Inazuma still has a Sea God Island, and a young general who has conquered the Western Kingdom." The young master grinned. "The reason I waited until now was to confirm whether you would come. If you don't come, I will forfeit the competition and come find you."

Is this the problem with being famous? If he were unknown, he wouldn't have encountered such executive-level opponents.

No wonder Ayaka Kamisato and Sara Kujo lacked confidence when facing a battle maniac of this caliber.

"That's a real shame, you're going to get a beating," Shen Liang said calmly.

"Interesting. I've beaten up a lot of confident people, but they all ended up kneeling on the ground begging for mercy. I hope you can keep your word!" The young master laughed, then narrowed his eyes, and nodded after a long while. "Very good. See you in the match. I look forward to fighting you."

See you at the match.

----------

When the semi-finals opened in the afternoon, Shen Liang listened to the rules from the audience.

The rules for the semi-finals are very simple: it's still a ring battle. Frontrunners, midfielders, defenders, and top players take turns on the field. Only when someone is knocked out of the ring, incapacitated, or concedes can they be substituted. The winner remains on the field. In other words, it gives the strongest fighter the chance to win against all four opponents – a style known in Inazuma as "daring to fight"!

The team competition is also simple: the four teams will compete in pairs to create a winners' bracket and a losers' bracket. The winners' bracket and losers' bracket will then compete against each other, with the losers from the losers' bracket being eliminated.

Then the losers of the winners' bracket and the winners of the losers' bracket continue to compete, and the winners of the winners' bracket and the winners of the winners' bracket compete in the final to determine the champion and runner-up.

The champion team is the Jade Dragon Flag team of this year, and the captain of the champion team is the "Peerless of the East" of this year!

Each team sent a representative for a brief appearance. The Fubuki team naturally had the national princess, Ayaka Kamisato, the Karasu team had the cold-faced Sara Kujo, the Hokuni team had the tall and proud Tatiana, and finally, the Tamago team, trained by the Hiiragi family, had a young and beautiful girl named Kiyoi Kotora.

The representatives of all four teams unanimously chose pretty girls, and the audience's cheers were noticeably more enthusiastic.

After the opening ceremony, Shen Liang first tried out some cold weapons in the courtyard and did some physical training to prepare for tomorrow's battle with Kujo Sara. Feeling that his body was warm enough, he took off his shirt and picked up some cool water from the well in the courtyard to wash himself from head to toe.

There weren't many people at the inn where the contestants were staying, so Shen Liang deliberately chose to take a shower at night so that no one could see him.

—But why should I worry about being seen by others?

Shen Liang suddenly realized that something was wrong.

As a man, he shouldn't worry about being seen showering shirtless, and he wouldn't feel ashamed at home when Kiana and Arlene are around.

Then why...

He actually felt a little ashamed and indignant if the men staying at the inn saw him shirtless.

A handsome young man with long, straight, black hair reaching his waist and red eyes stood under the bright moonlight, looking at himself in the basin of water, puzzled.

Then he gave up thinking, put on his wet shorts, and walked alone toward his room on the second floor.

As Shen Liang passed by the bathhouse on the first floor, he heard the laughter of girls coming from inside. He recognized the voices of Princess Egret, Queen Summer Festival, and Tengu. It seemed that they were taking a bath together, soaking in the hot spring.

—He was too lazy to wait in the bathhouse and took a cold shower outside.

In that instant, he suddenly wanted to pull back the curtain and rush in, to take in all the beautiful scenery! It wasn't that he had suddenly become eccentric, but rather that he suddenly remembered many Japanese anime he had watched.

In Japanese anime, when boys and girls stay together in a dormitory, there will almost always be a bathhouse scene, and the boys will almost always be caught spying on each other, though they usually don't succeed.

But whether or not they can actually peep on them, this project has to be included. It's like in anime, if the boys don't peep on the girls, it's like they're denying the girls' charm in the group.

Rather than satisfying voyeuristic desires, it's more accurate to say that skipping this process would be considered impolite.

Shen Liang slowly made his way back to his room in his wet wooden clogs, then changed into dry clothes, lay down on the tatami mat, and began to think about tomorrow's battle.

However, he only thought about it for a short while before losing interest. Instead, he looked at the empty bedroom and the cold tatami mat, feeling quite lost.

Even though Little Egret's room was right downstairs from his, he still had to stay in his room alone, feeling lonely and isolated, with no one to gossip about. It wasn't that he had to do anything special, since there was a fight tomorrow, but he just didn't have anyone to talk to.

Ayaka Kamisato and Yoomiya are definitely traditional girls; they wouldn't go into a boy's room late at night, unlike Earth girls who not only don't avoid suspicion but also act with complete confidence. Kiana, on the other hand, often knocks on doors late at night, comes in with a pillow, and confidently shouts, "Landlord, I'm hungry!"

However, whenever Shen Liang brought up the late-night snack he had prepared in the kitchen, he would see that Kiana was probably already asleep on his bed again. He was always amazed by Kiana's sweet sleeping posture. This white fluffy ball inherited her mother's beautiful face, which was often only clearly visible after she fell asleep.

However, Shen Liang usually only watches for a few minutes. He never indulges her. If she dares to wake him up in the middle of the night, she has to finish the noodles he cooked! Get up and eat! She has to slurp up every last drop of the broth for this landlord!

As the boy was lost in thought, the door to the room was gently pushed open a crack.

Tatiana, dressed in a lace nightgown with a wintery feel, and Lyudmila, dressed in a white sundress, peeked out from behind a pillow, their little heads peeking out. They saw a handsome boy sitting on the tatami mat, smiling at them, with the moonlight from the terrace behind them.

Tatiana, a Mirror Lady and a Lightning Sorcerer of the Fools, was mature and beautiful, while Lyudmila was sweet and lovely. Seeing that Shen Liang did not show any sign of refusal, the two of them immediately took off their ill-fitting wooden clogs, closed the door, and sneakily ran over.

"Why are you here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping, wanting to have a heart-to-heart talk with me?" Shen Liang stroked Lyudmila's hair. "Or are you injured again? Do you need to transform into the Moon Sea?"

The two girls leaned against the tatami mat, resting their heads on his knees, their faces flushed and excited, seemingly inhaling his familiar scent.

Tatiana complained softly, "Lady Ryoko hasn't come to see the Fatui in a long time, even though she knows about our base."

Lyudmila gazed at the boy intently, "Lord Ryoko is still so considerate..."

"What's there to be considerate about? I'm a scumbag." Shen Liang activated the Transformation Sea Moon to check the two girls for any hidden ailments or old injuries. A comfortable warm current flowed over their bodies, and the two girls closed their eyes, greedily feeling this power that could prolong their lives.

As members of the Fools, their health is precarious, and according to the records of the executor "Doctor," most of them know that they will not live past forty.

Only under the secret method of Transforming into the Sea Moon in the Coral Palace can the changes in the body be repaired. According to the doctor's research report, each time one enjoys Transforming into the Sea Moon, one's lifespan can be increased by at least five years.

If they could continue to enjoy such care and experience the Transformation of the Sea Moon once every five years, they could even have a lifespan like normal humans.

Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it.

Shen Liang is someone even the Fools must treat with caution. Without any hostility, even the Lady doesn't want their relationship to deteriorate, and dares not attack him. For a group of Fools who are merely expendable resources, no one would be foolish enough to plot against Shen Liang.

But he himself was willing to give a glimmer of hope to the half-dead masses of fools.

—Lady Ryoko probably doesn't know that within the Fools' Clan's internal information network, she is known as the "Lady with the Lamp." That was originally a title used to describe a legendary nurse in the Winter Kingdom who saved many lives, but to the Fools, Lady Ryoko, who could prolong life, was their guiding light.

Although the payment this beacon of light asked for during treatment was somewhat shameful, Lyudmila knew that very few of her colleagues could refuse Ryoko-sama's needs. Even if that once-in-a-millennium handsome young man hadn't transformed into the moon, they would still flock to him.

"Will Lady Ryoko also be asking for payment this time?" Tatiana asked softly, her manner incredibly alluring. Lyudmila was taken aback by her words, and at that moment she remembered Yegor, who had come all the way from the Kingdom of Winter to Inazuma and had been chasing after her for many years.