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

"Ryoko." Kujo Sara's smile softened, and she subconsciously lowered her head slightly.

"Mm." Shen Liang replied patiently.

"Ryoko".

Shen Liang and Kujo Sara's faces were already very close. He suddenly straightened up from Kujo Sara's arms, as if he wanted to kiss the young female general's lips, and then his forehead suddenly bumped into the tip of Kujo Sara's nose.

The two of them instinctively covered their heads and noses, and immediately separated due to the pain.

Kujo Sara rubbed her sore nose, wiped away the tears she had squeezed out, and then hugged Shen Liang's waist even tighter, preventing him from moving or escaping. Then, she stared at him with a sinister look and said, "Ryoko, you're being naughty. If Sara didn't misunderstand, you wanted to kiss Sara just now, didn't you?"

"I..." Shen Liang felt guilty, her eyes darting around, and could only whisper, "This... I'm used to it. I just felt the atmosphere was a bit too good, being so close... In most movies and TV shows, if they didn't kiss at this point, the audience would think it was absurd. It just happened on a whim, and I couldn't control myself..."

"Ryoko is such an unabashed little scumbag..." Kujo Sara sighed. "He's so young and already used to flirting with women. You must have gotten Ayaka just as easily, right?"

"If you're going to call me a scumbag, can you please not add the word 'small'?" Shen Liang pouted. "Get this straight, it's you who's too tall, not me who's too short!"

Kujo Sara couldn't help but chuckle, "You! You're actually not happy!"

"I'm not a good person to begin with, I'm rotten to the core, and you're not a kid who just found out." Shen Liang stretched, enjoying the soft body of Kujo Sara. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous. But I didn't get a kiss, so please forgive me."

"Oh? You're going to let me off the hook just because I didn't get to kiss you? Ryoko seems quite bothered by not getting to kiss you." Kujo Sara narrowed her eyes.

"Then hit me. You have to pay the price for being a scoundrel. Go ahead and hit me. I have Hua Haiyue, I'm not afraid of boiling water." Shen Liang stuck out his tongue. "What else can you do? I'm a scumbag, even if you go to Linghua to complain about me, I won't..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw the tall, beautiful tengu girl who was holding him lower her head and gently peck his lips amidst the vast expanse of white steam.

Just then, the hot spring door of Baishi Courtyard was suddenly opened, and a group of girls wrapped in bath towels strode in with cheerful laughter, chatting amongst themselves.

"Hahaha, Father wants to take me away? No way! I'm going to be Ryoko's woman from now on. I'm going to go out and conquer the world with Ryoko. The magistrate can't control me anymore!"

"Chisato, you haven't left Inazuma yet. Your luggage is still at home. Be careful when you go back, the Commissioner of the Imperial Household Department might confine you and prevent you from going with Ryoko."

"Then I won't go home. I'll just wait for the big ship to come so I can go to Liyue with Ryoko! Waaaaah, Ayaka, you have to take care of me then, and Ryoko, you have to ask your husband to help me out too, I don't want to travel the Seven Kingdoms on a shoestring budget!"

"My little husband? What? Miss Linghua, have you and His Highness the Regent officially announced your relationship? Then... what about Miss Xinhai?"

"Oh dear, everyone, please stop making fun of my Linghua. Linghua is very shy. Let's find a nice place to relax. Today, I've booked the whole place, and the White Stone Courtyard, which has the highest rank requirement, is also open to everyone."

"Oh! Shiraishi Courtyard! A royal hot spring that only first-rank officials can use! I absolutely adore Ryoko-nii and Sara-nee!"

Almost instantly after hearing the door open, Shen Liang and Kujo Sara separated as if electrocuted.

Shen Liang almost instinctively wanted to dive into the water and hide in some corner, but was immediately stopped by Kujo Sara. Kujo Sara made him understand with her eyes that hiding would definitely be discovered and increase misunderstandings, and he couldn't possibly open the teleportation screen in front of so many people without being discovered.

Being direct makes it less likely to arouse suspicion.

A group of girls walked in through the wooden door. They were all familiar faces: Ayaka Kamisato, Chisato Hiiragi, Yomiya, and a whole bunch of girls who currently belonged to the Emmanuel Group, let's just call them his subordinates for now. Kayo Kamisato mingled among the girls without a care in the world. She was also wrapped in a bath towel, and her mature and shapely figure stood out among the young girls.

"Ryoko-nii! Wow! What are you doing here!" Yomiya was shocked at first sight. She saw Shen Liang and Kujo Sara sitting side by side in the water, obedient and serious. Because it was not a shallow pool, half of Shen Liang's face was submerged, and he was blowing bubbles.

These words instantly roused a large group of girls to their senses, who rushed to the front and found it to be true! In an instant, the hot spring was filled with both embarrassed and delighted exclamations. Some people nervously gripped the edge of their towels, while others had a strange gleam in their eyes, eager to jump into the pool right now.

Shen Liang's vision was filled with the girls' fragrant shoulders, beautiful hair, bright eyes, and the snow-white skin that couldn't be covered by bath towels. He even felt a strange sense of crisis.

"This isn't a private room, it's a mixed-gender bath," Shen Liang said softly, somewhat unsure of himself, as he faced the girls.

Before Yoomiya could ask any further questions, a girl loudly complained, "Ryoko was secretly taking a bath with Sara! That's so unfair! Enjoying some alone time, huh!"

"Yes! Ryoko has gone too far! You're clearly our boss, not even Sara's boss, yet you're closer to Sara! What are we employees who work for you supposed to do?!"

"We've caught you! We need to treat everyone fairly!"

"What are you all doing hiding there! No wonder I couldn't find you after I took a shower; you sneaked away!"

Kujo Sara was unusually embarrassed, her pretty face slightly flushed. She hadn't actually planned to do anything sneaky with Shen Liang; she had just arrived first. They were all supposed to rest together in the White Stone Courtyard, but Shen Liang, as a male guest, should have left first.

She didn't know why everyone had suddenly arrived at Baishi Courtyard half an hour early; logically, they should be enjoying themselves in other private rooms right now.

Normally, there would be no way she would be caught being alone with Shen Liang... Even if she were caught, it wouldn't matter. She originally came to Shen Liang to heal her physical and mental exhaustion, but... for some inexplicable reason, she... became a little out of control.

But this sudden loss of control left Kujo Sara feeling guilty and afraid to look at Ayaka Kamisato, leaving her without any grounds for assertiveness.

"Why are you all here so early?" Kujo Sara could only lie and use the original reason to deceive everyone, trying her best to appear nonchalant. "Ryoko and I came here beforehand to treat people when no one was around. Please don't imagine Sara as the kind of person who... the kind of person who gets lustful at first sight."

"Really?" The girls were skeptical.

"Really, Sara, Sara would never lay a hand on Ryoko. Ryoko is Ayaka's sweetheart, Sara... Sara is definitely not..." Kujo Sara stammered, her face still flushed.

Shen Liang could tell at a glance that this guy was used to being straightforward and would never lie, and he was utterly disheartened.

Even a pure girl like Little Egret wouldn't be fooled by you, you idiot!

At this moment, Kayo Kamisato finally came to Kujo Sara's rescue, smiling and saying, "Sara-chan has booked the entire venue today, and I think such a great opportunity shouldn't be wasted. How about we hold a celebration party at Shiroishi Courtyard? To celebrate Ryoko winning the Jade Dragon Flag, and also to celebrate you, Sara-chan, winning the runner-up title. Of course, this may be Ryoko's last banquet in Inazuma, so let's consider it a farewell banquet for Ryoko from Sara-chan and me."

Ayaka Kamisato stood up and smiled, "Sara, this is also a farewell banquet for all of us. Ayaka thinks that instead of choosing a time to organize a meal and going through a lot of formalities, let's choose now. It would be quite interesting to hold it at the hot spring while everyone is here."

Shen Liang was stared at by the predatory gazes of girls he knew and didn't know, and he hesitated before asking, "Now? Here at the hot spring?"

“Exactly!” the girls replied with smiles. “We brought lots of food and drinks. Since we’re all girls, let’s have dinner at the White Stone Courtyard while soaking in the hot springs. Wouldn’t that be a fun party?”

"I feel like you guys have included me in your calculations..." Shen Liang subconsciously tried to move towards the deep water area. Given the depth of the deep water area, most girls who can't swim probably wouldn't dare to come here.

"Of course! Ryoko is the leader of our group. We all follow you, so you can't leave!"

"But I'm a boy."

"It's okay, this is a mixed bath, and Ryoko is super pretty, the waiters at the Imperial Onsen won't be able to tell!"

Just as Shen Liang was about to retort, a girl, too lazy to argue with him any longer, grabbed the edge of her towel and jumped into the hot spring pool. She then poked her head out and laughed happily, "I saw that Ryoko wasn't wearing a shirt!"

Nonsense, what man wears a shirt when he goes to a hot spring?

But many more girls' eyes lit up instantly, and soon the hot spring was full of people splashing around. Fortunately, this was the largest hot spring in the Royal Hot Spring, comparable to a swimming pool, and it was quite spacious enough to accommodate twenty or thirty people.

The air was filled with the sweet scent of young girls' perfume. Soon, several young ladies with ulterior motives surrounded Shen Liang, forming a circle around him and loudly announcing that they had caught him. Shen Liang wanted to climb ashore to find Shen Li Hua Dai, his only elder, to lay low, but he saw the gentle and kind Miss Hua Dai smilingly jogging away to make way for the other excited girls.

The boy was desperately grabbed by the ankles by the beautiful Inazuma ladies and dragged into the hot spring, a scene resembling being pulled into the underworld by devils from hell.

"Don't run away, Ryoko. We're all your employees, what are you afraid of? Come on, open your mouth, I'll peel a soft-boiled egg for you."

"I wanted to ask Ryoko last time at Oguraya, how does she maintain such good skin? My sister spends tens of millions of Mora every year but still doesn't have skin as fair and tender as Ryoko's."

"Stop struggling, Ryoko. Lie down properly and let me rub off the grime for you. What? No grime? You still have to rub it off. How can a man be without grime!"

"Hey, hey, hey, Miss Chisato, you're going to suffocate Ryoko-nii! Ryoko-nii is already kicking his legs! Ryoko-nii has stopped kicking his legs! My Ryoko-nii!"

The hot spring pool was bustling with activity, accompanied by the boy's occasional screams, filled with a joyful atmosphere. On the shore, Ayaka Kamisato watched with a smile as her boyfriend was unusually cute being teased, then looked at the female tengu emerging from the water, soaking wet.

Even Ayaka Kamisato envied her best friend's stunning figure.

"That invincible warrior of the West, who used to dominate me in the ring, I never thought he'd be bullied to tears by an unarmed girl." Kujo Sara sat down next to her and chuckled. "Ayaka, there are so many girls here, aren't you jealous?"

“Now it’s ‘Peerless in the East’,” Ayaka Kamisato corrected.

“Yes, unparalleled in the East, unparalleled in the West, to take down two Jade Dragon Banners at the same time, he is truly the ‘Dragon of Inazuma.’” Kujo Sara looked at Ayaka Kamisato’s tender gaze as she looked at her boyfriend, hesitated for a long time, and finally whispered, “I’m sorry, Ayaka, I…”

“I know.” Ayaka Kamisato smiled, interrupting her best friend. “Sara, you don’t need to say it. And you don’t need to apologize, okay? You’ve forgotten our promise.”

It was only then that Kujo Sara suddenly remembered that many, many years ago, before the political situation in Inazuma deteriorated to this point, the young ladies of the three magistrates had held hands and sworn to be best friends forever, and even to marry...

"You took that childhood joke seriously, Ayaka?" Kujo Sara asked softly.

“If Sara is serious, then Ayaka is serious too.” Ayaka Kamisato looked at the boy choking on water in the hot spring, her smile gentle yet helpless. “Who told us to like… such a naughty boy?”

Chapter 257 The Quiet White Stone Courtyard

The solemn castle tower of Inazuma, the highest watchtower, is where the legendary Mitsurugi Narukami, who controls lightning, is said to have lived, overlooking the entire Inazuma territory and setting up his thousand hands and a hundred eyes.

However, in the top-floor watchtower today, only a pink-furred fox was casually enjoying hot pot. She threw a piece of creamy yellow frozen tofu into the bubbling hot pot, took a bite, and happily covered her little face with the hot broth.

"Eating hot pot at the castle tower is definitely the best. Watching the officials rushing home after get off work while eating gives me a sense of superiority." Yae no Miko sat cross-legged in Raiden Shogun's bedroom without a care in the world, and even invited her, "Eat, eat with me. I remember that the body created by Shadow retained all the senses of a normal life, right? You can taste it, can't you?"

"You have a good appetite."

General Raiden, dressed in a deep purple women's kimono, sat gracefully on the other side of the hot pot, her beautiful eyes closed as if deep in thought, and simply spoke softly.

"The hot pot is great. I haven't eaten here in a long time—since you took over, General."

"You can come anytime you like. This body doesn't object to you. If you like, you can eat and then sleep." General Thunder said calmly. "According to this body's memories, you used to do this often a long time ago. After all, you've been sleeping in this body's arms for at least a hundred years."

"Are you trying to say we're friends too?" Yae no Miko picked up a piece of sashimi with her chopsticks.

“Aren’t we friends? I’m glad you came here. But I don’t like what you said.” General Thunder opened her beautiful crimson eyes, her gaze calm. “Ultimately, my memories and Shadow’s memories are shared, so naturally, I will also inherit past feelings.”

"What you consider your feelings is your business. To me, you are you, and the shadow is the shadow." The pink-haired fox, her mouth greasy from eating, looked up from her bowl. "You are different after all, General. Just like since you entered, you've uttered 'this body' six times, but not a single 'I'."

Does the form of address matter?

“It doesn’t matter, but it means that the god I’m familiar with is not you after all.” Yae no Miko suddenly scooped a piece of fried tofu from the hot pot and handed it to her. Raiden General subconsciously avoided the splashing hot pot oil. “You see, if it were Shadow, she would definitely eat what I give her. As for whether it will get her clothes dirty or something, Shadow doesn’t care.”

The stunningly beautiful and aloof General Lei Dian was momentarily stunned.

"I'm sorry, I'm not her."

"There's no need to apologize. I'm the one who's sorry for causing you to lose a Heart of God a couple of days ago. Actually, I couldn't help it. I used that thing to weigh down a table leg, and there wasn't any protective measure around it. Besides, I don't think anyone would think that a stone used to weigh down a table leg could be a Heart of God."

Yae no Miko continued chewing, while mumbling, "Who knew it would be that brat Guo Beng who came? He knows our Yin-Yang techniques' restrictions too well, he's like he's in an empty field. Luckily, I left all my shrine maidens to Ryoko, otherwise I would have been heartbroken to lose a few of them."

General Raiden was silent for a moment, then asked suspiciously, "You gave the priestesses to that boy from another world?"

"Ha, I knew you didn't care about your Heart of God at all!"

General Thunder remained expressionless. "Regarding the matter of the Heart of God, Shadow and you had already made a decision before this body achieved it. The actions of the Fools did not cross any lines, and this body need not pursue them. In comparison, it is indeed your high regard for that boy from another world that makes me quite curious."

"In your own country, you forced your people to their deaths, and that's not considered crossing the line?" Yae no Miko sighed softly. "General, or rather, Shadow, shouldn't you examine yourselves?"