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

It's just awkward to be asked this by an outsider!

Before her conversation with Gan Yu could be overheard by those troublesome girls, Ayaka Kamisato put away her helpless expression and smiled, "The clothing industry has always been the most profitable industry, and Liyue is the richest country in the Seven Kingdoms. Isn't starting a business here the best solution?"

“The clothing industry.” Gan Yu nodded, her eyes still gentle and kind, but a clear sense of doubt had arisen.

Is it really the clothing industry?

The arrival of the Inazuma diplomatic delegation was actually a major piece of news for Liyue Harbor. The young man who was rumored to have dared to confront Thor head-on couldn't possibly be an ordinary person. With his arrogant and unrestrained demeanor, how could the so-called Regent of the Sea Island have come to Liyue just to open a clothing store?

This level of diplomatic matter had already alarmed the Seven Stars. Except for Yuheng Star, who was often away from home, the rest of them even held a meeting to discuss how to handle this diplomatic incident. In the end, they unanimously agreed that Gan Yu had an excellent image, and that having her contact the Rice Wives would be both sincere and a way to test them.

It is said that the young man who, despite his genius and arrogance, coerced the current human-god priestess into calling himself "Regent" had a well-known weakness: he was powerless against beautiful girls. His most famous battle, the Battle of Nashiina Beach, was said to have been fought because the current human-god priestess, Coral Palace, was injured, and he acted out of a fit of rage for her.

Such a spirited young man would be difficult for anyone to handle. Gan Yu is beautiful and gentle, so Qi Xing has high hopes for her and can even put aside his work for the time being.

Just then, Gan Yu suddenly saw a white light bloom behind Ayaka Kamisato, and the teleportation screen opened in the blink of an eye. Faced with this sudden light, Gan Yu subconsciously drew her love bow to aim, but suddenly saw a stunningly beautiful woman with long, straight black hair gracefully jump out from the teleportation screen.

She was startled.

“I saw you all sitting on these steps from afar. I say, ladies, isn’t it hot for your bottoms?” Shen Liang said with a smile.

While he was still looking down from Feiyun Slope, he saw this group of Inazuma girls sitting in a row on the steps in front of a hotel, looking like kindergarten children. Each of them was a beautiful and charming girl, and their eye-catching appearance drew the attention of passing merchants, sailors, and citizens.

"Ryoko-sama!" Chisato jumped up, cheering and hugging him. "We haven't seen you for days! Sniff! Mmm, we all missed you so much!"

"The boss actually opened a portal and ran off halfway through the ship! He didn't even take us with him!"

"Tell me! Did Lady Ryoko go to meet her lover in Liyue in secret?!"

"Waaaaah! We went through so much hardship, leaving our families behind to follow you, boss, into this world, and you just dumped us in a foreign land! Don't you have any conscience?! We protest! If you don't give us a kiss and a hug, we won't work! We're on strike!"

"Where would I find a lover in Liyue? Besides, we haven't seen each other for five days." Shen Liang helplessly pulled Hiiragi Chisato off her, both amused and exasperated. "Hey, hey, hey, Chisato, you're a married woman. Don't be so intimate with other people. Avoid suspicion, understand?"

When Shen Liang said this, he was actually a little unsure of himself, because when he thought about it carefully, he didn't seem to avoid suspicion at all. In fact, many of the pretty girls who were willing to seek him out probably had boyfriends... and he had never checked or asked them about it.

But the faint sense of guilt rose and then vanished in an instant.

—Young puppies have no morals whatsoever when it comes to this kind of thing.

Gan Yu's small mouth opened slightly into an "o" shape, her beautiful eyes filled with shock. Because at this moment, Shen Liang was dressed in cool summer clothes, with a loose white shirt on the upper body and only a pair of cargo pants that did not reach her knees on the lower body, wearing sandals, and her waist-length black high ponytail was fluttering in the sea breeze at the dock.

How to describe this scene? It's like a beautiful young woman with long, straight black hair wearing hot pants and her boyfriend's shirt. Apart from her slightly unsatisfactory chest, there's practically nothing wrong with her.

Gan Yu knew from the beginning that the person called "Shen Liang" must be a boy, so she quickly noticed Shen Liang's Adam's apple and his clothes, which were essentially men's clothing. But even with countless pieces of intelligence prepared in advance, Gan Yu still gaped.

But she wasn't shocked by the boy's striking good looks.

Holding the file bag, Gan Yu stared blankly at Shen Liang, who was very popular in the crowd, watching the girls teasing and joking with resentment as he was being mocked and ridiculed. Finally, she spoke softly.

"Eve?"

At the same time, as if summoned by something, Shen Liang also turned to look at Gan Yu not far away.

Because of the shared field of vision, Torachiyo, who was dozing inside his stigmata, could also see what he saw. Almost subconsciously, Torachiyo exclaimed in astonishment.

"Ganyu...sister?"

------------

"Sister Gan Yu, this is called 'telegraph,' invented by our General... The technical term is something like 'long-distance intercontinental communication device.' The principle is very complicated, and I don't understand it either. Anyway, it's about connecting this thing to an electric wire. Hmm, look, this is the wire."

A beautiful young woman from the demon race, with a face as round as the moon, held a ball of wire and gestured to the equally pretty blue-haired girl next to her, pointing at the telegraph machine beside her.

"The General said that by laying electric wires to every household, we can communicate across great distances using telegraph machines. What we say will be converted into text; the text will be input into the telegraph machine, and a machine thousands of miles away will output it. In the future, people can communicate across mountains and rivers, even more convenient than writing letters." Torachiyo scratched her pointed ears. "I don't understand why the General is suddenly researching this and wants to promote it in the Seven Kingdoms..."

Gan Yu knelt in the courtyard of Yuehai Pavilion, squinting as she enjoyed the warm sunlight.

"Did Sister Zhen say that we should promote this telegram?"

“Yeah, what do you mean… it’ll be very useful for the future,” Torachiyo muttered. “But how can this thing be laid all over the world? The manufacturing process for those cables is so complicated. How many cables would it take to lay them all over the world? Besides, our Inazuma is isolated overseas. If we want to contact other countries, we’d have to use submarine cables. The open sea is dangerous. There are all sorts of monsters, maybe even demon gods. How can we lay them?”

However, after thinking for a moment, she added, "But the general also said that there will be wireless telegraphs in the future, and that wireless is a way to communicate without wires... How can text be transmitted without wires? It all seems like the general is just bluffing me! Taking advantage of my lack of education! But the general is, after all, a god who controls thunder and lightning, so she might indeed have some insights into electricity. But then she said that wireless is not actually electricity... Ahhh, I can't remember!"

Gan Yu chuckled as she watched Hu Qiandai's frantic state.

Although Torachiyo is now a mature married woman, she still retains a youthful appearance; strictly speaking, she is much older than Torachiyo. She is a veteran retainer who followed the Rock King Emperor in conquering the world during the Demon God War, but Torachiyo seems to have not even been born during the Demon God War.

Immortals are just that strange and unusual.

"If you can't remember, then don't bother. I'll ask Sister Zhen about the specifics." Gan Yu gently stroked Torachiyo's long hair and placed her head on her lap. "You're Sister Zhen's favorite retainer, so she'll definitely want you to become smarter."

"Does Sister Gan Yu mean that I'm not smart?" Tiger Chiyo pouted.

"How could that be? Chiyo has always been a cute little sister to me." Gan Yu chuckled. "It's just that, despite being a junior, she acts like an adult. It makes me a little sad, and... well, I can't help but laugh."

The sight of a mature beauty lying on a young girl's lap is indeed somewhat comical.

Torachiyo shrugged. "Unlike Sister Ganyu, who remains single forever, I am the stunningly beautiful Mikoto Chiyo from Inazuma. I'm already married. Hmph, I even have a son. How can I dress like a little girl like Sister Ganyu? I'm the Great Shogun. I'd be ridiculed for being immature in the Shogunate."

"Chiyo, you... got married?" Gan Yu was taken aback.

"I have to get married eventually, I'm a youkai, not some venerable immortal from Liyue. A youkai like me who lives a long life just fights for the gods, and once the world is stable, I'll find a man to marry, have children, and live a peaceful life." Torachiyo casually said, hands behind her head. "Oh, well, you can't really say I'm married, since the man I'd like probably hasn't even been born yet. Strictly speaking, I've found someone to marry into the family, and the child will still take my surname, Yuyu. Hmm, at least the Yuyuyo bloodline has to be passed down."

Gan Yu gazed at Hu Qiandai for a long time, then whispered, "Human lifespan is short. Won't you regret it?"

"Then... I'll just die sooner." Torachiyo chuckled. "Just kidding. I'm not some kind of ghost who can't live without love. I'll find a man to carry on the family line and ensure the continuation of the race, and then it'll just be my own life. It's not like I don't have friends. There's Kosai-gu, Ootengu, and Shin and Kage. We immortals have plenty of ways to live. As for mere humans, if we don't love, we won't get hurt."

Gan Yu watched her silently. She had practically watched Torachiyo grow up; this demon clan member couldn't be kept from her. She wasn't as free-spirited and open-minded as she claimed, and this marriage wasn't pleasant or easy either.

She ended up with someone she didn't like, for the sake of her family and future generations... Torachiyo's nonchalant tone revealed the sacrifices she made.

Of course, you won't get hurt if you don't love, but who doesn't want to walk down the aisle with the one they love?

Chapter Fourteen: Aponia...Mom...

"Let's go back to how we were when we were little," Gan Yu suddenly said softly.

"Huh? Sister Gan Yu wants to see?" Tiger Chiyo asked, puzzled.

"I still want to see you as a young girl." Gan Yu stroked her face. "Really."

Torachiyo's body shifted again, transforming from a dignified and beautiful young woman into a demon girl wearing an ill-fitting kimono. For these non-human beings, this was an easy task.

"You look better as the young Torachiyo," Gan Yu said softly. "That's wonderful."

Torachiyo was initially surprised, then remained silent for a while before finally understanding her gentleness.

Sister Gan Yu has always been so gentle.

"I also want to... stay a girl forever." The demon girl finally shook her head. "Never mind, but speaking of becoming a girl, haha—by the way, Sister Ganyu, let me tell you something interesting. I don't know what's wrong with my general these days, the way he looks at me is a bit strange. A few days ago he actually told me that I will have a lot of luck with love in my life, and that I will have a husband who is even more handsome than me in the future. He also told me to keep looking like a girl as much as possible now, saying that my future husband's aesthetic is more inclined towards girls than mature women—isn't that inexplicable?"

"Sister Zhen has always loved to joke around."

"You have no idea, that big-mouthed Fox Monk spread the word. Don't even mention it, my husband's face turned green, and he keeps subtly asking me if I'm keeping a lover outside." Torachiyo laughed unrestrainedly. "Seriously, this is too absurd. Me, having good luck with men? I'm the most beautiful woman in Inazuma, who could be worthy of me having good luck with men? Ha, unless the person I'm going to marry is Fox Monk, right?"

Gan Yu smiled along with her, but soon Gan Yu realized that her laughter seemed disrespectful to Hu Qiandai, who was a mere mortal son-in-law, and quickly stopped.

"Inazuma is the most beautiful woman." Gan Yu teased softly and gently, patting Torachiyo's ear.

"This title was personally bestowed upon me by the General, not something I gave myself." Torachiyo leaned lazily against Gan Yu's soft thighs encased in black stockings. "A husband who's even more handsome than me... how could that be?"

"What if it's really possible? Sister Zhen is the Goddess of 'Moment,' maybe she can see things that you and I can't?"

"That won't do either. I can't have an affair." She shrugged. "Although as a ghost I'd love to indulge myself a little, as Inazuma's general and the most beautiful woman, I have to care about my image in people's eyes. This country was built brick by brick by Shin and Kage, and civilization is still civilization. I don't want to become the kind of role model who will be talked about behind my back in the future. At least—"

She yawned. "It wouldn't have been possible while my husband was alive."

Gan Yu felt that there was something different about the meaning of the sentence, and she inexplicably worried about her husband.

At this moment, Raiden Shin and a group of Liyue cultivators stepped out of the inner hall after finishing their meeting.

"Leaving Clouds and Borrowing Wind, Carving the Moon and Building Sun, Shifting the Sky and Guiding the Heavens, Managing Water and Stacking Mountains, Singing of Dust and Waves, Subduing Demons Great Sage... Good afternoon, everyone." Torachiyo suddenly stood up from Gan Yu's lap and respectfully counted them off one by one. She didn't really want to count, but these people were all, strictly speaking, her elders. Inazuma Ritsuki had always been on good terms with her, and they shared similar cultures. As a Raiden's familiar who hadn't lived many years, she had to at least call a Rock God's familiar who had even fought in the Demon God War "aunt" or "uncle."

However, the more Torachiyo counted, the uglier her expression became.

This time, eight or nine out of ten of the Liyue Asgardians actually came.

Unlike Inazuma, Liyue, where the Celestials have inherited their magic from the Geo Archon, is a true land of immortals. The number of immortals in Liyue is large, and most of them live in seclusion in the mountains and forests.

The last time these immortals appeared was during the Demon God War, when they were led by the Geo Archon Morax to conquer all directions. Their overwhelming fighting power was enough to seize the land in the "center of the Seven Kingdoms" and obtain the vast Liyue, which was most suitable for human development.

After that, these immortals left the mortal world and went off to pursue their own carefree and unrestrained lives.

Even though Torachiyo was still young, she knew that teams of this caliber had long since run out of room to maneuver. If they were still appearing together now, it would prove...

Has the situation in Canria deteriorated to this point?

But the immortals simply nodded and began to talk about other things.

"We can't get in touch with True Lord Minghai Qixia. He is the most skilled in formations among us."

"No one has seen the Horizontal Flowing Sword True Monarch for a long time, and his cave dwelling has long been abandoned."

"Is he dead?"

"If the summons to the immortals can't be delivered, then they might no longer be in Liyue. It doesn't necessarily mean something bad happened; given their nature, they might be traveling the world."

Then a steady, rock-solid voice rang out, the calm and collected tone conveying an air of complete control that silenced the argument.

"There is no need to worry. The war will not spread to Liyue. I will go to Kanria with the Thunder God and all the rulers to end all the chaos on Kanria's homeland." The man's tone was truly reassuring. "The immortals should stay in Liyue and guard it well. If Kanria makes any secret moves, we will need to rely on you all to protect the people."

"We will certainly live up to the Emperor's trust!"

Rock King Emperor?

Torachiyo suddenly looked up and noticed that the two gods had also come out. This was the first time she had seen the Rock King Emperor.