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

However, she still shook her head.

This prince is perfect in every way. Although he is a boy, he is stunningly handsome. Even Torachiyo herself couldn't help but wonder if he were a girl, the title of the most beautiful woman would have changed hands. Moreover, despite being a demon god and favored by the thunder god, he is still very down-to-earth and extremely carefree... just a little too carefree. He has neither the desire to compete for power nor the interest in gaining profit. Apart from his ever-present coffin, it's hard to find anything else he cares about.

Even his trip to Liyue this time was for this coffin.

"What's inside this coffin?" Torachiyo asked.

That coffin was indeed a source of great concern. Shen Liang had never opened it in front of them, and when he wasn't around, they had secretly tried to open it, but it was impossible. The coffin wasn't heavy, but its quality was exceptionally good. Although Hu Qiandai hadn't tried to cleave it with a knife, if she broke it, Shen Liang would probably turn on her.

“There’s only one person inside. Aunt Chiyo already knew that.” Shen Liang suddenly felt the zipper on his side being pulled open, and a hand skillfully slipped inside his clothes.

Shen Liang's expression changed slightly. He raised his head and looked at the ghost girl with a half-smile. "Threatening me?"

Chapter Five: The Story Before the Orphanage

At this moment, their fiery red horses had galloped two or three miles away from the main force.

The female riders who were riding alongside Torachiyo had almost disappeared. In other words, no matter what Torachiyo did to him, no one would notice.

“Yes, let’s threaten His Highness a bit. It’s about three miles away, isn’t it?” Torachiyo looked down at the boy in her arms and licked her lips. “If I act quickly, it should be enough.”

Shen Liang felt the cool little hands touching her stomach and realized that if she let them touch her any longer, she would get diarrhea.

Speaking of this straitjacket, why are there zippers open everywhere? It's as if whoever's holding him can reach in from anywhere they want, touching whatever they want. He brought this outfit from the coffin; Mistelin said it was clothing her mother had reserved for him, in case he wasn't used to Teyvat clothes…

What mother would leave her child with clothes that offer absolutely no protection?

"It's Sister Yu Tu inside, didn't we already say so?"

“Mistelin Shaniat?” Torachiyo chuckled. “Your Highness, don’t always use your imagined friend as a shield. That lady you keep talking about is even prettier than me, a white-haired beauty. To be honest, Your Highness, there’s a limit to your fantasies. Look in the mirror; isn’t that imagined friend you’re referring to just yourself?”

“No, Sister Yu Tu is taller and prettier than me, and she’s a real girl,” Shen Liang retorted, raising her hand above her head. “She’s this tall.”

Feathered Rabbit was Mistylin Shaniat's nickname, because Shen Liang didn't like calling her by her long name. Shen Liang had once opened the coffin and measured her; the "corpse" inside, excluding shoes, was about 169 centimeters tall, which was considered tall for a girl. Moreover, although Feathered Rabbit's "corpse" was lifeless, it was so beautiful that it was practically indistinguishable from a living person.

Spending every day with such a stunningly beautiful girl has raised Shen Liang's standards of beauty considerably. Many of the high-ranking members of Inazuma are members of the Thunder God's Familiar, and beauties are everywhere, but to Shen Liang, none of them seem to be as pretty as Misterin... except that Misterin is only visible but unattainable.

There was something slightly strange about it. Although Mistelin's projection and the corpse in the coffin were supposed to be the same person—after all, the projection was a friend he had imagined based on the corpse—he still had a vague feeling that the projection he saw and the corpse in the coffin were not quite similar.

Although there was nothing wrong with his appearance, Shen Liang always felt that the corpse in the coffin seemed much more serene and gentle, while Mistelin, who was with him, often fought with him. She looked like an older sister and made sarcastic remarks to him every day, saying things like, "You are the dumbest Shaniat I have ever seen."

[Because you really are the dumbest Shanian I've ever met, I really don't know how they came up with such a clever name as 'Pandora' for you.]

As he was thinking these things, Mistelin sat on the coffin on the back of her horse, made a sarcastic remark to him, and then frowned and stared at "her own coffin."

Shen Liang didn't understand why she liked looking at her own coffin so much. Didn't she find it creepy to look at her own corpse? But according to Mistelin, she wasn't actually dead; this body was just sealed away. As long as a way was found to revive her, she would no longer be a projection but a genuine human being, and then everyone would be able to sense her.

Shen Liang was skeptical. It wasn't that he didn't believe Mistelin, but rather that he didn't believe himself. It was very possible that it was originally a corpse, and he, as a transmigrator, was too lonely and fantasized that the corpse would come back to life to keep him company. The projection was essentially just his subconscious thought... After all, although the corpse was neither decayed nor rotten, had a new appearance, and still had a pulse and heartbeat, brain death was still death.

Shen Liang suddenly had a headache... He inexplicably thought of the term "brain death." He was a transmigrator, but according to Raiden, he had transmigrated to Teyvat as an infant... How could he still remember so much knowledge that didn't exist on the Teyvat continent?

“I don’t care how tall she is, it’s all just your imagination anyway.” Torachiyo pressed her face against his and breathed softly. “What I want to know is, what exactly is your relationship with that ‘Feathered Rabbit’ in the coffin?”

"I want to resurrect her."

"why?"

"Why resurrect her...?"

“You went to Liyue to resurrect her, but you need a reason to do something. Resurrecting someone is incredibly difficult. You want to go to Liyue to seek immortality and find a way to bring the dead back to life… But what can you do if you don’t go? Did someone hold a knife to your throat and force you to go?” Torachiyo kissed his neck, her left hand, which was inside Shen Liang’s clothes, began to wander. “Wouldn’t it be better to stay in Inazuma? You have me, you have Fox Palace, and everyone likes you. Besides, you’re an adult now, and I’ve been looking forward to playing some… more mature games.”

However, Shen Liang was already used to some of Torachiyo's quirks. He just helplessly huddled in the ghost girl's arms and shook his head, "Aunt Chiyo, you have a family."

“The lifespan of spirits, monsters, and immortals can easily reach hundreds or thousands of years, while a person’s life is only sixty or seventy years. If I hadn’t met you, Liang’er, so late in life, why would I have chosen to marry into the family so casually for the sake of my descendants?” Hu Qiandai gritted her teeth, her voice somewhat aggrieved. “It was merely for the sake of family inheritance. I can guarantee that I have absolutely no feelings for him, after all, I can’t even remember his name… Besides, I am the head of the Yu Yu family. Logically speaking, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for me to keep a few lovers. Isn’t one Your Highness enough?”

“Is this the point?”

"So you really do harbor resentment because I have a family! I told you I could divorce you anytime! Why don't you talk so much nonsense like that fox?" Torachiyo was getting impatient.

"Aunt Zhaigong wouldn't treat me like you... Hmm? Eh!"

Before she could finish speaking, Torachiyo suddenly gripped the reins, and Shen Liang involuntarily leaned back, his whole body instantly stiffening as he leaned against Torachiyo's chest.

The ghost girl gritted her teeth and whispered menacingly in his ear. She slapped the horse's belly with her legs, and the horse neighed and galloped away. In a chilling voice, she said, "Back to the question, why do you want to resurrect the person in the coffin so badly? Is she very important to you?"

"I...I don't know." Shen Liang's face was burning hot as the horse jolted along, and her voice softened. "Aunt Chiyo, I'm sorry...I...I don't know, there's no reason...but I was born with Sister Yu Tu, and I must...I must revive her, it's my mission."

"You remember nothing, yet you still want to resurrect her?"

“Aunt Chiyo…” Shen Liang’s voice was trembling with tears, “I really don’t know, but I’ve always been like this since I was a child. There has always been a voice in my heart saying that I have to save her. I’ve put in so much effort just to come to Teyvat… I’m a transmigrator… I definitely have my responsibilities.”

"I think you're just blinded by lust. In your eyes, the most beautiful thing will always be that corpse, won't it?"

"I don't have those kinds of feelings for her..."

"I don't believe it! I'm not satisfied with this reason. You have to give me an explanation. I have to watch you go to Liyue... Damn it! I've waited so long for you to grow up. I was thinking that I would never have to go back to that godforsaken place, the Miyu family, and could stay with you day and night at the castle tower... Damn it!" Torachiyo suddenly accelerated, and the red-maned steed galloped wildly, becoming even more jolted. She gripped the reins tightly, looked down at the boy whose eyes had become glazed over after the reins were taken away, and sneered, "Do you know how heartbroken I will be if you go to Liyue? We've waited for you for so many years, and now you're saying you want to go to Liyue?"

By this time, the red-maned horse had already run dozens of miles away from the main force. As Torachiyo's favorite spirited steed, it was jolting Shen Liang, who was riding it, so badly that his head was about to explode. He had absolutely no experience riding a horse, let alone... riding a horse in this situation!

"Wouldn't it be better to stay in Inazuma and live happily with us? Everyone here is your loyal supporter. The General will groom you sooner or later, and then you'll be the Crown Prince! Am I not pretty enough? Inazuma is the most beautiful woman, and even in Liyue, there are few with my looks. That guy, Kosai-gyu, may not say it, but he's been single for so many years, what do you think it's for? So many young talents like her, yet she's always politely turned away, and there are even rumors that we're having an affair, what's that for? And Ling Shan-fang... never mind, that old woman just wants to eat young grass!" Torachiyo, holding him back as he ran wildly across the grassland, suddenly burst into laughter. "How many beautiful things are you willing to abandon for that corpse? What are you doing this for? Tell me now!"

Oh shit!

The Oni are indeed Oni, utterly audacious and reckless to the extreme. The thrill of being on horseback... was almost making his head explode! His usually carefree nature was now in a panic, a panic about him. His mind was filled with reasons... reasons, what reasons? Why abandon the wealth and glory of Inazuma to pursue further studies in Liyue?

Torachiyo likes him, he's known for a long time. This guy even wants to take him to the battlefield. Over the years, he's launched more than a hundred night raids, but every time he gets dragged out and slammed outside by Lei Yingdian!

Fox Palace? Aunt Fox is amazing! The entire court and the common people secretly admire her—a jade-faced, white-haired, nine-tailed fox. A white-haired fox spirit! Shen Liang is also white-haired, and white hair is his favorite thing. White hair is the best, white hair is number one! How blissful it would be to sleep in the nine fluffy tails of Fox Palace!

And there's Ling Shanfang? Wow, the patriarch of the Tengu clan, the most voluptuous Tengu! And despite being a mature woman, she's lively and playful, burying her face completely in his arms whenever he hugs her, making it hard to breathe! However, Ling Shanfang's children are over five hundred years old, and every time Ling Shanfang holds him in her arms and rubs her face against him, her younger relatives glare at him with murderous eyes...

What a blissful life it is to be so reluctant to leave! How could so many people have such deep and intimate relationships with him? Shen Liang's mind went blank, countless images flashing through his mind like a movie, telling him that so many wonderful things still existed. The land of Inazuma was a gentle swamp, and he could completely immerse himself in the sweet scent of rouge.

The next instant, he caught a glimpse of Mistelin sitting at one end of the coffin, gazing at him forlornly.

Countless images froze in an instant. Suddenly, a white expanse swept over us, everywhere was frost, everywhere were corpses, everywhere was the chaos of war. It was the permafrost of Siberia. A little boy, covered in wounds and dressed in thin clothes, lay blankly beneath the ruins, his lips blue, silently awaiting death.

Just then, a lance plunged into the ruins of countless frames, overturning all the flames and wooden beams. A beautiful white figure rushed in and embraced him tightly. Her hair smelled wonderful, with a sweet, creamy scent, and a wave of warmth flowed into his body, healing his wounds. She was like a radiant angel.

“At least there’s someone alive… there’s someone alive… my child, my good child… my good child…” the woman cried, hugging him tightly. “We can’t let him go back to Destiny… send him to a nearby orphanage, any orphanage will do… don’t let him stay under Destiny’s watchful eye.”

"Yes, but Your Excellency, he is the only male individual created using... using the young lady's genes, identical to K423-1 and K423-2. In a sense, he is the first male heir of the Shaniat family... are we just going to leave him to wander aimlessly like this?"

“Yes, that’s enough. Erase his memories of Babel and let him live as an ordinary person. The only way to protect all the children of Babel is to keep them away from us, away from destiny,” the woman whispered. “We are connected to the Shaniat bloodline. Even if we lose all contact, he will find us sooner or later…”

"Yes, Lady Saint!"

"If you want to live, come find me," the woman whispered. She cut her wrist and dripped blood into the boy's eyes. In an instant, the boy's originally dark Asian eyes turned a clear red.

At that moment, Shen Liang saw the woman's face.

Mistelin!

So that's how it is. So I really am a transmigrator, just with my soul transmigrated, which is why I've been alive since childhood? My memories were erased by Mistelin? But wait, it's not that I'm being sent to the orphanage, but rather that "going to the orphanage" means transmigrating. What does this dialogue even mean? And "Saintess"? Sister Yutu, can you really be a saintess with this kind of attitude? I seriously doubt it!

But suddenly he felt both very sad and very fortunate. He was sad because he felt he had missed out on a lot, but fortunate because... it was not too late.

"It's alright, my child, we will...reunite sooner or later." The saint kissed his forehead.

Only then did Shen Liang realize that the horse had stopped sometime earlier, and the female riders chasing behind had arrived one after another. Hu Zhaigong jumped down from behind a soldier, looking helplessly at the grinning Hu Qiandai, "Aren't you afraid of hurting Liang'er by running so fast? He looks like he's been through a lot right now."

Tiger Chiyo jumped off the horse with Shen Liang in her arms. The boy's legs were weak, and he could only stand by holding onto Tiger Chiyo's arm. Tiger Chiyo smiled and raised her left hand, tilting her head back to the sun, and licked the contents of her palm clean.

Fox Palace twitched its nose and looked helplessly at the ghost girl. "What do you mean?"

The ghost girl glanced at Shen Liang and whistled, "She didn't say anything, but it seems there's no need to. Although I don't know what she was thinking, she was crying her eyes out... like a child."

Chapter Six: I Don't Want to Give My Child to You Bunch of Seductive Bitches!

Lei sat on a tablecloth under a cherry tree, gazing at the lush, verdant Shadow Mountain Range. This mountain range was incredibly ancient, even older than Inazuma's history. It was home to countless yokai, including Inazuma's three most famous yokai.

The largest group is undoubtedly the Shadow Tengu clan. The Tengu have even built their own society in the mountains, where all the Inazuma demons live according to the Shadow Tengu's rules. Next are the Oni. The Oni clan was once an important tribe in the Shadow Mountain Range, but since the end of the Demon God War, there has been virtually no barrier between demons and humans. The Oni clan simply abandoned the Shadow Mountain Range and settled down as wanderers throughout Inazuma—which is quite in line with the Oni clan's free and unrestrained nature.

Since Raijin designated Mount Kagemuko as the "Inatsuma Shrine," the so-called "Narukami faith" has taken over. After Kitsuri-gu moved to Mount Kagemuko, he built the renowned Narukami Taisha Shrine on the summit of Mount Kagemuko, and enshrined Raijin to collect the faith of the Inatsuma people.

With the establishment of Narukami Taisha, Mount Kagehiko, which was originally the home of yokai, also welcomed countless humans. Fortunately, the three great yokai, Tengu, Kitsune, and Oni, were all important ministers in the imperial court, and their influence had long been integrated into human society. Most of the yokai would avoid the humans who came to make offerings, and everyone lived in peace.

"What we need to discuss now is the impending passage of the Dark Calamity. More than thirteen people have already died or been injured on the front lines of the Desolate Sea." Raiden Shin held up a paper umbrella and placed a bouquet of lilies next to the tombstone under the cherry tree, his expression solemn.

“If Sasa Yuri were still alive, he and Chiyo would have split up their troops and wouldn’t have failed to detect the beast invasion, and so many people wouldn’t have died.” Lei Yingdian also poured sake in front of Sasa Yuri’s grave. “The beast invasions of Kanria are becoming more and more frequent. Originally it was once every few years, but recently it has become a major disturbance once a year… In peacetime, we still have to maintain a system of more than 300,000 shogunate troops. The Kansei Magistrate’s Office has complained more than once that the national treasury is in deficit.”

"The army cannot be disbanded during dangerous times. In comparison, I think the shogunate is a bit bloated. Kosai-no-miya said that there are so many official positions now that even raising a horse requires three eighth-rank officials who receive the salaries of the left and right guards." Raiden Shin smiled faintly. "Sometimes I think that the country only needs three functional agencies to control industry and commerce, education and culture, and the military. If it were just about having three powerful ministers, it would be easier to control the situation than it is now."

"Sister, are you a little angry because of how those people treated Liang'er today?" Lei Yingdian asked cautiously.

“If Ryo’er is truly our descendant, the son of the gods, and His Highness the Crown Prince of Inazuma, then their actions today are tantamount to subjects defying their sovereign.” Raiden sighed. “If it were for some grand reason like the nation or the world, it would be a good thing, but they are merely afraid that the gods will interfere with the operation of the shogunate… Such a guilty conscience must be a sign of illness.”

Lei Yingdian nodded in agreement. Her older sister had always been more intelligent than her; most of the time she didn't really understand, but as long as she followed Raiden's instructions, everything was fine. It seemed her sister was very dissatisfied with the current bloated shogunate and was preparing to reform it. As her sister's strongest supporter, Lei Yingdian felt it was her duty to step up!

"Hey, hey, hey... I'm not saying this...aren't we having afternoon tea?" On the other side, a tall woman wearing a seductive and sexy kimono tapped her plate listlessly. She had an explosively good figure, and her height alone was a head taller than the Thor sisters. The original pure black women's kimono could not contain her high breasts at all, and a pair of long legs were unscrupulously exposed from under the high-slit skirt. Her whole body was full of mature womanly beauty.

The large black wings on her back confirmed her identity: the patriarch of the Tengu clan, Great Tengu Reizenbo.

"Can't we discuss politics over afternoon tea?"

"Political matters can be discussed at any time in court, but once we're at our Shadow Mountain, we should relax, eat, drink, and have fun." Ling Shanfang pouted. "Besides, I came to this picnic for Ryo'er... for Chiyo's welcome. I don't want to listen to all your rambling on about such serious things. We Tengu don't care about this stuff—people like Sasa Yuri who want to join the shogunate are considered oddballs in our Tengu clan. Look, if you're going to be a yokai, be a yokai. Why do you have to get involved in politics and the military? You're doomed."

Sasa Yuri was actually a junior member of the Reizenbo clan. After joining the shogunate, she died in the battle to defeat the great serpent Orobas. Although a long time has passed, the death of such a young hero remains a painful memory for the tengu clan. Yokai are not like humans; their reproductive ability is very low. In a lifespan of several hundred or even a thousand years, having one or two children is considered a good thing, and the death of even one child is a great loss.

“But you can have more children in Ling Shan Fang. You’re still young and pretty, so finding a few husbands in the human world is a piece of cake,” Lei Yingdong teased her.

"You're right, so I've already reserved Liang'er. I'm a great demon and he's a little demon god, what a perfect match! The probability of him being the father of my child is far higher than that of an ordinary human. I just don't know if the two emperors are willing to give up Liang'er... Don't draw your sword, Ying! You should learn from your sister what it means to have the majesty of an emperor, remaining calm even when Mount Tai collapses before you. Look at your sister, she's just smiling and doesn't take it to heart at all!"

"Shadow, take her down." Raiden Shin smiled and took a sip of his drink.