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

Not being very musically inclined, and mainly just pretending to be a cultured young girl, Fanan felt a bit awkward. Watching everyone on the boat singing, playing the piano, and dancing on the shore, she felt like she was the only one who couldn't do anything, and inexplicably felt isolated.

"Not bad, but the meaning doesn't quite match today's scene. This fisherman's song is about lotus leaves and fish, and the focus is on the joy and passion of a summer night, the waning heat, the harvest of lotus, and the happiness of having enough to eat. Rosalin, your singing is too soft, and Gan Yu, your pipa is too cold. It's not the right feel. Instead, it sounds like a love song, the kind of song where admiration is held in the heart but difficult to express."

The sound of Liu Yun borrowing the wind came from not far away, carrying criticism and instruction.

"They're banging drums and gongs at my cave entrance in the middle of the night, disturbing my peace. And their songs are so secretive." After Liu Yun finished speaking, he noticed the direction of his disciple's and the other girls' gazes and glanced at Shen Liang.

Shen Liang's dance, which she had been enjoying, had just ended, and she was now gathering up her large sleeves and tightening them with a binding strap. Liu Yun could only see his back as he sat there, swinging his large sleeves, his long hair fluttering in the evening breeze, his slender figure silhouetted against the moonlight.

Liu Yun was taken aback and fell silent.

"It's not as mystical as True Lord Liuyun makes it out to be. What love song... It's just that my singing wasn't very good," Rosalin retorted softly.

Liu Yun realized what was happening and, for some reason, chuckled for a moment. She walked over to Shen Liang, glanced at the fine wine and food on the table, and casually poured herself a glass of wine.

"The sound of the pipa is fragmented, evoking many emotions. Picking lotus, picking lotus, on such a cold night, where are there any lotus flowers to pick?" Liu Yun drank it all in one gulp, glanced at Shen Liang's cute face flushed from drinking, and sighed, "Time has passed, and only regret remains. What we didn't cherish back then, we can't get back even if we want to... So we should pluck the flowers while they're in bloom. You are still young and will never understand that feeling."

There are flowers that can be folded and must be folded.

Carpe Diem.

Shen Liang was still slightly moved upon hearing this, even though he was a little drunk.

"Lord Liuyun has so many profound principles. We don't understand this feeling or that feeling, but Lord Liuyun does? Lord Liuyun, you and Fanan seem to be the same, both of you are lonely people." Fanan teased her.

"Hmph, I'm not talking about matters of men and women. You lot are pretending not to understand." Liu Yun wasn't going to tolerate the young people, and then looked at Shen Liang, saying, "Liang'er, you again..."

"Hmm?" Shen Liang was confused.

"Never mind." Liu Yun sighed helplessly. Seeing Shen Liang still lying on the table without any restraint, chewing her food lazily, she couldn't help but feel confused for a while.

Long ago, there was a willful little girl in this position, just as carefree and adorably clueless.

"Speaking of which? Even the True Lord was tempted?" Gan Yu asked with a smile.

"How could there not be? True Monarch Liuyun is a girl too. She's thousands of years old now, but she must have been a teenager or in her twenties at some point." Rosalin chuckled. "If you ask me, it's True Monarch Lishui Dieshan! Both True Monarchs are in the form of cranes!"

“That’s impossible. We’re too familiar with True Lord Lishui, and we really don’t feel anything for True Lord Liuyun. I guess it’s Gechenlang City!” Fanan chimed in, his voice gentle yet mischievous. “Aping and Liuyun, you’ve always been very close. The atmosphere between you two is so intimate that even the Emperor can’t get in. You’re much closer than ordinary friends. If there’s any other possibility, then it’s only Gui…”

Fa Nan suddenly realized that he had gone too far in teasing Liu Yun, so he subconsciously shut his mouth and looked up to see what Liu Yun was thinking.

Liu Yun wasn't as angry as she had imagined. She simply sat down at the stone table, reached into the cave, and summoned a cloak, which she then draped over the back of the sleeping Shen Liang. After doing this, she looked at Shen Liang for a long time before raising her head and staring blankly at the moon in the sky.

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment, with both Gan Yu and Fanan remaining silent.

Something ancient, something I wouldn't normally think about, welled up inside me—bitter, soft, like cotton wool soaked in water. It weighed heavily on their appreciation, filling my heart completely.

"Tomorrow... Mom... When will this damn telegraph machine be fixed..." Shen Liang muttered, talking in his sleep.

Shen Liang had been eagerly anticipating the telegraph machine's operation. Tomorrow, the telegraph machine at Jigong Palace would be running, allowing him to communicate instantly with Daozuma, who was thousands of miles away. Since the last incident, the telegraph machine had been under repair, and Shen Liang had even complained about it in his dreams.

"Do you also like those ingenious gadgets?" Liu Yun suddenly asked for no reason, and then she finally sighed softly.

----------

The morning glow cast a somber shadow on the deep purple glazed tiles of the main hall of the castle tower.

Incense was placed inside the bronze tortoise and crane statue and lit, the wisps of smoke gradually spreading, the solemn fragrance enveloping the entire main hall. The officials waited inside, inhaling the fragrance, while today, a screen was erected in front of the throne belonging to the Thunder General, behind which the God of Thunder lay deep in thought with his eyes closed, as if he had not slept all night.

Lei Dian Guo Beng sat upright in the last seat, looking at the silent expressions of his ministers. He felt uneasy, as if things were beyond his comprehension.

Yesterday, the special envoy of Kanria secretly met with the Thunder God. It is said that the angry voice of the god in the palace could be heard by almost all the ministers. Immediately afterwards, everyone saw the commander of Inazuma's Tiger Army, Mikoto Chiyo, with a frosty face, carrying the special envoy out of the palace. She announced in court that this person had committed a great crime of disrespect and would be executed directly by the military without any further reason.

The envoy, undeterred by his impending death, instead told Thor to think things through carefully.

Generally speaking, political issues have little to do with the collapse of a nation. He rarely participates in morning court sessions, except for those that interest him. The two Thors also don't have time to see him. As a creation of a god, he is at most a retainer, not even a subject.

But today he was actually summoned to court, which means something big is about to happen.

When the morning court bell rang, Lei Dianzhen opened her eyes. On the table in front of her was a sheet of white paper, and beside it were the ink and brush that had already been ground. The maid on her right had been serving her all night, grinding ink for her all night long, continuing to grind ink for her when the inkstone dried up, not daring to breathe loudly.

Lei Dian remained silent, picked up his pen, paused on the white paper, and then remained motionless.

Then, her eyes narrowed, and she wrote with a sharp, almost murderous air. Once finished, she casually tossed the brush aside in the hall. A maidservant rushed forward, carefully picked up the scroll, and slowly unfurled it for the impatient officials to see.

On the white paper, there are four elegant yet austere characters.

"Survival or extinction."

Guo Beng knew that the person in the hall was Lei Dianzhen, because Lei Dianzhen was a master calligrapher with elegant and graceful handwriting, comparable to a renowned master. Lei Yingdian, on the other hand, was a martial artist, and her handwriting wasn't particularly beautiful. This was one of the reasons why she and her sister were easily recognized. In fact, Guo Beng had never quite understood why, even though they were two people who looked exactly alike and were even intentionally disguising themselves, Shen Liang could always tell who was who at a glance.

However, the murderous aura emanating from this calligraphy was too heavy, so heavy that it even gave one the feeling of imminent death. The ministers were puzzled and waited for Lei Dian to speak.

Raiden tapped her slender fingers on the table. After a long silence, she said, "I've been busy with government affairs lately and haven't heard about the rebellion in Kanria. I also don't know the extent of Kanria's intention to invade other countries. Last year, Rhinedot released the Beast Realm in the world, keeping the military and civilians of various countries busy. However, since the losses were not heavy and it was more of a restraint, I did not take any initiative and hoped to observe the situation."

"But now, the Kingdom of Kanria has finally lived up to my expectations. More than ten years after declaring war on the myriad kingdoms, Kanria has finally shown its fangs."

"Please enlighten me, General," someone asked.

"The Kingdom of Kanria is attempting to coerce the seven kingdoms into rebellion against the Heavenly Gang." Thunder's eyes were icy cold. "Those who do not comply will be plunged into the abyss. Yes, they have already gained the ability to pollute the world from the abyss. They finally have the ability to spread the flames of war from Kanria to other countries, and finally have the ability to drag the entire continent down with them."

Chapter Seventy-Six: A Side Story - The Shaniat Family's New Year's Eve

Foreword: Actually, there aren't that many people who want extra chapters, but compared to the few comments on the recent posts, there are indeed a lot of people who want extra chapters.

I previously said I'd donate 50,000 yuan to make up for the extra chapters, but by the end of the month, I'd only received less than 30,000 yuan, maybe 27,000 or 28,000 yuan. Of that, 20,000 yuan was just a donation from a single reader, which makes me feel a bit down on my luck.

However, upon reflection, it's true that the main story wasn't quite to everyone's taste, to the point that even the sweet side stories were more interesting than the main story, which is also my own fault. But the fact that there were donations shows that some people had expectations, and I still feel guilty for disappointing those readers.

Let's disregard our previous agreement and just write the extra chapter tonight. However, what was originally supposed to be a slightly special extra chapter will now be a more serious one posted here.

This can also be considered a way to wrap up the New Year's special.

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

New Year's Day.

Lunar New Year is celebrated only in China, not in Japan, so it's currently Japan's normal winter break. The shopping streets near the university town in Bunkyo Ward are still bustling today. Despite the cold weather, water trucks are still driving by with their horns blaring, kicking up sprays of water that swirl around, causing tourists and students on the street to scatter and dodge.

This street is mostly frequented by high school and college students from the surrounding area. Everywhere you look, you can see JK uniforms and long socks, laughing and running around, full of youthful energy.

Although the bloodline of the "Son of Man" is not an extremely powerful physical bloodline, after absorbing the holy blood of Shaniat, the holy blood of Kaslana, the immortality of Mebius, the bloodline of the Sea Goddess, and even various strange genes, even if he is not as good as the original of these genes, he has integrated them into a great deal. As a result, Shen Liang's physical qualities are comparable to those of Durandal.

With such genes, Shen Liang, although unable to see the Yokohama landmark building billboard directly from his Bunkyo Ward apartment like Yulandel, could still clearly see the bustling scene of the entire university town.

Peace and joy, all was so peaceful that it was almost unreal.

—If we exclude the fact that the coffee shop was booked out and that I got caught.

Shen Liang opened her mouth, obediently took a sip of green tea, and then sighed softly.

"It's so peaceful, isn't it? Lunar New Year. In China, everyone would be closed up right now, not a single shop open. Only in Japan can we find coffee shops." The tall, beautiful girl in the silver-gray overalls removed the teacup from Shen Liang's lips, gently wiping away the warmth from his mouth. Then, she tightened her grip slightly, pulling Shen Liang, who was about to slide off her white-stockinged thigh, back up a little, and smiled gently.

"very nice."

"What's so good?" Shen Liang said expressionlessly.

"So many years have passed, and things have changed. This university town has now become the territory of St. Freya Academy, with St. Freya slogans everywhere. Bunkyo Ward has completely become an academy city. But the world has changed so much, yet we still hug each other, drink tea, and eat snacks like we did when we were kids. Even our appearances remain the same as when we were fourteen or fifteen years old. Isn't that good?" The beautiful girl with light gray hair casually extended her slender middle finger and hooked it into Shen Liang's mouth, pulling the corners of his mouth into a "smile."

She skillfully and lightly teased the boy's tongue, "Cheer up."

I'm so happy...

Shen Liang bit her finger, her heart filled with despair. "It's just that I'm the only one who looks like I'm fourteen or fifteen. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. The most important thing is that you've got it wrong. I was the one who held you when you were little."

"Is there a difference?" Bronya smiled and handed over a piece of water chestnut cake. "Brother doesn't like it?"

Shen Liang bit down on one half of the food, but then felt Bronya's smiling gaze behind her. She could only swallow it, her face contorted in a pained expression, and remained silent.

“Since you think there’s no difference, there’s no need to make that uncomfortable face. Or are you feeling awkward in your long-lost sister’s arms? I… Bronya’s embrace isn’t as warm as Cecilia’s or Kiana’s, is it?” Bronya took out the half of the water chestnut cake that Shen Liang had bitten off, swallowed it herself, and laughed, “I’m quite confident in my figure, brother. It’s no worse than Kiana’s or Mei’s.”

"No, that's not the point... I don't think you have a bad figure at all, Bronya." Shen Liang's lips twitched slightly as she was fed another big bite of pastry. "Reuniting with my sister after so long, sitting on the lap of a world-famous 'beauty racer' and 'beauty game' producer, enjoying the care and pampering of this super-beauty girl, how could I possibly have any other expectations? But, I was just saying, Bronya, don't take it to heart. This is a public place... Even though you've booked the whole place, it's still a roadside cafe. What if one of the waiters comes up and sees me tied up like this? They might suspect you're child abducting me..."

“You must refer to yourself as ‘brother’.” Across the table, a black-haired girl with a wild look in her eyes stared at him coldly. “You are not allowed to refer to yourself as ‘I’ in front of your sister.”

What the hell...

"Brother doesn't want you to be like this..." Shen Liang gave in.

Bronya and Black Seele exchanged a glance, a smile playing on their lips. At this moment, Shen Liang had absolutely no idea what to do. He moved his hands, which were bound behind his back, and twisted his legs, which were bound even tighter. In the end, he could only sit obediently on Bronya's lap in despair.

He was filled with confusion.

Well, the Schariac family had a peaceful and harmonious New Year's celebration yesterday, so let's not talk about what happened last night. When Shen Liang woke up around noon, he went downstairs and saw his younger sisters, Bronya and the two adorable little Seeles, who had come to wish Cecilia a Happy New Year.

Naturally, Shen Liang, who hadn't seen his sister for almost a year, was "borrowed" without any trouble. Cecilia generously said that he had spent over ten thousand yuan with the Shaniat family yesterday, and it was time to spend with his own family today. So she simply granted Shen Liang a day off, and he didn't have to go home for that day.

But just as Shen Liang was about to chat a bit more, overjoyed at reuniting with his sister, Bronya and Seele had already lifted him into the car. In the car, he vaguely sensed something was wrong. But unexpectedly, the two Seeles grabbed his arms from either side in the back seat, and then…!

Then, those damn straps extended from under the back seat and automatically bound his legs! Damn spy technology! Anti-entropy tactics! Shen Liang should have remembered that all his younger sisters had received spy training!

Shen Liang stared at the two Xi'ers across the table, trying to influence them with his eyes, but Black Xi'er just crossed her arms and tilted her head back, her eyes cold and contemptuous; White Xi'er, on the other hand, didn't dare to look him in the eye, her face flushed and her head lowered.

but……

Stop acting all shy! The other you, Black Seele, is sticking her foot inside my clothes under the table! Even if you don't want to save me, at least stop her! Bronya, what about you? Bronya, I don't believe you didn't feel it! You were the one who took her shoes off!

“Don’t worry about being discovered. This coffee shop belongs to St. Freya. I’ve already had all the staff leave after booking the place. Just order whatever you want to drink, brother, and Bronya will make it for you.” Bronya spoke in a calm voice, words that terrified Shen Liang. “But if you want to scream for help, give up. It’s just us here. Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will come to save you.”

"If I really shout, there will still be people on the street who can hear me..."

"It's alright, the police here are also from St. Freya."

Hey, Bronya, is it really okay for you to say that so casually? This is utterly lawless and blatant disregard for the law! Shen Liang almost wanted to shout, "Heaven and earth bear witness!"

What do you want to do by kidnapping your brother here?! You know, if any outsider saw you like this, they'd think you were committing a crime, you know?! You're all grown up now, but I'm not going to let you grow any older. I'll report you all, and you'll be fined!