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

"What plum?" Lei Yingdong exclaimed in surprise.

"As for if Liang'er is truly unsuspecting, rest assured, Ying, Liang'er in Liyue is already in the safest place." She smiled, a hint of contemplation in her eyes, "Morax, I'm betting this on you with my beloved son, so don't let me down."

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

Mount Okuzō, Lake Unclaimed.

Because even the True Monarch Liuyun Jiefeng didn't know the name of the natural mountain lake at the entrance of her cave, she had chosen it a long time ago mainly because of its beautiful scenery, so she didn't really care about the lake's name. But Shen Liang was a strange person; after being here for a while, he found the phrase "Let's go play at that lake" a bit troublesome, and actually insisted on asking what the lake's name was.

Liu Yun casually replied, "It hasn't been named yet." Shen Liang immediately objected, saying, "Aunt Liu Yun, you've been here for a thousand years and haven't given it a name. It's a disservice to the beautiful scenery it has provided for you for so long." Liu Yun was both amused and exasperated, but then she saw Shen Liang seriously consider it and say, "Since it hasn't been named after all these years, let's just call it 'Weiqu Lake.' Consider it a name bestowed upon us by you, Aunt Liu Yun."

He does whatever comes to mind; this isn't the first time Liu Yunjiefeng has witnessed the extent of this child's willfulness.

However, Liu Yun was a little curious as he didn't see Shen Liang by the lake today, since it was supposed to be his and Gan Yu's day for learning horsemanship and archery. Because he was unwilling to accept formal education, Shen Liang usually adopted another educational method at Jigong, which was to seek instruction from his senior classmates.

Jigong Palace originally believed in teaching without discrimination, and the atmosphere of free discussion and learning was a key difference between Jigong Palace and Sumeru Academy. Moreover, it would be very impolite for Shen Liang to refuse such one-on-one instruction. As a young boy who had been taught by Lei Dianzhen to be knowledgeable and reasonable, he naturally could not be impolite.

Having figured out Shen Liang's personality, the immortals took turns trying to manipulate his mindset. If he dared to refuse, they would say things like, "Is the son of Thunder and Lightning really so ungrateful?" "I even held you in my arms when you were little." "Good boy, even if your mother came in person, she would have to call me 'Sister Ping'er,' and you dare to talk back? Is this how you embarrass your mother in public?"

Shen Liang was furious, but there was nothing he could do. Although he was a wildcat who wouldn't listen to force, these people were using "connections" to pressure him instead of "rules," leaving him completely powerless to resist.

Of course, he couldn't let Lei Dian lose face in public; he was the most obedient and well-behaved son in the world.

Liu Yun followed the mountain path down to Aozang Mountain and arrived near a grassy area. Finally, he seemed to hear the sounds of Shen Liang and Gan Yu training in horsemanship and archery, but since it was springtime and the grass was lush and the birds were singing, he did not see anyone.

"Sister Gan Yu... Waaah..."

The boy's voice sounded both excited and nervous.

"Hmm...yes, just like that...very good..." Gan Yu's voice sounded somewhat muffled and intermittent, and Liu Yun couldn't hear it clearly.

"Is this... the art of mounted archery? If so, Sister Ganyu, I probably don't need to... learn it, right?" the boy asked softly.

"Horse riding and archery, naturally... mastering the skill and... um... hold on, sister's horn."

Liu Yun was taken aback.

Gan Yu's horns are one of the few remaining features of her Qilin nature. As a benevolent Qilin beast, Gan Yu finds it difficult to relinquish her horns even when she transforms into human form. Therefore, her Qilin horns are actually quite sensitive, and she usually doesn't allow anyone to touch them... Although she and Shen Liang have a good relationship, but...

When training in mounted archery, is it necessary to hold her horn?

not……

Liu Yun seemed to realize something and couldn't help but smile. Then, with a curious wave of his hand, he created a gentle breeze that parted the dense clumps of grass.

Chapter 81 Sumeru begs for help!!!

Many of the immortals in Liyue manifest in their true forms. For example, Lord Liuyun is in the form of a crane, Lord Yixiaodaotian is in the form of a deer, and Ganyu is naturally in the even rarer form of a Qilin.

Before Liu Yun blew away the grass stalks that were taller than a person, he thought about Shen Liang, who was a little demon god. He really shouldn't have learned to ride horses. With his abilities, if he needed to fight in the future, he would probably have to ride some kind of divine weapon or beast. So Liu Yun guessed that the reason they hid in such a remote valley to train was probably because Gan Yu was using her true form.

The Qilin is traditionally a benevolent beast, imbued with spiritual beauty, and it neither treads on living grass nor steps on living insects. Such a sacred and pure race would never easily choose a master. Therefore, Gan Yu must be very concerned about her reputation, and even if she was willing to let Shen Liang test drive it, she would definitely not let others find out, naturally keeping her far away.

But when the grass blades fell to both sides, the scene that was revealed stunned Liu Yun.

"……Eh?"

The fair-skinned, radiant little princess was indeed riding on Gan Yu's neck, but not in the form of a Qilin; she was in her actual human form. Shen Liang held Gan Yu's horn, riding on the girl's neck like a horse, directing her to sway forward. It was originally a scene of sisters playing happily, but there was something slightly different about it.

Because the normal way to ride on someone's shoulders is from behind, but Shen Liang was holding the little Qilin's head from the front, gripping her black horns tightly to avoid falling off because her bottom had no foothold. This also meant that Shen Liang had to stand upright, completely blocking Gan Yu's view, which is why she was walking unsteadily. In fact, she was groping her way backwards, and what Shen Liang saw while riding on her shoulders was actually Gan Yu's back.

Liu Yun didn't understand what game they were playing. Gan Yu buried her face in the little princess's belly and stumbled as she walked.

At this moment, her confusion startled Gan Yu and Shen Liang. He looked up and saw the Fairy Liu Yun, dressed in a flowing robe, standing in front of the scattered straw bundle, her hands behind her back, looking at the two people in their strange postures with suspicion. Shen Liang didn't show any strange expression, but he sensed the panic of the little Qilin who had buried its face in his arms. Gan Yu didn't dare to turn her head to look at her master. She was almost stunned when she heard the sound, and subconsciously wanted to clench her teeth.

"It hurts." Shen Liang squinted uncomfortably and gently pressed the little Qilin's head.

"You guys..." Liu Yun stepped out from the shadows and glanced at them curiously. "What are you training for? Setting up a stage for a play? Gan Yu, put Liang'er down. Why is she facing away from me?"

But Gan Yu didn't say anything.

Shen Liang revealed a sweet smile that Liu Yun couldn't understand. He straightened his back slightly and tightened his grip on the girl's black horn. After a while, he said, "Sister Gan Yu can't speak for the time being. Aunt, wait a moment. Sister Gan Yu and I will go to the stream to finish the last training session before coming down."

"Why bother with all that fancy stuff?"

Gan Yu, her steps unsteady, carried Shen Liang deep into the grassy area. When they came out, Shen Liang walked briskly, smiling as she held Gan Yu's hand. Gan Yu, unusually, remained silent all day, neither looking at her master nor Shen Liang, her head turned to the roadside, like a child who had done something wrong.

Seeing his disciple's strange appearance, Liu Yun wondered if the two little ones had quarreled, and asked with a smile, "Where did you go?"

“I just went to…” Shen Liang had just started to speak when Gan Yu, who had been silent all along, was startled and hurriedly interrupted him: “True Lord Liu Yun, I just went inside to clean up my appearance. I was covered in dust and dirt from training for so long, so I wasn’t very clean.”

"Are you alright? I heard you coughing in there."

"It's alright, True Lord Liuyun. Gan Yu... Gan Yu just rinsed her mouth with the stream water and choked," Gan Yu quickly replied.

"One by one, it's as if they're hiding something from me." Liu Yun frowned. "Fine, but I'd like to ask about what happened earlier. Gan Yu, weren't you here to teach Liang'er riding and archery? What was the reason for that strange posture?"

“Yes…” Gan Yu hesitated for a moment and glanced at Shen Liang.

However, she quickly shifted her gaze back. She couldn't let Shen Liang make excuses. This little guy's upbringing had been problematic. He probably didn't think that what had just happened couldn't be made public. After all, in his eyes, it was just an everyday occurrence. So if Shen Liang had to explain himself, he would most likely answer truthfully.

Then there's definitely going to be a problem with this "archery technique"!

However, as the leader of Yuehaiting, Gan Yu was usually naive, but she reacted quickly in the face of crisis, and immediately said: "True Lord Liuyun, just now Liangjun and I were getting to know each other better and increasing our trust and familiarity. Because of Liangjun's noble status, the Emperor sent me to protect Liangjun and granted me such a long leave. I think I can't be idle, so I might as well let my true form become Liangjun's mount."

"You're willing to let someone ride you?" Liu Yun Zhenjun asked with a strange expression.

"Uh... if it's Liang Jun, after all, he's a demon god I've watched grow up, I know his character, and he's also Zhen Jie's child..." Gan Yu whispered, "It's alright if he occasionally serves as a mount, right..."

The Qilin isn't some sacred creature that shouldn't be touched. A thousand years ago, during the migration of Guili, which of the Liyue immortals didn't carry their people across thousands of miles? Gan Yu never seemed to despise those mortals. It's just that as a mount, it doesn't choose its master; Liu Yun felt he'd misunderstood.

"But what does getting to know each other have to do with him riding on your face?"

Gan Yu had now fully organized the reasons in her mind, and her speech became clearer: "In the military, mutual trust is one way to improve camaraderie among comrades. For example, you can stand on the beach, close your eyes, lean back, and then fall straight down. Your comrade has to catch you before you hit the ground. If you instinctively bend your knees out of fear of injury, then you have failed. So this test requires you to completely entrust yourself to your comrade and completely trust him. I think Liang Jun and I are the same. I can't see and I'm walking with my back to you. I can only hear Liang Jun's actions and verbal commands. I need to trust Liang Jun completely. That's the purpose of this training."

The white-furred, red-eyed wildcat she was leading looked at her in surprise and blinked.

Liu Yun had no doubts and simply smiled, "But in that case, our princess's so-called archery will have nothing to do with horsemanship. Anyway, how she runs is entirely up to you, Gan Yu, and he just needs to draw his bow and shoot arrows."

"Ordinary horses might not even run as fast as Liang Jun, so Liang Jun doesn't need an ordinary mount."

"So you're already acting like someone else's mount? Ha, you're my disciple, Liang'er should call you sister, how come you've become a lackey today?" Liu Yun teased.

"Aunt Liuyun, that's not right. Even if she becomes a mount, Sister Ganyu is still Sister Ganyu. I won't change my opinion of her just because I rode her once." Shen Liang retorted angrily, "I've ridden many people before. My mother even rode a horse with me. Am I that kind of person?"

Liu Yun looked over and saw the sullen little princess and the girl with her head down. After a moment of silence, he chuckled again.

Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun recalled the most tender time of her life, which seemed to have been when she met such a person hundreds of years ago. She was just as immature as Gan Yu back then, walking side by side with that petite girl with big sleeves who also protected her friends in the mountains of Jue Yun.

Gui Zhong always skipped and hopped ahead, humming a tune for no reason as she looked at the blooming flowers along the way. When the Rock King or other elders of the immortal clans reprimanded them for their many whimsical ideas, the petite Gui Zhong would always stand before them, hands on her hips. Time has passed, and it feels like a very long dream.

So Liu Yun gently placed her hand on Shen Liang's head, stroking the beautiful child's long white hair. The hair was smooth, like the finest silk, perfectly styled without a single split or frizz. Perhaps even demons possessed perfect figures. Finally, her hand stopped on Shen Liang's face, and she pinched the earlobe of this willful little wildcat.

Shen Liang frowned and ignored her.

Time has passed so far, and all life has been buried by layers of dust. Even a being as powerful as a god is ultimately no different from anyone else. The gods who once protected all people, the princess who once played the zither under the moon, and those heroes who were thought to be so special that they could never be seen again, will eventually see similar shining moments in themselves.

But whether those similar things are actually similar or not doesn't matter; it's just that the girl who played the piano, sang, and played hopscotch with you is truly gone.

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

On the first day of May, in Lumber Mill Valley, Liyue, at the Thousand Rock Army's garrison.

Fushe paced back and forth in the golden tent with his hands behind his back, Xiao and Yingda standing on either side of him.

It took Fa Nan a full day to travel from Jigong to the front lines. Upon arriving at her tent, she was met with a grave expression from Fu She. Her usually warm-hearted elder brother hadn't greeted her immediately, remaining silent throughout, which made Ying Da's heart sink with worry.

Two and a half months have passed since the Kingdom of Kanria issued its declaration of war against all nations. Two and a half months ago, no country in the world would have thought Kanria was a joke. How could a mere country, not even a major power under the rule of the Seven Rulers, dare to provoke the entire continent of all nations? It was simply courting death.

But even a normal person knows that a country cannot be full of people who are willing to die, so they have always been on high alert, and sure enough, Kanria demonstrated their strong military capabilities.

First and foremost is the mechanical technology that astounds even Fontaine, a nation renowned for its advanced mechanical craftsmanship! Tens of thousands—no, hundreds of thousands—of autonomous machines, a feat almost impossible for a nation like Kanria to achieve. Analysis suggests that the power of these machines originates from an unanalyzable core, and is not even part of the same system as elemental power.

However, this was followed by resistance from all nations, led by the Seven Kingdoms. Their governing-level military power served as a deterrent, preventing Kanria from dedicating all of its autonomous machinery to expansion. Instead, the vast majority of Kanria's military strength was used for self-defense, with only a small portion allocated to external chaos.

Yes, it's not about expansion and conquest, but about creating chaos in external warfare.

One nation's strength is insufficient to directly confront all nations, so everyone could guess that Kanria would likely create trouble for other countries by preventing them from launching cross-border military operations. However, this trouble was indeed too great. Taking Liyue as an example, starting from mid-April, autonomous Kanria armies that had smuggled themselves in using wormhole technology to ignore distance were successively discovered in the Laminar Rock Abyss region, Liyue's largest mineral production center.

However, if it were only the Kanria's fighting force, it wouldn't be so bad; the Kanria army, responsible for disrupting national intelligence, was ultimately no match for the private armies of various countries. But the trouble was partly because the first advance force had opened a circuit to the Abyss in the Layered Rock Abyss!

The countless abyssal black muds are even more troublesome than enemies. The black muds alone have turned the entire Layered Rock Abyss into a complete no-man's land! The abyss is a space that rejects life on the ground. Even the air there is uninhabitable, so the Thousand Rock Army of the Layered Rock Abyss has to fight against the infection of the black muds every moment.

In mild cases, it can cause mental confusion; in severe cases, it can lead to mental breakdown and death.

In addition, the "Beast Realm," which "Gold" Rhinedot is most adept at guiding, poses a threat to the Layered Rock Abyss from monsters at the edge of the world.

The three-pronged approach forced Liyue's main force to be tied down by the Laminaria. Meanwhile, the Thousand Rock Army, which had crossed the ocean to launch a counterattack in Kanria, became a minority, leaving them in a precarious and difficult situation.

It can only be said that no one expected Canria's ability to cause trouble to be so extraordinary.

“Yingda, news came from Sumeru this morning, saying they want to spread the Void to the Thousand Rock Army, willing to use the Layered Rock Abyss as the core, with the Sumeru army and the Liyue army under their joint command to overcome the crisis.” Fushe finally spoke, “What do you think?”

After a moment's thought, Yingda said, "I think we should inform the Emperor."

“The other party’s order was not from the Crimson King, but from the Flower Goddess’s secret decree. In other words, it was not a strictly official channel,” Fushe said. “Therefore, it is probably not a big deal, and I would never allow the entire Thousand Rock Army to use the Void. As for the Emperor… the Emperor has never left to guard the border of Kanria. What he has to do is far more important than the calamity of the Layered Rock Abyss.”

While mortals may not know, Fu She, as a high-ranking and powerful figure among immortals and a close advisor to the Rock King Emperor, was somewhat aware of the matter.

Kanria's current invasion of the world is, in reality, a last resort. There were already signs of this twenty years ago. The Beast Realm didn't just appear on the continent recently; twenty years ago, the nations were already wary of Kanria's covetousness. For example, the Thunder God of Inazuma deduced Kanria's plan from the Beast Realm invasions within his kingdom, and even informed Liyue.

But everyone knows that even invasion and conquest must be carried out gradually. However, Kanria did not have the luxury of taking things slowly; before its development was even complete, Heaven had already punished its disrespect.

Three months ago, when Teyvat, the capital of Kanria, was struck by a celestial nail, the "Heavenly Principles" slumbering high in the heavens were awakened and launched a joint offensive against Kanria for its audacity in attempting to wreak havoc. They demanded that the Seven Rulers nip the crisis in the bud, and naturally, Morax, the most powerful Daedric Lord, was also notified.

"Only a portion of the allied forces to overcome this crisis?" Ying Da frowned deeply, and finally snorted, "So they're asking for help. Sumeru is unwilling to admit how defeated their army is in the Northern Lands. Now that the Crimson King also needs to guard against the Kanria homeland, their army is struggling to defend itself. They want our Thousand Rock Army to come to their rescue?"