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

Chapter 83 If the first island you set foot on is not Haiqi Island

No one dared to make a sound on the vast Mingzhui Beach. Whether they were the surviving Shogunate soldiers or the victorious Coral Palace soldiers, they all lay prostrate, watching the conversation between Shen Liang and Thor.

“I don’t have to be.” Shen Liang looked up at the lightning general in the sky. “It’s up to you to choose.”

"Madman." The God of Thunder uttered this word for the second time. "This body is supremely noble and free from all threats. Otherworldly being, your existence is a dangerous signal. Appearing before me, are you not afraid of death?"

"Then we'll see whether you care more about your subjects or your dignity," Shen Liang said calmly.

He never imagined that he could hide his identity as someone from another world when confronting a god, so he gave up on pretending.

When facing a god, any comparison of power is meaningless; only the threat matters.

What constitutes a threat? It's not just about the strong bullying the weak, but about using what you care about most to force you to make a choice. Most of the time, only the weak bullying the strong is considered a threat.

“I’m not confident I can survive against you. Even if I could retreat to my world in a second, it would probably only take you a moment to kill me. But that’s not important. What’s important is that if I die, it means the negotiations have broken down, and the people behind me will retaliate.” Shen Liang remained standing despite the immense pressure from the Thunder General. As an Earthling, he would never bow down to the gods of these natives. On the contrary, what he wanted to do was make this Thunder God bow down!

"The crux of the problem is, do you have the ability to stop our Inazuma people, who can teleport at will, from threatening you?"

"If you had that ability, you wouldn't have shown yourself; you would have simply killed me. Right?"

Shen Liang disliked gambling, but at this moment he had to gamble, gambling on the scales of this goddess's heart, where her countless subjects were far more important than Shen Liang, who had desecrated her dignity.

Or rather, this isn't a gamble on the patience of a god, but on the patience of a leader. General Raiden is not only a god, but also the leader of the entire Inazuma nation. A god may have to care about dignity, but a leader of a country has little "dignity" to choose from. For the well-being of the people, a leader always has only one choice.

"Despicable alien."

After a long silence, General Thunder parted her lips slightly, her eyes turning icy cold, and said, "State your conditions."

He made the right bet.

"The Shogunate army will withdraw from Hachiyun Island and will not be allowed to launch any further campaigns against the Coral Palace for a hundred years. In return, the Coral Palace will not harass the Shogunate's territory in any way, and the two sides will maintain peace for a hundred years. As for Hachiyun Island, the joint governance of the Shogunate and the Coral Palace will be restored, and the specific allocation will be negotiated between the Coral Palace and you."

"This is a one-sided injustice; the Shogunate army currently holds the advantage in this war," General Raiden said calmly.

“The conditions I’ve given are the bare minimum, with no room for negotiation.” Shen Liang stared at her. “This negotiation is inherently unfair and based on our one-sided exploitation of power. You only have the option to agree or disagree.”

General Thunder didn't consider it for long; it seemed that for her, the outcome of this war was irrelevant. "Feasible."

"The taxes on Umijima and Hachiyun Island must be the same as those on Narukami Island, and the laws applicable to all Inatsuma people should also apply to the people of Umijima and Hachiyun Island. I do not want the exploitation of the Umijima people to continue, as this will only lead to the continued growth of hatred."

"feasible."

"The final condition is to lift the isolation order and the eye-hunting order, and restore the trade channels between Haigi Island and the outside world."

"I can allow the people of Umi to resume trade routes with the people of Inazuma, and I can also lift the maritime blockade of Umi Island. However, the entire Inazuma's isolation edict and eye-hunting edict are of great importance. They concern the eternal existence of Inazuma for thousands of generations, and are not just a matter of Umi Island. Therefore, this condition must not be met."

This was the only condition that was rejected, and it seemed to be beyond question.

But the current situation is already good enough. Shen Liang didn't have much hope for the third condition anyway. He nodded, "Then let's do half of it first. Lift the blockade on the Umi-no-Kami people, and from now on, the Inazuma Islands will enjoy common rights and obligations. The Umi-no-Kami people and the Shogunate people will be equal. Of course, true equality from the heart may take many years, but this is enough for now... This is good, isn't it?"

Shen Liang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He stepped out of the teleportation screen and sat cross-legged on the beach. He felt very tired. Confronting and negotiating with the god had almost exhausted him. He was not a person with outstanding physical strength to begin with, and his clothes were now soaked with cold sweat.

The surrounding Coral Palace soldiers parted to make way, and Coral Palace Heartsea ran over and threw herself into his arms. He stroked the little witch's soft, pinkish-white hair, chuckled gently, and then looked up at General Thunder, "Still shining here?"

“In thousands of years, you are the first mortal to threaten the gods.”

"I'm sorry to have hurt your pride, but please understand, General, I had no other choice."

General Thunder stared at the mortal for a long time before saying, "Actually, what you said is not entirely correct. It is not that I think Haiqi Island is weak and therefore ignore it. On the contrary, every time we fight against Coral Palace, the Heavenly Commander has to report to me, and I keep the details of the battle in mind."

"You knew all this?" Shen Liang scooped up a handful of sand, watching it slip through her fingers, a pleasant sensation. "Since you knew all this, why didn't you do anything about it?"

"The conflict between the people of the sea god and the people of the shogunate is a conflict between my subjects," said the Thunder General calmly. "The hatred and conflicts between mortals should be resolved by mortals themselves... Once the gods intervene, how can the sacrifices be resolved by a war of this scale? Even if you can kill 80,000 people, what about me? Should I stand on the side of the weak who pray for peace, or on the side of the shogunate that believes in me more?"

"You could have forced peace through your power."

"But the Coral Palace ultimately lacks an equal power. How long can peace last among mortals? As long as the power imbalance persists, exploitation will never stop. In the end, it's just a cycle, and I can only stand by and watch."

Just as Shen Liang thought, how could a god with a thousand hands and a hundred eyes not see him, how could he not see the battles that had taken place on this beach over the years?

But what could they do? The Coral Palace was weak and vulnerable, and the shogunate, faced with such a large prey, could not possibly relinquish their greed. Only when their "god" was also born, capable of equal deterrence, could peace be maintained amidst this bloodshed and violence.

Human nature is what it is.

Shen Liang slowly stood up and shook his head. "There's no point in saying all this. I've already killed the person. Any conflicts or hatred must be put aside from now on... Peace has arrived, General. Thank you for your cooperation, and thank you for not killing me."

“I’m not killing you just because of your intimidation, but because you are ultimately just a mortal.” General Thunder put away his divine form and turned around. “If you were a demon god or evil spirit, you would have already perished under my naginata for committing such a heinous crime. At worst, I would have spent a hundred times more effort to clean up your remnants… But you are just a mortal. The power you have created through your own strength is the very possibility of humanity. I have no need to kill you.”

"Thank you." Shen Liang was silent for a moment, then said, "Thank you."

The God of Thunder broke through the sky and departed.

"Shen Liang." But her voice still echoed throughout the entire Mingzhui Beach, and everyone could hear her last question.

"I have a question: if you had set foot on Narukami Island instead of Umi-no-Island when you first entered the Teyvat continent, would the outcome of this war have been different?"

Under the cover of night, the troops on both sides of the Nashii Beach remained silent.

He forced a smile but didn't say anything. Then, a wave of exhaustion washed over him, and he leaned against Coral Palace's embrace, falling into a deep sleep.

Chapter 84 My Cheat Code - 200,000 words finally arrived!

When Shen Liang woke up, she saw the familiar ceiling.

The bedchamber of Ruka Sangokami...

He felt sore all over, and he knew it was a side effect of continuous movement on the battlefield. His weak body had been running, jumping, and facing Thor head-on, all thanks to the adrenaline he was pumping at the time.

Now it's time to start paying off the debt.

"Xin Hai?" he asked casually, his voice hoarse.

Then he noticed the blanket beside him rustling up, and a sleepy little witch suddenly lifted her head from beside him. Still half-asleep, she hurriedly reached for the chair next to her, where a pot of hot water was placed. She immediately poured a cup and held it out to Shen Liang with both hands, saying, "Liangzi, are you thirsty? Or hungry? I'll bring you dinner right away. I'll heat it up every two hours!"

Shen Liang looked at her messy, long pinkish-white hair. The little witch was a very image-conscious lady, and it was rare to see her with her hair so unkempt. Clearly, she had been keeping watch by the bedside the whole time, keeping the hot water and dinner warm, as she would reheat them every now and then to ensure that Shen Liang would have something to eat and drink whenever he woke up.

The little witch is getting better and better at her job as a maid.

"Call Master."

“Even at a time like this, you still care about this… Master, Master, my proud little master.” Coral Palace Xin Hai blew on the tea to cool it down and carefully fed it to him. “You are not just my little master now, you are practically the little master of the entire Haiqi Island. I reckon Goro and the others are preparing to make you the next living human god priestess.”

Shen Liang coughed the tea onto the little witch's chest.

“Sigh, I can understand. After all, ‘human gods’ are essentially ‘divine incarnations appearing in human form.’ We, the successive generations of human god priestesses, are essentially regarded as demigods by the sea spirits. Now, little master, you seem to be more like a god among humans than my aunt and I.” The little priestess said, “And even though Ryoko is called a priestess, it seems…”

She didn't say the second half of her sentence. She felt that it wouldn't be outrageous for Shen Liang to be a human-god witch.

After all, judging from looks alone, Ryoko can completely replace Aunt Ruka's beauty. If she lets her hair down and grows it longer, she could easily compete for the title of the most beautiful living goddess priestess in history!

Furthermore, Ryoko is now known as the "Umi no Miko" (Sea Goddess), and he probably doesn't know that this prestigious title was originally a title for a young woman in ancient times. Since she's already the "Umi no Miko," then becoming a "modern human goddess priestess" doesn't seem like a problem, does it?

perhaps?

Shen Liang then pondered what he truly meant to the people of Haizhi...

—A modern-day god/demon male?

A chill ran down my spine!

He shook his head, somewhat dejected, and said, "It's meaningless."

Coral Palace Heart Sea knew what he was talking about, and after a moment of silence, she continued to feed him tea.

Yes, it's meaningless.

In Shen Liang's heart now, whether they are Haizhi people or Shogunate people, they are all the same. He has devoted all his efforts to supporting Haizhi Island and forcing a halt to the war. All he wanted was peace, and now that he has it, the Haizhi people's awe and love are meaningless to him.

"It's strange. After the war ended on your Haiqi Island, I don't feel anything for you anymore. I'm not your leader, nor your hero. Your Coral Palace doesn't need to value me so much." Shen Liang looked at the little witch. "I'm very tired. I just want to rest."

"Are you leaving Haiji Island?" The little shrine maiden put down her teacup, climbed onto the bed, and murmured, her forehead pressed against his. "Don't do this, Ryoko. I need you. At least don't leave now, okay?"

"Maybe I..."

Before he could finish speaking, the frail little witch suddenly pressed him against the headboard. The next second, she brushed aside her long hair and kissed his dry lips without any hesitation.

Shen Liang stared in astonishment, then, sensing the girl's youthful yet resolute will, he finally relaxed his guard. The two leaned against the large bed in the bedroom, embracing each other tightly and passionately, until Shen Liang coughed, feeling short of breath.

—The Coral Palace Heart Sea can stay underwater for more than three hours, so there is absolutely no possibility of competing with her in holding her breath.

Shen Liang hadn't expected that she would ultimately break the sliver of inexplicable feelings between them, but at this moment he still wanted to sigh.

"Why bother?"

"I won't allow it." The little witch stared at him, her tone stubborn. "I won't allow you to leave, at least not now."

"I didn't say I was leaving now..." Shen Liang said helplessly. "Where can I go now? I need to earn back the money that your Coral Palace owes me first. Why are you in such a hurry? This is my first kiss."

To be honest, Shen Liang wasn't sure if this counted as his first kiss. He seemed to have been played like this by Rosalia and the others more than once or twice when he was in the orphanage, but childhood games... shouldn't count, right?

Coral Palace Xin Hai was caught off guard by this turn of events, and her face flushed instantly. She stammered, "What's the rush... I'm not in a rush, why am I in a rush!"

"You're so anxious you don't even want to be a modern-day goddess priestess anymore," Shen Liang teased.

"I didn't!" Coral Palace Heart Sea retorted before realizing he was referring to the purity of mind and body that a priestess must maintain. She blushed deeply, but then, as if remembering something, she mustered her courage and said, "Anyway, we already have 'human gods,' so what's the point of having 'human god priestesses'? At worst... at worst, I'll just stop being a priestess of a god!"

"Then will you be my priestess?" Shen Liang asked, almost as if possessed.

“Okay, I’ll be Ryoko’s shrine maiden.” The little shrine maiden answered quickly, and then both of them were stunned.

The sheer amount of ambiguity and tenderness in that sentence left Shen Liang speechless.

—It seems that Haiqi Island isn't entirely useless; at least Shen Liang quite likes things like shrine maidens.

The little witch quietly slipped off Shen Liang's blanket, too shy to lift her head, and hurriedly ran out.