He changed Tiwat

The guest sitting opposite him laughed and recounted the "challenge" he had seen earlier: "'Listen up, Tengu of the Kujo family! I'll never forget the grudge of having my eye stolen! And you better not forget about the duel! I'll be waiting! I advise you to think carefully about who you've offended before you come in every time!'"

“Yes, yes, that’s it.” Rikuto Okazaki also smiled. “Then I invited Ms. Sara to sit in the shop for a while, and we chatted for a bit… Ms. Sara asked me at that time if the ‘Eye Hunting Order’ was a mistake?”

"So what was your answer?" the guest across from him asked with a smile.

Rikuto Okazaki shrugged. "I said, 'The Tenryo Magistrate will always believe in the Shogun's divine power, and the Shogun's choice must have its meaning.'"

“‘The Tenryo magistrate will always believe in the general’s divine power’…that’s a very insightful statement, and we should drink to that.” The guest raised his glass and clinked it with Okazaki Rikuto’s.

Okazaki Rikuto sighed, "When Miss Sara left, she said that if she ever had any doubts or grievances in the future, she would definitely come to me for advice. I was willing to be her mentor and offer her some guidance... but things have come to this."

"Ha, a senior in life..." the guest shook his head and laughed, "You are more than just a 'senior in life.' Even if Miss Sara respectfully calls you a senior, you deserve it. Even now, when I'm unsure about something, I have to consult with you, my senior!"

At this moment, the proprietress Erika brought over the newly brewed cherry blossom wine and cherry blossom cakes to go with it. Hearing the customer's praise, she couldn't help but interject, "Master, please stop praising him. If you keep praising him like this, he'll probably be so proud that he'll drink all night long tonight."

The head of the family she was referring to was naturally the head of the Kamisato family, Kamisato Ayato.

Erika Okazaki, the proprietress of "Uyu-tei", was originally a ninja from the "final chapter". She was assigned by the former head of the Kamisato family to monitor a big shot - Okazaki Danjo Daisuke Rikuto.

The Danjōdai was the shogunate's oversight agency, responsible for supervising all officials. It was also the highest prosecutorial body of the Inazuma shogunate, and in Liyue, it would be similar to the position of "Tenju Star".

Because of its exceptional status, the position of the Danjōdai (Imperial Regent) is separate from the "Three Commissioners" system and has always been held by noble families of daimyo.

The highest-ranking official in the Tanzhengtai was the "Tanzheng Yin," a third-rank official. This was an honorary position and was not officially granted. The real head of the Tanzhengtai was the Tanzheng Dabi, the fourth-rank deputy head of the Tanzhengtai.

The Okazaki family was a branch of the Matsukawa family, which served as stewards of the government office. A dozen years ago, they were among the most elite noble families in Inazuma. In the past, the town magistrates within Inazuma Castle were all subject to the supervision of the Danjōdai (a high-ranking official in charge of administrative affairs). It could be said that the Danjōdai had the right to intervene in all matters within Inazuma Castle, and their power was considerable.

This perpetually drunk Uncle Okazaki had held this prominent position for a full twenty years.

To remain in this position, one needs connections, wisdom, and courage—all are indispensable. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that one has "all the connections and influence."

At that time, the three commissioners sent people to monitor and win over this chief minister, Erika, either openly or secretly.

However, Okazaki Rikuto was never tempted by any "honey trap" during his tenure.

This person is shrewd and worldly in dealing with people, but has a very strong bottom line. He is adept at navigating between various forces and can even use the conflicts between them to do practical things for the people of Inazuma. He has punished many arrogant and domineering officials.

On the contrary, Erika, who was sent to monitor him, fell for his "handsome man trap"—when this Uncle Okazaki was young, he was as handsome and dashing as Ayato Kamisato, and equally skilled in both literature and martial arts. It is not surprising that Erika fell in love with him.

Until more than a decade ago, the "Raiden Goden" defection incident occurred. The Akame Kanenaga family of the Isshinden betrayed the country and fled to the winter. The shrine magistrate, the Kamisato family, was implicated. In addition, the Kujo family and the Hiiragi family took advantage of the situation and joined forces to impeach them. The shogun was furious and once wanted to strip the Kamisato family of their family status and honor...

At that time, the one who stood up in the imperial court to protect the Kamisato family, and was even willing to sacrifice his own family's status and official position to take the blame for the Kamisato family, was Okazaki Rikuto.

After being dismissed and demoted, Okazaki Rikuto chose to "go back to his hometown to get married," proposing to Erika, who had been "monitoring" him for a long time. He then opened this "Utau-tei" and became an izakaya (Japanese pub) owner.

After that, the power of the Heavenly Territory Enforcer increased unprecedentedly, and the Tanzhengtai was also brought under the management of the Heavenly Territory Enforcer, thus becoming a mere shell of its former self... It can be said that half of the power of the Heavenly Territory Enforcer today was received from the Tanzhengtai.

Kosaka Izumi, the "escaped Danjō" who died in the Battle of Nashiina, was arranged by Kujō Takayuki to serve as the sixth-rank "Danjō Daichū" in the Danjōdai. Although nominally only a subordinate judge of the Danjōdai, he was, in fact, the highest-ranking official of the Danjōdai in the absence of the Danjō Daipū.

From that time onward, the Tianling Enforcement Bureau also began to become a behemoth that integrated public powers such as the military, public security, and supervision.

After Okazaki Rikuto retired, although he no longer held power, his informants remained as sharp as ever. Moreover, losing his status as a shogunate official made it easier for him to get closer to the people of Inazuma and to interact with all sorts of people from all walks of life.

If there's a local tyrant in Inazuma Castle, it's definitely not Toma, but rather Okazaki Rikuto, the owner of "Uyu-tei".

When Ayato Kamisato said that he consulted Rikuto Okazaki when he was indecisive, it was not an empty statement. When he first took over as the company's magistrate, he also sought advice from Rikuto Okazaki and received a lot of help. After all, he was the former chief minister of the Ministry of Justice. A little bit of "past events" that slipped through his fingers was enough for Ayato to make a big deal out of it.

As for why Okazaki Rikuto is so close to the Kamisato family, the magistrate of the yamen... the cherry blossom sake and cherry blossom rice cakes on the table already explain everything.

The priest, whose family crest is a cherry blossom in the shape of a shadow, is very fond of the scarlet cherry blossom wine and cherry blossom rice cakes from "Uyu-tei".

Hearing Erika complain, Okazaki Rikuto deliberately puffed out his chest and shrugged his belly, indicating that his stomach could still hold a lot more alcohol. Erika stomped her foot and simply ran to the kitchen to ignore him.

Seeing the interaction between the two, Ayato recited a waka poem with great emotion: "When will spring flowers bloom again? My heart is filled with boundless thoughts."

Rikuto Okazaki replied with a smile, "The remaining snow on the branches looks like flowers."

Ayato put down his wine glass and said seriously, "Mr. Okazaki, I've come tonight to inform you—the time has come."

Rikuto Okazaki also put down his glass, but his face still had that lazy look, and he even reached out to pick at his ear: "...What time?"

“Autumn is here, the harvest season is approaching,” Ayato replied.

Okazaki Rikuto paused slightly. What Ayato had just said wasn't some kind of secret code, but a line from a script.

This line comes from the light novel that's been all the rage in Inazuma City these past few days, "The Record of Chen Qiu Picking Up the Sword"—

"Autumn is here, and the harvest season is approaching."

Saito Kisuke said.

In times of war, ninjas were powerful figures who defended themselves against danger and served as mercenaries for daimyo.

Born of war, strengthened by power, this is the destiny of the ninja.

Disillusionment at the end of war and collapse due to the loss of power is also the fate of ninjas.

Shogun Imagawa finally unified all the countries. In this world, the ninjas who were discarded after their usefulness was over were either wiped out or incorporated into the army. Some of them then became outlaws and bandits.

Saito Kisuke was such a person.

"No rush, let the villagers finish harvesting the rice for us."

The one speaking is Mi Youzuo.

The so-called mountain bandits were either warriors who were tired of martial arts or farmers who fought against death.

Born of war, strengthened by cunning, and became unruly because of its strength.

Therefore, when the war ended and peace returned, the power of the mountain bandits faded away like a mayfly.

Mi Youzuo came from an ordinary farming family. He became a bandit in his forties, but he thrived and became a local leader.

The most wicked thieves are those who have suffered greatly from oppression.

"Then, they burned it all down, leaving no survivors."

This is the lingering echo of a chaotic world.

The line that Ayato just said was what the bandits in the book said before they were preparing to attack Asada Village.

In the eyes of the bandits, the hard work of the farmers harvesting rice was nothing more than packing "tribute" for the bandits.

Ayato's use of this line at this moment naturally carries a deeper meaning.

Okazaki Rikuto thought for a moment, then pointed to the cherry blossom wine on the table and asked, "Was it at the behest of that lord?"

Ayato nodded: "The autumn harvest will begin in three days."

"At that time, the 'Tokusei Ikki' will break out in Konta Village, the refugees in the castle town who cannot receive 'relief food' will also riot, and samurai from kendo schools such as 'Meijyo Shisui-ryu' will join in, causing much greater chaos than tonight."

"And that lord hopes that the Matsukawa and Nagaoka families of the government office can use this matter to submit a petition to the shogun impeaching Kujō Takayuki—the Okuzawa clan will open a convenient door so that you lords can directly reach the emperor's ears."

Okazaki Rikuto squinted at the flask of Sakura sake on the table for a long time before finally grabbing the flask and drinking it all in one gulp.

“I did it,” he said.

Chapter 168 When the emperor was in a high position, he was in charge of adjusting the cauldrons; pitifully, the world had its complaints. [4k5]

September 31nd, dawn.

After being docked for several days, the "Tianheng" quietly sailed out of the port of Tasha.

A thin mist hung over the sea, making the "Tianheng" appear like a hazy shadow, sometimes visible and sometimes hidden in the fog. From a distance, it resembled the "ghost ship" from the Inazuma legend.

Han Fulai stood alone at the bow of the ship, his gaze piercing through the vast sea, directed towards some unknown distance.

He wasn't wearing his usual Moon Sea Pavilion uniform today, but instead wore a custom-made black suit by Ningguang. He didn't look like he was preparing for war, but rather like he was going to attend some grand event, having specially chosen a more "photogenic" outfit.

The reason he's described as "photogenic" is because there's actually a camera behind him.

Not far behind him on the deck, there was a "projector" invented by Xavier, an engineer from Fontainebleau, with its camera pointed directly at him.

Surrounding the "projector" was a nine-palace eight-trigram array that he had personally drawn on the deck—this was the "preparation work" that Han Fulai had done last night.

The combination of this highly modern "projector" and the ancient Qimen Dunjia formation looks rather bizarre...

After a while, someone went up onto the deck.

He heard Xingqiu's concerned voice behind him.

"Brother Han, you haven't slept all night, shouldn't you take a rest now?"

She is now Han Fulai's secretary and assistant, although not a "personal secretary," but reminding Brother Han to take care of his health is part of her job.

Han Fulai didn't turn around, and casually replied, "I'm not tired... You're the one who needs to rest. You've been working on your manuscript all night, why don't you go back to your cabin and get some sleep?"

Xingqiu chuckled: "If you, as the eldest brother, don't rest, how dare we, the younger brothers, rest on our own?"

"What do you mean by 'we, the underlings'? It makes it sound like I have a lot of underlings..."

Han Fulai turned around to complain, but stopped himself halfway through his sentence.

Xingqiu tilted his head and said with a smile, "Oh, not that you have a lot of little brothers, but that you have a lot of 'good little sisters,' right?"

Han Fulai did not refute this—because Xingqiu had also changed into new clothes.

Standing before him was Xingqiu, who was no longer wearing the familiar ruffled silk blouse, but a brand-new dark blue swallowtail coat. The bamboo pattern was elegant, and the tailoring was impeccable, clearly the work of a master craftsman.

If Xingqiu usually gives people the impression of a "young knight-errant", then when she wears this formal attire, she becomes a true "elegant gentleman", her temperament changing from dynamic to serene, almost completely reversed.

—This is the banquet dress that the "Feiyun Chamber of Commerce" prepared for her.

Since Xingqiu was in Inazuma as a "Liyue trade representative", her family naturally prepared suitable clothing for her.

Her dress is from "Chiori-ya" in Fontainebleau, a work by Ms. Chiori, a famous fashion designer from Inazuma, who is known as the "Cloth Master of Thunder".

The fashion of Fontaine, the elegance of Liyue, and the refinement of Inazuma are all incorporated into this dress, truly making it a sight to behold.

Moreover, Xingqiu also added some elements she liked to this outfit.

For example, the long ribbon bow on her chest, the silver everlasting flower at her waist, the little high heels on her feet... and the cute little tuft of hair at the end of her hair.

This formal attire is, of course, men's clothing. To outsiders, Xingqiu's minor modifications are nothing more than a display of "following trends" and "liking fashion."

But in Han Fulai's eyes, who knew the true identity of "Second Miss", Xingqiu was clearly emphasizing to him on purpose - I am a girl, and a very cute girl at that.

He inexplicably recalled the saying, "A woman adorns herself for the one who appreciates her."

Xingqiu smiled and winked, then deliberately twirled in front of him, seemingly waiting for his evaluation.

After hesitating for a long time, Han Fulai finally gave his opinion: "...It's very good."

That's the only way to describe "brothers," right?

Xingqiu didn't mind that his praise wasn't enthusiastic enough; in fact, she had already guessed how Brother Han would react.

Anyway, as long as you see it, that's fine.

She naturally changed the subject: "The direction Brother Han was looking just now didn't seem to be Kannazuka?"

Shenwuzhong is located northeast of Tabaisha, which, according to the "Tianheng" ship's course, should be directly in front of it. However, when Han Fulai looked out from the railing just now, he was actually looking south of Tabaisha.

"Oh, I'm looking at Qinglai Island."

Han Fulai pointed towards Qinglai Island.

As dawn broke, the sea remained overcast and shrouded in fog, making even a large island like Kannazuka difficult to discern from a distance.

However, the location of Qinglai Island is very clear—because it is shrouded in thunderclouds all year round, and even the fog cannot hide the flashes of lightning above the island, as if the thunder god has brought down an endless divine punishment.

In fact, Qinglai Island did suffer "divine punishment".

However, this divine punishment did not come from General Thunder, but from the Thunder Bird that General Thunder sealed on Qinglai Island in his early years—that is, the most terrifying "creature" in the eyes of the Inazuma people, the "giant fluttering moth" that Han Fulai had seen in the secret realm at the bottom of Qingce Lake—"Thunder Sound Manifestation".

Naturally, no one lives on Qinglai Island now; it would be impossible for anyone to survive such a thunderstorm.

Xingqiu asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why would Brother Han be interested in Qinglai Island? Qinglai Island has nothing to do with us, does it?"

Their mission was to conquer the "Kujou Jinya" in Kannazuka, which was completely unrelated to Seira Island, which was hundreds of nautical miles away, and they weren't even on the same route.

Han Fulai smiled and replied, "Although it's unrelated, it's not entirely unrelated either... I was just thinking that we are actually doing the same thing as the ancients more than four hundred years ago."

"Ancient people?" Xingqiu tilted her head, puzzled, and her little ponytail swayed like a puppy's tail.

"Ahem." Han Fulai raised his hand to cover his mouth, stopping himself from the urge to tug at Xingqiu's "little tail," and said in a muffled voice, "Have you heard about the 'Qinglai Pill'?"

"Hmm..." Xingqiu frowned and recalled the books he had read in the past, but in the end he shook his head. This was indeed the first time he had heard of this name.

Han Fulai wasn't surprised, after all, this was a side story in the game, and it was the kind of thing that most of the people who knew about it had been dead for hundreds of years, so it was normal that Xingqiu didn't know.

He patted the railing on the side of the ship and said, "That was the largest ship in Inazuma's history, maybe about the same size as the 'Tenheng'. That ship once faced the might of thunder, and it is probably the most famous 'ghost ship' in the legends of Inazuma."

"'Facing the might of thunder'! 'Ghost ship'!" As a light novel author, Xingqiu was very interested in these words.

Han Fulai smiled and said, "Then let me tell you a story."

The legend of the "ghost ship" has a long history.