She had to wait another half an hour before Yae Miko finally arrived.
She wore a look of apology. "My apologies for making you wait, Captain Beidou. I was delayed by a small matter. Please forgive me."
"It's nothing. If there are any goods you need me to bring, just say the word. I'll do my best," Beidou said with a wave of her hand, not particularly concerned.
She just wanted to sell her cargo quickly and return to Liyue as soon as possible.
Having seen Sucrose's video demonstration, Beidou was now desperate to see what The Alcor would look like after its power system was modified.
Yae Miko knelt down and said with a sweet smile, "The matter of the cargo is easily settled. We can just proceed according to the old rules. But first, could we perhaps chat a bit about Liyue's National Treasure? I've heard that since he appeared, many interesting things have happened in your country."
Mentioning Su Han, Beidou instantly became wary. Why is this woman asking about him for no reason? Is she trying to gather intelligence?
"Haha, I'm not too clear on that myself. I just know that the guy usually hides in the Jade Chamber. I've hardly seen him. But I heard from Ningguang's secretary that he's a very lecherous man who is always teasing women."
"Captain Beidou, you're not being honest. And after we've done business for so many years, even allowing you to ignore the Sakoku Decree to trade. Now you're unwilling to reveal even the slightest bit of information," Yae Miko said. "That National Treasure named Su Han is not as不堪 as you say. Striking against the Fatui and the Treasure Hoarders, reorganizing the Millelith, and the electric lamps, instant noodles, and hot pot base you've brought this time… to say he has nothing to do with all of this, I refuse to believe it. Since Captain Beidou is unwilling to talk, then let's just end our trade here."
With that, Yae Miko stood up, her face incomparably cold.
As the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine, she only needed to give one order to make Beidou suffer a complete financial loss.
What a troublesome woman. Even more of a rogue than Ningguang, Beidou thought.
She sighed in defeat. "You've already investigated him so thoroughly. What else can I say? You're not planning to double-cross me, are you?"
"These are just surface-level things. I want to know more. Don't worry, I won't touch upon your confidential secrets. For example, Su Han's origin? Can we talk about that? As Ningguang's partner, I think it's impossible for you not to know, right?"
Faced with Yae Miko's questioning, Beidou nodded. "He is an otherworldly traveler. As for which world he comes from, I don't know."
This information could be revealed. She had already gotten Su Han's permission before she came.
Yae Miko was very shocked to hear this. An otherworldly traveler. That was something she had not expected. But thinking about the changes he had brought to Liyue, he must be a very capable person.
"How old is he? What does he look like?"
"Age-wise, in his twenties. He's quite handsome. His personality is a bit lazy, and he likes to order people around all day."
"Mm, that is very interesting. How about this, Captain Beidou? How about you take me on a trip to Liyue? I'd like to meet him."
"…"
"Why are you looking at me like that? I'm just curious. I think you should know that the Yae Publishing House in Inazuma is owned by me. A traveler from another world would surely have many interesting stories. If I could get to know him, I would definitely get a lot of interesting material."
In any case, with Inazuma in its current state, it couldn't be easily changed. She might as well go out and relax for a bit.
Faced with Yae Miko's request, Beidou naturally couldn't make the decision herself and could only contact Ningguang through the group.
Inside Yuehai Pavilion, Ningguang looked at the request from Yae Miko, and her brow slowly furrowed.
"This woman wants to see Su Han? The affairs of Inazuma have been stalled for a long time. Perhaps this is a good sign for opening up a trade route."
Ever since the Sakoku Decree had been issued, Liyue and Inazuma had been cut off from each other. She also hoped to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries. Now that she had this opportunity, Ningguang naturally did not want to miss it.
And so, she said to Beidou, "Agree to her request. The condition is that she must not cause trouble for Liyue's merchants and must provide us with convenience."
At the Komore Teahouse, after getting Ningguang's approval, Beidou said, "Fine, I agree to this condition. But could you please be a little more friendly to our Liyue merchants? After all, trade is very difficult right now."
"A simple matter. I will give the order. However, on the surface, we still have to give the Shogun some face. We can't act too excessively," Yae Miko instructed. With her order, they could naturally obtain convenience, but they couldn't completely disrespect the Raiden Shogun.
At this time, on a certain beach in Liyue, a figure emerged from the sea.
"Cough… damn it all. To think they would send so many people to patrol the coast," Scaramouche said, his eyes full of humiliation.
He had been played for a fool this time. It was one thing that he hadn't even touched his opponent, but he had even been baptized by cannonballs. If not for the sheer number of enemies, Scaramouche really would have wanted to risk everything to destroy that man.
Just then, a figure appeared before him, his tone full of surprise. "How did you end up in such a sorry state?"
"Get lost!"
Tartaglia's appearance made Scaramouche incredibly furious. A terrifying bolt of lightning shot out from him, but it was easily dodged by Tartaglia.
He looked helpless. "Scaramouche, it wasn't me who beat you up. Why are you so angry? I was just investigating some matters and happened to be passing by. I didn't expect to see you come ashore. Did you have a run-in with the Liyue Qixing?"
"My business is none of your concern!" Scaramouche shot him a fierce glare, turned, and disappeared.
Tartaglia, however, sneered inwardly. So you're not so great after all.
He had received news earlier that Su Han had gone out to sea and had rushed over. He had just been a little slower than Scaramouche. And so, he had witnessed the battle between the two from a distance.
Through this incident, Tartaglia was even more certain that Su Han was the very definition of shameless. There was no shameless, only more shameless. To defeat him, one had to be even more despicable than him. Otherwise, you would only become his prey, to be toyed with as he pleased.
"But you won't be arrogant for long. In the face of absolute power, little tricks are useless," Tartaglia said, slowly walking into the shadows and quickly disappearing.
When Su Han woke up, it was already three in the afternoon.
Opening his eyes, he found that he was lying on Shenhe's lap. No wonder he had slept so soundly; it was a different kind of pillow.
"You're awake. How is your body feeling?" Shenhe's voice was as gentle as ever. As she spoke, she even handed him a glass of warm water.
Su Han took a moment to feel his body and smiled. "My Haki has recovered by half. It feels great." A fierce battle was always the best way to improve one's Haki. He felt that both his Observation and Armament Haki had become a little stronger.
Just then, Xiangling heard the two of them talking and quickly ran over with a steaming hot pot of food. "Come and eat something, Brother Su Han. You really shouldn't be so reckless next time. If you can't beat an enemy, just run. We have plenty of people, after all."
"What is this?" Su Han looked at the full pot, taken aback. This pot had to weigh at least three kilograms. Not even a hot pot was this ridiculous.
Xiangling giggled. "This is my special Xiangling's Great Restorative Hot Pot! It has Qingxin inside, and some adeptus herbs I borrowed from Madame Ping. It's great for recovering your strength. Quick, eat up! Oh, right, it also has the kidneys you like. I put in six of them."
Su Han's face was covered in black lines. Good heavens. This is too restorative. Are you trying to make me stay up all night?
However, looking at her earnest eyes, Su Han could only reluctantly start eating.
It had to be said, Xiangling's cooking skills were too strong. The kidneys didn't have the slightest bit of strange taste, and after eating the food, the Haki within his body also began to recover quickly. It was even stronger than the Military Ration Pills!
In the end, Su Han only ate half of the pot. The rest was fed to the Snowball Beast and Botamon. As for Shenhe, she had a bite at the beginning, but after asking what a "kidney" was, she refused to eat another bite, letting such good food go to waste.
However, Su Han's good times did not last long. When everyone returned in the evening, the "criticism session" began.
This time, it wasn't just Ningguang advising him not to be so reckless next time. Even Sucrose felt that Su Han's actions had been too risky. If the enemy had not been alone, then he would have very likely been defeated.
Looking at everyone's concerned gazes, Su Han gave a bitter smile. "I'm not a porcelain doll. I only chose to make a move because I knew the enemy was alone. You're all worrying too much. Don't you know my personality by now?"
Hearing this, Sucrose handed him a bottle. "This is my special Storm Flask No. 680. The next time you encounter an enemy, it might come in handy. Oh, and here is a bottle of special, purified Blood Bodhi potion. It's something I made through purification. One bottle is equivalent to one fruit, but the medicinal effect has been amplified."
"How did you do that?" Su Han was a little surprised. The medicinal effect of Blood Bodhi could be amplified? That was no simple feat.
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