"Hmph, mere humans, still thinking they can catch me."
Hiding on the rooftop in his fox form to avoid the Shogunate Army below, Yun Xu proudly lifted his head, then headed in the direction away from Ritou.
Yun Xu had been in Ritou for half a day and had a general understanding of the situation there.
Ritou was Inazuma's customs, and those without identity permits could only stay on Ritou. Due to the thunderstorms in Inazuma's outer seas, these people couldn't even go home.
Most of them were merchants. While stuck on Ritou, unable to leave, they would also be subjected to all sorts of difficulties by the Kanjou Commissioner, who managed the area.
Although these merchants formed a Wanmin Association to huddle together for warmth, their lives were still quite ordinary.
When Yun Xu first arrived on the island, he briefly inquired about the situation from these people.
However, because Yun Xu was a complete stranger and had rather distinctive features, he was immediately noticed by the Shogunate Army, who were under the Kanjou Commissioner's orders.
Yun Xu, in his fox form, arrived at the Ritou exit, which was blockaded by the Shogunate Army.
In today's closed-door policy, foreigners must possess a travel permit to leave Ritou and enter Inazuma's territory.
However, a fox, of course, would not be stopped.
On the contrary, in Inazuma, foxes were a kind of "protected animal," strictly forbidden from being hunted or abused.
Just like that, Yun Xu swaggered out.
Those Shogunate Army soldiers glanced at him, then continued their guard duty.
But at this moment, Yun Xu noticed the goods piled up nearby.
According to the people from the Wanmin Association, the Kanjou Commissioner not only demanded high taxes from the Wanmin Association, but also, according to a newly issued tax law, required them to pay their taxes not in Mora but in a type of goods called crystallized marrow.
And clearly, this batch of goods was crystallized marrow; it had a scent that Yun Xu quite liked, which he had smelled earlier at the Wanmin Association.
'No matter what, they helped me out...'
Recalling how those people kindly explained things when he was new and unfamiliar with the place, Yun Xu nodded his head.
Then he slowly approached that batch of goods, and with his paw, he touched it with a sun and moon cup.
The next moment, this entire batch of goods was collected into his qiankun bag.
Then Yun Xu took off running, disappearing before those few Shogunate Army guards could react.
Yun Xu then circled around from a high point nearby, returning to Ritou, and transformed back into his human form when he was near the Wanmin Association.
The people of the Wanmin Association were currently troubled by the new tax law, as most merchants in the association had never heard of this type of goods before the law was enacted.
And Yun Xu was very displeased with the Kanjou Commissioner's tax policy, which disregarded the lives of foreigners, so he felt no psychological pressure whatsoever in stealing this batch of crystallized marrow.
Thus, Yun Xu kept a portion for himself and sold the rest at a low price to these merchants, which made them immensely grateful.
After doing all this, Yun Xu, in his fox form, left Ritou once again.
According to the information he had gathered, he planned to go to Inazuma City to inquire about any news of the Thunder Dragon.
After leaving Ritou, Yun Xu headed southeast from Ritou, along the way he could also see a human village.
However, before entering the village, Yun Xu suddenly sensed something and looked back towards a Tenko statue in front of the village.
There, a masked miko was looking in his direction.
Although Yun Xu was currently in his true fox form, he was certain that the other party's gaze was following him.
'Remember what Master said: don't talk to strangers who approach you, don't eat things given by strangers, don't go with strangers...'
Recalling his master's teachings in his mind, Yun Xu shrunk his neck and quickly ran into the village ahead.
"Hello, old man, excuse me, how do I get to Inazuma City?"
Entering the village named Konda Village, Yun Xu found an old man by the roadside and immediately went over to ask.
Hearing the sound, the old man's poor eyesight darted around before finally noticing the white fox on the ground.
"Oh, it's just a little cat demon. Inazuma City, let me think... I think it's that way. Leave the village, follow this road, and when you reach a fork, take the middle path, and you'll get there."
Seeing the white fox on the ground, the old man nodded, then raised his unsteady hand to point southeast.
"Alright, thank you, old man, and I'm a fox, a fox!"
Yun Xu nodded his head in thanks, but still couldn't help but emphasize his species.
After clarifying the way to Inazuma City, Yun Xu left Konda Village and sped towards Inazuma City.
After leaving Konda Village, Yun Xu arrived at a wide, open plain. The visibility was clear, and the vegetation was lush. Some Crystalfly fluttered around, and in the distance, a group of Nobushi were having a bonfire barbecue.
Besides that, Yun Xu could also see some foxes active, but these foxes were all red foxes, with reddish-brown to yellowish fur, unlike Yun Xu.
Or rather, they were the appearance of ordinary foxes, while white foxes like Yun Xu were relatively rare.
Only, Yun Xu didn't know that the name of this plain was... Byakko Plain.
"...?"
"Y-you, don't come any closer!"
As Yun Xu tried to cross Byakko Plain to Inazuma, his appearance attracted the attention of the foxes there, who surrounded him.
These foxes gently rubbed against Yun Xu's body, even making mating calls.
Yun Xu, almost overwhelmed by the foxes, struggled for a while. Not wanting to hurt his fellow kin, he finally managed to squeeze out of the encircling group of foxes and fled towards Inazuma City in the distance.
After running for a while, Yun Xu finally saw the city in the distance.
Getting closer, passing under a large tree in front of Inazuma City, Yun Xu successfully arrived at Inazuma City.
Although in terms of human faces, Liyue and Inazuma were not very different, unlike Liyue and Mondstadter who were vastly different.
However, the architectural style here was not quite the same as Liyue, and cultural differences also meant different clothing styles, so it was still easy to distinguish the differences between here and Liyue.
"Oh, so this is Inazuma..."
Yun Xu lightly jumped onto a rooftop, looking down at the street below and muttering.
He knew that Inazuma was currently in isolation, and a suddenly appearing foreigner might be subject to identity verification and travel permit checks by the Shogunate Army, so Yun Xu decided to act in his true form first.
After all, they couldn't possibly grab him to see if he was an Inazuman fox, and if not, repatriate him to Liyue, right?
"Next, I just need to find a way to inquire about information on the Thunder Dragon..."
Yun Xu secretly nodded, then ran across the rooftops towards the most bustling street in Inazuma City.
"Meow?! H-how is there a fox?!"
As Yun Xu ran across the rooftops, a cat box crawling on a rooftop ahead let out a startled cry, all four legs stiffening as it tried to brake.
But it was too late to brake, and the fox and the box collided.
However, the white fox was fine, but the larger cat box was knocked flying, flipping over on the rooftop, its four short legs flailing upwards, struggling for a while but unable to right itself.
"Woof..."
Yun Xu rubbed his head, looking back at the overturned cat box on the rooftop.
"...Such a square cat!"