Chapter 204

"Come, the god you are to serve is here. Begin your service!"

358. The Dolls of the Lady Kitsune

The purpose of a shrine maiden's existence is to serve the gods. This is the role that shrine maidens have had from the beginning. However, the gods of Inazuma have always been in a reclusive environment, so shrine maidens basically do not have to face the gods.

Now, the god they were to serve had appeared before them, and for the first time, the priestesses were to perform their duties.

What are you doing?

Raiden Ei quickly finished making the doll, returned to Grand Narukami Shrine, and then looked at the scene before him with a question.

"I'm resting."

Li Yue, with her head resting on Kamisato Ayaka, lying on the tatami mat with her legs draped over Kokomi's lap and Kokomi's small hands helping to massage them, answered.

"Rest?"

Raiden Ei looked puzzled. Kamisato Ayaka and Kokomi immediately looked at Raiden Ei, but Raiden Ei's next sentence left them speechless.

"That's right, this is indeed a rest."

Is this what you call resting?!

Kamisato Ayaka and Kokomi stared blankly at the Raiden Ei, inwardly criticizing it at the same time.

Raiden Ei had held Makoto Raiden before, letting Makoto Raiden rest in her arms. Li Yue had also done this before, resting her head on Raiden Makoto's lap. So it's fine for her to rest. As for resting with Kamisato Ayaka and Kokomi, that's fine too.

"Since you are resting, I will not disturb you for now. I have finished making the Lady Kitsune puppet. I will go and have the Yae Miko put the Lady Kitsune's consciousness into it."

"I'll come and take a look too."

Aren't you going to rest?

"I've already rested for a day, I've had enough rest."

Li Yue put her legs down from Kokomi's thighs, and then directly got up from Kamisato Ayaka's thighs.

After returning to the Tenshukaku from the Raiden Ei, making the dolls for the Lady Kitsune, and then coming back, a whole day had passed. During this day, Li Yue dragged Kamisato Ayaka and Kokomi along to play. What did they play? Basically, they just had her massage her back and legs and give her a lap pillow. After all, this was Grand Narukami Shrine, so what else could they do? Li Yue wasn't really interested in the two of them; she just wanted to have some fun with them.

Even so, the two of them were very careful when accompanying her, after all, they had never seen anyone need to be served like this before. One was a priestess of the Sangonomiya, who held a high position on Watatsumi Island, and the other was the former White Heron Princess, one of the Tri-Commission. They had never done anything like this before.

After letting the two girls rest, Li Yue followed Raiden Ei to the room where Yae Miko had placed Kikue. Yae Miko had stayed there all night and hadn't left since settling Kikue. She truly hoped that Lady Kitsune could return.

"Yae Miko, I have finished making the dolls of Lady Kitsune."

Ying shouted as soon as she pushed open the door.

"Okay, okay, I'm the only one here, you don't need to call me that."

Yae Miko heard the shadow's voice and responded helplessly from inside.

"Come here, put the doll you made here."

Yae pointed to the empty space on the bed and gave instructions to Raiden Ei.

"OK."

Ying lowered the doll she had made from behind her back. It was a huge rectangular box. After setting the box down, she opened it. Li Yue curiously peeked inside and saw a fox-eared girl lying quietly inside.

Although you know it's a doll, it doesn't have any joints or connection points. It looks exactly like a human girl, and you can't tell it's a doll at all.

This can also be seen from the cannon and the general. Their body structures are quite perfect, with no visible joints or incisions, just like ordinary people. However, they are indeed dolls, much more durable and powerful than ordinary people. They are also much easier to repair if injured, as only parts need to be replaced.

Just like Shadow said, if you eat too many sweets and your teeth get damaged, you can just get a new set of teeth. But with Raiden Shogun's body, it's unlikely that eating sweets will damage his teeth.

Kage took the doll from the Lady Kitsune and gently placed it next to the soul of Kikue on the bed.

"Alright, leave the rest to me."

Yae Miko waved to Kage, urging him to leave, then took out the Kagura Bell and began dancing the shaman again.

Li Yue didn't leave, but watched Yae Miko perform the Kagura dance. Yae Miko dance was quite beautiful, or rather, when people are beautiful, everything they do is pleasing to the eye, especially since Yae Miko was barefoot when she danced!

Hmm, not bad, not bad at all. So this is Thor's familiar? It's really impressive.

Li Yue watched as Yae Miko finished her entire dance. Then, Kikue's soul began to radiate light. This light enveloped Kikue, transforming into a white sphere of light, which then flew to the puppet's chest and slowly disappeared into it. Subsequently, the light expanded to the entire puppet and then gradually subsided over time.

"Alright, I have temporarily sealed the consciousness of Lady Kitsune into the puppet, but since this is only a seal, it needs to be reinforced every now and then."

Yae- gami looked at the doll, which had completely returned to normal, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

How long is this time interval?

"The sealing technique I can use won't last long, because this is the first time I've used it to seal my consciousness onto the puppet. To be on the safe side, it will need to be reinforced after a year."

"So that means it needs reinforcement once a year?"

"That's right."

"It's acceptable."

While it may seem short to say that a one-year guarantee is only possible for long-lived species, it is something that can be easily accepted by ordinary people, as it only happens once a year.

"Just treat it as a birthday celebration once a year."

Li Yue was speaking from the side.

"The seal is reinforced on a fixed date each year, but to be on the safe side, I personally recommend moving that date forward by one month, meaning that the reinforcement should be carried out every 11 months to avoid any problems."

"Can!"

Raiden Ei nodded affirmatively; if there was a safer option, she would definitely choose the safest one.

"I don't think it's necessary to do that."

Yae Miko stood up and looked at Li Yue with a smile.

"Lord Li Yue is now the Thunder God of Inazuma, and at the same time, he is also the Geo God of Liyue. You know, there are many Adepti in Liyue, and many of them possess very powerful Adeptal Arts. As the Adepti Geo God of Li Yue, Lord Liyue, it shouldn't be a problem to ask the Adepti for help, right?"

The Adepti of Liyue are skilled in various immortal Adeptal Arts, and the sealing techniques they use are naturally much stronger than those used by Yae. In the past, Yae would not have been able to ask the Adepti of Liyue for help, but now it's different. Inazuma and Liyue are now one family, so he can ask Liyue for a favor!

"So that's what you were planning."

Li Yue smiled, but did not refuse.

"No problem."

359. Inazuma's Work Report

Lady Kitsune woke up quickly, and her consciousness and body adapted well. Fortunately, the puppet made by Shadow this time did not have any self-awareness. It was just an ordinary puppet, so it had little impact on her. If this puppet had self-awareness like Cannon, she would have been in great pain.

The world allows consciousness to fit into new containers, but does not allow containers to collect dissipated consciousness.

Therefore, it is much simpler to integrate Kikue into the doll than to have Lady Kitsune's own body retract its dissipated consciousness.

However, the doll is not actually Lady Kitsune's own body, so as Yae Miko said, in order to prevent Lady Kitsune's consciousness from leaving this body, the seal needs to be reinforced periodically.

Alternatively, one could directly find the Celestials of Liyue and perform a powerful seal.

This powerful sealing technique is known to many of the Adepti of Liyue. For example, a famous example is Qiqi, whose immortal power was sealed within her, causing her to become an immortal zombie. Another example is Shenhe, although the seal on her was simpler, as Cloud Retainer used a red rope to seal the evil energy within her.

Therefore, for the Adepti of Liyue, this kind of seal might be very simple, and they could do it easily.

Therefore, Yae wanted Liyue to ask the Adepti of Liyue for a favor, and Li Yue naturally agreed to this request very easily.

However, before returning to Liyue, Raiden Ei, Yae, and Lady Kitsune will have to wait a few more days in Inazuma, because Li Yue, the current Thunder God, will come to check on Inazuma's condition.

"The army of the Tenryou Commission has been streamlined, and all the former vagrants have been removed. The number of Tenryou Commission is now only about two-thirds of what it used to be, but their operational efficiency is much higher than before."

Tenshukaku, Li Yue sat in the general's seat, listening to Sara give a work report.

"So you're saying you don't lack manpower, because if you did, you wouldn't be able to achieve higher efficiency, would you?"

"Lord Thor, I need to report to you regarding manpower."

"Oh? What are you trying to say?"

"I recruited Gorou, a prisoner of war from Watatsumi Island, into the Tenryou Commission."

"Oh?"

Li Yue looked at Kujo with some curiosity.

Can you explain your reasons?

"I once led the army of the Tenryou Commission in a long standoff with the army of Watatsumi Island. Although I had the advantage overall, General Gorou of Watatsumi Island was also very capable in military affairs. Although the Sangonomiya Maiden was behind him, he was good at leading people. So I thought it was better to use his talents for my own purposes than to waste them."

After saying that, Sara lowered her head.

"I'm sorry for making this decision without consulting you. I'm willing to accept any punishment you may impose."

"There's no punishment involved. This is a good option. Although most of the people on Watatsumi Island are said to be brainless, they are still capable. As long as you don't expect them to give you advice, just getting them to do the work is perfectly fine."

Li Yue recalled the evaluations of the two main characters on Watatsumi Island: the amazing strategist with three strategies, and the battlefield general who consulted the pamphlet when in doubt.

It's really not easy to expect those two people to come up with anything good, but they're very suitable for doing things according to your ideas; they're excellent tools.

"Moreover, it's perfectly fine for Gorou to be your assistant; you don't need to worry about him causing any problems."

Gorou is a Umiji, while the Tenryou Commission is entirely composed of Inazuma people. Due to the defeat of Watatsumi Island, although the current policy is to make Watatsumi Island a complete part of Inazuma, the Umiji are currently considered inferior to the Inazuma people.

Gorou becoming Sara's deputy will definitely displease most of the Tenryou Commission, but precisely because of this displeasure, Gorou will be isolated. An isolated person cannot cause trouble, and if he tries to cause trouble, a lot of people will be watching him.

"Just make sure his position is established, and ensure that those who Tenryou Commission are not allowed to disobey. They must carry out your orders, or they will be severely punished."

"Yes! Thank you, Lord Thor."

Sara happily expressed her gratitude to Li Yue.

After listening to Sara's report, Li Yue looked to the other side, at Kuki Shinobu, the current head of the Kanjō Bugyō.

Kuki Shinobu was still wearing her ninja outfit, but over it she wore a haori with the words "Commander-in-Chief of the Kanjō Bugyō" written on it. This garment was clearly made by Arataki Itto, and it was full of Arataki Itto's style. Not only Kuki Shinobu was wearing a haori, but every member of the Arataki Gang behind her was also wearing a haori, but the words on them were different. Behind Arataki Itto was "Captain of the Kanjō Bugyō's Security Brigade", and behind the other Arataki Gang members was "Kanjō Bugyō's Security Brigade".

As city management officers, they know how to have fun. Kuki Shinobu is probably just playing along with them out of necessity. After all, if Arataki Itto doesn't create something, he wouldn't be Arataki Itto.

"Lord Thor, after reopening trade as you requested, we have resumed trade with Liyue. The Ten Thousand Nations Trading Company can also operate normally, and the number of merchant ships entering and Rishou Island has returned to the normal level before the country closed off. However, tax revenue has not yet been fully restored. In order to restore commerce, I have temporarily opened some tax incentive policies."

"There's no problem with the tax incentive policy. We need to let the economy recover first, and then we can collect enough taxes. There's no rush."

"As for diplomacy, I asked my senior sister in Liyue Harbor for help. Since Inazuma and Liyue are now one family, but Inazuma is quite far from Liyue, I asked her to act as an intermediary to contact the Qixing in Liyue Harbor. However, my senior sister told me that I could just talk to her directly, so we are currently discussing the issue of unified action on policies between Inazuma and Liyue through correspondence."

The senior sister from Liyue Harbor, that should be Yanfei. Although Yanfei's combat power isn't very high, she's a half-immortal. Under Li Yue's arrangement, she's now one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals, and her status is even higher than the Qixing. Indeed, finding her is enough.

"As for the businesses within Inazuma, since we seized enough property from the Kanjō Bugyō), I'm using that money to allow local merchants to obtain some funds from the Kanjō Bugyō through interest-free loans to do business. Since we can't give them the money directly, but we can still let them get the money, this is the best way. At least this way, their burden won't be so heavy."

"Yes, you did a great job. It was definitely the Kanjō Bugyō."

Li Yue was very satisfied with Kuki Shinobu's actions: reducing taxes to temporarily boost trade, and then providing interest-free loans domestically to allow the previously exploited merchants of Inazuma to rise again.

"Next up is Grand Narukami Shrine."

Li Yue looked at the last person, Kamisato Ayaka, who represented Grand Narukami Shrine. Since Grand Narukami Shrine had replaced the previous Yashiro Commission, it was now handling matters related to rituals. Naturally, the person in charge of this matter within Grand Narukami Shrine Yae Kamisato Ayaka, who had been brought over by Yae.

"Reporting to Lord Thor, preparations for the first summer festival after the restoration of normalcy are underway, and it can be held as soon as the appointed day arrives."

Li Yue nodded in satisfaction. The tasks of the Yashiro Commission were the easiest, since there were only a few sacrificial ceremonies a year.

"Okay, is there anything that needs to be resolved?"

After listening to the work report, it's time to ask questions.

"There are no problems with the Kanjō Bugyō for the time being."

"There are no problems with Grand Narukami Shrine for the time being."

"There are no problems with the Tenryou Commission's side either."

"Since there are no problems, let's continue at the current pace."

360. Zhongli, come and kowtow to the Azhdaha Ruotu.

Inazuma's work report ended quickly, because they were all newly appointed, so Li Yue wasn't worried that they would fake it or be outwardly compliant but inwardly disobedient.

Sara is a loyal follower of Raiden Ei, so she would never betray Raiden Ei. Although Raiden Ei is no longer Thor, he is still one of the high-ranking members of Inazuma, so being loyal to Inazuma is being loyal to Raiden Ei.

Kuki Shinobu's personality is such that she either doesn't do something or does it to the best of her ability. And Arataki Itto, who is behind her, acts based on intuition. This kind of idiot who acts on intuition is the least likely to engage in scheming and intrigue.

However, while they all said that Inazuma had no problems, there were actually some issues.

This problem concerns the Enkanomiya beneath Watatsumi Island.

The Enkanomiya is connected to the Watatsumi Island, which is essentially part of the Teyvat continent. However, that place is quite ancient, existing since the time Heavenly Principles arrived in Teyvat. It was later destroyed by war and fell underground, where it avoided the Archon War, but also encountered the great serpent Orobashi.

After spending many years underground with the Sea Spirits, Orobashi came to the surface because of their thoughts and what they thought they shouldn't have seen.

The Sea Spirits followed Orobashi to the surface. Even though all the Sea Spirits had come to the surface, the Enkanomiya still existed, and the huge underground space still existed. Moreover, because of the Enkanomiya, Watatsumi Island was constantly being turned into sacred land. To solve the problem of sacred land turning into sacred land and make the land of Watatsumi Island cultivable, it was necessary to enter the Enkanomiya.

Unfortunately, Li Yue did not intend to go to Guan Enkanomiya. Including the previous attack by Orobashi, Watatsumi Island had rebelled against Inazuma twice in a row. The first rebellion resulted in the loss of relatives and friends by Raiden Ei, but in return, Watatsumi Island was completely disobedient. In the second rebellion, Li Yue acted swiftly and decisively, forcing Watatsumi Island to surrender. In fact, many of Watatsumi Island's soldiers died due to Raiden Ei's attack, resulting in Watatsumi Island's temporary surrender.