Ye Xi was startled by Yae Miko's outrageous behavior.
His brain practically stalled on the spot.
Coach, she's committing a foul!
Besides, was this really a matter of whether he could sleep while hugging her tail?
He knew Yae Miko's personality all too well. She was the type to tease and bait, keeping people dancing in the palm of her hand. She gave off the feeling that you were just about to get what you wanted, only for it to remain forever out of reach. It was as if she were within arm's length, but the moment you reached out, she had already slipped away.
Directly pressing herself against him like this was, frankly, impossible!
[Could it be that this whole marriage thing wasn't Ei's idea?]
[Or rather, was this the Sly Fox's scheme, and Ei was just playing along?]
[Did I wrongly accuse Ei?]
[If I think about it carefully, Ei is the one who has sacrificed the most for Inazuma!]
[As the Raiden Shogun of Inazuma, she has been busy for five hundred years! She lost her family and her friends!]
[No one pities her, and no one dares to.]
[In front of her people, she has to feign strength. Even when she lost her elder sister, she couldn't show a single drop of grief.]
[One by one, her friends betrayed her or left. If only there had been someone to guide her, she wouldn't have fallen into such a closed-off state.]
[Ei shouldn't be treated like this!]
Hearing Ye Xi's current inner thoughts, the gloom weighing on Raiden Ei's heart and the annoyance caused by Miko vanished instantly. Instead, a surge of sweetness took its place.
He's empathizing with me!
In all of Inazuma, only Xi can truly understand me!
Only Xi would think this way!
As expected, choosing Xi was not a mistake!
Losing her sister had turned her heart to cold ash. If she lost Xi now, she might very well turn her blade upon herself!
She realized it—she couldn't live without Xi! Only with Xi by her side could she have a home!
Yae Miko, on the other hand, felt a pang of annoyance.
He was just saying nice things about her a moment ago, yet in the blink of an eye, he was pitying Ei?
This bad guy! Let's see what you think about this!
She leaned even closer to Ye Xi, closing the distance until there was no space left between them.
Sure enough, Ye Xi's heart-voice shifted immediately.
[Hiss… This Sly Fox is really going all out to keep me here, she's pressing so close!]
[But this has to be a delaying tactic!]
[The moment I agree, she'll probably say 'In your dreams~' on the wedding day.]
[She clearly just wants to make a fool out of me!]
[Given how this Sly Fox acts, she's definitely capable of something like that!]
[Still, it can't be denied that her tail is incredibly fluffy and comfortable.]
[And this fox is really clean; she smells great, like a faint scent of cherry blossoms.]
Ye Xi's heart fluttered from Yae Miko's intimate gestures. He had to keep chanting "Slash, slash, slash" in his mind to suppress the rising restlessness.
Eavesdropping on his thoughts, Yae Miko felt her heart skip a beat.
This was the first time she had ever been so close to a man. She discovered that the scent on Ye Xi felt distant from the Floating World, possessing a novelty she had never experienced. Being praised for her smooth fur and her pleasant scent made her feel unexpectedly shy.
But this time, she really didn't mean to tease him. Regarding the marriage, she was serious.
Usually, she only teased him because Ye Xi never made any indecent moves; he was completely different from everyone else. That was why she was willing to be with Xi.
Just as she was about to make her intentions clearer, she suddenly heard Ye Xi's heart-voice again.
[But what if the Sly Fox is serious? What should I do then?]
[Even if the feelings are real, I can't stay in Inazuma.]
[If Lumine or Aether fail to defeat Stormterror, if everything that follows doesn't happen, the world order will change.]
[In the end, who would be the one to raise the banner of rebellion against the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles?]
The Heavenly Principles!
Hearing that name was like a bucket of ice water being poured over Yae Miko and Raiden Ei.
Five hundred years ago, it was precisely because of the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles that a tragic war broke out between the Seven Archons and Khaenri'ah. Back then, the Electro Archon Baal had fallen in that very battle.
That was Inazuma's deepest wound, a scar carved into the very monument of its history.
Yae Miko looked at Raiden Ei.
Previously, they hadn't taken the matter in Ye Xi's heart too seriously. So what if the world order was rewritten? Inazuma was Eternal! No matter how the outside world changed, nothing would touch Inazuma, and they could stay with Xi forever!
That was why they wanted him to stay.
However, if the matter involved the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, Raiden Ei had to re-evaluate the severity of the situation!
The Heavenly Principles was an existence that they, the Seven Archons, could not resist. If they angered the Heavenly Principles, the tragedy of Khaenri'ah would descend upon Inazuma!
Yae Miko reluctantly let go of Ye Xi, forcing a smile. "I won't tease you anymore. Even authors at Yae Publishing House get vacations. Letting you go out to clear your head isn't a bad idea."
In that instant, she felt that this was the correct choice.
Ye Xi let out a long breath. "You two should really mind your boundaries when joking around."
[So it was a joke after all. I almost fell for it.]
[That was close, that was close. This Sly Fox is really hard to handle.]
Hearing his heart-voice, Yae Miko felt a twinge of sadness, and her tail drooped listlessly.
However, the atmosphere grew lighter, no longer as tense as before.
Raiden Ei knew that Ye Xi had to leave. If the matter concerned the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, it had to be handled with the utmost caution.
"Xi, can you tell us your plan? When do you intend to leave, and when will you return?"
Ye Xi pulled a map from his pocket and spread it across the wooden table. He pointed to Ritou and said, "Tomorrow morning, I'll take a friend's ship from Ritou to leave Inazuma. First, I'll head to the Guyun Stone Forest."
"After the captain resupplies at the Guyun Stone Forest, I'll take the ship to Liyue Harbor."
"Then I'll travel around, see the mountains of Liyue, and taste all their delicacies."
"After passing through the Stone Gate, I'll head to Mondstadt to experience the winds of a foreign land."
"Don't worry, I won't be gone for long. I'll be back before you know it."
"When I return, I'll brew some Dandelion Wine for you and make some Liyue Lotus Flower Crisps."
As he spoke, Ye Xi was calculating in his heart.
[Liyue is the nation of contracts, currently in the era of rule by gods.]
[Before long, the Tianquan, Ningguang, will become the ruler of Liyue.]
[Whether it's Ningguang or Rex Lapis, they will both need a key item!]
[The Basalt Pillar!]
[So, I'll first go to the Guyun Stone Forest to challenge the Geo Hypostasis.]
[After obtaining some items, I'll head to Liyue.]
[As long as I present the Basalt Pillar, whether it's Ningguang or Rex Lapis, they will treat me as an esteemed guest.]
[With the Tianquan and Rex Lapis backing me, I can roam the land of Liyue as I please!]
Hearing his thoughts, Yae Miko and Raiden Ei couldn't help but marvel.
It was incredibly meticulous!
Before, they were worried that Ye Xi would be marginalized or mistreated in a foreign land. Now, it seemed their worries were entirely redundant.
This man's power far exceeded their imagination!
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