socalfunplaces Page 54
Page 54
Hu Tao laughed for a while, then stopped laughing.
Hu Tao suddenly remembered the Thousand Rock Army soldiers carrying torches that she had seen on her way from the Hall of Rebirth to the Jade Pavilion.
She then recalled the strange looks those three incredibly noble women gave her when she mentioned "big business."
"That, no, you..."
Hu Tao didn't know where to put her hands, pointing back and forth for a long time. Finally, she nervously covered her mouth and looked at Lin Jiu'an, who had put down his teacup and stood up, at a loss.
"When you said you'd bring me business now, you don't mean... you... you want...?"
Just as Hu Tao was stammering and unsure what to say, Lin Jiu'an walked up to her and patted her hat.
"Now that we're here, I don't need to go all the way to the Hall of Rebirth to find you."
"Stay here and don't leave Qunyu Pavilion until I get back, understand?"
Lin Jiu'an left without waiting for Hu Tao's reply.
When Hu Tao came to her senses, not only Lin Jiu'an was gone, but Ningguang, Keqing, and Yelan were also nowhere to be seen.
Looking at the empty room, Hu Tao felt like crying but had no tears.
She wants business.
But she never intended to do business that was designed to make her do business!
"Fine, I don't want this business anymore!!"
······
Inside Liyue City.
A manor somewhere.
In this prosperous and crowded city, every inch of land is incredibly valuable.
In the heart of the city, within the Liyue-style manor, complete with pavilions, terraces, and waterside pavilions, the Thousand Rock Army, carrying torches, and numerous Vision owners stood in layers of protection.
And deep within this manor.
The Seven Stars, Eight Gates, Thousand Rocks Army, and many related merchants are feasting here.
"starting today."
"The era of gods and immortals has come to a complete end."
"Liyue is truly Liyue that belongs to us, the people of Liyue."
The banquet was hastily held to prepare for the eventual attack by Lin Jiu'an after he killed Zhao Cheng and the others.
and so.
There wasn't much food on each person's table, but the smiles as they raised their wine cups were still very bright, because, as the other person said, the era of the "Emperor" was coming to a complete end from this day forward.
"cheers!"
While drinking, one person laughed and said, "What if Lin Jiu'an doesn't listen to me?"
"disobedient?"
"Whose Liyue is Liyue?"
"Our merchant's Liyue!"
"Liyue's economy, politics, and military are all controlled by us merchants."
"His desire to become the 'Emperor' is only because we merchants are giving him face!"
"If he just obediently plays the role of a puppet, we'll let him pretend to be something he's not in."
"I don't understand anything."
"You want to kick us businessmen out of the game?"
"The Seven Stars and Eight Gates General Affairs Department, the Shipyard and the Thousand Words Moon Sea Pavilion."
"Doesn't he even bother to find out? In this vast Liyue, isn't every inch of our merchants' territory?"
"He wants to kick us out?"
"Does he deserve it?!"
"Let alone a mere new 'Emperor' like him."
"It's Morax himself; he always consults with us on everything."
“We gave him some face before, and he really thought he was someone important after we tried to compete with him. He even wanted to use the Qianyan Army to arrest us? He doesn’t know whose territory the Qianyan Army is anyway. He’s such an idiot.”
"If I were him, I would have slunk back to Mondstadt as soon as I saw the situation clearly."
"Do you really think we Liyue people are the weaklings and good-for-nothings from Mondstadt?"
The businessmen, their faces flushed from drinking, laughed heartily.
Sudden.
A young man's dignified yet indifferent voice suddenly echoed in the sky above Liyue.
"I am the Emperor of Liyue."
"From this moment forward, the city is under lockdown and all gates are closed. No one is allowed to move freely on the streets."
"Those who disobey will be punished regardless of life or death."
The banquet hall fell silent for a while.
Some people, holding wine glasses, gradually lost their smiles and looked at each other with suspicion.
"What on earth is he up to?"
"Still not giving up? The Thousand Rock Army are all our men, has he gone mad?"
"Do you really think you can rely on your two or three people to oppose us?"
"They could be drowned by a single spit from each of them."
As they talked...
Especially when they looked at the high-ranking members of the Thousand Rock Army who were sitting with them—who were also businessmen—they finally shook off their surprise and doubt about Lin Jiu'an's words and began to chat with the five women while holding their wine glasses.
"Who cares? If he dares to cause trouble, we'll just assassinate his 'king'!"
"They really think they're gods."
"A Mondstadt native, a stinking beggar, dares to put on airs in Liyue? Bah, despicable!"
"Come on, keep the music playing! Keep dancing!"
Just as the merchants were halfway through their drinks, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside.
The door was pushed open.
A Sen'iwa soldier rushed in and hurriedly whispered something to a Sen'iwa officer.
Because he was quite flustered, he didn't control his volume very well. In addition, the room quieted down because of his sudden intrusion, so the other businessmen in the banquet hall could hear everything he said clearly.
The report from Qianyan Army was very simple.
It's so simple that it can be summarized in just two sentences.
'Lin Jiu'an has just made his move.'
Several units responsible for "maintaining order" on the streets have lost contact, and many more Chiiwa troops urgently need reinforcements.
After hearing the report, the commander of the Thousand Rock Army did not immediately give orders, but looked at the host of the banquet, who was one of the "Stars" of the Liyue Seven Stars.
"Tianji Star", Zhou Wen.
Unlike the young and naive Keqing of Yuheng Star and Ningguang who comes from a poor background, he is the true head of the Zhou family of Liyue, and is now over fifty years old, with a high reputation in Liyue.
"What are you afraid of?"
Zhou Wen remained calm and said indifferently, "Even if he's arrogant, can he kill us all? Does he intend to slaughter the entire Liyue?"
"Does he dare?"
"Leave sufficient defense forces to prevent falling into the enemy's trap of luring us away from our base."
"Then send all the Thousand Rock Army, their Eye of God owners, and your personal guards to meet them."
~!Join the group and you'll be able to confess!~5570O750 "What good is it if he's strong on his own?"
"Besides, although Zhao Cheng failed before, it wasn't entirely useless."
"At least it proves that his ability to defeat the 'Vortex Demon God' was only temporary. At most, he was only on par with 'Young Master,' the lowest-ranking executor of the Fatui, so his strength was just average."
"If we use sheer numbers, we can overwhelm him."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately raised their glasses and exclaimed, "Duke Zhou's insight is brilliant!"
······
A squad of nearly a hundred Thousand Rock Army soldiers was patrolling the streets, carrying torches and long spears.
They said it was a patrol.
It was more like a demonstration, showing Lin Jiu'an his 'fist'.
However, most of the soldiers in the Chiyan Army did not know why they were out in the middle of the night. They were just following their superiors' orders and got up in the middle of the night to go out for a walk.
I just heard the "Emperor's" command from the sky.
Many soldiers in the unit had shown signs of unrest, but they managed to maintain order under orders from their superiors.
But in the next moment...
Suddenly, they saw an indistinct figure appear at the end of the street.
Chapter Twenty is all here! (4K)
There is no moon or stars tonight.
Only the dark clouds that blot out the sky.
Under the dense campfires lit by the Thousand Rock Army soldiers, only the man's legs could be illuminated due to the distance.
The sergeant at the front shouted, "Who is it?!"
There was no answer, only the sound of footsteps, neither too light nor too heavy, each sound like a nightmare lingering in their hearts.
Until the other person walked out of the darkness.
Upon seeing that it was a rather young-looking black-haired boy, and especially since he didn't have the "Eye of God" on his body or horns on his head, the officers and soldiers of the Thousand Rock Army breathed a sigh of relief.
It would be fine if he were just an ordinary human teenager.
Everything that happened tonight was making them very uneasy.
However, they soon became uneasy again, because the black-haired, black-eyed boy walked straight toward them.
"Halt!" the sergeant snapped. "This is no place for you!"
"Go home."
The black-haired, black-eyed boy did not pause in the slightest despite the sergeant's questioning.
Instead, he slightly raised his right hand, making a loose fist.
"I told you..."
Something terrifying happened to the Thousand Rock Army.
Even though the boy didn't have the Eye of God, a longsword made of rock slowly materialized in his clenched hand.
What makes them most uneasy is...
The boy's voice was exactly the same as the "Emperor's" voice they had just heard in the sky.
Is this young man before them their new "Emperor"?!
The soldiers of the Thousand Rock Army began to become somewhat agitated again.
What followed further confirmed their speculation about the identity of the black-haired, black-eyed boy.
"Those who disobey will be punished regardless of life or death."
Upon hearing this, the Qianyan Army recognized the other party's identity.