Chapter 265: Shenli Lingren's Invitation

Shenli Lingren's appearance made Luo De very doubtful.

By rights.

They didn't have much interaction.

They had only met once at a routine meeting.

Moreover, Luo De's impression of Shenli Lingren wasn't as good as in the game.

Because the head of the Inazuma Three Great Families is a typical politician.

Still the kind of politician who would stop at nothing for profit.

Such people have a very distinct trait.

Namely, they are overly cryptic.

Besides that.

Shenli Lingren is also an extremely intelligent person.

With Luo De's abilities.

Without Nadixa's help, it's impossible to see what he's thinking.

Moreover, Inazuma is still closed off, so there's no room to discuss cooperation.

So Luo De simply played it rough.

He made himself out to be an unreasonable, domineering type.

His idea at the time was good: he wanted to keep distance from the formidable Shenli Lingren to avoid being dragged into a mire.

But he didn't expect.

This Shenli Lingren actually came to the door on his own initiative.

Although he hasn't said anything yet.

But Luo De also had a bad premonition.

He forcibly suppressed the urge to drive them away.

Facing Shenli Lingren's behavior of casually pulling a chair up to the table, Luo De spoke somewhat stiffly: "I didn't know the Divine Village Clan head was here; that's rather rude."

"Not at all."

"Rather, it's you who came uninvited and broke etiquette."

Saying this, Shenli Lingren warmly beckoned Tuoma, who stood like a spear beside them: "Tuoma, come sit too; Mr. Luo De is one of us, don't stand on ceremony."

"Oh, I see."

Tuoma, who was more attentive than a bodyguard, hearing this didn't insist further and simply sat beside Shenli Lingren.

This table originally only seated four.

As soon as this master-servant pair joined, it instantly became crowded.

"Sigh——"

Luo De had been mulling over his words for a long time; seeing this, he could only let out a sigh, then called a waiter to move them to a larger, more private room, and added two extra dishes.

After the room was changed.

Luo De then spoke calmly: "Divine Village Clan head, I told you before—Inazuma is closed off; even if we could reach some agreement, it couldn't be implemented. After this meal, you should head back soon."

Those words were extremely impolite.

No matter how you say it.

Shenli Lingren is the head of one of the Inazuma Three Great Families; no matter how fallen the Divine Village Clan once was, they are now top nobles of Inazuma—people from other countries would at least show respect when seeing him, if not outright reverence.

Who would act like Luo De does?

Upon meeting, he drives people away like shooing flies.

Tuoma's mouth twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something.

But recalling what Shenli Lingren had instructed him beforehand, he straightened his face, striving not to show any odd expression.

At the same time.

Even after being snapped at by Luo De, Shenli Lingren wasn't angry, smiling and saying: "I think Mr. Luo De may have misunderstood; I came today not as the clan head, but merely as Shenli Lingren, unrelated to official business."

"That would be best."

Luo De pursed his lips, no longer acting overbearing as before, but instead pointed out Ying and Dixiya to Shenli Lingren, then chatted with him off and on.

This was only because Shenli Lingren was a guest.

Otherwise.

Luo De truly dislikes dealing with politicians.

This isn't aimed at Shenli Lingren.

These past days Luo De has seen too many politicians; those who spout official jargon, sell secrets, and put on airs have all been driven away by him—only those who speak plainly, get straight to the point, and avoid beating around the bush will he engage seriously.

Unfortunately.

Shenli Lingren's first impression on Luo De.

Namely, the image of a politician who likes to keep secrets and dislikes plain talk—a cryptic figure.

This exactly falls within Luo De's dislike zone.

Therefore, even though Shenli Lingren made it clear he came this time as a private individual to make friends, Luo De didn't give him much of a good face, merely offering polite remarks and obligatory replies.

Moreover, due to Shenli Lingren's unannounced visit.

Luo De and company's formerly lively atmosphere was also forced to dampen.

The earlier discussion about Apophis and Zhongli couldn't continue either, so they were forced to switch to some random topic they could find.

On the contrary, Shenli Lingren showed no discomfort at all.

Not only could one eat and drink there without getting out of breath, but also calmly chat with Luo De about all sorts of meaningless things.

Just like that.

When the drinking was more than halfway through.

Luo De, who thought his mindset was good, was finally defeated by this awkward atmosphere, and he sighed: "If the Kamisato clan head has something to say, just say it out; stop putting on airs here—everyone's tired of pretending. I know you specially sought me out because you have something to say, so let's speak openly. Everyone present can be trusted; if you feel anything is unsafe or unstable, we can go somewhere else to talk privately."

Heh—

"Mr. Luo De, you're still as straightforward as ever."

"But what I want to say isn't something that needs to be kept secret."

"Let's just say it here."

Having said all this, Kamisato Ayato dropped the pretense and spoke directly: "I'd like to invite Mr. Luo De and Miss Ying to go to Inazuma together."

"Huh?"

Ying and Paimon, completely unprepared, exclaimed in unison.

This was the first time either of them had seen Kamisato Ayato.

They had even never heard the name Kamisato Ayato before.

They simply couldn't figure it out.

Why Kamisato Ayato had taken notice of them, and even lowered his status to come here and invite them as guests to Inazuma, was beyond them.

Regarding that.

Luo De had a clue.

He then bluntly asked: "The Closed Country Order?"

"Although it's a bit sudden."

"But that's indeed the case."

Kamisato Ayato's expression changed; he was no longer putting on that slightly false look, but spoke sincerely: "This time, taking the opportunity to visit Liyue, aside from the usual courtesies, I mainly came to find someone who can help Inazuma resolve the Closed Country Order and the Eye Hunt Order, so that Inazuma's people can return to normal life."

As expected.

Luo De, who had already guessed what he was going to say, rolled his eyes and clammed up, refusing to discuss the topic further.

This cold attitude also changed the expressions of Kamisato Ayato and Thoma.

In comparison.

Ying, on the contrary, looked quite interested in what he said, because according to her travel plan,

The next stop after Liyue was Inazuma, the Electro nation.

However, because of the Closed Country Order, one can neither leave nor enter Inazuma.

She happened to be looking for a way to sneak into Inazuma at that moment.

Now Kamisato Ayato is willing to act as a guide himself.

Ying is indeed quite interested.

Thus, unlike Luo De, who grew cold after hearing Kamisato Ayato's words,

Ying curiously asked: "What exactly are the Closed Country Order and the Eye Hunt Order? And why do you assume that I and Luo De will definitely be able to help you?"

"Sigh—"

Whenever these two orders were mentioned, Kamisato Ayato let out a deep sigh and then explained: "The Closed Country Order is a decree issued by the Shogun that strictly cuts off the movement of people, regulating the identities of those entering and leaving Inazuma and uniformly managing foreigners on the outlying islands. The Eye Hunt Order is likewise a decree issued by the Shogun, whereby all Visions within Inazuma are confiscated and embedded in the hands of the thousand-armed, hundred-eyed statue; anyone who possesses a Vision and refuses to surrender it will be severely punished. With these two orders in effect, Inazuma's contact with the outside world is almost completely severed—the Closed Country Order caused Inazuma's formerly prosperous trade to halt overnight, and the Eye Hunt Order leaves all Vision-bearers constantly panicked; to evade the Eye Hunt Order, they must hide their names and flee, preferring to sleep out in the open rather than show themselves publicly."

"As for why I sought you out,"

Saying this, Kamisato Ayato took a deep breath: "Because you two are the humans I've met who are the least fearful of the gods and can speak with them on equal footing."

"Hah—"

Luo De snorted.

"."

Ying and Dixiya glanced at him, then Ying shook her head and said: "Not fearing the gods doesn't mean we can definitely persuade your Electro Shogun to change his mind."

"Right, right."

Paimon chimed in as well.

She didn't care whether Kamisato Ayato was the clan head or not, and bluntly questioned: "Hmph, making Ying do something this dangerous—don't you think that's going too far?"

"Sigh—"

Faced with all kinds of questioning words and glances, Kamisato Ayato sighed again: "Do you even know what kind of hellish life the people of Inazuma are living under these two orders?"

Before Kamisato Ayato could start playing the victim,

Luo De directly interrupted him: "What does this have to do with me?"

Luo De deliberately turned away from Ying.

Speaking from his own position: "I am a servant of the Dendro Archon, my official ID identifies me as a person from A Ru Cun in Sumeru, and the regions and affairs I currently manage are basically in Sumeru as well; what does the Inazuma people's dire situation have to do with me, a Sumeru resident?"

"Right, right."

Paimon was like an unfeeling parrot, echoing Luo De with "Ah, right, right, right" while speaking for Ying in a reasonable way: "We just want to see the Electro Archon, not do anything dangerous."

Her words made Luo De glance over without changing his expression.

Quite strange.

In Luo De's memory,

Paimon is someone whose mouth moves faster than her brain—uh, a simpleton? That's pretty much what it means.

Anyway, Luo De's impression of Paimon is someone who, besides eating, says whatever comes to mind without thinking.

But looking at it now,

it seems not quite the same as his memory.

At first, Paimon really did speak bluntly, basically saying whatever came to mind without any rhetorical flourish.

But after these two contacts.

Luo De suddenly realized.

Paimon actually speaks quite logically.

For some situations, she can clearly analyze them; for things unfavorable to her and Ying, she can also rely on her overbearing image, kicking back the right to speak like kicking a ball.

Just like now.

Taking advantage of Luo De's opportunity that the Inazuma matter has nothing to do with the Sumeru people, Paimon immediately elevated the topic to the level that nobody wants to directly face danger, pushing this thorny problem onto Kamisato Ayato.

In short.

It's just with Paimon's prompting.

Kamisato Ayato thus inexplicably fell into a dilemma, no matter how you say it, it's not.

"Unexpectedly smart, huh."

Luo De muttered to himself, shifting his gaze back from the smugly pleased Paimon.

As expected.

Under Paimon's relentless questioning, even someone as eloquent as Kamisato Ayato inevitably ended up at a loss for words.

Such moral coercion.

It's very useful for moral people.

For someone like Luo De, whose moral bottom line can change at any time, it's useless.

And after Luo De spoke again.

Kamisato Ayato's expression became even more solemn.

"I roughly understand the Kamisato family head's concern."

"But I have a question I want to ask you."

Luo De stared at Kamisato Ayato with eyes as sharp as a hawk's and said: "Kamisato family head, aren't you afraid to face the Raiden General alone?"

"."

Kamisato Ayato was left speechless by the question.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"I know your family's situation, and I also roughly learned some things about the Electro Archon from the Dendro Archon, the Anemo Archon, and the Geo Archon."

"I can understand your fear of not daring to meet her and talk about this, lest you be instantly slain by the Raiden General."

"I can also understand your concern for the people of Inazuma."

"But."

"I still say that."

"Inazuma's affairs are your own internal matters; they have little to do with me, and I have no interest in helping you face the risk of being instantly turned to ash by the Raiden General's sword."

Luo De spread his hands and firmly refused Kamisato Ayato's invitation.

What a joke.

Probably no one knows the situation of the Raiden General better than Luo De.

That thing in the keep isn't the real general; it's just a puppet that follows orders.

The true Raiden General genuinely believes that the Vision Hunt Decree and the Seclusion Decree are correct actions; advising her is tantamount to seeking death.

However, Luo De merely refused Kamisato Ayato's invitation to him.

Kamisato Ayato gave no opinion on Ying's invitation, leaving it entirely up to Ying to wrestle with her thoughts.

As expected.

As wise as Kamisato Ayato.

Upon realizing he couldn't possibly invite Luo De, he decisively shifted the focus of his persuasion to the still-wavering Ying.

Listening to his incessant description of the scene where the people of Inazuma are now suffering oppression.

Luo De, like when listening to a storytelling session, raised his cup, lightly sipped the wine, and under Dixiya's strange gaze, coldly observed until Ying, who had been discussing with Paimon for a while, hesitantly opened her mouth to speak.

Ying did not directly agree.

She only said she would go to Inazuma, but whether she would help the Kamisato family remains to be seen.

After all, he gained a little; Kamisato Ayato, not having wasted all that talk, raised his cup in relief and said: "No matter how things turn out, anyway, thank you."

I don't know why.

When drinking this cup of wine.

Luo De always felt that Kamisato Ayato was still sneakily glancing at him.

(End of chapter)