Chapter 308

Luo De is leaving.

Lei Dian Zhen did not block, merely let out a soft sigh.

She had long anticipated that such a thing would happen.

Ying also didn't ask too much.

Even Paimon could tell Luo De's mood was off; when they separated, it seemed something unpleasant had occurred that they were unaware of.

Fortunately.

Although Luo De wasn't feeling great, he still acted normally in front of Ying and Paimon.

Eat when it's time to eat, drink when it's time to drink, buy when it's time to buy; nothing is delayed.

When evening came.

He further invited Ying and Paimon to dine together at Inazuma City's most renowned No Worries Pavilion, and after the meal he asked them to walk through every street and lane of Inazuma City.

Until late at night, when the streets were empty.

Only then did they return to their lodgings on the Outlying Island.

Paimon, who had played all day, fell asleep while in Inazuma City, and Ying carried her back the whole way.

After arriving at the inn.

She then took Paimon to rest.

Luo De wasn't in a hurry to sleep; instead, he took out a notebook he hadn't used in a long time and recorded, item by item, what he had actually seen in Inazuma today.

Luo De's wandering wasn't really just wandering.

Now that Inazuma has reopened its borders, it is precisely the time when it most lacks foreign trade.

Therefore Luo De deliberately made a full circuit, recording the current state of Inazuma's market.

It must be said.

The Closed Country Edict's harm to Inazuma is not just as severe as it looks; its actual impact has already permeated every aspect.

Through chatting with vendors over this day.

Luo De discovered that even before the Closed Country Edict, Inazuma's foreign trade had already shown an extremely severe trade deficit, with a trend more like that of a tourist nation.

This is largely thanks to San Bing's deeds.

Originally, among Inazuma's export goods, the swords forged by the Raiden Five Traditions were a very important source of income.

But at that time, San Bing, driven by so‑called hatred, launched an extermination plan against Inazuma's Raiden Five Traditions.

And he actually succeeded.

The swordsmiths of the Raiden Five Traditions fled or died; ultimately, of the five swordsmith clans, three lost their inheritance completely, leaving only one clan with a single heir left—once a national treasure, now only that last clan clings to survival.

Among these, San Bing not only plotted but also personally killed many swordsmiths.

Consequently, the Community Magistrate was implicated for dereliction of duty and questioned by the Raiden Shogun; had it not been for Yae Miko stepping forward to guarantee their safety, the Kamisato Clan might already have vanished from Inazuma.

The consequences of such an accident.

Namely, Inazuma has since fallen into endless internal strife.

And the sword trade that once dominated foreign commerce has been completely cut off.

After all, during the upheaval of the Raiden Five Traditions, most of the forging techniques possessed by the five families have been lost.

Besides that.

Due to the internal turmoil.

Although Narukami Island nominally still controls Seirai Island, in reality the latter has been occupied by pirates; most of its area is uninhabited, and monsters run rampant everywhere.

This also invisibly caused Inazuma to lose a great deal of import volume in its aquatic products export category.

This is made even clearer by the distribution of shops on the Outlying Island.

Nowadays, the only thing Inazuma can proudly offer is the export of raw materials such as Dreamwood that are produced solely there; all other trade is in comprehensive decline, and because Inazuma's goods are highly substitutable, merchants coming and going show no mercy when pressing prices.

Luo De wrote down a great deal of information in a free‑flowing manner.

Including his analysis of Inazuma's situation, Inazuma's needs, and goods usable for foreign trade.

He organized everything based on his experience studying at the Academy.

Lei Dian Zhen watched the whole process.

Until Luo De put down his pen, she sighed and said: "Someone like you, if you stayed in Inazuma, the Three Magistrates could be abolished outright."

"Oh come on, if you want to wear someone out, just say so."

Luo De had no interest in Lei Dian Zhen's words.

"What, abolish the Three Magistrates?"

"Put another way, that's just dumping all the work on me—who's supposed to do it?"

Besides that.

He doesn't owe Inazuma anything; he wrote these things for the people of Sumeru to read, not for Inazumans.

Moreover, Luo De has made up his mind.

Besides giving this manuscript to Nadixa, he also wants to give a copy to Dori.

No matter how you say it.

That short‑statured merchant was the first benefactor I met; although she has a sharp tongue, she supports me wholeheartedly from the moment we met, and all along I have received too much help from her—now that there are benefits, it's only natural to let her have first pick.

Thinking of that.

Luo De couldn't help but chuckle.

Given Dori's personality, if she were put in charge of Sumeru's trade with Inazuma, she'd probably scrape every inch of Inazuma's land.

"What a pity."

Luo De put away his manuscript and let out a quiet sigh.

It's a pity Xu Mi is still too far from Inazuma; in foreign trade, it's never as convenient as Liyue.

Otherwise.

If Xu Mi had a geographical advantage, with the current productivity of Hope City and Xu Mi Cheng, it would definitely be able to earn enough money to rebuild a city.

Luo De glanced at the time.

Without realizing it, it was already past midnight.

But he wasn't sleepy.

Today he hadn't given Lei Dian Zhen a chance to regain consciousness, and with his mental energy unusually full, he felt no fatigue at all.

Since he couldn't sleep anyway, he went to the tavern on the first floor of the inn, bought a drink, and sat there alone, slowly sipping it.

Compared to Xu Mi's liquor.

Inazuma's liquor tastes somewhat light, not as richly fruity as Mondstadt's, and it goes down fairly smoothly.

Just as Luo De was drinking.

Ying's figure quietly appeared; she also ordered a drink and sat opposite him.

"Hey, you're not asleep either?"

Luo De raised his eyes slightly and smiled.

"The bed's too small; even Paimon alone can't stretch out."

Ying spoke the truth.

"Uh"

Luo De was momentarily at a loss, then scratched his head and said, "That shouldn't be; I recall your room isn't a double, right?"

"It is a double, indeed."

"But Paimon likes to sleep with me, and the beds here are separate."

As she said that, Ying's face showed a mix of laughter and exasperation.

Even though she had slept outdoors in the wild, Paimon still couldn't break the habit of sleeping with her.

Moreover, Inazuma's bed design differs from that of other nations.

They are a bit small and narrow.

One person fits just fine; two would be a little cramped.

Ying also couldn't sleep on either side, so she went downstairs for some fresh air, and ended up bumping into Luo De, who was drinking alone.

"Like that."

"That's quite a coincidence."

Luo De raised his glass toward Ying in a gesture, then downed it in one gulp.

Ying, who likewise finished her drink, then said, "What's wrong with you today? You look unhappy."

Paimon wasn't around this time, so Ying felt free to ask.

"It's just that I had an unpleasant run‑in with some people from Inazuma, and I keep feeling like I'm being used—it really annoys me."

Luo De tapped his own head and spoke his frank thoughts.

"Being used."

"You mean the Divine Maiden, right?"

Ying instantly realized from Luo De's words who he was referring to.

After all, she too had been coaxed by Yae Miko into fighting the Electro Archon, and over that Paimon had complained for a while.

Given Luo De's personality, being dissatisfied is quite normal.

"Looks like quite a few things happened after we left."

Ying stroked her chin and pondered seriously.

She remembered it very clearly.

Back when she took part in the battle against the Electro Archon, Luo De hadn't shown this temper.

Whatever made Luo De so angry must be something else.

"Let's not talk about that."

"Tell me about yourself—besides going to Eight Brew Island, where else have you been lately?"

Luo De waved his hand and then turned to ask Ying.

"We..."

"We went to Eight Brew Island, Tatara Sands, Clear Sound Island, and made a trip to Crane Watch Island."

"Oh dear, don't bring it up."

"That Crane Watch Island was practically terrifying—Paimon started out crying from fright."

When she brought up her adventuring experiences, Ying's tongue loosened.

Inazuma's hazardous sites are no fewer than those of other countries.

Even Eight Brew Island, shrouded in the Archon's resentment, doesn't rank among the most dangerous.

What Ying spoke of most often is also what left the deepest impression.

was Crane Watch Island, shrouded in mist and turned into a ghost island.

In her words,

Crane Watch Island, she still hasn't fully explored it to this day.

The atmosphere there is truly oppressive.

Moreover, the mist‑wraiths everywhere placed a huge psychological burden on her Paimon, so after exploring less than a third, they chose to return to God's Sound Island to relax.

"You've been to quite a few places yourself."

Luo De couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the Archon's resentment on Eight Brews Island, the Tread Bellows Sand's great cauldron about to explode, the village on Clear Sound Island occupied by pirates, and the boundless mist and ghost people on Crane Watch Island.

More exciting than my past two months.

Luo De then sighed again.

Speaking of which.

He also had an Adventurers' Guild certification, which Nadixa had processed for him earlier; after registering, he obtained an official Adventurer identity, and thereafter he never took any more commission quests, and he didn't know whether his Adventurer Rank had dropped.

But it's also tiring.

An Adventurer's life isn't as easy as you think.

Ying complained a little: 'Every day sleeping out in the wind and dew, some places have extraordinarily harsh environments, food affected becomes toxic, I dare not sleep too much, for fear that while I'm asleep I'll be affected by those abnormal environments.'

Oh, right.

Inazuma's environment indeed has problems.

Luo De nodded, agreeing with Ying's words.

The places she went to really have terrible environments.

Eight Brews Island has relentless rain and thunderstorms, plus there's a polluted spot in the No Thought Blade Canyon comparable to nuclear waste water; the Archon's residue leaks from Tread Bellows Sand, with constant risk of explosion; near the Great Furnace it's hard to even get close; Crane Watch Island is everywhere filled with damp mist and ghosts, where one estimates they wouldn't even dare to sleep.

The only place that can be considered somewhat better is Clear Sound Island.

By the way, did you see the Thunder Sound Manifestation on Clear Sound Island?

The Thunder Sound Manifestation is a powerful monster lurking on Clear Sound Island, formed from the lingering resentment of a demon bird slain by a Thunderbolt, which turned into a monster.

Clear Sound Island's current situation is closely related to its presence there.

Thunder Sound Manifestation?

You mean that lightning-element monster?

Ying seems to have seen the Thunder Sound Manifestation, but doesn't know what it's actually called.

If it's on Clear Sound Island.

There should only be that one powerful lightning-element monster.

Luo De nodded.

The Thunder Sound Manifestation is not formed from an Archon's resentment; it's merely a magic beast.

Given Ying's current three-element abilities, she should be capable of resolving it.

As expected.

Ying confirmed Luo De's thought: 'I killed that magic beast, but it resurrects not long after death, so I just left.'

The Thunder Sound Manifestation is formed from resentment.

As long as resentment and anger persist, it can never be killed.

Furthermore, due to its own attraction to lightning, the entire island gradually becomes unsuitable for farming and habitation under its influence.

And speaking purely of power.

The Thunder Sound Manifestation hasn't reached the unsolvable level of an Archon's resentment; it's simply that its undead mechanism is hard to resolve, so the Heavenly Command Administration, considering the possible heavy casualties from dealing with the Thunder Sound Manifestation, ultimately decided to directly abandon Clear Sound Island, thereby triggering a series of economic and population problems.

Again, it's your sister's doing.

Luo De silently muttered a complaint in his mind.

The Thunder Sound Manifestation is transformed from the thunderbird that caused the mist on Crane Watch Island, and that thunderbird was slain by a single Thunderbolt arrow shot in the skies above Clear Sound Island.

But as a god.

After killing the thunderbird, she did nothing to its corpse, ultimately causing the scattered lightning elemental energy from the thunderbird's body to combine with its immense anger and resentment, instantly turning into the immortal Thunder Sound Manifestation.

Well, I admit, this matter is indeed Shadow's problem.

Leidian Zhen couldn't refute it.

This is a fact.

And this.

Is just a beginning.

Luo De and Ying's chat revealed many problems in Inazuma's management.

For example, Tread Bellows Sand, as a supreme national treasure, could almost be destroyed by the Foolish People, and this happened twice.

This is simply outrageous.

You should know that Tread Bellows Sand is Inazuma's armory, and in status and importance it equals Liyue's Black Rock Factory.

If someone were to infiltrate the Black Rock Factory, it would almost be destroyed as well.

Luo De could easily imagine Zhongli chasing the culprit across the continent.

But in Inazuma it's not like that.

This has happened twice already.

Sanbing is still running around.

If it weren't for Yae Miko arranging herself to directly eliminate Sanbing in the Shogun's duel, it would mean the culprit remains at large.

Luo De doesn't know what Leidian Zhen thinks after learning these things.

He only knows.

Later, Leidian Zhen didn't say a word, seeming to have become unable to refute.

Just like that.

Luo De and Ying chatted until dawn, then, after being interrupted by the drowsy Paimon, they went together to eat breakfast.

Their booked tickets are for this morning.

After breakfast, the three went straight to the pier, smoothly boarded the ship without any unexpected incidents that one might have imagined, and no one came to stop their departure; Luo De leaned on the railing, leisurely watching God's Cry Island recede farther and farther away.

(End of chapter)