Inside a quiet room in the Regent's Office, a beautiful young Damselette was feasting at a table, while the mature and steady young man simply sipped tea quietly beside her, oblivious to the spread of delicious dishes on the table.
This pair was naturally Hu Tao and Zhongli, who had saved Yoimiya and Klee. As the main benefactors who rescued Klee and Yoimiya, the Regent's Office naturally couldn't neglect them. The grand feast prepared for them consisted of the most exquisite Inazuma cuisine.
Under Miyashiro's arrangement, even meat of the caliber of Dragon Meat was secretly prepared as a delicacy and served.
However, making Zhongli eat Dragon Meat... this kind of thing, only Miyashiro could probably pull off.
Hu Tao asked in confusion, "consultant, why aren't you eating? Some of these dishes taste very special, they make me feel warm all over. Although I'm not sure what kind of meat it is, it must be something very nourishing. If you miss it, you won't get to eat it again!"
Zhongli: "Hall Master Hu can enjoy it herself. I am not hungry."
Unexpectedly, Zhongli's calm demeanor made Hu Tao agitated instead, "consultant! Tell me honestly, have you eaten too much at Liuli Pavilion and Xinyue Kiosk in Liyue? You're even looking down on Inazuma's top cuisine. How much Mora have you spent of mine?!"
Zhongli: "Hall Master Hu, calm down. Generally speaking, Mora is inherently currency. Lord Rex Lapis created Mora for people to use. Since that is the case, why bother with the quantity of Mora?"
Hu Tao stood up, a scowl on her face, and let out a hysterical roar: "If you were using Lord Rex Lapis's Mora, I wouldn't have any complaints, but you're using MY Mora! MINE!"
Hu Tao knew her accusations were just for show. As one of Liyue's well-known wealthy women, the Mora Zhongli spent was indeed insignificant in her eyes, but his habit of not carrying money himself yet sending various bills to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor made Hu Tao very displeased.
She angrily plopped back down in her seat, then picked up a large piece of meat that she found delicious but couldn't identify, gnashing her teeth as she tore and chewed it, as if the meat on her chopsticks was a certain someone, making Zhongli feel a little uneasy.
Just as Hu Tao picked up another large slice of meat to put into her mouth, a familiar laugh suddenly rang out from outside the door: "Haha, Hall Master Hu, why are you so angry? I could hear your wrath from afar."
Hu Tao's gaze subconsciously turned towards the door, and then, her right hand, which was about to put the meat into her mouth, instantly froze mid-air. This was because she saw four majestic and proud peaks slowly walking towards her.
Shenhe, who knew Hu Tao, stepped forward and greeted her: "Miss Hu Tao, long time no see."
Such terrifying shock dealt tons of damage to Hu Tao's young heart, causing the meat on her chopsticks to unconsciously fall to the table.
Miyashiro: "Hall Master Hu, what's wrong? This Dragon Meat is quite rare; it would be a real shame to waste a piece."
Hu Tao finally recovered from the shock of the four peaks, but unexpectedly, she felt another jolt: "What?! This is actually Dragon Meat? Not some kind of Dragon Lizard meat?"
Miyashiro: "For a meritorious official of Inazuma, Dragon Lizard meat wouldn't be presentable. It just so happened that when I was on a diplomatic mission to Mondstadt, I encountered a giant dragon, conveniently slew it, and brought it back. It's also a chance to have some exotic meat."
Hu Tao quickly picked up the piece of Dragon Meat that had fallen to the ground, carefully wiped it, and then accused Zhongli: "It hasn't been on the ground for more than three seconds, it's still edible, consultant! Look at you, you won't even eat such rare Dragon Meat, you really have no good fortune."
Seeing Hu Tao practically forcing the consultant to eat Dragon Meat made Miyashiro and Shenhe, who knew the details, burst into laughter. This could certainly be considered witnessing a famous scene, couldn't it?
Eula, who had just learned that Zhongli was Lord Rex Lapis, looked at the scene with an expression of disbelief. Was this really Lord Rex Lapis, the oldest and most powerful of the Seven Archons?
After some playful banter, Miyashiro took his seat, poured himself a cup of wine, and toasted Hu Tao and Zhongli: "Hall Master Hu, Mr. Zhongli, first of all, thank you both for arriving in time to save Klee and Yoimiya. Otherwise, Inazuma doesn't know what consequences it would have faced. I toast to you both; please feel free to drink as you wish."
As Miyashiro drained his cup, Shenhe, who was beside him, smoothly took the wine cup from Miyashiro's hand, filled it with wine, and said: "Miss Hu Tao, Mr. Zhongli, as the Regent's wife, I should also toast you both."
Shenhe then also drank it all. At this moment, Eula wanted to take the wine cup from Shenhe's hand, but seeing Hu Tao's shocked expression, she quickly realized it was inappropriate and had to get a new cup, poured herself a glass of wine, and said:
"Hall Master Hu, Empe... Mr. Zhongli, I am Eula, the chief diplomat of the Mondstadt Delegation. Thank you for saving Klee. Otherwise, I really wouldn't know how to explain it to Acting Grand Master Jean. I also toast to you both."
Clearly, Miyashiro, Shenhe, plus Eula—these three political magnates simultaneously bowing to Hu Tao made her feel a bit overwhelmed, but Zhongli, on the other hand, maintained his usual calm and composed expression.
Hu Tao: "Hehe, you three are too kind. The consultant and I were originally invited by Regent to come to Inazuma to purify the lingering souls. Yashiori Island is inherently a place where lingering souls run rampant. The fact that the consultant and I happened to be there and saved Klee and Yoimiya means we have a connection with them, and it also means that the two of them are not yet customers I should be serving."
As expected of Hu Tao, even in Inazuma, she didn't forget her business. However, from her determination to travel thousands of miles from Liyue to Inazuma, Miyashiro knew that she was a pure person who truly wanted to expand this business.
Hu Tao suddenly seemed to remember something, pulled out the previously smashed Maguu Kenki core from her pocket, handed it to Miyashiro, and said:
"Oh, Regent, I found this energy core inside that puppet samurai's body. It turns out that there's a soul estimated to be several hundred years old hidden within this core. This soul seems to have an obsession with Inazuma City. I want to fulfill his obsession so he can rest in peace. Regent, could you possibly help?"
Miyashiro rubbed his chin, saying with a difficult expression: "There's actually a soul from hundreds of years ago hidden inside the Maguu Kenki's core? This is a bit tricky. If it's a soul from hundreds of years ago, the first thing that comes to mind is the turmoil that happened five hundred years ago.
Not only did the people of Inazuma suffer heavy casualties, but many famous great yokai of Inazuma also perished at that time. Inazuma, known as the land of a hundred demons' night parade, saw less than one in ten yokai survive after this battle. Perhaps the soul you mentioned is one of them?
How about this, you summon the soul for me to see if I can find any clues. If I don't recognize it, I can go ask the Shrine Maiden or Ei to identify it. They've lived a long time, so they definitely..."
Miyashiro was about to hand the Maguu Kenki core to Hu Tao, asking her to operate it and bring out the soul for him to see, but unexpectedly, before Miyashiro even finished speaking, the Maguu Kenki core in his hand instantly glowed, and a blurry figure tremblingly appeared before everyone.
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