Chapter 80: 80: Voyage
"The sea, huh? Nothing but water," Reisen Riou mused, clutching a stack of papers, gazing at the endless ocean.
He was on the second of three Inazuma-Liyue fleets for the Seven Archons' Banquet, a tradition fostering ties due to their leaders' close bonds. The ships carried Inazuma's specialties—herbs, minerals, lacquerware, and more.
"Crude, too crude!" Yurei chided.
"Heh, I'm no refined scholar. Crude works," Reisen Riou laughed, brushing him off.
Inazuma had three philosophical schools: Tenkou, Fuuga, and Ukiyo. Tenkou, followed by Tenryou Commission samurai and Grand Narukami Shrine youkai, was the dominant faction, rooted in Raiden Shogun's absolute authority. Ukiyo thrived among the masses, Fuuga among nobles, each distinct yet with outliers. (What's with Tougo? Crazy Fuuga? Got hooked on Seven Saints' Summon with Lingren?)
Yurei, the ship's lone Fuuga adherent, fumed but slumped, realizing he was in Tenkou's stronghold. "Come, friend, fish with me," Reisen Riou said, pulling rods from his Vision.
"Fishing is Fuuga's art!" Yurei perked up. "You get me, friend."
"Nah, I just want to study deep-sea fish species and distribution," Reisen Riou deadpanned, crushing Yurei's hopes.
"Ugh!" Yurei wailed. The crew roared with laughter, enjoying Reisen Riou's teasing. Yurei leaned into the theatrics—drama was Fuuga too.
To Yurei's shock, Reisen Riou actually fished, leaving his Attendant Recorder duties to a quirky auto-tracking recorder for Narukami. Each night, he reviewed its data, logging her actions:
Inazuma 1444, June 4, Clear Sky Day: General sailed to Liyue. Inazuma 1444, June 5, Thunderstorm Day: General delighted, citing a friend's aid; fleet blessed by swirling winds, boosting speed.
Casting a special live bait, Reisen Riou's mind wasn't on fishing. It was a cover to sift his database on Liyue. Its culture, names, and cuisine mirrored his past life's homeland—an uncanny parallel, like a civilization's alternate-universe twin. Coincidence? He wasn't sure.
Liyue's god, Morax, the Geo Archon, was revered as Lord of Geo or Rock King. Also the Adepti's leader, dubbed Immortal Ancestor, his Adeptal powers outshone Inazuma's youkai energy. If elemental energy was sand, youkai energy was stone, and Adeptal energy was gemstone. Morax's Adeptal arts granted Three Eyes and Five Manifestations, while Inazuma's youkai energy made spirits tougher post-death, resisting purification rituals, even Liyue's. Inazuma's benign specters, often dead youkai, were appeased via offerings and the Grand Narukami Shrine's Hyakki Yagyo.
Reisen Riou planned to study Adeptal arts in Liyue, like Marshal Tengshe's, though their ranks differed—Tengshe matched General Torachiyo, while Reisen Riou was akin to Ganyu, the half-Adeptus Qilin secretary of the Seven Stars. Ganyu's Celestial Shower healing art intrigued him, but Serenitea Pot techniques were his goal—stylish and universal among accomplished Adepti, though likely tough to master.
"Even if I fail, no big deal—huh!?" That intense déjà vu hit, urging him to learn Outer Realm Serenitea. "It's back. I have to learn this."
"Hey, Riou, what're you muttering? Help! Big fish!" Yurei shouted, struggling, meters away.
"Got one too!" Reisen Riou yelled, feeling a tug. "Handle yours!"