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Approaching Inazuma City, Ember's ears were filled with noise. The clang of hammering and the shouts of vendors were incessant, giving him the illusion of being at Chihu Rock.
Unfortunately, this wasn't Chihu Rock, but Hanamizaka. The bustling atmosphere naturally couldn't compare to Chihu Rock in Liyue Harbor.
But all in all, it was still much livelier than other places.
The streets were no longer crowded, and this relaxed and pleasant shopping experience was quite novel for Ember.
Walking along the street, Ember saw many shops with unique styles, and among them, the most familiar was the Adventurers' Guild, which he spotted from afar.
Katheryne stood behind the massive counter, making it hard not to notice her.
"To the stars and the abyss."
"We meet again, Katheryne."
Leaning his hands on the counter, Ember felt a little emotional. When he first came to Liyue, he immediately went to the Adventurers' Guild, but things were different in Inazuma.
For example, he had been in Inazuma for so long, and only now was he visiting the Adventurers' Guild.
"Mr. Ember, so you've arrived in Inazuma?" After a programmatic greeting, Katheryne looked up and saw Ember, her eyes filled with surprise.
Although Ember hadn't helped her directly, that emotion was something all Katheryne could share.
Moreover, since then, Snezhnaya had not issued any more commands unrelated to Adventurer affairs, which made all the Katheryne grateful to Ember.
After the surprise, Katheryne's face showed some panic, "Mr. Ember, you seem to be a registered fugitive in Inazuma, walking so openly on the streets…"
"It's just a trifle. If someone comes, I'll beat him up, and besides, isn't no one coming?" Ember shrugged. He had been walking for so long and hadn't seen anyone come to question him. He didn't know whether to be grateful or to complain.
"Wait! Don't push!"
"Give it to me! Give it to me!"
"Let me through… I haven't eaten in three days…"
…Just as Ember and Katheryne were chatting, a sudden commotion erupted on the street in the distance.
Ember turned his head and saw a crowd scrambling for something.
Each of these people was dressed in rags, with sallow faces, looking frail and weak.
"Fighting for food?"
"Relief food."
Katheryne nodded, "Inazuma City never had refugees before, but after the war broke out, they started appearing."
The scrambling crowd dispersed, some carrying cloth bags with joyful expressions; others with empty hands, their faces etched with sorrow.
Such is the spectrum of human life.
"All the commissions I've completed, is the money still there?" Ember turned his head back and asked Katheryne.
"Of course, it is, but the amount is quite large, so it will take some time to transfer it," Katheryne pressed her hand to her temple, checked for a while, and then affirmed.
"That's good. Convert all my money into food and distribute it. As for the untransferable amount… use Cyrus's to cover it first. Surely his savings aren't so vast that they also require time to transfer, right?"
Ember pondered for a moment, then inquired of Katheryne.
"That's not the case. The Inazuma branch can immediately disburse Cyrus's commission fees."
"But Mr. Ember, the commission fees you've deposited are not a small sum. Are you really…"
"Have you ever seen my money decrease?"
Katheryne was interrupted by Ember before she could finish her sentence.
Whether it was Mora or gold and silver, to Ember, they were just dead objects. He didn't eat, drink, or sleep. The things he needed were either ubiquitous or unbuyable with money.
Wealth in his pocket, besides rusting, had no other use. It was better to seize this opportune moment to spend the Mora, saving the Adventurers' Guild the trouble of protecting his deposit later.
"Is that so? I understand." Katheryne nodded heavily after hearing Ember's words.
"Good that you understand. It's best to start today. I saw that guy who hadn't eaten for three days didn't get any food again, how miserable."
After shaking his head and sighing for a while, Ember asked Katheryne, "Katheryne, how do I get to the Tenryou Commission?"
"The Tenryou Commission?" Katheryne was a little puzzled by the question, but she still leaned out from behind the counter and pointed to the road in the distance, saying,
"Mr. Ember, if you follow this road, you'll see a statue embedded with a Vision. The area guarded by soldiers on the side of that statue is the Tenryou Commission."
"Thanks!"
Waving his hand, Ember turned and walked in the direction Katheryne had indicated.
As Ember advanced, the buildings on both sides of the street gradually became more elaborate, and there were fewer pedestrians, but their attire was more luxurious.
After crossing a wooden bridge, Ember saw the statue embedded with a Vision that Katheryne had mentioned.
The stone female statue was about ten meters tall, seated on the ground. She bowed her head, wearing a hood that blurred her face with shadow, giving her an unfathomable sense of majesty.
But what was most striking were the two upward-stretching wings behind the statue. It wasn't that the wings' form was particularly intricate, but rather the Visions embedded within them were too eye-catching.
Visions of various colors reflected brilliant light on the wings, and from a distance, they looked like countless eyes with different expressions.
They were either angry, or sorrowful, or conflicted… but none of that mattered anymore, because they had already transformed into the eyes behind the statue, becoming part of the declaration of Raiden Shogun's supreme authority.
"How many are there? I wonder if there are a hundred." Standing by the bridge, Ember looked at the statue not far away and sighed.
Were there a hundred Visions on the statue? Ember didn't count, but probably not.
Every light on it represented a wish grand enough to attract the attention of a god. Of course, that wish should have vanished with the stripping of the Vision now.
However, Ember was not only lamenting those dozens of people who had lost their wishes; he was more astonished by the turmoil these people had brought about.
The owners of Visions might not be considered dragons among men, but they could certainly be called "talents."
If they practiced martial arts, they could become grandmasters; if they engaged in business, they could become wealthy merchants; they were people favored by the gods, with sufficiently resilient wills, and the probability of achieving great things in any profession was much higher than for ordinary people.
After their wishes were stripped, the impact on various industries would probably not be as simple as just losing a few dozen people.
And this didn't even account for the Vision holders who had fled Inazuma for refuge. If these people were added, the impact would be even greater.
"I wonder, with so many eyes behind you, can you see the current state of Inazuma?"
Looking up at the Tenshukaku on the high, tiered steps, Ember then walked towards the Tenryou Commission on the side.
The towering walls, the heavily guarded gate, and the armor displayed within, all spoke of the solemnity of the place.
"What do you want? This is a vital area of the Tenryou Commission. If you have no business, leave quickly!"
Seeing Ember, dressed in peculiar attire, approach, the guarding soldiers immediately became vigilant.
"Are the people inside working?" Ember did not answer the soldier's reprimand. He looked beyond the gate, but the arranged rock gardens and walls blocked his view.
"Of course, the Tenryou Commission is the Raiden Shogun's right-hand, handling countless affairs daily, very busy," the soldier's tone was filled with pride.
He didn't know if he was proud of his own job, or of the high-ranking officials in the Tenryou Commission who were unrelated to him.
After hearing the soldier's words, Ember nodded.
"That's good. As for my purpose for coming here today…"
Ember glanced once more at the Tenshukaku, deeply ensconced on the central high ground, then turned back and said with a smile,
"I'm here to sever one of your Raiden Shogun's arms!"
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