"Village Chief, if I may be so bold, why exactly have you called us here?"
Washizu and Ember's words were not hidden from the nearby villagers. These words fell into their ears, eventually turning into deep confusion on their faces.
"This..." Washizu pondered for a moment, then he pushed Ember to the forefront of the crowd.
"Let him do it!"
"Me?" Ember felt the push from behind him and pointed to his face. Seeing that Washizu truly couldn't bring himself to say it, Ember waved his arm and said boisterously,
"I don't like to beat around the bush, so I'll make a long story short. I called you here to discuss how to rebel!"
"..."
Inside the cellar, one could hear a pin drop. After hearing Ember's words, everyone froze in place, without any movement, not even blinking.
This scene was as if an invisible person had pressed the shutter of reality, freezing this moment in time.
"Hahaha! Ember, you're so funny!"
"Is this a joke from another country? It's truly astonishing."
"Haha, everyone's chatting so much. But I still have fields to plow at home, I need to go back and farm."
...After a brief silence, bursts of laughter rose from inside the cellar. It was unclear whether everyone genuinely found Ember's words amusing, or if they simply didn't know what expression they should show at that moment.
Judging by the stiff smiles on their faces, it was likely the latter.
"Cough, cough, cough!" Seeing this, Washizu cleared his throat several times. After glaring fiercely at Ember, he spoke to everyone in a serious tone:
"What Ember just said about rebelling, that's definitely going too far. The correct way to put it should be... should be called... 'Pleading Net'..."
"Pleading for the King's Audience!" Dan Oni Roku reminded him from below.
"Right! It should be called Pleading for the King's Audience!" Washizu nodded quickly, mimicking Dan Oni Roku's pronunciation as he continued.
The term "Pleading for the King's Audience" didn't exist in Inazuma; Ember had dug it out from some ancient text. From the composition of the words, Washizu felt it must be a foreign term from Liyue, no doubt about it.
"Pleading for the King's Audience..."
The villagers below repeated Washizu's words a few times. But soon, someone had a new question: "What's the difference between this and rebelling?"
"As for that..." Washizu stammered for a long time, unable to articulate a clear explanation.
"Let me explain!" Seeing this, Ember pulled the pondering Washizu behind him and volunteered to explain.
"Who do you think the hardships you've suffered in recent years come from?" Ember first posed a question.
"The Shogunate Army and the resistance!" Many people answered Ember's question without thinking.
"Correct! But how did the Shogunate Army and the resistance come about?" Ember patiently guided them.
"Because of the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree!" Everyone's answer this time was as swift as the last.
"Then how did the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree come about?"
This time, people's answers were not as quick as the previous two. They looked around, and in the end, only a few whispered in response:
"Because... because of the eternity that the Raiden Shogun pursues!"
"Very correct!" Ember clapped his hands, not giving the villagers below any chance to breathe. He continued to ask:
"Then do you desire the eternity that your Raiden Shogun pursues?"
"Of course we desire it! The Raiden Shogun is the guardian deity of Inazuma, and what she pursues will surely make Inazuma better!"
Everyone nodded without hesitation. Everyone present, except for Ember, had grown up listening to the legends of the Raiden Shogun slaying demons and monsters.
For this living guardian deity who had protected Inazuma for thousands of years, the people of Inazuma held the highest reverence.
"But then why are your lives so difficult now? Are you not Inazuman people?!"
As soon as the villagers below finished speaking, Ember turned and raised his arm, pointing at the large group of figures below.
This time, no one spoke again. They were also very confused as to why the Shogunate and the resistance fought so fiercely, and why no one cared about them.
They were clearly also Inazuman people, just not living on Narukami Island.
"You!"
Ember turned his arm and pointed to a villager below.
The man, seeing Ember pointing at him, immediately turned his head, took a few steps back, and waved his hand, saying, "I don't know."
"Then you!"
"I... I don't know either." Ember turned and pointed to another person, but it was clear that person also couldn't answer.
Seeing everyone shrinking their heads, looking puzzled, Ember waved his large hand and spoke to everyone with conviction:
"Since none of you know, then I will tell you!"
"There are treacherous officials beside your Raiden Shogun!"
"And these treacherous officials are within the Tri-Commission!"
Ember's tone was deep and steady, as if he had seen through everything, and everything he said was correct.
"Treacherous officials..."
"Are there really?"
"I'm a farmer, ask the village chief!"
...As soon as Ember said this, the villagers below began to whisper and discuss amongst themselves.
The Raiden Shogun pursued eternity, and thus the entirety of Inazuma prioritized stability. The three great families each holding the Tri-Commission was a tradition that had existed since Inazuma's founding a millennium ago.
In the eyes of ordinary Inazuman people, the lords of the three great families were certainly more intelligent than common folk like them and would not make mistakes.
And the facts seemed to confirm the Inazuman people's thoughts. Under the management of the Tri-Commission, Inazuma, while not experiencing a leapfrog progression, was indeed improving little by little.
Therefore, in the hearts of the Inazuman people, it was only right and proper for the three great families to hold the Tri-Commission, and no one would ever think they would become treacherous officials.
But now, someone was telling them that treacherous officials had appeared beside the Raiden Shogun, which naturally made it impossible for them to accept.
Amidst the sounds of shocked and angry discussions, more and more gazes converged on Washizu.
During this period, Washizu's actions had been observed by everyone. Defenses, mining, food exchange, tatarigami... various difficulties had descended upon Higi Village, but Washizu had resolved them one by one.
Unbeknownst to them, Washizu had already become a trusted and relied-upon figure for most people in Higi Village.
While this was certainly due to the chaotic times and Higi Village's isolated geographical environment, Washizu's own abilities and character were also crucial.
Seeing everyone's gaze turn to him, Washizu knew he couldn't hide. So he stepped out from behind Ember and nodded to the crowd.
"I also agree with Ember's statement!"
"Since we're in the cellar, everyone should take a good look."
Washizu moved through the crowd, his eyes constantly surveying the stored grain around him.
Seeing Washizu's demeanor, everyone had no choice but to suppress their inner doubts and observe the situation in the cellar.
Soon, a meticulous villager discovered a suspicious point.
"The cellar..."
"No, Village Chief, what's going on? There seems to be less grain?"
The cellar was where Higi Village stored its grain. Normally, only a narrow path for a few people to walk through was needed, but now it was spacious enough to accommodate hundreds of strong men!
From this perspective, Higi Village's cellar was quite a failure—because it didn't store much grain at all.
"Yes, there's a bit less grain." Washizu reached out and placed his hand on a sack on the grain rack. The sack was bulging, giving a sense of security.
But no matter how full a single sack was, it seemed somewhat meager when facing a large village of several thousand people.
Even if there were many such sacks in the cellar.
"This grain... if we're careful, it'll last this month." Washizu lowered his arm and said to everyone.
There was enough grain for this month, but no one was happy. Because Washizu's unspoken meaning was that there would be no provisions for next month.
"Village Chief, what exactly happened?"
"The Shogunate has been making big moves recently, and all the channels we opened up before are probably gone now."
Washizu sighed, shook his head, and said no more.
Everyone fell silent upon hearing this. Grain had always been their biggest concern. Recently, thanks to the Fatui's benevolence, the village's conditions had slightly improved.
But no one expected that Higi Village's rising momentum would be abruptly cut short by the Shogunate.
These days were going to be difficult again.
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