Genshin Impact: Rise of the Desert

Ke Qing looked at this large group of refugees who had no clothes to wear. Their homes had been burned down, their property looted, and their clothes burned.

Fortunately, I am safe.

The refugees, weeping and wailing, were clothed by the Qianyan Army, who then guided them on their way.

Each road behind is patrolled by at least one hundred Thousand Rock Army soldiers, so safety is not an issue.

Seeing the refugees' plight made Ke Qing grit her teeth, wishing she could immediately help Xian Qu defeat the desert people.

However, when Keqing arrived at the military tent, Kaiyang Star Wuqu brought her devastating news: "The immortals have failed. The scouts saw that all the immortals were killed, their bones burned, and their flesh used as rations..."

Keqing didn't hear the rest of what was said; she just stood there blankly.

Although she proclaimed that humans should be in charge of their own lives, she never denied the fighting power of immortals.

More than a hundred immortals from Shenyu Valley were all slaughtered by the desert people.

............

Erwo, along with his group of treasure hunters, followed Da Liu and left Keqing and Wuqu's military camp.

At this point, Ervo began to let loose and be himself.

He was originally a wealthy merchant, but when he obtained the "Flying Snow of the Jade Pavilion" he couldn't understand it. In order to sell it at a high price, he spread rumors that the paper said that the Star of Heavenly Power, Ningguang, was looking for a son-in-law, and that some of the qualifications were listed on it.

After selling it for a high price, Ningguang and the merchant who bought his "Qunyu Pavilion Flying Snow" conspired to ruin Erwo, causing him to eventually join a band of treasure thieves.

Ivan's task was to spread rumors, and Ervo thought to himself, "I'm good at this!"

After sending out missions to other treasure-hunting groups, Ervo sneaked up to a weeping old woman and said, "Auntie, my cousin works for the Thousand Rock Army. He told me that Lord Ningguang has ordered that all those whose families have been destroyed because of the Desert People should have their homes rebuilt by Lord Ningguang himself, and that he should give three million Mora as a resettlement allowance to make up for the incompetence of the Thousand Rock Army."

The old woman shook her head, wiping away her tears, and said, "Child, don't tease me. What the desert people say doesn't count."

Ervo said urgently, "It's true! My cousin told me himself. If he weren't just a common soldier, I would be staying in the army now to find a vacancy. I'm only telling you this because you gave me a piece of bread. Don't tell anyone else."

Ervo then left the old woman and continued walking as if nothing had happened.

Ervo was experienced; he knew that always talking to one person could give him away, so he would go somewhere else every half hour to find someone to spread the word.

When everyone went to rest at night, the sounds of "Did you hear? Lady Ningguang is going to give us a resettlement allowance..." could be heard everywhere.

Some people who weren't initially convinced started believing it after seeing it circulating among those around them.

The next day, when they encountered the patrolling Chiyan army on the road, a curious person went up to ask, "I heard that Lady Ningguang will arrange accommodation and resettlement allowance for us. Is that true?"

The Qianyan soldier assumed the man was referring to temporary accommodations and that the resettlement allowance wasn't specified, so he nodded and said, "Of course."

With the Thousand Rock Army's approval, the refugees became even more excited. The previously lifeless crowd became excited and couldn't wait to go to Liyue Harbor to live in their new homes.

According to Ivan's plan, Ivan didn't know whether Ervo and his group would stay or leave, but Ervo thought of Ningguang causing him and many other merchants to go bankrupt, and a fierce glint appeared in his eyes.

"Damn it, don't think you're so great just because you've become the Star of Heaven. In this world, those who win the hearts of the people win the world!"

............

When Ivan awoke from his deep sleep, it was already the morning of the next day.

Under Ivan's orders, the desert army rested for a morning, allowing Jiaming's family to leave with their gold, silver, and valuables.

After they left, the desert army set fire to Qiaoying Village and marched towards Yilongbu!

The Jiaming family, who had just left, soon ran into the Chiyan Army led by Keqing. While the other refugees had been stripped naked, the Jiaming family not only had their clothes still on, but their belongings were also intact.

Soon, Jiaming, Yede, and Baishu were detained and, after a brief interrogation, were taken back to Liyue Harbor by a hundred-man squad for further questioning.

On the way back, the centurion of the Chiyan Army chuckled at Jiaming and the other two: "Lord Keqing said that in times of war, we should act expediently. As for how expediently we act, isn't that up to me? Brother Ye De is a smart man and should understand some principles, what we should and shouldn't touch."

This means that centurions also had the right to interrogate, and could conduct interrogations on the road from time to time. Whether the confession was obtained through torture or through good food and drink depended entirely on how much benefit you promised.

Although this centurion was one of Keqing's confidants, Keqing never allowed her subordinates to use connections, making it difficult for the centurion to get a position in the army for his relatives, while he watched other centurions in the army live a life of luxury.

Not only did he not receive any reward, his family also thought he was being arrogant and not finding a good job for his relatives. As a result, the centurion would always earn some extra money to make up for the relatives who gave him gifts when Keqing wasn't looking.

Admittedly, some people were impressed by Keqing's selfless character.

But most people only think about military merit, making money, and improving their families' lives. The Ke family is a large clan, so naturally they don't understand the difficulties of ordinary people like us. You won't even let me find a job, so I can only find some side jobs elsewhere.

In fact, the Liyue Seven Stars had also heard of Ye De's reputation for being charitable. Most of the merchants in Shenyu Valley made their first fortune by working against their conscience in the desert, but Ye De didn't make much and gradually became wealthy.

Ke Qing and Kai Yangxing both guessed that Ye De's reluctance to sell tea at a high price had led the desert people to let them go. However, returning like this would certainly arouse suspicion and become an excuse to attack the Seven Stars.

For the sake of the greater good, let's just label them as 'suspected traitors,' sacrificing their personal interests for the greater good, and damaging their family's reputation.

Later, Qixing stepped in to mediate and explain things clearly, and the family should thank us.

Keqing also instructed the centurion to take good care of Ye De and the other two, but Ye De and the other two didn't know that. They ended up doing all the work themselves!

Ye De hurriedly bowed to the centurion: "Your Excellency is right. If this trip goes smoothly, 'Baiye Trading Company' will give us 10% of the shares. In addition, there will be five million Mora. I'll treat the brothers to drinks."

Ye De's heart was bleeding, but there was nothing he could do. He had seen too many people, and this guy in front of him was clearly obsessed with money. How could he expect him to treat people well without spending some money?

Jiaming's eyes were bloodshot: "I have no money, and I won't give you my life! I've been a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) for years, and I have friends in Yuehaiting. You'd better think it over!"

Nothing has gone smoothly for Jiaming in the past six months. He was beaten up by desert people while escorting goods, and his father nagged him every day to give up his lion dance career while he was on paid leave at home.

Instead of receiving their wages from the escort agency, they were greeted by desert people. They watched in frustration as the desert people drove away the villagers and burned down Qiaoying Village.

They had thought their saviors had arrived when they saw the army, but neither Keqing, whom they had met a few times before, nor Kaiyangxing, whom the martial artists all admired, gave them a friendly look.

Now, a Senju soldier who doesn't even have the Eye of God is standing right in front of him, openly asking for favors.

The centurion's face darkened instantly: "Kid, have you thought this through? My beating you is an act of law enforcement, but if you hit me, it's disrupting law enforcement. Do you think I have fewer friends in the army just because you have friends at Yuehai Pavilion?"

Ye De stared at Jia Ming in disbelief. "Why didn't you just let it go?" he thought. "This brat..."

Bai Shu quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "It's normal for young people to be hot-tempered. Bu Bu Lu has medicinal wine to nourish the kidneys. You all have worked hard to protect our country. Take a jar back with you!"

The centurion immediately beamed, and even the furious Jiaming seemed more agreeable to him: "Jiaming, I'm not trying to lecture you, but we people are all about getting what we want. It looks like your father is the one who's been taken advantage of."

"But if I become a shareholder, can I not let your dad make money? Although I can't find vacancies in the military, I can still say what supplies the logistics department needs to buy."

"Putting everything else aside, even if I have your dad transport some grain, I get to decide the price of the grain and the labor fee."

"The army's working capital ended up in our pockets... Kid, at least in Liyue, it's not about who has the biggest fist, but who can make money for their friends."

Ye De's eyes lit up, and he started chatting with the centurion, dragging Bai Zhu into the conversation as well, since the army couldn't do without medicine.

And so, the people who were initially wary of each other quickly became partners, discussing how to make money next. The centurion also told Ye De and the other two about the specifics of the Keqing Wuqu plan.

Jiaming was still angry, but after the centurion explained the details of Keqing and Kaiyang's arrangements, Jiaming felt like the sky had fallen.

I'm working for a security escort agency and I'm paid by the government. And you bunch of officials want to set me up?

What did our family do to offend anyone?

Fuck you!

I'm not going to class B anymore!