Cunning Fellow

Aserine settled the bill efficiently and soon returned to his side, silently standing there as she waited for his next command. That was her responsibility and duty.

"Sit down. Here."

Zhongli patted the empty seat beside him and spoke in a commanding tone.

"Yes."

Aserine obediently sat down. If Zhongli did not personally tell her to sit, she would keep standing, even if it took hours and her legs went weak and sore.

As Zhongli sipped his tea, he secretly observed the people around him. He had never forgotten his purpose. From the moment he entered, he had been searching for that fox, but he had yet to find her.

Didn't she come?

Did I arrive too early?

That made sense. She never gave me a specific time, so she might come a little later. If I embarrassed myself outside for too long, she might laugh even harder when she saw me.

Heh...

The Red-Clothed Maid had chosen a good spot: remote and difficult to notice. There was also a window beside them, allowing them to see people outside and watch those coming up and down from the upper floors.

But despite the excellent location, Zhongli did not see any sign of that fellow for a long time. Even after all the dishes had been served, he still had not seen that fox.

"Master, do you require 'assistance'?"

Aserine suddenly asked.

"Assistance?"

Zhongli was puzzled at first, but when he saw the chopsticks in Aserine's hand, he quickly guessed what she was thinking.

It was simple: feeding play~

"No."

Zhongli refused outright. Picking up his chopsticks, he began eating on his own. In terms of flavor alone, Moon Pavilion fully deserved its reputation as a top-tier establishment.

But... there was one dish. Its presentation and taste were both excellent, yet he simply could not bring himself to pick it up with his chopsticks. Looking at its shape, he could not bring himself to eat it.

He had always thought he was not a picky eater...

Until today... when he encountered this dish...

"You can have this."

Zhongli took the initiative to pick up a Golden Crispy Mantis Shrimp nearly thirty centimeters long and placed it on the plate before Aserine, smiling as he spoke.

The Golden Crispy Mantis Shrimp was wonderfully prepared, and its arrangement was lifelike, as though the mantis shrimp were still alive. Its color, aroma, flavor, and form were all impeccable. Yet this art, so admired by ordinary people, was not particularly welcome to him.

It was not that Zhongli could not accept seafood. He could only accept seafood that did not look like seafood at first glance. This kind of seafood that was immediately recognizable...

He really could not eat it.

"Thank you, Master."

Aserine replied with a polite smile. Though beautiful, the smile was somewhat overly formulaic, lacking Mo Yuqing's natural charm and infectious warmth.

After a while

Zhongli had finished even his dessert and drunk an entire pot of tea, yet that fox still had not appeared. Looking at the darkening sky outside, he gradually began to feel that something was wrong.

If that fox intended to come, she wouldn't still be absent this late, would she?

He frowned deeply as he pondered. Before long, he directly took out the pink gauze from his Storage Soul Tool, unrolled it, and looked at the words he had discovered earlier.

At night, Moon Pavilion's first-floor hall. Keep secret.

That was right. It was indeed Moon Pavilion, and it was indeed nighttime, but why had that fellow not come?

With lingering doubts, Zhongli continued unrolling the pink gauze, wanting to see whether there was anything else inside...

Sorry, I was just teasing you~

The moment Zhongli saw that sentence, he went stiff—his fist went stiff. Right now, he desperately wanted to pin that fox to the ground and rub her down hard. She was simply too awful! How could she bully someone as pure and honest as him?

Gritting his teeth, he continued unrolling the pink gauze to the end and looked at another sentence written there.

There's treasure beneath the third tree at the City Gate!

Zhongli's expression gradually changed. He could not determine at all whether that fellow was telling the truth. That fox had only one goal: to make him uncomfortable, to make him feel as though no matter what he did, he could not find the right answer.

She loved to toy with people's hearts,

and she was both obnoxious and wicked!

So, that fellow must be somewhere, watching me with a smug smile, covering her mouth with one hand and hiding herself perfectly!

Fine. It's time to flip the table...

Zhongli directly closed his eyes and perceived everything around him that was made of stone. His vision could easily see through everything, as though the entire world had no privacy before his eyes. Under this wide-range reconnaissance, no matter how well that fox hid, it would be useless—unless there was not a single stone near her, nor anything related to stone.

Location: by the second-floor railing. She's using a mirror's reflection to watch my reaction. She sure is smiling happily~

Zhongli immediately turned toward the inconspicuous mirror at the stairway corner. His gaze was slightly cold, and his lips moved faintly. Anyone who could read lips would clearly understand what he was saying.

You. What are you waiting for? Come down.

The fox at the second-floor corner narrowed her eyes slightly. She could not understand at all how Zhongli knew her location. She had personally tested it; from that spot, he should not have been able to see her upstairs.

How could he be so sure?

Was he bluffing me?

Forget it. I've dragged things out long enough anyway. None of that matters now.

"Hello, little one. It's been so long—I've missed you dearly~" she said as she walked downstairs.

"Oh? What do you want with me?"

Zhongli looked at the beauty descending the stairs, his heart completely unmoved as he asked bluntly.

"You may call me Sakura. I'm the owner of this establishment. Surprised? Didn't expect that, did you?"

Sakura said with a smiling gaze.

"So?"

Zhongli's eyes remained cold.

"What an ill-mannered little one. Not cute at all. I saved you tonight, you know. My, my, how excessive."

Sakura lightly covered her mouth with one hand, revealing an amused smile as she spoke.

"You saved me?"

Zhongli's expression changed slightly. After a brief thought, he immediately perceived the stones near his home and remotely observed the situation there. If nothing unexpected had happened, he would be at home right now; even if something had happened, it would have occurred near his home.

The door to his home had already been forcibly broken open. Eight people were inside, wildly smashing things apart, seemingly enraged because they could not find him. The Soul Power fluctuations on these people were not weak. Even the weakest among them had the strength of a Soul King or above. If he truly had been an ordinary child...

Without Sakura tricking him here, he really would have died!

However, Zhongli was no ordinary person. In this situation, Sakura tricking him here was less a matter of saving Zhongli than saving those people who were causing trouble. Still, if he wanted to kill them, Zhongli would have to reveal some of his trump cards. Revealing those cards within the city was indeed not a good thing.

So the question was, who wanted to kill him? He should not have offended anyone. Zhongli was so young that he had no opportunity to offend anyone either. Was it because of his parents? Most likely, they were his parents' enemies...

And who exactly was this Sakura?

(Please vote for a handsome Zhongli picture to use as the cover~)