Caught by Zhongli in Hu Tao's Room with Hu Tao

The tables outside were all full, so Fei simply had Bai Ye and Hu Tao eat in the room.

The two of them arrived at Hu Tao's room.

At the sight of the comfortable wooden bed in the inn, Hu Tao threw herself onto it.

"Ah, after running around all day, having a nice big bed to lie on really is the most comfortable thing ever!"

As she spoke, she placed both hands behind her head and lifted her slender, tender legs, bracing them against the bedpost.

The dazzling whiteness was blinding.

Bai Ye hurriedly turned his head away, refusing to look in Hu Tao's direction.

"Pay a little attention to yourself!"

he said to Hu Tao.

"Meh, it doesn't matter. No one else is going to see."

Hu Tao continued rolling around on the bed.

She even hugged a pillow.

Kicking off both shoes, Hu Tao pulled the blanket over herself.

She waved at Bai Ye and said:

"I'll take a nap while I can. Wake me once all the dishes are served."

Bai Ye clearly wasn't wearing any sachets, yet he seemed to carry a faint fragrance of his own.

Sleeping beside him always felt incredibly relaxing.

She would ask him later whether he wanted to come work at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

"Hey!"

Bai Ye wanted to argue.

But Hu Tao was already breathing softly and evenly.

If he leaned close to listen, he could even make out faint, adorable snores.

Bai Ye could not help wanting to complain.

Hu Tao, you're way too innocent-minded!

Since she had already fallen asleep like that, Bai Ye could not bring himself to wake her.

He could only begin pondering the records left behind by True Lord Jing Xuan Tong You that he had read before.

Because Xiao might still be on the roof, Bai Ye did not dare call out his teacher to discuss it with him.

He merely considered the final secret art for repairing souls.

At first, he had mainly developed the Adeptal Art because so many enemies he defeated had injured souls that could not be restored.

Later, as battles continued, he encountered some fragmented souls and further refined his Adeptal Art.

The principle behind the Adeptal Art was simple.

A soul would be bound to some kind of entity capable of growth. As it grew, it would also grant the same power to the bound soul.

The renewed power brought by that object's growth would repair damaged and incomplete souls.

Generally speaking, the object was an unfinished Adepti artifact.

First, it was bound.

Then, the artifact was developed to gain growth attributes.

Thus, as the artifact was forged and developed,

the damaged soul would be restored.

According to the final records,

True Lord Jing Xuan Tong You had already repaired several damaged souls through this method.

Bai Ye figured it should be feasible.

But there were still quite a few problems.

The most important one was that all the repaired souls had belonged to ordinary soldiers.

There was only one case involving a Genshin Eye bearer.

As for higher-level gods,

True Lord Jing Xuan Tong You had never mentioned them.

Bai Ye thought that

first, True Lord Jing Xuan Tong You was only an Adepti, a subordinate of Zhongli, and possibly his teacher's undercover agent, so he could not compare to a god;

second, the Archon War had been a zero-sum game with only one victor. Defeated gods had no need for their souls to be repaired in the first place.

In any case, Bai Ye felt the principle was workable, though the actual execution would be extremely difficult.

The main issue was finding something capable of growth that could contain a god's soul.

Bai Ye did not know what he could use for that.

Something capable of containing the will of a god.

Forget it.

There was still plenty of time.

He could search slowly.

For now, he should focus on enjoying the delicious food in front of him.

At that moment, downstairs at Wangshu Inn,

Zhongli, the Guest Official of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, was conducting a transaction with someone.

"Then my obligations under the contract have been fulfilled. What remains is yours."

"Please rest assured, Guest Official Zhongli. Once I return to Liyue Harbor, I will deliver that antique to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."

"Mm."

Zhongli nodded.

Seeing him nod, the merchant continued, "Shall we have a good meal at Wangshu Inn?"

"Very well..."

He had only spoken halfway when Zhongli, about to accept the merchant's invitation, spotted the Spirit Vehicle parked by the roadside. His thoughts shifted, and he waved the merchant off.

"There is someone I need to see. Let us leave the matter of treating you to next time."

"Mm-hmm."

Bai Ye sat at the dining table, waiting for the dishes to arrive.

Very soon,

a full table of food was brought in.

There was Vegetarian Abalone, Yandu Xian, Tianshu Meat, Golden Crab, and even Almond Tofu that Xiao liked.

Looking at Hu Tao, who was still fast asleep,

Bai Ye wore a thoughtful expression.

Should he eat everything first before waking her?

Forget it.

He could not be that inhuman.

Hu Tao would definitely bury him for it.

Once the dishes had all been served, Bai Ye prepared to close the guest room door before eating with Hu Tao.

Just as he placed his hand on the door,

he felt a force pushing from outside.

"Our dishes are all here."

Bai Ye said in confusion.

Then,

he sensed that something was wrong and looked up.

A tall, handsome man was looking down at him.

Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's Guest Official, Zhongli—

Rex Lapis, Morax—

Bai Ye's expression froze.

Would he discover the deeply hidden Hagintos within my body?

Am I going to die?

He truly had no confidence that Hagintos's concealment could deceive Zhongli.

Just as Bai Ye was agonizing over it,

both Bai Ye and Zhongli heard a soft, sleepy murmur from the bed.

Hu Tao's groggy voice drifted over.

"Bai Ye, is the food ready? Mmm, I slept so comfortably with you nearby!"

Bai Ye: "..."

All right.

Before, he might have died.

Now, he was definitely going to die.

"Um, that... Zhongli, the Guest Official from your Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, is here too."

Bai Ye said, his voice trembling slightly.

"Huh? Zhongli is here?"

Hu Tao sprang off the bed and pulled aside the bed curtains.

"Zhongli, how did you get here?"

"An antique merchant purchased a batch of goods and did not know whether they were genuine. I came to appraise them for him."

Zhongli explained to Hu Tao.

"Oh, so that's what happened. Then Zhongli, come eat with us. Bai Ye ordered rather a lot of dishes for this meal."

"That would be most agreeable."

Hu Tao immediately pulled Bai Ye over and introduced him. "Come, Bai Ye. This is Zhongli, the Guest Official of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor that I told you about before. After I inherited Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, he has provided us with no small amount of help."

"Mm-hmm."

Bai Ye nodded with an unnatural expression.

"Zhongli, this is my good friend, Bai Ye."

"Mm."

Zhongli nodded.

The three of them then sat down at the table.

Looking at the spread of dishes, Hu Tao excitedly picked up her chopsticks.

"Come on, let's eat."

Hu Tao called out to Zhongli and Bai Ye.

"Mm-hmm."

Bai Ye picked up his chopsticks, trembling all over and sweating profusely.

First time eating with Rex Lapis watching me. What should I do? Waiting online.

Urgent!!!!!!!

Seeing Bai Ye's tense expression as he kept staring at Zhongli, as though he cared a great deal about him,

Hu Tao somehow felt very happy inside.

"It's fine. Zhongli is a very good person, so you don't need to be nervous."