Zhongli: If It's Useful to Guizhong, I'll Definitely Help

Bai Ye suddenly realized that Li Liyue was now even more troublesome than in the original storyline.

Zhongli informed the Adepti of the death of the Rex Lapis after the Healing ceremony ended, so the Adepti did not question the Seven Stars about it. Later Liyue, when facing the Gods Osial Oser, the Seven Adepti of Liyue Qixing demonstrated their determination and ability to protect Liyue.

With these two factors combined, the Adepti naturally felt reassured and chose to leave Liyue Harbor, allowing the entire Liyue to be controlled by the Seven Stars.

Even so, Bai Ye still remembered that when Shenhe appeared in the game's storyline, Cloud Retainer still harbored great distrust towards the Liyue Qixing.

Gaining the trust of Adepti for nothing these days is extremely difficult.

"Are we trying to find an enemy?"

Keqing and then spoke to the others.

Pull out an enemy, then kill it. Wouldn't that demonstrate the Seven Stars' strength?

It's best to create an enemy for yourself, thus fostering your own power and influence.

As soon as she said this, Ningguang, Uncle Tian, and Ganyu immediately objected.

"That's impossible."

"No, absolutely not."

"It's best not to do that."

Ganyu Yu's reasons for opposing were simple: she was a disciple of the Cloud Retainer, and between the Adepti and the Seven Stars, she would definitely side with the Adepti. If the Seven Stars had the ability, she would naturally assist them wholeheartedly. But your current tactic of directly cultivating enemies to enhance your own prestige shows that you truly don't respect the Adepti.

Ningguang's objections weren't based on these reasons. She didn't mind fostering an enemy to enhance her own power. If they could find an enemy to defeat, the Liyue Qixing Adepti would eventually prove that they were indeed capable of protecting Liyue.

But the biggest problem is, what kind of enemy should we go after?

How many Treasure Hoarders do you hire?

To gather the power of the Seven Stars and strike down the Treasure Hoarders?

Let alone the Adepti, even the common people of Liyue Harbor wouldn't be able to get past this hurdle.

As for the Fatui...

Currently, the Fatui's strength in Liyue, excluding their Fatui within the Chasm, is even less than that of the Treasure Hoarders on the surface.

Ningguang couldn't possibly lead a group to invade Snezhnaya and attack the Fatui, could she?

If she really did that, she'd probably be caught in a coup before she even left Liyue.

What about the powerful enemy?

Gods?

Where do Gods come from?

He caused Liyue to fall into a crisis of Gods attack because of his own Seven Stars hobby.

This is something that Ningguang cannot replicate.

Like her, Uncle Tian thought the same way.

Keqing realized what was happening after hearing the two people's objections.

Such behavior is absolutely unacceptable.

"That's definitely not the right thing to do."

Keqing nodded.

She then looked around at the other people, hoping to get a solution from them.

But the other people

None of them could come up with a solution to the problem.

Keqing turned her gaze to Bai Ye, the only one who hadn't spoken.

"Bai Ye, what are your thoughts?"

"Me?" Bai Ye shook his head. "I haven't thought of a suitable way. But I think that instead of thinking about how to prove my strength, I should demonstrate my Seven Stars strength in other ways."

Simply displaying military might is not as effective as holding a military parade in front of the Liyue Adepti.

The ability and determination to protect Liyue

This is what the Adepti are most concerned about, and it's also why they didn't take down the Seven Stars immediately.

In the original storyline, Ningguang's act of smashing down the Jade Chamber for the safety of Liyue was a highly commendable act in the eyes of the Adepti.

"Is there any other way to prove the strength of the Liyue Qixing?"

The group began to consider the feasibility of this approach.

The others came up with a few more ideas.

However, either the Adepti wouldn't agree, or it would be too difficult to achieve and therefore not feasible.

The situation seems to have reached a stalemate.

Seeing that they couldn't reach a conclusion, Ningguang tapped the table lightly and said to Bai Ye and the others, "Let's go back and think about this first, and discuss it again tomorrow. Also, Bai Ye, we need to immediately investigate the people on your side who are helping you."

"I will arrange for someone to handle this matter immediately."

Ganyu then spoke up.

"Um."

After discussing this matter, Ningguang didn't waste any time and directly announced the end of the meeting.

Everyone left one after another.

Uncle Tian and Keqing still had work to do, so they left immediately to handle their own tasks.

Bai Ye and Ganyu lagged behind, then called on Shen Shenhe, who was now their bodyguard, and the three of them left together.

As they were leaving, Bai Ye invited Ganyu, "Sister Ganyu, I'm going to the Liuli Pavilion for dinner. Would you like to come along?"

Shenhe is also looking forward to it.

Ganyu shook her head at Bai Ye and the other person.

"Alright, you and Junior Sister Shenhe go ahead. I need to go back and investigate what happened to you that day. To be able to take down a [La Signora] so easily, your strength is definitely not to be underestimated."

Ganyu had read the intelligence; the [La Signora]'s strength was no weaker than that of an ordinary Gods's familiar. To be able to take her down in an instant, her strength was extraordinary. If this kind of person didn't have intelligence, whatever kind of destruction that thing caused in Liyue, the impact it could have would be far greater.

But,

Having finally seen her junior brother again, she hadn't even had a chance to fully enjoy his pleasant scent before she had to get back to work.

Ganyu felt that she was not in a good mood.

The first time,

She had some thoughts of wanting to take a break.

Go down below,

It was already evening, and the pavilions and towers were lit up, making Liyue Harbor as bright as day.

"Junior brother, see you tomorrow."

Ganyu reluctantly bid farewell to Bai Ye and then left Bai Ye to go to the Yujing Terrace Yuehai Pavilion.

Bai Ye then led Shenhe to the Liuli Pavilion.

Arriving at the Liuli Pavilion,

Bai Ye spotted Zhongli standing outside immediately.

"Zhongli, you're actually standing outside."

He asked Zhongli.

"The master instructed me to wait for you at the entrance and greet you."

Zhongli spoke slowly.

"Um."

Bai Ye nodded gently.

There was also a sense of amusement in my heart.

This honor is a rare one for me.

If someone knew Zhongli's identity, this kind of conversation might have happened.

Do you know that boy's identity?

"I don't know, but I'm absolutely certain that his status is extremely noble."

"Why?"

"I don't know his identity, but I do know that the person who greeted him at the door just now was the Rex Lapis."

With this thought in mind, he stepped into the Liuli Pavilion.

Shenhe's eyes kept scanning Zhongli.

He was pondering what his true identity was.

It's so mysterious.

Inside the Liuli Pavilion, Hu Tao was sitting alone at the table, idly humming a folk song.

On the table, a table full of dishes was laid out.

Liuli Pavilion is full of "Ruri-sai," which are exquisite dishes made from raw materials such as wild mountain delicacies.

This was still quite comfortable for Zhongli.

He doesn't really like seafood.

Hu Tao has ordered a table full of delicacies from Zhong Zhongli's restaurant.

Shenhe was also satisfied with the dishes on the table.

These delicacies reminded her of the three meals she ate every day in Mt. Aocang.

Besides the delicacies from the mountains, there was also a pot of wine and several pots of soy sauce. Apart from Zhongli, Bai Ye and the others were completely too old to drink.

"Hey, Bai Ye, you guys are here."

Hu Tao patted the back of the chair next to her.

"Yes, I came over as soon as we finished discussing it over there." Bai Ye nodded.

Then I sat down next to Hu Tao.

Shenhe sat down directly next to Bai Ye.

After Bai Ye sat down, he asked Hu Tao curiously:

"By the way, Shenhe and I just arrived. Where are Xingqiu and Yun?"

Upon hearing Bai Ye's question, Hu Tao's face showed a look of frustration.

"Don't say anymore. When I went to find them, Yun and Xingqiu had already left. It seems that Yun said he was going to investigate some kind of ghost, so he took Xingqiu with him and left. When I arrived, I found that there was no one there."

"What about Xiangling?"

"Oh, Xiangling is still learning marksmanship from Grandma Yu. She said she'll come over in a little while, and told us to eat first."

"Um."

Bai Ye nodded.

Zhongli entered from outside at this moment.

Hu Tao quickly took care of it.

"Zhongli, please sit down quickly. Let's start eating now. Xiangling will be here in a little while."

"Um."

Zhongli nodded.

Each person picked up a piece of food and put it in their mouth.

Yes, this dish is indeed quite good, bringing out the fresh flavor of the mountain delicacies perfectly.

Compared to Wanmin Restaurant, the dishes at the Liuli Pavilion -tei are indeed more refined.

"How about it?"

When Hu Tao saw Bai Ye eat the dishes from the Liuli Pavilion, she immediately asked him with concern.

"The vegetables here are indeed quite good."

Bai Ye answered honestly.

Shenhe nodded in agreement.

The flavor of the Glaze Lily is indeed quite good.

Seeing Bai Ye nod, Hu Tao immediately showed a happy smile.

"Hmph, the choice made by Takado is impeccable."

She was extremely pleased with herself.

It turns out that this whole meal was actually ordered by a poor Guest Official of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, and then the hall staff intercepted it.

Hu Tao asked Bai Ye curiously.

"By the way, what are you discussing at the Jade Chamber?"

"It's about discussing how to communicate with the Adepti..."

Several people here can be trusted, but Zhongli is still the one I want to inform.

So he recounted everything he had discussed with Seven Stars.

I have already told you the Seven Stars' thought process. Zhongli, how you should test them next is up to you.

"Wow, without creating an enemy level!"

After saying this, Bai Ye looked at Zhongli.

I can't see anything.

At that moment, Xiangling rushed in in a flurry of activity.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm late. Grandma Yu taught me the spear technique, which is quite difficult, so I had to practice for a while."

She apologized to the group.

Then I saw that Bai Ye's face looked very happy.

"Bai Ye, you're finally back. Luckily, you didn't encounter too much danger..."

Guoba saw Bai Ye and still had that same curious expression.

Seeing this, Zhongli also sighed slightly.

When Hu Tao heard Xiangling say that, she pursed her lips.

"Hmph, he hasn't even encountered any danger yet. This guy dares to absorb both evil energy and karmic obstacles into his body. I bet next time, he'll go to the ruins of Gods to absorb the Gods's aura."

"Huh!? Bai Ye, what did you do?"

Xiangling asked in surprise.

She stood beside Bai Ye and quickly and carefully examined Bai Ye.

"Are you alright? That was far too dangerous."

Zhongli saw this and thought to himself, "As expected of the Madame Ping."

He and Cloud Retainer wanted to come together.

"Well, this is to help Shenhe and the Demon-Queller. Don't worry, apart from being physically weak, I'm fine. I have a special constitution, so absorbing these things won't be a problem for me."

Bai Ye comforted Xiangling.

At the same time,

My heart stirred involuntarily.

Speaking of which,

If one wants to repair the strength of one's teacher's soul, Shenhe's bit of malevolent energy plus the karmic burden of the Demon-Queller is completely insufficient.

To continue filling these gaps, we must find more sources of vital energy.

These Gods still retain traces of their aura.

This seems like a good choice!

In addition to these,

This should fill a lot of gaps in the recovery of their own teacher.

I wonder if, with the addition of these Gods auras, my teacher will be able to fully recover his soul.

If that still doesn't work,

Those evil auras and pollution,

Where should we look for it?

Bai Ye pondered in his heart.

On the other side,

He had been observing Bai Ye Zhongli for a while and was also a little curious.

Bai Ye's expression...

It doesn't seem like absorbing energy is a burden at all.

He seemed to genuinely desire more Gods aura.

Zhongli initially thought that Bai Ye was absorbing the evil energy and karmic burdens simply to help his friend. Now it seems that these troublesome auras and Shenhe's auras are actually useful to Bai Ye.

Wrong,

It's not effective against the Bai Ye.

Zhongli observed clearly that absorbing karmic obstacles would not cause any problems for Bai Ye other than physical strength, nor would it bring much benefit.

Then, the person who truly needed this aura, or rather, the Gods, was about to emerge in Zhongli's mind.

"His body is too weak, and he is not able to absorb too much karma."

Zhongli Li decided that he should find a way to help Bai Ye solve some problems.

And,

His body is in the same state as when he Guizhong, making him prone to the same problems Guizhong back then.

Forming partnerships is a good method, as it can increase one's own strength, which is also extremely beneficial.

At this moment, Zhongli thought about what Bai Ye had said before and the contents of the Seven Stars Meeting, and made a plan in his mind.

Combining the two is not impossible.

Zhongli picked up a slice of meat, put it in his mouth, and drank a cup of wine.

He turned to Bai Ye and asked, "Mr. Bai, do you know the origin of the dishes at the Liuli Pavilion?"

"Does Rina have any other background?"

Bai Ye couldn't help but be curious when he heard Zhong Zhongli say this.

Make a listening gesture on your face.

He knew very well that Zhongli must have meant something by speaking up.

"That's right, Zhongli, isn't Li Cai just a dish made by people hunting wild game in the mountains and then slowly developing it?"

Hu Tao asked Zhongli Li.

Xiangling and Shenhe also showed curiosity.