Shocking!! Keqing Gets Fooled

Before Zhong Baiye could finish, Zhongli waved a hand, signaling him to say no more.

Zhongli stood up and turned away, clasping his hands behind his back.

"I know what you want to say. There is no need to worry. All things follow their own natural order. Should something unexpected truly happen, someone will appear to uphold that order."

At Zhongli's words, Zhong Baiye felt a great weight lift from his heart.

From what Zhongli had said, he certainly would not stand idly by if something really happened.

Besides, his concern had clouded his judgment. Zhongli had been Liyue's guardian deity for thousands of years. How could he truly put Liyue in danger?

Zhongli gazed up at the cloudless sky, seemingly lost in memories once again, and continued.

"Zhong Baiye, you are a traveler, aren't you? Take this Sigil of Permission. If you encounter any danger, bring it out."

As he spoke, Zhongli produced a Sigil of Permission from somewhere and handed it to Zhong Baiye.

This Sigil of Permission was completely different from the one Tartaglia had given him earlier. A mysterious aura flowed across its surface. Placed side by side, anyone could tell at a glance which was real and which was fake.

Zhong Baiye did not know why Zhongli had given him a genuine Sigil of Permission, but Zhongli was now completely absorbed in his memories. No matter what Zhong Baiye said, he remained silent.

Left with no other choice, Zhong Baiye could only leave with Keqing.

Before they left, Hu Tao gave each of them a coupon, saying it would give them a two-percent discount if they ever came to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor for its services.

Both Zhong Baiye and Keqing were utterly speechless (ꐦÒ‸Ó).

After leaving the teahouse, Zhong Baiye let out a long breath. With Zhongli as his safety net, the people of Liyue Harbor would be fine, no matter how recklessly he acted.

But Keqing had no idea why they had come to see Zhongli or what cryptic exchange the two men had just had.

The moment they stepped outside, a puzzled look appeared on Keqing's face.

"Why did you come to see Zhongli? Is there something special about him? And what were you two talking about? I couldn't make sense of it."

Zhong Baiye turned to look at Keqing's puzzled expression. An idea struck him, and he put on an air of solemn profundity.

"Mr. Zhongli is someone far more important than you could imagine. With his assurance, no one will get hurt in this incident, even if we turn the world upside down."

Seeing Zhong Baiye act so inscrutably, Keqing actually began to believe him.

"Who exactly is Mr. Zhongli? Why would you say that?"

Rather than answer Keqing immediately, Zhong Baiye turned his back to her and looked up at the sky, just as Zhongli had done earlier.

"Ah! It's all in the past now. Back then, Zhongli and I were the closest of friends, and people still called him Rex Lapis."

At that, Keqing realized something was wrong. Zhong Baiye had clearly met Zhongli for the first time just now. How could things possibly be as he described?

Besides, how could Zhongli be Rex Lapis? It was not as though she had never seen the real Rex Lapis before.

She immediately realized that Zhong Baiye was fooling her.

Keqing turned and saw Zhong Baiye struggling to hold back his laughter. Her expression instantly turned furious (◦`~´◦).

"You've got some nerve, Zhong Baiye! How dare you lie to me! I'll cut you down!"

As she spoke, Keqing drew Lion's Roar and chased Zhong Baiye down the bustling street, swinging her sword at him.

Zhong Baiye called out as he ran, "Sorry ＞人＜! I was wrong! This is Liyue Harbor. Be careful not to hurt anyone!"

"Stop running! I'm going to cut you down!"

Keqing could not care about any of that. Still fuming, she raced after Zhong Baiye.

The onlookers watched the spectacle, and some even used their Kameras to capture the scene.

"Shocking!!! A scumbag toyed with Keqing's feelings, only for her to find out and chase him down several streets with a sword!!!"

Perhaps one day, after becoming a certain god, Zhong Baiye would see that photo and remember what had happened today.

Unbeknownst to Zhong Baiye, Zhongli was on the teahouse roof, watching him and Keqing fool around.

His expression was nostalgic, and a faint smile appeared from time to time.

He murmured, "Are you finally coming back, my old friend?"

On the way to Jueyun Karst.

Zhong Baiye finally managed to soothe Keqing's anger by offering her cola.

Zhong Baiye told Keqing that they would head to Jueyun Karst next to seek out the adepti, who might be able to help him.

Although Keqing had little fondness for the adepti, they really had no better options right now, so she could only set off for Jueyun Karst with Zhong Baiye.

They were traveling along a small road toward Jueyun Karst, and Zhong Baiye kept looking this way and that like someone who had never seen the world.

He could hardly be blamed. Anyone who had played Genshin Impact and then found themselves transported to Teyvat would probably react the same way.

In the game, the roads outside the cities were crawling with dangers such as Hilichurls and Treasure Hoarders. Yet no matter how hard he looked, he could not spot a single monster.

So he asked Keqing beside him.

"Where are all the Treasure Hoarders and Hilichurls? Why can't I see any?"

Still looking angry, Keqing replied curtly, "This is Liyue. The Millelith and the adepti regularly clear dangers from the roads. You'll only find Hilichurls in places far from them."

Hearing that, Zhong Baiye understood.

After all, this was a real world. The Seven Nations could not possibly have no contact with one another. If ordinary people ran into danger even while following the roads, Liyue could never have become the commercial capital of the Seven Nations.

There was another thing. Zhong Baiye had originally wanted to teleport straight to Jueyun Karst using the game's waypoints, but no matter where he looked, he could not find anything resembling one in Liyue Harbor.

Only after asking Keqing did he learn that nothing like a waypoint had ever existed in Teyvat. Even the Statues of the Seven could only heal minor injuries.

Only beings like Abyss Heralds possessed an ability as outrageous as teleportation. Ordinary people could only rely on their legs and various means of transportation to get anywhere.

The most common means of transportation in Teyvat was the horse-drawn carriage, and they were currently riding one to Jueyun Karst.

A journey that took almost no time in the game would take them an entire day and night, even by carriage.

Along the way, they saw many ruins, and Zhong Baiye even went inside some to look for treasure chests and the like.

At first, Keqing did not understand what Zhong Baiye was doing. Then he explained that he was looking for treasure chests.

The moment she heard "treasure chests," Keqing burst out laughing (*^▽^*).

"Even if these ruins had treasure chests, someone would have found them long ago. This is the first time I've ever seen anyone try to find treasure chests in ruins right beside the road. Hahaha!"

Keqing could not help clutching her stomach as she laughed.

Fortunately, no one else was around, or Zhong Baiye would have thoroughly embarrassed himself.

Zhong Baiye spoke up to ease his embarrassment. "It's getting late, and Jueyun Karst is still a little way off. Let's find somewhere up ahead to rest."