"Hey, hey, hey, don't be so quick to attack. I came here to discuss serious business."
Childe looked perfectly amiable, though there was no telling how many words out of his mouth were true.
Ningguang was already charging up a heavy attack.
Seeing this, Lin Yi glanced at Childe and Zhongli, and a bold idea suddenly came to him.
He immediately stepped in front of Ningguang.
"What are you doing? Get out of the way!"
"Come with me."
Lin Yi leaned close, looking mysterious. To avoid hurting him by accident, Ningguang had no choice but to cancel her attack and follow him into the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's rear courtyard.
With no one else around, Lin Yi explained his idea.
"Don't get worked up yet, honey. We did clash with the Fatui yesterday, but since Childe can sit there so calmly today, there must be room to talk."
"Talk about what? How to steal your Gnosis, or how to cause trouble in Liyue, where the land is already so fragmented?"
She had thought Lin Yi might offer some farsighted insight. Now it seemed he was just a spineless coward.
Noticing the change in the way Ningguang looked at him, Lin Yi felt rather helpless.
"All right, don't overthink it. I'll make sure today's business is handled beautifully. Lately, it isn't just Liyue's overall finances that have been tight. Even your Jade Chamber's accounts are getting stretched thin, aren't they, honey?"
Ningguang immediately grew wary, suspecting that Lin Yi had abused his access to peek at the Jade Chamber's confidential documents and accounts.
Before her suspicions could take hold, Lin Yi brushed them aside with a smile.
"See? In front of your man, your secrets aren't secrets at all. Just watch. My next moves might surprise you. At the very least, I'll make you a tidy fortune today!"
Ningguang said nothing more. For now, she could only trust that Lin Yi wasn't all talk and no action.
"Fine. Neither Mr. Zhongli nor Childe is someone to be taken lightly. If you really can squeeze something out of them today, Lin Yi, I'll let you move in next door to me. How does that sound?"
Lin Yi was overjoyed.
"You said it. No backing out."
"As a merchant, I've never gone back on my word."
They returned to the hall and took their seats.
Hu Tao took the host's seat, with Ningguang and Lin Yi beside her in the seats of honor. Giving Childe a stool at all was more than generous enough.
As for Zhongli, seated opposite them in the secondary guest seat, he seemed entirely unconcerned. His chopsticks rose and fell as he enjoyed the food on the table.
Just then, Hu Tao leaned toward Lin Yi's ear.
"Lord Lin Yi, this fellow named Zhongli has been eating nonstop since last night. I dragged Xiangling in when she passed by, and she's been working her spatula so hard it's practically throwing sparks, but he still doesn't seem full."
"However much he's eaten here, put it on that brown-haired man's tab later. Also, Zhongli is an incredibly important guest. Take good care of him, and I'll find you a prime piece of land and rebuild the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor!"
A new storefront was secondary. What really interested Hu Tao was Lin Yi's claim that Zhongli was a major client.
Suddenly realizing something, Lin Yi grabbed Hu Tao before she could spring into action.
"Hey, that's not what I meant! Don't go recommending coffins or afterlife packages to him!"
With that warning, Hu Tao could only abandon the idea. Zhongli had no money anyway, so it saved her the trouble of wasting her breath.
Instead, she turned her attention to Tartaglia, who sat nearby with his chin propped on his hand, watching Lin Yi.
Smiling, Hu Tao handed him a business card.
To her surprise, Childe, who seemed to have a screw loose, actually accepted it.
With everyone well fed and satisfied, it was naturally time to get down to business.
As an outsider to their discussion, Hu Tao accepted a bag of Mora and precious materials from Childe.
She suspended business for the day and took the opportunity to go out and buy materials for gravestones.
Lin Yi recalled that, at present, only he and the Three-Eyed, Five-Manifestation Adeptus-Xiao-knew Zhongli's true identity.
Aside from them, there were the Three True Lords whom he had warned. The Fatui had only figured out Zhongli's true identity much later.
But since Lin Yi's arrival had already brought enormous changes to Teyvat...
He might as well abandon that dull, predetermined path and proceed according to his own ideas.
Having made up his mind, Lin Yi stood, raised his teacup, and offered Zhongli a toast.
"My respects to the retired Geo Archon. May I ask why you called us here?"
What was going on? The retired Geo Archon?
At Lin Yi's blunt words, the expressions on Ningguang's and Childe's faces froze.
The incident at the Rite of Descension had firmly convinced everyone that the former Geo Archon was dead.
Now that Lin Yi had pointed it out, was this calm, quiet man before them, who was clearly not to be trifled with, an incarnation of Morax?
"Th-this... Lin Yi, what exactly is going on?!"
The sudden revelation left even Ningguang bewildered.
Lin Yi glanced at Zhongli, apparently hoping he would explain it himself.
Lin Yi already possessed a wealth of knowledge from an omniscient perspective, but saying too much was bound to cause problems.
If Zhongli understood what Lin Yi was thinking and spoke up of his own accord...
It would also indirectly confirm that his sudden death and transmigration into the world of Genshin Impact had something to do with old Zhongli!
"Lin Yi, in certain respects, I did judge you correctly. But now, I seem to be a little disappointed in you."
Lin Yi rather wanted to curse at that. Zhongli was the one who had chosen him to take over the Gnosis and lead Liyue.
Since arriving, all he had done was selfishly marry Ningguang. He hadn't done anything else particularly outrageous.
Having long since unlocked Liyue's entire map and every treasure chest, Lin Yi understood Liyue no less well than the present Zhongli.
He had already drawn up numerous development plans based on the current situation, each of which would benefit Liyue's people in the future.
He hadn't even started yet, so why was Zhongli already throwing cold water on his efforts?
Though he had voiced some disappointment, that didn't mean Zhongli would strip Lin Yi of his divine position.
When he had first divined the workings of fate, he had naturally considered other choices.
Yet no matter how capable or intelligent the person he chose, in that hazy future, none could lead Liyue to greater heights. Some would even plunge Liyue into an abyss beyond salvation.
Lin Yi alone was different. Although divining his future with Liyue had been even more bewildering, in the final moment before the divination ended, Zhongli had sensed a trace of good fortune that promised success.
A god's thoughts might be difficult to fathom.
But Zhongli was now utterly determined to retire. Even ten Ventis couldn't hold him back.
He could, however, serve as a trump card, stepping in to protect Liyue if it faced a major crisis in the future.
"Zhongli is Liyue's ultimate trump card. Unless there's absolutely no other choice, that card cannot be played."
Seated to one side, Childe drew a portrait from inside his coat.
It depicted the Geo Dragon God from Morax's last descent into the world. Compared with the imposing man before him, whose authority needed no display of anger, there really was an inexplicable similarity in bearing and expression.
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