Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

With the moon shining brightly and the stars few, Xiao stood on the top-floor observation deck of Wangshu Inn, quietly gazing at the landscape stretching from Shimen to Dihuazhou.

Then the curtain was pulled open, and Xiao glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw that Philgodette, who seemed to have just taken a bath and whose long hair was still wet, was dressed neatly and walked to the observation deck with a somewhat panicked look in her beautiful eyes, her head down and silent.

She was even unsteady on her feet when walking.

Xiao sighed softly.

Philgoldette's eyes widened in terror. After trembling for a long time, she whispered, "Great Sage Who Subdues Demons."

"Although you are a mortal and I am a demon, we have worked together for more than ten years, and I know your character well." Xiao turned around and said calmly, "Today is regrettable."

Phil Gaudette gritted her teeth, unable to respond.

"I have no intention of interfering in human affairs, so you can rest assured that I will not tell Huai'an about this matter," Xiao said. "I am not an ordinary person, and I am not qualified to judge the right and wrong of ordinary people. But Huai'an has been running the Wangshu Inn with you for more than ten years, and I can see the affection between you and him. You should take care of yourself."

"Thank you, Great Sage Demon Slayer, for showing me mercy." Philgoldette felt like she had been granted a pardon and almost cheered, but she quickly suppressed her joy and whispered, "Your room is still available. Would you like any food prepared?"

"Has the cook not rested yet?"

"Master Yanxiao should be asleep by now. But almond tofu isn't difficult to make. You've worked hard exorcising demons, so you should rest. Shall we ask the midnight snack chef to make you a bowl?"

Xiao glanced at her, surprised that even the innkeeper knew his favorite dishes, even though he hadn't ordered much.

"I will pay the bill."

“Forget it, you don’t need to pay anything at Wangshu Inn. The General Affairs Department has already covered all your expenses,” Phil Goddette quickly said. She knew that Xiao was extremely aloof and never owed favors. It was impossible for him not to pay. He would only reluctantly agree if the General Affairs Department was brought into the picture.

Xiao didn't actually have much money on him. Phil Gaudette had never told him that the room he was staying in, the number one room, cost more than 100,000 Mora per day.

After saying that, he turned to leave, but just then, someone pushed the door open and came in, with a voice that seemed to be somewhat surprised: "Sister Phil is not being kind, so this is the immortal who lives in Wangshu Inn."

"Mr. Ryoko! What are you doing here!" Phil Goddette was startled. She had specifically told Shen Liang not to go out, as this "guest" was not someone a ten-year-old boy could handle, especially given that Xiao definitely didn't have a good impression of him!

But it was too late. Xiao looked over coldly and met Shen Liang's innocent gaze.

A moment of silence fell over the room.

Shen Liang didn't show it on his face, but he was actually stunned inside. He had thought that the immortals of Liyue were so highly respected because they were old ministers who had helped the Rock King establish the kingdom. They must all be kind-faced old men with white hair, or white-haired, valiant and extraordinary generals, or white-haired, refined and easy-going civil officials.

They're all definitely veteran officials anyway; someone like Yae no Miko, who's over a thousand years old and still pretends to be a young girl, is certainly a minority. After all, Yae no Miko is a fox spirit, and fox spirits can't be taken for granted.

But unexpectedly, the first demon god's companion, the immortal, was actually such a handsome young man.

[There's a bit of a conflict here.] Torachiyo had just woken up and saw the two boys staring at each other, and clicked her tongue in amazement.

Shen Liang knew what the conflict was about: the persona he was trying to create, a persona he had never imagined he would clash with in all these years.

Xiao was actually a young immortal who looked and was about the same age as him. He had a cool and aloof temperament, with jade ornaments hanging from his clothes. He had a golden-winged roc tattoo on his arm and a blue and red dot between his eyebrows.

Regardless, he was a handsome young man, except for the dark miasma surrounding him that made people want to stay away.

"But he seems unapproachable. The boss is much better looking," Torachiyo said. "They have completely different styles."

[Style?] Shen Liang was a little confused. Humans have...the concept of style?

He actually quite admired the otherworldly temperament of this young immortal, a temperament that he, as an earthling, could probably never learn in his entire life.

"Well, to put it simply, this guy goes for the cool and aloof route. You guys might think it's great, but for us, it's just a little lacking," Torachiyo declared confidently. "Boss, you're the kind of guy who at first glance looks like an incredibly cute little boy, the kind you want to kiss, hug, and lift up high, but once you get to know you, you'll find you're mischievous, fierce, and extremely possessive! So adorable!"

[You have to take responsibility for your words! How am I bad or fierce?] Shen Liang retorted.

"Everyone knows you're bad and fierce, boss. You're a real little wolfhound, but girls love that contrast!" Torachiyo licked her lips and chuckled softly. "Being bullied by that slick, wicked little wolfhound is the real reason everyone likes you. You don't really think you can win over so many girls just by being cute, do you? If you're only cute, you'll just get bullied by us."

"That's because I have enough personal charm!" Shen Liang argued logically.

[How is this not part of your personal charm?] Torachiyo grinned mischievously. [Speaking of which, didn't you dislike being called cute? Why are you unhappy that I didn't compliment you on this?]

Shen Liang was speechless, choked by the words.

Then he suddenly walked up to Xiao and stood up straight. For some reason, Xiao subconsciously stood up straight as well.

Shen Liang looked at the subtle difference in height, which was only one centimeter taller than him, and her expression darkened further.

Chapter Six: I Don't Want to Ride a Pony!

The young immortal with short, light blue hair wasn't used to being near people. Looking at the handsome young man with long, straight black hair who seemed to have just taken a bath, he subconsciously took a step back.

Then, his keen sense of smell, typical of the Yaksha clan, detected the sandalwood scent emanating from Philgotte, a scent that couldn't be erased even after a bath. The sandalwood incense burned daily at the counter of the Wangshu Inn to purify the air had long since permeated Philgotte's entire body.

The distinctive scent emanating from Phil Gaudette also comes from this rather wicked-looking man with long, straight black hair.

Xiao was momentarily stunned, seemingly only now realizing what was happening. He gave Shen Liang and Phil Gaudette a complicated look, and even cupped his hands in a gesture of apology towards Phil Gaudette, showing a rare expression of regret. "It turns out I was being presumptuous. I'm sorry, I never imagined that you, Gaudette, would have such a orientation... I underestimated you. After all, this is indeed quite bizarre."

Shen Liang didn't quite understand what Xiao meant, but his keen intuition told him something was off. Phil Goddette was also completely bewildered.

It doesn't matter if I didn't understand.

"This, um, Mr. Xiao, I presume?" Shen Liang casually tied her freshly washed hair into a high ponytail, tossed it, and greeted him with a beaming smile. "The Three-Eyed Five Manifestations Immortal of Liyue, right? The familiar of the Rock King? Truly, heroes emerge from among the young. I didn't expect to see you after only staying at this inn for less than three days."

Xiao was somewhat unaccustomed to his enthusiasm.

A woman, even smaller than him, with stunningly beautiful, delicate, and quiet features, with long, straight black hair, smiled and said something about "heroes emerging from among the young." It felt incredibly strange! What was with this attitude that should be reserved for elders speaking to juniors? Do you even know how old I am to be treated like this?

And even if you, with your mortal eyes, can't recognize the transformations of immortals, just by looking at my appearance... I seem to be older than you.

"I haven't asked yet, who are you?" Xiao asked with slight confusion.

“Shen Liang, a visitor to the immortals.” Shen Liang smiled brightly. “It is said that there are great masters among the immortals of Liyue. I come from Inazuma and want to broaden my horizons.”

"Shen? Li Yue's surname?" Xiao was slightly taken aback. "This name... sounds familiar."

Shen Liang was taken aback. The name sounded familiar? It was understandable; he was quite successful in Inazuma, and his name might have already reached Liyue. However, the spread of information in this world was extremely weak; perhaps some people in Liyue only vaguely remembered the name.

Xiao didn't think much of it, simply nodded, and turned to leave, saying, "The path to immortality is fraught with peril, and I have important matters to attend to. Miss Shen, you should seek someone else. Farewell."

Shen...

Miss Shen?

Ignoring the image of Torachiyo's unrestrained laughter in his mind, Shen Liang's smile vanished. No wonder the conversation felt off, and Xiao's eyes were strange too!

"I am a man."

“Miss Shen, there’s no need to utter such obvious lies,” Xiao said calmly. “The path to immortality is open to all, regardless of gender. I offer you this advice: Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

He vanished in an instant, turning into a streak of green light. Before Shen Liang could even ask him about his situation, he was gone.

“The Great Sage Who Subdues Demons has always disliked contact with people, so it’s rare for him to talk to you this much.” Philgolddette couldn’t help but laugh and said, “At least… Ryoko came out to help me out this time.”

"To get out of trouble?" Shen Liang thought for a moment and immediately understood what Philgoldette meant, and could only smile wryly.

“Yes, as soon as you came out, the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons mistook you for a girl, which solved our problem, didn’t it?” Philgoldette hugged him from behind and whispered in his ear with a smile, “My darling, your face is so beautiful that even immortals would be astonished.”

Although Shen Liang was used to being misunderstood and had even given up the energy to argue, he was still somewhat unwilling. He glanced at the system interface and sighed helplessly.

Search criteria: A solution exists for "Honkai energy erosion"

[Search Unit: Liyue]

[Currently excluded: Soraya, Philgoldet, Tia, Yuhua, Huang Shan, Qian Qian, Zhong Lin...]

[Currently excluded are Genshin Impact characters, Graveborn, Graveborn's Familiars, and Elemental Creatures: Xiao.]

[Currently excluded: No Leyline Heroic Spirits.]

Yes, this is the "retrieval" mechanism he obtained by sacrificing three opportunities to obtain Heroic Spirits from the Leyline Contract.

It wasn't at all what he imagined, where the system would locate someone in the world who could solve the "Honkai energy erosion," and then he would go to that person, max out their favorability, and directly turn them into his own Stigmata candidate.

Instead, they scanned a map.

Every human, every Genshin Impact, and every Leyline Spirit he encounters is scanned by the system. If they are not useful against "Honkai Energy Corrosion," they are eliminated by the system.

However, the system's judgment mechanism only allows scanning and exclusion of people he sees. He can only scan along his journey like a salesman on Earth sweeping through buildings. Now that he has finally managed to stay at Wangshu Inn, he has scanned all the guests in the entire building.

If it weren't for his quiet, girlish appearance, which made it impossible for him to be associated with doing bad things, the guests would have suspected that he was a group of thieves scouting the place.

Even so, in the three days he has been in Liyue, he has already eliminated more than a thousand people.

The vast majority were meaningless traveling merchants until they encountered Xiao.

Although Xiao seems to have no effect on Honkai energy corruption, his appearance signifies that he has finally established contact with the "Immortal Clan" of Liyue. It's obvious that someone capable of resolving Honkai energy corruption is unlikely to be a mortal. However, the Immortals have been living in seclusion in Liyue for many years, and even many young people have begun to doubt their existence. Shen Liang sensed a trace of the Immortals at the Wangshu Inn and has been waiting ever since.

Unfortunately, I still couldn't catch it, that damn green-haired dwarf violet!

At times like these, Shen Liang would subconsciously ignore the fact that he was a black-haired, short, wiry goose.

The path to immortality is long and arduous.

After sighing for a while, Shen Liang could only return to his guest room.

After staying another day at Wangshu Inn, Shen Liang, as the regent of Haiqi Island and a wealthy man who controlled eleven percent of the seawater rice tax, never needed to care about the high cost of the top-class room at Wangshu Inn.

The reason for staying an extra day was that it had been raining continuously in Dihuazhou, and Shen Liang didn't like traveling in the rain. And it seemed that it was also because of the rain that Huai'an, the innkeeper who had gone out to buy supplies, hadn't returned yet.

The next morning, Yu Hua, a maid at Wangshu Inn, knocked on his room door.

"Mr. Shen, boss, the sun has risen. The caravans are preparing to set off, and the weather will be fine for the next few days," Yu Hua, one of Phil Goddette's trusted subordinates, reminded them. "The shopkeeper's supplies have returned."

Shen Liang rubbed his eyes and leaned his face out the window.

As a dragon descendant, his physical condition was already different from that of ordinary people. His vision was excellent, and even from the treetop equivalent to the height of a twenty-story building, he could see the ground very clearly.

The caravans that had been staying at the inn were all ready to set off. The weather was indeed very good. The heavy rain had just stopped and the sun was rising. The moist air was filled with the smell of grass and earth, and the rainbow was very clear.

"Are you leaving?" Philgoldette hugged the boy from behind, her beautiful eyes flickering slightly, a hint of reluctance in her gaze.