Genshin Impact: The Sage's Disciple Doesn't Want Fame

That makes sense. Lady Ningguang is thirty-five, so it's normal for her to have such thoughts. As her confidante, she should keep it a secret.

Bu Yun put away his last trace of contempt and said seriously, "The mechanism is ready. Mr. Ji Ming may go up now. Lady Ningguang has a strong personality and it is rare for her to have a confidant. You must be more considerate of her."

Ji Ming pondered for a moment and replied, "Understood, I will."

Although I don't know what the person in front of me is imagining, I am the one who gives myself this identity when I am out in the world. If I can gain more benefits, I might as well take this identity.

The Returning Life Stone made a few sounds, and soon Ji Ming arrived at the platform of the Jade Pavilion. A young woman with a ponytail and glasses stood not far away and slowly greeted him when she saw him coming up.

"You're Ji Ming?"

What's going on? There wasn't even any polite language, and they showed such hostility the moment they met, even though the person who led the way was very nice.

Ji Ming was somewhat confused. Could this be a show of force from Tianquan Star? He was just a nobody, and Tianquan Star would never do such a thing. He guessed it was simply because the woman had a bad attitude.

"I am Tianquanxing. Has the matter summoned me to Qunyu Pavilion?"

"Lady Ningguang is a woman of profound wisdom and foresight. How could you or I possibly fathom her thoughts? Don't ask any questions. Just follow behind me and don't look around. Otherwise, I'll gouge out your eyes!"

Girl, which gang are you a member of?

Ji Ming was speechless and could only follow behind the woman, ignoring her warning. What was wrong with looking around? Did she really want to gouge out his eyes?

The woman was furious but helpless. What she had just said was just a threat, so even if Ji Ming looked around, he couldn't actually gouge out his eyes.

Her thoughts were the same as Bu Yun's; the young man before her was definitely a gigolo of the great Ning Guang.

How could this be? Lady Ningguang has bright, white teeth and looks like a fairy descended from heaven. How dare a mere mortal try to climb up to her? This is an outrageous crime and deserves divine punishment!

Upon entering the pavilion, seeing that Ningguang had not yet arrived, Ji Ming stood to the side and asked with a smile, "May I ask your name, young lady?"

"Bai Shi is a name given by Lady Ningguang. He is usually in charge of Lady Ningguang's daily life."

No, what is this girl so proud of?

Ji Ming was speechless. Looking at Bai Shi's proud little face, he cupped his hands and said, "Miss Bai Shi, we have no past grudges, so why do you have such a grudge against me?"

Bai Shi snorted lightly and turned his head away from Ji Ming: "I know you want to curry favor with Lady Ningguang, don't you?"

Ji Ming found it amusing. Were all of Ning Guang's subordinates imaginative? Didn't they realize that it was Ning Guang who had summoned him to Qunyu Pavilion?

Just as he was filled with criticism, Ningguang, dressed in a silk robe, slowly descended from the second floor. The faint steam rising from her hair proved that this Tianquan star seemed to have just finished bathing.

"Bai Shi, have you forgotten all the etiquette I taught you?"

Bai Shi turned around in a panic, bowing his head in apology: "Lady Ningguang, I just wanted to stop him from thinking about currying favor..."

Ningguang frowned slightly, her tone becoming more serious: "Go apologize to Mr. Ji Ming."

"Yes..." Bai Shi lowered his head in disappointment, walked up to Ji Ming and puffed out his cheeks slightly, "I'm really sorry about earlier, Mr. Ji Ming."

Seeing that Bai Shi had apologized, Ning Guang softened her tone. After all, the girl had no bad intentions; she was just jealous of Ji Ming because of a misunderstanding. A little lesson would suffice.

Ji Ming waved his hand: "It's okay, the child doesn't know any better. Uncle has some candy here, go play somewhere else."

As he spoke, he actually pulled out a few sugar cubes wrapped in oil paper from his sleeve and handed them to Bai Shi, who was full of anger.

Ji Ming doesn't hold grudges; he settles scores on the spot.

Bai Shi gritted her teeth. She was clearly older than Ji Ming. This guy was clearly the child!

“Mr. Ji Ming is truly a remarkable person. Please have a seat,” Ning Guang smiled slightly, not minding that her trusted secretary was being bullied by an outsider. “Which type of tea do you prefer?”

Ji Ming didn't stand on ceremony and sat down in the guest seat opposite Ning Guang, saying with a smile, "The more expensive the better. Anyway, I can't taste the difference, but I do know the price of tea."

"Then let's talk about the Jade Dew Tea, which is known as the 'Golden Dew' in Liyue Harbor and is exported overseas."

Bai Shi poured tea, but Ji Ming did not reach out to take it. His face was still full of smiles, but there was no smile in his eyes. Instead, he was wary: "Pour the tea. Lord Tianquan Star must have come here to invite me for more than just tea, right?"

Ningguang was quite interested and asked in return, "Mr. Ji Ming, why do you think I'm looking for you?"

It was obvious that this Tianquan Star had investigated him beforehand and knew a lot of information.

"I am of value to you."

How much do you think you're worth?

Another rhetorical question. Bai Shi watched the two guessing riddles at each other and couldn't help but feel confused. Shouldn't his relationship with Lady Ningguang be the kind that was full of the smell of money? Why couldn't she understand what they were saying at all? Was this some kind of romantic little thing?

Bai Shi didn't understand, but Ji Ming did. This was an attempt to make him prove his worth. If he had no worth, he probably wouldn't even get a sip of tea and would be thrown out soon.

If she has enough value, Ningguang wouldn't mind taking things a step further with Ji Ming and building a deeper relationship on the existing foundation.

Of course, the type of relationship that is reached depends on the value that Ji Ming demonstrates.

What's this called? The art of judging people! Social maneuvering!

With that in mind, Ji Ming felt relieved and drank the "golden dew" in his cup in one gulp, ignoring Bai Shi's little expression of "how could this person waste such a precious thing," and returned to his casual demeanor.

there is always a solution to a problem.

"Whatever price Lady Ningguang offers, that's all I'm worth."

The answer was standard mercenary style. Having witnessed the fickleness of human relationships, Ningguang was undoubtedly satisfied with it. Compared to the vague and ethereal understanding of human relationships, she trusted Mora's power more.

As long as Mora is sufficiently powerful, or if he can gain other benefits, Ji Ming is willing to be driven by her.

"Now I have a question for you, Mr. Ji Ming. Can you answer it truthfully?"

"The problem? I need Mora. You can decide on the price."

Ji Ming still owes the Fools half of the Jade Pavilion's money, and he must work hard to pay it off, otherwise he could easily become a puppet.

Ningguang picked up the pipe, rested her temples on it, and smiled broadly: "You're just my type. Here, take this pipe. How many questions are you willing to answer?"

It wasn't that Ningguang was unwilling to pay Mora; she simply wanted to test whether this person truly liked money. If it was for something else, then she wouldn't propose cooperation in the future.

Bai Shi was shocked. Hadn't this pipe just been used before her bath? How could she just give it to a man like that? No, Lady Ningguang!

How much is this pipe worth?

Pipes can be both luxurious and common in Liyue Harbor, with prices varying widely. However, the pipe in my hand is clearly a custom-made one, and it must be quite expensive.

Upon hearing Ji Ming's question, Bai Shi curled his lip and said with a soft, disdainful tone, "Ordinary people can't appreciate such refined things."

Whose kid is this? Go play somewhere else!

Ji Ming ignored Bai Shi as usual and instead glanced at Ning Guang.

A hint of appreciation appeared in Ningguang's eyes as she waved her hand leisurely and said, "Consider it a meeting gift. I'll still give you the Mora. One hundred thousand Mora per question, how about that price?"

"That's fine, please feel free to ask any questions."

Ningguang wasn't in a hurry to ask. Instead, she flattened her palm and teased, "Mr. Ji Ming, aren't you going to give me a gift? I think the red string on your wrist is quite nice. Would you mind parting with it?"

"Anything else is fine, but not the red string. It was a gift from my senior sister, and I won't give it to anyone else."

"Gan Yu?"

Sure enough, everything was investigated thoroughly. Ji Ming instantly relaxed. Now that the secret had been exposed, there was no need to nervously hide it anymore.

"No, it's another senior sister. Is that even a question?"

Is there another senior sister? Never mind, Ningguang isn't interested in the affairs of the immortals, and the immortals are protective of Liyue, so there's no need to worry too much about them.

Ningguang nodded: "Of course, aren't you a partner of the Fatui?"

Ji Ming nodded in agreement: "That's right, I am a secret partner of the Fools, or more precisely, a secret partner of a certain executive."

Ningguang frowned: "Executive? Which executive?"

Ji Ming frowned as well: "I can't say that. You can ask another question."

This person is a very good partner, although he is unwilling to reveal which executive he is, which means that Ningguang can trust him.

Ningguang then decisively asked the next question: "Do the Fools require you to perform some kind of task?"

"Not at the moment, at least I haven't been asked to carry out any tasks."

"Have there been any special movements within the Fools' faction recently?"

Thinking of Rosalyn, who was also at the Northern Bank that day, Ji Ming nodded decisively: "Yes, an executive codenamed 'Lady' has been sent to Mondstadt."

Based on the above intelligence, an executive officer was dispatched to Mondstadt. Therefore, the executive officer who cooperated with Ji Ming must still be in Liyue Harbor. So what is their goal?

Ningguang didn't ask any more questions. She simply stood up from the armchair and extended her right hand across the table: "From now on, we are partners, Mr. Ji Ming."

Ji Ming blinked and asked, "Starting now? Didn't it start before the questions were asked? Could it be that Lady Ningguang was testing me just now?"

"What we did just now was spending money to buy intelligence. From now on, we'll officially cooperate. You have no objections, right?"

As expected of the Star of Heavenly Power, he leaves no room for error in his actions.

Ji Ming switched the pipe to his left hand, extended his right hand and clasped Ning Guang's tightly: "No objections. So, after asking so many questions, what about Mora?"

Ningguang glanced at the pipe and smiled, "Yes, I'll have Baishi deliver it to Mr. Ji Ming's house later."

Alright, Ji Ming has accepted the fact that he has been completely exposed, while Bai Shi is still in a daze, trying to calm herself down after hearing so much classified information.

Ningguang's smile vanished instantly as she watched Baishi lead Ji Ming away. It seemed that Zhidong had no sincerity, and the Fatui were even extending their claws towards Liyue Harbor.

All Ningguang could do was sponsor Ji Ming to become the most trusted collaborator of the Fools, thereby gaining insight into their thoughts.

Once the Fools' unknown plot has been uncovered and thwarted, this person will likely be of no use, and can be discarded at that point.

As for the pipe as a greeting gift, it was just a small present to lower someone's guard. Like Ji Ming, it was merely a tool that could be discarded after use.

For Ningguang, in this world, only Mora and Liyue Harbor are the most important.