In Sumeru, pretend to be a scholar

Although it was the first time Wang Yan had seen them in real life, he recognized them immediately as Grandma Ping and Yao Yao.

Perhaps noticing Wang Yan's gaze, Grandma Ping turned to look at him with a kind and gentle smile: "Young man, would you like a cup of tea?"

Wang Yan paused for a moment, but still didn't refuse, and walked over: "How much is a drink?"

"It's just a cup of tea, consider it a gift from this old woman." Grandma Ping smiled, took out a teacup and poured tea for Wang Yan, "You can have more if you finish it."

Yao Yao brought the tea to Wang Yan and pulled out a small chair: "Please sit down, guest."

Wang Yan nodded: "Thank you, little sister."

I sat down, picked up the teacup, and took a sip. It was just ordinary tea, but the flavor was very strong.

"Young man, are you here at Yujingtai on business?" Grandma Ping asked with a smile, as if chatting casually.

Wang Yan nodded: "I was invited by Tianquan to come and help out with some things."

It wasn't Tianquan who invited me, but when you're out in the world, you give yourself your identity. What's wrong with me holding Tianquan's token and saying that I was invited by Tianquan?

"Oh, to be invited by Tianquan at such a young age, you are truly a young talent," Grandma Ping praised.

Yao Yao chimed in from the side, "Big brother is really amazing."

"Haha, thank you, sir, and thank you, little sister," Wang Yan said with a smile, then asked, "Have you been running a tea stall at Yujingtai all this time?"

Grandma Ping nodded slightly: "When people get old, they don't want to move around anymore, so I set up a tea stall here. Old friends come to visit from time to time, and I'm living a comfortable life."

"Oh, that's wonderful. When I get old, I'll open a shop too, and invite old friends over from time to time," Wang Yan said with a sigh.

"Yaoyao wants to invite all her good friends to play together in the future, including Qiqi, Keli, her senior sister, and her master..."

Yao Yao shook her head as she spoke.

"Hahaha, good, then we'll wait for Yaoyao to find a master in the future." Grandma Ping smiled with satisfaction.

Wang Yan watched the interaction between the master and disciple, finished his tea, and then stood up again: "Thank you for your hospitality, sir. I'll go to Yuehai Pavilion now and come to visit again later."

Grandma Ping nodded: "Go ahead, go ahead."

After Wang Yan left.

Yaoyao looked at the handsome older brother's back, then at the smile on her master's face, and asked curiously, "Master, is there anything special about this older brother?"

Why do you ask that?

"Because when the older brother came up, the master was watching him the whole time, which the master wouldn't have done before."

Yao Yao was intelligent and perceptive from a young age, and she noticed a slight difference in Grandma Ping's behavior.

"Haha, this older brother is indeed a bit different, but... even Master can't see through him."

"Huh? Even Master can't see through it?"

Yao Yao was shocked.

Grandma Ping rubbed Yao Yao's head: "The world is so big and full of wonders, even a master can't know everything."

Seeing her apprentice's somewhat confused look, Grandma Ping smiled kindly: "So you must learn as long as you live, Yao Yao, do you understand?"

"Yaoyao has remembered!" The little girl nodded vigorously.

"How about an extra half hour of spear practice today?"

"Ah~! Master, please don't!"

Chapter 121 The Deal is Completed

After leaving Grandma Ping's tea stall, Wang Yan continued deeper into Yujingtai.

Yiyan Hall is located at the innermost part of Yujing Terrace, which is where the ceremony of inviting immortals is held.

The guide from Qunyu Pavilion was located on one side of the entrance to Yiyan Hall, with a floating stone beside him.

This is the only passage for outsiders to access the Jade Pavilion.

“The clouds are dark, the sky is sparse and the moon lingers in the sky…” Seeing Wang Yan approaching, Bu Yun, who was reciting poetry, asked, “Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?”

He didn't know Wang Yan, so naturally he wasn't enthusiastic.

Without further ado, Wang Yan took out his token and said, "I have been invited by Tianquan to visit Qunyu Pavilion."

Bu Yun took the token, checked it, and nodded: "My apologies, please ascend the steps."

He gestured, clearing the floating stone steps behind him.

Wang Yan nodded slightly and stepped onto the suspended blue floating stone steps.

As he stepped onto the steps, the stone steps seemed to sense the weight and began to rise steadily and silently.

At first, the view of Jade Capital Terrace beneath your feet was still clearly visible, but as you ascend the Floating Stone Steps, the view expands, and everything in Liyue Harbor begins to appear small.

Logically, during such a rapid ascent, there should have been a strong airflow rushing towards him, but Wang Yan, standing on the Floating Life Stone Steps, felt not a ripple of wind.

The air around us was as calm as indoors, with only a slight chill indicating the change in altitude.

Clearly, the designers of Qunyu Pavilion employed exquisite techniques to stabilize the airflow around the stone steps, making the ascent as walking on flat ground, both safe and comfortable.

Wang Yan also remembered that when they were on the spaceship, Kavi had mentioned that the spaceships built by the Myo-lun School used some of the technology from the Liyue Jade Pavilion to prevent high-altitude airflow.

Now it seems like this is it.

As I pondered, I passed through a few more wisps of thin clouds, and finally the stone steps led me to the magnificent and splendid palace in the sky above. The platform was as wide as a plaza, with layered pavilions, and the eaves and glazed tiles shimmered with a golden luster under the sunlight.

The condensed light of the Jade Pavilion is six stars.

This sky tower can be transformed into a super weapon, or even the Ivan IV, when necessary.

The floating stone steps finally reached the entrance platform at the bottom of the Qunyu Pavilion smoothly, connecting seamlessly with the floor of the pavilion.

Wang Yan also saw a person dressed as a secretary standing to the side, seemingly waiting for him.

"You must be Mr. Wang Yan. I am Bai Shi. Lord Tianquan instructed me to wait for you here. Please follow me." Bai Shi greeted him and gestured for him to lead the way.

"Okay, thank you." Wang Yan nodded and stepped down the Floating Life Stone Steps.

After Wang Yan left, the stone steps trembled slightly again, automatically separating from the Jade Pavilion and flying downwards.

This is still an unmanned automatic lifting system.

Following Bai Shi, we entered Qunyu Pavilion and arrived at a magnificent office.

Besides Ningguang, there was also a purple figure here.

"Is this the scholar you were looking for?" The girl in purple looked at Wang Yan as he walked in, her tone questioning.

Ningguang shook her head: "To be precise, it was Beidou that helped me find it."

As she spoke, she stood up and took two steps toward Wang Yan: "Mr. Wang Yan, thank you for coming all this way. Please have a seat here."

She pointed to the chair next to her.

Wang Yan seemed not to have heard Ke Qing's question, smiled and nodded, then walked over and sat down.

Ningguang also turned to look at Keqing: "I verified Mr. Wang Yan's abilities yesterday, and he is fully capable of handling the task."

Ke Qing remained noncommittal: "According to the investigation, the strange phenomenon of Zhan Zhu swallowing the moon is definitely related to Langya. Therefore, the translation of the ancient text is very important. I don't care who you find, but you must get results as soon as possible."

Ningguang frowned, seemingly troubled, and looked at Wang Yan again.

'Are you two playing me?'

Wang Yan inwardly complained, but aloud said, "I will do my best, however..."

"But what?" Ke Qing asked directly.

Wang Yan smiled and said, "However, I can't help you for nothing. You two have to give me some reward, right?"

“As long as you can translate all the ancient texts, Mora is not a problem,” Ningguang said directly.

She lacks everything except money.

“No, no, no, I am a scholar. Money is useful to me, but it is not what I need most.” Wang Yan shook his head slightly, and then said frankly, “I am a scholar of knowledge, and I hope that the reward you two give me can be books such as immortal records and runes.”

Ningguang and Keqing exchanged a glance, their eyes meeting.

They naturally possessed things like celestial runes.

In Liyue, ordinary people may not have access to any magical treasures, at most they can obtain some magical talismans for protection and blessings, but Ningguang and Keqing, not to mention their status as Star Seven, have enough wealth to access this kind of knowledge.

If Wang Yan is a Liyue person with a clear background, then this request is actually not high, and they will happily agree.

The problem is that Seven Stars cannot find out Wang Yan's background, and he also has the identity of a scholar from the Academy of Teachings.

Revealing one's country's advanced technology to scholars from other countries is something that even an ordinary person with a little knowledge wouldn't do, let alone Qixing.

Wang Yan noticed their hesitation and took the initiative to back down, saying, "We don't need advanced techniques, basic ones will do."

“In that case, it’s a deal,” Ningguang decided.

If it's a basic rune talisman, the talismans sold by sorcerers in the Liyue market actually use it. Ningguang believes that the Faculty of Arts must have purchased and reverse-engineered it as well.

After all, Liyue also has technology to crack the Cult of the Order. Even if there are patents, surely no one would stop cracking other people's technology just because of a patent?

Having no skills and having to rely on others' skills is not the same as having skills but following the rules and relying on others' skills.

It's possible to make a deal by exchanging something the other party already has for their help.

Wang Yan naturally knew that the Order of the Liyue had a lot of knowledge about Liyue talismans, and that it had even been tested in the Knowledge Society's entrance exam.

But are the things that the Order of the Nation have the same as the things that Liyue has?

Learning the orthodox methods would naturally be the best option.

"Okay, may I ask where I work?" Wang Yan quickly switched into work mode.

"Baiwen, take Mr. Wang Yan to Office Number Two," Ningguang said.

Baiwen, who had been silent until now, nodded: "Yes, Lord Tianquan."

Ningguang has three personal secretaries.

Baiwen is responsible for intelligence gathering and organization, providing decision-making support to Ningguang, and is the most powerful of the three.

Bai Shi, who just received Wang Yan, is Ning Guang's personal secretary, responsible for Ning Guang's daily life. In addition, she seems to have special feelings for Ning Guang.

The last one is Bai Xiao, who is in charge of handling financial matters.

“Mr. Wang Yan, please follow me.” Bai Wen gestured to Wang Yan.

Wang Yan got up and followed the other person's steps.

After he walked away, Ke Qing looked at Ning Guang and asked, "Why did you choose someone whose background you don't know?"

"As I just mentioned, it was Beidou that introduced us."

“If you don’t want to, you can refuse.” Ke Qing shook her head, not agreeing with this reason.

Ningguang was unwilling to say more, only saying, "In short, it's good that he can solve the problem."

In fact, she sent Wang Yan back last night to investigate his background before making a decision.

But last night while she was resting, she dreamed of the Emperor again. So, even though she still hadn't found out anything about Wang Yan today, she was willing to entrust the matter to him.

However, this is definitely not something that can be said casually.

...

On the other side, Wang Yan followed Bai Wen to the so-called Office No. 2.

Ningguang has invested a lot in Qunyu Pavilion. Even her unused office is well-decorated and remains magnificent and spacious.

“Mr. Wang Yan, the thing that needs to be deciphered is right here.”

Bai Wen said, pointing to a pile of things in the middle of the office: "These are all rubbings and photos. You don't need to be careful; you can take them as you like."

“Okay.” Wang Yan nodded and walked towards the pile of rubbings and photographs.

He casually picked up the top rubbing, glanced at it, and the information on it appeared in Wang Yan's mind.

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In the past, we were all ignorant people, only knowing how to wield hammers and strike fiercely, without understanding the nature of stone.