In Sumeru, pretend to be a scholar!

Chapter 117 Rights and Responsibilities

After the servant left.

Zhongli changed the teacup and brewed Wang Yan a cup of Chenyu Immortal Tea: "Try this."

He pushed the teacup in front of Wang Yan.

The opera music on the first floor hadn't stopped yet, and Wang Yan, not knowing what Zhong Li was up to, didn't refuse and picked up his teacup.

Wang Yan knew without even tasting it that this was definitely a good tea.

Previously in Sumeru, he had drunk Zakaria's tea, which Zakaria said was a gift from a Liyue merchant after he saved him.

That tea, according to the King of Tea, has a pleasant aftertaste and tastes quite good.

The aroma of the tea pot of Agarwood Immortal Tea before him was so rich and lingering that Wang Yan could smell it from afar as soon as the servant brought it over.

Taking a small sip, a unique and refreshing fragrance filled his mouth, and Wang Yan actually felt a sense of calm and tranquility, as if his mind and body were at peace.

This Jade Immortal Tea—could it really be an immortal tea?

Seemingly noticing the surprise in Wang Yan's eyes, Zhong Li smiled and said, "People in Liyue mostly believe in getting value for their money when doing business. There are good and bad teas in Shenyu Valley, and naturally there are different levels of quality among Shenyu Immortal Tea. However—this pot costs 50,000 Mora, so the quality is still quite good."

50,000 Mora!?

Wang Yan looked at the teapot in front of him and couldn't help but lose his composure.

His pot of Rainbow Flower Tea costs only a hundred or so moras—and even that, Wang Yan still thinks it's expensive.

Fifty thousand Mora for a pot of tea, and you're still a regular customer—tsk tsk tsk, Walnut is truly blessed to have met you.

"Perhaps it's worth the price, but if it were me, I wouldn't dare order it." Wang Yan put down his teacup and shook his head.

"Ha, then for you, this isn't worth the price." Zhongli chuckled. "In my view, what is worth the price is that you believe the cost you paid and what you gained are at least equivalent in your opinion."

"Since you think this pot of tea isn't worth that much mora, then it's worthless to you."

Wang Yan frowned slightly.

Why are you suddenly talking to me about whether it's worth it? Is this some kind of metaphor?

Wang Yan pondered for a moment, but still spoke up: "But in reality, not everything is determined by one's mind. Tea has its own market price. Just because I think it's not worth this much money doesn't mean it's actually worth this much money."

It's just a matter of arguing; you don't even need to think, you can just spout off.

Indeed, from a generally rational perspective, everything has a price, and this price is generally determined by the customer.

"Whether something is worth it or not is subjective, as we observe it from different perspectives," Zhong Li said with a gentle smile. "I believe the two are not contradictory."

"For example, if the price of a force is a responsibility, then for someone who desperately needs the force, a responsibility is not a very high price."

"But if this power falls into the hands of someone who doesn't need it, the responsibilities that come with it will become a problem."

His voice grew softer, and his gaze remained fixed on Wang Yan's face: "Scholar Wang Yan, do you think—if this power were for you, would it be worth it?"

Zhong Li's hand is practically an open secret.

If Wang Yan still couldn't understand after hearing this, he might as well go buy a block of tofu and smash his head against it.

Therefore—the blessing of the goddess of flowers comes at a price, and that price is very likely a responsibility.

After a moment's thought, Wang Yan looked at Zhong Li and gave his answer: "I will do what I can."

Although we don't know what responsibilities come with the blessing of the Flower Goddess, given her complex identity, it certainly won't be an easy task.

Having accepted this power, it would be contrary to Wang Yan's values ​​to say that he truly doesn't want to take any responsibility.

My uncle has a saying: "With great power comes great responsibility."

In Chinese, we usually call it: "With great power comes great responsibility."

This statement had a significant impact in the world before the time travel, and even formed part of many people's values.

However, Wang Yan didn't actually like that statement.

In Wang Yan's view, ability and responsibility are not linked; what is truly linked to responsibility is rights, namely power and interests.

With great power comes great responsibility.

At this moment, he has already enjoyed the rights brought by the blessing of the goddess of flowers.

The control over elemental forces, the perception of lunar distance forces, and increasingly stronger physical abilities are all rights that Wang Yan enjoys.

Although blessings are passively received, once you enjoy them, you enjoy them, Wang Yan acknowledged.

Therefore, he will take on the responsibility of offering blessings within his own capabilities.

But if the responsibility outweighs the rights that come with the blessing, then Wang Yan will not risk his life.

You can't just say, "I accept your blessing from the Flower Goddess, and you want me to kill the Dharma King." Even if you could do it, Wang Yan wouldn't go.

With great power comes great responsibility, but equally, responsibility cannot exceed the rights I enjoy.

"Within my power—" Zhongli pondered, then nodded slightly, his expression unreadable.

Wang Yan didn't interrupt his thoughts, but quietly poured himself another cup of Chenyu Immortal Tea.

Buying it yourself is definitely not an option, but borrowing a clock is.

After Wang Yan finished two cups of Chenyu Immortal Tea, Zhong Li finally came to his senses. His gaze swept over the teapot, but he didn't seem to care: "Taking on responsibility within your capabilities is already quite good."

"You thought about it for so long and all you came up with was this one sentence?"

After muttering something to himself, Wang Yan abandoned his cryptic remarks and asked directly, "Does Mr. Zhongli know about what I possess?"

"The blessing of angels—" Zhongli said softly, "Before Liyue Harbor existed, angels walked the ancient land, guiding mankind forward."

"Humans who have received the blessings of angels often need to take on the responsibility of assisting the angels and guiding humanity."

What Zhongli said was similar to what Naxida had told Wang Yan before, except that Zhongli clarified the responsibilities that came with the blessing.

To assist the angels and guide humanity.

The words left by the last priest of the Flower Goddess flashed through Wang Yan's mind subconsciously. Even after the Flower Goddess's fall, this priest continued to protect the tribal civilization left behind by the Flower Goddess.

When the turmoil in the desert worsened and the priest grew too old to protect the tribe, he dismissed them and sent them to a safer place, while he himself, along with the temple, sank into the ground.

At first, Wang Yan thought that the priest was so steadfast in his faith in the Flower Goddess.

In retrospect, it seems that this priest was fulfilling his responsibilities in addition to his faith.

After a moment's thought, Wang Yan asked again, "If an angel's blessing carries the responsibility of assisting the angel in guiding humanity, then if the angel itself has fallen and the humanity it guided has dispersed, does that responsibility still exist?"

He needs to figure out whether this is a limited liability or an unlimited liability.

If it is limited, now that the Flower Goddess has fallen, most of the tribes that worshipped the Flower Goddess have also perished, and Tanit has been slaughtered by Jade, then this responsibility seems very heavy, but in reality it is not much. Wang Yan only needs to take care of the very few people in the desert who worship the Flower Goddess.

Moreover, with the Little Auspicious Grass King in power, the lives of the desert people were already improving, so even if Wang Yan did nothing, he could still fulfill his responsibilities.

But if this is an unlimited responsibility, then it's troublesome, because it means the responsibility doesn't originate from the Flower Goddess, but from an entity above her.

So, who gave angels the responsibility of guiding humanity?

The answer is simple: it's Phanes.

Angels are apostles of Phanes, guiding civilization and managing humanity in his stead. All the angels' responsibilities and powers originate from Phanes.

However, Zhongli did not answer Wang Yan's question.

He simply smiled and changed the subject, saying, "Since Mr. Wang Yan is a scholar of the epistemological school, he must be quite knowledgeable about classical Chinese, right?"

Zhongli's irrelevant answer made Wang Yan frown slightly, but he knew that the other party had no obligation to answer him, so he nodded in response: "Of course, as I said before, classical Chinese is the core research direction of the school."

"In that case, it's fate that Mr. Wang Yan and I are sharing a table today. There's an antique appreciation event at the Pearl Pavilion tonight. Would Mr. Wang Yan have time to come with me? There are many antiques and paintings at the event, and perhaps Mr. Wang Yan could also appreciate them."

"Um?"

Antique appreciation event?

Wang Yan was taken aback, but quickly realized that it must be an artifact unearthed from the ancient kingdom of Langgan. He remembered that at this antique appreciation event, one of the three corpse gods of Zibai was hidden on a certain jade artifact.

So, instead of directly answering his question, Zhongli tried to guide him to contact Zibai?

Why did he do this? Did he think he could help with Zibai's resurrection?

"Since I have nothing else to do, I'd like to accompany Mr. Zhongli on this trip."

Several ideas flashed through his mind, but after a brief consideration, Wang Yan agreed.

"That's wonderful. Come, have some tea and watch the play."

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