I, the Rock King Emperor with 21 billion in power, have joined the chat group.

Chapter Nine: A Day in the Life of Zhongli and the Little Sister of the Ceremonial Official (Part 1)

"Hey, bird woman, I can't call you bird woman every day."

"What's wrong with being a bird woman? In this world, everyone has strange names, so one more won't make a difference. Or you can call me Morax, that's what they call me as a demon god."

"I don't like the name Morax. It sounds like some foreigner. With your elegant Chinese attire, you should be given a Chinese-style name."

"So what if it's too heavy? So what if it doesn't suit you? Instead of thinking about these useless questions, you should think about how to grow more delicious food."

"No, we still need to choose one for you."

"Fine, fine, whatever you want, whatever you want."

"Then let's call you... um... take a character from my name, and then... um, let's call you Qingli."

"Whatever you want, whatever you want. From now on, my name will be Qingli, so hurry up and cook for me. Today we're having finely ground millet flour. And that... noodle fish you mentioned last time! I want some."

"Hey! You, show some respect. This is the person who just gave you your name. Even if you don't say thank you, at least be polite."

"Go quickly, or I'll punish you by making you collect glass bags to make wine for me. You need at least 777 of them."

"Are you trying to kill me? This kind of underworld plant, the Glass Bag, is even more disgusting than the Wind-Admiring Mushroom, and you still want me to get 777 of them?"

"So, hurry up and cook!"

"Okay, okay..."

In a daze, the sound grew fainter and fainter. Zhongli slowly opened his eyes, and the memories from the past brought a smile to his lips.

Feeling slightly better, he got out of bed, dressed formally, left his rented room in Liyue Harbor, and headed towards the shops of the Hall of Rebirth.

Today is the day I serve as a guest elder at the Hall of Rebirth—as a guest elder who has signed a contract, I naturally cannot be late.

When Zhongli goes out in the morning, it is around 6:30. He usually sits in a teahouse first, has some breakfast, drinks a cup of tea, watches the sparkling sea in the morning light, and listens to the storyteller's melodious voice, while passing half an hour.

Half an hour later, it was about seven o'clock.

It's time for the ancestral hall to open.

Although as a guest minister he was not required to arrive on time, Zhongli believed that all agreements had to be kept, and time was no exception.

He would always arrive at the door of the Rebirth Hall one minute before 7 o'clock, just as the door panels were being removed, and greet the staff who had just opened the door.

After that, he would enter the main hall of the Hall of Rebirth at the call of the staff beside him and contact his personal attendant.

"Little sister Yiguan, I'm sorry to bother you today. This is Liuli Ting's Liuli Lily Pastry for today. It's still hot, so you can have a little something to tide you over."

The young lady in charge of the ceremony paused for a moment, then looked at Zhongli with some surprise.

She didn't refuse, but accepted it with a slightly shy expression.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Zhongli."

"Yes, Liuli Ting's Liuli Lily Pastry has been passed down for 370 years. It uses the roots and stems of the Liuli bag that grows on cliffs as a base, and is supplemented with the petals of the Liuli lily. It has always been known for nourishing blood and replenishing qi. Eating one in the morning can clear the meridians and replenish qi and blood. It is most suitable for women who are not feeling well every month."

Zhongli explained the origin and effects of the Crystal Lily Pastry in great detail: "On this day every month, you always wake up feeling tired. You often skip breakfast and cover your stomach with your hand to hide the pain. Eating this Crystal Lily Pastry might make you feel a little better today."

“Mr. Zhongli…” Jingyi, the young lady of the ceremonial guard, twitched slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn’t say anything, and only called out Zhongli’s name softly.

"Well, there's no rush today. I can wait here for a while. After you've had your breakfast and a cup of brown sugar soy milk from Wanmintang, we'll set off."

After Zhongli finished speaking, he nodded slightly to the young lady in charge of the ceremony and then walked to a table and sat down.

After the young lady of the ceremonial office curtsied, she softly thanked him and then carried the breakfast into the back hall.

Zhongli waited for about half an hour until the young lady of the ceremonial office finished tidying her clothes. Then, the two of them walked out of the Hall of Rebirth in silence, one after the other.

There are three stores scheduled for today; I need to go there to discuss purchasing items.

Time isn't urgent, so we can take it a little longer.

Neither Yi Guan Xiao Mei nor Zhong Li were talkative people, so the two of them strolled slowly down the street with the early morning crowd, as if taking a walk.

The two remained silent, neither speaking nor having a heart-to-heart talk, standing one in front of the other.

Splash!

Whoosh!

Before I knew it, a light drizzle began to fall. It was early spring, and the morning in Liyue Harbor was slightly hazy in the rain.

Raindrops, as dreamlike as mist, fall from the ethereal sky, transforming into a life-giving miracle that nourishes the earth.

Wow!

An oil-paper umbrella printed with blue lotus flowers has somehow appeared on the tip of the maid's hair.

It kept out the still chilly rain of early spring.

“I observed the celestial phenomena this morning and felt that it might rain today, so I brought an oil-paper umbrella as a backup.” Zhongli looked at the delicate face of the young lady, who was tilting her head slightly, and said softly, “The rain is not heavy, and the people of Liyue Harbor should be quite used to it, so not many people brought umbrellas. Although you usually do the same, you are not feeling well, so I brought one.”

The young female official listened calmly to Zhongli's words, simply nodding and saying, "Mm."

The journey continued in silence, and in the rain, the number of travelers gradually dwindled.

The air was thick with mist and water vapor, and the distant ocean appeared even more tranquil in the thin fog.

And so, in this quiet companionship, we arrived at our first shop of the day.

Standing in front of the deserted shop, Yi Guan Xiaomei took out her notebook and checked the shop's signboard.

"It is the Neighborhood Hall."

"Yes, it's the Neighborhood Hall."

After confirming each other's identities, the two entered the shop and saw a young man in a brocade robe leaning back in a rattan chair with an idle expression, holding a fried peanut in one hand and a wine pot in the other, drinking happily.

He appeared to be slightly drunk, and didn't even notice Zhongli and Yiguan Xiaomei entering the room.

It wasn't until the young female attendant came to him and gently placed the memorial tablet in the Hall of Rebirth down that he seemed to wake up from a dream and stood up in a daze.

He rubbed his eyes, looked at the young lady in a daze, then at Zhongli, and after a long while, he seemed to come to his senses.

"Oh, it's the Hall of Rebirth! Right, I remember now, I was the one who invited you here today. It seems you wanted to sell some of my late father's stock?"

"Yes, it's going to be sold. I almost forgot."

Chapter Ten: A Day in the Life of Zhongli and the Clerk's Daughter (Part Two)

The young master of this neighborhood hall didn't look very old; he was probably only in his early twenties.

He wore a brocade robe embroidered with gold-threaded glass lilies, and a tall hat from the Wind God's territory, which looked quite out of place.

But this outfit isn't cheap.

Even in front of the ritual officials of the funeral hall who were used to grand occasions, this outfit could be considered that of a wealthy man.

“I have met your father, Qing Hongsheng, before.” Zhongli’s tone remained unchanged as he spoke to this seemingly extravagant young master: “He is fond of antiques, and his collection must be quite good. I’ll look forward to it.”

After saying this, Zhongli turned to look at the young lady in charge of the ceremony, a slight smile appearing on his lips: "Today, you should be able to finish your mission sooner. You might not need to go to the other two families."

"Hmm." The young female official nodded gently.

"Please, please." The young master of the neighborhood hall squinted his eyes, smiled magnanimously, and led Zhongli and the young lady of the ceremonial office into the inner hall without bowing.

The inner hall of the neighborhood hall is not very large. After turning through a corridor, you arrive at the storage area.

The young master fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a bar key, which he used to unlock the dusty lock.

What comes into view is an interior filled with dust.

The indoor air was okay, but the items neatly arranged on the shelves were covered in dust.

The young master explained with an awkward smile, "I haven't opened this room since my father passed away, so it's a little dusty. Don't mind it."

Zhongli crossed his arms and shook his head slightly: "No need to explain, a little dust does not affect the quality of most items."

After saying that, he looked around and nodded slightly again: "There are some ingenious and well-thought-out items in this house that need to be carefully examined."

"That's good, that's good. Mr. Zhongli, please come in." The young master stepped forward and entered the room, inviting Zhongli in.

The three entered the house. Zhongli found a clean table and sat down. Yi Guan Xiaomei stood behind him, holding account books and banknotes, ready to record the information.

The young master of the neighborhood hall hurriedly took three items from the shelf and placed them in front of Zhongli.

The first thing is a book.

Zhongli slowly put on gloves, gently lifted the title page of the book wrapped in gold foil, and saw the name on it.

【Qingli and Yanjun】

His eyes twitched slightly, but his hand speed remained unchanged as he gently turned the pages one by one.

About an hour later, the young master was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He didn't know whether to sit or stand, and he didn't dare to ask any questions. He just drank tea and sweated.

"This is good stuff."

Setting down the last page of gold foil, Zhongli slowly exhaled a long breath, something he hadn't done in a long time.

"【Qingli and Yanjun】 was written two thousand years ago by an unknown person. It tells us that the Rock King Emperor Morax is not the emperor we usually know, but one of the immortals by the emperor's side, 【Fentian Liyun Zhenjun】".

"【True Lord Fentian Liyun】, whose real name is Qingli, also known as Morax, is the wife of the Rock King Emperor. In the early years, the Rock King Emperor was unwilling to protect the current 【Liyue】 human race. It was the compassionate 【True Lord Fentian Liyun】 who moved the Rock King Emperor, which led to the Emperor stepping out of the Green Mountain 3,700 years ago, leading immortals, destroying demons, slaying dragons, and protecting Liyue."

"After this book was completed, the Seven Stars were extremely disgusted with it, believing that it desecrated the body of the Rock King Emperor, so they banned it and burned all the published books. I didn't expect that a copy would still be left here."

"It's a unique and irreplaceable copy; it's worth a high price."

"I'm glad you like it." The young master was overjoyed.

Gently setting down the book, Zhongli picked up the second item, a wooden box.

He gently stroked the surface of the wooden box, a look of emotion on his face.

"This item is a sword box made from the wood where Qingli, the True Lord of Dividing Heaven and Clouds, once lived. It was a gift from Qingli to Tianquan Star, one of the first generation of the Seven Stars of Liyue. It's a pity that it's just a sword box. If there were a sword inside, even the Hall of Rebirth would not be able to afford it."

"You can accept it; it's a rare item."

The third item was a piece of amber. What was particularly ingenious was that within this amber stone was a slightly smaller piece of night-blooming jasmine, and within the night-blooming jasmine was something that shimmered with silvery white light.

"this....."

Zhongli held the amber stone, turned it around in the sky a few times, and didn't say anything.

The young master beside him was getting impatient: "What do you think of this?"

"It's a marvelous piece. Mining amber is already difficult, and amber containing nephrite is even rarer. The fact that there is a hard-to-identify silvery-white object inside the nephrite makes it even more ingenious."