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

The traveler ignored his banter and asked seriously, "What is the Heart of God?"

The God of Wind pondered for a moment, hesitated slightly, and then spoke: "Hmm... this isn't a topic I should discuss with ordinary people. But, it's alright to tell you quietly..."

After a brief chat between the Traveler and the Wind God about the Heart of God, the Queen of Winter Kingdom, and the Executor, the Traveler and the Wind God discussed these matters.

The God of Wind suddenly changed the subject—he seemed unwilling to say more about the Queen of Winter Kingdom.

"By the way, Traveler, if you want to find all seven Archons, there will probably be many difficulties on your journey. You can go to Liyue, Mondstadt's neighbor. The Geo Archon there is different from me. He will send down an oracle once a year to guide the direction of Liyue for that year."

“Even so, it still sounds better than someone else’s,” Paimon retorted without hesitation.

"Hehe~~!" The God of Wind scratched the back of his head and made a classic bluffing statement.

He then continued:

"By the way, it seems that Liyue's [Summoning Ceremony] is about to start this year. Hmm, if I miss it, I'll have to wait another year."

"Oh, let's hurry up and go, Ying, we can't be late." Paimon immediately panicked.

Just as the traveler was about to get up, the wind god suddenly called out to him again: "Wait a moment, you wind-chasing stranger."

The traveler stopped in her tracks, rarely speaking, and even somewhat taciturn in the eyes of many, she softly replied, "Are you calling me?"

“Hmm.” The bard Wendy nodded.

He placed his hand on his shoulder: "Traveler...when you set out on your journey again, always remember the meaning of the journey itself. The birds of Teyvat, the poetry and the city-states, the queen, the fool and the monsters, these are all part of your journey."

"The finish line doesn't mean everything. Before you reach it, use your eyes to observe the world as much as possible..."

"Wendy....."

Ying spoke softly, her lovely and clear voice drifting on the wind beneath the big tree.

Of course, there are also the lovely girls of Teyvat.

---Barbara, Princess, Lady.....

---Their graceful figures....

---I will observe more closely...

.......

"Achoo!"

The eighth seat of the Fools' Executive Officer, dressed in revealing clothing, couldn't help but sneeze.

"According to Liyue's tradition, it seems someone misses you, [Lady]."

Across from her, Zhongli, impeccably dressed and with an almost otherworldly handsome appearance, was sipping his wine.

"Hmph! The Winter Kingdom does not have such a custom, God of Rock."

The lady couldn't help but reply.

"Hmm???" Zhongli didn't care about her arrogance and rudeness.

His contract with the Queen of Winter Kingdom has taken effect; all that remains is to wait and see how things unfold.

This time, the arrival of the "lady" is also part of the contract.

"I need to revise my contract with the Queen of Zhidong Kingdom," Zhongli said softly, revealing the purpose of his trip.

"Hmm??" The lady suddenly stood up, her expression changing drastically. She looked at Zhongli, narrowed her eyes, and the divine power bestowed upon her by the Queen of the Winter Kingdom began to gather around her.

"The ultimate purpose of the contract will not change. It's just that we need to discuss some details further." Ignoring the elemental power that seemed like child's play to him, Zhongli continued to explain.

Since he was the one who took the initiative to propose amending the contract this time, a thorough explanation is necessary.

"God of Rock, I cannot agree to this." The lady's attitude was particularly firm.

“A contract is not immutable. As long as both parties agree on fairness, it should be fine to revise it.” Zhongli seemed to be explaining, trying to persuade the lady to change her mind.

The woman shook her head firmly: "God of Rock, if this is the only reason you invited me here, then I must go back."

"Stop!" Zhongli used a commanding tone for the first time.

The woman was about to chuckle and leave when she found herself unable to move for some reason.

It was as if her body had forgotten the act of walking.

She can only stand still now, unable to turn around, move, or even move her eyes.

It was as if her body was bypassing the commands of her brain and obeying the orders of the rock god before her.

"Come back! Sit down!"

Following Zhongli's voice, the lady slowly returned to the table and sat down in her usual posture.

This time, the woman who raised her head finally saw Zhongli's eyes clearly.

Golden light shone within, and a terrifying power far surpassing that of any god was contained within it. In a trance, it seemed as if a seven-headed dragon was hovering above the world—if it weren't for her devout faith, she might have thought that Zhongli's power far exceeded that of her own empress.

Even from just this glimpse, the woman's mind and body bore an excessive burden, and tears of blood inevitably streamed from her eyes.

Seeing the lady's appearance, Zhong Li frowned and slowly released his power.

“[Madam], you may have the Queen of the Winter Kingdom review the draft amendments to the contract that I proposed.” Zhongli’s voice remained unhurried.

"I will entrust the heart of God to you. At the same time, you must cooperate with me to do the work that needs to be done."

"This is one of the contents of our contract."

"The God of Rock~~~~ Morax!!" The lady slowly uttered the god's name, each word distinct, as if uttering just this one sentence had exhausted all her strength.

“Yes, I am here, [Madam].” Zhongli sipped her tea, unhurriedly.

"Please, Your Majesty, consider this carefully."

After saying this, Zhongli got up and left his seat without any hesitation.

He walked slowly away from the restaurant, just like an ordinary person.

Only one sentence remained.

"The sweet flowers used in Liuliting's Sweet Flower Stuffed Chicken are specially cultivated and are too sweet. Although the taste is not greasy, it is better not to eat too much."

"You're prone to weight gain, be careful, [ladies]."

Chapter Five: Jade Balance Star and Clear Skies

Emerging from his secret rendezvous with the "Lady," Zhongli had barely taken two steps onto Liyue Harbor.

A young girl rushed up to him, panting heavily.

"Oh, it's Yi Guan's little sister." Zhong Li, who was discussing the night-blooming stones at the stall of the fat man selling them, asked softly, "Don't be impatient. Tell me what happened after you've calmed down and stopped breathing."

The young lady of the ceremonial office had been with Zhongli for a long time, so she naturally knew Zhongli's habits.

She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down, and then hurriedly said, "Mr. Zhongli, Mr. Hu Tao from my family's ancestral hall, please go there as soon as possible."

"I searched for you for ages, and finally got your location from someone on the street, so I rushed over here."

"What is it?" Zhongli turned around, standing with one hand behind his back and the other hand playing with the night-blooming stone in his hand.

"Lord Keqing of Yuheng Star has come to the Hall of Rebirth to buy something," the young lady of the ceremonial office replied.

"Oh~! It's just receiving guests. Even Ke Qing from Yuheng Star is just one of the guests. Can't Hu Tao handle it?" Zhong Li asked, slightly puzzled.

"She wanted to buy the sword box you acquired last time to store her precious sword. There would have been no problem; the transaction would have been conducted at the agreed price. However, Lord Hu Tao said that this was a piece of merchandise acquired by Lord Zhongli, and only you had the right to dispose of it. Therefore, he ordered me to come and find you."

"Oh dear!" Upon hearing this, Zhongli understood. He shook his head slightly and handed the Nightstone to the young female official in front of him: "This Nightstone is of excellent quality. What's most wonderful is that its shape is extremely similar to Barbatos, the wind god of Mondstadt. You can take it back and have a skilled craftsman carve it into the image of Barbatos, and then sell it to Mondstadt merchants. You might make a fortune from it."

"It would be a real shame not to buy it."

"Hmm..." The young lady of the ceremonial office habitually took out her pen and paper and began to record the shopping trip.

Halfway through her writing, she suddenly realized, "Wait a minute, Mr. Zhongli, now is not the time to buy things. Mr. Hu Tao and Lady Ke Qing of Yuheng Star are waiting in the Hall of Rebirth."

“You… how can you still not understand?” Zhongli sighed and gently tapped her forehead with her slender finger. “You should know Master Hu Tao’s personality.”

"Keqing's personality is definitely incompatible with Hu Tao's, as can be seen from Hu Tao's reluctance to sell the sword box. So, Hu Tao probably sent you out to find me this time just as an excuse to make Keqing wait a little longer."

"Hmm..." The young lady in charge of the ceremony was quite intelligent, and after thinking about it for a while, she felt that Zhongli was right.

She gently rubbed her forehead and asked Zhongli softly, "Mr. Zhongli, shall we wait a little while?"

“Hmm...that’s fine.” Zhongli nodded. “Hu Tao is the head of the hall after all. It’s okay if she says we should wait a little while. There’s an old rule in Liyue: ‘The current official is not as powerful as the one in charge.’ Although Keqing is one of the Seven Stars, she doesn’t directly govern you.”

"Tell her to wait a moment, you'll be fine. But if you upset Hu Tao, you might be in trouble."

"Sigh!" The young lady quickly shook her head; she didn't want to annoy Master Hu Tao.

The thought of Mr. Walnut holding Miss Qiqi's hand with one hand and digging a hole in the ground with the other, trying to bury her, made Yi Guan Xiaomei tremble.

Master Hu Tao is someone even Mr. Zhongli finds difficult to deal with; it's best for a mere junior official like her not to provoke him.

Having made this decision, the young lady packed the night-blooming jasmine in her hand into a small box, and after a brief discussion with the fat shopkeeper, bought it.

After visiting several more shops with Zhongli, they finally headed back to the Hall of Rebirth.

As soon as the two reached the door, they heard Yuhengxing Keqing's angry voice.

"Is this how you do business? I've been here for over an hour. How are you going to compensate me for this time?"

"Time is money, don't you know that?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The officials of the Rebirth Hall simply bowed their heads and apologized, without saying anything of substance.

One of the supervisors saw Zhong Li stepping into the room and quickly stepped forward to greet him.

"Mr. Zhongli, you've finally arrived." She tugged at Zhongli's sleeve and led him to Yuhengxing Keqing.

He introduced softly, "Mr. Zhongli, the person before you is none other than Lady Keqing of the Jade Balance Star."

Zhongli lowered his head slightly, taking in the entire body of Yuheng Star.

This wealthy merchant who runs Liyue has long, light gray hair styled in pigtails, which makes her look very young, even a little bit childish.

However, her clothes were not as luxurious as Ningguang's; they were just ordinary fabrics and ordinary accessories.

However, the black pantyhose with unique patterns on the lower body appeared to be slightly more transparent, vaguely revealing the fair and smooth skin underneath.

These mature stockings slightly diminished her youthful appearance, making her appear more feminine and alluring.

Her petite figure and mature charm blended together surprisingly harmoniously.