Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

"Okay, to tell you the truth, this eye patch was left to me by my grandfather. He used to be a pirate, and I've always worn it as a keepsake. As for my eyes, it's hereditary; my father and grandfather both have the same eyes..."

Diluc glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Ever since Kaiya appeared at his house, he had been wearing an eye patch, and he had never seen what Kaiya's right eye looked like under the blindfold.

As for any such thoughts, he didn't believe them.

It's likely that there's something he doesn't want anyone to see under his blindfold, which is why he's kept it covered for over a decade.

Chapter 227 Zhongli and Tartaglia

Jiang Bai was having a great time chatting and drinking with his friends, but Hu Tao wasn't so happy.

She hooked her legs around the beams and hung upside down in the pavilion in Zhongli's courtyard, her long hair hanging down, almost touching Zhongli's cup.

"Ugh, I'm so bored..." she muttered as she swayed, her hair hanging down like swaying seaweed.

Zhongli moved his teapot and teacup away to prevent any hair from falling in.

"Has Jiang Bai not returned yet?"

"Yeah, that guy's been in Mondstadt for a week now, and I'm so bored I could die..." She let her hands hang down, looking utterly dejected.

"Then why don't you come with me to dinner, Master? A new acquaintance of mine, a Winter-born man, has invited me to dinner at the Glazed Pavilion."

Hu Tao's eyes lit up when she heard this. The amusing person finally had something interesting to amuse her, and she came back to life.

With a twist of her waist, she turned back from the upside-down position, flipped over, and landed on the roof beam opposite Zhongli.

"Winterborn? Is he here in Liyue to do business? Is he interesting? When did you meet him? Why did he invite you to dinner?" Hu Tao asked one question after another.

Zhongli spoke calmly, "We met some time ago, he took the initiative to contact me, but he is indeed an interesting person, the hall master should be interested."

"An interesting person?" Hu Tao became even more excited upon hearing this. "Looking for you? What do you want? To appraise antiques? To appreciate calligraphy and paintings? Or do you want to ask you for a favor?"

"Since the sect leader is so curious, we'll find out when we see him tonight."

"If you put it that way, then this person must be no ordinary person. I'm even more curious about his identity now!"

"Perfect timing! I also need to prepare a gift for this new friend as a return gift. Please give me some advice, Master."

Filled with curiosity, Hu Tao followed Zhong Li to the gift shop. When she saw what was on the shelves, Hu Tao had a bad feeling.

"Master, do you think it's better to give this pair of [Dragon and Phoenix Carved Chopsticks] or this pair of [Golden Jade Qilin Chopsticks] as a gift?"

Hu Tao clutched her chest. These two pairs of chopsticks cost 128,000 Mora and 185,000 Mora respectively. Neither pair was cheap.

"Could you not bring chopsticks?" Hu Tao felt her throat was a little dry.

"If you're not going to send chopsticks, then how about a teapot set?" Zhongli's gaze fell on the teapot on the other side.

Hu Tao glanced at the price of a teapot set and was stung by the zeros on it.

Hu Tao quickly pulled out her wallet. "No, no, let's buy chopsticks instead! These dragon and phoenix carved chopsticks are perfect! Boss, please wrap these chopsticks up for me!"

"Thank you, Master." Zhongli smiled happily.

Heartbroken, Hu Tao pulled out her Mora and glared at him fiercely. "Your salary for this month is gone!"

Clutching chopsticks worth 120,000, Hu Tao followed Zhong Li through the gate of the Liuli Pavilion.

"Mr. Zhongli, this way please." The waiter led the two into a private room.

Inside the private room, a young man with light brown hair sat, holding a pair of chopsticks and struggling to learn how to use them. Upon seeing Zhong Li, his eyes lit up, and he stepped forward to greet him.

"Sir, you've arrived. Please take a seat."

His gaze fell on Hu Tao, whom Zhongli was living with. "And who is this?"

Zhongli gave him a brief introduction, "This is the head of our Rebirth Hall, surnamed Hu."

"So it's Master Hu! I've heard so much about you! Come, come, please have a seat!"

"Guest, please introduce me!" Hu Tao said, winking at Zhong Li as she sat in her chair.

“No need for Mr. Zhongli to introduce me. My name is Datalia, I am the envoy of Winter Solstice, the eleventh seat of the Executors of the Fools, codenamed ‘Prince’.” Datalia smiled brightly.

Judging from his appearance, he is a sunny, confident, approachable, and easy-going person.

"Wow, such an important person! Shake hands!" Hu Tao feigned extreme surprise and shook hands firmly twice.

"You flatter me. In Liyue, someone like you, Master Hu, is a real big shot!" Tartaglia readily complimented. "I've heard Mr. Zhongli talk about you before, and today I'm finally able to meet you. You are as beautiful as the rumors say!"

Hearing Daddariya's praise, Hu Tao inexplicably thought of Jiang Bai.

Compared to Jiang Bai's effusive and exaggerated praise, this compliment was somewhat lacking.

Hu Tao waved her hand, "You flatter me, you flatter me. Beauty is just a very insignificant advantage of mine..."

"Haha, Master Hu's personality is indeed extraordinary!"

After some mutual flattery and pleasantries, the atmosphere became more lively.

Even if there are only a few people eating, the table is still full of food, showing the host's wealth and generosity.

"I don't know what your taste is, Mr. Zhongli, so I ordered the restaurant's recommended specialty dishes."

"Thank you for your hospitality. I wonder how well you've learned to use chopsticks, young master?"

Tartaglia looked somewhat troubled. "Even though I've lived in Liyue for a while, I still can't seem to use chopsticks..."

“For someone who doesn’t usually use chopsticks, learning to use them can be quite difficult.” Zhongli handed over the wrapped gift. “This is a gift I bought on the way. I hope you will practice a lot and master how to use chopsticks as soon as possible.”

D'Artagnan picked up the chopsticks, a wry smile on his face. "It seems I have no choice but to take control now..."

"By the way, how did you two meet?" Hu Tao was quite curious about how Zhong Li knew this Foolish Clan executive.

"Having heard that Mr. Zhongli is a man of the Dao and is very learned, I thought of getting to know him."

Hu Tao raised an eyebrow. "Our Rebirth Hall is a legitimate organization. We never do anything illegal or disorderly. If you're looking for us to do something shady, you've probably come to the wrong person."

"How could that be?" The young master waved his hand. "I admire Mr. Zhongli's knowledge and just wanted to learn more about Liyue. After all, I will be staying in Liyue for a long time. How can I not understand it?"

"If you want to understand Liyue, then going to him is definitely the right choice. Our guest elder is extremely knowledgeable about Liyue's customs and traditions. Even with a simple dish, he can tell you a lot about it..."

Zhongli quietly sipped his tea, listening to Hu Tao and the envoy from the winter solstice chatter back and forth.

He was clearly the host of this banquet, but Hu Tao's presence made him seem like a freeloader.

But Hu Tao's next words caused a change in his usually calm expression.

"...Didn't you say you often heard the guest elder mention me? What does he usually say about me?"

D'Artagnan glanced at Zhongli, who had looked up, and said, "Um, well..."

The frequent mentions of this person were just polite formalities; Zhongli only mentioned Master Hu once or twice.

And every time it's brought up, he just shakes his head, sighs, and then nothing more comes of it. What is he supposed to say?

Under Zhongli's gaze, sweat beaded on his forehead. "Mr. Zhongli said that Master Hu has a unique personality, a quick mind, and many ingenious ideas..."

Chapter 228 Dvalin's Gift

Jiang Bai was unaware that Hu Tao was freeloading off the envoy from the Winter Kingdom. Reeking of alcohol, he climbed onto the palm of the Wind God statue.

It wasn't that I was drunk; I just thought the view from this spot was good, so I wanted to sit here for a while.

I must say, sitting in the hands of the statue felt quite peculiar.

He braced himself with his hands behind his back and looked up at the night sky.

A gentle breeze was blowing, and the night was clear and bright.

Countless stars twinkled in the sky, and the vast Milky Way was clearly visible.

The slight smell of alcohol that lingered in the tavern was quickly dispersed by the breeze.

Whether it was the alcohol or his own condition, aside from still being able to taste the alcohol, he drank it like water, without experiencing any dizziness from the alcohol.

But everyone in the tavern was drunk, even Kaiya, who was drinking with them, was a little tipsy, which must be his own problem.

His body probably perceived alcohol as a harmful substance and then quickly eliminated it as soon as he drank it.

If his body really has such an effect, then next time could we try the master's culinary culinary disaster?

Let's not do it. It's not so important if it hurts my body, but it's really uncomfortable to hurt my tongue...

Jiang Bai was lost in thought when he suddenly felt the wind pick up.

He looked in the direction the wind was blowing and saw a huge sky dragon flying in from the distant horizon.

"Wow, Wendy's all sorted out too? I wonder where they found Dvalin, that was fast..."

Keli, sitting on the dragon's back, also saw Jiang Bai and reached out to greet him. Jiang Bai waved back at her.

The enormous Dvalin spread its wings and flew over Mondstadt, landing in the square in front of the statue amidst the terrified gazes of the city's inhabitants.

Upon seeing the members of the Knights of Dvalin, they quickly gathered in the square, blocking some of the bolder onlookers behind them.

Amidst the fearful and wary gazes of the crowd, Qin jumped off the dragon's back.

Next is Wendy, Sky, Paimon, and finally Klee, who slides down the dragon's wings and onto its back.

Klee, still wanting more, exclaimed after getting off the plane, "That was so much fun! Klee wants to fly again!"

Jean looked down at Klee, "Klee, Dvalin has only just recovered and is still injured. Don't be naughty."

"Oh..." Klee became obedient after receiving a dangerous look from Jean.

Wendy stretched. "It's all done. I'm so tired. I'm going to reward myself with a glass of the most expensive dandelion wine, a gift from the angels!"

"You busking guy didn't do anything at all!" Paimon said, hands on his hips, clearly annoyed.

The laborers are all doing nothing, but this street performer is clearly slacking off and cheating the whole time!

"Don't say that. I put in a lot of effort to find Dvalin..."

Seeing that the dragon showed no sign of causing trouble, Commander Qin dismounted from its back, and a knight approached, asking in bewilderment:

"Commander Qin, what exactly is going on?"

Qin gently stroked Dvalin's enormous wings, a relaxed smile on her face, and delivered the speech she had already prepared:

"This is Dvalin, one of the Four Winds Guardians. Five hundred years ago, he was severely wounded in battle against the demon dragon Durin while protecting Mondstadt and fell into a slumber for five hundred years. Due to the corrosive effects of Durin's poisonous blood, the Abyss Order awakened Dvalin from its slumber and brought it under control. Now, Dvalin has recovered..."

This explanation could both clarify Dvalin's identity and his past deeds in protecting Mondstadt, while also shifting all the blame onto the Abyss Order. It was the explanation she came up with after communicating with Dvalin.

Upon hearing the explanation from the troupe leader, the surrounding area immediately erupted in commotion.

The hatred that had been directed at Dvalin vanished, replaced by respect for the Four Winds Guardian.

"So it was Lord Dvalin, one of the Four Winds Guardians. The people of Mondstadt should not forget his past self-sacrifice..."

"So that's how it is! We misunderstood it!"

"I actually advocated for the destruction of our East Wind Dragon all along. Luckily, Commander Qin didn't take my advice, otherwise we would be sinners..."

"Damn the Abyss Cult! They actually took control of our East Wind Dragon while it was heavily injured!"

"Is Dvalin's injury healed now? Will he be controlled by the Abyss Cult again...?"

A cacophony of voices arose, and things were moving in a positive direction.

Qin cleared her throat, looked at the people around her who were either bewildered, remorseful, or worried, and said loudly:

"Ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow I will be in the plaza, representing the Knights of Favonius, to clear up any misunderstandings for all the citizens of Mondstadt. The Dragon Plague has come to an end, trade routes are gradually reopening, and the city gates will be reopened..."

As the crowd drawn by the dragon gradually dispersed, Klee waved to Dvalin, "Goodbye, big dragon! I'll come find you again next time and make you an even better flower wreath!"

Dvalin seemed to be in a good mood as he looked at the little red creature.

A blue feather fell and floated into Klee's hand, whereupon it flapped its wings and flew into the sky.

The dragon that belonged to the sky left Mondstadt, and some of the withered wreaths on its spine drifted down with the wind, leaving behind pure white petals.

Jiang Bai took a petal, leaped down from the statue's hand, and landed in front of everyone.

"Tvalin looks to be doing well."

Wendy laughed, "With the poisonous blood purified and the pain of enduring five hundred years gone, Dvalin is in excellent condition right now!"

Seeing him suddenly appear in Jiang Bai's place, Paimon's eyes widened in shock. "Where did you come from?"

“I was sitting on the idol just now, and they all saw it. Didn’t you see it?”