Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

"You have completed your duties. Now, go and rest."

He stood there for a long time, as raindrops continued to fall from the sky.

People came and went around him, but he stood alone in the same spot.

He thought that he should have already completed his duties.

Just as the boots finally landed firmly on the ground, he finally put down the heavy burden that had been weighing on his heart.

Just like parents watching their children grow up, they finally choose to let their children pursue their own lives.

Before leaving completely, he had to see if Liyue could stand on its own without him.

A teahouse, a secluded private room.

Zhongli sat at the tea table, slowly brewing the tea in his hands, while the lady sat opposite him with her arms crossed.

If Jiang Bai were here, he would definitely say that he had finally found evidence that Zhongli had colluded with the Fools to plot against the Rock God.

Of course, the facts are pretty much the same.

It was indeed Zhongli who took the initiative to find the "lady" and arrange a meeting.

Once you've made up your mind, there's no need to wait any longer.

There are currently two Fatui Enforcers in Liyue. Although he is more familiar with [Cathay] than with the other, he has already seen through [Cathay]'s character.

The young master is skilled in martial arts but not in using cunning schemes. Before even setting his sights on obtaining the Heart of God, he actually wants to fight him.

Faced with such an audacious idea, Zhongli could only remain silent.

[Young Master] was not suitable as a partner, so he chose [Lady], who had only recently arrived in Liyue.

The room was completely silent, except for the bubbling sound of the tea boiling.

The woman crossed her arms, leaned back in her chair, and crossed her legs.

She was wearing rather revealing clothing, her full breasts almost spilling out.

Zhongli calmly brewed tea, showing no reaction to the beautiful woman before him.

Finally, after a long silence, it was Ms. Rosalyn who couldn't hold back any longer and spoke first.

Did you invite me over to watch you make tea?

She received a message from her subordinates saying that the person who invited her to meet was a big shot in Liyue who could help her obtain the Heart of the Geo Archon.

Not many people knew that their goal was the Heart of God. This so-called important figure took the initiative to ask her to meet him and said that he could help her get the Heart of God of the Geo Archon. She thought about it for a moment and then came to accept the invitation.

Then, I saw the other person start by boiling water and steep the tea for a full fifteen minutes.

Zhongli poured tea into the teacup in front of her, saying, "This is top-quality Maojian Longjing tea, please."

Rosalind glanced at the teacup, pursed her lips, and showed no intention of drinking it.

"If you're just here to invite me for tea, then I don't think there's any need to continue."

Zhongli chuckled lightly, "Hehe, Lady [of the House] has less patience than I expected."

He picked up the teacup, blew on the steam rising from it, and slowly brought it to his lips.

His actions, though seemingly agonizing, somehow made one hesitant to interrupt his refined enjoyment.

"Since you're in such a hurry, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. What you want is right now in my hands."

"Oh?"

Rosalyn narrowed her eyes and sat up straighter.

She sized up the man in front of her, who was called "Mr. Zhongli," and was somewhat unsure of his intentions.

Zhongli looked at the teacup in front of her and said again, "Please."

This time, Rosalyn didn't put on any arrogant attitude; she picked up her teacup and sipped it slowly.

For her, who was born in Mondstadt but lived in Winter for hundreds of years, Liyue's tea was just a cup of water with a little seasoning, and she couldn't really taste anything.

However, Zhongli didn't need her to comment on anything.

"People from Liyue have a habit of discussing business over meals. What we need to say is not suitable to be discussed over meals, but it is perfect to discuss it over tea."

How do you want to talk?

“I once made a pact with the Ice Queen. When she sends someone to Liyue to complete the pact with me, I will take out my God Heart and place it on the other side of the scales.”

Rosalind's pupils shrank dramatically. "You're Morax!"

Her colleague had foolishly searched for so long, only to have the other person appear right in front of her!

Instead of choosing the more familiar Young Master, the other party opted for her, who had just arrived in Liyue. It's hard to tell whether Young Master was lucky or unlucky.

“Hehe…” Zhongli chuckled, without denying it.

"As the messenger of the Ice God, are you aware of this?"

Even though she already knew that the person in front of her was the Rock God, Rosalyn still didn't show much respect for the god.

"Of course. But it really surprised me that you were willing to offer the Heart of God and take the initiative to come to me."

Rosalyn clasped her hands together, rested her elbows on the table, and leaned forward. "So, what do you want to do?"

"According to the terms of the contract, you need to cooperate with me to complete the contract."

Rosalind listened attentively, eager to hear what this Rock God had in mind.

"During the ritual to summon the immortals, I will feign death..."

Nothing is more shocking than the sudden death of a god who has protected Liyue for thousands of years. At that time, the reactions of the immortals, the responses of the seven stars, and external threats will all be things he needs to consider.

The Heart of God will remain in his hands until he receives a satisfactory answer.

Chapter 257 The Hall Master is indeed worthy of being called the Hall Master

On the summit of Longji Snow Mountain, I finally saw the so-called Frost Nail.

However, it would be more appropriate to call them "fragments of the cold sky" now.

Countless fragments of all sizes floated in the air, looking from a distance like a pile of garbage floating in the sky.

The ground was blasted into a huge crater by the bomb, and it was covered with a thick layer of snow, just like it used to be.

Kong curiously approached, attempting to pick up a small, floating blue fragment.

The fragment was easily removed. Perhaps because of the low temperature of the snow mountain itself, the fragment felt icy cold to the touch and had nothing particularly special about it.

“It’s not quite the same as what’s written in the book…” Paimon felt a sense of disillusionment.

If I had to describe it, it would be the difference between an online dating partner and meeting them in person – it's incredibly disillusioning.

“If you had come last year, you might have seen those ice nails stuck in the ground,” Abedo chuckled.

“I didn’t even know where I was last year…” Paimon shrugged.

She floated around for a moment, completing her "I was here" record, and then flew back to Kong's side.

"Judging by the time, the Summoning Ceremony in Liyue starts in seven days. We need to head to Liyue first, and then explore this place properly after we've met the Geo Archon..."

Kong nodded and said goodbye to Abedo.

See you later.

"See you later." Abedo waved and watched him walk toward the nearest ley line anchor.

As he watched Sora and Paimon disappear near the ley line anchor, Abedo rested his chin on his hand and muttered to himself.

"Because of their status, the Descendants can use ley lines to teleport, so how did Paimon manage to do that?"

"And then there's her disappearing and reappearing, and where she disappears to next..."

Paimon has so many illogical things about him, he's even more mysterious than the void.

However, Teyvat has too many secrets. Although he has studied with his master for hundreds of years, his research field is only in alchemy, and he does not know much about the various secrets of Teyvat.

With the successive appearances of Jiang Bai, Kong, and Paimeng, his curiosity was piqued.

"When we get back to Mondstadt, I'll apply to be in the restricted book section..."

The teleportation took them directly to the anchor point at the foot of the snow mountain. Compared to slowly descending from the mountaintop, direct teleportation was clearly faster.

"Paimon, do you think Jiang Bai has returned to Liyue yet?"

Paimon thought for a moment, "They should have already gone back. Even if they haven't reached Liyue Harbor yet, they must be on their way. After all, if they don't go back soon, they'll miss the Summoning Ceremony."

Although he was injured and needed a wheelchair, he still had no problem going back to Liyue with the caravan in its carriage.

"Then let's go straight to Liyue."

Kong originally wanted to go back to Mondstadt to see if Jiang Bai was still there, but now he realized there was no need for that.

He opened the map and searched for the shortest route to Liyue.

Paimon, chin in hand, floated in mid-air and gestured on the map with his little hand. "We'll cross this mountain from here and then we'll reach Diluc's Dawn Winery. Then we'll follow the main road, pass through the stone gate, and walk all the way to Wangshu Inn. After that, it won't be far from Liyue Harbor."

"Okay." Kong nodded and put the map away.

Although he can teleport through leyline anchors, he cannot teleport to places he has never been before.

......

Jiang Bai was unaware that Kong had already embarked on the path to Liyue, and even if he did, he wouldn't have made any move to do so.

He no longer needs a wheelchair, but has recently been undergoing grueling training under Hu Tao's supervision.

Just like Hu Tao said before, every morning he runs a lap around Liyue Harbor, then trains his martial arts skills in the morning and fights monsters in the afternoon.

Although Jiang Bai possesses a weapon that can be described as cheating, he still needs to practice his martial arts. He cannot just train his elemental power without training his martial arts skills. Otherwise, once his mental energy is exhausted and he can no longer use his elemental power, wouldn't he be at the mercy of others?

Therefore, every day at the same time, Hu Tao would drag Jiang Bai out of bed and take him for a morning run around Liyue Harbor.

After our morning run, we'd have breakfast and rest for an hour. Then I'd take him to the martial arts arena to practice basic skills: horse stance, sword swings, and slashing. Finally, we'd spend half an hour sparring before finishing our meal.

In the afternoon, I went to the area around Liyue Harbor to find monsters and engage in life-or-death battles with them.

After two days, Jiang Bai was completely drained, his eyes were sunken, and he was listless, as if some fox spirit had sucked away his yang energy.

He lay on the soft grass of Tianheng Mountain, feeling the sunlight on his body, not wanting to move at all.

Walnut's large face came closer, blocking the sunlight from above.

She put her hands on her hips, frowning in confusion, "How did you become so weak in just two days?"

She only felt a little tired during the same training, but why did this guy look like he was about to die?

Jiang Bai shakily stretched out his finger and pointed to a rocky hill not far away, with no vegetation growing on it.

Under Hu Tao's puzzled gaze, the mountain vanished into elements.

walnut:!!!

She finally understood why this guy had been so weak all along; it turned out he had been maintaining the elemental creations.

She plopped down on the grass and patted Jiang Bai's head with satisfaction. "Not bad! If you train for another six months at this rate, you should be able to put up a fight against that [lady]."

As the rock elemental mountain dissipated, Jiang Bai's energy and spirit were instantly restored by half, and he was no longer weak.

He sat up, chin raised, looking like a lone wolf seeking defeat: "What does the strength of a single battle matter? She will surely become my defeated opponent!"

"Since you're so determined, let's continue!" Hu Tao stood up and pointed to the distant hillside. "There's a Fool's camp over there. Let's go and take them down!"

Hearing Hu Tao's words, Jiang Bai immediately lay back down on the grass, listless, "Let me rest a little longer..."

Hu Tao crossed her arms and stared speechlessly at Jiang, who had just been spouting nonsense.

"Okay, let's rest for another ten minutes."

The previously vanished rocky mountain reappeared under Jiang Bai's manipulation.

Jiang Bai collapsed headfirst into the mud, drained dry once more.

"Master, you should also train your elemental power more."

"Do you need to tell me? Where do you think the flames in the crematorium of the Hall of Rebirth came from?" Hu Tao raised her chin slightly.

Her method of training elemental power is different from Jiang Bai's; what she needs to maintain is absolute energy intensity.

The high-temperature flames that could quickly burn a corpse to ashes were what she maintained.