Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

Ningguang pulled a map from the table and handed it to Kong. "There are many immortals in Liyue. It would be difficult to search blindly. This is a map, which marks the locations of the immortals' caves."

Paimon was puzzled by Ningguang's behavior. "Aren't you going to stop us from going to find the immortals?"

Ningguang chuckled, "The matter of the Emperor's murder could not be hidden in the first place. Immortals should also have the right to know. Just tell the truth."

"Oh."

Paimon couldn't figure out if there was some hidden agenda, but since the Seven Stars had already sent them and given them a map, he might as well go.

"Everyone, I have some things to take care of first. Please let me know as soon as you have any news."

"Go ahead and get busy, we can go back on our own." Hu Tao waved her hand, indicating that she didn't need to worry about them.

After leaving Yujingtai, Jiang Bai stopped Kong and Paimeng, who were about to go to find the immortal.

They were led to a secluded corner, their eyes filled with confusion.

At the same time, he kept glancing around to avoid being overheard.

"Hey, what are you doing handing out flyers?"

"I have something to tell you, but you should keep it to yourselves and never tell anyone else."

Jiang Bai gestured for them to lean closer and whispered, "Zhongli covets the divine position of the Rock King Emperor; he wants to be the next Rock King Emperor!"

"What?!" Sora and Paimon both gaped in surprise.

They nervously glanced around to make sure no one noticed their unusual behavior.

"Why do you say that?" Paimon asked, puzzled.

Although I've only known Mr. Zhongli for a short time, he doesn't seem like that kind of person.

Kong didn't know anything about Zhongli, nor was he aware of his strength; he just looked at Jiang Bai with a puzzled expression.

"He has long been dissatisfied with the rule of the Rock King, and it is suspected that he has a huge underground organization that is raising money for him. He is also secretly cooperating with the Fools. In particular, he usually never goes to invite the celestial ceremonies, but today he went to watch the ceremony with us, which is unusual. He didn't even react to the death of the Rock God..."

"Really?" Paimon covered his mouth.

If that's true, then Mr. Zhongli is truly terrifying.

"Although I don't have any evidence, it's pretty close to the truth." Jiang Bai earnestly advised the two of them, "You must be careful of him and not be fooled by him."

Kong and Paimon nodded in unison; they would keep it in mind.

Jiang Bai patted them on the shoulder and watched them leave Liyue Harbor.

Hu Tao and Zhong Li had been waiting for him. When he finally arrived, Hu Tao crossed her arms and said, "What are you whispering to them about? You're being so secretive."

"I told them that immortals enjoy earthly food, so when they go to see the immortals, they can bring them some food; that way, the immortals will be more likely to see them..."

Jiang Bai asked, "Master, should we use the long-distance communication device to tell Shen He this news?"

If Shen He knows, it means her master knows too, and in that case, the other immortals will surely find out quickly as well.

“No need.” Hu Tao shook her head. “Once the immortals hear this news, they will definitely rush to Liyue Harbor. The immortals are not so good-tempered. We need to give Seven Stars and Liyue some buffer and preparation time.”

After saying that, she seemed to have thought of something, "I also need to tell Chongyun and the others not to tell Shenhe about this."

As she spoke, she activated the long-distance communication device in her ear.

Seeing how calmly Hu Tao considered the overall situation, Zhong Li couldn't help but sigh.

His little master has grown up too...

Back at the Hall of Rebirth, Zhongli invited Jiang Bai, "Would you like to come over for a drink?"

Jiang Bai sensed that Zhong Li's intentions were not good, so he looked at Hu Tao with pleading eyes.

Hu Tao didn't notice his pleading look. She went straight to the library. "You two drink, I need to check the books to see if I can find anything..."

“Okay…” Jiang Bai followed Zhong Li into the courtyard listlessly.

From the moment he asked if it was from his place, he knew there was no escaping this.

Seeing his reaction, Zhong Li found it somewhat amusing.

In his mind, was he really that scary?

He leisurely sat down at his tea table, boiled water, and brewed tea.

Jiang Bai sat opposite him, feeling as if needles were pricking his buttocks on the stool, making him extremely uncomfortable.

That's the downside of talking to Zhongli; he's slow and takes forever to get to the point.

Seeing how restless he was, Zhongli found it quite amusing.

He calmly poured him some tea, saying, "You seem to know what I want to ask you."

Jiang Bai slumped dejectedly in his chair, "Besides asking me why I suspect you're the murderer, what else can I ask..."

"Hehe, you can tell me why you suspect me."

Zhong Li was genuinely interested in why Jiang Bai suspected him of what he had done, since it didn't seem to him to have guessed his identity at all.

"Because you've long been dissatisfied with Geo..."

Jiang Bai, having given up all hope, truthfully revealed his inner thoughts.

Since the Rock God is already dead, there's no need to keep these things to yourself.

"Me? Dissatisfied with Geo???"

Chapter 268 Zhongli: I've never been so confused before

???

Upon hearing this answer, Zhongli had several question marks appear above his head.

How could he not know that he was dissatisfied with himself?

How did Jiang Bai come to this outrageous conclusion?

"Is not it?"

Seeing Zhongli's reaction, Jiang Bai was now annoyed.

"You once said that gods are just a higher form of being!"

Zhongli didn't understand why he suddenly brought up that sentence. "I'm just stating a fact."

“No normal person would say such a thing! The person who says such a thing is either a god of equal status or a rebel against the gods!”

To some extent, Jiang Bai's words make a lot of sense.

After all, believers in God would never say such a thing.

Zhong Li pinched the bridge of her nose. "Why didn't you guess I was the former?"

Jiang Bai crossed his arms, looking as if he had already seen through Jiang Bai.

"Of course I guessed you might be the former, but do you remember what you said when I told you about the ruins at Guyun Pavilion?"

Zhongli listened attentively.

"You said that many stories of this land are covered by rocks, and that I should dig them out in the future. Aren't you just blatantly saying that the Rock God has done a lot of bad things, and that I should bring these things to light so as to shake the Rock God's rule?"

(°ο°)

Zhongli was stunned when he heard this.

He was unsure what he had heard, so he thought about it again and, after confirming that he hadn't misheard, he was even more confused.

He did say those words, but did he mean that?

What normal person would understand it that way!

(╯°Д°)╯︵┻━┻

His hands, which he had long cultivated in self-discipline, suddenly felt very itchy.

Jiang Bai stated his understanding with conviction:

"【Rock】represents the Geo Archon, and 【covered】means that the Geo Archon has concealed these bad deeds. 【Digging them up】isn't that just letting the bad deeds done by the Geo Archon see the light of day again!"

Jiang Bai became more and more convinced of his own reasoning as he spoke.

After all, if Zhongli is the Rock God, why would he let him undermine the Rock God's rule?

(?_?)

Zhongli held his forehead.

He had lived for over six thousand years, and the last time he was this speechless was when the Seven Kingdoms regime had just been established, and when Wendy, that drunkard, abandoned Mondstadt to come and drink with him.

What's wrong with this guy's brain? Did he damage it while faking his death?

He twisted his perfectly normal words into something like this...

Is there anything else?

He opened his mouth wearily, wanting to hear what other shocking things this guy could say.

"And last year on the Jade Capital Terrace, when you heard Keqing utter those somewhat treasonous words, you showed a meaningful expression. Wasn't that because you thought you had found an ally to overthrow the Rock God's rule, that you smiled so meaningfully!"

Zhongli felt his hands were very itchy, extremely itchy, and he really wanted to punch something.

"continue."

Jiang Bai became increasingly eloquent, "Yuheng Star Ke Qing was the one who presided over the Immortal Invocation Ceremony last year. You cooperated with her, and she secretly plotted against the Rock God during the ceremony. Afterwards, the Rock God returned to heaven, and no one would have known what happened until this time when the Immortal Invocation Ceremony fell from the sky..."

Zhongli remained silent.

To be able to misinterpret it like this, this guy is truly a talent.

He patiently asked, "What do you think is the best way to secretly harm a deity in public without the deity knowing?"

"How would I know? If you want to usurp the position of the Rock God, you must have a way!" Jiang Bai said confidently.

"...When did I ever think of usurping the throne of the Rock God?"

“You told me that ‘human beings do not need gods,’ isn’t that just a blatant attempt to usurp the throne?”

Zhong Li: "......"

Zhong Li realized that Jiang Bai always had his own interpretation of what he said.

"And you even want to deny the achievements of the gods!" Jiang Bai added.

Zhongli laughed in anger, "But I remember you said those words first. Does that mean I can also assume that you want to usurp the position of the Rock God?"

Jiang Bai stared in shock, never expecting that Zhong Li would turn around and bite him!

He jumped up, trying to prove his innocence, "This is slander! I never said that!"

"Although you didn't say it directly, that's what you meant."

Seeing Jiang Bai jump up and down, Zhong Li felt relieved.

You have to think outside the box to talk to him.

"You! You...you!" Jiang Bai stammered for a long time but couldn't come up with anything.

Zhongli slowly took a sip of tea and continued, following his train of thought:

“I gave you the Eye of God, told you about the knowledge and secrets of the gods, and also knew your identity as an outsider. You know that I killed the Rock King Emperor, and now you are sitting across from me. You are already on the same side as me.”

He looked at Jiang Bai with a leisurely air. "So, what do you want to do now that you're in the same boat as me? Go and report me to Qi Xing?"

"You! You ruined me! You're awful!" Jiang Bai pointed at him, and seeing his "what can you do about me?" look, she slumped into a chair.

He really couldn't do anything about Zhongli.

Zhongli is a guest elder of the Hall of Rebirth, and he is also a member of the Hall of Rebirth. The Hall of Rebirth has been passed down for so many years, and the Hall Master is the only descendant of the Hall of Rebirth.

If the public were to find out that it was Zhongli, a guest minister of their Hall of Rebirth, who killed the Rock King Emperor, then the Hall of Rebirth would be overwhelmed by the angry people.

Even walnuts can find themselves in a painful dilemma...

The death of the Rock God is a fait accompli, and there is no benefit to him in testifying against Zhong Li.

Jiang Bai scratched his head in anguish, "You've done me a disservice!"

Zhongli enjoyed his tea and was in a very good mood.

He sighed dramatically, "Alas, I wonder what the Hall Master's reaction will be when he finds out I harmed Emperor Yan..."