Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

"The sect leader mustn't find out!!"

Jiang Bai jumped up, almost knocking over the tea table because of the sudden movement.

Zhong Li curled her lips into a smile, her pleasure growing even stronger. "Since you don't want her to know, then you'd better work for me obediently."

Jiang Bai's expression was even worse than if he were crying.

If he could travel back in time, he would definitely slap the version of himself who possessed Zhongli's Eye to death.

They were so happy when they got it, but now the price is coming their way.

"What do you want me to do? Let's make it clear first: it can't be detrimental to the Hall Master, nor can it be detrimental to the Hall of Rebirth! Otherwise, even if you force me, I won't do it!"

Zhongli looked at him with a complicated yet satisfied expression. "You are truly sincere towards the Hall Master."

Although this guy is a bit eccentric and has a wild imagination, he's absolutely devoted to walnuts.

However, being nice to Hu Tao now doesn't mean he'll be nice to her in the future. His memory hasn't returned yet, and people's hearts are fickle, so we still need to observe him carefully.

"Without the hall master, I wouldn't be who I am today."

Chapter 269 He Wants to Become My Apprentice

Hu Tao noticed that Jiang Bai had been acting very strangely these past few days.

He actually ran to Zhongli's courtyard at the crack of dawn, and did this every day for two or three days.

Not only that, he followed Zhongli everywhere he went.

When Zhongli was walking his bird, he carried the cage. When Zhongli was watching a play, he massaged his shoulders. When Zhongli entered a restaurant, he served the dishes and poured the tea.

She became exactly like Zhongli's servant.

Walnut, who had been following him all day, was completely baffled by this.

Although Ningguang, who was attending the ceremony, had given a gag order and the news of the Emperor's murder had not yet spread, the few of them still knew about it.

Why are these two people not investigating or worrying about the Emperor's murder, and instead having the time to go out shopping and watch operas every day?

What exactly did Zhongli have to do with Jiang Bai that made Jiang Bai so obedient, like a follower?

After guessing for a long time, Hu Tao finally couldn't resist and came out to pat Jiang Bai on the shoulder, who was standing aside in a daze.

Jiang Bai felt that his life these past few days was very different from what he had imagined.

He thought Zhongli would send him to conspire with the Fools, or to spread rumors in the city about the Emperor's murder, shifting the blame onto Seven Stars, and then remove Seven Stars from his current position as ruler, thus creating momentum for himself and ultimately becoming the sole ruler of Liyue.

As a result, the imagined world and the reality seemed to be two different worlds.

There were no conspiracies or schemes as he expected, no killing sprees. Instead, he spent his time walking his birds, listening to operas, drinking tea, occasionally strolling through the streets, trying new dishes, and then being ordered around as a personal servant...

However, he did not believe that Zhongli had really done nothing these past few days. There must have been some secret code or code that he had not discovered, which he had unknowingly passed on the things he was going to do while he was listening to the opera and drinking tea.

The reason he couldn't find it was because the code was too subtle; it was just an inconspicuous action like tapping a teacup or the table.

After all, he must have planned for a long time to become the ruler of Liyue, and he had a very strict organizational and communication structure.

He was only forced onto the ship, and ultimately he is still not trusted. Only through Zhongli's investigation can one truly glimpse a corner of his underground organization.

Suddenly, Jiang Bai felt a tap on his shoulder. Startled, he looked behind him warily.

He breathed a huge sigh of relief when he found out it was walnut.

"Something's wrong with you, something's really wrong with you." Hu Tao's brows were furrowed so deeply they could trap a mosquito.

Whether it was her reaction to patting his shoulder just now, or his unusual behavior these past few days, something was clearly wrong.

Zhongli, who was listening to the opera, glanced at Hu Tao and continued listening.

Jiang Bai scratched his head. "Really?"

Hu Tao crossed her arms and looked him up and down. "What exactly did the old man catch you doing that he made you follow him around like a servant every day?"

"And I've been following you all day, and you didn't even notice."

"Huh?" Jiang Bai was even more confused.

Did Hu Tao follow him for a whole day?

His attention was entirely focused on Zhongli, watching her every move, and he didn't notice anything else.

Seeing Jiang Bai's dazed expression, Hu Tao glared angrily at Zhong Li.

Look at what they've done to his underlings these past few days! They've become completely dazed!

"Did the old man threaten you with something? I, the master of this hall, will stand up for you!"

Hearing Hu Tao's words, Jiang Bai was deeply moved. It was all worth it for him to humble himself for the sake of the hall master!

"Master, you're wronging me," Zhongli said, putting down his teacup and making a helpless expression.

"I'm just a lowly guest retainer, how could I possibly command him? He's the one who needs my help, you can ask him if you don't believe me."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Bai's face scrunched up.

He had truly witnessed Zhongli's shamelessness. He had clearly used the hall master to blackmail him, yet he could still pretend that he hadn't done anything and shift the blame onto Zhongli.

He's really cunning!

When Hu Tao turned to look at him, Jiang Bai's expression instantly changed, and he lowered his head meekly, "That's right, I need something from Mr. Zhongli..."

"What are you asking him for? Can't you ask me, the head of this hall?" Hu Tao put her hands on her hips, feeling that her position as the head of the hall had been challenged.

"Uh...this..." Jiang Bai's mind raced, trying to figure out what reason could reasonably explain all of this.

In the end, Zhongli gave a reasonable explanation.

He gently blew on the tea in his cup. "He wants to become my apprentice."

Jiang Bai:! ! !

He didn't have that idea! Don't arbitrarily assign him a title!

walnut:!!!

Hu Tao patted his shoulder with satisfaction, "Not bad, not bad, you finally have this kind of awareness. Our guest elders are very powerful. You have to have this kind of sincerity to become an apprentice."

After saying that, she walked away with her hands behind her back, completely unaware of Jiang Bai's ferocious expression behind her.

Jiang Bai glared angrily at Zhong Li.

When did he decide to become his disciple?

Now that Hu Tao knows, he has no choice but to become her disciple!

They really went to great lengths to tie him tightly to his ship, how despicable!

Seeing Jiang Bai's furious expression, Zhong Li raised an eyebrow, giving him a "what can you do to me?" look.

Back then, so many people wanted to become his disciples, but he refused them all. Now that he's in the mood to take on a disciple, he's still unwilling.

However, it's quite amusing to see Jiang Bai so submissive to his tyranny.

"Since you're going to become an apprentice, you need to prepare an apprenticeship gift. I wonder if you've prepared one yet?"

"When did I say I wanted to become your apprentice?" Jiang Bai laughed in anger at such shameless words.

Zhongli completely ignored his words and said to herself, "Oh, really? Is Mora ready?"

Jiang Bai: Clenched fist.jpg

"However, there are some rules to follow if you want to become my disciple."

"The six gifts of rice are indispensable. The dried meat must be made from the hind leg of the best wild boar from Qingquan Town, and the celery must be the tenderest stalk from the fields of Qingce Village."

"The dried longan must be made from the finest jade-like longan of the season, the lotus seeds must be freshly picked from Huachi north of Mount Aozang, the red dates must be one or two from the oldest red date tree in Dihua Island, and the red beans must be wild red beans from Mount Tianheng..."

"The apprenticeship tea is also indispensable. The apprenticeship tea is even more particular. It must be made with the freshest dew from the glass lilies in the early morning, picked over seven days, and then the freshest tender bud from the tea ancestor offered by Qiaoying Manor..."

"Even the Rock King Emperor isn't this particular when accepting disciples! You're not even an emperor yet, but you're already putting on airs!"

Jiang Bai slammed his fist on the table, he was furious.

Leaving aside how troublesome these requirements are, the apprenticeship tea is even more outrageous.

Since he is the tea ancestor worshipped by Qiaoying Manor, how could you possibly pick his tea leaves at will?

We also need to collect dew from the petals of seven-day-old glass lilies!

Why doesn't he just go to heaven!

In response to his impotent rage, Zhongli curled his lips and said, "Whether you can become a disciple depends on your sincerity. I will report the situation to the hall master."

Chapter 270 You really should have a face-to-face debate

Ahhhhh!

Jiang Bai was furious!

How can there be such shameless people in the world?!

They even threatened him with the sect leader's name!

But he actually fell for this trick!

Jiang Bai was internally screaming in frustration.

"I believe in your sincerity and I'm sure you'll be able to collect all six gifts before the traveler returns. As for the apprenticeship tea, there's no rush. We can drink it after this matter is settled."

Zhongli spoke calmly and slowly, but his words made Jiang Bai grit his teeth.

Jiang Bai: No! He doesn't want to!

He quickly calmed down and considered Zhongli's intentions.

"You're trying to get me away so you can do something in secret, right?" Jiang Bai felt he had grasped the key point.

“That’s not quite right. You already know the biggest things, so why would I need to hide anything else from you?” Zhongli chuckled.

All the preparations are complete; now all that's left is for the performers to take the stage and play.

Jiang Bai crossed his arms and turned his head away. "Hmph, who would believe that!"

Although he said that, he was already making plans in his mind.

It is now the third day since the Rock God was killed. If we only travel during the day, according to Sora's pace, we should have met Xiao at Wangshu Inn by now.

After traveling for another two days, he can reach Jueyunjian. After that, it will take another two days to reach Aozangshan and Hulaoshan. Including rest time, time to find the immortal, and time to explain the time to the immortal, he still has five days to get these things.

Although some items may be past their season or not yet in season, as long as you have Mora, you can buy some decent quality items in Liyue to pass off as such.

In any case, Zhongli's intention was to send him out, and he wouldn't care too much about the quality of the items.

That way, he only needs to pick the lotus seeds himself, and he can teleport through the teleportation anchor point. If things go smoothly, he can be back by tomorrow morning, so it won't take too long.

Thinking about it this way, he suddenly realized that making such a request wasn't difficult.

Moreover, this guy will be the next Rock God soon, and he's actually quite happy to be a disciple of the Rock God.

"Don't even think about causing trouble while I'm gone. I'll have the gang leader keep an eye on you!"

After saying that, Jiang Bai raised his chin, uttered a harsh remark, and turned away with a completely satisfied expression.

Zhongli happily drank the tea in his cup in one gulp.

Not long after Jiang Bai left, D'Artagnan sat down at Zhong Li's table.

"Mr. Zhongli seems to be in a good mood."

"Something happy happened."

"Oh? Why don't you tell me about it?" D'Artagnan asked, quite curious.

You see, he had met Zhongli many times, and most of the time he was in a very calm state, without much emotional fluctuation. He was really curious about what could make Mr. Zhongli so happy.

Zhongli Dan smiled but remained silent, showing no intention of speaking to him.

"What brings you here today, young master?"

"I just wanted to ask Mr. Zhongli what he thinks of the Seven Stars' approach," Dadalia stated frankly.

"What did the Seven Stars do?" Zhongli asked knowingly.

"The Seven Stars have blocked the news of the Rock God's murder, but it's unclear whether this was done by Tianquan Star alone or a conspiracy by all the Seven Stars..."