Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

"What if you make a decision alone, or what if you conspire together?"

"If it's just Tianquan Star making the decision alone, then it means that Ningguang's power has reached an unparalleled level, and none of the other seven stars can oppose her decisions. And with the death of the Geo Archon, the top power structure of Liyue will only consist of the seven stars, making her the biggest beneficiary of the Geo Archon's murder!"

D'Artagnan paused, then continued, "And this, this looks like something Ningguang orchestrated for her own maximum benefit!"

Zhongli listened quietly to him speak. Just moments before, Jiang Bai had confidently declared that he was the murderer, and now Dadalia was certain that the murderer was Ningguang.

It's a pretty strange feeling.

He did not deny D'Artagnan's conjecture, "From a purely rational point of view, the greatest beneficiary is indeed the most likely person. But how exactly can a mortal harm a god?"

"That's hard to say," D'Artagnan said with a mysterious smile. "Does Mr. Zhongli know how the seats of our Fools' Enforcers are arranged?"

Zhongli shook his head. "I don't know."

"The executive positions are allocated based on strength, and our top three positions are all held by individuals with strength comparable to that of a god!"

Dadalia was quite proud of this.

It should be noted that this kind of absolute military force is something only they possess during the winter.

Even in Liyue, where there are many immortals, they are still inferior in terms of pure strength.

After all, not every immortal is good at fighting, and there aren't many immortals with the fighting power of a demon god.

Zhongli followed his words and said, "Do you think Ningguang is hiding her strength, and that her strength has already reached the level of a god?"

"It's not impossible."

Zhongli suddenly laughed, but the meaning of his laughter was unclear.

"Mr. Zhongli, what are you laughing at?" Dadalia was completely baffled.

Is his guess funny?

Zhongli shook his head and remained silent.

Jiang Bai should really hear D'Artagnan's conjecture; that's the kind of conjecture a normal person would have.

"If Ningguang truly possesses this strength, then succeeding the Rock God is not impossible."

Dadalia was surprised by Zhongli's attitude. "Mr. Zhongli, you support her?"

"I just want Liyue to be at peace."

……

Kong and Paimeng were on the top floor of Wangshu Inn. They were both amazed by the magnificent view from the top floor.

"Wow~"

"But where are the immortals listed on the map?" Paimon held his hand in front of his eyes and looked around.

"According to the innkeeper, the immortals here like to eat almond tofu, so let's offer up some fresh almond tofu first."

As he spoke, Kong placed the almond tofu and his signature dishes on the rooftop table, and at the same time took out the "Unfettered Taboo Book".

"Immortal, we have important matters to report. Please show yourself."

Xiao's figure appeared in front of the table, glanced at the almond tofu on the table, then his gaze fell on the Unfettered Talisman, and finally settled on the faces of the two strangers.

What do you want to tell me?

"Emperor Yan Wang was murdered during the Immortal Invocation Ceremony!"

Xiao paused for a moment upon hearing this, then tried to appear completely unaware of it.

"Emperor Yan... has actually suffered such a calamity... I cannot imagine..."

"We cannot determine the cause of the Rock King Emperor's death. Some say he may have reached the end of his lifespan, others say he may have been assassinated, and the Seven Stars and the Fools are also involved. In short, there are various theories. We would like to ask the immortals to investigate..."

Seeing that this immortal seemed quite approachable, Paimon talked a bit more.

"I am aware of this matter. Go and inform the other immortals."

Xiao looked into the distance at the many mountains, and through the layers of mountains, he seemed to see Liyue Harbor.

"Mortal souls are too weak, and my aura of malevolence is too heavy. I will not go to Liyue Harbor unless absolutely necessary."

Chapter 271 What do you think of Xiao Shangxian?

After saying that, Xiao flung his robes and sat down in a chair to begin enjoying the offerings.

"Is that all?" Paimon seemed a little bewildered.

It seems that this immortal's reaction is not quite what they expected.

Xiao paused in his eating of almond tofu, seemingly realizing that his reaction was somewhat inadequate.

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Among immortals, I am skilled in killing but not in governance, and I am guarding this place and cannot leave without permission. If I were to take action, it would be to suppress them directly."

“Suppress…suppress?” Paimon was shocked.

Why does this seemingly easy-going immortal use such words as his first words?

Xiao said with murderous intent, "Eliminate all the suspected Seven Star Fools, and this matter will naturally be settled."

Paimon quickly waved his hand, "No, no, no, the situation hasn't been investigated yet, we can't do that!"

"Therefore, I cannot go to Liyue Harbor alone."

Xiao offered a perfectly reasonable explanation for his actions: "According to what you've said, the situation is unclear, and there might be a conspiracy involved. I cannot leave this place without permission. Once you have informed all the immortals, I will go to Liyue Harbor with them to investigate this matter."

"Yes, yes, yes! Let's do it!" Paimon nodded vigorously, as if afraid that this ruthless star might start a massacre in Liyue Harbor at the slightest provocation.

"But why are we stationed here? Is this place really that important?"

"It borders Jueyun Mountain to the west, looks out over Yunlai Sea to the east, reaches Stone Gate to the north, and extends to Liyue Harbor to the south. It is the throat of Liyue and is therefore of great importance."

“That makes sense. Something can’t go wrong in such an important place.” Hearing him say that, Paimon suddenly felt the importance of the matter.

After all, with the Rock King in trouble, Liyue will definitely be thrown into turmoil, and such an important place must be guarded.

"Alright, you can't stay with me any longer. Go and find other immortals." Xiao gave them the order to leave.

"I have not yet asked for the immortal's name," Kong suddenly spoke.

"I am the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons—Xiao."

Leaving Wangshu Inn, Paimon glanced back at the high rooftop of the inn and let out a long sigh.

"I don't know why, but even though that immortal is quite easy to talk to, I feel so nervous when I'm around him!"

After thinking for a moment, Kong thought, "It must be because of the evil aura. That immortal said that he had a lot of evil aura on him, which was harmful to mortals."

"That's truly a kind immortal, worried about us getting hurt. Let's bring him a few more servings of almond tofu when we return from finding the other immortals..."

......

Not long after Kong and Paimon left Wangshu Inn, Jiang Bai also appeared at Wangshu Inn.

He came to buy red dates.

As the largest inn in the area, Wangshu Inn must have the best red dates stored for use as ingredients.

As for why I didn't pick them myself, that's ridiculous! The jujubes are still just jujube blossoms!

Upon reaching the counter, Jiang Bai asked directly, "Boss, do you have any jujubes from the oldest jujube tree on Dihua Island?"

Phil Gaudette thought for a moment, "There are dates, but it would be difficult to find the ones on the branches."

After all, when harvesting jujubes, no one will separate the ones on the branches, in the middle of the tree, or among the leaves; at most, they will separate the good ones from the bad ones.

Jiang Bai then settled for second best, saying, "Then I want the best-looking jujubes from that tree."

"Then you'll have to choose for yourself."

Phil Gaudette led Jiang Bai to the storeroom and took out a small bag of red dates that was carefully packed in a cloth bag.

This small bag contains the best red dates harvested last year. They have small pits, lots of flesh, thin skin, are round, and sweet. Even Wangshu Inn only has this one bag of these top-grade red dates.

"I wonder what Young Master Jiang intends to do with these red dates?" Phil Goddette asked curiously.

"As a gift for becoming an apprentice." Jiang Bai carefully selected the best-looking few from among them.

Phil Gaudette paused for a moment, recalling the connection between red dates and the apprenticeship ceremony from her distant memories.

"The Six Rites custom for apprenticeship is quite ancient. Nowadays, red dates are rarely used in apprenticeship ceremonies, so I didn't even realize it at first. May I ask who Young Master Jiang wishes to apprentice to?"

"Who else could it be but our knowledgeable, erudite, and fussy guest, Mr. Zhongli..." Jiang Bai said, his voice filled with resentment.

“So it’s Mr. Zhongli…” Clearly, Phil Goddette had also heard about Zhongli’s refined tastes.

Jiang Bai picked out five of the best ones from the small bag and looked at Phil Goddette, "Boss, how much?"

"It's just a few red dates, nothing precious. I'll give them to Brother Jiang as a gift, and wish him a successful apprenticeship."

"Thank you so much! I'll definitely patronize your business next time!"

Suddenly remembering something, Jiang Bai asked, "By the way, is Xiao there? I haven't seen him in a long time. I'll go say hello to him."

“Yes, the two travelers just saw him not long ago. He seems to be in a good mood. You should be able to see him.” Philgaudet didn’t hide anything.

As the innkeeper, she was fully aware of everything that happened at the inn, including the fact that Jiang Bai and Hu Tao had dinner with Xiao.

"Then I'll bring him some almond tofu as well."

Jiang Bai said this as he headed towards the kitchen.

Xiao, who had just finished eating almond tofu, saw another serving of almond tofu, and Jiang, who was smiling broadly in front of him.

Jiang Bai waved to Xiao, who suddenly appeared, "Xiao, I brought you almond tofu, come and eat!"

"I've already eaten." Xiao crossed his arms, showing no intention of going over.

Jiang Bai didn't care about any of that and pulled him over to sit down. "That's different. I made this myself! You're eating his food and not mine. That's being unfair!"

elf:"......"

Xiao, unsure how to react, exuded a cold aura with a blank expression.

Jiang Bai didn't care whether there was air conditioning or not, and shoved the chopsticks into his hand, "Eat! Eat! I tasted it when I made it, it's a rare exception."

Xiao suddenly regretted showing up.

This guy is just like a walnut, always climbing up the pole.

Having just eaten a lot of food, he didn't really have any appetite, but luckily he was an immortal, so he wouldn't feel full no matter how much he ate.

He picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and, under Jiang Bai's expectant gaze, commented, "It's acceptable."

Seeing that he had eaten, Jiang Bai then revealed the purpose of his visit.

"Now that the traveler has come, you must know about the Emperor's murder."

"Hmm. You came here for this matter too?"

"No, it's mainly because we're procuring things at the request of our guest elder. We thought you might get bored here every day, so we just wanted to check on you."

Xiao corrected him, "I'm not bored, and I don't need to visit."

Seeing that Xiao's tone was a bit unpleasant, Jiang Bai quickly tried to appease him, "Yes, yes, the Great Sage Who Subdues Demons is busy protecting all living beings, of course he's not bored."

"Humph."

Xiao crossed his arms, put down his chopsticks, and snorted coldly.

Chapter 272 The Next Rock God

Seeing that Xiao was about to disappear, Jiang Bai quickly stopped teasing him.

"I'd like to ask Xiao what your opinion is on the Emperor's murder."

Xiao remained silent for a long time regarding this question.

What do you think?

Sit and watch.

As a subject, he had no right to interfere with what the Emperor wanted to do.

"I...cannot imagine Liyue without the Emperor...Once we gather all the immortals, we will definitely go to Liyue Harbor to investigate this matter and wipe out all the demons and monsters!" Xiao said, his murderous intent fully revealed.

Clearly, he was not joking when he said he was eradicating all evil spirits.