Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

Jiang Bai began to worry about whether Zhongli could survive under the pressure from the immortals...

He tentatively asked, "After the Emperor's soul returned to the heavens, do you think there will be a next Rock God?"

"I don't know," Xiao shook his head.

Do you know Zhongli, our guest elder at the Hall of Rebirth?

Upon hearing the name, Xiao's eyelashes twitched.

"I've heard about it, what's wrong?"

What do you think of him becoming the next Geo Archon?

elf:?

He blinked, then blinked again, looking unusually bewildered.

Didn't the Emperor want to step down? Why did he become the second Rock God?

He remained silent for a long time, then turned his head away under Jiang Bai's somewhat eager gaze.

"I've only heard Hu Tao mention this person; I don't know much more about him, so I can't answer your question."

"Yes, my question was a bit too difficult..." Jiang Bai sighed, propping his head up.

Xiao turned his head. "Why are you asking this?"

"It's nothing, it's just that after the Emperor's soul returned to the heavens, there must be a successor, so I came to ask for your opinion, immortals."

Jiang Bai, of course, would not tell the truth.

His relationship with Zhongli was clearly closer than his relationship with Xiao.

Although he has been slandering Zhongli these past few days, he actually still respects this gentleman who guided him from the beginning, and considers him both a teacher and a friend.

He didn't really feel much about the death of the Rock God, since he didn't know the Rock God and didn't feel any sadness about the death of this god.

He just didn't like the hall master being sad.

But since he's already dead, there's no point in saying anything more. People always have to look to the future.

If Zhongli becomes the next Rock God, then he will be the Rock God's disciple, and their Rebirth Hall will also rise to prominence.

But how will Zhongli, now that he's become the Rock God, overcome the challenge of becoming an immortal?

Jiang Bai left with a heavy heart, leaving Xiao looking bewildered.

Xiao slowly finished eating the almond tofu on the table, thought for a while, and finally decided to go to Liyue Harbor to find the Emperor.

He needed to find out exactly what the Emperor meant, lest he inadvertently ruin the Emperor's plans.

Xiao arrived at Liyue Harbor at night. Zhongli sat in his courtyard, drinking alone by the moonlight.

Xiao suddenly appeared in front of him, bowing slightly in respect, "Your Majesty."

Why are you here?

Zhongli poured him a cup of wine and gestured for him to sit down.

Xiao sat stiffly across from him, staring at the wine glass in front of him.

I met Jiang Bai at Wangshu Inn today.

"Oh?" Zhongli raised an eyebrow, a hint of interest appearing in his eyes. "What did he tell you?"

Xiao looked up, clearly puzzled. "He asked me if the immortals would search for a successor to the Rock God, and how they viewed your mortal status as the next Rock God..."

Zhongli laughed, a laugh that left Xiao completely bewildered.

"That guy, he talks a big game about complaining, but his actions certainly live up to it..."

elf:?

What is the Emperor saying? Why can't he understand a word of it?

Zhongli explained to him in a good mood, "He thinks I'm the murderer of the Rock King Emperor, and believes that I killed the Rock King Emperor in order to become the next Rock God..."

elf:"......"

He almost laughed, but he held it in.

Honestly, if the Emperor really wanted to continue being the Rock God, why would he need to fake his death and then use his own identity to become the second Emperor?

This speculation is truly outrageous.

However, it's understandable that people who don't know the truth would make such a guess.

"Then, Your Majesty, aren't you going to explain this to him?"

Xiao was genuinely worried that Jiang Bai might do something foolish, causing the burden that the Emperor had finally managed to unload to return to his shoulders.

"Why explain?" Zhongli knew Xiao's worries, but they were somewhat unnecessary.

Given Jiang Bai's personality, he wouldn't do anything intentionally.

At most, it's just testing the immortal's attitude like today.

He gestured for Xiao to drink, and Xiao silently obeyed, downing the wine in his cup in one gulp.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, or perhaps it was talking about Jiang Bai's foolish deeds, but the atmosphere was more relaxed, and he relaxed a lot, sitting much more naturally.

Seeing that Xiao had relaxed considerably, Zhongli's eyes sparkled with a smile.

The child was always very reserved in his presence, and even after a thousand years, this habit remained unchanged.

Now that he is no longer the Rock King Emperor, but merely the mortal Zhongli, he no longer needs to adhere to the former etiquette between ruler and subject.

Zhongli poured Xiao another cup of wine and began to tell him more interesting stories.

"He's convinced I'm the murderer. No matter what I say or do, he only becomes more convinced of his own suspicions, ignoring other factors. For example, he's convinced I have a grudge against the Geo Archon and want to undermine Liyue's rule, completely ignoring the fact that I did nothing wrong..."

Xiao's lips curled into a smile, clearly amused.

It's unbelievable that someone like Jiang Bai would think such outrageous things.

It's no wonder they're both trained by Hu Tao; neither of them follows the usual path.

If other immortals knew about this, they would probably laugh out loud without any restraint, and then use this incident to ridicule each other for hundreds or thousands of years.

"I'm quite curious to see how he'll react when he finds out who I am..." Zhong Li took a sip of wine, a clear smile playing on his lips.

Hopefully, Jiang Bai won't bury his head in the sand like an ostrich.

Seeing that the Emperor was so interested, Xiao also wanted to know what kind of scene it was, but because of his personality, he did not say what he was thinking.

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a voice coming from afar, and Xiao's figure vanished in an instant.

"Mr. Zhongli, I've gathered everything." Jiang Bai, carrying several lotus pods, lotus flowers, and lotus leaves, rolled up his trousers and stepped into Zhongli's courtyard.

He was wearing slippers, and his trouser legs were still covered in mud from when he went into the lake to pick lotus pods.

He casually placed the lotus seedpod on the table, then plopped down on the stool opposite Zhongli.

To avoid being away for too long, he spent a lot of money buying these things from all over the place, and even went to Huachi near Mount Aozang to pick lotus pods.

He glanced at the half-empty wine glass in front of him and asked in surprise, "Mr. Zhongli, who are you drinking with?"

Zhongli did not answer his question, but instead focused her gaze on the lotus pods he had brought.

"Didn't you refuse to become my disciple? How come you've gathered all the necessary items so quickly?"

The demon, hidden in the shadows, stared in shock upon hearing this.

Chapter 273 Xiao: This is too exciting!

So shocked was Xiao that he almost failed to conceal his figure.

Fortunately, Jiang Bai's attention was entirely on Zhong Li at the moment, and he did not notice him hiding in the shadows.

He looked at the Emperor, completely baffled as to why he suddenly wanted to take on disciples.

"Hmph, I knew I was right. You just wanted to find an excuse to get rid of me so you could secretly do something bad. Are you disappointed that I finished so quickly?" Jiang Bai crossed his arms, looking as if he had seen through Jiang Bai's plan.

Zhongli took the wine cup that Xiao had drunk from to the other side, took out a new wine cup, poured him a cup of wine, and gestured for him to sit down.

"So what if it is, and so what if it isn't?"

Jiang Bai sat down in the chair and saw Zhong Li's expression that said, "So what if you can't do anything to me?" He puffed out his cheeks and turned his head to the side.

"No way."

Ever since he saw through Zhongli's schemes, Zhongli stopped pretending and revealed her true colors. And he was completely helpless against her. How infuriating!

"Take the item out and let me see it," Zhong Li said.

Jiang Bai did as instructed and took out six items, which he had either bought, picked, or asked someone for.

Dried meat, red dates, celery, dried longan, lotus seeds, and red beans filled the table.

Zhongli glanced at them briefly and said, "Not bad, they are indeed all top-quality ingredients."

"Everything's ready, and he said he'd take me as his apprentice! Don't even think about going back on your word!" Jiang Bai stared at him warily, afraid he might change his mind.

Zhong Li took a sip of wine, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Didn't you say you didn't want to?"

“You’ll soon be the next Rock God, only a fool wouldn’t want that!” Jiang Bai said confidently.

Seeing Jiang Bai's attitude towards the Emperor, Xiao's expression became somewhat strained, and he and Pu Yuan were itching to make a move.

"You're mistaken. I have no interest in the position of Rock God. So, would you still be willing to become my disciple?"

"Really?" Jiang Bai was somewhat skeptical.

Zhongli remained silent, simply waiting for his reply.

Jiang Bai thought about it carefully.

He knew that Zhongli was giving him time to think it over carefully. After all, becoming an apprentice was not a casual matter, and not everyone had as many masters as Xiangling.

Master is both teacher and father.

To impart knowledge, teach skills, and resolve doubts.

It was Zhongli who led him onto the path of controlling the elements. Whenever he encountered a problem, he would subconsciously seek Zhongli's help. Zhongli even knew many things that the hall master did not know, and in his heart, Zhongli was his mentor.

The fact that they are now taking on a master simply brings them closer together.

I used to joke that the 100 million Mora was for Zhongli's retirement, but after becoming his apprentice, it really is for Zhongli's retirement.

There wasn't much to consider. He had already thought it through when he went to find these things, but he just had to be stubborn about it.

Whether he becomes the next Rock God or just Zhongli, it doesn't really matter to him.

After all, he'd even ridden on the back of the wind god, yet he didn't feel particularly special...

"Of course I'll pay my respects. Do you think I'm respecting you because you'll become the next Geo Archon?" Jiang Bai picked up his glass and downed the wine in one gulp. "To tell you the truth, when I broke my leg in Mondstadt, it was the Anemo Archon who carried me out of Mondstadt!"

pat-

A tile on the roof is broken.

Jiang Bai looked at the roof curiously. "Is there something on the roof? Why is there a sound?"

"Perhaps some birds accidentally fell onto the roof." Zhongli didn't turn around; he simply picked up his wine glass, concealing the smile on his lips.

"Oh, I'll check it for you when it's light, so it doesn't leak when it rains and damage your precious collection." Jiang Bai didn't think much of it, after all, no one would expect that there would be an invisible immortal eavesdropping on their conversation on the roof.

"The wind god carried you? I've never heard you mention that before?"

"That's because I was afraid you'd think the gods were nothing special, so I didn't say anything." Jiang Bai took another swig of wine.

Now that the Geo Archon is dead, this kind of thing is no longer important.

"You wouldn't believe it, the Wind God was among us back then. He got beaten up horribly by that woman. She kicked him right against the wall and then ripped his Heart of God out..."

click-

Another tile on the roof broke.

"Why do birds keep falling onto the roof?" Jiang Bai frowned and looked at the roof, thinking there might be someone up there.

Otherwise, why would he keep mentioning that the tile broke at a crucial moment?

But under the moonlight, the view of the rooftop was completely clear; there was nothing there.

"Perhaps the tiles have aged from being used for too long," Zhongli said casually.