Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

After he finished eating the tofu in his bowl, someone else brought in more food, one piece in this hand and one piece in that hand. Soon, the bowl was piled high with food.

Looking at his overflowing bowl, Xiao fell silent.

"Xiao, eat up! These taste pretty good!" Sora and Paimon looked at him expectantly.

Looking at the people at the table, Xiao really wanted to ask, "Why do you all insist on putting food on my plate?" But in the end, he didn't say anything and just ate silently.

"It's rare for you to dine with us, so you should eat more."

"That's it!"

"Eating almond tofu all the time can get boring after a while!"

"Try to try more new foods."

Everyone chimed in with their own comments, and the whole gathering turned into a feeding frenzy for Xiao.

Zhongli watched with a smile, occasionally putting a few pieces of food on Xiao's plate, some light and some spicy. Although the tastes were different, he still ate them all.

A gentle breeze rustled the bamboo leaves, and a crimson flame flickered slowly beneath the copper pot. The broth inside bubbled continuously as food was added and scooped out. The bright moonlight cast shadows of everyone on the ground.

At the round table, apart from Xiao, no one was restrained, and hissing and laughter could be heard from time to time.

Except for Zhongli, everyone else had red and swollen lips, which was from the spiciness.

Finally, Paimon slumped into his chair, rubbing his round belly.

I'm too full to fly anymore, I need to rest.

"That's great! We should get together more often." Hu Tao was also quite full, but she was in a good mood.

She slumped in the chair with one hand on the back, completely undignified.

The one who eats the most is probably Xiao, but since he is an immortal, he can eat several times more food than a normal human can if he wants to.

Xiao sighed slightly, still feeling the spiciness.

His stomach is mostly water now, which he drank to relieve the spiciness.

“We really should get together more often.” Zhongli nodded in agreement, holding a teacup filled with a drink. He looked at everyone and said, “If you have time, you might as well come to my little courtyard more often. I may not have much else, but I can certainly serve you tea.”

Paimon raised his head. "We're not going to bring you a present, are we?!"

Zhongli smiled and said, "If you want, that's certainly possible."

Paimon snapped his head back down.

A gift... never mind!

She couldn't afford the gifts that Zhongli liked.

"No way, no way, you guys didn't come to play with us without bringing any gifts, did you?" Jiang Bai looked at Paimon with a mocking expression, looking particularly irritating.

Paimon wanted to kick him on the head as soon as he flew up. Why did he say that? It was so infuriating.

Jiang Bai grabbed her cloak with one hand, making her kick wildly in the air, but she couldn't even touch Jiang Bai's hand.

In the end, Zhongli couldn't stand it anymore and stopped Jiang Bai from crushing Paimon, saying, "Alright, Xiaobai, stop teasing Paimon."

"Come on."

Jiang Bai released his grip on Paimon's cloak, and Paimon flew up just as his face was about to touch the ground.

She clenched her fists, put her hands on her hips, glared angrily at Jiang Bai, and even imagined two tiny mushroom clouds of explosions appearing around her head to express her fury.

"Jiang Bai, you just wait! I'm going to uproot all the sweet flowers you planted while you're sleeping!"

Jiang Bai looked at her in horror, "You're so vicious!"

"Hmph! I'll teach you to bully me again next time!"

Xiao watched them banter and quietly drank his water.

Zhongli looked at him and said again, "Xiao, you too, if you have nothing to do, come and sit here more often."

This wasn't the first time he'd brought this up, but Xiao always agreed readily, only coming over when there was a specific reason.

"Mm." Xiao nodded somewhat reservedly.

Seeing Xiao's state, Zhongli knew that it would be a long and arduous task to help Xiao adapt to his current identity.

He looked up at the moon in the sky. The moon was bright and clear. There was still a long time ahead. So many people were thinking of him. Life would never be the same as before.

Chapter 397 Diluc's Invitation

That day, Jiang Bai, who was fertilizing the sweet flower at home, received a letter from Diluc.

"Huh, why is Diluc writing to me?"

He was quite surprised to receive Diluc's letter. After all, he and Diluc hadn't had much contact since the Mondstadt disaster.

One is a wine tycoon in Mondstadt, and the other is a worker at the Temple of Rebirth. Without deliberate effort, it would be very difficult for them to have any interaction.

He unfolded the envelope, unaware of what Diluc had written to him.

It's been a while since we last met. I wonder how you've been?

I heard some time ago that the Geo Archon of Liyue had left. You fought a great battle with the Fatui Enforcer, Chosen, in the Golden House and defeated him.

You already possess the strength to defeat the last chief executive of the Fools, so there's no need to worry about you being in danger because of my affairs. It's also a good time to discuss business matters.

I wanted to write to you sooner, but I've been so busy that I only had time recently.

I've prepared a grand feast at Dawn Winery, and I eagerly await our meeting.

Diluc's letter was very simple; he just wanted to talk to Jiang Bai about the business matters they had discussed before.

Jiang Bai slapped his forehead; he had almost forgotten about it.

But then Jiang Bai thought about how Diluc's needs weren't about collecting corpses, but something else, and he wanted to sigh again.

In comparison, collecting a body is much simpler, while fulfilling a last wish is incredibly complicated.

But it would be foolish not to sign a deal, and besides, who is Master Lu anyway?

The richest in Mondstadt!

Signing the Diluc deal will probably bring in more Mora than ten other deals combined!

After all, Diluc had previously stated that this matter was very dangerous, and a wealthy person like him certainly wouldn't be stingy.

After speaking with Hu Tao, Jiang Bai headed straight for Chenxi Winery.

Instead of using the leyline anchor to teleport directly to that area, he rode the wind element, flying for a while and resting for a while, until he arrived at Dawn Winery the following evening.

Jiang Bai's hair was blown by the wind into an upside-down broom shape, but it wasn't completely upside down; instead, it was tilted backward at a 45-degree angle, which looked very trendy.

He arrived at the gate of the Dawn Winery and knocked on the door.

This wasn't his first time visiting Château de Dawn, but each time he was awestruck by its sheer size.

As the residence of the Duluc family, the winery encompasses more than just the castle. The surrounding vineyards, the farmhouses scattered around, the woodlands and streams—all belong to the winery.

Because Dawn Winery is some distance from Mondstadt, the Diluc family built a perimeter wall around their territory early on, taking advantage of the terrain, to protect themselves from wild beasts and monsters.

While not as towering as the gates of Mondstadt, they are still strong enough to withstand attacks from monsters.

The winery even has a formidable patrol team inside, responsible for daily patrols and protecting the winery.

The winery's gates are usually open, and most of the transport of goods and the entry of personnel pass through here.

In addition to the main gate, there are several side gates.

The gatekeeper recognized Jiang Bai, as he had been a guest there before, and his master had specifically mentioned that guests would be coming. Therefore, after Jiang Bai explained his purpose, someone quickly led him into the castle.

"Long time no see, Diluc."

Jiang Bai waved to him.

"It has indeed been a while since I last saw you."

Diluc remained unchanged, his gaze lingering on Jiang Bai's hairstyle. He paused, then continued:

"You must be tired from your journey, take a rest first."

Following Diluc into the reception room, servants immediately brought out refreshments and tea.

Jiang Bai washed his hands, sat down on the soft sofa, ate some snacks and drank some tea, and then sighed again at the comfortable life of the aristocracy.

Look at their leader; even though he's born into a powerful family, he still doesn't have servants to wait on him, and he always sits on a hard bench.

"Let's rest here tonight."

It's almost evening now, and by the time we finish dinner, it will be nearly dark. We can talk about his matter tomorrow; it's the same.

"Then I shall respectfully accept your offer!"

"How did you know I fought with the young master? Not many people know about this, right?"

Jiang Bai asked curiously.

This matter didn't spread much. Apart from Qixing and some of Qianyanjun's soldiers, most people didn't know about it, and Jiang Bai didn't deliberately publicize it.

After all, he's not someone who likes trouble. What if someone asks him to compensate for the loss of the Golden House?

“I have my own intelligence network. Besides, the fact that the Fatui Executor, Prince, was defeated and used to extort a huge amount of Mora is almost common knowledge among the Fatui in Liyue. It's fair to say that the Executor's prestige among the Fatui in Liyue has been greatly diminished…”

Diluc stirred the black tea in his cup and continued:

"Moreover, that's not all. Right after the money was exchanged for the person, the young master was suspected of being kidnapped by the Treasure Thieves and handed over to Ningguang. It can be said that the Fools suffered heavy losses."

"You really know a lot about this."

Jiang Bai clicked his tongue in amazement. This intelligence network is pretty impressive!

I just wonder how it compares to Ningguang's intelligence network...

"However, the abduction was indeed carried out by the treasure-hunting group, by which time I had already returned to Liyue Harbor..."

Jiang Bai refused to admit that he was responsible for what happened later, after all, he still wanted to maintain some credibility.

This is no different from kidnappers killing their hostage after receiving the ransom. If he has no credibility, no one will believe him if he does it again.

However, it's estimated that the Fools won't fall for it again.

Diluc glanced at him but said nothing.

Anyone with eyes can see that he is involved, otherwise why would the treasure-stealing gang happen to be there?

Moreover, the Treasure Thieves' fighting strength is no match for the fully armed Fools' soldiers, even with the use of poison, it's still far from enough.

However, when the Fools encounter such a thing, everyone just applauds and cheers.

"Your strength exceeds my expectations." Diluc remarked with great emotion.

Jiang Bai didn't make much of a move during the Dragon Disaster, so his exact strength is unclear.

Diluc thought he was quite strong at the time, but he didn't expect him to be able to defeat the Fatui Enforcer directly.

It's important to know that each of the Fatui Enforcers possesses an Evil Eye, allowing them to master at least two elements, effectively doubling their original strength.

Even though he was ranked last, his strength was still formidable.

"No, I think you're the really amazing one," Jiang Bai said modestly.

He genuinely thought Diluc was incredibly powerful. He knew that at the beginning, it would take him a long time to break through the Abyss Mage's shield, but Diluc could break it with a single move.

Moreover, Diluc is just a human, and he looks to be only in his early twenties. To have such strength at that age is truly impressive.

Chapter 398 People always have to do something.

Diluc shook his head, refusing Jiang Bai's praise.

“I have fought against the Fools’ executive officers before and was even hunted by them. I know their strength better than anyone else. Your strength is already no less than mine.”

"Were you ever hunted down by them?"

Jiang Bai was very surprised; he couldn't imagine that such a wealthy man had ever been hunted down by the Fools.

"It involves some things, which are also things I intend to tell you."

"Oh, oh..." Jiang Bai nodded, then there was no rush to ask now.

They're just chatting; there's no need to jump right in and talk business.