Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

Jiang Bai was sitting in front of the fire, yawning as he roasted meat. When he saw that he was awake, he invited him to come and eat.

Kong felt a little embarrassed because he was in a bad mood and got drunk. He had troubled Jiang Bai to stay with him and even kept watch over him all night.

"Thank you for your help."

"We're all friends, why be so formal?"

Jiang Bai handed him the meat. "Eat up. After you finish eating, let's go back to Liyue Harbor. We've been delayed for so many days. The Death Star should be back by now. We'll be traveling together to Inazuma. We can't afford to be lazy."

"Ah."

She took the grilled meat, her eyes crinkling into a smile.

Family members are not everything in life; besides family, there are friends and partners.

Yesterday's sorrow is over, and life must go on.

Upon returning to the Hall of Rebirth, Jiang Bai didn't even bother to greet Hu Tao. He went straight to his room and fell asleep.

These past few days have been exhausting, not only physically but also mentally.

The Abyss Order's conspiracy weighed heavily on his mind like a boulder, and he couldn't rest easy until the idol was completely destroyed. Only then did the weight on his heart finally lift.

Back home, I couldn't stop feeling sleepy, and my eyelids immediately drooped as I fell asleep.

Hearing that he had returned, Hu Tao came to the yard to find him. Seeing that the door was open, she went straight in.

Upon entering the room, one immediately saw Jiang Bai lying on the bed, fully clothed and fast asleep. He hadn't even taken off his shoes, and his entire face was buried in the pillow, seemingly unafraid of suffocating.

Hu Tao, somewhat speechless, helped him turn over to prevent him from suffocating.

"How many days has it been since you changed these clothes...?"

Hu Tao pinched his nose, loosened his belt, helped him take off his coat, hooked his shoes, took them off, and pulled the blanket next to him to cover him up.

She had originally intended to tell him that the Death Star had returned, but he was so tired that he fell asleep without even taking off his shoes, and no matter how much she tossed and turned him, he showed no signs of waking up.

"What have you been doing these past few days? You're so exhausted..."

She muttered something and closed the door.

Gudu jumped out of the pool and acted cute towards Hu Tao. Hu Tao patted its head and said, "When Jiang Bai wakes up, tell him to come find me."

Gudu nodded slightly, watching Hu Tao leave.

It jumped into the backyard, watered the thriving sweet flowers, and then jumped back into the pond to contemplate its slime life.

It seems the owner is going on a long trip and won't be back for a month or two. Should it go with the owner?

It looked around at the peaceful and comfortable environment and spread itself out like a pancake in the water.

Home is safe and comfortable, but it gets boring after a while, especially when the owner isn't home.

Although it is a slime, it also dreams of becoming a pure water spirit.

Thinking back to the pure water spirit it had once seen, it tried its best to transform itself into a winged fish in the water, swimming and blowing bubbles as it went.

As evening fell, Kong arrived at Jiang Bai's courtyard.

He had already gathered information about the Death Star and came specifically to inform Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai was fast asleep and didn't wake up until after dinner.

Kong and Paimeng told Zhongli and Hutao about the defiled and reversed statue, and then they ate dinner at the Hall of Rebirth.

Kong and Paimeng arrived with Hu Tao only after Jiang Bai had finished washing up and changing his clothes.

Hu Tao brought him dinner. "Come and eat when you wake up."

She had already heard Paimon tell her what had happened these past few days; such a dangerous thing had happened, and it was indeed quite tiring.

Jiang Bai felt a surge of joy whenever he recalled waking up with his coat and shoes off.

Aside from Hu Tao, he couldn't think of anyone else who would do such a thing.

He grabbed Hu Tao's hand and rubbed against her shoulder in a very unladylike manner, "Hehe, you're so nice, Master~"

Hu Tao pushed his face away, looking disgusted. "Eat your food."

While eating, Jiang Bai talked about the Death Star.

"I met Captain Beidou. Captain Beidou was holding a [Southern Cross Martial Arts Tournament] at Guyun Pavilion. The prize was an unclaimed Eye of God."

"The martial arts tournament does not allow the use of elemental power; it only tests martial arts skills. Captain Hokuto said that if I win the tournament, the prize can be changed to sending us to Inazuma."

"so good?"

Jiang Bai was somewhat surprised; this was tantamount to sending them to Inazuma for free.

Jiang Bai patted his shoulder solemnly, "For the sake of our path to becoming a rice wife, you must win!"

Chapter 429 Remember to bury me on Tianheng Mountain

Jiang Bai then inquired about the details of the martial arts tournament.

It's a martial arts tournament where contestants draw lots to compete in rounds, advancing to the semi-finals and then the finals. The winner receives a prize: an unclaimed Eye of God.

The martial arts tournament will last for about three days: the first day is the qualifying rounds, the second day is the semi-finals, and the last day is the finals.

Jiang Bai had little interest in participating in the martial arts tournament. Without using elemental power, his martial arts skills were actually quite poor. He couldn't last more than three rounds against Hu Tao. His only advantage was his strength.

But being strong isn't always useful; against an opponent who can use minimal force to overcome great strength, you'll lose even faster.

Jiang Bai shoveled rice into his mouth while giving a thumbs-up to the sky, saying, "Tomorrow, the sect leader and I will go cheer you on!"

"No way!" Paimon and Kong stood with their hands on their hips, glaring at him angrily.

"Since we're going to Inazuma together by boat, how can you slack off when we're fighting tooth and nail for him!"

Jiang Bai put down his bowl and performed a one-second fall to the ground for the two of them.

"Oh no, I'm injured! What happened to my hand? I can't lift it! My legs... I can't feel my legs! Oh no, I have a terminal illness!"

Jiang Bai tremblingly raised a finger, "Hall Master, remember to bury me on Tianheng Mountain. I will protect the Hall of Rebirth even in death..."

Walnut & Empty & Paimon: Subway Senior Citizens' Mobile Phone.jpg

How can there be such a shameless person in the world?

If you're going to pretend, at least make it convincing! One second you're shoveling food into your mouth, the next you're saying you're going to die. Who would believe that?

Seeing Jiang Bai lying on the ground, pretending to be dead and refusing to get up, Hu Tao lit a flame in her hand and smiled sinisterly.

"Don't worry, I'll give you a proper burial. I'll make sure you're burned to ashes, not a single bone fragment will be left..."

Jiang Bai dusted himself off, quickly got up from the ground, and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

Paimon and Kong's lips twitched, gaining a new understanding of Jiang Bai's shamelessness.

After finishing the last bite of his rice, Jiang Bai said in a serious tone, "How about this, I can't just do nothing. I'll order a banner and hang it up in the arena. It will say, 'The great hero who suppresses the demon god, invincible under heaven.' I guarantee you'll be the coolest kid in the arena."

"No, no need!" Kong imagined that scenario and quickly dismissed the idea.

If this banner is unfurled, the competition won't even need to begin; all the contestants will come to watch.

"Think it's still too low-key? Then let's write it like this: Everyone here is trash..." Before Jiang Bai could finish speaking, his mouth was covered by a blanket.

"You just need to watch from the sidelines, you don't need to do anything!"

Kong is really scared of this guy. If this banner is unfurled, will he still dare to go on stage?

He'll probably get beaten up by the mob before he even gets on stage.

"You're the one who's been so busy, wouldn't it be a bit inappropriate for me to do nothing? How about I get you a megaphone to cheer you on? I've already thought of a slogan..." Jiang Bai was being hypocritical after getting the benefit.

She held him down with both hands, saying, "Brother Jiang, you're my older brother, so just stand there and watch. You don't need to do anything!"

"You said it yourself!" Jiang Bai was satisfied.

There's a saying that goes something like this: if you want to open a window, you have to advocate for tearing down the roof.

First, tell him something he can't accept, and he'll naturally agree with your previous points.

Hu Tao rolled her eyes at Jiang Bai; she had seen through his little tricks long ago.

She patted Kong on the shoulder and led them to the guest room.

"You should all rest well in the Hall of Rebirth tonight. The competition starts tomorrow, so you'll need to conserve your energy."

Seeing that they had all left, Jiang Bai put the bowls and chopsticks into a lunchbox, took them back to the kitchen, and went to find Zhong Li on the way.

By this time, Zhong Li would usually be back, but he wasn't in his own yard; instead, he was in the large garden feeding the red carp in the pond.

Retirement life is so pleasant: walking birds, feeding fish, shopping, listening to operas—it can be summed up in two words: leisurely.

He tossed the fish food into the water, and the carp in the pond leaped up to grab it, splashing water everywhere.

Jiang Bai glanced at the big, fat fish in the water and came closer. "Master, are you feeding the fish?"

"Are you awake?"

"Hmm. I told you about the defiled reversed idol, right? What do you think, Master?"

Zhongli thought for a moment and said, "According to common sense, this matter is of great importance, so we should consider it carefully."

"How can we plan this out in the long term?" Jiang Bai tilted his head.

He's already smashed the idols, how can we plan things out in the long run?

“This… I don’t know either. Perhaps you should ask Wendy, after all, that’s his idol,” Zhongli said matter-of-factly.

Jiang Bai: "..."

He finally understood: the old man simply didn't want to get involved!

Zhongli paused for a moment, then said, "The Abyss Order has a long history. I have already retired, and these matters need to be taken care of by you young people."

Jiang, the young man, Bai: (?_?)

He kept all his words to himself.

Retirees are really something, they can be so shameless about being lazy.

Jiang Bai angrily shoveled all the fish food from Zhong Li's hand into the pond, then turned and ran away.

Watching Jiang Bai run away at breakneck speed, Zhong Li smiled and shook his head.

"This child..."

He patted the crumbs off his hands, then slowly walked back to his yard with his hands behind his back.

Jiang Bai slept all day and couldn't sleep at all at night.

After gazing at the sky in his own yard for a while, he strolled around the Hall of Rebirth and then came to Walnut's yard.

He crouched down and peeked out from the walnut window, "Master, are you asleep?"

Hu Tao was still awake when she saw a familiar shadow on the window. She got out of bed and opened the window.

"Why aren't you sleeping at night?"

"Master, the moon is beautiful tonight, why don't you come out and enjoy the moonlight!"

Hu Tao peeked out and looked at the crescent moon hanging in the sky, but couldn't quite see what was so beautiful about the moonlight.

Not only was the moon small, but the main problem was that there were many clouds in the sky, with half of the moon's body hidden in the clouds, its light mostly obscured and extremely dim.

"I'll put on a coat."

She yawned, took a coat from the closet, put it on, and walked out in her slippers.

The air on the roof was exceptionally comfortable. Jiang Bai sat on the roof and took out a guqin (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument).

Hu Tao felt the violin looked familiar. "Where did you get this?"

"Hehe, I just stole it from my master."

Hu Tao's lips twitched slightly. "Grandpa's things are very expensive, don't break them."

"No, I'll just play with it and return it later."

Jiang Bai placed the guqin on his lap, used wind element to create a breeze that stirred his hair and robes, and pretentiously strummed the strings.

The moonlight was cool and clear, the shadows of the trees swayed gently, and a handsome young man played the piano on the rooftop.

If you disregard the sound produced by the guqin, it would be a picture of elegance and pretentiousness.