To find Zhongli, one only needs to go to a single place in the entire Liyue Harbor.
That is Three Bowls Drunk.
The old gentleman's daily hobby is listening to the storyteller recount his own past stories.
With just a pot of tea, he can sit there until the storyteller gets off work and goes home.
Passing through the bustling streets of Liyue Harbor, one could see Zhongli sitting by the tea table at a glance.
At this moment, the storyteller had just finished a segment and was preparing for a lunch break. The tea guests surrounding him were also dispersing one after another.
Ye Xi walked straight over and sat at Zhongli's table.
This act of sitting down frightened the surrounding regulars who were preparing to go home.
"My god, someone actually dares to sit at Mr. Zhongli's table!"
"Heh, young people, truly newborn calves are not afraid of tigers!"
"He looks like an outlander; he simply doesn't understand the rules!"
"Didn't you see that everyone would rather stand than sit in the empty seats at Mr. Zhongli's table?!"
A few new guests, hearing the surrounding whispers, couldn't help but stop and ask.
"Gentlemen, why do you say that?"
"I know Mr. Zhongli is overflowing with talent and knowledgeable, but it shouldn't go so far as to give him a reserved seat, right?"
"Yeah, I wanted to ask just now, why were there seats that no one took, preferring to stand instead?"
The old customers looked at each other and sighed helplessly. "Mr. Zhongli is refined and easygoing, good in every way, except that he never carries money in his pockets!"
"Whoever sits at the same table as Mr. Zhongli is bound to be bamboozled into paying!"
As soon as these words came out, the new guests all sucked in a breath of cold air, feeling as if they had survived a disaster.
"Fortunately, I didn't go! Otherwise, I would have definitely been fleeced by Mr. Zhongli!"
"Good heavens, so Mr. Zhongli is actually this thick-skinned in private!"
"He looks gentle and refined, I didn't expect him to be a pauper."
"Hah, following that Hall Master of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, it would be strange if he had money!"
"Say no more, with Mr. Zhongli's knowledge, where could he not make money if he left the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?"
"It's just that this young lad from out of town is probably going to be out of luck."
"He's simply a wallet, coming over to pay for someone else!"
"..."
The surrounding people cast gloating gazes at Ye Xi.
However, at this moment, Ye Xi was completely unaware of anything strange.
"You're here."
"Mn. I just spoke with Ningguang about my plans, and now I'm here to discuss them with you."
Although the Rex Lapis had retired, breaking ground on his territory still required reporting in. After all, he was the god of this place; his understanding of Liyue certainly surpassed that of the Liyue Qixing.
By laying out the plans, perhaps Zhongli could offer some opinions. For example, where to detour, or where construction could not be started.
"Young friend Ye Xi, it is already noon. Why don't we go to Wanmin Restaurant to eat and chat?"
Hearing Zhongli's proposal, Ye Xi nodded repeatedly; he happened to be hungry as well.
It was always said that the food Xiangling made was delicious, comparable to Liuli Pavilion and Xinyue Kiosk. Since he was here this time, he had to taste Xiangling's craftsmanship no matter what.
Thus, the two stood up and headed toward the restaurant.
Seeing the two of them going to Wanmin Restaurant to eat, those secretly watching the excitement all laughed.
"Good heavens, they are actually going to eat!"
"I guess, Mr. Zhongli must have bamboozled the young lad, saying something about treating him!"
"Mr. Zhongli's eloquence has improved quite a bit."
"Zhongli really calculated this well; not only did he drink tea for free all day, but he's also mooching a meal off someone."
"No, I'm going to Wanmin Restaurant to have a good meal too, and incidentally see who pays the bill in the end!"
"Interesting! I'll go watch too!"
"....."
Just like that, a group of people followed behind Zhongli and Ye Xi.
Meanwhile, in a corner not far away.
Yelan gazed at Ye Xi's back, deep in thought.
'His friend is actually Zhongli?'
Just moments ago, Ningguang's secretary Baiwen had found her and informed her of the commission Ningguang had entrusted to her. At the same time, she also learned a lot of information about Ye Xi.
It was precisely after learning of Ye Xi's identity that Yelan became even more curious.
Why would a high-level figure from Sumeru know a consultant of Liyue's Wangsheng Funeral Parlor? Through what channel did these two completely unrelated people meet?
She believed it was necessary to investigate Zhongli properly.
Thus, in her notebook, she wrote down the plan: [Investigate Zhongli].
...
On the other side.
Wanmin Restaurant.
Because it was right at mealtime, quite a few people had come to eat out. At this moment, Wanmin Restaurant could be considered overcrowded.
"Yo! Isn't this Mr. Zhongli! What would you like to eat today?"
Xiangling came forward with a beaming smile to greet Zhongli.
But after seeing Ye Xi beside him, she couldn't help but subconsciously let out a gasp of admiration.
'What a handsome young master!'
It wasn't just guys who liked looking at beauties; girls also liked looking at handsome guys.
Noticing Ye Xi's appearance, Xiangling's little heart thumped wildly. Usually, it was rare to see such a handsome guy come to eat; he was simply like a prince.
Not only was his appearance outstanding, but he was also very tall, his build robust and tough, giving off a very reliable feeling!
Wanmin Restaurant had affordable prices, so many sailors who ran ships came here to eat, and every one of them had large muscles. Ye Xi's figure wasn't that kind of bulky mass, but was very stylish, belonging to the type that looked slim in clothes but was muscular underneath.
Coupled with that gentle and refined temperament.
One look and you knew his status was definitely extraordinary!
"Chef Xiangling, could you trouble yourself to give us a quiet spot?"
"Mn....? Chef Xiangling?"
"Eh!? Oh!"
Xiangling was staring at Ye Xi in a daze and almost didn't hear Zhongli's voice. After reacting, her pretty face flushed red, and she hurriedly nodded to lead the way. "Please follow me!"
Ye Xi looked around and found that this Wanmin Restaurant and the design in the game could be said to be vastly different.
In the game, Wanmin Restaurant was just a small stall. The entire shop was so shabby it didn't even have a table inside, looking extremely like a roadside fast-food stand.
But the Wanmin Restaurant before his eyes was large in scale, with at least nearly thirty tables in the main hall! Coming and going, it was full of people.
However, this was nothing to be surprised about. Game development also had to consider the players' memory usage, so the map was made small. In reality, the Teyvat continent was astonishingly large, and Liyue Harbor was also a very large-scale city.
Even Liuli Pavilion and Xinyue Kiosk, which he had just passed, were as magnificent as five-star hotels.
After taking their seats, the task of ordering was handed over to Zhongli.
He was a regular here, so the order rolled right off his tongue.
After ordering, Ye Xi spoke about the business at hand. He recounted the general plan he had discussed with Ningguang to Zhongli.
"...So that is the case."
Zhongli nodded and said, "It is indeed a very good line of thought."
"However, the route you are laying the tracks on is perhaps somewhat suboptimal."
"Oh? Where is that?"
Ye Xi had planned train routes for Liyue. These routes needed to connect Liyue Harbor, the mines of The Chasm, and also pass through Guili Plains and Wangshu Inn, with stops needed at Yaoguang Shoal and Mingyun Village as well.
In addition, it had to border Mondstadt and Sumeru. This was the result of several lines interwoven together.
Zhongli opened his mouth to speak: "At the junction of Liyue and Sumeru, above The Chasm, there is an ancient Geo elemental creature, named—Azhdaha."
"If goods are transported frequently, it is inevitable that noisy sounds will be produced."
"If it is disturbed, it will be very troublesome."
This matter actually surprised Ye Xi greatly. He remembered that at this point in time, Zhongli and Lumine should have already settled Azhdaha. So when designing the route, he hadn't considered the threat of Azhdaha at all.
"Not long ago, I went there with the Traveler."
"At that time, Azhdaha still retained a final shred of reason and successfully cooperated with us, allowing itself to be sealed once more and falling into a deep sleep."
"If construction starts in the future, the commotion, large and small, will very likely cause Azhdaha to wake up again."
"When that time comes, if we want to seal it again, I fear it will not be easy to handle."
Hearing Zhongli's words, Ye Xi couldn't help but fall into deep thought. "In other words, if I want to complete my plan, I must thoroughly suppress Azhdaha?"
"Mn."
Zhongli nodded and added, "Or detour around the road, laying the line from the southern side of The Chasm."
"No, that detour is too far!"
Ye Xi directly rejected this proposal. If they really built the railway south of The Chasm, then people from Mondstadt City wanting to go to Sumeru would have to take a super large detour! This would directly affect the business dealings between Mondstadt and Sumeru.
"Based on universal rationality, if we do not detour, then there is only the path of thoroughly suppressing Azhdaha."
Zhongli calmly took a sip of tea.
Actually, back in Sumeru, Ye Xi had told him about the general plan. The reason he hadn't raised objections at that time was to let Ye Xi finalize the plan first, and then mention this matter at a suitable time.
This way, Ye Xi wouldn't beat a retreat, but would choose to clash head-on with Azhdaha.
Doing this was because he wanted to witness just how powerful the strength of Ye Xi, a Descender, really was.
That Azhdaha was extremely tricky even for him to deal with. If it went up against Ye Xi, it would certainly force Ye Xi to go all out. He only needed to watch quietly from the side, and then he could know all of Ye Xi's trump cards.
"Suppress Azhdaha, huh..."
Ye Xi pondered; he had a question.
Did Azhdaha count as a 'Beast'?
If Azhdaha belonged to the 'Beast' classification, then could the Taming skill be activated?
Just as he was thinking this, an ethereal notification sound came from his mind.
[Ding~]
[Hint: The Taming Contract is applicable to Azhdaha, and applicable to the beast-form Adepti of Liyue.]
This notification sound instantly made Ye Xi overjoyed.
Not only controlling Azhdaha, but even Adepti were possible?
He remembered that Cloud Retainer and Mountain Shaper were crane-form Adepti, and Moon Carver was a deer-form Adeptus. Even Xiao was a Golden Winged-Penguin.
Didn't this mean that as long as he wanted to, he could even control Xiao!
If this was true, then the [Taming] skill was simply too powerful!
Wait... wouldn't that mean Ganyu is also...
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