Chapter 241: A Day with the Geo Archon

"Your Majesty, I still don't understand."

"What business do you two have that you need to drag me into it?"

"After Apep left, Luo De sat opposite Zhongli with a grim expression: 'Besides, the Grass Dragon has passed away—can I at least know what benefit I stand to gain from this?'"

"I don't know what benefit she meant either."

"As for Luo De's question, Zhongli could only spread his hands."

"You don't know either?"

"Zhongli's words left Luo De dumbfounded: 'You don't know, yet you want me to help her?'"

"Because she never lies."

"Or rather."

"She simply doesn't bother to lie."

"If she says she'll give you a benefit, she will definitely give you one."

"After saying that, Zhongli added: 'I haven't just met her today; I should know her personality better than you do.'"

"The two characters 'should' could be removed."

"Luo De muttered to himself, then sighed: 'Well, you at least need to tell me what I'm supposed to do, when you'll need me, and how I should preserve Fushe's lingering consciousness. You just dumped him on me—what if I break or lose him?'"

"That recent 'negotiation'."

"The logic in between is actually quite simple."

"Simply put, Apep wants to meet the Rathadon Dragon King, but she needs Zhongli's consent; otherwise, sneaking into the Dragon King's sealed grounds would surely provoke Zhongli and the Liyue adepts into surrounding her."

"Even as strong as Apep."

"Faced with such an ancient Teyvat deity and her subordinates whose strength rivals that of Archons, she also isn't willing to casually create such a formidable foe."

"So she took advantage of the moment when Fushe's consciousness was about to fade and retained a fragment of his lingering consciousness."

"With the lingering consciousness of Zhongli's foremost yaksha under his command, plus the fact of reviving the Great Merciful Tree King as bargaining chips."

"She indeed moved Zhongli."

"Merely relying on Fushe's lingering consciousness isn't enough to persuade Zhongli to let her seek the Rathadon Dragon King."

"After all, Zhongli himself could retrieve Fushe's lingering soul."

"But he can only retrieve an incomplete lingering soul; he cannot accomplish what Apep promised—reforming Fushe's body so he can return to the mortal realm."

"After some back and forth."

"The two thus reached an agreement."

"However, Apep alone cannot accomplish rescuing Fushe."

"So after going around in circles, they ended up seeking out Luo De."

"Yet, as the most crucial part of their deal, Luo De received no information whatsoever and remains completely clueless about what he is supposed to do."

"As for Zhongli's reply, it almost made Luo De faint."

"You should have more experience with this than I do."

"Then he changed the subject: 'However, I have a rough idea of the benefit Apep promised you.'"

"That statement indeed redirected Luo De's interest elsewhere."

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure exactly what it is, but given my understanding of her, it's definitely something even she would find hard to obtain."

"Huh?"

"Luo De blinked: 'Something even Apep finds hard to obtain?'"

"He had originally thought it might be at most something precious like the Source of the Oasis."

"Now, listening to Zhongli's meaning."

"The benefit Apep promised is not something she has at hand, nor something she can easily obtain."

"This only piqued Luo De's interest further."

"What could it be that even Apep struggles to obtain?"

"It is precisely this remark of Zhongli's."

"It made Luo De, who had been full of resentment, suddenly feel that working for Apep once wouldn't be a loss."

"Seems so."

"And it's quite profitable?"

"Zhongli opposite him continued to cite his personal experience to analyze Apep for Luo De: 'I haven't met her many times either; back then Liyue Harbor hadn't been established yet, and she happened to come to Liyue looking for something.'"

"'Compared to now, she was then even more arrogant, and her attitude toward humans was even worse.'"

"'But she is very trustworthy.'"

"'Because I was worried she might harm the people of Liyue, when she appeared in Liyue I led the adepts in negotiations with her, ultimately reaching the Three Articles of Agreement, and I served as her guide during that period.'"

"'During the final period of those Three Articles, even if she hadn't found what she was looking for, she still left Liyue on time.'"

"'From my experience serving as her guide.'"

"'If the benefit she promised were something she could produce right away or easily obtain, she would either give it to you now, or she would present it as a favor and tell you its name, rather than merely telling you there is a benefit without saying anything else, as she does now.'"

"After a round of recollection and analysis."

"Luo De understood, and his anticipation for whatever Apep promised grew even stronger."

"Then, Your Majesty, what should I do now?"

"Just hold onto Fushe's lingering soul like this?"

"And as for your meeting with the Rathadon Dragon King, I probably don't need to go, right?"

"Luo De then asked a few more questions in one breath."

Ruotuo Longwang is not someone easy to provoke.

He, full of wear and tear torment, can no longer recall the faces of his old friends, cannot remember the Liyue Harbor he once guarded, has become extremely irritable and aggressive, his heart filled only with the hatred of being sealed by Zhongli for a thousand years.

Moreover, the Ruotuo Dragon King used to be a terrifying existence that could fight Zhongli to a stalemate.

Even under the torment of wear and tear, much of his power has dissipated over the thousand years of sealing.

But a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse.

Even if his strength is not what it once was, once the Ruotuo Dragon King goes berserk again, Luo De would probably find it hard to protect himself in their fight.

As for his concern.

Zhongli made a reassuring expression: "This matter does not require you to go, little friend; you only need to wait in Liyue Harbor for good news. As for the lingering souls of the floating temple, you can keep them for now."

"Alright."

Compared to the mumbling Apep, Zhongli still has considerable credibility here with Luo De; his words need no second-guessing from Luo De.

"Little friend, do you still have things to do later?"

"If you're free, could you spare some time to walk around with me?"

After finishing talking about Apep, Zhongli made another request.

This matter is actually simple.

But Luo De still had a question: "Does the Sovereign not need to accompany Apep to meet the Ruotuo Dragon King these two days?"

"The agreed time with her is seven days from now."

Zhongli laughed: "During this period I am relatively free."

"Then that's good."

After agreeing on a meeting place with Zhongli, Luo De first left.

Before meeting with Zhongli.

Luo De first informed Saino and Tinari, letting them know that these days he had to accompany a very important guest and had no time to join them again at the underground mining area.

"A guest?"

"Aren't you the guest?"

Saino noticed the blind spot in Luo De's words.

In Liyue, the Sumeru people ought to be the guests; how come it's Luo De accompanying the guest instead?

"Don't worry about that."

"You just know that person is very important; he specifically asked me to accompany him, and I couldn't refuse."

Luo De casually found an excuse to brush it off.

Saino also didn't want to ask further, nodding and saying: "Alright, I understand; you don't need to worry about the underground mining area either. After the pollution source is resolved, our work has become much easier than at the start. Based on current progress, at most another two months and we can return."

After Saino finished, Tinari beside him added: "You don't need to wait for us here; just finish your own affairs and go back. That Ahe Apep has attracted many mushroom beasts to Hope City, causing quite a disturbance. Moreover, affairs there are already busy, and the Dendro Archon has been recently swamped, so heading back early could also help her."

"Mushroom beasts?"

"Why hasn't Nadixa told me about this?"

Luo De recalled that Nadixa had indeed never mentioned this.

Also.

Apep has attracted many mushroom beasts?

Attracted?

These are probably the mushroom beasts inside her body, right?

"That's actually a good thing."

Luo De's eyes lit up.

Back when he first arrived at A Ru Cun, he had made many guesses and tests regarding this farming issue.

The final solution was to use grass slime instead of Fertility Blessing to lower planting costs.

The outcome of implementing this plan was very gratifying.

Although not as effective as Fertility Blessing, it also enabled A Ru Cun to successfully complete greening planting, not only reducing the impact of sandstorms but also bringing the village enough food for self-sufficiency, even surplus for export.

After Nadixa took hold of Sumeru again, although she also began distributing Fertility Blessing in the desert, the planting method of using grass slime to nurture the land has continued to be used to this day.

Don't look at Fertility Blessing just because it can grow food even in rocks.

But it can only force-grow food; the land remains barren as before. Without Fertility Blessing, still nothing can be grown, which is merely treating symptoms, not the root cause.

Grass slime is different.

This monster subtly nourishes the land as it grows.

Turning desert into fertile farmland is no boast.

But it truly can be done.

This is a method that treats both symptoms and root cause.

Compared to grass slime.

According to the experimental results at that time.

Grass mushroom beasts are even stronger at improving the environment.

However, due to the grass mushroom beast's feral nature being hard to tame, even juveniles are not as easy to domesticate as the timid, cowardly juveniles of grass slime.

Therefore the desert has continued to use grass slime for farming.

Now there are Apep's fully controllable mushroom beast subjects; this is a great thing.

As for why she would be so kind as to release her subjects to help green the desert.

Luo De could only say this.

"What a hypocritical old coot!"

With these complaints, Luo De arrived at the place he had agreed to meet Zhongli.

This time, the two did not meet at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

Instead, they met at the gate of Liyue.

"Mr. Zhongli, sorry I'm late."

From afar, Luo De spotted Zhongli and hurried forward to offer a respectful greeting.

"No problem, I just arrived too."

Having said that, Zhongli put his hands behind his back and walked out into the wilderness with Luo De.

Along the way,

Zhongli hardly spoke, just leading the way ahead.

Luo De was curious inside but asked nothing, patiently following behind him.

Both proceeded at a normal speed, traveling on Liyue's official roads, which were flat and wide, with carriages and pedestrians constantly coming and going.

Gradually,

Luo De noticed some things that were a bit different.

Those entering the city were nothing special.

The issue lay with those leaving the city.

Too many were hauling building materials or carrying tools, and there were also many pushing carts, mobile vendors.

After a brief thought,

Luo De then figured out the reason for these abnormalities: "Guiliyuan?"

"Hmm."

Zhongli nodded: "The Yuheng Star's efficiency has always been high; after taking your proposal, she spent only one day drafting a ten-year development plan, which was jointly reviewed and revised by the Liyue the Liyue the Liyue Qixing and the Eight Ministries, and the operation to govern Guiliyuan officially began three days ago."

"Really fast."

Luo De couldn't help but exclaim.

Keqing is famous in Liyue as an efficiency maniac; work that takes others one or two months, she finishes in just one or two days.

Moreover, her efficiency isn't just for speed's sake; it's both highly efficient and perfect.

Under her personal direction,

This plan to govern Guiliyuan can be called an epic-level development pace.

"Mr. Zhongli, do you want me to go observe the development site of Guiliyuan?"

Luo De roughly guessed Zhongli's purpose in having him leave the city.

"The Jade Heng Star hired me as a consultant, letting me offer advice from the sidelines while they govern Guiliyuan."

Zhongli naturally said: "I have reviewed the governing plan that Keqing uses; most of it was the proposal you put forward, so I took the liberty of inviting you to come along."

"Uh"

"Alright."

The reason was fairly sufficient, so Luo De had no doubts; following Zhongli's lead, he found Keqing again dressed as a worker, covered in mud and dust.

Luo De doesn't know many people in Liyue.

But Keqing is definitely someone he admires the most.

Not to mention her unmatched work efficiency; just for this—no matter the time, she always leads by example, rushing to the front lines at the first moment—Luo De has to give her a thumbs up.

As Liyue's Jade Heng Star, she also comes from a prominent clan.

Keqing never shirks her identity; she does no less of any heavy or tough work than anyone else.

From a commoner's perspective,

Having such a genuine, down-to-earth high-level leader truly is a blessing.

"Mr. Zhongli, oh, Mr. Luo De is here too."

Seeing Zhongli and Luo De arrive together, Keqing was very pleased; she rubbed her hands casually on her clothes, then walked ahead to guide them to the construction site under way, beginning to introduce things one by one.

Keqing's enthusiasm was high; she walked a large circuit without stopping her mouth.

Finally,

She then looked at Zhongli and Luo De with eager anticipation and said: "Mr. Zhongli, Mr. Luo De, do you see any omissions here?"

Regarding that,

Zhongli gave his opinion very seriously, completely placing himself in the consultant's role.

He spoke here, she noted there.

Luo De couldn't get a word in.

No way.

Compared to Zhongli's six thousand years of experience, he at most has a wilder mindset, his thoughts run contrary to common sense in Teyvat.

As for actual operation,

After all, the experienced and well-rounded Zhongli is still more authoritative.

This is not.

Whatever Luo De could think of, Zhongli had thought of all of it.

What Luo De hadn't thought of, Zhongli also covered completely.

Even many things were fresh novelties never seen or heard of on the Teyvat continent; such forward-thinking made Luo De can't help but click his tongue.

This isn't the end of it.

The governance of Guiliyuan was just one topic among theirs; next they focused on the issue of the Bishui River's channel blockage causing water to flow backward, and the matter of reopening the Bishui Trade Route connecting to Mondstadt.

Besides that,

They also discussed how, with the redevelopment of the Azure Water Trade Route and Return Leave Plain, to mobilize Liyue people to move here, and what benefits should be offered to attract people.

Luo De was left standing aside for a long time.

Only after the two of them finished discussing these topics did the sky grow dark.

There was nowhere on the construction site to receive guests, so Keqing didn't try to keep them; after saying goodbye, she happily ran back to her dormitory carrying the many suggestions Zhongli had given.

"What boundless energy!"

Gazing at Keqing's back, Luo De sighed again.

"It's precisely because there are people like them that I can entrust Liyue to them with peace of mind."

Zhongli also laughed, then gestured toward Liyue Harbor and said, "Little friend, would you like to walk a bit more with me?"

"No problem."

Luo De nodded.

After Return Leave Plain.

Zhongli took Luo De to the dock of Liyue Harbor.

The dock at night was not at all deserted; although not as bustling as daytime, it was still crowded shoulder to shoulder.

In this crowd.

The most conspicuous.

It was a fleet armed to the teeth.

Normally.

Usually the ships that dock here are merchant and passenger vessels; Liyue's own official warships have other docks and do not stay at the commercial wharf.

But this fleet before us is different.

They not only have cannons and arrows fully equipped, but the crew members on board are each fully armed; in terms of equipment and armament, they are in no way inferior to Liyue's official gear.

Such an armed fleet, yet it occupies the commercial dock—undoubtedly a striking presence.

When Luo De and Zhongli arrived.

The fleet's crew members were, under the command of a black-haired woman wearing an eyepatch, moving large and small crates onto the dock.

Many merchant caravans and their stewards had come to the dock.

The one negotiating with them was a middle-aged man with a full beard.

Step a little closer.

Then you could hear him loudly bargaining with those merchants, his words implying exactly how much danger the brothers had faced this time, how much effort they had expended to retrieve these rare goods, and that trying to drive down the price was out of the question.

"South Cross Fleet."

"You've probably heard of them, little friend?"

"They're still quite famous in Liyue."

Zhongli walked toward the bearded man while introducing the fleet before them to Luo De.

Luo De certainly knows the South Cross Fleet.

Liyue's armed fleet.

Their captain, whose title is the Uncrowned Dragon King, Beidou, is even more renowned.

Even though far from Liyue.

Beidou's name and legendary deeds are also what mercenaries and adventurers love to talk about.

The Sea Dragon King and land mercenaries originally had nothing to do with each other.

Moreover, Liyue and Sumeru are far apart.

But feats like splitting mountains and parting seas, raising a sword to summon lightning, and cleaving a terrifying abyssal sea beast in one stroke are stories that mercenaries and adventurers love to tell.

In this extraordinary world.

The strong are always admired.

Beidou is clearly such a venerable strong warrior; her tales of slaying sea beasts are always a delight to hear.

Some storytellers in Liyue even adapted her tales into chapbooks, using artistic embellishment to recount the deeds of the Uncrowned Dragon King.

Luo De has also heard it once.

It was told very well.

The audience below also responded enthusiastically, with many on the spot saying they wanted to join the South Cross Fleet.

Luo De looked up.

Beidou, who had been busy on the deck earlier, had now vanished from sight.

He then withdrew his gaze and joked, "Mr. Zhongli, you brought me here on purpose—could it be that you also have business with them?"

"Hmm."

Unexpectedly, Zhongli actually nodded: "Their chief mate ordered a sea chart from me; today they've docked, so we can just finish the transaction."

Luo De's smile froze, then he said, "Your business scope is really broad."

No wonder the Hall of Repose can support someone like Zhongli, who's so free-spending.

Look at him picking up all these jobs when he's free!

In the morning he serves as the Geo Archon, in the afternoon he advises Keqing at Return Leave Plain, and at night he trades with the South Cross Fleet.

What a fulfilling day this is.

The bearded man fiercely bidding against the merchants is precisely the chief mate of the South Cross Fleet that Zhongli mentioned.

Zhongli did not disturb him.

After the bidding there ended, Zhongli stepped forward and handed over an exquisitely packaged wooden box to the chief mate named Chongzuo.

"Mr. Zhongli, you're really punctual."

Chongzuo did not inspect the wooden box in his hand, hehehe took out a bag of Mora and gave it to Zhongli.

Luo De made a rough estimate.

Zhongli probably sold this sea map for about five hundred thousand.

A conscience price, not expensive.

You should know that the sea map drawn by Zhongli's own hand, in terms of precision, coastline shape, reef points, water depth, hydrographic elements, and hazardous markings, etc., is absolutely the most advanced in all of Teyvat.

As a result, Zhongli just sold it at the market price.

Have to say.

It was sold a bit low.

However, Zhongli obviously didn't care about these; after completing the sea map transaction, he also didn't leave, but instead asked Chongzuo about the situation of this sea voyage.

Upon mentioning this.

Chongzuo immediately beamed with excitement, and began to boast incessantly about their sea voyage experience.

Basically just things like chasing down pirates and exterminating sea beasts.

Boasting about Beidou is an unavoidable regular segment.

In short.

In Chongzuo's mouth.

Beidou is a legend of the sea; as long as she is present, she knows how to treat any crew member's headache or fever, she can read sea charts that navigators cannot understand, if the fleet strays into a dangerous zone, she can resolve all dangers with a single move, she also observes celestial phenomena and measures water conditions, she can identify the species of unknown sea creatures at a glance and accurately report their market prices.

"Having this Dragon King as our big sister sitting in charge, it's truly our fortune of the Southern Cross."

This was when the three parted, Chongzuo sighed from the heart.

After that.

Zhongli no longer took Luo De to other places, but instead invited him to go to the Hall of Ten Thousand People together for a dinner.

Having just received remuneration from the Southern Cross Team, he was very generous, sitting in a private room, ordering the Hall of Ten Thousand People's signature dish, and this time he also did not keep a tab, paying entirely in cash.

After the meal.

The two's journey today is considered formally ended; one returned to the Hall of the Departed, the other returned to the Mount Meru embassy stationed in Liyue.

Thinking of the time of parting, Zhongli said that tomorrow he would still invite himself to go out.

With one foot stepping into the room, Luo De looked toward the direction of the Hall of the Departed, and muttered to himself with a clear mind: "Is this wanting me to help determine whether Liyue people are qualified to succeed his authority?"

(End of chapter)