Chapter 343

Xu Mi Cheng.

Luo De had a debate with Pantaruonie, but in the end neither could best the other.

Thus, under Luo De's suggestion.

The two came to Xu Mi Cheng, intending to find Zhongli, who had been monitoring Duotuolei for a long time.

As for Zhongli's identity,

Duotuolei's slices had long ago recognized who he was.

Pantaruonie knew that the god who idly wandered around Liyue Harbor all day was precisely the Geo Archon he had long sought but never met.

Although his harsh words were quite fierce,

But as soon as Luo De mentioned the bad idea of going to find the Geo Archon for a good chat,

Yet Pantaruonie, after a brief hesitation, turned his previous resentment and dissatisfaction into agreement.

His mouth remained just as stubborn.

So Luo De, too lazy to argue with him, directly brought him rushing to Xu Mi Cheng.

"A hypocrite."

This was Luo De's evaluation of Pantaruonie.

Through this debate,

Although it was their first meeting, Luo De discovered that Pantaruonie's surface dissatisfaction with Zhongli was actually a concealment of his inner acknowledgment of reliance on Zhongli—this is no idle talk.

This is what he inferred from Pantaruonie's own words: "When the world is unjust and the gods do not intervene, I shall carry out justice."

Absolute fairness and justice.

Or rather,

The absolute fairness and justice he acknowledges.

This subtly resembles Zhongli's fair contract in effect.

Luo De precisely noticed this.

Only then did he propose this suggestion.

The experimental site of the God‑making Plan is in Lidugu, near Xu Mi Cheng.

Zhongli's residence is also nearby.

To be frank,

For a god who places enjoyment first,

the conditions here are somewhat harsh.

But when Luo De saw Zhongli,

he found that Zhongli showed no signs of suffering and was even quite content and at ease.

Especially when Luo De saw that the Grand Bazaar's troupe had specially erected a stage here just for Zhongli's solo performance.

He even gave a deep thumbs‑up to Zhongli's imagination.

"Young friend, long time no see—how have you been lately?"

Zhongli, who was sipping tea and watching the performance, greeted Luo De with a wave as soon as he saw him.

At the same time he didn't forget Pantaruonie, adding: "This must be your friend, young man; even so, that side is also my friend. Come, sit—this Xu Mi Cheng dance drama also has its own charm; let the two of you appreciate it together."

Seeing Zhongli manage to be luxurious despite these conditions,

Pantaruonie's face darkened instantly and his eyes turned sharp.

Seeing him like that,

Luo De immediately pressed his hand and sent a mental message: "Stay calm, don't act rashly."

This is the technique he learned from Leidian Zhenxin.

Mental sound transmission is not easy; the primary requirement is sufficiently strong consciousness, and secondly, control over consciousness must reach the level of moving fingers as if they were arms.

Luo De studied for a long time before mastering it.

As expected.

When he used this trick,

Pantaruonie, though unhappy inside, still obediently restrained himself.

He said nothing.

The topic naturally had to be opened by Luo De.

All he did was point toward the performance on stage and laugh: "Mr. Zhongli, what great interest you have—you actually got the Zubai'er Theatre troupe to come specially just to perform for you alone."

"After watching a performance, I grew quite fond of this exotic charm."

"Especially Miss Nilou—her dance is heavenly, evoking the playful atmosphere I once shared with old friends in the mountains and forests."

"So I simply asked Buyeer for help and brought them here."

Zhongli said slowly, then gently blew on the tea's steam, took a sip, and added: "These are the finest tea leaves from Qingce Village, which I had someone send from Liyue. Young friend, try a sip."

Qingce Village's tea leaves are famous throughout Teyvat.

Among them, the finest grade is worth a city; the most precious variety, a single jin, could buy a fine residence in Liyue Harbor's most expensive Scarlet Cloud Slope.

Luo De doesn't understand its value.

Pantaruonie, however, is a connoisseur.

He doesn't even need to taste it; just a sniff tells him the tea Zhongli poured for them is precisely that most expensive mother‑tree variety.

"Ha—"

"In the deep mountains and old forests, to live such a luxurious life—sir, you're truly carefree."

Pantaruonie's voice was extremely sharp, his mocking tone needing no acting at all.

Having lived for several thousand years, Zhongli naturally realized that his emotions were somewhat overly directed at himself.

However, his expression showed neither anger nor joy; he spoke calmly and composedly: "So-called life, naturally should be pleasant and at ease."

"Tsk, I'm afraid it's a bit too much ease."

Pantaloon's expression grew increasingly mocking.

Seeing he was about to say something inappropriate for the occasion, Luo De directly interrupted him: "Mr. Zhongli, do you still have enough Mora on you?"

"Mora?"

Upon mentioning this, Zhongli blinked slightly, then immediately smiled and said: "Little friend, do you have any Mora on you today? I promised Mr. Zubayr that after the performance I would give a tip, but I always forget to bring out Mora, so I've been settling with tea leaves. If you have Mora, you could consider it a loan from me, which I'll repay you later."

"That's not necessary."

"Mr. Zhongli has helped us so much; a little Mora is merely a token, not enough to show our respect."

Luo De politely declined Zhongli's idea of writing an IOU, then took out a bag of Mora and placed it on the table.

He had prepared it beforehand.

Since stepping down from the Geo Archon's position, Zhongli's habit of spending lavishly remains, and he hasn't forgotten his habit of not carrying money.

This isn't Liyue Harbor, so there's no Hall of Rebirth to put his tab on.

Although it was previously said that the tab could be placed under the name of the Pure Good Palace.

But Luo De knows.

Zhongli is unlikely to do that.

Nothing else.

Because the Pure Good Palace is the abode of the gods.

The people of Sumeru all know this.

Putting the tab on the gods' account, I fear most Sumeru people, upon hearing it, would gladly go make offerings to the Dendro Archon and would never mention needing money.

Given Zhongli's nature.

He has likely been getting by this way, offsetting his expenses like this on ordinary days.

Meanwhile, Pantaloon, for now, isn't rushing to mock.

Instead, he frowned and said: "You don't have any Mora on you?"

Without waiting for Zhongli's reply.

Luo De then interjected: "It's just that I'm not used to carrying Mora; after all, Mora used to come easily, but now my Mora is a bit tight, so I haven't gotten used to this yet."

"Not used to."

Pantaloon snorted coldly: "Indeed, it's someone who has never known hardship; even when plunged into dire straits, they still manage to live so extravagantly and decadently." "That statement is mistaken."

Zhongli looked at Pantaloon, utterly bewildered: "I have never owed anyone money; even if I'm temporarily short of funds, I later make up the amount. Since I can live this way, why must I go through hardship?"

"You"

Pantaloon was momentarily at a loss for words.

What he originally wanted to say.

was that Zhongli has never experienced hardship, so he doesn't know what the life of the poor is like.

As a result, Zhongli's few words.

turned into the idea that he lives according to his abilities, with no need to deliberately endure hardship.

Seeing Pantaloon twist Zhongli's words into a misrepresentation.

Luo De, while marveling at how strange this guy's thought process is, said: "I once followed Mr. Zhongli around Liyue Harbor for a while, doing antique appraisal, account organization, and legal debate; in short, from the dock workers' debt appeals to the antique selection at the Jade Chamber, there's nothing Mr. Zhongli can't do. With such ability, it's natural to enjoy the life that such ability brings."

"From the dock workers' debt appeals?"

Pantaloon's focus and attention were entirely placed on that sentence.

As a child, he was because a black-hearted boss withheld his wages and even framed him, which eventually led him to kill and flee, vowing to go into business.

'"If he had advocated for me back then."'

Out of the blue, Pantaloon's mind conjured that sentence.

This also made his gaze toward Zhongli grow increasingly fiery with rage, a vicious look as if he wanted to devour him.

Such inexplicable hostility.

Seeing this, Zhongli also found it strange.

He didn't know Pantaloon, but from his clothing and Evil Eye he could tell this was an Executive of the Foolish People.

But Zhongli hadn't expected.

that this executive's hostility toward him would be so great, almost to the point of wanting to drink blood and eat flesh.

Out of curiosity.

Zhongli asked: "I often receive commissions from dock workers; if I have time, I go to settle their accounts, and if there are any errors, I act as their defender, reporting these matters to the Ministry of Affairs; procedurally, there should be no problem."

Seeing that Pantaloon not only didn't quell his anger but became even more furious.

Luo De, having heard his story, immediately realized what he was angry about.

Thus Luo De supplemented Zhongli's words: "Mr. Zhongli ordinarily accepts any commission without refusal; as long as someone comes to him, he will take it on, only the commission's cut varies."

Luo De's implied meaning.

Back then, Zhongli didn't help you, Pantaloon, not because he didn't want to, but because you didn't follow procedure and just killed and fled.

Pantaloon is not a fool.

Naturally, he picked up on the implication in Luo De's words.

Immediately his face fell, and he raised another question: "When collecting debts, do you still need to take a cut?"

"I provide labor, the client provides money; this is the way of contract, reasonable and proper."

Once again.

Zhongli's words left Pan Tuo Luo Nie without a temper.

The God of Contracts follows the way of contracts.

This is indeed not a problem.

Moreover, combined with Luo De's words, Zhongli's actions all seem reasonable and justified.

On the contrary, it was I who didn't follow the routine back then, and now I still hold a grudge against Zhongli, which seems rather unreasonable.

Just then.

Luo De then straightforwardly revealed Zhongli's identity: "Right, Mr. Pan Tuo Luo Nie, I forgot to introduce you—this Mr. Zhongli also has another identity, namely the former Geo Archon of Liyue, Mo La Ke Si."

".?"

Regarding Luo De's sudden probing of his identity, Zhongli tilted his head curiously, made no sound, showed no emotional change, merely continued to sip his tea, preparing to see what Luo De wanted to say.

Pan Tuo Luo Nie's brow also furrowed.

Once Zhongli's identity was exposed like that, his way of speaking had to change, and Luo De's doing this made him quite annoyed.

"What do you want to say?"

The ice-cold Pan Tuo Luo Nie directly asked:

"I just want to tell you."

"If Mr. Zhongli were greedy for mortal wealth and power, he wouldn't need to step down for a new god—after all, gods don't die, and if he occupied the position for a lifetime, who could object?"

After the preceding buildup, Luo De laid his cards on the table directly with Pan Tuo Luo Nie.

His tone of speech was no longer as polite as before.

He spoke sharply directly: "You're dissatisfied with this, dissatisfied with that—because you were poor as a child, you developed an unusual craving for money, so you resent the Geo Archon Sovereign who holds monetary power; because you've suffered unfair treatment, you've come up with your own definition of absolute justice."

"But have you ever considered?"

"These things have never been Mr. Zhongli's problem; it's just that your thinking is too extreme."

Luo De's words made Pan Tuo Luo Nie laugh.

He pointed at himself: "My thinking is too extreme?"

"Isn't that so?"

Luo De chuckled, not yielding at all.

At this moment.

As the center of the topic, Zhongli.

Although he didn't know what had happened, he had no intention to ask; instead, he took on a spectator's posture, sipping tea while listening to Luo De and Pan Tuo Luo Nie debate fiercely there.

And the focus of their two-person debate.

It also quickly shifted from Zhongli onto Pan Tuo Luo Nie.

Luo De's rhetoric was very clear.

It directly pointed to Pan Tuo Luo Nie's past killing act.

Luo De wasn't saying that what he did was wrong.

but rather that he shouldn't blame this matter on Zhongli's problem.

Still that old saying.

Gods are not omniscient and omnipotent.

Even Nadixa, who governs the Void, lacks the ability to constantly monitor all affairs big and small in Xu Mi.

Moreover, the human heart is the hardest thing to fathom in this world.

This is the conclusion reached by Nadixa, who is skilled at mind‑reading.

So even though Zhongli personally handles all affairs big and small in Liyue Harbor, he cannot guarantee that all his subordinates will stay true to their original intentions and never fall.

As for Pan Tuo Luo Nie's later accusation that Zhongli controls the power to produce Mora and refuses to share it with mortals—

In Luo De's view—

this is even more absurd.

That classic old saying comes up again.

"Mr. Zhongli is immortal and can forever keep his original intention, allowing the flow of money to remain fair and just."

"You, can you?"

A questioning counter‑question.

It left Pan Tuo Luo Nie speechless.

And Luo De's words hadn't stopped yet.

Then we heard him continue: "Absolute fairness—what kind of person can achieve absolute fairness? Someone like you, who harbors selfish motives? Or someone like Mr. Zhongli, who can face anything without joy or sorrow, unaffected by emotions, a deity who can achieve that?"

"Mr. Pan Tuo Luo Nie."

"I don't want to indiscriminately criticize your ideal."

"I just want to say one thing."

"Your ideal is good, but the path you're taking might be wrong."

(End of chapter)