"Mr. Zhongli's way of doing things is quite similar to the God's." If she hadn't known the God had passed away, she might have even mistaken Zhongli for the God.
"Is that so? Is there a possibility that Zhongli is Rex Lapis?" Raiden Makoto smiled slightly. It seemed Keqing didn't know Zhongli was still around.
Poor child.
"How could that be? The God has already..." Even though Keqing felt Zhongli strongly resembled Rex Lapis, she wouldn't genuinely treat Zhongli as Rex Lapis.
If she truly treated Zhongli as Rex Lapis, she would be wrong. The God has already ascended; how could she casually mistake someone for Rex Lapis?
Zhongli's expression remained unchanged at this moment; he merely looked calmly at Keqing.
"But coming back to the topic, Ei, those dishes you made were genuinely delicious. I will definitely cast my vote for you." Keqing was serious, but due to the massive explosion, the judges' table was now completely ruined.
If they weren't Vision holders and so close to the center of the explosion, they probably would have ended up like Ye Zixiu.
"Thank you..." Raiden Ei was pleased. What she looked forward to most was Raiden Makoto's evaluation, and since Raiden Makoto gave a good review, her efforts over the past few days were well worth it.
"If you ask me, Sister Ei, why didn't you just blow up that hateful Ye Zixiu directly?" Paimon flew over, saying with indignation, "Doesn't Sister Ei think Ye Zixiu's face is absolutely detestable?"
"He clearly had problems himself, but he blamed Sister Ei." Paimon continued to complain about Ye Zixiu.
Raiden Ei blinked innocently. "I didn't do it on purpose... weren't those all accidents? Who knows..."
If she actually admitted it, wouldn't that be harming his people right in front of Morax? Given Morax's style, wouldn't he have to fight her?
Although she wasn't particularly afraid of fighting Morax, her older sister would definitely scold her for it.
"Ahem..." Lumine lightly coughed, interrupting Paimon. "Ah... it's a shame I didn't get to eat Sister Ei's dishes... I wonder how they tasted."
"I'll make them for you when I have time... I'll make them for you when I have time."
Xiangling pouted at this moment. "It looks like my match with Yan Xiao will also be postponed for several days... Fortunately, the Moonchase Festival is still a few days away. We should be able to hold the finals on the day of the Moonchase Festival, right?"
"Probably." Keqing nodded. "But those matters need to be handled properly... after all, we don't know if any citizens were injured..."
"In any case, it's not Ei's fault... I'll go back and ask Ningguang again... the way she handled things today definitely had some issues."
"I'll be going now."
After Keqing left, Raiden Makoto turned to look at Lumine and Xiangling and said, "Xiangling, Lumine, why don't you two head back first?"
"I'm taking Zhongli back to Wang Sheng Funeral Parlor."
"Sister, I'll go with you."
"Mhm."
Raiden Makoto realized Zhongli seemed to have something he wanted to discuss with her, which is why she offered to take him back to Wang Sheng Funeral Parlor. Otherwise, how could she be so kind?
"Zhongli, is there something you wanted to ask me?" Raiden Makoto was slightly puzzled. "Is it about..."
"I have a slight doubt... are you no longer affected by erode now?" Zhongli looked at Raiden Makoto with interest. Both Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei were exhibiting more and more "humanity," looking completely unaffected by erode.
"It might be because I am someone who has already died once... the limitations imposed upon me by Heavenly Principles have completely vanished." Raiden Makoto pondered for a moment before giving her answer.
Of course, that was merely her speculation.
"Your changes compared to before... are significant." Raiden Makoto looked deeply at him. "Your situation with erode is getting more and more severe."
"Mhm." Zhongli clearly knew about his own changes. Due to erode, his emotions were slowly fading away. One day, he would completely lose his emotions because of erode.
What would he be then?
"Marchosias lost its memory... but it's different now compared to before, right? It has also gained a lot of humanity."
"And Orobashi is the same..." Raiden Makoto noticed that those two "reborn" Gods were now also more "human." Of course, it might also be that Orobashi and Guoba are both Gods who favor humans.
After Orobashi failed during the Archon War, it met a group of survivors beneath the deep sea. For those survivors, it used its own coral to build Watatsumi Island for them, providing a place to live, and later diligently taught those survivors the knowledge of farming and smelting.
And Guoba, the God of the Stove, helped the human settlements in Guili Plains Master the skill of making fire and cooking before the Archon War, bringing cooked food and cooking techniques to humans. During the Archon War, unable to ignore the disasters and diseases upon the land of Liyue, it poured all its divine power into the land of Liyue to quell the various calamities.
How similar those two are? And after their rebirth, they gained even more "humanity."
"Mhm." Zhongli nodded, largely agreeing with the reason Raiden Makoto provided. "From a perspective of universal rationality, that is indeed the case."
"If you need anything, contact me. I'm available anytime."
Before they knew it, they had arrived in front of Wang Sheng Funeral Parlor. After watching Zhongli enter, Raiden Makoto couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "Sometimes I think it was a good thing you hid inside the Plane of Euthymia..."
"Five hundred years... was enough for erode to be imposed upon you, affecting you deeply." Raiden Makoto looked deeply at Raiden Ei. "He... has almost completely lost his emotions."
"Sister... you don't blame me?" Raiden Ei was stunned. "Because I was in the Plane of Euthymia... it caused Inazuma to..."
"I think, even if you had been outside, Inazuma probably wouldn't be much better off right now... maybe even worse."
"If you hadn't placed restrictions on the Shogun, I think you would be even less effective than the Shogun when it comes to governing Inazuma."
"???" She had thought Raiden Makoto wasn't blaming her, but Raiden Makoto's words were completely demoralizing her.
Yet, she couldn't refute it at all.
"Sister, how can you say that about me? It's not like I truly know nothing..." Raiden Ei was speechless. "Wasn't that also in pursuit of eternity?"
"Only eternity is closest to Heavenly Principles, and I want to seize Heavenly Principles for..." Raiden Ei then noticed Raiden Makoto glaring at her. Realizing something, she quickly changed her words: "Sister... anyway, the task of governing Inazuma in the future will be handed over to the Shogun."
"Once we've completely finished dealing with Inazuma's affairs, couldn't we travel around properly, just like Lumine and the others?"
For Raiden Ei, being able to be with Raiden Makoto was naturally the best possible outcome.
"Mhm." Raiden Makoto nodded. "We can hand those matters over to the Shogun in the future... but it's impossible to leave everything to the Shogun. Ultimately, we still need to properly cultivate talent."
Seeing Liyue possess so many talented people, Raiden Makoto honestly felt a bit envious.
Not only do the Liyue Seven Stars offer their own opinions on governing Liyue, but there are even "Adepti" like Xiao for dealing with God residue, and Liyue even has many "Adepti" guarding Liyue Harbor.
That is also the reason Morax was able to retire safely and soundly. With the Liyue Seven Stars and those Adepti present, Liyue arguably doesn't need Morax to act at all.
If only Inazuma had so many talented people, how great would that be? Raiden Makoto couldn't help but glare at Raiden Ei again.
Raiden Ei blinked innocently.
"Sister... why are you glaring at me again?"
...At this moment, Mt. Tianheng.
Somewhere on Mt. Tianheng, there were several people dressed simply. Among them were Liyue people and Mondstadters.
It was clear that one person led the group. The leader had a fleshy, menacing face, looking like someone who shouldn't be provoked.
"What? What did you say... Zixiu was injured in an explosion during the Culinary King Competition?" The smile on the fleshy-faced man gradually vanished, replaced by a fierce and menacing expression.
"Yes, Boss, Zixiu... he's not doing well, but Yuheng Star Keqing is right next to him, so we didn't dare approach."
"Now Zixiu is barely clinging to life, it looks like he won't survive, Boss... should we collect Zixiu's..." The person below was cautiously reporting the situation to the fleshy-faced man.
"Zixiu is barely clinging to life... Who did it!" The fleshy-faced man wore a Headscarf, looking fierce and menacing where he stood. His eyes were unfriendly at the moment, and beneath him were several lackeys, who were trembling slightly because of his anger.
"Boss, we heard it was an Inazuman woman who did it. That Inazuman woman cheated in the competition... and apparently, because that Inazuman cooked again, a massive explosion occurred... the Liyue Seven Stars are even shielding that Inazuman woman." One of the lackeys exaggerated the details of the situation.
"An Inazuman? A mere Inazuman dares to injure our Treasure Hoarders' cook in Liyue... Zixiu is my Personal Chef! They truly have immense nerve." The fierce-looking man's expression was extremely unpleasant.
"And we originally thought Zixiu could check what kind of treasure that big rock was, so we could make a move. Now it seems the plan has completely changed. We must avenge Zixiu."
"Never mind! Avenge Zixiu... Come on, let's go to Liyue Harbor... and settle the score with that Inazuman." The fierce-looking man said viciously.
"But Boss... that Inazuman is being protected by the Liyue Seven Stars, and... with so many Millelith soldiers there, wouldn't it be hard for us to act?"
"Boss... should we wait and see how things develop first?" The lackeys were a bit scared.
"The person this old man wants to move against, not even Rex Lapis himself could protect them! Besides, Rex Lapis is dead, so why should we fear the Liyue Seven Stars? Furthermore, why would the Liyue Seven Stars start a major conflict with us over an Inazuman? The Treasure Hoarders are..."
"Let's go, to Liyue Harbor."
..."Master... why has Guoba been clinging to Sister Ei ever since we returned? What's wrong with it..." Ever since Raiden Ei and Raiden Makoto came back, Guoba has been bouncing around in front of Raiden Ei.
Xiangling noticed something was amiss.
"Does Guoba really like Sister Ei?" Xiangling looked at Raiden Makoto, confused. She was very puzzled; although Guoba used to be mischievous, it wasn't this lively.
"It probably likes explosions..." Raiden Makoto replied thoughtfully. "That has something to do with Guoba's past."
"Explosions?"
"No wonder Guoba was so excited during the explosion... Master, you said explosions have something to do with Guoba's past? How do you know?" Xiangling looked at Raiden Makoto with renewed curiosity. She didn't even know Guoba's past; how could Raiden Makoto know?
Isn't her Master an Inazuman? Guoba has been with her since childhood, following her everywhere, and yet she doesn't know much about it.
"Your match is tomorrow, right? It looks like the Culinary King Competition will proceed as normal."
"Mhm mhm..."
"It's against Yan Xiao of the Wangshu Inn... I hope I can beat Yan Xiao. I've eaten Yan Xiao's dishes, and his cooking skill is excellent." Xiangling said seriously, "Master will come to watch the match, right?"
"Of course."
Just as Xiangling was about to continue asking about Guoba, Lumine and Paimon rushed in.
"Great news, great news..."
"That Ye Zixiu, Keqing investigated and found out he was a spy for the Treasure Hoarders... his goal was that big rock..."
"It's just a shame Ye Zixiu died..." Paimon sighed slightly. "Otherwise, we might have been able to investigate more."
"Those people from the Treasure Hoarders are so annoying." Paimon recalled how many times they had encountered Treasure Hoarders; those people were extremely bothersome, and they even ran into Treasure Hoarder bandits on the road.
"Are you saying Ye Zixiu was a Treasure Hoarder... and he came here to spy on that big rock? So he signed up for the Culinary King Competition?" Xiangling was momentarily stunned. "The Treasure Hoarders... are those ones outside the city..."
"Mhm mhm." Paimon nodded, then said very seriously, "We heard that Ye Zixiu passed away last night... apparently, he was killed by Sister Ei's explosion..."
"Otherwise, we might have been able to investigate more information." Paimon felt a bit regretful, believing that if possible, she would want to capture all the Treasure Hoarders in one swoop.
However, the Treasure Hoarders are spread across the Seven Nations; it's probably impossible for them to capture them all.
"All we can say is he deserved it, being such a brazen spy..." Raiden Makoto was speechless, but Ye Zixiu's identity didn't concern her much.
"Anyway, Keqing is still investigating Ye Zixiu. She didn't expect a Treasure Hoarder spy to infiltrate the Culinary King Competition..." After Paimon finished speaking, she noticed Guoba seemed to be clinging to Raiden Ei again.
"Huh, why does Sister Ei look a little impatient?" Paimon asked curiously. "Did Guoba annoy Sister Ei? What happened?"
"Maybe Guoba just likes watching explosions."
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