Genshin Impact: The Beginning of the Wind

Sometimes I really wish I could go back to the past!

With a slight sense of regret, Wendy put down her empty wine cup and remarked with this sentiment.

"The fine wines and delicacies displayed when the gods gathered were treasures from all the nations. How could a banquet of that scale be provided by the current Liuli Pavilion? You drunkard, you have already received such benefits, so stop bothering me."

However, after hearing Wendy's words, Zhongli finally couldn't help but say something like, "Sure enough, this drunken poet likes to push his luck. This guy said he was reminiscing about the banquet of the gods, but in reality, he just wanted to get his hands on those few jars of wine that had been treasured for thousands of years using special secret methods."

Wendy doesn't care about the quality of the food; as long as there's plenty of alcohol, he's at the best banquet.

Getting rid of Wendy's entanglement is easy—just give him a jar of the already scarce wine.

But that was Zhongli's treasured possession. Zhongli himself was reluctant to take it out to enjoy easily, so how could he let such a guy who often only knew how to pour wine into his mouth but didn't know how to savor it properly ruin it?

"Sigh, I knew I wouldn't be able to get anything out of the old man. What a pity."

Wendy was slightly disappointed by Zhongli's rejection. He shook his head regretfully, but he looked a little pitiful at that moment.

"So what brings you to Liyue this time? It's not just for a drink, is it?"

After gently picking up the teacup and taking a sip of the fragrant tea, Zhongli finally got down to business.

He didn't believe that Su Feng and Wendy had come to Liyue just to ask for some fine wine, especially since he had noticed the huge commotion on the snow mountain a few days ago.

At that time, Zhongli already had the Rock Spear in his hand. If Wendy messed up, Zhongli could even guarantee that the Rock Spear would completely cover the entire snow mountain in an instant.

The commotion they caused on the snow mountain was enormous. Liyue was located right next to the snow mountain, and Zhongli, fearing being affected, naturally couldn't let his guard down. Fortunately, the snow mountain incident ended perfectly, and Zhongli, who had been watching for a long time, didn't have to take action in the end.

"of course not."

Once they finally got down to business, Su Feng completely ignored Wendy, who was still clutching the bottle and seemed unwilling to let go. He looked intently into Zhong Li's golden eyes and asked seriously, "I suppose Mr. Zhong Li knows my identity, right?"

Su Feng did not believe that his identity as someone from outside Teyvat could be concealed from this most ancient of the Seven Gods.

"That's natural. After all, the commotion you've caused is quite significant. If the one in the sky hadn't remained silent for the past few centuries, the entire Teyvat would probably be in turmoil by now."

At this moment, Zhongli casually expressed his guess about Sky Island's possible attitude, and even Wendy, who seemed indifferent, couldn't help but pause upon hearing this.

"What if it were now?"

Facing Zhongli's scrutinizing eyes, Su Feng stroked the table with his hand, and beautiful pure white flowers bloomed on the exquisite tabletop.

"..."

"It's an unimaginable power. I never thought I would see such pure and... wild light power one day."

When Su Feng revealed his Light Sphere Power, even Zhong Li, who considered himself well-informed, couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly. He really hadn't expected Su Feng to have mastered this power.

"That's not all~"

Seeing the surprise on Zhong Li's face, Wendy said this with a touch of pride. Then he winked at Su Feng, seemingly hoping that Su Feng would continue to scare his senior.

Su Feng could only roll his eyes at Wendy's perverse sense of humor, but he adjusted his power mode again, and the light force that was extremely familiar to Zhong Li was once again displayed in his eyes.

"Ok?"

If Zhongli was merely surprised by the power of the Wilderness Light Realm before, he was now completely stunned when the pure Wilderness Light Realm power was transformed into the Light Realm power of Fanes before his eyes.

Does such a thing even exist in this world?

The ability to freely adjust the pattern and frequency of one's power... Is this guy even human?

"Hehe, how about it, old man?"

"You were scared, weren't you!"

Wendy was quite satisfied with the change in Zhongli's expression. He had been terrified by Su Feng's move before, but now it was Zhongli's turn to be frightened. He was finally satisfied.

"This is truly astonishing. If that's the case, it's not impossible for them to be invited to the throne from the heavens, after all..."

After carefully examining the flower that had been conjured by Su Feng's power, Zhong Li offered his opinion, though as a seasoned riddle maker himself, he didn't finish his sentence.

Fortunately, most of the people present were riddle enthusiasts, so they didn't really care about this little bit of riddle-like behavior.

"So what do you two hope to get from me?"

Although he was frightened by the power Su Feng displayed, Zhong Li quickly regained his composure, his eyes remaining as calm as ever.

After all, Zhongli had witnessed grand scenes of mountains collapsing and seas splitting, and the world turning upside down, so maintaining composure was not difficult for him.

"We're not asking you for anything, old man. Actually, this guy already has a complete plan for his path. The reason he's in Liyue now is just to learn more about Teyvat."

"In other words, he just wanted to travel in Teyvat, just like that traveler."

When Wendy said this, there was a hint of smugness in her voice for some reason.

"Oh? If that's the case, then why did you, you drunkard, follow us? Do you have some purpose now?"

However, when faced with this smug drunkard, Zhongli raised his doubts without any expression.

"?"

Wendy's face stiffened upon hearing this.

"Grandpa, you didn't have to be so fierce, did you? If I hadn't intervened, wouldn't you two have gotten into a fight?"

"I'm still very important... right?"

Feeling guilty for questioning his role, Wendy responded in this way, but unfortunately, his answer only earned him the merciless contempt of the other two people.

"Okay, okay, then I'll shut up."

Wendy, who was despised by both of them, could only choose to shut up in the end.

"Then let me show you both around Liyue now."

"Well……"

However, just as everyone got up to leave, Zhongli suddenly stopped.

"?"

After seeing Zhongli suddenly stop what he was doing, the other two couldn't help but look at him.

"Do you... have any money with you?"

Then everyone heard Zhongli mention a problem that no one had paid attention to during the meal.

After all, how could Morax not have Mora?

Chapter Three: The Best Toy Salesman in Winter Country

It turns out that Morax not having Mora is in line with the current situation in Teyvat, but just because it is in line with the current situation does not mean that Su Feng or Wendy can accept it—especially since these two poor guys also don't have a single coin.

Fortunately, Zhongli had been in Liyue Harbor for quite some time, and many merchants were well aware of this all-knowing guest of the Hall of Rebirth's little quirk. So, a bill for a few million Mora was sent to the Hall of Rebirth.

"Why is this meal so expensive? I've never eaten anything this expensive in Mondstadt."

Wendy couldn't help but complain a few times as she left the Glass Pavilion.

When he first heard that Zhongli, the god of wealth, hadn't brought any money, he was actually prepared to pay the bill with a little money.

Although this might wipe out all the money Wendy has earned from busking recently, the idea of ​​settling accounts with the god of wealth and making him owe money is just too exciting. He might even be able to make up some little stories about the wind god helping the rock god pay off his ransom to promote it.

This isn't one of those baseless jokes he used to make up; it's based on a true story!

But when he saw the bill for millions of Mora, he decisively chose to shut up.

Are you kidding me? Wendy probably doesn't even have tens of thousands of Mora in total, and now this one meal is going to cost millions?

Although he was an alcoholic, he wasn't a complete idiot. Besides, even if you sold him, you couldn't get that price!

This is no longer something he can do to pay off his debts by working or busking. The ten thousand or so yuan he has is all money he managed to save up during this period by taking advantage of the Mondstadt celebrations and the fact that drinks and food were free.

He usually buys alcohol as soon as he has a little money.

"I'm saying, old man, aren't you going to do anything about these unscrupulous merchants?"

Wendy really wanted the old man beside her to keep an eye on these unscrupulous merchants, but when faced with Wendy's suggestion, Zhongli simply shook his head, indicating that he did not agree with Wendy's views.

Everything in the world has a price, but a fair price is almost impossible for mortals, which is why absolute fairness is almost non-existent in this world.

"In this situation, forcibly pursuing it will only result in one farce after another."

"What I'm pursuing is nothing more than relative fairness in the contract. As long as both parties can sincerely accept the price offered by the other party under conditions of equal information, then the contract can naturally be established. Otherwise, if I insist on absolute equality, what can I gain from the contract to protect Liyue?"

Zhongli refuted Wendy's claim of being a "shady businessman," clearly stating his own views on so-called "fairness," on the establishment of contracts, and even on the world at large.

He didn't say these things to argue with Wendy, but simply to tell Su Feng about his ideals and will. Wendy, this drunkard, is already like this, but Su Feng can't continue to follow Wendy and become bad.

"Huh? Even so, is this store's price fair? This price is outrageous! You know, the Snow Mountain Competition held in Mondstadt only offered one million Mora plus one thousand Originium!"

Wendy certainly knew who Zhongli was talking to, but that didn't stop him from making a fuss. After all, what kind of Wind God would Wendy be if he didn't cause trouble?

"Although the prices at Liuliting are on the expensive side, the dishes and drinks are among the best available nowadays. In addition, the environment is quiet and pleasant, and the service is attentive and thoughtful. Although the price is still a bit high, it is not unacceptable when you consider the reputation of Liuliting."

"After all, I chose the best of everything at Liuli Pavilion to entertain you this time."

"It was precisely because I felt it was worth the price that I had them send the bill to the ancestral hall; otherwise, I would have argued with their manager."

Zhongli calmly and slowly expressed his opinion.

In fact, everyone in Liyue Harbor knows that Zhongli, the guest elder of the Hall of Rebirth, has a business that is both easy and difficult to run.

It's easy to sell because as long as your product has something attractive enough to attract the other party, you don't need to worry about not being able to sell it at a good price. If you're not good at judging and quote too low a price, the customer may even take the initiative to raise the price.

However, it's not easy to do it either. If you don't have something real, you won't be able to attract Zhongli's attention. If you try to fool him with inferior products, you'll be sent away in one fell swoop. Everyone in Liyue Harbor knows that if Zhongli says that a store's products are fake or worthless, then that store must be really bad. Zhongli's eyesight and knowledge have never been wrong!

"Well, your concept of wealth is definitely different from normal people."

Even Wendy was a little confused when faced with Zhongli's bizarre concept of wealth, but considering that he wasn't the one who would ultimately pay, she muttered a few more words and then put the matter aside for the time being.

"So, where shall we go next?"

"Should we explore the entire Liyue or just stay in Liyue Harbor?"

Putting aside trivial matters like money, Wendy eagerly asked everyone where they were going next.

"Next, we..."

"Oh? Isn't this Mr. Zhongli? Are you with a friend?"

Just as Zhong Li was preparing to plan the afternoon's actions, a vibrant voice suddenly rang out, and then an orange-haired youth abruptly interrupted the three's conversation.

"Mr. Zhongli, could you introduce me to some of your friends? I really enjoy making friends."

"Especially since Mr. Zhongli's friends are probably not ordinary people either, right?"