Xingtie, I killed two Kafkas at the beginning.

It turns out his name is Li Shian.

Ningguang, who was sitting next to Li Shian, thought to herself that, logically speaking, a smart person like her should not make such a mistake. However, when she was communicating with Li Shian before, Li Shian's improper behavior directly disrupted her rhythm, resulting in her not knowing Li Shian's name until now.

Zhongli took a sip of tea, thinking about what Barbatos had told him before.

For this reason, Barbatos also gave his Heart of God to Paimon as a gift, instead of giving it to the lady as per the previous script.

But Zhongli didn't expect that this man would appear in Liyue.

"Then I'll be frank." Li Shian slapped the table and stood up, saying, "Tell me, Zhongli, why did you want to assassinate the Rock King!"

"Why would you assassinate the Rock King?" Zhongli was slightly stunned, and even the tea in his hand had ripples: "Why do you think I would assassinate the Rock King?"

"Of course I said this because I know everything. You don't need to argue." Li Shian looked like he had seen through everything. "Then let me ask you, did the death of Emperor Yan have a lot to do with you?"

There was a hint of wonder in Zhongli's eyes. As the true Rock King and the God of Contract, he certainly would not lie. He nodded without hesitation: "According to common sense, it is true."

"What?" Although Ningguang had prepared herself mentally when she arrived here, she was still extremely shocked when she heard Zhongli say this calmly in person.

No, that's not right. It's possible that the death of Emperor Rock King has something to do with Mr. Zhongli. After all, Mr. Zhongli knows a lot of ancient things, and it's possible that Emperor Rock King appreciates him. Besides, how could a mortal kill Emperor Rock King, who is the God of War?

Ningguang immediately thought of this and looked at Zhongli with a hint of doubt: "Can you tell me what your relationship is with the Rock King?"

"Hmm..." Zhongli put down the teacup and pondered for a moment on this question, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

"Hehe, you should ask this." Li Shian smiled slightly and raised his non-existent eyes. A familiar background music seemed to sound around him: "The death of Emperor Yan Wang was planned by you, Mr. Mastermind!"

"Forehead..."

This question is indeed a bit tricky. Zhongli, the King of Rock, planned to fake his death to escape. Almost no one knows about this at this stage, so it is true that he planned this matter.

Zhongli smiled helplessly and nodded: "According to common sense, it is true."

“Ah.” Ningguang, who didn’t know the real situation, could only sigh: “Mr. Zhongli, why are you like this? The Geo King has protected Liyue for more than 3,700 years and is our Liyue’s patron saint. Even a three-year-old child is praising the Geo King’s greatness. How could such a knowledgeable and wise man like you do such a thing?”

"Yes, how could you do this? It's so disheartening." Li Shian nodded in agreement.

Zhongli glanced at Li Shian, then stood up and slowly walked towards the door.

Seeing that the murderer she had been thinking about day and night wanted to leave, Ningguang naturally followed him, and Li Shian, who wanted to have some fun, also followed.

Walking on the noisy street, people around were discussing Mr. Yun’s wonderful performance just now. Some even couldn’t help humming a few lines, which prompted people around them to hum as well.

Walking through the noisy streets, they soon arrived at the port.

This place is different from the joy and excitement on the noisy streets just now. It is full of the breath of life. There are workers carrying goods, businessmen calculating gains and losses, vendors selling goods at stalls, and a few half-grown children playing and laughing.

Zhongli ignored all this and looked at the calm sea: "Rocks that cannot be broken by the whirlpool will be ground down by the power of time. Rocks that appear intact now may already have cracks inside."

“I once strolled here and heard a businessman tell a subordinate, your job is done.”

“I was wondering at the time if I had done my job.”

"Does Liyue really still need a god?"

After Zhongli finished speaking, he stopped. The bustling crowd around him seemed not to notice the three gorgeously dressed people standing here and just passed them by.

Zhongli looked at Ningguang and the strong men from other worlds, his eyes showing a trace of fatigue and fatherly love: "What do you think, when a child grows up, should a father let him grow up on his own?"

After hearing these meaningful words, Ningguang was no longer in a hurry to arrest the mastermind behind the death of the Rock King. Instead, she began to think: "We should indeed let him grow up, but the prerequisite is that this child has the ability to leave his parents and be independent."

“Well said.” Zhongli looked at Ningguang with admiration in his eyes, and then asked: “Is Liyue, who walks with the gods, also ready to leave the protection of the gods?”

"What do you mean..." Ningguang suddenly became alert and looked at Zhongli in front of her with disbelief, but Zhongli just shook his head and continued walking forward.

"See, I was right." Li Shian shrugged. "Zhongli, the Rock King, actually wanted to fake his death to get away. Tell me, is Zhongli the mastermind behind the Rock King's death?!"

"Ah, this..." When Ningguang heard what Li Shian said, a few black lines appeared on her forehead. She did not answer, but just looked at Zhongli.

She never imagined that the old man who liked to walk his bird all day long was actually the Rock King who had guarded Liyue for more than 3,700 years, and now this Rock King had worked enough and was ready to retire.

And what she had always thought was an assassination was just a retirement ceremony that Zhongli prepared for herself and Liyue.

“Hiss…” Ningguang inserted her fingers into her beautiful long hair, her head in a mess. “So, Emperor Zhong…Yanwang wants to hand Liyue over to someone else?”

"Well, if there is no conspiracy theory, this is what happened." Li Shian nodded: "I guess Liyue needs to accept a test from God before it can stand on its own. After all, the other seven countries still have gods."

Ningguang was stunned for a moment, then looked at Zhongli who was walking in front of her. However, when she looked, Zhongli had already disappeared in the crowd, and it was difficult to find him no matter how hard she looked.