Genshin Impact: I am the Great General of Liyue

Staring at Zhongli, who was speaking so earnestly, Ying muttered a sarcastic comment.

"It's like telling someone else's story."

Upon hearing this, Zhongli smiled and replied, "Haha, it was originally the story of the Rock King Emperor."

After Zhongli finished speaking, Guizhong suppressed his laughter and hid behind Huiyuan.

Then she buried her face in her sleeve and chuckled to herself.

Huiyuan patted Guizhong's back silently, suppressing her laughter.

Paimon tilted his head in confusion upon seeing this.

Seeing Paimon's reaction, Huiyuan chuckled, "We've undergone professional training; we generally don't laugh... unless we can't help it. Pfft... Ha... Don't laugh... Squeak..."

Hearing Huiyuan suppress a laugh and make a "snort" sound, Guizhong also accidentally let out a pig-like squeal.

At this moment, Wanyan stood up and started talking to Zhongli.

"Sir! Um...I have some questions about archaeology and would like to ask you in a quieter place. I wonder if this will be disturbing you?"

"Oh, that's fine. But, would it be convenient for my friend to come along? Perhaps she could offer more help."

Seeing Zhongli point at her, Ying glanced uncertainly at Huiyuan and Guizhong beside her.

Before Ying could refuse, Wanyan agreed, "Since you've said so, sir, of course you're welcome! Let's go."

After saying that, Wanyan left with Zhongli.

Seeing Ying follow, Huiyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and burst into laughter with Guizhong.

"Aha...hahaha...ahahahahahahaha! Hmph...hahahaha—!"

Hearing Huiyuan's laughter, Guizhong said, both amused and exasperated, "Zhongli doesn't understand the Rock King Emperor... Aha... Ahahaha! I must tell Liuyun and the others this; it's the funniest joke of the year..."

Seeing the two girls laughing so wildly, the two book-selling experts, Hanxue and Yixuan, were puzzled.

Is it really that funny? What's so funny about it?

Huiyuan and Guizhong laughed louder and louder, and the two experts also began to lose confidence.

After realizing that their remarks were embarrassing, Hanxue and Yixuan left.

After the two experts left, Huiyuan and Guizhong had almost finished laughing and followed Zhongli's scent to find him.

Huiyuan and Guizhong secretly went behind the screen and began to eavesdrop.

"What I'm about to say is somewhat disrespectful to the Geo Archon and will likely draw a lot of disapproving looks, so... it's better to leave it in a quiet place. I just observed that you spoke with remarkable eloquence and clear thinking, and most importantly, you didn't readily believe boasts or exaggerations; you were very objective. So I'd like to ask you a question, which might yield an answer different from that of ordinary scholars... Do you believe that all the demons killed by the Geo Archon were evil?"

Upon hearing Wanyan's question, Zhongli paused for a moment before answering.

"...Good and evil, let's set that aside for now. The Rock King respects 'contracts,' so the demons who died at his hands must have broken some kind of 'contract.'"

Paimon nodded in agreement, "Yes, at least the Rock Prince wouldn't do something like indiscriminately killing innocent people, would he?"

Seeing this, Wanyan retorted, "However, during my archaeological work, I learned some legends about the 'Salt Demon God.' The 'Salt Demon God' Heureia... she was a kind demon god, yet she was still assassinated by Morax... by Morax, through dishonorable means, during the war."

Paimon was surprised when Wanyan said those words.

"Oh no!"

Feeling the questioning gazes from Ying and Paimon, Zhongli remained silent for a while.

"This... is indeed a long story. But the truth of the story may not be what you want to know."

Zhongli lowered his head slightly, closed his eyes, as if lost in memories, and spoke to Wanyan.

Seeing that Zhongli seemed to know something, Wanyan hurriedly pleaded, "It's alright, please tell me all the history you know! I've been investigating this matter for a long time!"

Seeing Wanyan's expression, Zhongli hesitated, and after a long pause, he still didn't speak.

Having overheard everything, Huiyuan turned to look at Guizhong and asked him curiously.

"Sister Guizhong, what is the past between the Emperor and Heulia? Ah... I know the cause of Heulia's death, it has nothing to do with the Emperor. I'm just curious about what happened in the past."

"Well... she doesn't fight or compete, and she doesn't pose a threat to me, so I don't have much interaction with her."

"Is this so..."

Seeing this, Huiyuan turned her attention back to Zhongli.

Because Zhongli had been silent for a long time, Ying became concerned.

Zhong Li looked a little troubled...

Turning to look at Ying, Zhongli denied, "No... but, where should I begin?"

Just then, a man emerged from behind the screen on the other side.

This person was dressed like a fool and looked to be in his twenties or thirties.

"Oh, here you are! Mr. Zhongli! Oh dear, I've been looking for you for so long, I never expected to find you here."

Hearing the Fools' extremely flattering tone, Huiyuan couldn't help but frown.

(He's a complete liar; he just came out from behind the screen, clearly having been following us for a long time.)

Huiyuan thought to herself.

At this moment, Ying looked at the very polite fool and belatedly warned, "Behave yourself!"

As the Fools drew closer, Paimon issued a warning.

"Drop your weapons! Keep your distance! Otherwise... otherwise I'll report this to Gan Yanjun!"

Seeing the floating object reacting so violently, the Fool shrugged helplessly.

"Hey... First of all, I didn't bring any weapons! Uh... no need to react so strongly. I'm an archaeological researcher from the Winter Solstice Kingdom, not here to cause trouble..."

Although the Fool was grinning, Paimon kept a close watch on him.

Seeing this, Huiyuan and Guizhong also came out from behind the screen.

After looking him up and down, Gui Zhong thought to himself, "(Does Zhi Dongren look like this? Dressed entirely in black, though dignified and well-proportioned, he looks like a bad guy! Do all the Fools... like to dress up as villains?)"

Since Gui Zhong didn't really know how bad the Fatui's reputation was in Liyue, he just looked at the other person with great curiosity.

Seeing that Gui Zhong had not spoken to the fools, Hui Yuan took the initiative to speak.

"May I ask your name, sir/madam archaeologist?"

"Ah, my name is Clement, and you are?"

"My name is Lingling, a special general approved by the Seven Stars, and a friend of Zhongli and this traveler."

Seeing Huiyuan begin to introduce herself, Guizhong waved and said, "Guizhong is Zhongli's friend and Lingling's good sister."