Mr. Zhongli, we can't slack off anymore!

No one can wake someone who is pretending to be asleep.

Earlier, Zhongli was indeed feeling a little tired and was using the bed in the bedroom for the first time.

That's because after learning how the traveler returned home, he expended too much elemental power in order to reopen the path back to her hometown.

I slept so long that I overslept.

The traveler, still worried, went next door to check on Zhongli, who had just woken up.

He loved hearing travelers call his name, and he loved the way they worried about him. When she talked about others, he felt his heart crack.

absurd.

It's probably because the wear and tear is getting worse.

"Could it be because she saved me..." The traveler felt guilty. If she had spent her time training, she wouldn't have dragged others down.

She stood there, completely bewildered. Her mind went blank as she tried to process what had happened.

"I'm sorry." The traveler knelt on the ground, leaning on the wooden bed frame, and stroked Zhongli's cheek with trembling hands.

He was still warm; he was just asleep, just like himself, not knowing how long he would sleep... What was he thinking at that moment? The traveler couldn't help but wonder.

“Traveler.” Zhongli’s eyes remained closed, but his lips moved slightly.

"You're awake! I thought you weren't going to wake up!" the traveler said, feeling wronged.

"I'm just a little tired, it's nothing." He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the traveler: "Help me up, okay?"

"Oh!" The traveler put his arm around his shoulder and lifted him up, using his other hand to prop the pillow up against the wall so that his upper body could rest on the relatively soft pillow.

The beauty lowered her eyes, her long hair cascading over her shoulders, and wore simple yet beautiful brocade clothes, looking every bit the sickly beauty.

Aside from his illusory form, his complexion was rosy and not pale.

"Is there anything I can do?" the traveler asked.

He rubbed his forehead and said, "Xiangling is on duty today. Come with me to Wanmintang in a bit."

"Should I buy it for you? If you're not feeling well, try not to move around too much." The traveler clenched her fists nervously, feeling like she was about to faint at any moment.

"Hehe, sorry to have worried you." Zhongli laughed. He had originally intended to keep pretending to be sick and amuse the traveler, but it seemed that the joke had gone too far.

"What exactly happened? Why did you suddenly..." The traveler was very worried, unaware that someone was acting.

"As I said, I've found a clue to help you get home. It took some effort last night, but I'm okay. The good news is that you'll be able to go home in less than a month."

"A month? The Lantern Festival is still two months away. I'm afraid I won't make it." The traveler's first feeling upon hearing that she could go home was regret; she was reluctant to leave this place.

"Isn't it good to be able to go home?" Zhongli asked.

"I didn't expect it to be so fast..."

"There is no never-ending feast."

"Can I leave after the Lantern Festival?" the traveler pleaded, for many things were beyond her control.

“No.” Zhongli refused her.

"Yes, you went to great lengths to help me find my way home, and I don't know how to repay you." The traveler lowered his head, looking at his clasped hands.

"Consider the time spent with you my way of repaying you," Zhongli said.

"I didn't leave you anything. When we first met, you gave me so many things. After I leave, you can give them to your sweetheart. I won't take them with me."

These were just angry words spoken in frustration.

"Those clothes are your size." The implication is that he won't give them away to anyone else; they belong only to travelers.

The traveler kept his head down and remained silent.

The room fell silent. The traveler broke the silence first, thinking, "I'm not a child, why am I being so stubborn? Parting is a very common thing in life."

"Are you... alright?" the traveler asked first.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Zhongli said with a smile.

"Will it accelerate your wear and tear?" the traveler asked.

"So what you're worried about is wear and tear. Wear and tear never stops, not even if you drink tea and stroll around every day. Just think of it as the passing of life. Gods have much longer lives than humans." Zhongli deliberately changed the subject to downplay his question.

"Alright." The traveler didn't ask any more questions, his eyes welling up with tears, a hint of sadness in them, but that was all.

"Sigh...come sit here." Zhongli sighed and asked the traveler to sit on the edge of his bed.

"Hmm." The traveler didn't think much of it and sat down awkwardly.

The familiar embrace left the traveler somewhat dazed. Did she not realize that her friendship with the person she was pushing had become so close that they could put their arms around each other's shoulders and hug every day?

"Are you feeling better?" Zhongli asked.

The traveler guessed that this was Zhongli learning how humans express comfort.

"Much better." The traveler wasn't so upset that he needed a hug to feel better, so he went along with him.

"Is that so?" He ran his fingertip across the traveler's eye, wiping away a tear that had never been there.

His hands weren't gloved to hide their difference from people's; his fingers were the color of rock, with regular golden cracks on them, and they felt rough to the touch.

"What are you wiping?" the traveler asked.

"Humans shed tears when they are sad, but you don't." Zhongli thought the traveler would be in pain as he was, so he prepared in advance.

God has no tears, but that doesn't mean his heart is immune to injury.

"Well... actually, when a person is extremely sad, the brain will activate some kind of defense mechanism... meaning that even when extremely sad, they won't cry," the traveler explained.

She was lucky she didn't laugh out loud when she was pushed into his arms, let alone cry?

What you don't get isn't truly yours. Besides, her favorite fan belongs to all the members of that fandom, so she doesn't need to cry...

It seems that Zhongli is sad because his appearance isn't as heartbreaking as he thought. Although he didn't show it, the traveler could sense it.

"I see." Zhongli seemed to understand.

“From now on, I will visit you often through the eyes of travelers,” the traveler comforted him.

Things are getting weirder and weirder. He wants me to leave, so why am I supposed to comfort him?

She pretended to comfort him by tucking his long hair behind his ear, then secretly picked up a strand of hair and played with it by twirling it around her fingertip.

She wondered if it would be okay to secretly take a broken hair she had cut as a souvenir.

Zhongli tilted her head, letting more strands of hair fall into the traveler's clutches, letting her play with them.

Realizing his intentions had been discovered, the traveler stopped and awkwardly explained, "You don't lose hair! What shampoo do you use? Recommend it to me. Hahaha..." He ended the conversation with laughter.

……

The other person didn't intend to respond. He stared at the girl in front of him, blushing with embarrassment, and stopped thinking.

"You did everything for her, and you deserve it, Morax." The words from the depths of his soul suddenly took over this body.

Led by Zhongli, the traveler lay down on the bed.

"Huh?" She didn't know what was happening. Her whole body tensed up with fear, and the person in front of her seemed like a stranger.

"Run!" the traveler's mind screamed. She had barely gotten up when Zhongli pressed her down, his body unyielding, and her resistance was futile.

His eyes were bloodshot and filled with a murky look.

The last one like this was the Naga King Ratna.

The traveler arrived at the answer. It was wear and tear that eroded the bellows.

"Has his wear and tear gotten this bad?" She should have noticed sooner.

“Mr. Zhongli? Do you remember me?” the traveler tried to wake him.

"Why don't you understand?" Zhongli clearly did not answer the traveler's question, as he was still being worn down and possessed.

"Mr. Zhongli!" the traveler called out his name.

"Don't move." Zhongli frowned impatiently, untied his belt, and tied the traveler's struggling hands. His plain clothes slipped down to his waist, revealing his perfect muscle lines.

"It's impolite to take off your clothes!"

The traveler was nearly scared unconscious by his actions, or perhaps he was drugged, or more likely both.

What's even more exciting is that his body actually covered the traveler's body... Even if the traveler is slow to realize what he's doing, there's no need to make excuses for him, this behavior is definitely over the line.