Chapter 156 The Immortal Lord Becomes a Bird, His Hunting Instinct is Great…

"Zhongli! How wicked!"

After wiping away his tears, Paimon used his little fist to tap Zhongli's back.

"You showed me such a sad story like that, without even a warning. Do you know how much damage that has done to my soul?!"

"..."

The traveler, as usual, was taciturn, but his eyes were full of resentment as he looked at the guest.

What, you've already swallowed a knife yourself, are you going to force one on the great knight of honor?

"I apologize to you, travelers, Paimon, but please believe me, it was never my intention to harm you."

The white elf's fist couldn't inflict any damage on the rock, leaving Zhongli with only a helpless expression.

“Those of you who have read the documents should know that everything about Mainkun is maintained by wishes.”

"certainly……"

"After reading these stories, what wishes do you, in your sadness, wish to make for Mr. Mainkuen?"

"What else could I wish for? All I want now is for him to be healthy and stay with his brother, and not get hurt again... Wait!? This counts as a wish!?"

"Of course, Paimon is a good boy."

Zhongli smiled at her, her eyes revealing the kindness of an elder.

“A gentle heart sheds tears of sorrow, and those tears give rise to pure and intense desires and goodwill.”

"That was the opportunity for Mainkun to be reborn."

The traveler looked at the cat sleeping soundly on the hospital bed, a thoughtful expression on his face.

This sounds like a huge undertaking. If Paimon were to work on it alone, even if he cried himself to sleep, it wouldn't bring him any glory.

All right.

I promise you.

He made a solemn promise.

"To witness the rebirth of the soul, I will pass on his story to every trustworthy person I meet on my journey."

Zhongli was very pleased and quickly cheered him up.

"I am the God of Contracts, the protector of labor and wealth. I can't let you work in vain. Let me think of a way to thank you..."

Paimon: "It's alright, Zhongli. We're already so familiar with each other. Travelers are happy to help without expecting anything in return!"

Zhongli: "500 Primogems per terminal, how about that?"

The traveler quickly covered Paimon's humble mouth: "...??"

How many? !

"Don't you like them? But I see you're quite fond of these star-shaped pebbles. It just so happens that Ruoduo collected quite a few when he was burrowing in the ground thousands of years ago, but he couldn't find a use for them, and they're just taking up space..."

"Leave everything to me!"

The Traveler immediately snatched all the terminals and rushed towards the teleportation anchor, declaring, "From this day forward, I am the greatest swordsman in Teyvat!"

"Send the knife? Actually, this terminal is not just for communication and information transmission... Ah, they've already left? What an energetic young man."

The traveler left, and Zhongli didn't intend to stay on Death Star any longer. After saying goodbye to the people of Beidou, he planned to take Mainkun back to his residence. In just over ten minutes, he saw the blond boy push open the ward door again, his eyes full of excitement.

"The terminals are all delivered! Bring the raw stones!"

Zhongli stared at the empty bag: "...?"

This speed is quite unusual.

"Ah, that's because..."

Before the traveler could even begin to explain, Zhongli noticed his void terminal was flashing violently, issuing a series of notifications.

"Liu Yun Borrows the Wind: Just now, a traveler inexplicably appeared at Mount Aozang and threw these Sumeru ingenious machines into my residence, saying they were for me and my disciples. It's all so strange. Does anyone know what that kid is up to?"

"Xiao: I don't really know, but the traveler suddenly appeared at Wangshu Kemujian and asked if I wanted to participate in a grand plan that even the Emperor was involved in. I accepted, and then he disappeared."

"Xiao: A mortal's object, a verbal weapon; I don't use it often."

Keqing: The Traveler suddenly used a falling attack to jump onto the Jade Palace, and handed one of these to Ningguang and me... So even the immortals have them?

Jean: Is she... a friend of Liyue? Just now, the Traveler also used a falling attack to jump to the Knights' entrance, handed me some small traps, and told me to watch them activate?

Kaeya: Captain Jean? Traveler? Hahaha... Traveler is probably too much. Thanks to the Anemo Archon, there are actually quite a few people from Mondstadt here already...

"Jin: Kaiya? What are you hiding from me now? Come to my office immediately."

Bennett: Huh? So I wasn't alone? The Traveler suddenly showing up at the Adventurers' Guild, I thought it was a gift he came especially for me, and I was quite happy about it, hehe.

Diona: The traveler says there's a predecessor here who almost destroyed Mondstadt Winery! Where? Where?

'...'

Zhongli: "..."

He and many of the group's long-time members were taken aback by the sudden influx of newcomers.

All the recommendations from everyone over the years are less effective than a traveler casually tossing something for ten minutes.

How about it?

The traveler raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged confidently.

Give me the raw stone.

And in the group chat, the last message popped up.

"Liu Yun Borrows the Wind: Why are they all clueless juniors? Fine, let this immortal guide them and investigate personally! Must-read for new members…Main-Kuhn…"

"!!!" It's over!

Zhongli immediately shut down the terminal with lightning speed, not daring to look again. "Traveler, you are more decisive than I imagined."

At least he's been procrastinating until now and hasn't told his sentimental old friend Mainkuhn the story yet!

"There's no need for such an exaggerated description! Even though we're handing out knives everywhere, we're still doing a good deed, aren't we..."

Paimon immediately defended the empty statement:

"Moreover, the Traveler is very discerning! He mostly chooses those who possess the Eye of God, and those who possess the Eye of God have more resolute hearts than ordinary people, and they don't dwell too much on their sorrow! Sora! Don't you agree?"

The traveler ignored her, only spreading his hands and muttering to himself, "The remaining friends in Mondstadt and Liyue probably won't be enough to get a few thousand more Primogems. I really want to go to Inazuma right now. Ah, I've never looked forward to the arrival of new friends so much."

"..."

Now even Paimon couldn't say anything to make amends; her face was full of guilt.

"Well, even though he's been bewitched by the Primal Stone, the Traveler is still doing good deeds~"

"No, I don't mean to blame you. I'm just a little surprised. After all, the Traveler's efficiency is really high. It was the right choice to entrust this matter to you."

Zhongli regained his composure and returned to his original calm.

“In that case, why don’t you come to my place with Mainkun? We can find Jodo to pay your fee and he can also provide some information about Inazuma.”

"Information about Inazuma?" Paimon asked on behalf of the traveler. "Did the Dragon King Rota even travel to Inazuma?"

"No, that's not it. It's just that you should remember that the stones of Teyvat have the ability to hold memories."

"Of course! I remember that the Dragon King Ruoduo could easily read these memories...! Could it be that..."

Yes.

The Rock King Emperor spread his hands, revealing the crown bestowed upon him by all the people of Sumeru in his palms. The stones on it, whether good or bad, were all perfectly intact.

"This flawless crown has fully documented everything Mainkuhn experienced in Inazuma."

As a deceased god of a nation, the Rock King Emperor cannot show too much presence in worldly affairs, but this does not mean that he will give up his deepest feelings and avoid talking about the blood and tears of a foolish child who has achieved nothing.

Come, traveler.

"Let us together ascertain from the crippled hand of the Unparalleled King which path your journey will take next."

Upon arriving at Zhongli's residence, Paimon inexplicably felt somewhat hesitant:

"I have a feeling this is going to be another story that will make me cry. Sigh, the traveler isn't crying, Zhongli isn't crying, and I'm the only one sobbing. It's so embarrassing."

No sooner had the words been spoken than a crane descended from the sky.

"Your Majesty!"

As soon as the crane landed, it uttered unruly human words, its voice slightly hoarse.

"I only knew of a junior named Fengdan, but somehow Ruotuo regained his clear mind. I had no idea he was such a child with such a tragic past! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"?"

Zhongli was bewildered by the questioning.

Why...should I tell you this?

"Alas! Has retirement made you confused?" The crane raised its neck angrily. "Think about little Gan Yu, think about little Shen He, and think about the girls I used to take in. How well have I raised them? You should really send that Mei Yin to my door. I guarantee I'll raise him to be plump and round!"

“…You also said they were girls.” Zhongli silently protested his innocence. “As far as I know, from the Demon God War until now, you have never taken on any male disciples, so how can you blame me for not informing you?”

"Ah." Liu Yun remembered this and turned her head away, somewhat embarrassed, trying to find an excuse. "Why do I need to pay attention to the gender when raising a cat? Male and female are the same..."

Paimon sighed helplessly, "Hey, hey, hey, you're being too stubborn, True Lord."

"Enough, enough! This immortal, this immortal, will go check on that child!"

"Don't disturb him, he's still asleep in the inner room."

Seeing her startled and emotional state, Paimon leaned closer with ill intent. "We're planning to take this opportunity to ask King Ratna to investigate how his hand was severed. What do you want to do with us?"

"nature!"

Liu Yun was indeed fooled:

"This junior was saved by the Dragon King of Liyue. Now that he is in trouble, how could I abandon him!"

"Oh~" Paimon flew around her, trying to urge her on, "But it's definitely going to be a very sad story. Is the Immortal Lord easily moved to tears? If you end up crying your eyes out, that would be embarrassing!"

"What a joke! I've seen enough of the suffering of all living beings in the war between demons and gods; my tear ducts are already full!"

With a disdainful flap of its wings, Liu Yun uttered a string of arrogant words:

"Hurry up and have the Dragon King bring it up! I refuse to believe that Inazuma could be any worse off after five hundred years of the Kanria War!"

More than ten hours later, Mainkuen was in a daze when he was suddenly awakened by a mournful bird call.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a huge bird standing at the head of the bed. Sometimes it covered its eyes with its wings, sometimes it raised its beak to look at the sky, and sometimes it lightly stamped its feet, as if it was overwhelmed with grief.

A faint, childish sob drifted from outside the window: "It's so good, this time I'm not the only one crying, sob sob sob..."

"...?"

Confused, Mainkuen shook his broken tail and suddenly noticed that the large bird, seeing that he had woken up, walked over very gracefully, its long, snow-white neck swaying right in front of him.

"!!"

The cat licked its lips, crouched down under the covers, and pressed its ears down.

"My child, you've suffered so much."

Liu Yun had barely uttered half a word when she saw Mainkun on the bed pounce on her, throw off the covers, and press down on her head with his left paw... but he was too weak to hold it down. He swung his right paw at empty air and bit his own neck, his hunting instincts exploding!

[Wow, what a huge bird! It would be a shame not to catch it!]

His teeth had just caught a few soft feathers when suddenly the crane's eyes glared, its imposing presence radiating without anger:

"You brat, stop your nonsense!"

Finally, it gently patted him with its wing, as if offering a forgiving warning and punishment.

"???"

Mainkun loosened his teeth in surprise, his pupils shrinking sharply.

"Meow—"

With his hair standing on end, back arched, and frantically retreating, Mainkuen fearfully hid under the bed again.

This is unbelievable! The poultry in Liyue can talk!

-----------------------

Author's note: To the moon hunters of five hundred years ago: You will be shattered into a thousand pieces, withering in the soil of a foreign land.

Why doesn't it count?