Genshin Impact, I'm Slime

Without waiting for Famas to respond, Zhongli's steady footsteps came from the wooden stairs on the second floor, each step carrying a reassuring rhythm.

The guest's palm gently stroked the stair railing, his fingertips skimming over the wood grain that had been polished smooth by time. The candlelight in the hall swayed slightly with his steps, casting tiny golden lights in his gilded eyes.

"Master Hu," Zhongli's voice was still as gentle as jade, but with a helpless smile, "How come I didn't know that Wangsheng Hall was still recruiting guests?"

Zhongli walked down the last step slowly, the dark pattern on the hem of his clothes faintly visible in the candlelight.

As soon as the footsteps of Famas and Wendy sounded on the bluestone slabs outside the Hall of Rebirth, Zhongli, who was sorting ancient books in the bedroom on the second floor, raised his head sharply.

His slender fingers were stroking a newly restored bamboo slip. When he heard the familiar, somewhat brisk footsteps, his fingertips couldn't help but pause.

“The sound of footsteps…”

Zhongli sighed softly and carefully placed the bamboo slips back into the wooden box. The moonlight filtered through the carved window lattices, casting tiny spots of light on his handsome profile.

He rubbed his temples, thinking of the teacup that was "accidentally" knocked over by Wendy this morning, and Famas's excuse of "just wanting to take a look" when he dismantled his collection of the thousand-year-old mechanical bird. His heart began to ache again.

When he took out the Heart of God, Zhongli didn't feel as uncomfortable as he does now.

Hearing the conversation between the Traveler and Tartaglia coming from downstairs, Zhongli breathed a sigh of relief. At least these two were behaving themselves... But then he heard the laughter of FAMAS and Venti, which made him frown unconsciously.

Zhongli walked to the window and saw through the gauze curtains that the two troubled gods were standing at the door of the Hall of Rebirth. One was fiddling with the copper bell on the door knocker, and the other was studying the structure of the lantern under the eaves.

"Hopefully they are just passing by..."

Zhongli whispered to himself, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the patterns on the window frame. But reason told him that the Hall of Rebirth was at the end of the deepest alley in Liyue Harbor, and no one would come here unless they came here on purpose.

From downstairs came Kurumi's energetic greeting, followed by the sound of cheerful footsteps.

Zhongli closed his eyes, knowing that there was no way to avoid it, so he straightened his sleeves and smoothed out the collar of his clothes that was messed up by Wendy this morning, and checked that the glazed plum branch hanging around his waist was safe and sound.

This was the amulet that Hu Tao forced upon him. Although Zhongli felt that he did not need it, he still carried it with him in order not to disappoint Master Hu.

"That's all..."

Zhongli sighed lightly and pushed the door open. The creaking stairs did not make any sound until Zhongli coughed lightly, which attracted everyone's attention.

Instead of waiting for them to cause trouble, it is better to take the initiative to control the situation. This is the most practical way of dealing with the world that Zhongli has summed up over the past 3,600 years.

When Hu Tao heard Zhongli's question, she immediately put her hands on her hips and tried to put on a stern face to make herself look more dignified as the head of the hall.

The plum blossom hair accessory on the girl's head swayed gently as she moved, casting tiny spots of light under the candlelight, making her lively plum blossom eyes even brighter.

"Cough cough..."

Hu Tao deliberately drew out his voice and cleared his throat, imitating the old scholars in the General Affairs Department, and said seriously: "This hall master has his own ideas, so please don't say too much!"

After the girl finished speaking, she secretly glanced at Zhongli, wanting to see his reaction.

Seeing that Zhongli still looked indifferent, Hu Tao's eyes rolled, and she suddenly jumped to his side, pulling his sleeve and shaking him gently.

"Besides~" She blinked her eyes, her tone seemed to carry a hint of pride, "Mr. Famas is so amazing, if he could come to our Wangsheng Hall, wouldn't it be more prestigious when we discuss business in the future!"

Kurumi said this while winking at Famas.

"Besides, aren't you two old acquaintances? This will make it easier for us to work!" Zhongli shook his head slightly and sighed. He knew very well that although he had indeed picked out all the major events that had happened in Liyue Harbor and told Hu Tao about them, this clever girl could always infer some unexpected conclusions from just a few words.

Now that he suddenly proposed to make Famas a guest official, it was probably intended as a test.

Thinking of this, Zhongli couldn't help but smile bitterly. If Famas really became a guest official of the Hall of Rebirth, his long-awaited retirement life would be ruined.

Just imagining the scene of FAMAS and WENDY "competing" in the Hall of the Dead made his head ache.

"I appreciate the hall master's kindness."

Zhongli naturally straightened Hu Tao's slightly tilted hat, and his fingertips gently brushed over the plum blossom pattern embroidered on the brim of the hat.

He performed this action very skillfully, as if he had repeated it thousands of times, the only thing that changed was the height of the person involved.

Zhongli turned his gaze towards Famas, narrowed his golden eyes slightly, and nodded with a polite and distant arc on the corner of his mouth: "But in this kind of matter, we still have to respect the wishes of the parties involved."

Zhongli's voice was neither hurried nor slow, yet it carried unquestionable authority.

When Famas heard this, his red eyes suddenly lit up, and a wicked smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Who said he didn't agree?
Seeing the young man's smile, Zhongli immediately became alert, and the fingers behind his back unconsciously tightened a little. He continued to add: "Besides, according to the rules, the Wangsheng Hall needs to burn incense and offer sacrifices to the ancestors when hiring a guest official." His tone became more and more serious, making it difficult to tell whether it was true or false. "How can the laws of our ancestors be easily changed?"

In order to prevent FAMAS from really agreeing, Zhong Kai made a patch to the rules for expanding the recruitment of guest officials.

After all, given the temperament of this God of War, if he were to agree to this, there would probably never be peace in the Wangsheng Hall.

As for what he called "asking for instructions from the ancestors", the Traveler and Paimon rolled their eyes at the same time, thinking that this excuse was too half-hearted.

In the entire Liyue Harbor, is there any ancestor who can live longer than this 6,000-year-old Lord Yan? I am afraid that even the ancestors enshrined in the Hall of Rebirth have to respectfully call Zhongli the ancestor.

But Zhongli still said these words without changing his expression, his fingertips gently stroking the Eye of God on his waist.

Of course he knew that this excuse was untenable, but as long as it could temporarily stall Famas and make him give up the idea, it didn't matter if the traveler saw through it.

After all, compared to dealing with a god of war who is always thinking about causing trouble, being criticized by others is nothing.

Walnut pouted and her plum blossom hair accessory swayed slightly as she shook her head.

"Really? How come I didn't know there was such a rule?"

The girl muttered to herself, but she was not sure whether there was a rule to consult the ancestors when recruiting guest officials.

After all, Zhongli had been a guest official at the Wangsheng Hall when she was very young. Old Master Hu never said a word about how he recruited Zhongli as a guest official. He only told Hu Tao to listen to Zhongli before he died.

Zhongli is a guest official entrusted by Wangsheng Hall.

This amount is much heavier than that of ordinary guest food.

"I think Mr. Zhongli just doesn't want to see his guest position taken away by someone else..."

Just as Hu Tao was about to continue arguing, he suddenly smelled a faint scent of herbs. (End of this chapter)