Genshin Impact: Watch me turn the tables and kill my servants at the start!

When Fanes walked into the small noodle shop next to the Northern Bank that day, he had no idea that he would run into Zhongli again in that place.

The noodle shop was small, with a few wooden tables that were wiped clean, a landscape painting hanging on the wall, and a pot of steaming soup simmering on a small stove in the corner.

As Fanes was leaning over the counter studying the incomprehensible noodle names on the menu, a gentle voice came from behind him: "Young friend, we meet again."

Fanes turned around and saw Zhongli sitting by the window, holding a white porcelain teacup in his hand. His dark brown hair shone softly in the light coming through the window, and his amber eyes held a kind of calm that made people feel inexplicably at ease.

Zhongli saw Fanes turn his head to look at him and slightly curved the corners of his mouth: "What a coincidence. If you don't mind, young friend, why don't we have a meal together? It would be a way of thanking you for the tea you gave me the other day."

Fanes' mind raced. He had indeed felt guilty when he bumped into Zhongli at the entrance of the New Moon Pavilion last time. After all, anyone would tremble in fear when facing a god who had lived for over six thousand years.

But after observing for the past two days and hearing gossip from Shui Pang, Fanes roughly figured out the temperament of this Rock God—Zhong Li is currently like a retired old cadre, spending his days drinking tea, listening to operas, and browsing antique shops. He wouldn't even get angry if a roadside vendor offended him.

Unless they undertake any major land reclamation or mountain-blasting operations in Liyue Harbor, this person simply won't bother with anyone.

Fanes felt reassured and pulled Yakoda, who was still frozen in place, to sit down at the table: "Thank you very much, senior!"

Jakoda was pulled to sit on the chair by Fanes. She was as straight as a piece of wood, with only a third of her buttocks touching the chair surface, and her hands were neatly placed on her knees.

Fanes glanced at her, thinking to himself, "This girl is usually fearless, so why does she act like she's seen a ghost when she sees the Rock God?"

Zhongli called over a waiter and ordered several dishes, each one carefully selected – stir-fried seasonal vegetables, a soup, a plate of braised duck, and a bowl of steaming crab roe noodles.

When Fanes picked up a noodle with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth, he felt his taste buds dancing. The noodles were chewy and smooth, and the soup was delicious. It was even more to his liking than the grand meal he had at the Crescent Moon Pavilion.

Fanes buried his head in his food and took a few bites. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jakoda next to him trying to pick up a piece of braised duck with her chopsticks. But the tips of her chopsticks trembled like autumn leaves. The duck swayed back and forth on her chopsticks three times but she couldn't pick it up. Finally, the piece of meat fell back onto the plate with a thud, splashing a few drops of sauce.

Fanes looked up at her while biting into his noodles, and lowered his voice: "Yakoda, don't be so nervous."

Yakoda forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, her voice strained through clenched teeth: "Boss... I'm not nervous."

Fanes looked down at the table. The table legs were trembling slightly and rhythmically, causing the vinegar dish beside him to shake as well, the dark brown vinegar inside rippling along the rim.

Fanes reached out and touched Jakoda's leg under the table—the leg was shaking at a low but constant frequency, making the whole table vibrate.

"The whole table is shaking with you, and you're telling me you're not nervous?" Fanes said through gritted teeth in a low voice.

Yakoda's smile froze even more, the curve of her lips like a frozen crack. She pressed her trembling hands hard on the table, trying to suppress the trembling with physical means, but her fingertips were still tapping on the table.

"Boss, you know who that is! How can I not be nervous!"

Zhong Li sat opposite, quietly drinking tea throughout, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the interaction between the two children, one big and one small, the smile on his lips never fading.

Zhong Li put down his teacup, his tone as gentle as if he were coaxing a junior member of his family: "Little friend, you don't need to be so afraid of me. I'm just an ordinary citizen."

The moment Yakoda heard those words, her entire expression froze as if she had been frozen in place. Her starry eyes shifted from fear to contemplation, and then from contemplation to even greater fear.

An ordinary citizen. An ordinary citizen. The Geo Archon says he's just an ordinary citizen. Isn't that basically telling her, "I may seem like an ordinary person, but I can turn you to ashes at any time"? Isn't that the classic line that only a big shot would say, "I'm just a passerby"?

The more Yakoda thought about it, the more she felt that behind the gentleness in those amber eyes lay two pressing, shoving rocks. She abruptly stood up from her chair, slammed her chopsticks on the table, and raised her voice by half a tone as she suppressed a tremor: "I'm full! I'm leaving now! Boss, you can eat slowly!"

After saying that, he turned and ran, his steps so fast it was as if his feet had springs, and he disappeared behind the curtain at the entrance of the noodle shop in the blink of an eye.

Fanes stared in disbelief in the direction where Yakoda had disappeared, then turned to look at Zhongli, who was still holding a teacup across from him.

Zhong Li shook his head helplessly, his amber eyes filled with a puzzled look, as if wondering, "Why is this child so afraid of me?" He sighed, "This child... never mind, let's not talk about this anymore."

Zhong Li put down his teacup, turned his gaze to Fanes, and a gentle smile returned to his lips. "Young friend, thank you for the two boxes of Chenyu Valley tea you sent me earlier. It is only polite to reciprocate, so since I accepted your gift, I should naturally give something back."

Before Fanes could even say something polite like "No need, no need," he saw a layer of pale golden light rise from Zhongli's right palm. The light was warm and gentle, as if the midday sun had been crushed and melted into the palm of his hand.

As the light coalesced, a delicate, small humanoid silhouette gradually emerged—about the size of a palm, composed entirely of crystals formed from rock elements. Its facial features and clothing were meticulously detailed, and the calm and composed demeanor in its eyes was exactly the same as the person sitting in front of it.

Zhongli held the miniature version of herself in her palm and examined it for a moment before gently placing it in front of Fanes.

"This item contains a trace of rock elemental power. Although it is not strong, it may be able to block it in a critical moment."

Zhongli spoke casually, as if he were just giving away a roadside stone, "Consider it... a return gift for the tea you gave me."

Fanes stared at the palm-sized rock crystal figurine in front of him, only three words repeating in his mind: limited edition. Officially licensed limited edition.

It's the only one of its kind in all of Teyvat. And it even has a trace of Zhongli's power in it. Fanes swallowed hard, and carefully picked up the little figure with both hands. It felt slightly cool to the touch, smooth and warm to the touch, and quite heavy.

Without hesitation, he tucked it into the inside pocket of his coat, then looked up at Zhong Li with a bright smile: "Thank you, senior!"

Zhongli nodded, then turned to call the waiter to settle the bill. As the waiter approached with the bill, Fanes saw Zhongli's hand instinctively reach for his waist—where a money pouch for Mora usually hung—but the hand stopped when it touched the belt.

Zhongli glanced down at her empty waist, then looked up at Fanes opposite her. Her expression didn't change much, but a subtle hint of embarrassment, like something forgotten at home, flickered in her amber eyes.

Zhong Li spoke, his voice still calm and gentle, "Young friend, did you bring any money?"

Fanes looked at the Rock God in front of him, who had just been calmly hand-shaping a figurine for him, and now looked at him with an expression that said, "I did bring my wallet, but I forgot it today."

Fanes was silent for two seconds, then took out the pocket money bag that Pantalone had just given him that morning from his pocket and silently counted the remaining Mora inside.

Unexpected. Yet reasonable.

Fanes silently placed the Mora, enough to pay for the meal, into his pocket, then stood up and politely nodded to Zhongli: "Senior, I'll go back and check on my little friend; she was quite frightened just now."

Zhong Li stood up, cupped his hands in thanks, and a helpless smile still lingered on his face: "Thank you very much for your hospitality today, young friend. If there is an opportunity another day, I will return the favor."

Fanes thought to himself, "If only you could remember to bring money," but he said nothing, just smiled, waved, and lifted the curtain to leave the noodle shop.

Upon returning to the Northern Bank, Fanes saw Pantalone standing at the lobby entrance, carrying an exquisite briefcase, seemingly preparing to return to Winter. The gaze behind the gold-rimmed glasses lingered on Fanes for a moment, a slight smirk playing on his lips: "Twelfth Seat, it seems you've been having a comfortable time in Liyue these past few days."

As Fanes walked up to him, he suddenly remembered the miniature Geomancer figurine in his coat pocket. His mind raced—Pantaronne, the rich man, the ninth seat of the Fools, one of the wealthiest people in all of Teyvat, and also the most twisted Emperor fanatic in the entire Winter Palace.

This kind of person has an almost fanatical passion for anything related to the Geo Archon. The figure he holds is a one-of-a-kind, officially licensed limited edition, handcrafted by Zhong Li himself, imbued with a trace of the Geo Archon's power. If he were to give it to Pantarone…

Fanes carefully took the small crystal figurine out of his pocket, held it in his palm, and presented it to Pantalone: ​​"Mr. Pantalone, this is for you."

When Pantalone's gaze fell on the figurine, Fanes clearly saw his breath catch for a moment.

The pupils behind the gold-rimmed glasses dilated slightly, and a barely suppressed but still discernible fluctuation crossed that usually calm face.

Pantalone put down his suitcase, took the little figure with both hands as gently as if he were receiving a fragile, rare treasure, examined it twice, and gently stroked the surface of the rock crystal with his fingertips.

"This is..." His voice was half a octave lower than before.

"A return gift from Senior Zhongli."

With his hands behind his back, Fanes tilted his head back and gave a harmless smile. "I thought you might like it, so I thought I'd pass it on."

Pantalone did not answer, but he carefully placed the figurine into the innermost compartment of the suitcase, a movement that Fanes felt he hadn't been this careful when he carried the bag of cash that the Thousand Rock Army had delivered.

Pantalone straightened up, adjusted his glasses, and nodded slightly to Fanes, the curve of his lips more genuine than before: "Twelfth Seat, you are more sensible than I imagined."

After saying that, he picked up his briefcase, turned around, and walked out of the North Bank. His steps were still unhurried, but Fanes noticed that the way he held the briefcase was at least twice as careful as usual.

Akoda peeked out from the corner at some point, her eyes sparkling as she watched Pantalone disappear through the door. She leaned close to Fanes and whispered, "Boss, when you gave that old man the figurine, I felt like his eyes were glowing."

Fanes leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed: "You don't understand. That's called a twisted Emperor fan's normal reaction when they receive official merchandise."

Yakoda gave a half-understanding "Oh," then touched her empty stomach and tugged at Fanes' sleeve: "Boss, I ran out and didn't eat a thing, I'm starving now."