I am Kamen Rider who reverses dimensions

The next morning, Hu Tao stretched and casually straightened her collar as she looked at Zhong Li, who had just returned home, and asked curiously:

"Could it be that he went to check the feng shui of funerals? Zhongli, you have to trust me, the location of southern Liyue is quite good."

"No, I was just bored, so I spent three hours brewing a pot of 'refreshing tea.'"

"Three hours?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Tao blinked as if startled and whispered:

"Good heavens, what kind of tea is this? Three hours? If we worked any harder, we could have made a trip to Mondstadt. Zhongli, where is the tea? Let me have a taste."

"I've already finished drinking it. That kind of refreshing tea should be brewed and drunk immediately. If you have the patience, Master, I can brew it again, just to get some exercise. But you'll have to learn from me."

"Forget it."

Hu Tao thought for a moment, then quickly waved her hand and said:

"Time is more precious than gold right now, I have no time to learn this. I'm going out now. Zhongli, I'll leave the Hall of Rebirth to you for now."

Although it was just a trip to check the feng shui, Hu Tao still put on a fierce and imposing air. Zhong Li was already used to his master's quirky nature, so he calmly nodded in agreement. After Hu Tao left, he tidied up the courtyard a bit and then planned to check on Yuan Xiang's situation. But as he put down the broom, Yuan Xiang rubbed his temples and pushed open the door to come out.

"Good morning, Zhongli. Where's Wendy? This is the first time I've ever heard of juice being intoxicating."

“He’s already run back to Mondstadt, but I went with him. I think he won’t take the wrong thing next time.”

"That guy..."

Yuanxiang sighed, a bit annoyed, then straightened his clothes and looked at Zhongli, saying:

"By the way, is there anything else I can help you with? If not, I'll be leaving now. Liyue is quite nice, but I still need to look after the agency."

"There's something I need your help with."

Zhongli lowered his sleeves, greeted the employees of the Rebirth Hall who were coming to work, and then looked at Yuanxiang and said:

"Let's talk as we walk. Consider it me giving you a commission."

"Okay, is it still related to the aftermath of the Emperor's death?"

"Ah."

Zhongli nodded and said to Yuanxiang as they walked:

"Although the Emperor has passed away, using only this as a test is a bit too unrealistic and unrealistic, so I hope..."

"Wait, you two in front, stop!"

Before Zhongli could finish speaking, a voice from behind abruptly interrupted him. Yuanxiang and Zhongli turned around and saw a woman with twin ponytails, cat-ear-shaped tufts of hair, wearing a purple off-shoulder dress matching her hair color, black pantyhose, and high heels walking towards them with an imposing presence. Zhongli took a step forward and said softly:

"Lord Yuhengxing, what brings you to our door?"

In Liyue, below the Emperor, there are seven noble individuals who govern the entire land of Liyue, known as the Seven Stars of Liyue. They are named "Tian Shu Star", "Tian Quan Star", "Yu Heng Star", "Tian Xuan Star", "Tian Ji Star", "Kai Yang Star", and "Yao Guang Star". They are in charge of the commercial operations of the entire Liyue Harbor. Now, after the Emperor's death, the affairs that were originally under the Emperor's full supervision have all been distributed to the Seven Stars and Eight Gates.

The current [Yuheng Star] is named Keqing, who is in charge of land and construction, and manages land and people's livelihood. So even Zhongli was quite confused when she saw this person come to her door. Even if the funeral matters of the Hall of Rebirth involved the planning of official land, it should not be her personally coming to her door.

"Mr. Zhongli, and Mr. Yuanxiang, can you tell me what happened last night after you and Tartaglia, the executor of the Fools of Winterfell, left Liyue Harbor?!"

Ke Qing didn't mince words and went straight to the point, asking:

"Last night, someone found Tartaglia, who went out with you, lying unconscious at the entrance of the infirmary. So I hope you can tell me the truth about what happened. Liyue Harbor is going through a lot right now, so I hope you can cooperate with me as much as possible."

"We will definitely cooperate, but..."

Zhongli hesitated for a moment, then said softly:

"From a purely rational perspective, although this matter involves diplomacy, isn't it a bit of an overreaction for you, as the ruler of [Yuheng Star], to handle it personally?"

“This matter really shouldn’t be my responsibility.”

Keqing answered in a very formal and methodical manner:

“I wasn’t planning on getting involved, but since I’ve run into you two by chance, I might as well take care of the problem while I’m at it, so that I can have more people to handle other things.”

"To put it simply, we went there to exchange skills."

Yuanxiang and Zhongli exchanged a glance, then spoke frankly:

“That guy is a bit belligerent. I just muttered a couple of things, and he wanted to have a match with me. You saw the result of the match; I won.”

"And then you just dumped him at the clinic?"

"To be precise, I asked a friend to take him to the clinic."

Yuanxiang corrected Keqing's statement and said softly:

"I felt the moonlight was quite nice last night, so after our sparring session, I went for a walk in the mountains with Mr. Zhongli. What, did the rescue of that Tartaglia fail?"

"No, it hasn't come to that point yet."

Keqing shook her head repeatedly and explained:

"She just hasn't woken up yet, otherwise it wouldn't be so troublesome. Alright, I've noted what you said. Someone will check it after Tartaglia wakes up. I have other things to do, so I'll take my leave now. By the way, I'm a little curious, Mr. Gensou, where are you from? There's no record of you in Liyue's household registration."

"I'm from Fengdu, which is far from here. I'm here for tourism."

"Oh, I see. Then remember to register. During this period, all visitors must be recorded. I hope you can cooperate. Goodbye."

With a decisive and swift manner, Ke Qing turned and left after speaking, which made Yuan Xiang feel a little uncomfortable. After all, the girl looked so serious that she didn't seem like she was just there to ask a question. He had already prepared for Ke Qing to smash the cup as a signal, and for a group of axemen to appear and take him down.

"Don't worry about it, that's just how Keqing is."

Zhongli smiled and explained softly to Yuanxiang that among the seven stars of Liyue, Keqing was an absolute action-taker. If she thought something was valuable and necessary, she would definitely do it herself. For example, she once personally traversed the entire territory of Liyue, memorizing the terrain so that she could make the most of every inch of land in the future. She also went to the site to experience the life of a worker for two whole months in order to formulate a plan to improve the treatment of workers.

In addition to her work with the Liyue Sept, Keqing also does a lot of charity work, most of which have received good feedback. However, initiatives such as “working an extra hour every day” have encountered considerable resistance.

However, what impressed Zhongli the most was that this [Yuheng Star] once said to the Emperor of Liyue: 'Your Majesty has protected Liyue for a thousand years, but will it be the same for the next thousand years, ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years?' To be honest, the Emperor was very pleased with these words, especially since he had already begun to plan his retirement at that time. So now Zhongli is looking forward to seeing how the mortal 'Seven Stars of Liyue' will react after the Emperor leaves.

"I have a feeling you're up to something."

Yuanxiang watched Zhongli mutter a complaint, to which the guest elder of Wangsheng Hall smiled indifferently. Then, he suddenly stopped, and the boy followed his gaze, seeing a girl busy in the kitchen. The girl had a looped braid and wore a cheongsam that looked like a martial arts uniform. Her thick eyebrows gave her a particularly heroic air. If Yuanxiang remembered correctly, she should be the daughter of the owner of Wanmintang, a fairly famous restaurant. Did Zhongli come to see her to have someone specially prepare a meal? Isn't that a bit too extravagant?

"You're mistaken, look at the one next to you."

At this moment, Zhongli reached out and gently turned Yuanxiang's head, looking at the bear-shaped doll next to the girl, which was making a "lululu" sound as if it was cheering her on.

"Is that a real person in a bodysuit or...?"

"That's how it is. And if we're talking about it, you and he are acquaintances. His current activities are partly due to your efforts."

As Zhongli spoke, he slightly bent his finger, and the floor next to Wanmintang suddenly moved. The bear-shaped doll that was happily making a "lululu" sound stopped abruptly, and then reached out to grab the food that the girl had just finished cooking.

Of course, this action was far too obvious, and the girl caught it easily. The child named 'Xiangling' patted the bear-shaped doll's hand and whispered:

"Guoba, this is for the guests. Don't make a mess. Come on, take this dish to that table."

"Lulu Lulu".

The bear-shaped plush toy barked twice and obediently carried the plate of food over. But after delivering the food, it trotted off and disappeared somewhere. Zhongli calmly turned around and whispered to Yuanxiang:

"Use 'Luna' to help cover up our actions."

"No problem."

The moonlight in Yuanxiang's hand quietly appeared. As the bear-shaped doll named Guoba turned out of the alley, the gentle moonlight immediately fell, inadvertently erasing the traces of the three of them.

"Lulu (Your Majesty, what are you doing?)?"

"I understood!?"

Yuanxiang was stunned for a moment when he saw Zhongli pointing his fingers like a sword and quietly circulating his magic power. He realized that it was because of this that Yuanxiang was able to understand what the bear doll was saying.

"I don't have any old friends here. I need your help with something. By the way, I think you two probably don't remember each other anymore. Let me introduce you."

The true identity of this teddy bear is Maxius, the "Demon of the Hearth," who was born from the sparks of colliding stones and is in charge of hearth fires and people's livelihoods. He is the demon closest to humankind.

A thousand years ago, when the ancients were expanding their city in Guili Plains, the Kitchen God manifested in a clone to help them light fires and cook. Later, a sudden flood struck Guili Plains, and the Kitchen God and the immortals escorted humanity to Liyue Harbor to find a new home.

After that, in order to help mankind avoid the troubles of natural disasters, the Kitchen God poured his power into the earth. Having lost his power, the Kitchen God's wisdom greatly diminished, and his size became smaller and smaller. When he bid farewell to the immortals, he was less than a person tall.

After the Kitchen God revealed the secrets of the hearth to the Rock King and the True Lord of the Song Dust Wave City, he went to a small temple in the mountains and fell into a long slumber. At that time, Gensou could not bear to see his old friend end up like this, so he used an unknown secret method to import the 'records' of Maxius's journey in the human world into the sleeping Kitchen God's body, hoping that one day this would awaken his old friend's mind.

Later, while collecting glass bags, Xiangling was caught in a sudden downpour and became exhausted and hungry. She ran into a cave with a shrine. Xiangling left her last spicy meat bun in front of the shrine and fell asleep. When she woke up, this "mysterious creature" appeared beside her. From then on, this new friend stayed by Xiangling's side. Xiangling named it "Guoba" after her favorite snack since childhood.

Over the years, the people of Liyue have never stopped worshipping and venerating the Hearth God. The continuous stream of incense and faith caused the 'record' that Genji left in the Hearth God's body to expand uncontrollably. One day, while running away with Xiangling as usual, his power broke through a certain limit, and his lost consciousness began to resurface. Zhongli, who had been paying attention to Maxius, immediately noticed this and quietly came to his side to protect him as he fully awoke.

As for Yuanxiang, just as Zhongli began, Maxius seized upon the void of loss in his heart. However, unlike Zhongli, he did not recall past memories as he was inspired by Zhongli and spent time with Yuanxiang. At this moment, they were still the most familiar strangers.

"Ahem, well, how should I put it, Maxiius..."

"Lululu (call me Guoba)."

"Okay, crispy rice."

Zhongli coughed lightly and said softly:

"I think you probably already have a pretty good idea why I'm looking for you."

"Lulu (How am I supposed to know?)"

The bear doll rolls its eyes.

"Look, now that the Emperor has passed away, the era of Liyue walking alongside the gods has ended, but we still don't know if Liyue is ready."

"Lulululululu (This is not something I, a piece of crispy rice, should be thinking about)."

“Marcus, you are about to become the Emperor, but you are already dead.”

Zhongli understood that his old friend had seen through his intention to retire and had no intention of responding, fearing he would be forced into hard labor and lose his current peaceful life. Therefore, he slightly adopted the dignity he possessed as an emperor and said in a solemn voice:

"What happens next will determine the future of Liyue."

“Lulu (I understand), Lulu (Go ahead and say it).”

"I need a crisis."

Zhongli calmly said in a soft voice:

"Let's use a sudden crisis to test whether the people of Liyue are ready to take over this era."

"Lulu (That makes sense), Lululululululu (But what does this have to do with me, this crispy rice crust)?"

“My friend, you were quite burly when you were at your peak.”

A faint smile suddenly appeared on Zhong Li's face, like a creepy uncle trying to coax a child with a lollipop, and he said softly:

"How about I lend you my divine power so you can return to your peak?"

“Lulu (Excuse me), Lulu (Goodbye).”