Genshin Impact's Sweet and Hard Free People

"Don't be afraid. We can let him know about our affairs, and I'll make sure he doesn't interfere with our plans. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, you'll have to consider having that Ice God clean up the mess," Zhong Li said calmly, an aura of authority involuntarily emanating from him.

This clearly shocked D'Artagnan. After all, this seemingly gentle and refined young man in black robes had never threatened him with the title of "Ice God" before. D'Artagnan was even more surprised than ever when Zhongli was about to reveal the contract between him and the Fools to Xinhui.

Who is this person? Why would Morax, the Geo Archon, take them so seriously?!

D'Artagnan scrutinized Xinhui, trying to discern something.

However, the blue-haired brat in front of him didn't even have a God's Eye. In addition, after learning from the Northern Bank that Xin Hui was related to the Nail of Frost, Dadalia realized that Xin Hui, like the short-haired golden traveler before, was a strong person.

The strong must fight each other and withstand the test to the end.

Thinking of this, D'Artagnan suddenly became somewhat eager to try. However, since it was an important matter concerning the Queen, he naturally wouldn't let his guard down and kept listening to their conversation.

Later, Dadalia discovered that Xinhui actually knew Zhongli's identity as the God of Rock, and that he showed no nervousness when talking to him. Xinhui did not show much emotion when Zhongli said anything, and calmed down after a moment of surprise.

This person seems rather strange.

D'Artagnan gazed intently at Xinhui and discovered that although he did not possess the Eye of God, a special power was surging within him—the fluctuations of the elements of ice and rock. In particular, when he observed him closely, he couldn't help but feel a sense of fear.

That feeling only arises when facing an enemy far stronger than oneself.

It’s weird.

It wasn't until Xinhui said something next that Tadalia's thoughts were brought back to reality.

"Is this Morax's retirement?" Xinhui smiled helplessly. "The God of Geo, reaching this point, doesn't he feel any regret?"

Zhongli paused for a moment before giving his answer.

"As you know, I have lived for over 6000 years. It was 3700 years ago that I established Liyue with the immortals. As time has passed, many of those who followed me back then are no longer here."

“This land has witnessed a lot. As time goes by, I wonder more and more whether this country and this port can still function as before after losing the protection of Morax.”

Xinhui: "..."

This is actually Morax's way of showing that he is worried about Liyue. On the surface, it is the retirement of the Geo God; in reality, it is Morax who has also made a decision - to form a contract with the Ice God.

When the Ice Goddess was mentioned, a cold and aloof figure flashed through Xin Hui's mind. That Ice Goddess... I just hope she doesn't do anything reckless.

After talking to him, I felt somewhat relieved.

Looking at the two slender figures not far away, Xin Hui chose to cast aside these distracting thoughts and smiled calmly.

"Some things should be cherished slowly. Gods have their own troubles. I am just a traveler, but I also want to cherish the things in this world. If there is a need, I will resolutely step forward."

Xin Hui left these words for Zhong Li before walking toward the two beautiful figures.

"Who exactly is he? He always says things with hidden meanings, yet he deliberately acts so relaxed," Dadalia said, still dissatisfied as she watched Xinhui leave.

"Him... a commendable young man who dares to stand up to others." Zhong Li continued to sip his tea, but seemed to feel it was getting a little cold, so he asked the owner to refill his cup.

"Including the cost of listening to the storytelling, just send the bill to the Northern Bank," Zhongli told the shopkeeper.

D'Artagnan, looking slightly embarrassed, said, "Morax, can't you bring Mora with you when you go out...?"

Xin Hui left the storyteller and walked straight toward Ke Qing and the others, finding them in front of a stall selling various trinkets.

Keqing was currently holding a dragon-shaped souvenir that looked somewhat childish; it appeared to be a keepsake of the Emperor.

But when Xinhui asked her why she looked so adoring and delighted, Keqing vehemently denied it.

"The Emperor's souvenirs? You don't actually think my room is full of things like that, do you? I'm not a little girl anymore! Although—uh, I did buy a few new clay figurines of the Emperor, but, but these are just for self-reminders! They have absolutely nothing to do with worship or admiration!"

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Past of Qiqi

Xin Hui had seen these clay figurines in Ke Qing's room before; there were at least a dozen of them. How could these things compare to the eye-catching gowns like the [Rainbow Skirt]?

However, Keqing seemed to really like it, and Xinhui had no choice but to agree to accompany her and Ganyu to other places first. If they still wanted the clay figurine, they could buy it later when they came back.

Keqing eventually bought the clay figurine of the emperor and hung it in her and Ganyu's bedroom, saying it was for the two of them to admire together, but only Keqing was interested in it.

Gan Yu's reverence for the Rock King Emperor was unquestionable, but she expressed it differently from Ke Qing. If she didn't meet the Emperor in person, she probably would have kept that reverence deep in her heart.

"Ah Qing, how about we have radish and vegetable soup for dinner? Gan Yu can have some too," Xin Hui asked loudly. He was now very familiar with the two of them.

Because the Qilin clan are vegetarians, they can't always force Gan Yu to eat dishes containing animal fat. Last time, Gan Yu only ate the skewers after being repeatedly begged by her.

As Gan Yu put it, "Even if there's animal fat, it won't work; I, I can smell it."

Therefore, considering this, Xinhui thought it would be nice to eat some vegetarian dishes together occasionally. After all, he couldn't always watch her eat Qingxin flower petals; otherwise, Xinhui would feel guilty.

Ke Qing naturally agreed. She didn't have any particular requirements when it came to food, but if she could have a serving of her favorite [Golden Shrimp Balls] in her spare time, that would be the best.

Xinhui planned to go to Qunyu Pavilion again after dinner. As for why? Naturally, it was because the final account of Mora, which was made for the Lantern Festival dress, had not yet been settled.

They should have gone long ago; if it weren't for the unforeseen events in the Middle Layer Abyss, it wouldn't have been delayed until now. Xin Hui is currently heavily indebted to his suppliers, but fortunately, Ning Guang and Qunyu Pavilion can't run away, otherwise even selling him wouldn't be enough to pay back the more than 200 million Mora.

It had to be Ningguang's secretaries. Xinhui hadn't even greeted them yet, and they already knew why he was there.

"This is an account card from the Northern Bank. The identity information was registered for you by Lady Ningguang. Lady Ningguang instructed that the funds in this card will be used to pay for the principal cost of making the dresses for Yiyu Pavilion, and the remainder will be used as labor costs." The secretary in black presented a purple card to Xinhui with both hands and then said respectfully.

Xin Hui took the purple card and was somewhat surprised to see the special gold patterns and designs engraved on it.

This is the Northern Bank's Gold Card, which supposedly allows you to overdraft five million Mora unconditionally.

It wasn't until Xinhui went to Beiguo Bank to check his balance that his face twitched slightly.

Six and a half million Mora...

It's terrifying!

You should know that Xin Hui only earned 500,000 Mora in the six months he was in Liyue. The rent for Yi Yu Ge was 50,000 Mora per month, and he was afraid that it would close down one day, so he was very serious about his work.

Of course, aside from leisure time such as playing chess with Master Yun, Xin Hui dared not slack off at all other times.

Xin Hui now believes that if he wants to make money in the future, he just needs to take on more large orders. Qunyu Pavilion and Feiyun Chamber of Commerce should both become important clients.

It's not like they'll sell all their clothing to others; Xinhui is also very skilled in other garment making. Xinhui believes that with Yiyuge's current reputation, and if he's a little shameless, he can definitely make a fortune.

Unfortunately, having so much money is useless; people should just be content with what they have.

When Xinhui settled the payment with the dock suppliers for the fabrics, he purchased some higher-quality fabrics to make the clothes the girls needed. In total, it amounted to 3.1 million Mora.

The dockside supplier was naturally overjoyed, so polite that he practically wanted to become sworn brothers with Xinhui immediately. However, Xinhui declined all the invitations to have tea with him.

Just kidding, Xinhui now considers himself the owner of Yiyuge, so he's quite busy, okay?

Purchasing fabrics, designing clothes, cutting fabrics... and sometimes even participating in the dyeing process when the fabric colors are not vibrant enough.

Anyway, there's a lot to do.

After explaining the specific list of the next batch of fabrics to the slightly overweight supplier, Xinhui returned to Bubulu to inquire again about Baizhu's plant dyes.

However, Bai Shu seemed to be absent at the moment, with only the petite Qi Qi blinking her pink eyes and staring blankly at Xin Hui.

Since she's a zombie, the lack of facial expressions is forgivable, right? Moreover, Qiqi's thinking is also lacking; she seems to be stuck in the state before she became a zombie.

Xinhui once asked Baishu about Qiqi, since zombies, being a "non-human" life form, are quite rare. Baishu's answer was a touching story, based on records from ancient texts.

This ancient story has long been forgotten. A simple herb-gathering girl named Qiqi accidentally wandered into a fairyland, accidentally injured her right leg, and hurriedly hid in a cave to rest. While busy bandaging her wound, she vaguely heard sounds that did not belong to the mortal world, but she never expected that after the loud noise, she would be trapped between life and death forever.

Immortal or demon, righteous or evil… regardless of which side she was on, everyone understood that she was just a mortal, an innocent victim caught in the crossfire. Perhaps it was fate, but on the verge of death, she unexpectedly gained the "Eye of God," thus ending the war between immortals and demons. The immortals, unable to bear it, each took a wisp of their immortal power and sealed it into Qi Qi's body, intending to revive her.

Qi Qi, who has been reborn, falls into unprecedented madness because she cannot control the immortal power in her body. In order to calm the turmoil, "True Lord of Water and Mountain" has no choice but to take action and seal the unfortunate girl in amber.

Centuries later, Qi Qi, trapped in the amber, was finally discovered and taken to the "Hall of Rebirth" for burial. The mountain road was rugged and difficult to traverse, and the amber inevitably suffered some damage. In addition, over the years, the seal on Qi Qi had almost completely dissipated.

One night, Qiqi woke up completely, secretly broke the amber, and jumped away. Following her old habit of gathering herbs, Qiqi headed straight for the mountains and forests. On the way, she met Baishu, the owner of the herb hut "Bubuhu," who took her in.

Bai Shu was a skilled physician, but not a man of high moral character or a hero. Even so, he insisted on keeping Qi Qi, even though she had a terrible memory and would make mistakes when sorting medicinal herbs.

Bai Shu's tolerance towards Qi Qi seemed to be related to his personal pursuits. Qi Qi, though rigid, was not oblivious and had already sensed this. However, she didn't take it to heart. Whether it was because she had experienced too much or been lonely for too long... even if there were ulterior motives behind the "goodwill," it was still something to be grateful for for Qi Qi.

Xin Hui now seems to have found this girl in his memory. It seems she fell off a cliff while trying to collect a crystal flower to save another girl…

Just as he was pondering, Bai Zhu suddenly returned from outside the Bu Bu Lu hut, carrying a pile of Qingxin and Liuli bags. There were so many herbs that they obscured his face.

"Brother Baishu, I'm here again."

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Boundary of Rebirth

"Why are you here again?" Even with Bai Shu's temper, she couldn't stand Xin Hui's arrival.

After all, from their first meeting until now, Bai Shu has basically only seen Xin Hui when the latter is in trouble or has something going on. In addition, Xin Hui's insistence on going to the Layered Rock Abyss last time has caused Bai Shu a lot of worry.

Therefore, Bai Zhu was quite troubled when he saw Xin Hui come again.

"I wish you hadn't come. I'm a little scared whenever I see you now," Bai Shu said jokingly.

After hearing this, Xin Hui understood why Bai Shu didn't want to see him. He smiled awkwardly, wondering if he was being too shameless by asking for help again.

However, Atractylodes macrocephala does not care about these things.

Bai Zhu then placed the fresh medicinal herbs she was holding on the table. Some of the herbs still had some damp soil around their roots, indicating that they had just been picked.

"What are these for?" Xinhui asked curiously.

Only then did Bai Zhu slowly break off the roots of Qingxin and Liuli Dai, then cut off the stems and leaves, leaving the remaining parts, and put them on a large bamboo drying tray.

Xin Hui was quite familiar with Qingxin, because Gan Yu often ate its petals and would go to Jueyunjian in the morning to collect fresh ones, so he was also curious about the taste of Qingxin.

Once, Xin Hui saw that Gan Yu had left a lot of Qingxin petals after breakfast, so he picked one and put it in his mouth. Just like its name suggests, it really had no taste, and even tasted a little bitter at the end.

It doesn't taste very good.

This was Xin Hui's feeling. Clearly, Atractylodes macrocephala wasn't used for food; it seemed that this thing, along with the glass bag, also had some medicinal value.

Seeing that Xin Hui was quite interested, Bai Zhu thoughtfully explained the two medicinal herbs to him.

Pure and serene. A translucent white flower that grows only on solitary, towering rocky peaks. Unwilling to accept the warmth and moisture of the plains, it prefers to gaze into the distance from its cool, precipitous summit.

A glass pouch. A small flower with vigorous vitality; legend has it that its downward-facing blooms are to preserve its fragrance.

Both are Liyue specialties, and they are very difficult to collect. The former is on a solitary peak, and the latter is on a steep mountain wall. As you can imagine, it is not easy to get a large plate of Atractylodes macrocephala.

“You took all of my Bubulu’s stock of special healing medicines before, so we need to make some urgently,” Bai Zhu said, taking out scissors to cut open the white and blue petals.

Fresh, moist medicinal herbs cannot be used directly to make medicine; otherwise, your hands would be covered in medicinal juice when grinding them, and you would experience what pain truly means.

"Let me do it, Brother Baishu. You're all very busy at Bubulu, so why don't you go do something else first?" Xinhui was worried about where he could help Baishu, but when he heard Baishu mention "drying medicinal herbs," he immediately volunteered.