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"You..." With a hint of anger on her face, Keqing was about to start lecturing, but fortunately Yu Qi was quick to stop her.

"No, Miss Keqing, you must have misunderstood Mr. Zhongli!" Looking at Keqing with a look of indignation on her face, Yu Qi tried to explain, "He can't possibly have any ill intentions towards us, really, I promise."

After all, Zhongli is Morax. Who here would have a conspiracy against Yu Qi and the others? Even Zhongli can't have a conspiracy against them!

This is unnecessary, isn't it! If Zhongli really wants to attack, it would be a miracle if anyone on the scene can survive a single blow.

It’s a pity that Keqing didn’t know Zhongli’s true identity. In addition, although she had heard about this mysterious guest official in the past, she had never met him in person.

Hearing that Zhongli was going to take Yu Qi and the others to the "Jedi" and even refused to listen to advice, he naturally felt angry.

Even, thinking about the 'Rock Lizard' that Lao Dai mentioned before, and combining it with Zhongli's current situation, Keqing couldn't help but have some doubts - could Zhongli be the mastermind behind all this?

After all, if you really want to go to Tianqiu Valley, the most convenient route does not require passing through the Layered Rock Abyss!

His behavior and motives are definitely not pure!

Seeing Keqing's suspicious expression, Yu Qi couldn't explain Zhongli's true identity, so he could only say helplessly: "In fact, our destination this time is Nantianmen. We are here to treat Mr. Zhongli's friend. You know I am good at making pills."

"but……"

"Moreover, the immortals actually know about this matter. Mr. Zhongli's friend had to seek treatment from the immortals before, and he barely managed to save his life."

"Really?" Keqing's brows were still furrowed. She looked at Yu Qi, then at Zhong Li, and finally nodded: "Okay then."

Since Yu Qi had even brought up the immortal, Keqing naturally couldn't say anything more, but just secretly kept it in mind.

They should be together with her on the rest of the journey, so she will observe carefully then. If Zhongli really intends to harm others on purpose, she will definitely not stand idly by.

After calming down, Keqing turned to look at the Thousand Rocks Army behind her and said, "Okay, now that we know the direction the miners left before they disappeared, I will be responsible for tracking them down. You stay and work with the garrison in the Stratum Chasm to continue clearing out the monsters around."

“But Lady Keqing, isn’t this a bit too dangerous…” A captain-level Thousand Rocks soldier wanted to speak, but she raised her hand to stop him.

"Don't worry, I'm not weak in combat, and I also know the Thunder Wedge Technique. It's much easier for me to charge forward or escape than it is for you."

"The enemy this time is very likely to be an evil spirit. You don't have elemental power and it's easy for him to kill you."

Shaking her head, Keqing said calmly, "Besides, if we really encounter a situation that is difficult to sustain, I will also send out a signal. Whether it is Lingju Pass or Tianqiu Valley, there are quite a few Qianyan troops stationed there now."

"This..." After listening to Keqing's series of words, the Qianyan Army present looked at each other in hesitation.

Seeing this, Keqing frowned. She naturally understood their concerns, but in her opinion this was the best solution.

Even though the guards of the Layered Abyss have already cleared out all the monsters around the mining area, within a day or so, countless monsters will come from all directions again.

So it is best for these reinforcements to stay here.

Seeing that the situation seemed to be at a stalemate, Yu Qi coughed lightly and said, "Then don't worry, everyone. I have made some preparations."

As he spoke, he reached out and took out a few glowing talismans from thin air and shook them: "You may not have heard of my name, but you should have heard of the immortal who descended on Liyue Harbor some time ago, right?"

"This is the protective talisman I obtained from the immortal. It is miraculous and can definitely keep us safe!"

“Immortal Talisman?!” The leader of the Qianyan Army exclaimed, looking at the talisman in Yu Qi’s hand in surprise. After looking it up and down, feeling the mysterious aura coming from it, he bowed slightly and said, “Well, Master Keqing, please be careful on the road.”

“Got it, got it.” Waving her hand impatiently, Keqing signaled them to bring Old Dai back to the Abyss as well.

After seeing Qianyan Army walking away, she looked at the glowing talisman in Yu Qi's hand with some surprise: "Is this really a talisman you asked for from an immortal?"

"I see, it doesn't look like it!"

After all, she is Yuheng, one of the Seven Stars, and has seen immortal talismans. Although the aura is very similar to those in Yu Qi's hands, there are still some differences after all.

“Hehe~” After being seen through by Keqing, Yu Qi smiled a little embarrassedly and explained in a low voice: “Well, the talisman is indeed a talisman passed down by the immortals, but these are all drawn by me!”

"Pfft~"

Chapter 170: Zhongli is about to be exposed

"Haha, Mr. Yu Qi doesn't seem to be that pious to the immortals." After teasing, Keqing couldn't help but remind him, "But, if the immortals knew that you were so casually using their names, you would be punished. Mr. Yu Qi should be more careful in the future!"

"Uh~ Really?" Yu Qi casually tilted his head to glance at Zhongli and asked, "The immortals shouldn't be so narrow-minded, right?"

"That shouldn't be the case. Considering the friendship between Mr. Yu Qi and the immortals, even if they knew that you borrowed their names, they probably wouldn't mind."

Shaking his head, Zhongli looked at the talisman in Yu Qi's hand with some strangeness, and continued: "But, if they see these talismans in Mr. Yu Qi's hand... then I'm afraid it's hard to say."

"Although I don't know much about immortal talismans, but these talismans in Mr. Yu Qi's hand..." It seems difficult to evaluate these talismans produced by Yu Qi. Zhongli paused and shook his head helplessly: "It can be considered ingenious."

The alchemy cauldron, the exterior scene, and the talisman are the three legendary immortals' unrevealed secrets.

The art of talismans can leave the power of immortals through symbols, the art of exterior scenes can create the universe with mental images, and the art of the alchemy cauldron is the art of refining elixirs and weapons. It can be used to refine herbal medicinal pills to cure diseases and assist in spiritual practice, and it can also be used to refine lead and mercury elixirs to add magical powers to weapons.

These three skills can be said to be required skills for every immortal, but the emphasis is slightly different.

If the immortals really saw the talismans made by Yu Qi, they would probably be furious.

"I can't do anything about it. Who knows what's going on?" Yu Qi spread his hands and shook the thick stack of talismans in his hand: "I clearly followed the steps in the book, but the talismans I made turned out to be like this."

"Hey, Mr. Yu Qi, what you mean is that the effects of these talismans in your hand are... very strange?"

"Let's put it this way. Are you curious about the effects of these talismans..." Nodding, Yu Qi casually picked up a talisman and stuck it on Keqing: "Then feel it for yourself..."

Out of trust in Yu Qi, Keqing moved her body but did not dodge. Then she watched as a circle of dim light emerged from the talisman and instantly swept across her body.

She closed her eyes subconsciously due to the stimulation of the light, and before she could come to her senses, she felt her body suddenly warm, and she opened her eyes in surprise...

“What is...?!” Keqing looked at the talisman with a faint glow with some curiosity. Just as she was about to reach out and touch it, the warmth completely dissipated, and the entire talisman turned into ashes.

If it weren't for the ash that had not yet dissipated at her feet, she would have thought she was hallucinating.

"It's just a little thing. I originally wanted to make a talisman that could help humans adapt to various extreme environments, but the final product is like what you see..."

With a sigh of helplessness, Yu Qi said: "This 'Flame Talisman' looks very similar to the Immortal Talisman, but it only looks very similar. Its only ability is to provide warmth."

The most important thing is that the duration is extremely short, only five seconds.

It can be said that it is useless to the extreme.

Not only the warming talisman, he also has many similar talismans in his hands.

For example, the 'Five Thunder Talisman' can discharge electricity, but the current can only make a person's hair stand up slightly;

Another example is the "disease-eliminating charm" that can cure fever, but the side effect... is that it makes people fart constantly;

There is also a "speed runner" that can make people run faster, but you have to walk with your head down...

These were actually byproducts he had accidentally created when he was researching Rubik's Cube energy and nature a few days ago. He had originally been thinking about whether he could find a solution to the problem by combining different systems.

But in the end... the final product turned out to be like this.

"It sounds..." After listening to Yu Qi's introduction, Keqing looked at the talismans in his hand, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but twitch. It was difficult to connect these messy talismans with the immortal talismans in her impression.

"……very creative."

"Tsk, don't accommodate my ideas. In fact, I also think these talismans are terrible." Shrugging helplessly, Yu Qi put the talismans back into the inventory: "But I can't help it. This is what I got."

"Okay..." Shaking her head speechlessly, Keqing stopped dwelling on this little thing and turned her attention back to the main topic.

"As I said just now, the miners were heading north from the Layered Rock Abyss, towards the Lingju Pass. They are ordinary people, so they definitely won't be moving very fast. We should catch up with them as soon as possible, maybe we can still find them."

"Well, let's go then."

Following the footprints left by the miners, Yu Qi and his companions soon arrived at the entrance of Lingju Pass.

"The footprints stop here!" Keqing stood on the cliff and looked up at the vast ruins below. She couldn't help but frowned. "There are ruins everywhere in Lingju Pass, and there are a lot of people. If they are still in Lingju Pass, it may be difficult for us to find them with our ability."

Although it was previously speculated that the miners were kidnapped and taken to Tianqiu Valley, speculation is just speculation after all, and Keqing will not give up other possibilities so firmly.

What if I accidentally guessed wrong? It would be impossible to find someone if I was going in the wrong direction.

“Haha, this isn’t hard to figure out.” With a slight smile, Zhongli raised his hand and pointed to the faintly visible exit of Lingju Pass leading to Tianqiu Valley in the distance, and said, “If the other party is really taking the miners to Tianqiu Valley, then they will definitely pass by there.”

"With so many people, there must be a lot of traces left on the road! We just need to go there and investigate a little bit. If there are no traces of them passing by, it means that they are still in Lingju Pass. If there are new clues, we can continue to track them down."

"Oh, Mr. Zhongli, that's a good idea." Looking up at Zhongli with some surprise, Keqing nodded: "Then let's go quickly..."

“Miss Keqing, please wait a moment.” Under everyone’s puzzled gaze, Kunjun raised his hand to stop Keqing who was about to leave. He pushed up his glasses and said, “Since the mastermind behind this incident can control so many miners, he must not be an easy person to deal with.”

"There are many unidentified people lurking in Lingju Pass. Such a large-scale movement of people will definitely be encountered by them. In order to let the miners pass through here safely, the mastermind must use some means, and therefore leave more clues."

"If we want to solve the problem faster, I think we can split into two teams. Mr. Zhongli and I have some knowledge of geology and minerals, and we are better at tracking down and searching for clues. We will go to the exit of Lingju Pass and investigate."

"Mr. Yu Qi and Ms. Keqing are both very capable. You will gather information in Lingju Pass and search for any information that may be related to the miners."

“How?!” After saying that, he paused, as if he suddenly realized something, and smiled a little embarrassedly: “Of course, this is just my personal opinion. If Miss Keqing has other ideas, just ignore what I said.”

"No, Mr. Kunjun's words make sense." Keqing hesitated for a moment and nodded, her expression a little serious: "The enemy must have powerful means to be able to directly control the minds of so many people. For safety reasons, it is better to learn more about them in advance."

"Mr. Yu Qi, Mr. Zhongli, what do you think?"

"That's fine!"

"I have no objection."

"Okay, that's it. Mr. Kunjun and guest Zhongli, I'll trouble you to take care of the exit." As she spoke, Keqing reached out and took out a talisman from the feather ornament on her chest and handed it to Zhongli.

"This is a communication talisman. If there is any discovery or accident, Mr. Zhongli can just tear it into pieces and I will rush over."

"Okay!" After taking the talisman, Zhongli and Kunjun turned around and left: "Then we'll go first."

Standing there, watching Zhongli and the others walking away, Yu Qi turned to look at Keqing and nodded: "Let's go too."

Shoulder to shoulder, they walked down the ladder on the cliff, Yu Qi's eyes occasionally swept over the swaying purple hair beside them.

Noticing Yu Qi's gaze, Keqing couldn't help but turn her head and asked, "Hmm? Mr. Yu Qi is looking at me like that. What's the matter?"

"No..." Shaking his head, Yu Qi hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I just feel that your complexion has become very bad, and you seem very tired. Is it because you haven't rested well during this period of time?"

Compared to the first time they met, Keqing's complexion now can be said to be much worse. Her fair skin looks a little dull, and she even has dark circles under her eyes.

“Ah? A little bit.” Hearing this, Keqing reached out and touched her cheek, then sighed helplessly: “Mainly because I’ve been running around all over Liyue during this period, to Guiliyuan, Dihuazhou, Qingce Manor, and here in the Layered Abyss…”

"Wherever there is trouble, I have to go there. Sometimes I have to go back and forth all day long and don't have much time to rest. It's normal that I don't look good."

"Hmm? Where are the other seven stars of Liyue? Why does it sound like you are the only one doing anything?" Yu Qi frowned, a little puzzled: "As far as I remember, you, Yuheng Star, are mainly interested in land and buildings, right?"

How could the number one lady in Liyue's civil engineering suddenly become the number one lady in the military?

Even if he had heard that Kaiyang Star, which was in charge of military affairs, had been sent out on an expedition, it wouldn't be necessary to pile all the things on Keqing alone, right?

"Well, the other seven stars are not much better than me. They are all very busy now." Keqing sighed, glanced at Yu Qi, and explained casually with fatigue in her words.

"That is to say, my main affairs have not been affected too much by the monster issue, so I can spare some time to deal with military issues."

"Is that so..." Yu Qi nodded silently and said nothing more. He knew almost nothing about governing a country. The reason he asked before was just because he saw that Keqing was too tired and he just showed a little concern.

"By the way, how is the monster riot in Liyue going now? Can you still hold on?"

"I can definitely hold on." She raised her hand and rubbed her brows, as if she knew something. Keqing had no intention of hiding this information from Yu Qi.

"In fact, after the first wave of monster riots was repelled, the Qianyan Army was under much less pressure. They only needed to deal with the scattered monsters derived from the earth veins in a timely manner."

"But that's the problem. Due to the surging earth veins, there is no regular pattern in the locations where monsters spawn. Sometimes the Thousand Rock Army has just inspected a place and confirmed that it is safe."

"Not long after we left, a few Hillilks or Tricksters suddenly appeared here. It's impossible to predict! In this regard, we can only increase the intensity of patrols and strive to ensure that any monsters that appear will be cleared within a day."

"Otherwise, once there are more monsters, they will gather together again and attack the trade routes or the Qianyan Army's lines."

Keqing exhaled deeply, rubbed her cheeks, and cheered herself up: "But fortunately, I heard from Ningguang that the immortals seem to be preparing a way to completely solve the surging earth vein energy. I think it will be a lot easier after this."

Speaking of this, Keqing couldn't help but glance at Yu Qi with curiosity in her eyes: "By the way~ I heard that the immortals seem to have been staying at your house during this period? Can you tell me the details?"

"Well, it's like this actually." After thinking about it, Yu Qi told Keqing the whole story.

Of course, the identities of Wendy and Zhongli were not exposed, it was just a different way of saying it.

"Wait, you mean, a bard from Mondstadt came to Liyue to seek help under the orders of Grand Master Falgar of the Knights of Favonius."

"But he didn't look for us Seven Stars, but instead found that guest official Zhongli. With his introduction, he invited the immortals to help?"

Looking at Yu Qi in doubt, Keqing stopped and couldn't help asking, "Are you sure that the immortals came to help at the request of the guest official Zhongli? Not for other reasons?"

"Yeah!" Yu Qi nodded confidently and spread his hands: "I know you are surprised, but this is how it is. Now you know why I said before that Mr. Zhongli would never harm me."

“That’s right!” Keqing looked a little dazed. After a moment, she murmured thoughtfully, “Being able to ask the immortals for help at will, this guest official Zhongli…”

With her eyes flickering, Keqing seemed to understand something. She raised her head and looked towards the exit of Lingju Pass in the distance, then shook her head.

Seeing this, Yu Qi was slightly shocked. He suddenly felt that Zhongli's vest was about to be exposed. What should he do? Should he change the subject? But if he really did so, with Keqing's intelligence, he would probably be more certain that Zhongli's identity was problematic, right? !