On the other side, after finishing dinner and strolling back, it was about time for Su Bai. He opened the portal again, and over a hundred thousand kilograms of goods poured out all at once. However, since time was a bit tight, Su Bai still had to make two trips himself to move everything. Fortunately, what remained wasn't much. A single trip with a Shulker Box was enough to handle it.
"Who's there?"
No sooner had he finished his work and caught his breath than Su Bai, out of the corner of his eye, suddenly noticed a figure flickering in the shadows of the warehouse. Instantly, his internal alarms blared. Following his shout, a splash potion of harm went flying toward the figure. It landed with a smack, exploding into a circular area several meters in diameter. Yet, the figure had vanished. Seeing this, Su Bai didn't think he had been mistaken—years of combat experience wouldn't betray him now. The intruder was no ordinary person.
"A guest is here—why not show yourself?" After searching around without finding any trace, Su Bai set down his crossbow and spoke with a light laugh. At the same time, he placed a torch in the distance, illuminating the spot where he had seen the figure. Taking a closer look, he noticed a faint, colorless mist still drifting in the air, forming a stark contrast with the color of the potion. Su Bai began to form some suspicions.
Thwack!
Suddenly, a startling twang came from behind him. Reacting swiftly, he swung a shield in front of him, blocking the attack with a solid thud. Su Bai didn't press the attack further. Instead, he planted a torch, then stowed his shield away.
"Oh? So your way of welcoming guests is to throw potions at them?" A cool, composed voice rang out, accompanied by the appearance of an elegant and majestic figure. Dressed in white fox fur and black mesh, with blue hair and jade-green eyes, she wore a form-fitting leather outfit that accentuated her waist. A delicate dice pendant hung around her neck.
"Can you blame me? It's all because Miss Yelan's entrance was far too startling," Su Bai replied, spreading his hands in a gesture of innocence. His eyes scanned Yelan up and down—her aura was indeed queenly, though unfortunately, she wasn't quite to his taste. What caught Su Bai's attention more was the Hydro Vision hanging at her waist, glowing with a sea-blue hue. It allowed her to wield elemental power, and her earlier disappearance was likely due to a skill granted by the Vision.
"Aren't you going to explain anything?" Yelan cut straight to the point, her gaze shifting from Su Bai to the two mountainous piles of grain nearby. Lately, she had been keeping a close watch on the four major grain merchants, and Su Bai's shop had naturally aroused her suspicion. Not only did he sell highly detailed bird's-eye view maps of Liyue, along with gems and minerals, but he had also gotten himself involved in this messy business. The reality was that the four merchants were jointly trying to squeeze him out.
Initially, Yelan had planned to wait and see how Su Bai would handle the situation. But an order of 250,000 kilograms was simply too significant to ignore. After all, the sudden appearance of an unknown force in Liyue had to be thoroughly investigated to prevent potential future disasters. When Su Bai released 100,000 kilograms of the order and left for dinner, Yelan had seized the opportunity to enter the warehouse. His ability to summon wheat out of thin air only deepened her wariness.
While Liyue was home to the adepti, who were capable of similar spatial manipulation techniques, such methods were never used for commercial deception. That was not the way of the adepti.
Seeing the indifference in Yelan's eyes, Su Bai tilted his head slightly, feeling somewhat uneasy. Should he offer an explanation?
"By the grace of the Geo Archon. Remember to lock up." With a ripple in space, Su Bai took a step back and vanished from the warehouse, leaving only those words behind. He had temporarily retreated to the world of Minecraft. He understood the implications all too well—this woman was one of Ningguang's people. If he were to explain everything, who knew how that wealthy business magnate would react? It was better not to reveal his hand for now. Otherwise, if Ningguang decided to exclude him, Su Bai felt he might have no choice but to relocate. While she might potentially cooperate with him, it was wiser to assume the worst of others.
After all, if Ningguang were a pushover, she would never have risen from selling fish at the harbor to become the wealthiest person in Liyue.
In the warehouse, Yelan stared at the fading spatial ripple, her brow furrowed and her expression far from pleased.
The next day, an unexpected visitor arrived at Su Bai's shop.
"Why so tense, my friend?" Zhongli's tone was even and steady, exuding an air of unshakable calm. Su Bai, however, felt too uneasy to either sit or stand comfortably.
"Heh, heh… it's nothing," Su Bai replied with an awkward laugh, unable to discern the purpose of this great one's visit. After all, he had just used the other's name the night before, and now here he was, paying a visit. It was hard not to wonder—was the great one displeased?
"Mr. Zhongli, what brings you to my humble shop today? As far as I recall, there shouldn't be much connection between our… positions, right?" Su Bai poured tea and brought out a plate of golden apples, slicing them neatly and skewering them with toothpicks. The tea was Liyue tea, and the apples were Minecraft golden apples—one of the few foods with an exceptionally delightful taste, not to mention their beneficial effects: health regeneration, damage absorption, fire resistance, overall resilience boost, and more…
"Oh? In general rationality, that may not entirely be the case," Zhongli replied without ceremony, accepting the tea and taking a slow sip. He then picked up a slice of the gleaming golden apple with a toothpick and brought it to his mouth, savoring it deliberately.
Hearing this, Su Bai's hand trembled slightly as he poured his own tea, and a wave of dread washed over him. After all, he knew all too well what the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor dealt with. What possible connection could he have with them…?
"Mr. Zhongli, I haven't violated any contracts, have I?"
Zhongli glanced at Su Bai, took another calm sip of tea, and swallowed the bite of golden apple.
"Of course not. Though your methods are peculiar, you have ultimately adhered to the rules. Even the Geo Archon himself would not interfere."
Su Bai's lips twitched imperceptibly. Oh, great—so you're going to play it like that, are you? Still going on about the "Geo Archon"…
"Then, if I may ask, what is the purpose of your visit?"
"I've heard you have a considerable stock of minerals and have come to propose a business arrangement," Zhongli stated, though his eyes drifted back to the plate of golden apples, betraying a rare and keen curiosity.
Su Bai caught the hint and pushed the plate of golden apples toward Zhongli, feeling slightly more at ease. He was pleased for two reasons: first, the golden apples had caught the eye of the Geo Archon himself, and second, Zhongli's visit wasn't to silence him but to broker a deal.
"What kind of minerals? How much is needed? And at what price?"
Now that they were discussing business, Su Bai regained his confidence, firing off several questions in succession as he waited for Zhongli's response.
Thus began a half-hour-long discussion between the two. They not only talked business but also branched out into topics like the overdevelopment in the Chasm and the now-abandoned Mingyun Village, whose access routes had even been deliberately destroyed by the authorities. The facts made it clear that Liyue's mineral resources had indeed been declining in recent years. While it wasn't an immediate crisis, the opportunity to alleviate the situation was not to be passed up—hence this business proposal.
The order Su Bai ultimately received was for finished iron of a quality no lower than that produced by the Blackrock Forge. Su Bai accepted without hesitation, even boasting that amounts under ten million kilograms were no issue at all—just give him advance notice. As for the price, he left it to them, expressing confidence that the God of Contracts would surely oversee a fair and just agreement.
"Ah, Mr. Zhongli, please—accept this small token of my appreciation." Having settled the matter, Zhongli made to leave, but Su Bai quickly produced a small bag and handed it to him.
"Oh? What is the meaning of this, my young friend?" Zhongli's eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the glints of golden light seeping through the bag's opening, his tone ambiguous.
"Nothing more than a gesture. I'm new here and haven't yet had the chance to pay my respects to the Geo Archon. Please pass this along on my behalf—just some local specialties from my homeland." Su Bai spoke without a trace of shame or hesitation. "There are nine, as nine is the number of completion. The extra five are a token of my gratitude for your trouble, Mr. Zhongli." With a smile, Su Bai pressed the bag into Zhongli's hand, and only when the other firmly accepted it did he relax and see him out.
Leaning against the doorway, Su Bai watched Zhongli's retreating figure and felt completely at ease. He wasn't some fool happily throwing his money away. He understood the stakes all too well. In a place like Liyue, if you wanted to stand firm, in many ways, maintaining a good relationship with Zhongli was the optimal solution.
"As the saying goes, 'Better to please the Lord of Geo than to tangle with demons of power and greed.'"
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Feeling generous today cause our group just won a competition and i was the leader
Publishing 5 chapters in a span of an hour
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