"Yo, isn't this Old Gao and Old Sun? What are you two doing here in broad daylight, drinking and listening to stories at my stall?"
Iron Tongue Tian, the famous storyteller at Chihu Rock in Liyue, saw the two appear and couldn't help but ask.
"Brother Tian, cut it out. Something big happened today at the Liyue Harbor dock, haven't you heard?"
Old Gao responded mysteriously:
"You know the Alcor ship from the Southern Cross fleet, right? Today, after that ship docked, the whole deck was covered in blood and body parts — it was horrific!"
"Even the incredibly brave Captain Beidou is now missing, nobody knows if she's gone or dead…"
"In short, the Millelith Army has already sealed off the entire Liyue harbor dock. Without a place to sell fish, we had no choice but to come drink some wine and listen to your stories here!"
"What? Is that true? The famous Captain Beidou, actually…" Iron Tongue Tian's face showed shock — clearly, this news was explosive and hard to believe.
Then, Old Gao and Old Sun started drinking, which was their daily routine.
Only today, they began earlier—from evening to daytime.
After a few rounds, both were slightly drunk.
At that moment, a figure came over to Iron Tongue Tian's stall and took a seat.
"Oh, isn't that Guest Consultant Zhongli from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?"
Maybe because he'd drunk a bit too much, Old Sun spoke without much restraint:
"Haha, Guest Consultant Zhongli, hurry and tell your Director Hu that there's a big business going on right now at Liyue Harbor!"
"There are dozens of crew members dead on the Alcor ship—those are all your Funeral Parlor's clients, and all that's a whole lot of glittering Mora!"
Zhongli frowned slightly upon hearing those words, and Iron Tongue Tian quickly stepped in to smooth things over:
"Old Sun, have you had too much to drink? What nonsense are you talking about?"
"And you too, Old Gao—keep an eye on your friend. If anything happens because of his drinking, you'll be responsible too!"
"And Guest Consultant Zhongli, even though I know you won't take offense, I still want to say—don't take the words of two drunkards to heart. Just treat it like empty air."
Zhongli nodded slightly and didn't say much more, continuing to sip the tea in his cup...
"I say, Brother Sun," Old Gao added, "you see, because of today's special circumstances, we didn't get to sell our fish. That's going to cause quite a bit of loss…"
Old Gao turned to Old Sun and said:
"According to the agreement we signed before, we split the profits fifty-fifty, and the losses too…"
"Today's special circumstances caused some inevitable losses—shouldn't you cover half of that loss?"
"You wish! What does that have to do with me?" Perhaps due to drinking too much, Old Sun was already a bit out of it and snapped back directly.
"Hm? What kind of reasoning is that? You want to enjoy the profits but not share in the risks?" Old Gao said, now a little angry as well. "Besides, we signed a contract about this!"
"So what if we signed a contract? The Geo Lord Morax is dead!" Old Sun retorted.
"Even when he was alive, he only showed up once a year—when did he ever have time to deal with trivial matters like ours?"
Old Sun took another big swig of wine and said bluntly:
"Besides, the Geo Lord Morax is already dead! What could a dead Archon possibly do about our affairs?"
"To tell you the truth, Old Gao, I've already gone solo and left our partnership behind!"
"Sure, your business strategies are decent—but you're still too soft-hearted!"
"If you had no conscience, you could be making a lot more money!!!"
"Today's the perfect opportunity—let's part ways for good!"
As he spoke, Old Sun downed the last drop in his cup, then slammed it heavily onto the table before turning and walking off without looking back.
"You… you…" Old Gao stared at Old Sun's retreating figure, at a loss for words.
Though he had used a few small tricks to boost their fish sales, the prices were still within reasonable limits—and the quality had always been guaranteed…
"Forget it, I must've been blind! Never thought Old Sun would reveal his true colors after drinking—so that's the kind of man he really is! Oh well, at least now I see him for who he is," Old Gao sighed, full of emotion.
"Iron Tongue Tian, put this on Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's tab. I'll be leaving now," Zhongli said as he stood up and quietly left, following after Old Sun.
Meanwhile, Old Sun walked along the street, cursing Old Gao as he went:
"That Old Gao—he's a fool for not seizing every chance to make money! Is he stupid?"
"As I thought, I need to find a like-minded partner—someone who also wants to make real money!"
"Like... those Treasure Hoarders!"
Very few people knew that Old Sun was once a member of the Liyue branch of the Treasure Hoarders.
He had supposedly retired and washed his hands of that life...
But even so, he still had connections within the group.
Right now, he just wanted to bring together a few of his old partners and discuss a grand plan to make money selling fish!
So, Old Sun left the main city of Liyue Harbor and ventured into a remote, desolate area, searching for traces of the Treasure Hoarders...
But before he could find any of them, the guest consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor—Zhongli—suddenly appeared beside him.
"Huh? Consultant Zhongli? Why are you here?"
Old Sun showed a deeply puzzled expression and asked,
"Is it because of what I said earlier?"
"What the heck? You're the dignified Consultant Zhongli, from the dignified Wangsheng Funeral Parlor—are you really that petty?"
"No," Zhongli replied calmly, "I'm not here because you spoke disrespectfully about the deceased or about the Funeral Parlor. I'm here because you violated a contract."
Zhongli spoke slowly, his voice cold as ice.
"Violated a contract? Are you referring to the one between me and Old Gao?"
Old Sun scoffed without a hint of concern.
"So what if I broke a contract? What's it got to do with you? You think you can meddle in my business?"
"What, you think you're the Geo Archon? You think you're Morax or something?"
"That's right. I am Morax..." Zhongli replied calmly.
"Hahahahahaha..."
Hearing Zhongli say that, Old Sun couldn't help but burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
"Come on! Who in Liyue doesn't know that the Geo Archon kicked the bucket long ago!"
"You say you're Morax? Well, then I'm Barbatos!"
However, in the very next moment, something completely unexpected happened!
Zhongli suddenly grabbed a clump of dirt and stone from the ground — and shoved it straight into Old Sun's mouth, which had been wide open from laughing...
Staring at "Zhongli's" face — now dark, crimson, and grotesquely twisted — Old Sun finally realized something was terribly wrong.
A wave of unspeakable fear surged through him...
"The contract is sealed. And those who break their word... shall suffer the Wrath of the Rock."
"Zhongli" spoke slowly and ominously…
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