A hint of reminiscence crossed Zhongli's face. "I was hailed by the gods as the strongest Warrior God in the mortal realm, and I once reveled in that glory. But in truth, possessing immense martial power alone is not enough. During the Archon War, I lost my dearest friend, and..." He sighed softly, not continuing.
Lin Yide understood. He could guess the source of the pain in Zhongli's heart.
Guizhong.
Zhongli then changed the subject, asking with a serious expression, "Yide, what are your plans for the future of Liyue?"
After a moment of contemplation, Lin Yide laid out his thoughts in an orderly fashion. "For the Liyue of the future, I plan to construct three major departments: the Cabinet, the Censorate, and the Celestial Oversight Commission. The Chief of the Cabinet will be elected by the people, and this Chief will personally select their team to form the Cabinet, which will be fully responsible for the nation's administrative affairs. The head of the Censorate will be appointed by you, and their duty will be to manage the nation's judicial affairs. As for the Celestial Oversight Commission, it will be composed of the adepti, and their task will be to supervise the work of the Cabinet and the Censorate. Furthermore, any major decision concerning the future of Liyue must be reviewed and approved by the Celestial Oversight Commission."
After listening, Zhongli fell into deep thought. After a long while, he gave his assessment. "Generally speaking, such a governmental structure is indeed a vast improvement over the previous Qixing system."
Lin Yide merely smiled faintly at this, saying nothing more. In any modern nation from his past life, the Qixing system would have been considered an absolutely explosive concept.
Just then, Xingqiu hurried to Lin Yide's side, bowed his head, and reported softly, "Director, there's a new development over there."
Lin Yide nodded and said gently, "I know, Xingqiu. Thank you for your hard work."
A complex emotion flickered in Xingqiu's eyes as he replied, "It is what this subordinate ought to do!"
Then, Lin Yide turned to Zhongli and invited with a smile, "Consultant Zhongli, there's another wonderful show about to start tonight. Are you interested in observing?"
A look of confusion appeared on Zhongli's face. "What show?"
Lin Yide replied nonchalantly, "A fire dragon burning the granary."
...
Night fell, the sky obscured by thick, dark clouds, as black as ink, like a heavy curtain.
A small team of a dozen or so people set out quietly from Liyue Harbor under the cover of darkness, moving with haste. Before long, they reached their destination—a towering granary.
This should have been a heavily guarded key location, yet at this moment, the guards seemed to have fallen into a deep, synchronized slumber, leaving an unobstructed path for the team.
The man in the lead glanced at the nearly empty granary and said to the several people behind him, "Set the fire. We've already burned Yaoguang's ledgers. Now, as long as we burn this place to the ground, all the accounts will be reduced to ashes, and there will be no evidence left."
Hearing this, one of the men couldn't help but sigh, his tone filled with helplessness and regret. "I never thought we would do something so depraved. Greed has been our ruin."
As his words fell, the leader spoke with a mocking tone, "Uncle Tian, are you repenting? Are you trying to prove you have more of a conscience than us?"
Uncle Tian retorted angrily, "Kaiyang, if you hadn't bewitched us into lending out the reserve grain on a massive scale, would things have escalated to this point!"
Kaiyang flew into a rage, roaring, "You old fool, now you want to push all the blame onto me? It was your own insatiable greed, wanting to make one last huge score before you retired."
Uncle Tian was so angry his face turned ashen, and he was rendered speechless.
"Enough, stop arguing," Yaoguang stepped in to stop their dispute. "What's the point of arguing about this now?"
Persuaded by Yaoguang, Kaiyang and Uncle Tian ceased their quarrel. They each called over their trusted subordinates and began preparations to start the fire.
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the granary.
The faces of Kaiyang and the others changed drastically; they realized something was wrong.
Immediately after, nearly a hundred Millelith soldiers holding bright lamps flooded into the granary like a tide, surrounding them tightly.
Kaiyang roared furiously, "Do you know who we are? Stand down immediately! Get lost, get lost, get lost!"
The Millelith soldiers naturally knew their identities, but they didn't move an inch.
Soon, the figures of Ningguang and Keqing appeared in the path cleared by the Millelith.
"Lady Ningguang," Kaiyang's expression changed rapidly. He took a step forward and said with a fawning smile, "I beg you to spare me. I'm willing to do anything for you."
As soon as he finished speaking, he fell to his knees with a thud.
A deep disgust filled Ningguang's eyes. She couldn't understand how the once unyielding Kaiyang of years past had become such a pitiful sight.
Keqing drew her sword directly, its tip pointed at Kaiyang's neck. "For a person like you, only death can wash away your sins."
Kaiyang trembled violently, pleading, "Keqing, please don't kill me. I know I was wrong, I beg you, give me a chance!"
But his pleading attitude only provoked Keqing's killing intent even more.
"Keqing, now is not the time to take his life," Ningguang said calmly. "We will deal with them after the situation in Liyue has stabilized."
Keqing gave a cold snort and sheathed her sword.
Ningguang looked deeply at Uncle Tian, Yaoguang, and the others, and sighed, "Why did you have to do something so foolish?"
Uncle Tian, Yaoguang, and the others hung their heads in shame, unable to respond.
Then, Ningguang waved her hand. "Take them all away. Lock them in the dungeon under heavy guard, and allow no one to approach them."
With the order given, the Millelith soldiers immediately took action, escorting Kaiyang and the others to the dungeon.
In a hidden corner not far from the granary, Zhongli wore a complex expression and let out a long sigh. "Yide, you were the one who told Ningguang about all this beforehand, weren't you?"
Lin Yide smiled in response. "A good show needs a bit of conflict for embellishment. If it were just Kaiyang and his group setting the fire, it would have been far too dull!"
"The fact that Kaiyang and the others would set the fire was also within your expectations, wasn't it!" Zhongli said with emotion. "Your insight into the human heart is simply too precise."
Lin Yide spread his hands and replied nonchalantly, "It's not that my calculations are precise, but that they are too greedy."