Chapter 156 - 154: Ye is a Super Responsible Man

In the end, neither Zhongli nor Venti gave a definitive answer. Zhongli's response was essentially that he had already retired, and matters like declaring war on other nations were not his decision to make. Ye should instead approach the Qixing of Liyue. As for Venti, he had never officially taken the position of the Anemo Archon to begin with. Although Mondstadt worships the Anemo Archon, and the world knows Mondstadt as the nation of the God of Freedom, Venti had indeed never formally ascended to the position of the Anemo Archon. He had never worn the crown, so Ye should take this matter to the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, Jean. Of course, Ye understood that both of them had tacitly approved of the matter, and that was enough. Mondstadt, for one, had long grown accustomed to self-governance. The Anemo Archon's absence had become the norm, and Mondstadt had effectively become a fully human-ruled nation. Venti's only role was to secretly assist when Mondstadt faced difficulties it couldn't resolve on its own, but he had never openly intervened. Thus, Mondstadt was used to self-governance. They rarely considered the influence of Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, on Mondstadt's relations with other nations. In their actions, they essentially acted as if the god didn't exist, revering him in their hearts but never relying on him in the slightest... Otherwise, the Knights of Favonius wouldn't have been so passive when dealing with the Fatui. Liyue, however, was different. The Geo Archon had ruled Liyue for 3,700 years. Although it was now said to be a human-ruled nation, the Qixing of Liyue all knew that the Geo Archon was still alive. They couldn't truly ignore his existence. The Geo Archon remained their spiritual anchor, and they instinctively relied on him... If Liyue truly ignored the Geo Archon's existence, they wouldn't have been so assertive when dealing with the Fatui and would have ended up like the Knights of Favonius. Therefore, when it came to matters like declaring war on other nations, no matter how much they wanted to emphasize human governance, the Qixing would inevitably seek the opinion of the Geo Archon through the adepti. Well, they knew the Geo Archon was still alive, but they didn't know that Zhongli was the Geo Archon. So, if they wanted to seek his guidance, they would have to consult the adepti first. Since Zhongli said to take this matter to the Qixing, it meant he didn't oppose it. That was good enough. It was time to give the Akademiya a taste of being the enemy of the world. "By the way, Mr. Venti, when do you plan to repay the Mora you owe?" Ye suddenly remembered this matter and turned to ask—only to find that the seat where a cute boy had been sitting was now empty. "He ran away so fast, and he even took a bottle of wine with him." As he said this, Ye's expression didn't change much. He simply turned back to Zhongli and asked, "Mr. Zhongli, regarding the matter I mentioned earlier, have you given it any thought?" "..." Zhongli silently picked up his wine glass and didn't speak for a while. Ye was patient and didn't rush him, waiting quietly. Astrea seemed to sense the tension in the air and quietly got up to leave. Only Ye and Zhongli remained at the table. After a long pause, Zhongli finally spoke: "Why do you need my approval? If you want to do this and are truly capable of it, you don't need my permission, do you?" "No, I think your approval is very important. After all, I genuinely consider you a friend, and I don't want to leave a bad impression on you. Therefore, it's better to be clear about certain things." Ye spoke very sincerely: "Mr. Zhongli, you know, I'm a very kind person." "..." Zhongli silently looked at him, saying nothing. "Sorry, that just slipped out." Ye quickly corrected himself: "Mr. Zhongli, you should know that I'm not just a good person. I have my reasons for doing this. She is useful to me, and I don't think you'd believe I'm doing this purely out of the goodness of my heart. So, I'd rather be upfront—when I use her as a tool, I hope you won't come after me for it. After all, this is also a kind of transaction, a contractual exchange, right?" Ye spoke softly and calmly: "I will revive her, and in return, she will serve me until I no longer find her useful, or until a set period of time has passed—no less than a hundred years... Mr. Zhongli, do you think this is a fair deal?" "...I'm not in a position to judge whether this deal is fair for her." "Of course, I'll seek her consent first." "In that case, I only have one question." Zhongli asked with a serious expression: "Can you really revive Guizhong? Revive a god?" "It's not exactly revival. It's more like having her soul and power reside within this card, becoming a card spirit and being revived in another form." As he spoke, Ye took out a blank Yu-Gi-Oh! card with his right hand, holding it between two fingers. "Yu-Gi-Oh! isn't just a simple card game, Mr. Zhongli. If you have some free time, you should try playing it. Who knows, you might be lucky enough to get a card with a spirit residing in it." Reviving the God of Dust, Guizhong, as a card spirit—this was what Ye wanted to do. With the power he currently had left, this would be impossible. But with Baoyu's help, it was no problem at all. Although Ye still didn't know Baoyu's origins and was only growing more confused, one thing was certain—as long as she had popularity, she could do anything. She had never failed so far. And the amount of popularity needed to revive Guizhong was even less than what Ye needed to create a new alternate account. After all, Guizhong wasn't a particularly powerful god. She was a technical expert, and such talents weren't particularly valuable to Baoyu. As for why Ye wanted to revive Guizhong... finding her useful was only a secondary reason. After all, there were many useful people, and Guizhong wasn't special enough to be more useful than creating a new alternate account. Therefore, Ye's main reasons for wanting to revive Guizhong were actually threefold: She's very beautiful. She's very cute. She's very lovely. ...Does that sound a bit inappropriate? As if Ye was driven by lust to revive her, just to play around with her. That's not the case. It must be clearly stated that this is absolutely not the case. The reason was indeed her beauty, but the specific reason for wanting to revive Guizhong based on this was definitely different from what most people would think. Actually, it's mainly... Ye felt a bit embarrassed. Because, to be honest, it really did have something to do with his lust. Does that sound contradictory? Alright, let's be honest. If I keep hesitating, the misunderstanding will only grow. To put it simply... it's the mistakes of youth!! Back then, Ye had many multiplayer dreams without realizing it, right? Multiplayer dreams, you know, dreams—any man knows that in such dreams, you naturally dream of the most beautiful women, the ones who interest you the most. That's perfectly normal, right? And so... of course, Guizhong was also dreamt of. Originally, if it had just been a single-player dream, it wouldn't have mattered. After all, single-player dreams are just pure self-indulgence. Who cares who I fantasize about when I'm comforting myself? Does it matter if they're alive or dead? It's just a fantasy, don't take it seriously. ...But multiplayer dreams are a completely different matter!!! Ye couldn't help but feel awkward. With Ei, it was fine. With the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, it was also fine. In Ye's original plan, they were supposed to be revived anyway, so there was no problem—but Ye had never considered reviving Guizhong before. So... yeah, it's really awkward. Therefore, it didn't take long for Ye to make up his mind. Fine, let's just revive Guizhong while we're at it. After all, she's still a god, and she's not completely without value. And she's so beautiful—having her around as a decorative piece would be pleasing to the eye. With that, Ye convinced himself and then discussed the matter with Zhongli. This was the second time they had talked about it. The first time was through Astrea using a phone. After all, Guizhong's relationship with Zhongli was somewhat subtle. They weren't exactly lovers, but from a player's perspective, there was a certain CP vibe—but in reality, even if Zhongli had a lover, that person's status in his heart might not compare to Guizhong. After all, as the saying goes, a dead white moonlight can never be surpassed by the living. Ye was self-aware. With Guizhong's card in hand, he definitely couldn't not use it—otherwise, wouldn't all that popularity be wasted? Was he just going to admire her face like a decorative vase all day? Who does she think she is... cough, that sounds a bit like the words of a scumbag who forgets everything after getting what he wants. Ye wasn't a scumbag. He was just a pragmatist. And a super responsible man. Otherwise, he wouldn't have wanted to revive Guizhong, right? Therefore, it was better to be upfront about things to avoid Zhongli storming into Fontaine to settle accounts with him later. In any case, with Zhongli's approval, the matter in Liyue was settled. Now, with the time he had gained by pushing his work onto Neuvillette, Ye planned to head to Mondstadt to collect some debts. You can run, but you can't hide. Ye didn't believe that blocking the entrance of the Favonius Cathedral would let Barbatos escape. "By the way, there's one more thing I should mention." Just as Ye was about to leave, Zhongli, as if suddenly remembering something, spoke up: "If you want to 'revive' Guizhong, while I have no objections, it would be best if you also sought the opinions of the other adepti." Ye, who had already stood up, slightly lowered his head: "Cloud Retainer and Streetward Rambler?" "You really do know a lot. But I wasn't mainly referring to them." Zhongli spoke with a very serious expression: "I was referring to the 'Mountain and Sea Immortal,' who, like me, is a god and was also a close friend of Guizhong."