Original God's Dark Priest

Xinyuexuan, private room.

Hu Tao booked a table here early in the morning and invited a group of friends to dine together.

As a guest of the Wangsheng Hall, Zhongli naturally needed to help the hall master to entertain. Although Hu Tao believed that this dinner was a gathering among friends, Zhongli always had a bad feeling.

Especially when he saw the girl pushing the door open, his eyebrows were so raised that they could almost pinch a fly to death.

"Hey! Good evening, everyone. Oh, Master Hu is too enthusiastic and insisted on dragging me over for dinner. I am helpless. If someone doesn't welcome me... I can leave. I think none of you are going to chase me away... right?" Saphir looked at the people in the room with a smile.

Xiangling stood up immediately when she saw Safir: "How could that be? No one would be unwelcome. Come and sit down."

Xiangling was an acquaintance of hers, and she immediately welcomed her to her seat.

In addition to Xiangling and Zhongli, Chongyun and Xingqiu were also present.

The two of them smiled when they saw Safir: "Master Hu is really generous. He even invited you."

“Hey! I wasn’t invited here.” Saphir walked to the position next to Zhongli with three shaky steps, and then sat down. “I was captured.”

After sitting down, she looked at the dishes on the table, her eyebrows curved again: "What are you talking about?

"It's something about the dishes." Xiangling became happy again when she mentioned this. "Mr. Zhongli's understanding of cooking is very unique and has given me a lot of inspiration."

Xingqiu also echoed, "That's right, I've heard that Mr. Zhongli is well-versed in history and modern knowledge, and I didn't expect that he is also proficient in cooking techniques.

It is an honor for us younger generations to get to know Mr. Zhongli."

Hearing Xingqiu's words, Zhongli coughed lightly and said modestly, "No, you are all young talents, each with his own strengths. I also have areas where I am inferior to others, and I should learn from you all."

"Sir... thank you for your compliment." Chongyun felt embarrassed by what he said.

Saphir, however, crossed his legs and leaned back on his chair: "Don't look at me, I'm not a young talent, I'm a noble lord."

"Boss Phil, you're joking. If you are not considered a young talent, there will be no more talented people in this huge city of Teyvat." Zhongli knew that Saphir was probably very angry and he couldn't put himself in trouble at this time, so he immediately complimented him.

How could Saphir not understand his little trick? Without even looking at him, he looked directly at Chongyun and said, "Chongyun, this is a rare opportunity. You can ask Mr. Zhongli for advice. Maybe it can help you."

Chongyun has always been troubled by his pure yang body. Because of this constitution, he has no idea how good his exorcism skills are. After all, there are only a few capable demons, and they are all sealed, so he can never encounter them.

There were only a few kittens left, so he didn't need to do anything at all. He just had to get close to them and they would run away on their own.

Even so, he still had his own dream. He was very persistent in improving his exorcism skills: "Well... if there is a chance, could you please give me some pointers on exorcism skills, Mr. Zhongli..."

This request was not excessive. After all, the secret techniques of the Wangsheng Hall belonged to Hu Tao. Zhongli not only mastered these, but he also knew many of the family spells of alchemists, some of which had been lost.

It would be great if Chongyun could be given some advice and some lost techniques could be passed down as well.

Thinking of this, Zhongli did not refuse and nodded happily; "A Taoist priest can exorcise evil spirits? In this regard, I can only say that I have a little knowledge. If you don't mind, we can slowly..."

Before he could finish his words, the door was opened again, and Xiao Pi's noisy voice came in: "Wow - so many people have already arrived!

We only knew that Hu Tao invited Zhongli and Saphir, but we didn't expect to meet so many old friends, hehe. Happy Lantern Festival everyone! "

"Happy Lantern Festival!" Ying also greeted with a smile.

Zhongli nodded slightly, "Happy Lantern Festival, please."

As he spoke, he extended his hand and motioned for the two of them to take a seat.

After Ying sat down, Xiangling spoke: "Ying, happy holidays, did you have fun?"

"Very happy!" Ying couldn't help but smile and looked at Saphir with a teasing look, the meaning of which was obvious.

Saphir also looked at Ying with a smile: "If you recite poems now, I will let you recite poems for a year."

Ying immediately stopped smiling and stopped laughing.

Little Paimeng laughed: "Anyway, I'm still very happy. Although I've seen Xin Yan's performances before, this time is completely different. Not only her, but many people's styles are new to me."

For example, Kamisato Ayaka, Coral Palace Xinhai, and the singing Xiao. The images of these people have undergone subversive changes in Paimon's mind.

Xiang Ling nodded in agreement: "The audience liked it very much, so Xin Yan received many invitations, but she rejected them all."

"Huh? Why is this?" Little Paimeng was puzzled. Isn't this a good thing?

Safir chuckled. "Because of the contract. Xin Yan is the resident singer of the Moonlight Tavern. Her contract has not expired yet. She cannot perform for other people. She can only perform on the Rainbow Tour this time with my permission."

"Wow! Then, Saphir, why don't you let Xinyan sing somewhere else like this time?" Little Paimeng was puzzled and asked.

Safire smiled but said nothing.

Ying immediately understood and explained, "Because the Rainbow Tour can increase your popularity, Xin Yan was not well-known before, so he had to rely on the Moonlight Tavern to make a living, but it will be different after this time.

As Xin Yan's popularity increases, many audiences will definitely go to the Moonlight Tavern to watch her performance. And people will naturally drink when watching performances, so the Moonlight Tavern can make a lot of money by relying on Xin Yan's name.

Safire signed a high-value star in advance at a very low price."

"This is too..." Little Paimon really wanted to find a suitable adjective to express her thoughts, but after thinking for a long time she couldn't find a suitable one. She could only stare at Saphir, not knowing what to say.

Zhongli hesitated for a moment and said, "This shows that Boss Phil has a good business vision. So far, her investments have hardly ever suffered losses."

Saphir accepted Zhongli's compliment very calmly, and stood with his hands on his hips and chest puffed out: "That's right! If I focus on business, maybe I can become a seven-star!"

"I have no doubt about that." Zhongli chuckled and agreed with her.

No matter what, at least for now, if she really wants to be the leader, she can get at least three votes out of the seven stars, and the remaining four votes will not be difficult either.

"Forget it. Liyue will not accept a Fatui as its leader. Oh, let's not talk about this anymore and talk about something else." Saphir waved her hand. She was just joking but didn't intend to really do it. She wasn't that free.

Xingqiu took over the conversation: "Speaking of which, the performance was indeed wonderful, but Xiangling was inspired after watching it, and it posed a lot of problems for us..."

"We?" Chongyun was immediately annoyed and looked at his best friend with disdain, "Didn't Xiangling only ask me to taste the food?"

Xingqiu was exposed and smiled awkwardly: "Ahaha, it doesn't matter! If you eat, I eat. I don't mind."

Chongyun really wanted to say that he minded, but he swallowed the words back when they came to his lips. At this point, there was no point in saying this.

Little Paimeng became excited: "What? Xiangling has introduced a new dish? I want to eat it!"

"Look, look! Paimeng is here to show his support!" Xiangling rolled her eyes at Chongyun and Xingqiu, then looked at little Paimeng with a touching expression, "Thank you, Paimeng!"

After that, she turned to Zhongli and said, "I would also like to thank Mr. Zhongli for giving me many insightful and good ideas for my new recipe."

After hearing Xiangling's words, Saphir looked straight at Zhongli. Didn't she know that Zhongli's poison resistance was so strong? Then... when Ying invited us to dinner...

Zhongli was stared at by the girl next to him and shuddered. He immediately picked up the teacup and drank tea to hide the uneasy feeling in his heart.

Little Paimeng didn't see the undercurrent at the dinner table, and looked very clear: "So is this what you were talking about just now?"

Zhongli put down his teacup and nodded slightly: "Since it is a dinner party, the topic will inevitably fall on the dishes. Chef Xiangling takes an unconventional approach. The choice of ingredients and the way of seasoning are like musical notes, dancing on the taste buds.

My suggestion is just the icing on the cake.”

"Oh, you guys are worthy of it!" Little Paimeng felt impressed.

Xiangling scratched her head shyly: "Hehe, I feel embarrassed for saying that... I'll adjust the recipe according to Mr. Zhongli's method and then invite you to taste it!"

"Well... that sounds reliable." Chongyun was obviously deeply hurt by it and felt that it would be a good idea for Xiangling to adjust herself.

Xingqiu immediately put on a righteous attitude: "How about I try the food next time?" He felt that he had let his brother down and wanted to do something to restore their relationship.

Ying rubbed her temples. "It doesn't have to be that troublesome... Just let Xiangling taste it herself after she makes it. If you can't accept the taste, there's no need to ask someone else to try it."

Treating the food tasters as consumables, Xiangling, this girl, obviously does not have a wealthy family, but she is very extravagant in strange ways.

Xiangling scratched her head, just smiled awkwardly and said nothing.

Are you kidding? If she ate it and got infected, how long would she be down? It would be bad if it dampened her passion for creation.

Little Paimeng's stomach is different from that of ordinary people, so she can't understand the taste of Xiangling's so-called soul-touching dishes. She was a little confused and said: "Speaking of the issue of eating, I just felt that something was missing...

Where is Hu Tao who invited us? And..." She looked at Xiang Ling who was alone, "and Guo Ba is not here either!"

Guoba and Xiangling are always inseparable. It is really surprising that I haven’t seen Xiangling taking Guoba with her now.

"Guoba, he volunteered to help in the kitchen at my dad's place!" Xiangling spread her hands, indicating that she really didn't mean to not bring him along, "You know, there are so many people coming to eat at the Lantern Festival. If Guoba hadn't stayed at Wanmin Hall to help, I might not have had time to attend Hutao's dinner.

As for the walnuts…"

Xiangling rubbed her eyebrows. She couldn't remember where that guy had gone.

Zhongli replied at the right time: "The hall master said that he had to go to pick up a guest, so he asked me to receive you all here first. Let's see the time, it should be about time."

At the same time, Saphir felt a familiar breath approaching. She looked at Zhongli and saw helplessness in each other's eyes.

Zhongli was helpless, but Saphir was different. She had already started to feel happy, and the look she gave Zhongli was malicious.

Zhongli felt his scalp tingling instantly. He knew that this girl was starting to have bad intentions.

Little Paimon was looking forward to it: "Does Hu Tao need to go and call him personally? That person must be a very powerful person!" While looking forward to it, he began to guess, "Could it be... Keqing? Ningguang? ... Or Captain Beidou?"

"Well, the hall master didn't explain it proactively. As a subordinate, I naturally can't ask in detail." Zhongli was vague. He regretted supporting Hu Tao in organizing this banquet. In fact, it was useless if he didn't support her, because Hu Tao was used to doing things her own way. In addition, the great success of this performance made her feel proud and it was impossible to persuade her.

Saphir propped up his head and said, "Little Paimon, is Ningguang Keqing much more noble than me? She is only a seven-star, which is about the same level as our executive officers. They are all directly under the gods. Therefore, the person she invited must not be a seven-star, or even... not a mortal."

After she finished speaking, Ying and Paimon's eyes suddenly widened, and looking at Saphir who had a strange smile on his face and Zhongli whose breathing was a little unstable, they immediately understood.

It all depends on which unlucky guy will be solemnly invited by Hu Tao to go to this Shura field.

Suddenly, the door of the restaurant flew open, as if it had been hit by a hurricane...

"Ding ding ding ding! Here we are!" Walnut's signature loud voice and funny tone came in along with her slightly thin figure.

As soon as she came in, she rushed around the crowd, asking, "Are you not late? Are you not late?"

Ying held her forehead in her hand speechlessly, Xiangling and Chongyun Xingqiu smiled awkwardly, and Saphir showed a look of disgust. Why was this girl so noisy? It made her eyes hurt.

"Well, thanks to the Great Sage and me, who come and go as fast as the wind, the timing is just right." Walnut proudly put his hands on his waist and puffed out his chest. His chest had no curves at all, which made Safire laugh and cry.

While Hu Tao was speaking, Xiao had already slowly walked into the room and appeared in front of everyone.

Seeing Xiao coming, Ying and Paimon showed an expression of "as expected". They looked at Zhongli with a dejected face and Saphir with a smirk on his face with some reluctance.

It's obvious that someone is holding back, but they dare not say it.

Xiao also noticed the people in the seats at the same time. When he saw Zhongli and Saphir, his pupils constricted and he didn't know what to say for a moment.

The atmosphere was a little stagnant for a moment. Fortunately, Hu Tao was a thick-skinned person and didn't feel anything was wrong. However, Saphir was very alert and quickly nudged Zhongli with his elbow and whispered, "Speak up, welcome the distinguished guest quickly."

"..." Zhongli took a deep breath and stood up slowly. "So the distinguished guest is the Demon-Subduing Great Sage. I have heard of you for a long time." He turned around and looked at him. "The hall master did not tell me when we arranged a small gathering. I did not expect that the guests include not only young heroes and high-ranking officials from friendly countries, but also the Golden Roc Immortal who protects the peace of Liyue.

It is an honor to be here with you all.”

Saphir also stood up and bowed: "So it's the Immortal Jinpeng who has arrived! I apologize for not welcoming you from afar."

“…” A hundred thousand divine beasts were running through Xiao’s mind, constantly shouting: Is there something wrong with you two?