When Felix returned to the Jar Shop, Doyle, the Millelith guard (in disguise), noticed Wenqi was missing.
"Shopkeeper, where is Wenqi?" Doyle asked hurriedly.
"He hasn't come back yet. I came back ahead of him," Felix replied with a faint smile.
He then turned his gaze to Yoimiya. "Miss Yoimiya, are you planning to open more jars now? If I recall correctly, you don't have any spare Mora on you. Aren't you going to collect your payment?"
Yoimiya had carried the Infinite Ammo Sniper Rifle straight back with him, completely forgetting to ask Ningguang for the fireworks money.
"I won't open jars for now," Yoimiya shook her head, looking slightly distressed. "I realized I have so much to do today. I need to figure out this gun, check out my lodging, explore Liyue, chat with Lady Ningguang tonight, discuss business, and collect my money. Then come back to open jars. Calculating it all... I'm so busy!"
Her face fell as she listed her tasks. It was going to be a hectic day.
"Take it slowly," Felix smiled. "I haven't had breakfast either. Let's eat together. After you're full, you can explore Liyue. Come back in the evening to meet Miss Ningguang. If I'm not mistaken, the business she wants to discuss is about your gun."
Felix could easily guess Ningguang's intentions.
Even if she couldn't buy the gun from Yoimiya, she would want to establish a partnership to have Liyue's alchemists study and replicate it.
With Liyue's alchemy, recreating the gun was possible. The only difference would be the ammunition.
"Huh?"
Yoimiya blinked in surprise. "But I already refused Lady Ningguang."
She thought Ningguang wanted to discuss fireworks.
Since she had already refused to sell the sniper rifle, any further business discussion should logically be about her actual trade.
"That doesn't stop her from wanting to reverse-engineer it," Felix chuckled. "You know the value of that gun. Ningguang's interest is naturally focused on that."
"Oh! Right!"
Yoimiya suddenly realized.
Of course. The gun's strategic value was immense.
If they could mass-produce it... well, she didn't mind. Discussing it with the Tianquan wasn't something she was against.
"Wait," Yoimiya hesitated. "Shopkeeper, do you have breakfast here?"
Felix had invited her to eat, but looking around, she saw no kitchen or food.
"Hehe, you don't know yet," Hu Tao grinned as she walked in. "Shopkeeper Felix can conjure breakfast out of thin air."
"Huh?"
Yoimiya looked at Hu Tao, confused.
Conjure breakfast?
A moment later, her eyes widened.
Following Felix's words, delicious dishes appeared on the table out of nowhere.
She stared, dumbfounded.
He really conjured breakfast.
It wasn't until Hu Tao pulled her into a seat and shoved food into her hand that she snapped out of it.
She looked at Felix incredulously. Is everything in this shop magical?
"What are you looking at? Eat," Felix laughed at her stunned expression.
"It's good, right? Yoimiya, after we eat, Yanfei and I can show you around Liyue," Hu Tao said between bites of fried chicken. "We'll visit the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, then go to Wanmin Restaurant to meet Xiangling. You two have similar personalities; you'll definitely be best friends."
"Okay!" Yoimiya nodded happily.
Having Director Hu as a guide was perfect.
Yoimiya began to enjoy the delicious meal.
After eating and drinking their fill, Hu Tao, Yanfei, Yoimiya, Atsuko, Midori, and the Charmeleon left the shop.
"Shopkeeper! Shopkeeper! Open two jars!"
Just then, a customer ran in excitedly. Felix smiled brightly. More business.
Meanwhile, at the Northland Bank.
Andrei pushed open the door respectfully and approached Childe. "Lord Harbinger, Xie Jun has left. But I have a feeling he'll be back tomorrow."
Childe: "...."
Childe's eyelid twitched.
This Xie Jun was truly annoying. He came to the bank every morning to borrow money.
Childe could already picture the nightmare: walking through Liyue, being spotted by Xie Jun, and having the man run up to borrow money again.
The man's borrowing skill was demonic.
Childe didn't want to lend him money, but whenever Xie Jun asked, Childe felt compelled to agree.
That inability to refuse was infuriating.
What is going on with that guy?
"Go warn him," Childe said expressionlessly. "I'm going to the Jar Shop today. I don't want to see him disturbing me."
Today was his jar day.
It had been a week since his first visit. His cooldown was up.
He was looking forward to it.
He had planned to leave early in the morning.
But that accursed Xie Jun had shown up, yelling his name at the bank entrance, claiming he was there to "repay the debt."
Childe didn't believe a word of it.
The bastard probably knew Childe was hiding and used the "repayment" excuse to lure him out. Once Childe appeared, Xie Jun would ask to borrow more.
Just the thought of involuntarily handing over more Mora made Childe shudder.
Xie Jun had ruined his morning mood and delayed his trip.
Seeing that Childe wouldn't come out, Xie Jun had waited at the entrance for half the day, even coming inside to check. Only after confirming Childe wasn't in the lobby did he leave with a look of disappointment.
Disappointment at not borrowing money, clearly.
I can't let him delay me any longer, Childe thought. Opening jars is more important.
"Yes, Lord Harbinger," the manager nodded.
Childe walked out of the Northland Bank and immediately headed in the opposite direction of Xie Jun's departure.
It was a longer route to the Jar Shop, involving a massive detour, but for the sake of his mental health, it was worth it.
"Have you decided how to teach him a lesson?"
As Andrei prepared to leave to carry out the order, Ekaterina blocked his path.
"Uh," Andrei frowned. "Just give him a harsh warning and make him pay back the money."
"No, no, no. Chop him up and feed him to the dogs," Ekaterina said calmly.
"This man has dared to fleece a Harbinger. Lord Tartaglia has been stuck inside for two days because of him. It's better to eliminate the problem permanently."
"This is Liyue. We can't do that easily," Andrei countered. "If the Millelith finds out, it will be trouble."
He didn't object to the murder, only the potential diplomatic fallout.
"Simple. Lure him out," Ekaterina said coldly. "Once he leaves the city, we can solve it anywhere. Dig a hole, feed him to fish, whatever. People go missing in Liyue all the time."
"You have that strange ability to attack from a distance. For the sake of Lord Harbinger's mood, we must do this."
"Use a pawn to lure him out. Don't show your face personally. The Millelith investigation would be troublesome."
"I assume with your abilities, this won't be difficult."
"Understood," Andrei nodded.
He turned and left to make the arrangements.
Childe took the long way around and finally arrived at the Jar Shop.
"Phew."
Looking at the shop, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders.
He had started the journey with excitement, but the walk had been filled with anxiety, fearing he might run into Xie Jun.
Taking a deep breath, Childe stepped inside.
At the door, Doyle and Wenqi (who had returned) exchanged strange looks.
This guy is back.
Doyle raised an eyebrow at Wenqi. Wenqi nodded and shifted his gaze.
When the Fatui came to open jars, the Millelith had to observe and report to the higher-ups.
"Shopkeeper, good morning," Childe greeted Felix with a cheerful smile. "New week. I can buy ten jars this week, right?"
"Yes," Felix nodded, watching Childe enter.
Inside the shop, there was another customer ahead of Childe.
"Shopkeeper, what is this?"
The customer frowned at the purple packet that had fallen out of his jar.
It looked like food.
"Old Altar Pickled Cabbage Beef Noodles (Lao Tan Suan Cai Niu Rou Mian)."
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