Mondstadt.
Inside the Angel's Share tavern.
Venti was clinking mugs with a neighboring patron, merrily downing strong liquor.
Suddenly, something seemed to catch his attention. He set down his mug.
He reached into who-knows-where and pulled out a beautiful lamp, examining it.
"What was this again…? Hmm… I think it was some kind of keepsake the witches entrusted to me long ago… Someone looking for it now?"
Probably some witch's successor.
Venti shook his head, tossed the lamp back where it came from, and raised his mug again.
"Come on, drink!"
—
Favonius Alchemy Workshop.
Cloud Retainer, Ying'er, and Sucrose stared glumly at the two vials of [Breaths of Joy] on the table.
They'd tried everything—but couldn't figure out how to make use of the substance.
Just then, the door opened.
Someone entered.
They all turned to look.
It was a calm-faced young man they didn't recognize.
Sucrose immediately lit up. "Mr. Albedo! You're back!"
Albedo nodded and glanced at the two others. "These are?"
Sucrose quickly introduced them. "This is Miss Xianyun, and this is Miss Ying'er. I just met them recently. They're also interested in alchemy."
Albedo gave a polite nod. "Nice to meet you both."
Cloud Retainer and Ying'er greeted him back. "Hello."
Short and formal—everyone here was a scholar, after all. No need for empty niceties.
Albedo's gaze shifted to the glowing pink vials on the table. "Sucrose, you've managed to collect the [Breaths of Joy], I see."
Sucrose nodded. "Yes, thanks to Miss Xianyun and Miss Ying'er."
Albedo asked, "And now?"
Ying'er sighed. "We have no idea how to begin studying it. That's what we're stuck on."
Albedo walked over. "No leads at all?"
Cloud Retainer replied, "It's a gas—hard to handle. I thought about converting it into a liquid or solid form."
Albedo nodded. "That's a good starting point."
She shook her head. "But the liquefaction point is far too low. We simply don't have the means to create such an environment."
Albedo looked thoughtful. "I see…"
Sucrose asked hopefully, "Mr. Albedo, do you have any suggestions?"
He shook his head. "It's my first time encountering this material as well. I'll need to study it further before I can say."
Sucrose sighed. "Even someone as brilliant as Mr. Albedo…"
Cloud Retainer and Ying'er exchanged glances.
"Looks like we'll have to ask the boss."
"Mm."
Sucrose and Albedo turned to them.
"The… boss?"
---
During dinner, Mona was slumped over the table with a face full of despair.
Everyone noticed her gloomy look and asked curiously.
"Huh? Your crystal ball broke again?"
"Wasn't that one brand new?"
"How did it break so soon?"
"Don't tell me you got scammed."
"You paid six hundred thousand Mora for it, even after haggling?"
"You really can't trust those street stalls—okay for little trinkets, but when it comes to expensive items, you should buy from proper stores. At least they have after-sales service. With traveling merchants like that, if something goes wrong, you won't even find the person again."
Mona let out a weary sigh, then straightened up and said in a calm tone, "It's fine, you don't have to worry. It's just a crystal ball malfunctioning. Stuff like this happens often in divination practice."
"Often?"
"Equipment wear and tear, you know."
That's what she said, but in all her years studying divination, she'd never broken a crystal ball before—except for these two recent times.
All she could do was chalk it up to bad luck.
Maybe that particular crystal ball was just poor quality.
"Six hundred thousand Mora though…"
"Divination tools are like that—always pricey."
"I think I get why there are so few astrologers now. Regular people simply can't afford to burn that much money."
"So why'd you suddenly pull out the crystal ball to divine something while reading?"
"Well, actually, it's because those three little girls over there asked me for help…"
Mona pointed at the trio of young girls sitting off to the side.
Everyone turned to look. "Help with what?"
"They found a note tucked inside a fairy tale book. The note had something like a prophecy written on it. I was helping them divine its meaning, but in the middle of the divination, the crystal ball just suddenly cracked for no reason."
"Is it possible the prophecy itself is the issue?"
"I don't think so. I checked carefully beforehand—it was just a normal piece of paper."
"What exactly did the note say?"
"[If you can complete these tasks, the Lamp of Bliss shall light, granting you the Supreme Blessing.]
[Find a flower that doesn't exist in the world. Find a guide who never gets lost. Find someone who never lies. Find a legend that never ends.]"
"A bunch of cryptic riddles. But that does sound like the kind of guidance you'd see in a fairy tale. Probably just someone scribbling for fun."
"Boss, what do you think the Lamp of Bliss is?"
Xia Zhi thought for a moment. "Probably something like a magic lamp—rub it and a genie pops out to grant wishes."
Everyone laughed. "There's no way something like that exists in real life!"
Mona suddenly remembered something and looked at Xia Zhi. "Mr. Xia, I was actually divining the whereabouts of the Lamp of Bliss when it happened. I remember the crystal ball had already begun to show something—just before I could see clearly, it shattered."
"Miss Mona, are you saying…"
"If the divination started to produce information, that must mean the Lamp of Bliss is real. I can't use my crystal ball anymore, but Mr. Xia, your Mora-based divination doesn't require one, right? If you're the one to divine it, we might actually pinpoint its location!"
"Can't promise anything, but I can give it a try."
Under everyone's gaze, Xia Zhi pulled out a few Mora coins and casually tossed them onto the table.
The coins scattered across the surface, forming a hexagram.
Xia Zhi reached out, brushing his fingers over the coins, studying the shape of the hexagram. He frowned slightly.
"This reading…"
"What does it say?"
"It's a Misguidance Hexagram."
"So even you can't determine its location?"
"There's no directional information in the reading."
"That's odd…"
"'Darkness beneath the lamp'—it can be interpreted as 'search high and low to no avail, only to find it without effort.'"
"Huh?"
"In short, this so-called Lamp of Bliss is actually very close to us. But if fate hasn't aligned, no matter how hard we search, we won't find it. However, if we wait for the right moment, it'll come to us on its own."
"So all we have to do is be patient?"
"Exactly."
Xia Zhi nodded and picked the Mora coins back up from the table.
—
At the same time.
In Mondstadt, inside the Angel's Share tavern.
Venti was still drinking with the patrons at the next table.
He suddenly seemed to sense something.
Once again, from who-knows-where, he pulled out that beautiful lamp.
"Someone's looking for it again… This feeling is familiar… seems like it's my old friend… Why is he suddenly interested in this thing? …Well, if he wants it, I'll bring it to him tomorrow. Maybe score a couple bottles of Rainbow Wine while I'm at it…"
Venti smacked his lips, tossed the lamp aside again, and continued drinking.
----
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