Scattered underfoot was a pile of stones in countless shapes, sizes, and colors.
To the untrained eye, it was impossible to tell which ones were valuable. Lu Chen noticed a few people squatting nearby—some using flashlights to inspect the stones, others holding them up to the sun. The stall owner, meanwhile, looked increasingly impatient.
Zhongli told him the most valuable among them were the chicken blood stones. If he could get his hands on just a few, they'd be worth more than everything else at the stall combined.
Neither of them squatted down to sift through the pile. Instead, Lu Chen began planning how to quietly and discreetly buy the valuable ones at a low price.
He even looked it up on his phone: chicken blood stones were vivid in color, rare in quantity, and often used for carving seals or intricate sculptures. Their current market value was sky-high.
Of course, if the stall owner was willing to display them, he clearly wasn't looking to sell cheaply. Zhongli had warned him that the pile was full of fakes.
There were plenty of other stones mixed in, like cinnabar jade, and even some chicken blood stones painted with fake red "blood." A real mixed bag—if you didn't have a sharp eye, you'd end up with junk.
Fortunately, he had Zhongli. After studying the pile together for a while, Lu Chen casually squeezed into the crowd with Qiqi.
"These stones... they're pretty."
"Qiqi wants one. Can you buy it for me?"
Her childlike voice rang out in front of the stall. Everyone turned to look, saw it was just two kids, and quickly lost interest, returning to their stone-hunting.
"What's so great about these dumb rocks?" Lu Chen said, feigning exasperation, and made as if to pull Qiqi away. But she didn't budge.
The stall owner glanced over, clearly annoyed—he probably thought Lu Chen was blocking other customers.
"Qiqi... likes them. Qiqi wants to buy!"
That usually blank little face now showed a pleading expression—surprisingly adorable.
A few of the people nearby chuckled. Kids were like that. See something pretty? Gotta have it.
Lu Chen laughed too. Qiqi's effort at acting was spot on. She didn't drop the ball at all.
"Alright, alright! You win. You pick whatever you want—your big bro's got cash!"
After checking the price, Lu Chen learned the stones were sold by weight. He asked for a large plastic bag and stood behind Qiqi.
She scooped up a random handful, her casualness shocking the people around her.
Seeing she couldn't carry it, Lu Chen squatted down to help, gathering her picks into one spot—and slipped a few vibrantly colored chicken blood stones into the pile.
The pile got jumbled in the process, and the stall owner—who had been keeping a close eye—blinked and suddenly looked uneasy.
"Alright, boss, let's settle up! How much?"
Lu Chen sounded generous, but the stall owner froze, hesitating.
He sifted through the remaining stones, clearly sensing something was off.
"What's the holdup?" Lu Chen frowned, visibly annoyed. "Come on, I've got to take my little sister on a boat ride!"
There were a lot of onlookers now, some giving the stall owner puzzled looks.
Under the weight of all those stares, the boss finally grunted and reluctantly pointed to a scale off to the side.
After paying over two thousand yuan, Lu Chen hoisted up two large plastic bags and turned away, lips curled in amusement.
He glanced toward Zhongli, standing just outside the crowd, and flashed a smug grin.
Zhongli couldn't help but smile too.
After they walked off, the stall owner sifted through the leftover stones, brows furrowed, unable to hide his frustration.
What the hell? Those kids just casually picked out the best stones?
Was it dumb luck? Or did they have help?
Two kids? An expert behind them? Did I drink too much this morning?
...
After leaving the flea market, the three continued down the seaside boulevard, heading home.
Lu Chen couldn't hold back his grin anymore. He glanced at the obedient Qiqi beside him and praised her.
"Nice job, Qiqi! That acting was top-notch. You've earned yourself a big chicken leg at lunch today!"
Qiqi shook her head. "No chicken leg... I want coconut milk..."
"You can't just drink coconut milk—it's not a balanced diet!" Lu Chen racked his brain trying to think of another way to reward her. Qiqi never asked for much—besides coconut milk, she really didn't seem to care about anything else...
Of course, the one he really had to thank was Zhongli. Lu Chen looked at him—face as calm as ever—and thought, Having an elder around really is a blessing.
Zhongli didn't seem to care at all. Then again, he never paid much attention to things like "money."
It was as if the idea of being poor had never crossed the Emperor's mind. In his world, not having money simply didn't exist.
Back in Liyue, someone was always footing the bill for him—whether it was a friend from "the underworld," Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, or his personal wallet: Mr. Tartaglia.
Here, Lu Chen had taken over the role of financier.
He'd lost track of how many bills he'd paid, or how many times he'd transferred money to Zhongli and Venti...
As they made their way back, the crowd thinned out.
A gust of sea wind kicked up, and the sky darkened—it looked like rain was coming.
That's when Lu Chen sensed something strange.
In the distance, a lone fishing boat rocked with the waves. Suddenly, a massive wave crashed down, nearly flipping it. Shouts of panic echoed from onboard.
In less than a minute, the weather had completely shifted. The three stopped in their tracks. Zhongli stared at the gloomy, oppressive sea, frowning slightly.
"I sense an unusually strong elemental presence." Lu Chen pulled Qiqi back slowly.
The elemental energy along this stretch of coast had always been odd, but today was different—something was clearly happening.
He was reminded of that desolate mountain with its unstable Ley Lines during Qiqi's mission, and the chilling Cryo Hypostasis.
That lone boat was struggling to return to shore. As Lu Chen watched, he suddenly realized the scenery before him was overlapping—he seemed to be seeing another world layered on top of his own.
[Bounty Quest: Defeat the elemental creature—Oceanid—appearing on the city's east coast within 24 hours.]
[Secret Realm Activated. The region affected by abnormal elemental energy will be confined to a world-overlap zone. Once the Secret Realm closes, no one else will be able to perceive the area.]
[Defeating the enemy will reward you with a Luxurious Chest and achievement rewards.]
As the system notification appeared, Lu Chen stared in surprise. A circular zone, centered on a spot near the shoreline, began to blur at its edges.
Inside the "Secret Realm," the crashing waves and coastal plants were clearly straight out of Teyvat.
"Interesting, very interesting..." Lu Chen muttered as he stared at the Oceanid rising from the sea. He remembered that after the last system update, it had mentioned something about keeping abnormal areas hidden...
So this is how they managed it? Unreal!