After the Starlight Carnival ended, the RV was finally on its way home.
Under Zhongli's care, Xiao's breathing had grown noticeably steadier. While he still hadn't regained consciousness, all other signs indicated gradual improvement.
Watching Zhongli work with the herbs, Lu Chen couldn't help but comment, "You're even good at this?"
Zhongli was brewing medicine for Xiao using traditional Liyue herbs that Lu Chen had brought along. At Lu Chen's question, he looked up slightly.
"I know a little, that's all."
Lu Chen chuckled inwardly. If that's 'a little,' it probably means master-level to the rest of us. He assumed it was just Zhongli's usual modesty.
To his surprise, Zhongli shook his head. "Truly, just a little."
Noticing Lu Chen's expression, he added, "During the Archon War, while leading them into battle, we often faced shortages of medicine. Xiao can surely relate. So I familiarized myself with the medicinal herbs of Liyue—just in case."
Lu Chen was amazed. "Old man, you speak in straight-up history..."
As Xiao's condition stabilized, a system notification popped up.
[Challenge Quest: Thousand-Year Karma]
[Help Xiao free himself from the 'karma' he bears, and dispel the hatred, obsession, and pain it brings.]
[Mission Complete. Rewards: 8,000 Primogems, ¥8,000,000 real-world currency]
This quest had definitely been one of the toughest yet—Lu Chen's most exhausting mission to date. But the payout had been well worth it.
Of course, the hardest challenge still remained: Zhongli's [Leisurely Stroll in the Mortal World]—which had yet to be completed...
Then another major task wrapped up as well:
[World Quest: Investigate the Abyss Order's Conspiracy]
[Within 48 hours, eliminate the Archon remnants corrupted by the Abyss Order, resolve the dangers they pose, and maintain the proper operation of the Teyvat Gate.]
[Mission Complete. Rewards: 10,000 Primogems, ¥10,000,000 real-world currency]
Wow... I'm actually rich now, Lu Chen thought.
[Primogems: 19,450]
[Real-world currency: ¥85.2 million]
If this were an urban fantasy novel, he'd be a high-rolling tycoon with this kind of income. Sadly...
He glanced at the group—especially Zhongli. Supporting a "household" like this meant that even a rich man would end up just another working stiff.
With those matters settled, his main objective remained the same: stockpile Primogems. Whether it was to recover his peak power or return to Teyvat to handle unfinished business, he'd need a lot.
Though the number looked large, 19,000 Primogems wasn't even enough for two full days in Teyvat.
The only system quests left were Zhongli's [Leisurely Stroll in the Mortal World], Miko's [Read a Novel, Please Choose Yae Miko], and Diluc's [Mondstadt Wine Industry Is Unstoppable].
Lu Chen glanced at Miko, who was curled up on the couch, eyes closed.
"Miko, how's the light novel coming along?"
She opened her eyes lazily. "Plenty of ideas. What, ready for serialization?"
"Yeah..." Lu Chen nodded. For some reason, he felt a little guilty asking her to put in this much effort for a novel.
"Then contact your editor," Miko said with a yawn. After last night's chaos, she was still feeling drained.
"Right."
Lu Chen pulled out his phone, opened WeChat, and tapped into his editor's chat...
"Update now!"
"Update now!"
"Update now!"
(Spam continues)
(Image: Kitchen knife – 'I'll kill you!')
(Image: Flaming rage)
"My big year-end bonus... just like that... it's gone! wails"
"If you don't update, I'll come find you. I know where you live, XX City, right? I'll bring the knife blades readers sent me!"
Lu Chen quietly closed the chat and looked at Miko.
"Still in contact. Greets me every day. We're pretty close."
Miko nodded.
Lu Chen added, "Want me to give you their WeChat? We can both work under the same editor—it'd be easier to manage. You just need to come up with a pen name..."
Since the previous mission succeeded, they had learned that any username starting with "Yae" was valid. Lu Chen started brainstorming pen names that might suit Miko.
But then she looked at him and shook her head. "Tell your editor to quit."
"Hmm...?" Lu Chen picked up his phone and started to type—then paused.
"Quit? Why?"
Miko crossed her arms. "Hmph. No way I'm working under someone else's editor. Tell her to quit and come work for us. I'll stay on as the chief editor of Yae Publishing."
Lu Chen finally understood. "You're really going to build a site? You want to rebuild the Yae Publishing House here?"
"Exactly!" Miko's eyes locked onto him. "What? Don't have confidence?"
Lu Chen rubbed his chin. He wasn't shocked, just thinking about the hassle of building a website.
"Well, if that's what you want, Miko, then sure. At least we won't have someone pestering us on WeChat every day."
So, he scrolled through the wall of spam and sent his first message in two months:
"You there?"
Almost immediately, the editor replied.
"!!!"
"You're alive?"
"I'm at your front door! Where are you? (Knife emoji x2)"
Then came a short video of Lingshan Bay's coast. The editor was climbing a hill, panting and muttering complaints about how nice the rich had it...
Lu Chen hadn't expected her to actually track him down.
"I'll be back in two days. Wait for me."
"Also."
"Quit your job and come work at our site. I'll handle your bonus."
(Domineering CEO emoji)
The editor replied with a flood of exclamation marks. Lu Chen shut his phone and looked at Miko.
"She really knows her stuff when it comes to web novels. Bringing her over is a good move."
Miko rubbed her hands excitedly. "Then we're calling the site 'Yae Publishing'!"
Seeing how excited she was, Lu Chen smiled. "Sure. Yae Publishing it is."
Still, funding, a website, and an editor weren't enough—they needed actual content.
He'd already read Miko's outline, but he was especially curious about Hu Tao, who had just returned from "gathering material." He found her inside the RV.
Hu Tao was completely immersed in her writing, with Qiqi sitting beside her. Every so often, she'd ask Qiqi a question.
But with Qiqi's terrible memory, Hu Tao kept scratching her head in frustration while muttering things like, "If only Xingqiu and Chongyun were here…"
Amused by her antics, Lu Chen grew curious about what she was writing. He quietly leaned in for a peek.
Then he saw the title—
"Strange Tales of Liyue"
Also known as: The Wuwang Hill Horror Case Files.