At the entrance of the Feiyun Commerce Guild,
a sweating servant, catching sight of his young master Xingqiu returning, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phew… Young Master, you're finally back."
Compared to him, Xingqiu was far more composed.
"What's the panic about?"
It turned out that the Feiyun Commerce Guild had recently been flooded with all sorts of orders.
The staff below were swamped with work.
With so many tasks, Xingqiu's father had specifically instructed him to stay and help.
The servant had been searching everywhere for their leisurely second young master.
Though Xingqiu usually preferred lazing around with books, he was reliable when it mattered, no hesitation.
The servant felt reassured.
Just as Xingqiu was about to head into the guild to start work, he spotted Lumine and her group approaching from a distance.
"A'Xu, I have guests. You go handle things first. I'll catch up later to discuss guild matters."
"Understood, Young Master. I'll take my leave."
The servant left.
Xingqiu walked over to greet them, asking Lumine what brought them here.
Lumine explained her purpose: she wanted information on the Resonant Dawnstone.
Xingqiu immediately understood.
They were here for Ningguang's competition.
As their friend, Xingqiu didn't hold back.
"The Feiyun Commerce Guild currently has one Resonant Dawnstone, but only one."
"It's being auctioned on consignment. Before you arrived, plenty of people had already inquired about the price."
With rarity comes value. Xingqiu estimated the final auction price might exceed five hundred million Mora.
— — — — — —
Guinaifen couldn't believe her ears. "Wait, I didn't miss any plot, right?"
"One version update, and Teyvat's got hyperinflation?"
"I don't even have five hundred million Mora in my inventory…"
The number was indeed outrageous. Even maxing out daily stamina regeneration,
five hundred million Mora would take ages to farm.
Not to mention, how could Teyvat's people earn that much in a day?
[Pang Fugui's about to give a speech at Mu Yang's tavern: one stone, five hundred million Mora!]
[Blitz Mondstadt!]
[Turning the tables, huh?]
[I love Mu Yang's line: 'I'll cover it.']
[He can't actually pay that, can he? Does Mu Yang really have that much money?]
[Don't doubt our boy Mu Yang—you'll get slapped in the face.]
Guinaifen had a different take. "This is absurd, fam. We don't even need to aim for first."
"Spending five hundred million on this—wouldn't that make us the ultimate suckers?"
"Ningguang's the one who'd have questions for Mu Yang, not the other way around."
[True, and isn't this commission testing Shenhe's adaptability?]
[Shenhe: Master, write more tips in that book. I can read them all.]
— — — — — —
"Five hundred million Mora?!"
Paimon was dumbfounded, counting on her fingers.
What even was five hundred million?
She'd thought Mu Yang, casually tossing out ten or twenty million, was already loaded.
The few million he gave them last time still hadn't been spent.
Five hundred million…
Lumine hadn't expected it to fetch such a high price.
But they were just trying to help Ningguang.
If they spent five hundred million Mora, wouldn't that be a loss?
Curious, she glanced at Mu Yang. He nodded faintly,
indicating that if they wanted to buy it, he could actually afford it.
[Whoa, bro, you can actually buy it?]
[My husband's got some serious clout!]
[Forget searching for blood relatives—just settle in Liyue. I'm loving it here.]
[Abyss Prince/Princess: I'm clocking in for the early shift!]
Mu Yang hadn't actually calculated how much money he had.
But it was definitely more than five hundred million.
The recent Jade Chamber reconstruction—its projects, materials—
all had Mu Yang's involvement, raking in heaps of Ningguang's Mora.
No need to say much. As a competent informant,
he knew Ningguang would rebuild the Jade Chamber before she even smashed it.
That kind of information gap was prime for making a fortune.
Before coming to Liyue Harbor, he earned money through commissions.
Now that he was in the [City of Commerce], he couldn't keep doing commissions, right?
That'd be a waste of the city's potential.
If it were anyone else, Mu Yang might not bother earning that money.
He could easily auction off a few Rex Lapis "custom-made" statues and make more, faster.
But earning Ningguang's money was a different story.
He really wanted to see the look on her face…
Xingqiu noticed the exchange of glances between Lumine and Mu Yang,
assuming they were seriously considering buying.
Having seen his father's scattered records, Xingqiu knew Mu Yang had the means.
He quickly advised, "I don't recommend bidding on this Dawnstone. The premium's too high—it's not worth it."
Lumine turned back. "Does Xingqiu know anything else about the Resonant Dawnstone?"
Xingqiu rested his chin in his hand, thinking for a moment.
"For Mu Yang, you should know Sea Gazer, right?"
Mu Yang nodded, then explained to Xingqiu that he was only observing for this mission.
Xingqiu should pretend he wasn't there.
[Mu Yang, stop pretending. I bet five cents he doesn't even remember.]
[He's gotta put on a front for the juniors.]
Seeing her Master's stance, Shenhe understood.
This was her cue to step forward and share what she knew.
"Sea Gazer was once very close with Mountain Shaper, but from what I recall, he has already passed."
Xingqiu now closely observed the white-haired woman.
Her icy aura surpassed even Mu Yang's.
If Mu Yang still felt somewhat approachable,
she exuded a chilling distance that kept people at bay.
She must be an Adeptus to know such Adepti secrets.
Combining Xingqiu and Shenhe's information, the group decided to head to the Guyun Stone Forest.
There might be a cave ruin belonging to Sea Gazer.
As he was fond of collecting rare treasures in life, it was likely a Resonant Dawnstone could be among them.
"Awesome!" Paimon glanced at Mu Yang. "…But can we really take it? Isn't that a bit disrespectful to the Adeptus?"
[Laugh analysis: Paimon, respecting the Adeptus.]
[Crying—she even checked with Mu Yang for approval.]
[Because Mu Yang can actually cut off her dinner, unlike other Adepti (lol).]
Mu Yang didn't comment.
At this moment, a professional Adeptus disciple should make a judgment:
Moon Carver was open-minded and wouldn't mind such a small matter. Take it!
After thanking Xingqiu, the team set off.
Watching their retreating figures, Xingqiu's attention lingered on Shenhe.
"I can't help but feel this Adeptus is somewhat similar to one of my friends…"
The more he thought, the more it felt off. "Mu Yang once said he couldn't take Chongyun as a disciple. Could it be…"
Xingqiu tucked away these thoughts. After finishing guild business,
he'd definitely find Chongyun to get to the bottom of it.