After the contract was signed, Shenhe once again displayed a scene of immense power before Xingqiu and A Xu, shocking them both, though Yuto had already grown accustomed to it.
Shenhe carried the mingxia floating stone into a warehouse exclusive to the Feiyun Commerce Guild. Such a large mingxia floating stone naturally aroused the curiosity of some of the city's residents. However, they were more concerned with how a seemingly delicate woman could carry such a large stone. Was that woman an Adeptus?
Due to Liyue's ancient legends of various Adepti, coupled with the existence of Vision wielders who possess extraordinary abilities, a woman with immense strength was not entirely incomprehensible. Therefore, the city residents' curiosity only lasted for a while, and the excitement naturally faded over time.
After properly settling the mingxia floating stone, A Xu returned to the Feiyun Commerce Guild to continue handling affairs, while Xingqiu, unwilling to leave, kept following Yuto.
In fact, Xingqiu had been very concerned about something ever since. He looked at Shenhe's appearance, and it always made him feel that Shenhe looked a bit like a good friend of his. Although he really wanted to ask Shenhe, her cold, frosty demeanor and the hint of fierceness in her gaze when she looked at him made him somewhat hesitant.
Moreover, the combination of Yuto and Shenhe was a bit strange. Shenhe had an outstanding temperament, a Cryo Vision, and astonishing strength. It was clear at a glance that she was an Adeptus disciple, far more advanced than his friend Chongyun's demon-slaying techniques.
However, Xingqiu didn't sense anything extraordinary about Yuto. He looked like an ordinary person, yet he could make a fairy defer to him in everything.
Xingqiu was also surprised to find that while Shenhe remained silent when Yuto gave commands, she didn't resist at all, and the way she looked at him was completely different from the way she looked at Yuto.
Since it wouldn't work with Shenhe, he could only try to get answers from Yuto.
As it was nearing noon, Xingqiu proactively suggested inviting his two friends to Xinyue Kiosk for a small drink to wish for a smooth collaboration with Yuto. Yuto, of course, gladly accepted. Seeing that Yuto had agreed, Shenhe naturally followed silently.
The Feiyun Commerce Guild is one of the top commercial guilds in Liyue Harbor, and as the second young master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild, Xingqiu naturally became a focal point of attention for the Xinyue Kiosk staff. When the staff saw Xingqiu approaching their restaurant, they immediately came out with smiling faces to greet him.
This behavior made the staff of the neighboring Liuli Pavilion spit on the ground in envy.
Yuto simply told Xingqiu that Shenhe preferred vegetarian dishes, and then let Xingqiu arrange the rest.
The delicacies were served, and indeed, Xinyue Kiosk lived up to its reputation as Liyue's long-standing high-end restaurant. There was nothing to fault in terms of color, aroma, taste, or presentation. Although Yuto felt that Chef Mao's dishes at Wanmin Restaurant were not inferior in taste to those of Xinyue Kiosk's chefs, Xinyue Kiosk was indeed more refined in other aspects. In short, there was a reason for its high price.
During the meal, Xingqiu and Yuto chatted animatedly, discussing everything from the customs of Liyue to those of Inazuma. Although Xingqiu repeatedly tried to shift the conversation to Shenhe, she consistently ignored him.
Mainly, the topics Xingqiu brought up were constantly crossing Shenhe's boundaries. Yuto felt that Shenhe pretending not to hear was already a sign of great generosity. He was truly worried she might lose her temper and smash his head into the ground three times.
In the subsequent conversation, Yuto mentioned a novel called Chronicles of Seiraimaru's Sword-Seeking, which was highly praised in the neighboring Inazuma. Inazuman literati vied to imitate it, yet none could surpass it, making it an evergreen in Inazuman literary circles.
This news made the originally calm Xingqiu incredibly excited, because this was precisely a wuxia novel he had written based on his own experiences.
Unfortunately, Liyue's publishing houses rejected it, citing that the setting was too outrageous, the plot unexpectedly cliché, and no one would like it. Unwilling to give up, Xingqiu printed a few copies himself and secretly placed them in the Wanwen Bookhouse to observe the situation, which indeed proved to be unsatisfactory.
Xingqiu had almost forgotten about this matter, but he never expected that an Inazuman merchant would bring this novel to Inazuma, and even more unexpectedly, this novel became a hit.
It truly was a case of "if it's not bright in the east, it's bright in the west." Unfortunately, Inazuma was currently implementing the Sakoku Decree, preventing outsiders from entering and insiders from leaving. The desire of the Yae Publishing House editors in Inazuma to commission more works from Teacher Zhenyu became a luxury.
When Yuto told him that Inazuma could currently only be entered through smuggling, Xingqiu immediately thought of Beidou, Captain of the Alcor. She must have a way to get to Inazuma. He wanted to entrust someone to send his novel to the Yae Publishing House in Inazuma. To achieve this goal, he was prepared for Beidou to ruffle his hair and make fun of him.
Having friends in real life discover that one writes novels is something that can very easily lead to social death. It is precisely for this reason that, in the game, only a handful of people knew that Xingqiu was Teacher Zhenyu.
But that was because the Sakoku Decree in Inazuma was later lifted, and only then did Xingqiu receive a commission letter from the Yae Publishing House, learning that his novel enjoyed a great reputation in Inazuma.
But now, Yuto had informed Xingqiu of this news in advance. How could Xingqiu not be itching with anticipation? The readers in Inazuma were eagerly awaiting his novel; how could he disappoint those readers who understood him?
To hell with the Sakoku Decree! I'll smuggle the novel over even if it means social death.
This dinner party ended early because of this. Xingqiu left Xinyue Kiosk full of confidence, with an air of "the wind whistles, the Yi River chills, a brave man gone, never to return." He still had many things to do.
Shenhe watched Xingqiu's departing back, feeling as if he had suddenly become a different person, his heart filled with some kind of obsession.
Shenhe asked doubtfully, "What suddenly happened to him?"
"Nothing, he's just rushing to experience social death."
"What does 'social death' mean? Is someone going to kill him?"
"Social death, short for 'socially dead,' means he might do some embarrassing things in front of his relatives and friends. Don't worry about him." Yuto had a mischievous smile.
Yuto thought to himself, if Xingqiu, after risking social death and going through immense hardship to smuggle his novel into Inazuma, were to suddenly learn that the Sakoku Decree in Inazuma had been lifted, he wondered if he would be so angry he'd beat his chest and stamp his feet. Yuto was somewhat looking forward to his reaction then.
Never mind, I won't worry about it. Who told him to often bully Shenhe's grand-nephew? This can be considered collecting some interest in advance for Chongyun.
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