A martial arts manual appeared in Chongyun's hands.
He and Xingqiu flipped it open together.
"Pure Frost Technique": A heart-calming inner art from Wind and Cloud, passed down by Nie Feng's ancestors, capable of pacifying the mind.
"When the heart is as clear as ice, the sky may fall without fear;
Amidst endless changes, remain still;
Spirit at ease, qi serene…"
Chongyun recited the passage, feeling a strange power urging his body into stance, automatically running the technique.
[Keqing: Pure Frost Technique? Sounds like my Cloud-Layer Sword Art. Must be a top-tier martial art!]
[Paimon: If you practice it, can you become an Adeptus?]
[Madame Ping: Not so simple. Heaven's chosen must first bear toil upon their limbs and hunger in their flesh…]
[Ningguang: Chongyun, how does it feel? @Chongyun]
[Chongyun: This art is incredible! Just one small circulation and I feel refreshed! Even better than my Cryo Vision!]
His Pure Yang constitution was unusually strong — even a Cryo Vision could barely suppress it.
But the Pure Frost Technique suited his body perfectly, instantly reining in his constitution.
[Yanfei: Looks like this livestream's got some real goods~]
[Shenhe: Congratulations! @Chongyun]
[Chongyun: Hehe, thanks Auntie. (scratches back of head)]
[Albedo: A technique tailored to one's constitution? Could I borrow it? If you'd come to Dragonspine to help me with some experiments, I could trade you some alchemical results. @Chongyun @Xingqiu]
[Xinyan: Didn't expect the answer really was Mona's mom!]
[Bennett: Did I just miss out on a fortune?]
[Kaeya: Easy profit. Pity someone refused it~]
[Diluc: From today on, Death After Noon will be indefinitely unavailable to Mondstadt's Cavalry Captain Kaeya!]
[Kaeya: Cough… I admit I may've been a little loud earlier…]
[Paimon: Mona, is your mom really like that?]
[Mona: Impossible! Absolutely impossible!]
[Mona: Mishearing Maniac, come out! Don't hide behind the screen! @Mishearing Maniac]
[Mishearing Maniac: Don't be mad, "No Money for Food True Monarch." Here's a million Mora as emotional damages.]
With a ding, one million Mora dropped into Mona's account.
[Mona: You— a million Mora? You think I'm a beggar?! (angry face)]
She needed ninety-nine thousand nine hundred Mora just for one book, with entire rooms filled with such volumes.
She was, without question, a hidden rich woman.
A mere million Mora — was he trying to fob her off like a Hilichurl?!
She had just suffered social death in front of all of Teyvat! Right now she wanted nothing more than to destroy the world.
[Lumine: Mona, you're that rich?! (eyes sparkling)]
[Venti: Does the rich lady need an at-home service? Satisfaction guaranteed! @Mona]
[Paimon: Street busker, mind your mouth…]
[Venti: I meant singing at home, Little Paimon, where's your mind at? (innocent face)]
[Hexenzirkel Member B: A pack of vulgar mortals. You cannot even fathom the vast wealth of we who hail from the Nation of Wisdom!]
[Dori: I can confirm — the Hexenzirkel really is loaded! (smiling eyes)]
[Tighnari: For some reason my heart hurts…]
[Mona: Explain this clearly — you're saying this woman's my mother? Don't joke! I was adopted since childhood! @Mishearing Maniac]
[Mishearing Maniac: Emmm… are you sure you want to know?]
[Mona: I'm sure! (gritted teeth.jpg)]
[Mishearing Maniac: Alright. Simply put — the person in that video comes from a parallel world.]
[Mishearing Maniac: In that world, Teyvat is just a game. Each of you is a game character. The woman who filmed that video is the voice actress who lent the Mona-character her soul and voice.]
[Mishearing Maniac: So, while not related by blood, she is undeniably your "real" mother!]
After the explanation, the fan-creation livestream fell utterly silent.
Teyvat… just a game?!
What kind of joke was this?!
Countless people began reevaluating life. Zhongli, Ningguang, Raiden Shogun — brows furrowed. The room was deathly quiet.
Only Mona focused on her origins. She typed on the screen:
"My mother… what kind of person is she?"
Though she had been raised by an old crone, Mona had always secretly longed to know who her mother was.
Had the old crone not forbidden her from using hydromancy to divine her own fate, she would have sought her mother out long ago.
Soon, a new comment floated past:
"From the video you can tell, right? She's just a lazy dog posting memes all day!"
Mona's lips curved into a bitter smile. She typed a string of ellipses as tears of humiliation welled up in her eyes.
Wuwuwu… I've fallen so far, family. My real mom's actually a meme-posting lazy dog!
[Tartaglia: Are you telling the truth? That we're all just game characters?]
If everything was just a game, then what meaning did his years of training hold?
[Mishearing Maniac: Real or fake, it's all the same. Life is a game — whether you want to play or not, you're still in it.]
[Mishearing Maniac: Maybe that world simply observed Teyvat and turned it into a game.]
[Mishearing Maniac: What matters is that we live in the moment. So keep playing the music, keep dancing!]
After that piece of philosophy, the Mishearing Maniac went offline.
The fan-creation livestream began its closing music:
"Take your heart, take my heart,
Create and create — create a Whopperflower,
Create a Stormterror~~
Let all the cries for Primogems,
Go keep Qiqi company~~"
...