Upon seeing the note, the man in the black coat immediately understood—this had to be the one who bought up all the supplies they needed.
"Let's go."
Under his lead, they headed toward the teahouse.
Outside stood four Millelith soldiers, positioned as though guarding something important—firm, imposing, solemn.
The sight made the group pause in surprise.
"This… isn't some sort of ambush, right…?" one man whispered.
"We just arrived. We haven't caused trouble or made acquaintances. Who would ambush us? Stop overthinking."
"Yeah. Isn't Liyue the nation that values contracts most? They wouldn't set themselves up for disaster."
Despite their words, caution lingered among them. They stepped carefully past the Millelith and entered.
Once they confirmed the soldiers weren't reacting, they followed the given directions up to the second floor. After speaking with a server, they were led to a private room.
The moment they walked in, they froze.
The entire room was packed full of all the supplies they needed.
"You're here."
A deep voice echoed from behind a partition.
The sudden sound startled everyone.
"The price list is on the table."
Hearing this, they instinctively approached the table. A sheet of paper clearly listed each item's cost. At the bottom were the total quantities and total sum.
Seeing the prices, the man in the black coat twitched sharply, feeling numb all over.
"Sir, since we're all in business, why not sit down and talk face-to-face? We might even become friends."
Behind the partition, the teahouse owner tensed up, unsure how to respond.
"Just say this…"
Little Ningguang whispered an extremely quiet instruction into his ear.
The owner stared at her in disbelief, eyes wide as though doubting his hearing.
Ningguang frantically signaled him to continue.
"Sir?" the man in the black coat asked again, sensing something strange.
Hearing his voice, the teahouse owner finally braced himself. Lowering his tone, he spoke firmly:
"There's no need. The price is fixed. If you want to buy, buy. If not, please leave."
The man in the black coat had never expected such a hard stance—no compromise at all.
But it made sense. Their lifeline was completely in the other party's hands.
Everything they needed had been purchased in advance by the mysterious figure behind the partition.
"We're certainly willing to buy. We just wanted to get acquainted. After all, this won't be our only trip. There will be more chances to cooperate in the future. What do you say?"
Since they were already at a disadvantage, the black-coated man didn't resist further. He simply wanted to know who wielded such sharp intelligence.
They were newcomers to Liyue—this was their first time here. They'd never visited before, so it should've been impossible for word to leak.
Yet the mysterious buyer had somehow gotten their information and confidently purchased everything in advance. That alone proved their formidable capability.
If they could become acquainted with such a heavyweight, even losing money today would be worth it.
Seeing the man's persistence, Ningguang immediately fed the next line to the teahouse owner.
Soon, another voice sounded from behind the partition:
"I only deal in these kinds of purchases. I touch no other business. Knowing me brings no advantage—unless you wish to relive today's events in the future."
Hearing this, everyone was stunned.
They never imagined that this mysterious person handled only one type of trade.
If that was the case, hiding his identity made perfect sense.
Someone who dealt exclusively in volatile goods would make countless enemies. Showing his face meant risking a blade in the alley without knowing who struck.
Suddenly, the Millelith presence downstairs also made sense.
Since the mysterious buyer couldn't show his face, yet all the needed supplies were laid out openly, anyone with bad intentions could simply grab everything and escape.
If that happened, he'd have no way of stopping it.
Thus, the Millelith guards ensured nothing went wrong. With security in place, the seller could confidently display all the goods without fear of theft.
"Really… can't you lower the price just a little…?"
The man in the black coat felt physical pain just looking at the total.
He knew that buying in bulk was already much cheaper than purchasing separately.
But the individual prices were so high that even after discounts, the bulk payment remained expensive.
"Sorry. It's a fixed price. It can't be changed. Think it over."
That single sentence crushed their final hope.
Clenching their teeth through the pain, they paid the enormous amount.
As painful as it was, returning to Liyue empty-handed would cost even more.
Once the customers left, Ningguang and the teahouse owner stepped out from behind the partition.
After deducting the cost of supplies and snack bribes, Ningguang's business maneuver earned a net profit of 1.35 million Mora.
"Thank you, Boss. We could only win today because of your help."
With that, Ningguang pulled out 150,000 Mora and handed it to the teahouse owner.
The owner stared at the sum in shock. He never expected that simply repeating Ningguang's lines behind a partition would earn him such a generous reward.
"Little Ningguang, this is far too much. I can't accept it," he said nervously.
"You have to take it, Boss. Without you, I wouldn't have earned this much— I would've lost a lot. You may think you didn't do anything, but your help meant everything to me."
After several rounds of refusal, Ningguang couldn't take it anymore. She tossed the 150,000 Mora on the table and sprinted out, giving the owner no time to react.
"Hey! Wait—"
Before he could finish, she was already gone.
The owner looked at the Mora with a complicated expression.
Admiration. Shock. Confusion…
He never imagined that such a young girl possessed such terrifying business instincts—making over a million Mora in an instant.
He ran this teahouse, and even in its busiest seasons, it took a year or two to earn that much.
"This kid… really can't be underestimated."
Looking at the 150,000 Mora, he chuckled and picked it up.
"If anyone ends up on her bad side, that man is doomed."
What the owner didn't know was that included in those 150,000 was the accumulated difference from all the discounted sweets he'd given her.
Other customers paid a thousand Mora per dessert, but for Ningguang, he took only five hundred—and sometimes he even added extra.
Ningguang disliked being given handouts, but a kindness offered sincerely did not need rejection.
She understood this goodwill clearly.
She didn't point it out. She simply kept track of every bit she owed, planning to repay it all at once when the chance came.
Clearly, this was that chance.
Just as Ningguang left the teahouse, she spotted the Millelith still standing guard.
"Big brothers, thank you for helping today! Could you wait a little longer?" she said happily as she approached them.
"Of course, but be quick—we need to start our patrol soon."
"Alright! I'll be right back."
She dashed away, returning moments later with two large bags of drinks.
"Big brothers, please have some water."
Seeing the drinks, the four Millelith blinked in surprise before smiling warmly. They accepted the beverages.
"Thank you, Little Ningguang."
"No, I should be thanking you."
Ningguang leaned forward slightly, bowing her head in sincere gratitude.
"We'll get back to patrol now."
"Okay. Thank you!"
"If you ever run into trouble, come find us."
"Okay~"
The four Millelith walked away contentedly, sipping their drinks.
After all, who wouldn't like a polite, sensible, and adorable little Ningguang?
Most children would never think to buy drinks for them—at most they'd say "thank you." And even fewer would bow seriously the way she did.
Everything about her made Millelith feel appreciated. No one dislikes being treated with sincerity, even if the gesture comes from a child.
Ningguang didn't offer them Mora because that would've been inappropriate.
In Millelith's eyes, they'd only stood guard for a short while. If she tried to pay them thousands or tens of thousands of Mora, it would have the opposite effect.
"After deducting all expenses… the net profit is 1.19 million Mora. Great. I'm one step closer to seeing Brother Elliot Yuan again."
The Mora in her hands filled Ningguang with a deep sense of security.
But seeing this, Elliot felt nothing but heartache.
"I'm sorry, Ningguang."
"I can't come back."