When the last customers had left, Zhongli placed freshly gathered Glaze Lilies and a still-warm piece of flesh before Luya.
Xiao sensed the aura of that flesh—it matched Zhongli's own.
He stared in shock:
"This… what's going on?"
Zhongli waved a hand:
"It's fine. I am unharmed."
It seemed he had offered up part of his own flesh as material for [Goddess of Dust – Guizhong].
Seeing Zhongli had gathered all the ingredients, Luya opened the Card Furnace, ready to begin crafting.
Xiao frowned in puzzlement—
What kind of card required the flesh of the Geo Archon himself?!
And so many Glaze Lilies…
Luya quickly tossed all 100 Glaze Lilies into the furnace.
Then he placed Zhongli's Demon God flesh inside.
When the lilies and flesh met, yellow-green light engulfed the furnace.
Flames soon flickered to life.
Now, the only material missing for [Goddess of Dust – Guizhong] was the Lock of the Mortal World!
Luya retrieved the Lock from his inventory.
The moment it appeared, it radiated golden light, orbiting Zhongli.
Xiao instantly recognized it.
That lock was always with Zhongli, a memento of his old friend Guizhong, the Goddess of Dust.
Though Zhongli rarely showed sorrow, Xiao could always sense his hidden loneliness.
Thus, he knew—this card to be forged was indeed [Goddess of Dust – Guizhong].
Zhongli watched the furnace tensely.
The Lock of the Mortal World shone brilliantly, circled Zhongli once, then entered the furnace of its own accord.
All the materials were gathered. Now came the wait.
Using Xiao's [Yaksha's Blood Tears] only took minutes. The more complex [Conqueror of Demons – Xiao] had taken half an hour. With a supreme [Vajrada Amethyst], [Great General of the Valiant Tusk – Bosacius] had required a whole night.
Now, with Demon God flesh and the Lock of the Mortal World, [Goddess of Dust – Guizhong] would take even longer—at least until tomorrow.
So Luya told Zhongli:
"This crafting will take a long time. Better to return tomorrow."
Zhongli nodded.
"In that case, I shall go."
With nothing more pressing, Xiao remembered the nine cards Luya had made for him, and added them to his deck—ready for the Lantern Rite Duel Tournament.
Abruptly, just then—
[Great General of the Valiant Tusk – Bosacius] suddenly blazed with violet light.
The card floated before Xiao.
A phantom coalesced into human form.
A towering man with four arms appeared in the shop.
"Brother Bosacius!?"
The phantom turned at Xiao's words.
"Alatus… is that you!?"
"I… am I dead?!"
His voice echoed from the phantom's lips.
Xiao nodded, holding back tears as memories surged—those days of joy shared by the Five Yakshas.
"Anyway, Alatus, you're still as short as ever."
"…And Morax, you're here too."
"Still looking so young…"
Hearing Bosacius's voice, Zhongli felt a strange stirring.
He recalled the past—Bosacius, the Yaksha who served him longest, had fought beside him in the Archon War. His might set him apart from the other Yakshas.
But years of war burdened him with karmic debt. He retired to the mountains, ending his contract with Zhongli.
Afflicted with madness, his memories fractured, and he forgot even himself. Yet when monsters rose from the depths, Bosacius—nameless Yaksha—charged to the frontlines.
While he sacrificed himself guarding The Chasm, Zhongli and the other gods were battling Khaenri'ah.
They could not save him.
Zhongli gazed at the phantom with sorrow.
"You followed me so long, yet I could not rescue you. Bosacius, I wronged you."
Yet, Bosacius laughed heartily:
"At that time, you were fighting Khaenri'ah. You couldn't protect me—that was only natural."
"Bosacius never once blamed you!"
"Now, though I don't know why I can appear here, housed within this card… it feels good."
"To fight once more alongside Alatus—I'm happy."
His laughter was bright, free of resentment.
The Yakshas lived and died for Morax and for Liyue. After their reunion, violet light—like Bosacius's lightning—flared around Zhongli.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
The purple radiance vanished.
Zhongli's eyes flickered, his body suddenly filled with comfort…
He widened his eyes, pupils clouded with doubt!
Xiao noticed Zhongli's strange state, while Bosacius too wondered—why was the Geo Archon radiating violet lightning? He was Geo, not Electro…
"Morax, what's wrong?!"
Xiao quickly corrected himself, since outside Zhongli preferred to be addressed by name.
But Zhongli only smiled:
"The shopkeeper knows everything… it's fine."
"Even that Xiangling's Guoba is actually the Stove God—he knows."
Xiao froze in embarrassment. He hadn't realized at all! No wonder Guoba had greeted him so warmly before—it was Marchosius awakened…
Xiao silently vowed to treat Guoba with kindness, maybe bring him Almond Tofu someday to catch up.
"My erosion just now… seemed to lessen somewhat."
Both Xiao and Bosacius were stunned.
"What's going on?!"
Luya chuckled, hazarding a guess:
"Hahaha, Mr. Zhongli… I suspect your erosion stems from your soul and heart—burdens inflicted by a special kind of presence."
"You've watched old friends die, endured loneliness and sorrow, but the pain still gnawed at you."
"Perhaps you regretted not saving Bosacius, felt you wronged him."
"He gave his whole life for Liyue and its people, yet met his end at The Chasm, body never recovered."
"Loss after loss, farewell after farewell—that's what eroded your heart."
"But now that Bosacius appeared as a card and spoke with you, holding no resentment… maybe your heart found some peace. And that eased your erosion."
Zhongli pondered quietly. Indeed, Bosacius had spoken without blame, and that had made him glad.
"Perhaps… the shopkeeper is right."
Luya turned back to tally the day's revenue. The manga at the counter were sold out.
"In any case, reducing erosion is a good thing… congratulations, Mr. Zhongli."
"With Lantern Rite near, I must prepare for the Duel Tournament. Mr. Zhongli, Xiao—best return for now."
Zhongli nodded. The [Goddess of Dust – Guizhong] card would not be ready anytime soon.
He and Xiao departed.
...
Alone now, Luya heard the system prompt.
[Ding, congratulations, Host!]
[Today's business is complete!]
[Commencing settlement…]
[Total revenue today: 74.21 million Mora!]
[Card pack profit: 60 million Mora]
[Other profit: 14.21 million Mora]
[Available Mora: 94.21 million]
Luya checked the stats—packs sold out, earning 60 million. Screening room, manga, arcade, and duel stage together added 14.21 million.
"Each day, more and more profit…"
The system continued:
[Generating reward…]
As always, revenue determined the reward.
With 74.21 million earned, Luya listened eagerly.
[Congratulations, Host! You broke 70 million in a single day!]
[Reward: +700 automatic daily card pack generation]
[Reward: Bluff Duel Stage x1]
[Reward: +5 Normal Duel Stages]
[Reward: Random Genshin Deck x1]
[Reward: Material Analyzer x1]
This time was different—along with standard duel stage rewards came something special!
The Bluff Duel Stage.
Just the name told Luya its use.
Like in the first Yu-Gi-Oh! series…
As long as you could spin a reason, you could make it true.
The more elaborate the reasoning, the stronger the effect—though it required lots of strange knowledge to back it up!
For example:
"I activate [Rain of Mercy]!"
"Since it's raining, your Machine monsters will short-circuit!"
"So their ATK drops by 400!"
"Your [Great Moth] can't fly in the rain!"
"So its ATK drops by 500!"
"My [Summoned Skull]'s lightning conducts better in the rain!"
"So its ATK rises by 500!"
"You betrayed your monster, so!"
"Your Graveyard monsters don't belong to you!!"
"So my Dark Magician Girl gains 300 ATK for each Dark Magician in both your Graveyard and mine!"
If this duel stage were opened to the public…
Luya couldn't imagine Hu Tao ever losing. With her wild imagination and wits, she'd never step down from the Bluff Duel Stage…
Next step: upgrade the shop and prepare the tournament.
...
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