With the first sea breeze of the morning sweeping through Liyue Harbor, the water's surface shimmered with light. The free wind shattered the silence of night, signaling the start of a new day.
Merchants opened their shops, busily preparing for the day's trade. Street stalls piled with fresh seafood and handicrafts attracted passing pedestrians.
One shop, however, was different. It wasn't even open yet, and a huge crowd had already gathered at its door.
Only this time, the line was far larger, completely blocking the street in front.
"The shopkeeper's lazing around again?!"
"No need to guess, he's definitely still asleep…"
"Why so many people today?"
"Hehe~ Good thing I came early. Let me grab a duel game machine fast and enjoy a full day of fun!"
"When did you get here?!"
"Before sunrise!"
"You're nothing compared to that guy in front. I think he came at midnight…"
"Damn… now that's true devotion."
"Why are there so many people today?"
"You don't know?? Last night, Master Hu went door to door announcing that a Lantern Rite Duel Tournament is going to be held! Registration starts today, and there are prizes just for participating~"
"And they're showing Yu-Gi-Oh!!"
"I heard from a friend yesterday it was amazing, way more exciting than watching Yun Jin's opera!"
"Whoa! Really?"
"You're making me want to watch it too…"
As customers chatted among themselves, Luya finally arrived and opened the shop.
With his fingerprint unlocking the door, the [Duel Monsters Specialty Shop] began a new day of business…
As soon as the door opened, customers rushed in, shoving prepared Mora into Luya's hands, clearly planning to play the duel game machines all day.
Yet there were only 10 machines.
Seeing the booming demand, Luya considered—maybe he should set up a whole room filled with duel game machines. Then he could rake in Mora while conveniently letting customers connect via LAN to duel against each other. Rank the players too—
Beginner Duelist, Intermediate Duelist, Advanced Duelist, Epic Duelist, Legendary Duelist, God-level Duelist…
Let customers aim to become God-level Duelists!
They would duel obsessively, climb ranks, buy more cards to get stronger… pouring Mora into his coffers!
For now, though, the shop didn't have enough machines, so it wasn't possible yet.
"If only cell phones existed here…"
Luya sighed. If he could popularize cell phones in Liyue, so many things would be easier. He could make money selling phones, charging for calls, selling data plans… like, recharge 100,000 Mora and get a free card; buy 100 GB of data, get a card pet… create all kinds of business bundles. He'd drain Teyvat's residents of Mora as the exclusive provider!
But fantasy time ended, and Luya returned to daily business. Hu Tao, Zhongli, and Xingqiu came as usual, with Xingqiu bringing Chongyun along.
Yesterday, on the way home, Xingqiu had told Chongyun that the monsters and summons seen in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime actually existed in Teyvat!
Hearing that, Chongyun had nearly lost control of his pure-yang body, crazily asking Xingqiu, "Where? Where!?"
Xingqiu immediately pulled out his Deck, showing him cards like [Ryu-Kishin] and [Magical Ghost], their artwork filled with evil spirits.
Chongyun, upon seeing the images, impatiently wanted Xingqiu to summon them right away!
Since Xingqiu didn't have a Duel Disk, he told Chongyun: "Just like in the anime, these cards can only be summoned with a Duel Disk or on a Duel Stage."
Chongyun could only nod helplessly and return home. Then, just like yesterday, he woke up early, shouting "Xingqiu, Xingqiu!" to wake him, before adding, "Wow! You're up so early too!"
...
Hu Tao and Zhongli, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor duo, were also early risers and came at dawn.
Zhongli examined the Card Furnace Luya had used last night to craft [Goddess of Dust – Guizhong]. It gave off a faint glow, showing no reaction… yet after seeing Bosacius, Zhongli now held expectations of seeing Guizhong again. He had thought the Furnace only produced cards, never expecting souls to dwell within them. Bowing his head in thought, he wondered if perhaps the Lock of the Mortal World's secret was tied to making cards—perhaps sealing them into cards was the key to unlocking it…?
Hu Tao, ever attentive to the shop's layout, noticed details right away.
"Wow! Shopkeeper, how do you do it? The shop is even bigger now!!! And in the middle… there's such a huge Duel Stage!?"
"Hey… does this Duel Stage have something special about it?"
Resting her right elbow on her left hand, Hu Tao fell into thought.
The other customers, hearing her words, also noticed the [Bluff Duel Stage] standing in the very center. Not only was its material finer than the others, but its size was four times larger too—clearly extraordinary!
Hu Tao and the customers puzzled over it, though no answer came.
Luya knew they wouldn't figure it out, so he smiled and explained.
"This Duel Stage is called the [Bluff Duel Stage]."
Hu Tao burst out laughing.
"This Duel Stage even has Hu Tao in its name!? Could it be… my exclusive Duel Stage?!"
Listening to her wild imagination, Luya thought—maybe she wasn't wrong. On this stage, perhaps no one could really beat Hu Tao. After all, only she could produce couplets like:
'Twenty jin of pork, the big pot cannot contain,' matched with Xingqiu's: 'Eight hundred li of fine jade, where do the reed blossoms not return?'
Or come up with:
'Left hand plucks sweet blossoms, right hand snatches Timmie's pigeons, only a few meals of Sweet Flower Stew…'
Such timeless couplets—only Hu Tao could pull them off.
"Hall Master Hu truly has boundless imagination! The [Bluff Duel Stage] really does suit you…"
Hu Tao's interest was instantly piqued, her eyes gleaming as she exclaimed:
"Oh!? Shopkeeper, tell me, tell me—why is the [Bluff Duel Stage] suited for me?!"
...
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