The thought of being limited to five jars—and then being cut off for an entire week—made Ningguang physically ill.
She wasn't naive enough to believe that the remaining five jars would guarantee the rest of the book series.
She had planned to return tomorrow with enough Mora to buy out the shop. Instead, Felix had slapped her with a purchase limit.
"I'll offer one million!"
Ningguang locked eyes with him, her gaze intense. "One million Mora per jar. I'll take them all!"
If one hundred thousand wasn't enough, she would multiply the price by ten.
At one million a jar, the entire stock would cost a few tens of millions. Maybe not even a hundred million.
To others, it was an astronomical sum. To her, it was pocket change.
More importantly, the items in these jars were priceless. Some, like the Devil Fruit and the Eternal Youth Pill, were things money literally couldn't buy.
Yet here they were, available through a simple game of chance.
In her experience, no one hated money.
She had offered a sky-high price. There was no reason for Felix to refuse.
"I'm sorry, but rules are rules. They cannot be broken. Common Jars are one hundred thousand each."
Hearing her offer, Felix sighed internally. As expected of Liyue's wealthiest woman.
One million per jar. Ten times the asking price.
Unfortunately, he couldn't sell them even if he wanted to. The system's restrictions were absolute.
Besides, his goal wasn't Mora.
The floor price for a Common Jar was set at one hundred thousand. To maximize sales volume for the system's rewards, he had kept it at the minimum.
"You won't sell even at that price?"
Ningguang frowned deeply. She had practically thrown money at him, and he still refused. Clearly, Mora wasn't his motivation.
Otherwise, who would turn down such a profit?
But if not for money, what was Felix's angle?
Whether it was the Devil Fruit or the Economics textbook, these were items capable of shaking the foundations of the world. Yet he was practically giving them away.
What was he plotting?
Looking at him, Felix didn't appear to have a Vision, meaning he likely had no combat strength. If he had eaten the Devil Fruit himself, surely he would be powerful.
Perhaps he had already eaten one?
But remembering the side effects, she doubted it. Even if the drawback was minor for most, it was still a weakness.
Since he wouldn't sell, she couldn't force him. Coercion wouldn't work on a man who sold miracles.
Ningguang took a deep breath and looked at him softly. "I need to know. Why are you doing this? You don't care about Mora. The prices are cheap, yet you don't give them away for free. What is your true goal?"
She genuinely couldn't understand him.
Was it just to sell jars?
That was a joke. He could have kept the items for himself.
And if he wanted to sell jars, why limit the quantity?
Why not unlimited supply? Why only ten per person per week?
It made no sense.
If the goal was volume, the limit was counterproductive.
He was a complete enigma.
"My goal? It's simple. To sell more jars."
Felix smiled faintly. "As for the rest... that's a trade secret, Lady Ningguang. Now, would you like to buy your remaining five jars?"
"Since I cannot buy them all, I will return tomorrow."
Ningguang glanced at the rows of identical clay pots on the shelves.
If she could, she would have cleared the shelves right then and there.
But with the limit in place, the urgency faded slightly.
She had obtained the first volume of the book. She could start implementing its theories immediately.
Even if someone else pulled the later volumes, it would be too late for them to catch up.
In Liyue, she would always be one step ahead.
With that thought, she was eager to return and test her new acquisitions.
She looked at Felix and smiled. "See you tomorrow, Boss. I won't disturb your business any longer. I'll have the Millelith keep an eye on things here and maintain order. If you find them intrusive, you can ask them to leave."
"That would be much appreciated, Lady Ningguang."
Felix nodded gratefully.
The crowd blocking his door was a nuisance. Having the Millelith there to manage traffic would be helpful.
He watched as Ningguang turned and walked out of the shop.
As she stepped out, the crowd that had been besieging the entrance instantly focused on her.
Their faces were a mix of excitement, curiosity, and anticipation as they scanned the items in her hands.
"Look! It's Lady Ningguang!"
"Check out what she's holding. Those must be the items she pulled! I wonder what they are?"
"A book and... some weird fruit? She didn't get a Vision? I thought for sure she'd pull one."
"Do you think Visions are cabbage? Besides, Lady Ningguang already has one. What would she do with another?"
"Phew, thank the Archons she didn't buy them all. I still have a chance!"
"Hah! Do you have the money? But... why didn't she buy them all? With her wealth, she could have bought the shop and the land it sits on."
"Who knows? If you're so curious, go ask her."
...
The crowd gossiped loudly, analyzing her every move.
They were desperate to know the results of her gamble.
"Lady Ningguang! Can you tell us what's going on in there?"
Someone in the crowd shouted. "Please, tell us what you got! Is there really a Vision inside?"
Some people still didn't believe the rumors without seeing proof.
Now that the Tianquan herself had emerged, someone couldn't resist asking.
She was the most credible source in all of Liyue.
At the shout, the crowd fell silent, looking at her with expectant eyes.
Hearing the question, Ningguang paused. She looked at the curious faces and smiled. "Very well. I'll speak on the shopkeeper's behalf. The jars are real. They contain items strange and wonderful. You may lose, or you may win big."
"The price is one hundred thousand Mora per jar. There is also a purchase limit—no one can buy more than ten a week."
"As for my results... I did not pull a Vision. However, I obtained an Eternal Youth Pill. The shopkeeper claims that consuming it will freeze one's appearance in time forever. The rest were merely miscellaneous items of little value."