Hearing Hu Tao's voice, everyone looked at Shenhe. They noticed that after listening to the story, she showed no strong emotional reaction.
Shenhe said calmly, "I know. I'm waiting for the seventh story."
She had not forgotten her agreement with Li Mo last night. Until all the reincarnation stories were told, she could not reveal his identity.
Just as they were chatting and laughing, a familiar voice came from behind them.
"Keqing, Hu Tao, Qiqi—and Shenhe—"
"So you're all here—"
"Alulu—"
Hu Tao, Keqing, and the others turned around.
They saw Xiangling from Wanmin Restaurant and Guoba standing beside her.
Hu Tao stood up. "Xiangling! Wanmin Restaurant is so busy. How do you have time to come out and play?"
Keqing added, "Yes. I wanted to invite you to listen to the stories, but I didn't want to disturb you since you're so busy."
Everyone greeted Xiangling. Both Hu Tao and Keqing frequented Wanmin Restaurant, so they knew Xiangling well. Keqing went for the Golden Shrimp Balls. Hu Tao went to collect Zhongli and pay his Mora.
Hearing this, Xiangling sighed. "Business at Wanmin Restaurant has been getting worse lately. I've actually had a lot of free time. I asked around and found out that all our customers have come here to listen to the stories."
Because she had lost so many customers, Xiangling had learned about the storytelling at Wangshu Inn. She was curious—what kind of stories could be more appealing than Wanmin Restaurant's delicious food? Driven by curiosity, she had brought Guoba to the inn to see what was happening.
Hu Tao said seriously, "Then you've come too late. Six reincarnation stories have already been told. You should have seen it—just now, people were crying their hearts out. Even Inazuma's Shogun was moved to tears. And did you see the dragon outside? That's Dvalin from Mondstadt. He's here to listen too."
Hu Tao began enthusiastically telling Xiangling about the previous stories. The Raiden sisters in the first life. Qiqi in the second. Barbatos in the third. Dvalin and Durin in the fourth. Shenhe in the fifth. Orobashi in the sixth.
Xiangling was stunned by the names she heard. Was it really that amazing? All these incredible people—and some she knew—had been moved to tears?
Hu Tao grinned. "Hehe, you may have come late, but don't worry. Maybe you'll appear in the next story. Just don't cry too hard."
Xiangling said seriously, "I won't!"
"But from what you've said, it does sound very interesting. No wonder it stole all our customers."
After hearing Hu Tao's summary, even Xiangling became interested in the stories.
But then, Qiqi, who had been silent, slowly raised a hand and pointed forward.
"Guoba—Guoba seems to have—run off—"
Xiangling was startled. She turned quickly and saw Guaba's little body waddling toward the stage.
Xiangling called out, "Guoba, this isn't Wanmin Restaurant. Don't cause trouble."
She, Keqing, and Hu Tao quickly chased after him.
Guoba waddled along the crowded aisle, his little body swaying, until he reached the storyteller.
"Alulu—"
"Alu—"
He looked at the storyteller, his small head tilting back and forth as if deep in thought.
Seeing Guoba before him, Li Mo was also momentarily stunned. Had he been recognized? Impossible. After reincarnation, his face and even his aura had changed. As long as he didn't slip up, he couldn't be recognized.
Just as Guoba was staring at him, head bobbing as if pondering something, Xiangling and the others caught up.
"I'm sorry, storyteller. Guoba didn't mean to disturb you. I'll take him away right now."
She grabbed Guoba's hand and led him off the stage.
But Guoba seemed reluctant. As he walked away, he kept turning back to look at Li Mo with puzzled eyes.
It made Li Mo uncomfortable.
Had Guoba really recognized him? It seemed unlikely. But looking at that little creature's expression, Li Mo felt something was off. He suspected Guoba had noticed something.
Never mind. As long as his identity wasn't exposed, it wasn't a big problem.
Just as Li Mo was looking down at the audience, a system notification sounded in his mind.
[Ding! System notification: The story of Orobashi you told has resonated deeply with the audience.]
[99% of listeners expressed sorrow, 40% shed tears, 20% wept bitterly.]
[System reward: 2000 Storytelling Points!]
[Ding! System notification: Your story has successfully moved Ei to tears again.]
[System reward: Gacha Ticket x1]
When Makoto was resurrected, Ei had already cried once. Now, having killed her brother's reincarnation with her own hands, she was crying again. The reward was the same as before: one gacha ticket.
Li Mo now had one complete [Wish] and one [Wish Fragment]. But for the ninety-nine reincarnations he had lived through, one Wish was far from enough. He needed more wishes to remedy the regrets of his past lives.
Another system notification sounded in his mind.
[Use the gacha ticket to draw now?]
Without hesitation, Li Mo said, "Draw now."
The moment he spoke, the same massive roulette wheel appeared in his mind. Driven by the system's power, the great wheel began to spin. Faster and faster, until it reached its peak.
The pointer swept past each precious prize, slowing gradually. Slower and slower. It stopped on one of the prizes.
[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have obtained a valuable prize—100,000 Storytelling Points!]
Each time he moved the audience to tears, he received only 2,000 points. But this time, he had received 100,000 points directly.
Aside from the precious [Wish], with this many points, he could exchange for anything in the system shop. He could even get his hands on a copy of the Raiden Shogun's fragrant blade.