Barbatos looked at Tartaglia and grinned. "I heard you sent a letter back to Snezhnaya. Did you pass along any messages to the Tsaritsa? Tell her to come listen to the stories too. I haven't seen her in ages."
It wasn't so much that he hadn't seen her in a long time—it was that they had never really been close. They had barely met a few times, and on those rare occasions, there had been no real conversation, only a cold, distant expression that kept everyone at arm's length.
Hearing Barbatos's question, Tartaglia was startled. "How did you know I sent a letter to Snezhnaya?"
Barbatos laughed. "Hehe, the wind was particularly noisy this morning. Your conversation with your subordinate just happened to drift into my ears. My apologies—I really didn't mean to overhear."
Tartaglia: "…"
He was done. Wasn't this accursed Barbatos supposed to have been trampled underfoot by La Signora a few months ago? Wasn't he supposed to be easy to deal with? How had he become so troublesome?
He had never expected Barbatos's hearing to be so sharp. Even from such a distance, his conversation with his subordinate had reached the Anemo Archon's ears. How infuriating.
Since there was no hiding it, Tartaglia openly admitted what he had done. "Yes, Your Excellency the Anemo Archon, you're correct. I did send a letter to Her Majesty, inviting her to come and listen to the stories. I believe she will arrive at Wangshu Inn in a few days."
As he spoke, a hint of smugness crept into his expression. His purpose was obvious—he planned to use the Tsaritsa's presence to counter these troublesome gods.
But to his surprise, none of the gods seemed intimidated. They completely disregarded the Tsaritsa.
Barbatos laughed. "Haha, then tell her to come quickly. It's been hard to get a chance to see her."
Morax: "Indeed."
Ei: "Tch. A second-generation Cryo Archon—what difference does she make?"
In terms of status, the Tsaritsa was on the same level as these gods—one of the Seven Archons, revered as a deity by mortals. But she rarely ever left Snezhnaya. Barbatos disliked the cold and seldom visited. The Raiden Shogun had never paid her a visit either. Among the gods present, Zhongli was probably the closest to her—it was said he had even signed a contract with the Tsaritsa.
Watching the arrogant gods, Tartaglia felt a surge of anger, though his face remained calm. "Her Majesty will come. When she does, I believe she will put an end to this absurd storytelling."
Just thinking about the storytelling made Tartaglia furious. If not for it, his mission in Liyue wouldn't have been delayed. If not for it, La Signora wouldn't have turned against him. If not for it, he wouldn't have been entangled by these wretched gods and used as a walking wallet.
Damn storyteller.
…
While the audience murmured among themselves, on stage, Li Mo had finished telling the story of the thirteenth life. His throat was dry, so he picked up his cup and took a sip of tea.
Just then, the familiar system notification chimed in his mind.
[Ding! System notification: The story of "Hu Tao's Grandfather" you told has resonated deeply with the audience.]
[99% of listeners expressed sorrow, 30% shed tears, 10% wept bitterly.]
[System reward: 2000 Storytelling Points!]
[Ding! System notification: Your story has successfully moved Hu Tao, the seventy-seventh director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, to tears.]
[System reward: Gacha Ticket x1.]
As with previous lives, telling the thirteenth life had moved Hu Tao to tears, completing the mission perfectly and earning him a gacha ticket.
Another system notification appeared in his mind.
[Use the gacha ticket to draw now?]
Without hesitation, Li Mo said, "Draw now."
The familiar giant roulette wheel appeared before him once more. Driven by the system's power, it began to spin slowly, sweeping past each prize.
After a long rotation, the pointer gradually slowed and finally stopped on one of the rewards.
[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have obtained [Wish] Fragment x1.]
As expected, Wish Fragments were the most common reward. It took three fragments to form a complete Wish. But Li Mo wasn't discouraged. This was only one life's reward. Over ninety-nine lives, the accumulated rewards would surely be enough to exchange for all the Wishes he needed to remedy every regret.
After the draw, Li Mo's personal information appeared in his mind.
[Host]: Li Mo
[System]: Hundred-Lives Reincarnation System
[Current Life]: 100th
[Current Mission]: Become a storyteller in Liyue, make Hu Tao cry, make Qiqi cry, make the Raiden Shogun cry, and make La Signora of the Fatui cry.
[Storytelling Points]: 308,000
[Characters Who Have Cried]: Makoto, Ei, Raiden Shogun, Qiqi, Barbatos, Dvalin, Shenhe, Kazuha, Xiao, La Signora, Hu Tao…
[Other Items]: Wish x3, Musou Isshin, Serenitea Pot, Rare Building Collection, Wish Fragment x1
[System Shop]: Staff of Homa, Vision, Musou no Hitotachi
…
Based on his previous experience, after each draw, a notification to fuse with his past incarnation would soon appear. So Li Mo waited on stage for the system prompt.
As he waited, the audience continued their discussions below—about Hu Tao's grandfather, about Hu Tao's poems, about poor Qiqi.
But at that moment, no one noticed the young man standing at the inn's entrance. His hair was as red as fire, his eyes sharp and resolute. He wore black formal attire, the style of a nobleman, and carried a faint scent of fine wine.
Everything about him marked him as someone extraordinary.