But when she thought about the meager amount of money in her pocket...
It was barely enough.
She had just enough Mora to buy one jar.
This money was her budget for a few days' stay in Liyue, followed by travel expenses to Mondstadt—food and lodging included. She couldn't spend it recklessly.
If she opened a jar and got something worthless, she would lose a huge chunk of her savings. That would be disastrous.
Thinking of this, Mona's face twisted in distress. What should she do?
Fate had clearly guided her to this shop, implying she should buy a jar.
But the jars were a game of luck. Whether the contents were good or bad depended entirely on fortune.
If she pulled junk, she wouldn't just be skipping meals in Liyue; she'd be sleeping on the streets tonight.
But if she didn't open one, she would regret it.
Fate never made mistakes. She had experienced its accuracy many times.
And she had just seen that fisherman spend 100,000 Mora to win 500,000 Mora—a five-fold return.
If she had several hundred thousand Mora, she could live comfortably in Liyue.
Mona was torn, unable to decide whether to gamble her life savings.
Seeing her internal struggle, Felix smiled faintly. He didn't rush her, just watched quietly.
From her expression, she wasn't broke, but she certainly wasn't rich.
Honestly, he thought she had no money at all.
The fact that she had enough for a jar was surprisingly impressive for her.
"Shopkeeper, how about I perform a divination for you?"
Suddenly, Mona looked up, her eyes serious. "I'll divine your fortune, and in exchange, you give me a jar. How about it?"
"Oh?"
Felix raised an eyebrow. "What could you possibly divine for me? I have nothing I need to know. Besides, this shop only accepts Mora. No barter, no services."
"Divination is about revealing destined fate accurately. Excessive embellishment only leads to misunderstanding," Mona said earnestly. "My hydromancy is very powerful. Whatever you want to know, I can divine it. You just need to pay me with one jar."
She spoke with absolute confidence in her skills.
"I'm sorry, but this shop only accepts Mora. No exceptions."
Felix shook his head. "And I don't need a fortune reading. I have nothing to calculate. If your purse is light, why not set up a stall in Liyue and perform divinations for others? With your skills, you could earn Mora very quickly."
Liyue people were superstitious. A genuine hydromancer like Mona could make a killing fortune-telling.
"I will not use hydromancy for profit."
Mona shook her head firmly. "That is not why I learned astrology."
"Then there's no helping it."
Felix looked at her seriously and spoke slowly. "Miss Mona, there is a saying: 'Wealth is found in danger.' Take a risk, and dirt turns to gold. Give it a try, and paper turns to money. Buy a jar and see."
"Since you won't use hydromancy to make money, you could gather rare herbs in Liyue or run errands for people. Making money in Liyue is easy if you work."
"Just keep a little for food. What's the difference between sleeping on the street and sleeping in a room for you, anyway?"
"But if you pull something good? That's pure profit."
"If you pull hundreds of thousands of Mora, you become rich instantly."
"500,000 Mora is just a small prize in these jars. There are millions, even tens of millions of Mora waiting."
"If you hit that, forget about food—you could buy a house in Liyue! You could buy astrology equipment, rare books... easily."
"As the Great Astrologist Mona, how can you not have your own laboratory? With that money, you could buy everything you need and build your own little world."
"That is the benefit of opening jars."
...
Felix's words were like the whispers of a devil, tempting Mona to take the plunge.
Mona's breathing quickened.
Everything he said... she wanted it.
A house in Liyue. A laboratory. Rare books.
Just a few sentences had her hooked.
But this was all her money. If she failed, she would be homeless tonight.
Worst of all, this was her travel fund for Mondstadt.
She needed to complete her master's task. She needed to survive the journey.
If she spent this money and got nothing, she couldn't even reach Mondstadt.
Mona hesitated.
"Miss Mona, what are you worried about?"
Felix smiled, pushing a little harder. "Like I said, even if you fail, you can just do odd jobs. Gather herbs. Fight hilichurls. With your strength, that's easy money."
With her Vision and skills, making money shouldn't be hard, even if she refused to do commercial fortune-telling.
As a shopkeeper, he had spare time to help her analyze her options (and close the sale).
"That's true in theory," Mona said, her face scrunching up in frustration.
"But running around Liyue is troublesome. The wilderness takes time. I'm already late for my master's task."
"I came to Liyue this time because I finally saved enough. I planned to stay for two days, eat some good food, then head to Mondstadt. If I spend it all and get nothing, I'm stranded."
"Even traveling with a caravan requires money for food and lodging."
"And I've done errands in Liyue. The pay is terrible! I ran around all day once and only made 200 Mora."
"Plus, those jobs aren't stable. People fight over them! If a commission offers 100 Mora, someone else will offer to do it for 50. Then someone else for 30!"
Mona poured out her grievances.
Competition in Liyue's gig economy was fierce.
She had tried to take commissions, but she kept getting underbid by desperate locals. The few jobs she got paid peanuts because the market rate had crashed.
So she had been forced to forage in the wild.
If she met kind adventurers or merchants, she got a meal. Otherwise, it was wild mushrooms and berries.
Gathering herbs was risky too—if she didn't sell them fast enough, they wilted and became worthless.
Most of her efforts ended in wasted time.
"I see."
Felix raised an eyebrow.
So Mona hadn't been to Mondstadt yet. She was stuck in Liyue's orbit due to poverty.
"Miss Mona, you don't need to worry about making Mora."
Felix smiled mysteriously. "As an astrologist, you must know a lot about constellations, right?"
"Of course."
Mona nodded. Astrology was her life.
"Shopkeeper! Shopkeeper!"
Suddenly, a shout from outside interrupted them.
Felix's eyelid twitched.
Hu Tao.
Her voice carried into the shop long before she appeared.
Mona turned curiously toward the door.
Outside, Hu Tao skipped toward the shop, hands behind her back.
And following closely behind her was a small, orange creature with a flaming tail.
"Holy crap, what is that thing?"
"You don't know? That's the Fire Dragon Director Hu is raising!"
"??? That dopey thing is a Fire Dragon? Are you joking?"
"If you don't believe me, ask her. She said it herself."
"Ah, it's so cute! I want to hug it."
"Where did Director Hu get it?"
...
Passersby stopped and stared.
Seeing the "Fire Dragon," eyes widened in shock.
It looked... silly.
Those who heard it was a dragon scoffed. A dragon? It looked like a pet lizard.
At the door, Doyle and Wenqi watched Hu Tao approach. They stared at the creature with suspicion.
It was cute.
"Wait."
Suddenly, Wenqi's eyes widened as he remembered something.
He recalled when Hu Tao left the shop earlier... she was holding a large, red egg.
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