As she handed over the money, Mona felt a mix of heartache and anticipation.
The heartache came from spending the Mora she had painstakingly saved, one coin at a time. It was almost all gone in an instant.
The anticipation came from the hope of pulling something great and making a huge profit.
Now that her housing was settled, she could afford to eat poorly for a while if she had to.
And that was the worst-case scenario.
If she pulled something good from the jar, it would be a massive win.
"Then pick a jar," Felix said with a faint smile, accepting the worn-out coin pouch.
"I want that one."
Mona didn't hesitate. She pointed decisively at the ornate, exquisite jar on the top shelf, the one that stood out from all the plain ones around it.
"Miss Mona, you are not yet qualified to purchase that one. You must choose from the ordinary jars," Felix explained calmly. "In the future, you may have the opportunity."
"Oh, I see."
Mona understood immediately.
That special jar wasn't for sale to just anyone.
Judging by its appearance, it surely contained something far better than the others.
Since she couldn't buy it, she had to choose another.
After a moment of consideration, she pointed to a jar in the bottom-right corner.
"That one."
"As you wish."
Felix waved his hand, and the chosen jar flew off the shelf, landing gently in front of Mona.
Mona pressed her hands together, as if in prayer.
Taking a deep breath, she smashed the jar open.
Smash!
A bright, golden light burst forth.
Seeing the brilliant glow, Mona's heart leaped with joy. Mora!
She hadn't lost! She had won Mora!
"Congratulations. 300,000 Mora," Felix announced with a smile. "Your luck is quite good."
She spent 100,000 Mora and received 300,000. While not a huge fortune, for Mona, it was a windfall.
"That's rare. I've seldom seen anyone pull Mora from the jars," Hu Tao commented, looking surprised.
"Two more jars!"
Without hesitation, Mona took out 200,000 Mora and selected two more jars.
This was free money. She would save the remaining 100,000.
Felix retrieved the two jars, and they landed before her.
Smash!
Mona broke the first one open.
A single item fell out.
A magnifying glass.
"A magnifying glass?"
Hu Tao leaned in curiously. "Is it a normal tool, or something special?"
"It looks so plain," Mona said, picking it up and examining it closely. "It's probably just a normal magnifying glass. Not an alchemical tool."
She couldn't sense any elemental energy from it.
Her face fell with disappointment. This jar was a bust. This thing probably sold for a few Mora at a general store.
"That's no ordinary magnifying glass," Felix said, noticing her disappointment. "It is an Item Fortune Mirror."
[Item Fortune Mirror]
Use this to divine the fortune of inanimate objects. Simply look at an object through the lens to see its associated destiny.
It was a divination-related item.
Felix was starting to notice a pattern. The items people pulled often seemed related to their profession or personal destiny.
For Mona, after the initial Mora, she pulled a divination tool.
"Item Fortune Mirror?"
Mona stared at the magnifying glass again, confused. "What do you mean?"
"It's a mirror for observing the fate of objects," Felix explained with a chuckle. "For example, say Director Hu has two dresses she's trying to choose from. You use this mirror to look at them. One dress might show nothing. But the other might show the words 'Water Calamity'."
"That would be a premonition. If she wore that dress, she would encounter a disaster related to water, like a shipwreck or drowning."
"A mirror that can divine fortune!"
Mona's pupils shrank. She stared at the magnifying glass in her hand, astonished.
This was a true divination tool.
Even for her, performing a divination required a complex ritual.
She couldn't just casually check the fate of small things.
But now, this shopkeeper was telling her she could simply look through this magnifying glass and see an object's destiny—whether it would bring good fortune or disaster.
This was magical. And incredibly convenient.
Despite a lifetime of studying astrology and witnessing magical phenomena, she was still stunned by this Item Fortune Mirror.
This was beyond simple alchemy.
"Shopkeeper, next time, can you please not use me as an example!"
Hu Tao puffed out her cheeks, her face turning red.
She was still thinking about the milk incident and the reason she had to start wearing long robes.
"Ahem."
Felix coughed awkwardly, seeing the embarrassed anger in her plum-blossom eyes. "It was just an example, Director Hu."
Hu Tao stared at him for a long moment before finally turning her attention to the mirror in Mona's hand.
"Mona, if you don't use that thing often, you can lend it to Wangsheng. I'm thinking of expanding our business again."
Hu Tao's entrepreneurial mind was racing.
The magical items from this shop were perfect for creating new business lines for the funeral parlor.
The Soul Staff had led to the "Soul Out-of-Body Experience" service. The Thickening Needle had inspired a goods transport service.
Now Mona had pulled a divination tool. She could borrow it and start a new fortune-telling business.
After all, Mona was a Wangsheng consultant now. Her person belonged to Wangsheng, so naturally, her items did too!
"Sure."
Mona agreed readily. "I don't really have a use for this myself. It's a divination tool, and astrologists are forbidden from divining their own fortunes."
"My master—the old hag—always said that trying to divine your own fate can lead to dangerous paradoxes."
"Old hag?" Hu Tao blinked.
"That's my master," Mona explained with a smile. "She gave me an important task. She has an old friend in Mondstadt, and I must retrieve a secret box from that friend's successor."
"So, I will eventually have to leave Liyue. But I'll return to Wangsheng after I complete my mission. Just giving you a heads-up."
"I see," Hu Tao nodded. "No problem. The doors of Wangsheng will always be open for you!"
"Now, open the last jar!" Hu Tao urged, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "You've had great luck so far. Maybe you'll get another interesting item!"
She was practically drooling at the thought. More items for her business!
"Mhm!"
Mona nodded eagerly.
At this moment, she had lost all the mysterious and composed demeanor of an astrologist. She was like an excited little girl.
The items she had pulled had thrilled her to the core.
For the first time in her life, she felt the exhilarating rush of striking it rich.
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