"Ahem, may I ask why you called me a Heart Demon?" Chen Luo stood up from his seat and slowly approached her.
Chen Luo wasn't worried about her harming him, as the Midnight Bar prohibits mutual harm unless Chen Luo allows it.
Perhaps someone could truly ignore the rules and attack, but Chen Luo happened to know this woman, and in his understanding, she shouldn't be capable of breaking such rules.
After all, even Yukari Yakumo couldn't do it, and this woman probably isn't stronger than Yukari.
"A door appearing out of thin air, lingering in my mind after seeing it once, yet never able to be found again—if not a Heart Demon, what else could it be?" the white-haired woman shouted coldly.
"Just as my master said, Heart Demons take countless forms. It could even be a bar, with someone inside I've never seen before. Evil spirits are easy to expel, but Heart Demons are difficult to deal with..."
"Um, you might be mistaken. I'm not some Heart Demon; I'm just an ordinary... no, the owner of a magical bar." Chen Luo said carefully.
"Clever with words, pretending to be weak, using a pitiable appearance to gain trust—everything is just as my master said. Indeed, you are the Heart Demon." But the woman opposite Chen Luo stubbornly believed everything about him was just an act.
"It seems I still have worldly desires, allowing the Heart Demon to invade. Today, I will sever them myself."
"Ice Spirit Manifestation!"
After the white-haired woman finished speaking, Cryo energy gathered, and a talisman instantly formed. The moment the talisman dissipated, an ice spirit resembling the woman appeared beside her, charging toward Chen Luo alongside her.
Although harming others isn't allowed in the bar, using one's own power is still possible.
"Sigh..." Chen Luo sighed.
Although this woman seemed somewhat violent, Chen Luo, who knew a little about her, felt that her talking with him for so long before taking action was already quite respectful.
As for why she thought he was a Heart Demon?
Perhaps she saw someone summoning the bar.
Watching the woman charging toward him, Chen Luo spread his arms wide, offering no defense.
Today, if you can so much as scratch me, I'll admit defeat.
But once she tires herself out, she should be willing to listen to me, right?
Yet another problematic child.
Are any of my customers normal?
However, just as the woman's spear tip was about to touch Chen Luo's brow, the spear stopped one centimeter away.
"Huh?" Chen Luo glanced at the woman in confusion.
Why did you stop?
* * *
"My name is Shenhe. I apologize for mistaking you for a Heart Demon." Shenhe had now put away her spear.
For some reason, just as Shenhe was about to strike Chen Luo, she stopped.
Was it because even Shenhe couldn't bring herself to attack some Heart Demons?
Or did Shenhe still have a tiny bit of attachment to the mortal world?
Of course, Chen Luo must reiterate: he is not a Heart Demon.
"My name is Chen Luo. I am not a Heart Demon."
"That... I already know." Shenhe nodded slightly.
"But why did you stop at the last moment?" Chen Luo was very curious about this.
"Vision."
"Huh?"
"You have an Anemo Vision hanging at your waist." Chen Luo and Shenhe sat facing each other, and Shenhe pointed at Chen Luo's waist.
"Ah, because of this." Chen Luo subconsciously looked at the Vision hanging from his waist.
Although his Vision had undergone all kinds of insane modifications and absorbed who knows how much Honkai energy, it was still a Vision, and an Anemo one at that.
To be honest, Chen Luo suspected his Vision had absorbed more Honkai energy than he had.
"Heart Demons can appear in various forms, but the authenticity of a Vision is not so easy to imitate, especially an Anemo one, which has no connection to me." Shenhe said calmly.
It is said that Visions are gazes cast down by the gods, and gods are naturally difficult to imitate.
"You have a keen eye, young hero." Chen Luo admiringly cupped his hands in respect.
"Young hero?" Shenhe tilted her head slightly.
Shenhe often traveled through mountains and forests, occasionally performing acts of chivalry. Some called her a fairy, others a witch, but this was the first time someone had called her a young hero.
"Don't mind it. But may I ask why you thought I was a Heart Demon?" Chen Luo asked curiously.
"This..."
"Of course, if it's too private, you don't have to say."
"It's not particularly private. Some time ago, while cultivating in the mountains, I reached the mountaintop and suddenly saw a strangely decorated building appear on a distant open ground, like a bar. A woman walked out of it and then jumped straight off the cliff."
"But by the time I reacted and went to where the bar was, it had already vanished without a trace, and the woman had jumped off the cliff and disappeared. Since then, this bar has often appeared before my eyes like an illusion."
"I asked my master about this, but he said he hadn't detected any unusual activity in the mountains and suspected it was a Heart Demon disturbing me, advising me to focus on cultivation."
"But the more you ignore a Heart Demon, the more it disrupts your cultivation. Finally, today, while troubled by this bar, it appeared."
Shenhe didn't continue further, but Chen Luo had already guessed the rest.
As for that woman, although Shenhe was vague, Chen Luo had a guess.
Who else could it be but Mona?
Excluding Shenhe, there are only three customers from Teyvat: Venti, Mona, and Eula. Eula is always in Mondstadt hunting monsters, so it couldn't be her. Venti can fly anywhere, but going to Liyue is unlikely because he might get beaten up by the Geo Archon.
Moreover, if Chen Luo remembers correctly, the first time Mona came to the bar was after escaping from a domain. She mentioned that the mountain was full of Qingxin flowers, which sounds very much like the mountain where Cloud Retainer lives.
So the culprit is undoubtedly Mona.
"Alright, since it's not a Heart Demon, I should be going." After resolving the misunderstanding, Shenhe stood up.
It seemed she had no intention of staying long in this bar.
"Wait, all who come are guests. Would you like to have a bowl of noodles before leaving?" Chen Luo suddenly called out to Shenhe.
Why leave in such a hurry?
Moreover, Chen Luo felt that if he let Shenhe leave like this, she might never come to the bar again, as he had a general understanding of Shenhe's nature.
In Liyue, a method similar to astrology is divination, which can predict fate. There are two types of fates considered extremely ominous in Liyue.
One is "Lonely Star," and the other is "Calamity Star." Shenhe was afflicted with both, making her fate that of a "Lonely Calamity Star."
Because of this, the adepti used the "Red Rope Soul Binding" technique on Shenhe. While it restrained the malice and killing intent within her, it also seemed to suppress many human emotions.
In simple terms, it was like creating an artificial emotionless state.
As a result, her desires were not high. If she left just like that, it would be nearly impossible for her to return to the bar in the future.
Letting a customer slip away like this is not the behavior of a qualified bar owner.
"Huh? Noodles...? But I didn't bring any money with me today." Shenhe hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.
Although Shenhe had been cultivating with the adepti on the mountains since she was six years old, she still knew that you needed money to buy things—after all, she wasn't a fool.
Normally, who carries money while traveling through the mountains?
Shenhe only prepared some money when she needed to descend the mountain for training or to experience the mortal world. Otherwise, she truly treated money as external to the body.
"It's fine, no charge. Consider it fate." Chen Luo shook his head.
Who cares about money? Chen Luo's family was never short on money, and besides, he had emptied out a vault in Nagazora.
What Chen Luo lacked now were primogems and crystals.
Although Chen Luo possessed the Herrscher of Domination authority and the Herrscher of Sentience authority, both were leaning toward support.
If possible, Chen Luo would prefer an offensive skill.
"Fate? Alright." Shenhe was momentarily stunned before sitting back down.
The word "fate" was often mentioned by her master, and this might be a special kind of fate.
"Of course it's fate. This bar isn't open to just anyone. It's a bar that connects different worlds. You might even see non-human entities here. The bar has very few customers, mostly gathering after 8 PM."
"If not for certain unexpected events today, I wouldn't be in the bar at this time, and we might have missed each other."
"So our meeting truly is fate."
Chen Luo spoke as he entered the small kitchen.
Or perhaps the fate between Chen Luo and Shenhe relied heavily on Mona.
If Chen Luo hadn't encountered the nearly starved Mona while sending the Herrscher of Sentience to Nagazora, he wouldn't have stayed long in the bar. If he hadn't stayed, he naturally wouldn't have been there when Shenhe arrived.
And if not for Mona, Shenhe wouldn't have caught a glimpse of the Midnight Bar, let alone mistaken it for a Heart Demon.
A series of coincidences led to an inevitability, which is truly rare.
Before long, Chen Luo brought out a bowl of noodles.
"This is..." When Chen Luo placed the bowl of noodles in front of her, Shenhe's heart trembled.
Looking at the heart-shaped egg placed on the noodles, Shenhe unusually fell into a moment of recollection.
"This is 'Heartstring Noodles.' You should try it; it should be delicious." Chen Luo said.
"Should?" Shenhe couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Shouldn't vendors praise their own products highly? Why was this person's explanation so vague?
"To be precise, these aren't noodles I made; they are noodles you made." Chen Luo walked over to Shenhe with a glass of juice and placed it beside her bowl of noodles.
Seeing Shenhe's expression of confusion mixed with a hint of shock and nostalgia, Chen Luo began to explain: "Sometimes, when a person's longing and desire reach an extreme, it generates a wish. The bar captures this wish and creates a special dish, like the noodles before you."
"I don't know exactly how this bowl of noodles tastes, but I know it must be the most important food in your heart."
"Now, please give it a try." Chen Luo made a gesture of invitation.
That's right, this was a dish specially made using "Mother's Flavor" for 5 primogems. It was also Shenhe's special dish in the game—Heartstring Noodles.
"It sounds less like a proper method and more like the tactics of mountain wild gods who live off faith." Shenhe said as she took the chopsticks Chen Luo handed her.
"Not quite wild gods, but this bar is indeed quite unique."
Since Chen Luo initially provided this dish for her, it didn't generate any commission, but Chen Luo felt that if he could retain this customer, the 5 primogems would be well spent.
Although everything happening now made Shenhe slightly alert, for some reason, she found the young man before her quite pleasant to look at.
Moreover, Shenhe had confidence in her own strength and judgment. At the very least, she saw no malice in the young man's eyes.
Under the young man's gaze, Shenhe reached out with her chopsticks toward the bowl of noodles that looked both unfamiliar and familiar.
Staring at someone while they eat is somewhat impolite, but Shenhe didn't seem to mind Chen Luo watching her. Perhaps she saw nothing wrong with it.
Chen Luo kept watching her not only because she was the only customer at the moment but also because her eating demeanor was comparable to Durandal's, yet with some differences.
If described with an perhaps inappropriate analogy, it was like an orphan who lost their parents at a young age tasting the noodles from their memory.
The "Mother's Flavor," priced at only 5 primogems, and the "void wine" carried no special effects, but for some people, recreating that flavor was everything.
Nostalgia, disbelief, reluctance, melancholy, obsession, resolution, and finally, as if nothing remained.
A single bowl of noodles managed to evoke the myriad phases of life.
Although Shenhe showed many emotions while eating the noodles, what comforted Chen Luo was that she seemed satisfied with the dish.
The only drawback was that she only took two bites of the noodles.
She barely finished even a tenth of it.
"What's wrong? Is it not tasty enough?" Chen Luo asked concernedly.
For Chen Luo, every customer was precious.
Originally, the bar only had Venti as a customer but could still earn dozens of primogems daily. Later, as the number of customers gradually increased, it wasn't impossible to earn 500 or even 1,000 primogems a day with enough clever maneuvers, though only under special circumstances.
Aside from situations like Venti bringing others, Chen Luo found that every customer who could come to the bar on their own was a premium customer.
For example, Yuyuko, who provided at least 100 primogems at once daily.
Venti, who didn't provide many primogems at once but was consistent.
Mona, who had few desires but was a long-term source of income...
For Chen Luo, the most important thing was to retain every customer who came to the bar.
And Chen Luo's intuition told him that Shenhe was a very important customer.
He must keep her here.