With the combined efforts of the Liyue Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Millelith, soon there was no longer any public display of the Geo Archon's image anywhere within Liyue's borders…
Of course, the Ministry of Civil Affairs also issued a follow-up statement, clarifying that it did not intend to erase the Geo Archon from Liyue's history.
The public could still talk about the historical deeds of the Geo Archon during their leisure time.
Upon hearing this news, Iron Tongue Tian let out a sigh of relief, feeling as if he had just survived a great calamity.
"Honestly, I almost thought I wouldn't be able to tell storytelling performances about the Geo Archon anymore… I thought I was going to lose my job…"
But even with such strict measures in place, Su Yuan and his group understood very well that this sort of thing could never be completely banned.
As the saying goes: rarity makes things valuable.
Where there is demand, there will be supply.
People naturally have a rebellious streak — the more you forbid something, the more they want to do it…
When the initial news broke that all toys, statues, and portraits related to the Geo Archon were going to be collected, a number of unscrupulous merchants chose to secretly stash some away, hoping to take advantage of this sudden situation and sell them at high prices…
"What? That's outrageous! You're seriously overcharging!"
"We clearly agreed on the price before—5,000 Mora for one wooden Geo Archon figurine. Now you suddenly jack it up to 20,000 Mora each?"
"A toy that used to cost just a few dozen Mora, and now you're selling it for this much?"
The man speaking was named Wang Ji.
His son had been crying and begging for it, and he finally gave in and came to the toy seller Qian Junyong to buy a wooden figurine of the Geo Archon—only to be shocked by the price.
Qian Junyong, on the other hand, looked completely indifferent, replying dismissively:
"So what, you got a problem?"
"Right now, any toy related to the Geo Archon is contraband in Liyue. It's in the same category as opium and weed!"
"Too expensive? Then don't buy it!"
"If you don't buy it, there are plenty of others who will!"
"You do business without honesty or ethics—you'll be punished by the heavens!" Wang Ji shouted in anger.
"Honesty? Ethics? Those are just things that slow down my money-making. I ditched them a long time ago!" Qian Junyong replied with a grin.
But in the next moment, the door was kicked open!
Several figures immediately appeared inside the room where the deal was taking place.
"What? The Millelith?!" Qian Junyong exclaimed in shock.
However, he quickly noticed that the one leading them looked like the guest consultant from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor—Zhongli…
"Oh? So it's Consultant Zhongli! Are you here to buy one of my Geo Archon wooden figurines too?"
Qian Junyong visibly relaxed and said with a smile:
"Well, it makes sense. The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor used to worship the Geo Archon too. But now, even the statues have been confiscated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Millelith…"
"Still, you probably already know that these things are in extremely high demand right now. No way they're going to come cheap…"
"Out of respect for your Director Hu at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, I'll give you a discount!"
"A wooden figurine of the Geo Archon—only 50,000 Mora!"
"50,000 Mora? For a small chunk of wood? Why don't you just go rob someone?"
Wang Ji couldn't hold back anymore and muttered:
"You first said 5,000 Mora each, then raised it to 20,000… and now what, 50,000? That's a tenfold increase?!"
"Buy it or don't. If not, get lost!"
But before Qian Junyong could stay arrogant for long, "Zhongli" stepped forward and spoke slowly:
"The agreed price… should remain the agreed price."
"Raising the price on the spot is also a violation of contract."
"Once a contract is formed, those who break it… shall face the Judgement of Wrath of the Rock."
"Mr. Wang Ji, please come with us."
At that moment, Wang Ji noticed a figure appear behind him—Ganyu.
"Lady Ganyu, I… I didn't mean to buy something that's been banned by the Ministry of Civil Affairs…"
Seeing Ganyu, Wang Ji began to stammer.
"It's my young son… he kept crying and begging for it, and I had no choice. I asked around and found out that Qian Junyong was still selling them…"
"Whatever the reason, let's talk about it outside first…"
.........
Originally, many unscrupulous merchants had hoped to make a huge profit by secretly selling items related to the Geo Archon during this incident…
But they quickly discovered that some of their peers had seemingly vanished from the world — completely unreachable…
Rumors began to circulate that those people had been secretly executed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Millelith for illegally hoarding and selling such items…
For a time, fear gripped everyone's hearts…
The most painful thing in this world is dying before you've had the chance to spend your Mora…
They only wanted to make money — they didn't want to die…
And so, those unscrupulous merchants all stopped what they were doing and ceased selling such items.
"Who would've thought that Zhongli's actions would actually serve as a warning to others, scaring them into stopping the sale of those items…"
Su Yuan couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"Well, with this, I guess the matter can be considered more or less resolved now…"
"There shouldn't be any major issues left…"
Ganyu responded:
"Violations of contracts were never that common to begin with, and now there are hardly any statues or portraits of the Geo Archon left in Liyue…"
"With those two factors combined, the chances of incidents happening are even lower…"
"In that case," Beidou said with a smile, "since things have more or less come to a close, I'm preparing to set sail again."
"Beidou, you're still going back out to sea?" Su Yuan asked with concern.
"But now… you're the only one left…"
"I'm used to drifting on the ocean. If I stay on land for too long, I start to feel restless…"
"Don't worry, Su Yuan, everyone — I'm the seasoned Captain Beidou, after all. Setting sail alone is no big deal for me!"
And so, Beidou parted ways with everyone once again, choosing to set sail…
Perhaps only out on the open sea could she best remember and honor her fallen crewmates — her brothers and sisters…
"Everyone, thank you for all your hard work on my behalf…" After Beidou's departure, Zhongli turned to the group and said, "Tonight, dinner is on me. Let's go to Liuli Pavilion."
Huh? Seriously? Zhongli, you're treating us to dinner?
Isn't it usually charged to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?
"There's no need, Mr. Zhongli," Ganyu spoke up.
"We were all helping to resolve an issue in Liyue. Let me take care of the meal — I'll have the Ministry of Civil Affairs reimburse it."
But in the very next moment, something completely unexpected happened again!
Zhongli's expression darkened.
Without saying a word, he stood up and began walking toward the door once more!
Everyone was stunned — what was going on?
Right now, there shouldn't be any more statues or portraits of the Geo Archon left in Liyue…
So why… was Zhongli falling into that strange, eerie state again?
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