"Need to pick something indestructible as the anchor point…"
After Granny Ping returned, Victor Wang rummaged through all his belongings and realized that the toughest thing he had was still the Wentian Sword. He himself could lose an arm or a leg, but the Wentian Sword always stood firm.
["You! What are you trying to do?"] Little Wen was unnerved by his stare.
"Heh heh! Relax, you won't feel a thing."
He recited 'Celestial Return Chant', compressed his spirit, and dove into the space within the Wentian Sword, then expanded it from the inside.
His spiritual power became like the Pangu of this small world, holding up the heavens with his hands and pressing down the earth with his feet. Though the task grew harder and harder, he finally carved out a space about the size of a small lake.
Clapping his hands after finishing, he held the Wentian Sword—which now combined the functions of 'portable elemental particle generator', 'sword spirit', and 'Inner Space'—in his grip. With just a thought, the Legend of the Shattered Halberd and A Legend of Sword from the table were stored into the Inner Space. Another thought, and they were released back out.
"Done."
["Huh! I actually have this kind of function?"]
"Don't pretend to understand what you clearly don't. This was obviously my creation."
["Hmph! Now Master can never part with me!"]
"Heh."
Victor Wang only smiled without answering. He stored away all important items—such as spare masks, unknown maps, even Barbara's photo—into the Inner Space.
He glanced at his pocket watch. It was 1 PM. By now most people had eaten lunch, though there could be exceptions. To be safe, he patiently waited until 1:30 PM before stepping out.
Now that the Inner Space was established, the next step was to find something to fill it.
"If I remember right, Feiyun Commerce Guild deals in ores… They should have Cor Lapis, too, right?"
From memory, he pulled up intel on the Feiyun Commerce Guild: they managed gemstones and precious ores produced in Liyue, worked in long-term cooperation with several fleets, with abundant supply and stable channels.
A thousand pieces of Cor Lapis was no small number. In price, weight, and volume, they couldn't be compared with something like a thousand dandelions. For such a purchase, going to a major guild was still the most convenient option.
Unfortunately, the person guarding the entrance of the Feiyun Commerce Guild wasn't anyone Victor Wang recognized. Still, he approached and asked, "Excuse me, is Xingqiu at home?"
The servant replied warmly, "Young Master Xingqiu has gone out. Are you a friend of his? If it's important, I can pass along the message when he returns."
"Actually, it doesn't necessarily have to be Xingqiu. I have some business to discuss…"
A thousand pieces of Cor Lapis was no small sum. But in front of one of Liyue's top guilds, it wasn't much either. Victor Wang's voice grew weaker and weaker.
"Business, you say?" The servant still smiled kindly. "I'm afraid it's unfortunate timing. Both the Master and the eldest young master are busy with matters regarding the Overlord of the Vortex these past few days, and the young master is away. The few other managers just left after receiving urgent news as well."
"Perhaps you could leave your contact information, or we could arrange another time?"
"No need. I'll come by again later."
The Feiyun Commerce Guild wouldn't work for now, but this matter involved cleansing geo energy, and Victor Wang didn't want to delay even a moment longer.
Aside from the guild, Gentry Maocai also did ore business. But Gentry Maocai's character was foul—even throwing money away, Victor Wang wouldn't want him to profit. That left only independent merchants.
…
At the Liuli Pavilion.
"Thank you both for waiting. Gentry Maocai is rich and influential. A simple punishment means nothing to him. If you want him to stop his actions, you have to make him feel the same pain as Chang the Ninth."
Paimon asked curiously, "So what exactly do you mean?"
Xingqiu's trusted aide, Xu, replied, "Since Gentry Maocai wants Cor Lapis, then if we buy up all the Cor Lapis in Liyue before him, he'll be unable to fulfill his contracts."
"Ohhh! And then he'll have to face the wrath of the Fatui, right? But… Liyue is so big, how could we possibly buy all the Cor Lapis?"
"Indeed, we can't buy it all immediately. But we've already identified all the merchants with large reserves. We'll split into groups—our side will buy some, but we'll also need you two to help with the rest."
"No problem! Gentry Maocai's servant was far too arrogant, forcing sales, even colluding with the Fatui! That's an even greater crime!" Paimon crossed her arms, delivering her judgment with great momentum.
"An even greater crime!" Lumine echoed Paimon.
"Haha, then let me mark the locations for you… Here, here, and here. There are also some reserves in the Chasm that haven't been bought yet. Once those are taken, only Chang the Ninth's batch will remain."
"Then let's follow the order: first Liyue Harbor, then the Chasm, and finally we'll find Chang the Ninth!"
"Finally we'll find Chang the Ninth!"
"Huh? Lumine, why are you copying me?"
"Because Paimon sounds really funny and cute when you talk like that."
"…Then let's go!"
"Let's go!"
…
"Boss, I want to buy all your Cor Lapis."
"Tch~, another one?"
Paimon frowned, sensing something off. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing much. Someone already bought all my Cor Lapis just now. Even if you offer double, I've got nothing left to sell." Bolai shrugged, feeling a little bitter. If only he had known Cor Lapis was this hot, he should have raised the price more. Too bad these two showed up late.
"Someone's getting ahead of us? Let's hurry to the next place!"
And the only one mass-buying Cor Lapis at this scale was none other than Gentry Maocai.
Lumine and Paimon rushed off to the next location.
"Central Avenue, near the Antique House… This should be it, right? Changshun, Changshun…"
Hearing his name muttered, Changshun asked, "Are you two looking for me?"
"You're Changshun? The one selling Cor Lapis?"
With an apologetic smile, Changshun said, "A few minutes ago I was'Changshun the Cor Lapis seller'. But now, I no longer sell it."
"Ah! We're late again! Lumine, let's hurry to the next spot!"
"Hold on." Lumine pulled on Paimon's starry cloak and asked Changshun, "Boss, could you describe the person who just bought your Cor Lapis?"
"It was an adeptus."
"Adeptus?"
"A young adeptus, in fact. After he followed me into the warehouse, his sword gleamed, and the entire pile of Cor Lapis vanished!"
Changshun had long felt regretful that Rex Lapis himself had never visited. But having an adeptus arrive today filled him with pride.
"Doesn't sound like Gentry Maocai's men… But why would an adeptus want so much Cor Lapis? Let's head to the next place."
At Ivanovich's shop, they encountered an unexpected figure.
"Victor?"
"Lumine, Paimon. Are you two out shopping?"
"N-n-no way!" Paimon exclaimed, suspiciously. "So, you were the one who beat us to buying the Cor Lapis?"
"Huh? What a coincidence, you're after Cor Lapis too?"
Thinking a bit, Lumine asked, "So it's just coincidence? Your purchase has nothing to do with Chang the Ninth, Gentry Maocai, or the Feiyun Commerce Guild?"
Victor Wang nodded seriously. "I'm buying Cor Lapis to treat an illness. I need a full one thousand pieces."
"Pfft~! One thousand! Even if you were eating it as medicine, you couldn't finish in less than a year!"
"Paimon." Lumine restrained her.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just my first time hearing Cor Lapis could cure disease!" Paimon bent over laughing, apologizing while still chuckling.
"No worries, it's my first time hearing it too." Victor Wang changed tone. "But clever as I am, even if I knew Cor Lapis could cure disease, I wouldn't think of eating it. That's the kind of idea only a 'little genius' would have."
Paimon caught the implication. "Wait a sec, I get the feeling 'little genius' wasn't meant as a compliment?"
"Alright, you two. Victor, did you already collect the full thousand Cor Lapis? We're helping the Feiyun Commerce Guild buy up Liyue Harbor's stock. If you're short, they can spare you some."
"Perfect timing. I just need the three hundred pieces from Ivanovich's lot."
"Lot?"
"This batch was knocked into the sea by the Overlord of the Vortex. Situations like this aren't uncommon. The salvage team just started today, so it'll take a while to bring it back."
"As long as you've got enough, then Paimon and I will keep collecting elsewhere."
"Wait—why are you two buying Cor Lapis?"
Lumine thought for a moment and explained briefly:
"The other day, after getting the geo sigil map you gave us, Paimon and I realized we should relax a little. So, we went to Wanwen Bookhouse to find the Liyue edition of the Teyvat Travel Guide, planning to explore while collecting geo sigils.
"But the book wasn't very popular here. To find it, we went with Xingqiu to Qingce Village to see Chang the Ninth. We didn't expect him to be forced by Gentry Maocai to sell Cor Lapis. We couldn't stand it, so we stepped in to help."
"Gentry Maocai, again? Last time during The Butterfly Lovers premiere, he publicly insulted an elder who had lost his wits. Truly vile!"
Seeing that Victor Wang was also displeased with Gentry Maocai, Lumine suggested, "Once we've bought up the Cor Lapis, we plan to enjoy the sight of Gentry Maocai being punished in kind. Do you want to join us?"
"This is happening? Then of course I'll be there to watch!"
Victor Wang smiled inwardly. Everything was going according to plan.