"Heh, so it was you. My apologies—I mistook you for someone else."
"..."
Completely different hair color, plus that cloak—yet he still mistook me? That seems unlikely…
While Victor Wang was quietly pondering this, Diergis leaned closer and asked, "Has the elder of your family returned?"
Elder…? He means that fabricated "Khaenri'ah elder"? Why bring that up? According to what Ye Caizhen said the other day, this man has already pledged himself to the Abyss Order, hasn't he? Untrustworthy. Cannot be trusted.
Victor Wang kept his expression calm, but followed along with the lie he'd used last time: "He has not returned. In fact, I don't even know where he is now."
"Well, that's strange."
Having lived for centuries, yet still outwardly young, Diergis smiled slyly. "Then could it be… you personally encountered a 'god'?"
"A… god? What do you mean?"
"The one I've been pursuing all this time. You—met Him, didn't you?" Diergis adjusted his glasses, and far from being discouraged after realizing his mistake, his excitement only grew. "Don't rush to deny it. I could never mistake this aura."
"…Heh. Last time at Liuli Pavilion, you refused to tell me anything about the so-called 'Prince of Khaenri'ah'. Yet just now you addressed me as 'Your Highness the Prince'. We both have secrets."
"Then shall we exchange secret for secret?"
"If it's about that god, I may not know any more than you."
"All you need to do is tell me how to find Him—no, not even that! Just describe to me the encounter itself, and I'll offer you every one of my secrets in return!"
Diergis's eyes blazed with fanaticism that even his glasses and colored lenses could not conceal. His words were temptingly persuasive—but Victor Wang hesitated.
If he truly confessed the experience of the so-called 'descent of god', he would be targeted without a doubt. Not only by Diergis, but by the entire Abyss Order as well.
He needed to come up with a proper excuse to reject him—one that would also prevent future entanglements.
Before Victor Wang could sort out his response, Shenhe and the jade-ore vendor suddenly erupted into a quarrel, drawing the attention of many bystanders.
"We'll talk about this another time. I have matters to attend to."
Diergis glanced at Shenhe, then gave a rueful laugh. "When you've made up your mind, you can always find me at Yunyan Hall."
With a faint sigh, Victor Wang turned back—only to see Shenhe glaring at the jade vendor with her hand on her weapon, as though ready to strike at any moment.
The vendor, meanwhile, wore a pained expression and frantically waved his hands. "The rules are written clear as day! I didn't deceive you—you simply had bad luck. Please don't make a scene."
Shenhe snapped coldly, "Hmph! I watched carefully. Not just me—no one else here managed to cut out even a single so-called 'fine jade'. How can you guarantee that what you sell isn't fake?"
At that moment, the only people at the stall were Shenhe, Victor Wang, and a young master accompanied by a maid. Clearly, the "others" she referred to meant that young master.
Because it was especially rare to see anyone in Liyue Harbor dressed in a Mondstadt maid outfit, Victor Wang recognized them immediately: the maid's name was Xi, and the young master's nickname was Master Hui.
Master Hui bristled at Shenhe's words. Hastily taking a step back, he protested, "Don't drag me into this! I know the rules—sometimes a stone just won't yield jade. I admit my luck's been lousy, but the next one's bound to hit!"
"That's right, that's right!" the vendor chimed in, emboldened by support. "There's a saying in the trade: 'If not today, then tomorrow—luck always comes eventually.' If every day were lucky, then luck wouldn't be luck. If anyone could just cut jade at will, then it wouldn't be called gambling stone anymore, and there'd be no poor folk left in this world!"
The vendor's tone firmed. "I conduct legitimate business. If you keep causing trouble, even with a Vision, the Millelith will drag you off!"
"But in the end, you still can't prove your stones aren't fake, can you?" Shenhe retorted, seizing that one point and refusing to let go.
The crowd initially laughed, but on second thought… she wasn't entirely wrong. If the vendor had deliberately stocked only worthless rocks that could never yield jade, who could prove otherwise? After all, every failed cut could just be chalked up to "bad luck". Unless one bought out the entire stall, how could anyone be sure?
The vendor's face twitched, his temper fraying. "Fine! I'll cut every stone on this stall! If even one of them yields jade, you must buy out my entire stock. If none yield jade, I'll refund you in full!"
The onlookers, eager for drama, cheered loudly.
Just as Victor Wang was beginning to suspect the vendor might actually be running a scam, the man slapped his thigh and groaned, "But what if I really cut them all and none yield jade? If I could guarantee results, I wouldn't be out here running a stall—I'd just cut them myself and be rich already! If nothing comes out, I'll have lost money and ruined my reputation!"
"Exactly. And even if you did cut out jade, who could prove it wasn't something you'd planted beforehand to lure customers?"
Shenhe pressed on the first layer. The vendor pushed back with the second. Victor Wang stepped in at the third, grounding the argument again: even if every stone was cut, it proved nothing. It wasn't a gamble of stone anymore—it was a gamble of trust.
"Yes, yes! Young man, please reason with your friend. I truly don't know what else to say…"
Shenhe turned her gaze toward Victor Wang.
"…How much Mora do you have left?"
"Only five thousand."
Victor Wang then asked the vendor, "How do you price these stones?"
"By size. From two hundred up to five thousand Mora. Surely you're not still planning to buy after all this fuss?"
Without replying, Victor Wang examined the selection, then tapped a larger piece. "How much for this one?"
"That one is four thousand."
"Shenhe, buy it."
Though puzzled, Shenhe trusted him. She handed over her last four thousand Mora.
"D-do you really want it cut open?"
"Of course," Victor Wang nodded.
The onlookers were baffled, unsure what he was planning. A few speculated he hoped to recover the money Shenhe had already lost, but those guesses faded as the vendor—sweating heavily—lowered the blade.
The large stone split layer by layer. Yet even halfway in, there was still no trace of jade—not even scraps. The vendor's hands shook, sweat rolling down his temples, fearing Victor Wang meant to extort him.
"Customer…"
"Keep cutting. Carefully."
With no choice, the vendor pressed on. Just as he carved deeper—suddenly, a glimmer flashed.
"Topaz…? No—Radiant Topaz!"
Fully revealed, the gem sparkled brilliantly, its inner latticework gleaming like the facets of a diamond.
"It actually hit! Such a large Radiant Topaz—easily worth three hundred thousand Mora!" Master Hui cried out in excitement, quickly backpedaling into, "Honestly, I'd had my eye on that very stone myself!"
His maid only sighed helplessly.
"Remarkable! The young man has sharp eyes indeed—straight to the finest stone!" The crowd buzzed with awe.
"Well then, that settles the dispute."
Victor Wang took Shenhe's hand to leave, but Master Hui grabbed his arm. "Master! Please teach me—how do you judge so accurately? I'm willing to pay tuition!"
"My advice: don't gamble."
Shaking him off, Victor Wang and Shenhe vanished into the crowd.
"That line… was meant for me." Only after converting the Radiant Topaz into Mora and pocketing the earnings did Shenhe speak again.
"That's right. Don't gamble—and don't try to solve every matter with force. This time, you were actually in the wrong."
"…I understand. I rarely descend the mountain and don't know the ways of dealing with people. If I misstep, just tell me. Even if I don't understand, I'll listen."
"For someone new to society, you already did very well today. Only—gambling is a matter even I cannot predict. I still don't know whether that vendor was honest or deceitful…"
"But you did win the gamble. I'm curious—how did you do it?"
Victor Wang laughed. "Even if I told you, you couldn't learn. I simply sensed the concentration of Geo energy within the stones. The denser it is, the better the chance."
After parting ways with Shenhe, Victor Wang quickly issued a coded commission. By evening, at the southern docks, he boarded Ye Caizhen's ship once more.
"Suspected to have been noticed by Khaenri'ah's god during the last operation… and now being watched by my father… You're asking what I think? As the saying goes: 'Better timely than early.' Arrange to meet him tomorrow night on Mt. Tianheng. I'll ambush in the shadows—and together, we'll finish him."
Victor Wang stared. "…Finish him?"
"Tomorrow morning I'll obtain a special tool crafted by the Artisan to counter the curse of immortality. I was still planning excuses to lure my father away from the city—but now everything aligns perfectly."
"You really don't intend to clarify what you mean by 'finish'?"
Ye Caizhen locked eyes with him, enunciating each word: "I mean exactly what you think."
"But… he's your father."
"He isn't anymore. He's no longer Diergis. Now he is Diergis Alberich—lapdog of the Abyss. For four hundred and ninety-six years, he never once wavered in resisting the Abyss. Why, then, in just thirteen short years, has he fallen this far?"
She closed her eyes, hiding the sorrow and grief within, leaving only a sigh: "Thirteen years ago, he and I made a pact. If he ever changed… then it would be by my hand that he is ended."
For over half a month, father and daughter had schemed against one another. Now, at last, the final veil of pretense was about to be torn. Hearing it all, Jun Zheng—companion to two generations—felt a chill in his heart, like the cold sea breeze of a moonlit night.