"Never mind that."
Hearing Baishi's explanation, Ningguang nodded, dismissing the secretary's failure. Instead, she gestured to the items on the desk. "Take a look at these first."
"Hmm?"
Keqing looked at the objects, puzzled.
What were these?
She recognized the book, but the rest were baffling.
A round, candy-like bean. A pill. A stack of paper charms. And a fruit with bizarre swirls that looked utterly unnatural.
She looked at Ningguang with a blank expression. You called me here urgently for... this?
"A new shop has opened in Liyue. It sells 'Mystery Jars' for one hundred thousand Mora each. These jars contain all manner of miraculous items—some beyond your wildest imagination."
Seeing Keqing's confusion, Ningguang spoke softly. "Earlier today, someone pulled a Vision from one of those jars."
"What!"
Keqing's eyes widened in shock. "How is that possible? A shop selling Visions? Surely they're using Masterless Vision shells as a gimmick."
As the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing, she knew the laws of Teyvat. A tradable Vision could only be an empty shell.
A Masterless Vision—a husk left behind after a user's death—contained no elemental power. It had no guaranteed method of reawakening, only a faint chance of resonating with a new owner, and strictly forbade repeated attempts by multiple people.
Her first instinct was that this was a clever merchant's ploy.
Using a Vision shell as a marketing stunt was bold. It was a high-stakes gamble, essentially a lottery.
Keqing's mind raced, analyzing the situation instantly.
"It wasn't a Masterless shell. It was a live, elemental Vision."
Ningguang shook her head. "The customer activated it on the spot. Because he was a novice with no experience, he lost control and started a fire. Fortunately, the Millelith extinguished it quickly. The man has been detained."
"Impossible."
Keqing shook her head firmly, her tone absolute. "An activated Vision cannot be traded. If he could use it, he must have resonated with a Masterless shell the moment he touched it."
Keqing knew Visions better than anyone.
She knew that once obtained, a Vision was bound to you. It couldn't be discarded.
In the past, Keqing had believed her achievements were the result of her own hard work, yet in the eyes of others, everything was attributed to the "Vision."
She had seen the violet crystal as an insult—a mockery from the gods stealing her pride.
She had tried to destroy it countless times. She had smashed it, burned it, thrown it off cliffs. Nothing worked.
In the end, she had been forced to accept it. Over time, she realized it contained no divine consciousness and was simply a tool, so she decided to use it pragmatically.
But now Ningguang was saying someone was trading Visions directly? That was a fairy tale.
If Visions could be traded, all of Teyvat would be in chaos.
To her, everything had a logical explanation.
The customer must have resonated with a shell by sheer coincidence.
"When I first heard the news, I didn't believe it either. Visions are soul-bound; they cannot be bought or sold. I remained skeptical... until I went there myself and opened a few jars."
Seeing Keqing's certainty, Ningguang gestured to the desk. "These five items are what I pulled. They cost me five hundred thousand Mora."
"What do they do?"
Keqing looked at the items again, her skepticism still evident.
They looked ordinary. Weird, but not divine.
"I still think the shopkeeper used a Masterless shell for publicity. He probably didn't expect someone to actually resonate with it. If so, he must be regretting it deeply right now."
Keqing chuckled. "Imagine selling a Vision shell for a pittance, only for it to activate. His heart must be bleeding."
After all, a Vision was priceless.
"No. He holds Visions in contempt. When he mentioned them, there was disdain in his eyes."
Ningguang shook her head slowly. "I spoke with him at length. I could tell... he genuinely doesn't care about Visions."
"Furthermore, he claims the Visions he sells are ready to use. Or rather, his system allows the Vision to resonate with the buyer the moment the transaction is complete."