As one of the Liyue Qixing, Keqing had seen it all. She had witnessed grand spectacles and examined rare curiosities from every corner of Teyvat.
But a Devil Fruit? An Eternal Youth Pill? These were unheard of.
Eternal youth was the domain of gods and adepti, not something you could buy in a jar.
Keqing looked at Ningguang, her skepticism still lingering. "Are these things real? What if they're fake?"
"I thought the same at first. But this book changed everything."
Ningguang tapped the thin cover of the Economics manual. "You've read it. You know how terrifying the knowledge inside is. You know the upheaval it could cause if released to the public. If this book is real—and it undeniably is—then the Devil Fruit and the Eternal Youth Pill must be real as well."
"Could he be Rex Lapis in disguise? But even Rex Lapis couldn't produce such things out of thin air. If he could, he would have given them to us long ago, not played shopkeeper to hand them out randomly."
Keqing fell silent.
It was true. If the other items were fake, the book should be fake too.
But the book was a masterpiece. Any merchant who read it would have their world turned upside down. It could elevate the economy of any city it touched.
Take the Northland Bank, for instance. The Snezhnayan bank, run by the Fatui, was a parasite they couldn't remove.
Liyue had tried to establish its own international banks, but without the military power to escort Mora across borders, they failed. The Fatui, with their diplomatic immunity and military might, could move wealth anywhere. Liyue's Millelith couldn't cross borders.
So they had been forced to watch the Northland Bank grow, helpless to stop it. They could only try to contain it with policy.
But with this book, Keqing saw a way to fight back. A way to crush them.
So, by extension, the Devil Fruit and the pill had to be real.
"What is his background? Have you investigated him?"
Keqing looked at Ningguang. "You met him. What is your impression?"
"He's young. Very handsome—comparable to Zhongli of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."
Ningguang recalled every detail of her interaction with Felix. "But I didn't sense a trace of elemental energy from him. He looks like an ordinary person."
"But if he's ordinary, how is he selling these miracles? He could have used the Devil Fruit himself instead of selling it."
"It's possible he's already eaten a similar fruit. But I confirmed it: he has no elemental aura."
"I had my people run a background check. Nothing. He just appeared in Liyue one day and opened a shop. His origins are a complete mystery."
Ningguang's expression turned grave. Felix was an enigma.
He was so mysterious that he felt unfathomable.
"An ordinary person? Impossible!"
Keqing shook her head in disbelief. "If he were ordinary, where did he get these jars? How could a commoner possess such things? And if he were truly powerless, wouldn't he be afraid of being robbed?"
Selling items worth millions for a pittance?
To a commoner, ten thousand—no, one hundred thousand—was a lot. But to the truly wealthy, it was nothing.
If he was selling these jars, he had to have the strength to protect them.
If he was just a civilian, he'd be robbed blind the first night.
"I don't know. I can't read him."
Ningguang sighed. "I tried to figure it out, but I hit a wall. So I stopped thinking about it. For now, my priority is this book. We need to implement its strategies before anyone else does. This knowledge is the key to solving the Northland Bank problem!"
She genuinely couldn't see through Felix.
Whether it was the Visions or the Devil Fruits, nothing made sense.
If he was weak, where did he get the guts to sell these things?
If he was strong, why did he feel so ordinary?
"Agreed."
Keqing nodded firmly. "With this book, we can handle the Northland Bank. And since it's incomplete, we need the rest. Why didn't you buy all the jars in the shop?"
Keqing looked at Ningguang with a mix of confusion and curiosity.
Since Ningguang had already verified the value with five jars, why stop there?
With her wealth, buying out the shop would be as easy as buying a cabbage.
Ningguang knew the value. She should have cleared the shelves.