I'm in the Teyvat running group

The final result... was that they ate it all, of course.

However, the first one to eat was Xiangling's, followed by Shatang, Yueji, and Shensato Ayaka... Naturally, it was done in order, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Although the executives who didn't get to see a good show were a little disappointed, most of the girls were quite happy. Apart from Xiangling, many of them didn't actually want to see anyone win here.

There are winners and losers, and besides...

Given Yunxiu's situation, they really couldn't all "eat" by themselves; Teyvat is such a realistic place.

Bloodline, rank, level... plus the difference in power, even a young lady from a wealthy family like Ayaka Kamisato often cannot obtain enough freedom. Moreover, everyone has their own career to pursue, so things that seem absurd but are actually not absurd at all happen.

Ayaka Kamisato wouldn't consider Sugar a mere researcher because of her status, so Shin-haku naturally wouldn't treat Ayaka Kamisato any differently because of her legendary status and her identity as a disciple of a sage.

As a half-immortal, Yan Fei had no intention of taking a cut for herself, and Navia, the underground queen of Fontaine, naturally wouldn't mind sharing the benefits with everyone. Yun Xiu also treated everyone equally.

Perhaps outside there is intrigue and backstabbing, many things to deal with one by one, all sorts of troublesome emotions, and dealing with not-so-easy people, but here, everyone is a kind and relaxed family.

As for how Yunxiu could eat dozens of buns, would someone with a physique comparable to a legendary warrior die from overeating like that?

Besides, even an ordinary person would have to eat it in a situation like this, even if it's difficult...

Although Yunxiu unknowingly ate someone else's chocolate cheese filling and stinky tofu filling in the buns, as well as some strange fruit candy-flavored buns from who-knows-where...

"The chocolate cheese filling should be Navia's, the stinky tofu is most likely Hu Tao's, but whose is the fruit candy flavor?" After dinner, Yunxiu lay on a recliner in the demi-plane, opened a bottle of soda that was almost as good as before, took a couple of sips, and couldn't help but think back to the group of girls from earlier. It seemed that none of them would like to eat this kind of thing...

After receiving the two bottles of soda from Alice, Yanfei and Navia quickly produced a similar product, although some of the ingredients were synthesized by Sugar herself.

But no matter what, it was eventually made. The one Yunxiu drank was still a prototype. Large-scale mass production will have to wait until after the Lantern Festival. This is mainly because the synthetic substance cannot be produced stably yet. One of the materials is sweet flower with a sweetness twenty times that of other flowers, and it is almost impossible to cultivate this stuff artificially.

Therefore, the product that Yunxiu is drinking now has a very high cost. The cost of one bottle is over 200,000 Mora. The cost of high-purity extracted sweet flower is extremely high, and it is basically calculated by the gram. It takes a lot of effort to produce this one bottle.

Of course, this was no problem for him; money was the last thing Yunxiu had to worry about.

"Whose fruit candy flavor is this...?" This candy, which caused Yunxiu the most damage today, has truly ruined him...

"It's me. I saw everyone was stuffing things into your bowl, so I just stuffed in some local specialties from Nordkalai. They were offerings from Rauma." A Colombian floated over quietly and said quite seriously, "Ying said you really like surprises. If you're not happy with what I put in, I'll smash your head in."

“Columbia…don’t learn these weird things from Sandone.” Yunxiu said with a dark expression, “And where did this surprise come from? Do you get candy from the Rauma offerings?”

“She’ll give me anything. Last time she gave me a strange crystal plate, saying I could play games on it, but I found a lot of strange people on it.” Columbia took out a crystal plate with several stickers of unknown origin on the back, many of which were cute big-headed doll images. As if sensing Yunxiu’s gaze, she said seriously, “This was put on for me after I got it repaired. She puts on one sticker every time it’s repaired.”

"I'm really curious to know, how long have you had this crystal plate?"

"About... two full moon nights have passed?"

That's two months, and you've already had it repaired eight times... Aino is really having a tough time.

“I paid for it. I would sneak into her room in the middle of the night and put Mora on her bedside table.”

Don't dress up as Santa Claus, you'll scare the child...

Yunxiu was speechless. He had expected Colombia's natural aversion to black magic. He waved his hand helplessly, opened a bottle of soda and handed it to Colombia, sighing, "Try this. What else did you come to see me for?"

Colombia took the bottle of soda, sensed it briefly, and then took a small sip. Seemingly delighted, she quickly downed the entire bottle. Yunxiu was certain of this because her eyes had even opened slightly! Although it was only a tiny slit, Yunxiu saw the hint of joy in her eyes in that instant.

"I want more." Columbia handed the empty bottle to Yunxiu and stood quietly in place, as if to say that she would stay there if she wasn't given the bottle.

"Um... I didn't have much left before production, so here are two boxes for you, plus some Fengda." Yunxiu took out a small storage bag and handed it to Colombia. This kind of thing is almost a standard product now, and Yunxiu always keeps a lot of it on her. Of course, due to technological improvements, most of them now have a stable period of more than two years, so there shouldn't be any problems using them.

Columbia gently took the storage bag, quickly pulled out a bottle of soda, skillfully opened it, took a big gulp, and then looked at Yunxiu and said, "Hmm...delicious. Looks like you're a good person."

"I'm a good person...it has nothing to do with this." Yunxiu said with a headache, "Speaking of which...what exactly happened?"

“Ying said you’re very rich, so I’m asking you for some money.” Columbia said casually while sipping her soda, “I want to study the moon first. Sandone said we could build a laboratory, but we’ve all left Winter, and that damned Pantalone isn’t giving us any money.”

Um... so that's what it was about.

Sandone traded the Heart of God for her freedom, Arecino worked to improve it, Rosalind left disheartened, and the Queen did not try to stop her. As for Columbia, she is not yet in a position to return to the Frostmoon Children as she was in the original timeline; it's simply because she doesn't like the Fatui people right now.

Studying lunar distance forces and the moon is indeed useful, but it also requires a large sum of money. Building a laboratory is not something that can be done simply by investing a few thousand or tens of thousands. Sugar consumes tens of millions of Mora of experimental equipment every year. You should know that the first gift Yunxiu gave Sugar was experimental equipment, which cost hundreds of thousands of Mora at the time. Now, this level of equipment is no longer enough for her to use.

But it's not a big deal...

"This requires a lot of money; even for me, it would take a long time to earn it."

“But Ying and Sandoni both said that you gave those lovely girls a lot of money.” Columbia spoke quietly, seemingly unaware of what Mora was: “I’m lovely, please give me money.”

"It's not because they're cute, but because we're close. We're lovers..." Yunxiu was truly speechless. Although he didn't mind spending the money, he couldn't just get nothing in return. At the very least, once the power of the three months was truly developed, it had to do something for him...

"If you can get a lot of money by being a lover, then I'll be your lover too."

Do you know what a lover is?

"do not know."

"A lover is someone you share a close relationship with because you live together for a reason..."

"You have close relationships with many cute girls, does that count as two people?"

"Young lady, don't kill the conversation... Of course, I think you need to understand what this means first... So, this money..."

"Then I'll go ask Xiangling if I can be your lover. Is that okay? I heard from them that Xiangling can take care of you."

"?! I'll pay for this. You can have Sandoni come and tell me how much you want."

"Do you still want me to be your lover?"

"Um... let's talk about this again when you understand all this." Yunxiu was almost completely baffled by Colombia's naturally cunning nature...

Yunxiu was certain that this wasn't something someone else had taught her; it was simply her own thought process! This Moon Goddess had been naturally cunning from the very beginning, and she was quite certain of it. She wasn't a pink-faced black-hearted person or a white-faced black-hearted person; she was genuinely, truly, naturally cunning…

Columbia floated away gently, but soon pulled Sandonne over. The two of them bickered and joked all the way over. Sandonne didn't say much, but simply gave Yunxiu a bill.

Setting up a laboratory would cost around five billion, which is considered relatively economical. After all, the main research and development pressure is actually on Sandone and Columbia, but these two happen to be unpaid. Sandone has a share in Yunxiu, although not much, it is still far more than the funds she can obtain from the Fools.

Yunxiu learned about this from Colombia. An executive can only earn around 20 to 30 million to 100 million Mora a year, unless there is a super project where more can be obtained.

The Queen will definitely approve funding for research on the moon, but it's quite obvious that even if she does, it will be led by a PhD or a rooster.

Colombia, naturally, belonged to the group most financially strapped.

Chapter 321 Azure Lotus and Unicorn Reflecting the Sea Lanterns! (First update on Tuesday!)

Although Yunxiu could easily pull out 5 billion Mora, he still carefully read through all of Sandone's plans before signing the documents, and then summoned Yanfei to handle them.

Sandone naturally went with Yan Fei to handle various matters, while Columbia stayed behind. Instead of continuing to float, she conjured a moon-shaped chair from somewhere, lay down next to Yunxiu, and said seriously, "So what is our relationship now? Like you and Xiangling?"

“I think there should be a big difference… If you really want to do it this way, my suggestion is to learn first, but of course you don’t need to learn anything too complicated.” Yunxiu rested her head on her hand and said listlessly, “Besides, we can’t really throw you back to the lonely moon. We have to think of other ways.”

“What can I do? The rejection from Teyvat will only intensify, and I’ll dissipate if I don’t return to the moon… Although the Primal Sea of ​​the Dead reshaped my body last time, it won’t last long.” Columbia’s voice was still calm, but a deep sense of desolation could be heard: “I must return to the moon eventually, but the False Heaven is too thick now, I can’t go back…”

"The False Heaven is not as simple as you think, but it's not that complicated either. So I guess you'll have to think long and hard about your eventual return to the moon." Yunxiu patted Columbia's head. The moon goddess's head was quite nice to touch, and its feel was among the best of all the heads Yunxiu had ever touched.

Columbia did not resist; instead, she tilted her head toward Yunxiu, as if wanting to hear his explanation.

Yunxiu had no choice but to tell Columbia what she knew.

Even without the series of stories in Nordkal, traveling through the False Heaven to the Moon could be considered a dead end, for a very simple reason: the False Heaven might not be a physical entity at all, but rather a conceptual existence.

The False Sky can thin, self-repair, and has extremely strong blocking capabilities; it can even envelop the planet Teyvat and, in later storylines, even the moon. This suggests that the False Sky is most likely not a physical entity, but rather an energy shield or a conceptual construct.

It definitely won't be a physical entity; if it were, it wouldn't be able to be repaired after being destroyed.

The fact that it is not a physical entity also means that it is extremely difficult to do things like "making a small hole to maintain contact" or "smuggling back and forth while it is thinning." If it is this difficult to return to the moon from the ground, then it will be even more difficult to connect from the moon to the ground, because you cannot get as much help on the moon.

Therefore, at the end of the original timeline, pulling the moon directly into the false heaven was actually the best choice. Of course, this is not perfect and there are many problems, but at least it solves many hidden dangers, and it will be easier to go to the moon later.

Of course, this comes at the cost of the March Goddess's demise. However, Yunxiu has a solution. He has a timeline where he is a dragon prince, and he doesn't believe he doesn't have some backup plan in the dark side of the moon he has laid in Nibelungen. So saving the March Goddesses is not impossible. As long as they relinquish their powers, they will most likely survive.

It's just being reborn, it's not a big deal.

In other words, this might be the best outcome.

Columbia glanced at Yunxiu thoughtfully. This time, she opened her eyes without hesitation. Her beautiful purple eyes were quite stunning, arguably among the most beautiful eyes Yunxiu had ever seen. Although it was only for a moment, it allowed him to witness the beauty of this moon goddess.

She was indeed a very charming moon goddess, but unfortunately, the Son of Frostmoon taught her nothing...

Yunxiu sighed and lay down quietly for her afternoon nap. It was a rare time to rest and recharge. Even if she didn't know what the future held, at least for now, it was a very comfortable time.

-----------------

The next two weeks were indeed the most fulfilling two weeks of Yunxiu's life so far.

Making rice cakes, pasting peach charms, setting off firecrackers, and admiring plum blossoms—they went through all the preparations for the Liyue New Year in a proper and thorough manner. Yunxiu herself was, of course, very proficient in these things. In addition to Yunxiu, there was also Hu Tao, a master of traditional etiquette and culture, to guide them. Naturally, everything went smoothly, and they even gave away quite a few to the surrounding neighbors.

It wasn't a problem for the girls to stay at Yunxiu's house. The demiplane was always open, so there was no need to worry too much about the number of people. Naturally, many friends came to visit.

Xingqiu, Chongyun, Jiaming, and even Manyo from Inazuma, and even Tina from Sumi, all came several times. They had a very comfortable New Year. Yunxiu also asked Qianzhi to come over and make two sets of clothes for everyone. Although it cost a lot of money, new clothes for the New Year can be considered a new look for the New Year.

Qianzhi gave Yunxiu a rare discount, but because the order was so large, Qianzhi simply stayed at Yunxiu's house. She and Navia had a very good relationship and the two best friends could talk about anything, so they naturally stayed in the same house.

Fryna also lived with these two, and there were even the four little ones of Fontaine in the room—four in total, because in addition to Linnie, Linette, and Fimini, even Clayviel lived here. She didn't live with the Fools, probably because having more children made it more fun.

For Yunxiu, the one suffering the most recently is probably his kidneys. Even a legendary figure with a constitution of over 30 points is finding it hard to cope. He even secretly slipped away to rest for a day, claiming he was there to observe the progress of the laboratory's establishment, but he knew absolutely nothing about such things.

On the last day of this day, one should naturally go to Jueyun Pavilion to pay New Year's respects to the immortals.

Carrying New Year's goods and accompanied by a group of immortals, half-immortals, and immortal disciples, Yunxiu leisurely walked up Mt. Aozang. He had already given prior notice that the immortals would be gathering on their mountain today, which is a long-standing tradition in Liyue.

Passing through the mountain gate and walking up to the main gate of Mt. Aozang, you can see several immortals watching a performance on a large screen—it's a "gala" that Liyue has arranged for this year. Although she doesn't know who came up with the idea, Yunxiu is certain that she hasn't interfered and has instead been avoiding getting involved...

After all, participating in this kind of thing doesn't guarantee anything good, but the probability of being utterly ruined is quite high...

When Yunxiu arrived, it just so happened that Yunjin had finished her storytelling of "Crossing the River to Seek Immortality" and it was time for the storytelling session. Because Yunxiu had brought back a lot of information from the Sea God Palace and placed the Sword-Unlocking Pavilion on Mount Aozang, this year's theme was "The Travels of Qinglian Lin". The theme of this year's Lantern Festival was also these two.

The scene shifts to the port of Liyue, where a lantern, made of precious materials, shines brilliantly amidst the myriad lights of the city.

Gan Yu unveiled the sculptures with a smile. They were of two immortals: a sword immortal with an extraordinary bearing and a qilin riding on auspicious clouds beside him.

These are Gan Yu's father and mother, the Liyue Sword Immortal Li Qinglian and Gan Lin.

Seeing Yunxiu approach, Zhongli stood up and looked at him, saying, "Shall we go over there and chat?"

Yunxiu glanced at Xiangling, who immediately called the other girls to go and wish the immortals a Happy New Year. Yunxiu and Zhongli walked to the foot of Mount Aozang and looked at the lights at the foot of the mountain, and couldn't help but laugh.

“Actually… you stood here and talked to me a long time ago, though not in your current form.” Zhongli smiled and said, “Back then, I had just mastered the ‘Severing the Three Corpses’ technique and didn’t know if the world would accept my existence. You told me that I would protect this country for many years to come, so I don’t need to worry too much.”

"Although I don't know which timeline of myself you are referring to, I still believe that what you did, Your Majesty, was correct, and something I still cannot match." Yunxiu smiled, took out the Hundred Taboos Talisman, and said with a smile, "Moreover, if Your Majesty hadn't given me a beginning, how could I have faced so many dangers with such ease?"

"If Liyue releases another one of you, I certainly wouldn't mind sending another one."

“I think… Liyue will definitely produce more people like me, just like that Azure Lotus Sword Immortal. Although he wasn’t born in Liyue, he ultimately died fighting for Liyue.”

“Your tone is becoming more and more like my old friends.” Zhongli chuckled, then continued as if remembering something, “Regarding your mother, my old friend recently obtained some information. After your trip to Nata is over, I will have her meet with you.”

"That one?"