Chapter 16

The next morning, Xia Zhi woke up in bed, his gray eyes staring at the ceiling as he spaced out for a few minutes.

He suddenly found himself missing the little female crane.

Where was it now? What was it doing?

The little crane had seemed quite spiritual—he wondered if it would transform into human form like the fox spirits in stories and come to repay his kindness.

After daydreaming, Xia Zhi got up from bed, folded his blanket, opened the window for ventilation, took a bath, and changed into the new clothes he bought last night.

The clothes were in Liyue's local style. Though he felt somewhat uncomfortable wearing them, he knew he'd have to get used to them eventually.

Today's plan was again to explore the city.

Liyue's urban area could be divided into four sections: Chihu Rock, Feiyun Slope, Yujing Terrace, and the Harbor District.

Xia Zhi had briefly explored Chihu Rock last night, so today he planned to visit the other three areas.

He went downstairs and headed first to the Harbor District.

This was where foreign ships docked, once boasting scenes of hundreds of goods being traded, thousands of ships arriving in succession, and countless merchants gathering.

Though somewhat declined now, it still saw massive traffic.

Merchant ships, fishing boats, patrol vessels... various types of ships were entering and leaving the harbor in sequence.

Work songs, vendor calls, greetings, laughter, footsteps, the sound of oars cutting through waves, seagulls crying...

Countless sounds interweaved, marking the start of another busy morning at Liyue Harbor.

Xia Zhi stood by the harbor holding a small mirror.

He had just bought this imported Snezhnayan item from a street stall for 150 Mora.

Xia Zhi pointed the mirror toward the sea, and it immediately reflected clear images of ships in the distance.

This was scenery he originally couldn't appreciate, given his detection range was only 20 meters.

But through this method, these magnificent views successfully entered his "eyes."

"Beautiful."

Xia Zhi slowly moved the mirror, capturing all the distant seascapes within it.

"Though expensive, it's worth it."

After watching the sunrise by the sea, Xia Zhi stored the mirror in his inventory and began exploring the Harbor District.

The streets were lined with goods stalls and food vendors.

Besides fresh catches, most stalls sold goods from various parts of the continent.

Mondstadt, Sumeru, Fontaine, Inazuma...

All sorts of curious items were purchased by merchants from their places of origin, shipped across the sea to Liyue, waiting to be bought and appreciated.

The food stalls were similar, featuring specialties from around the world.

For instance, Inazuma's fish cake: fresh fish meat minced and mixed with rice flour, then steamed. It looked as tempting as white mochi, but tasted of the fish's natural sweetness, with a bouncy, chewy texture and no fishiness at all.

It tasted great on its own, but the vendor also offered more than ten different sauces—sweet and spicy, sour and spicy, honey, sweet and sour...

It was simply amazing.

Xia Zhi couldn't resist ordering an extra spicy fish cake, noting how it differed from the extra spicy foods of Xiangcheng in his original world.

He wondered if stinky tofu and river snail rice noodles would find a market here.

After finishing the fish cake, Xia Zhi bought a bottle of Sunsettia juice. He took a drink—the sweet and sour taste was delicious.

Continuing his stroll, he stopped at an eyewear stall.

The vendor was a well-built Fontaine woman who wore plain glasses herself, giving her an intellectual air.

"Young man, interested in glasses?"

"Yes, how much for these black glasses?"

"1000 Mora."

"Too expensive."

"It's already very cheap. These black lenses are specially made."

"Will you take 500 Mora?"

"Too low! 900 Mora would be reasonable."

"500 Mora."

"800 is the lowest I can go!"

"500 Mora, or I'll look elsewhere."

"Hey, wait! Fine, 500 Mora it is! Only because big sister here likes you."

The woman packed the glasses in a case while speaking and handed them to Xia Zhi.

"Young man, if the lenses break accidentally, you can come to me for replacements."

"Will that cost money?"

"Of course! But big sister will give you a discount."

"Alright."

Xia Zhi paid 500 Mora, took the glasses case, and left the stall.

Finding a quiet corner, Xia Zhi took out the black glasses from the case, put them on, and examined himself with the small mirror.

They looked decent, similar to sunglasses, just expensive at 500 Mora.

This world used a universal currency—everyone on the continent used Mora, eliminating the hassle of currency conversion.

The first Mora was created by Liyue's founder [The Geo Archon], and the currency's name came from his divine name—Morax. Liyue's "Golden House" was the only mint on the entire continent of Teyvat.

Morax was also the [God of Contracts], who had once established laws for Liyue with his divine power. This emphasis on contracts was one reason Liyue became a trade hub.

Xia Zhi calculated that between last night's clothes and this morning's mirrors and glasses, he'd already spent 1150 Mora, not including food expenses.

Though these major expenses were special circumstances, it was true that the 5000 Mora earned from Adventurers' Guild commissions wasn't enough.

The principle of depleting resources while idle was undeniable.

The city was different from the wilderness—there were no fruits to pick freely. To stay in the city, Xia Zhi needed to find suitable work.

Work that would allow him to farm progress bars and obtain treasure chests.

But such work wasn't easy to find, and Xia Zhi had no leads yet.

"Let's see first."

Xia Zhi stored the glasses case in his inventory, thinking quietly.

"Today I'll explore all of Liyue City, get familiar with it before making plans."

As for money, he wasn't too worried.

He still had over a dozen Slime Condensate in his inventory. Taking them all to the Adventurers' Guild for commissions would earn him over 10,000 Mora, enough to sustain him for more than a month.

Xia Zhi walked out from the corner, and a petite girl passed by on the street nearby.

Her white hair was tied in a long braid, and she wore a round hat. Strange talismans were pasted on her forehead and the back of her head, with bright red patterns drawn in cinnabar. A string of beads hung around her neck, and she wore Taoist robe-like clothes with white socks and white bandages wrapped around her legs above the socks.

She carried a small medicine basket on her back, walking somewhat stiffly, the basket full of freshly picked herbs.

Xia Zhi watched her retreating figure with surprise.

In his "eyes," this girl, like the little female crane, had a golden progress bar floating above her.

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