Back in Liyue, at the Hazbin Hotel, preparations for the incoming Lantern Event were nearly finished.
At the same time, however…
« Sorry, Al. maybe next time… » Husk mocked Alastor, as he had won yet another game of TGC.
« Have to admit, few things manage to frustrate me, but this game sure is one of them….» Alastor replied, clearly angry but still smiling.
« Sounds like a skill issue to me…» Husk replied.
« Does it now? » Alastor shot back in a creepy tone, before Vaggie intervened.
« No fighting in the Hotel. » she said sternly.
« Oh, come on Vag…let them have it for a bit. 'S good entertainment…» Angel smirked.
« Well if you're so bored, why don't you help us finish the Hotel for the Lantern Event? I can assure you won't be bored any longer. » Vaggie replied.
« Oh, come now. We all know I have no interest in manual labour. No more than good ol' Charlie here….» Angel replied, as he looked at Charlie working hard for the event.
« Well, it IS something the Liyueans care for…plus it could help me get the attention of dad…or mum… » Charlie replied. « It has been an entire year ever since we were stranded here, AND one year since I last saw him. Well at least it's not as bad as the last seven years since mum disappeared, hehe….. »
« Jeez, that is positively depressive… » Angel raised an eyebrow.
« The best kind! » Nifty added.
« Well, no fighting is allowed, apparently, and seeing Smiley getting his ass kicked repeatedly isn't as fun anymore. I'm off to get a book. You guys need anything? » Angel rose up from the couch.
« Didn't take you for a reader… » Vaggie raised an eyebrow.
« Oh, I am! Simply speaking, certain one-eyed individuals simply lack my superior tastes in literature, that's all. » Angel smirked, as he exited the hotel.
« I'm going to kill him….» Vaggie grumbled angrily.
« You know, my dear, if you kill Husk, you will cause more pain to our dear effeminate fellow, don't you think? » Alastor proposed.
« I'm NOT helping you get his soul back…» Vaggie shot back.
« Good choice, kid…» Husk smirked.
Xxxxxxx
After a while, Angel had entered the Wanwen Bookhouse, Liyue's biggest library.
« Feel free to take a look around, there's no obligation to buy. » a girl greeted the demon.
« Any interesting love novels laying around? » Angel casually asked.
« Sorry dear, we stopped stocking them a very long time ago. Thet just weren't selling.» the girl replied.
« Right, right. Yer probably too busy reading the communist manifesto or some shit…» Angel shrugged. « Either that or Ninnguang's Red Book. »
« Perhaps you could have better luck at Chang the Ninth's place. » the girl replied.
« Who? » Angel raised an eyebrow.
« A book collector who lives in Qingce Village. He's a complete grouch — but he will behave himself if the conversation is about books. » the girl explained.
« All right…tell me more…» Angel replied.
« He was a regular customer here back when he lived in Liyue Harbor, and I still send him the odd out-of-print books or two every now and then. » the girl continued. « The place where he lives is difficult to get to. You need to head to the mountain just behind Qingce Village, then follow the wooden walkway all the way up... »
« Did someone say "out-of-print books"? » a young voice called out. « Is there a chance that volume six of "Legend of the Shattered Halberd" is also in his collection? »
The voice belonged to a young man with golden-amber eyes, a light skin tone, and dark navy blue hair with asymmetrical bangs.
He wore a blue earring with a gold tassel on his right ear. His Vision was pinned to the bottom of the left side of his coat on top of a span of frilled, white fabric. A tassel made of amber which matched his eyes hanged from his Vision.
His attire consisted of a long coat of silk which gradients from black at the collar, to shades of navy blue as the material descended. The coat's underside was a contrasting yellow with a faint, wavy pattern decorating the fabric, alluding to his Hydro vision. His collar and shoulder plates were rimmed with a gold, metallic material and to the right side of his chest sat a large circular brooch. It was embedded with a blue jewel, alike the center of his collar, coat buttons and sleeve cuffs.
He additionally wielded distinct, frilled sleeves which extended from his coat's baggy, gold pair. A clover-like ribbon of white, black and yellow was pinned to the right side of his belt. Beneath this hanged a pair of rectangular ribbons, one in white covering a notably longer, black ribbon. Both of them wielded gold decals at their ends. He also wore a pair of navy-blue shorts with ends of black that were mostly concealed by the length of his coat. On his right leg, he wore a garter with a blue tassel, just below the knee. His footwear consisted of a pair of white high-calf boots, black at the heels and soles with gold motifs.
«…Who the hell are you, kid? » Angel asked.
« Apologies my liege, where are my manners? My name is Xingqiu, a humble literature enthusiast who happened to be passing by. » the boy, Xingqiu, slightly bowed as he introduced himself. « Since you and I are both in search of lost books, what say we travel together to Mt. Qingce and pay a visit to Chang the Ninth? »
« Yeah, sounds like a plan. Just keep the fedora away from me, you freak. » Angel shot back.
« What's a fedora? » Xingqiu raised an eyebrow confused.
« Oh, good. Guess there's still hope for you. » Angel shrugged.
Xxxxxxx
After a short while, the two reached Chang the Ninth's place, the latter clearly not in a good mood.
« The heavens are smiting me... Smiting me to smithereens...» Chang sighed.
« Jeez. Ya saw better days, didn't ya pal? » Angel raised an eyebrow.
« Yes. I have. Now what do you want? Come on, spit it out! » Chang shot back angrily.
« We heard you are a man of many books… » Angel smirked.
« Hmph. Don't get me started on the topic of my books... » Chang shot back.
« That's…the only reason we came to this shithole….» Angel replied annoyed.
« After the Chasm was sealed off, the family mining business started going south. Then, the Fatui started working to sabotage me... » Chang explained. « To pay off my debts, I had no choice but to pawn off my beloved book collection. Every last book! Do you have any idea what that means!?»
« I'm actually more curious about how the hell did the Futas managed to get back in Liyue…I swear Pentious sealed the whole fucking place with machine guns rigged to erase any traces of Ruskies in the area…» Angel noted.
« Oh, yes. The guns. Yeah, they had been confiscated by the Qixing….» Xingqiu replied.
« Oh god damn it. Earth tits, why do you do this to me? » an annoyed Angel groaned, before turning to Chang. « Terribly sorry, pal. Could had avoided the whole Futa thing if it wasn't for Chairwoman Mao… »
« Tell me about it. That library was my life's work. I devoted my entire life to curating, collecting, caring for them... And now they're gone! » Chang sighed. « It's useless ranting and raving at you like this. All I can do is try to save enough Mora to buy them back. »
« Please tell me that you didn't pawn volume six of Legend of the Shattered Halberd? » Xingqiu asked.
« Legend of the Shattered Halberd... There's a title I haven't heard in a long time. You have good taste, my boy! That work was an epoch-defining masterpiece. Granted, it was almost unknown at the time it was published... » Chang explained. « But over time it was the work that came to define the genre of martial arts novels — and sparked a plethora of imitation works. Barely any copies of the first edition were ever printed. »
« The later edition inexplicably went out of print almost as soon as it was released — a shame given what it allegedly added to the original story. » Xingqiu added.
« Yes! That's right, how did I forget? The original-edition sixth volume of that work is so rare, I could never bring myself to pawn it no matter how much I needed the money. » Chang replied.
« You mean— You mean you still have it!? » Xingqiu exclaimed.
« Yes. It is my one and only remaining treasure—» Chang was about to say, before being interrupted by the arrival of a man.
« Ay! Chang! You've got some nerve keeping me and my boss waiting like this. I need an answer! Will you sell the Cor Lapis or not? » the man demanded. « I'm sure you don't need me to remind you that if you mess with Gentry Maocai, you're messing with the Fatui! »
Angel turned angrily towards the man as he heard the word "Fatui." « Messing with what? »
« And stay out of this, demon- » the man threatened Angel, before the latter grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
« Listen here, cock sucker. Get the fuck out of here before I'm legally forced to rip off your skin and force feed you Chilli Churros excrement! » Angel threatened the man.
« "Legally forced"? » Xingqiu asked confused.
« It's a new law. It was on the Jade Chamber. » Angel casually replied.
Xxxxxxx
A few days earlier, Ninnguang had found herself staring angrily at a large bill board on her Jade Chamber reading "Any Futa or Futa Cocksucker found by any Demon is to be skinned alive and force fed Chilli Churros faecal material before granting it the sweet release of death."
« DEMONS! » the calm and serenity of that Liyuean morning was shattered by the distress call of a wild animal, also translated as an angry Ninnguang.
« What's the matter? » Sir Pentious casually replied down below on the ground.
« I want this bill board off my Jade Chamber, you muppet! » Ninnguang shot back angrily.
In response, Sir Pentious just flipped the double bird and walked off, before being crushed by a boulder. « Oh, all right! »
Xxxxxxx
« Huh. So that explains the screaming… » the man noted.
« Get the fuck out, or I'll rape your ass AND your balls! » Angel tossed him outside the building.
« Just you wait, you'll be sorry you crossed me! » the man shot back, before turning to Chang. « And you, Chang... you're selling that Cor Lapis whether you like it or not! »
And with that, the man was off.
« Oh, how the wolves prey upon the fallen tiger! My days are numbered. » Chang sighed.
« Oh, not at all, bud. If it means sticking it to the Futa's, ya got a pal now! » Angel replied.
« But how can you possibly help me in these dire times? » Chang asked.
« There's only one thing that can save your sorry ass right now! Something I have learned in the past as a mobster! » Angel replied.
« Which is? » Xingqiu asked worried.
As he said that, Angel pulled out a Thompson submachine gun, a baseball bat, a coat and a hat, and smirked evilly. « SABOTAGE…. »
Xxxxxxx
Five minutes later, in the middle of Liyue harbour, Angel, Chang and Xingqiu, all dressed in Mafia clothing and with large, fake moustaches, walked in with a large wagon behind with it written "Changthan the Ninthston's General Meneageries."
Then, after having caught the attention of the Liyueans, Xingqiu begun his speech.
« Ladies and gentlemen of this fine country! » he begun. « Listen to what I! A mere tenth of the population, has to say! It is my strong belief that every man, woman AND child has the right to a good life, has it not? A life FREE of struggle and hardship! FREEEEEEEEE of mineral lacking! And free of having to search entire mountain ranges for a single piece of ore! »
He then pointed at none other than the Gentry Maocai residence. « My collaborator's competitor, wherever they happen to be located exactly…. Geographically….believes you should pay full price for Cor Lapis! Not so at Changthan the Ninthston's General Meneageries! »
He then picked up a Cor Lapis ore. « They would charge you 1400000000000 Mora's for a kilo of Cor Lapis! Here, no more than a coin for our precious Cor Lapis ore! »
Then, he pulled out some Wonder Core. « 900000000000 Mora's for some Wonder Cores containing Rex Lapis knows what? Even YOU're not THAT stupid! » he continued, as he pointed at a random person in the crowd. « Here, nothing but the finest Liyuean Mountain rock formations! One ingredient: Liyuean rocks! Gotta be Wonder Core in there somewhere! »
And lastly but not least. « And would you believe it! Would you believe it, ladies and gentlemen of this fine country, they would charge 1234567890000000000 Mora's for some Crimson Agamates! Whatever the fuck they might be! »
« By the way, we also bought all of the Cor Lapis, so you want it? Pay up. » Angel added, a living horde of Liyueans dashing in to buy the precious mineral.
« Not gonna lie, my effeminate fellow. Your plan worked out pretty well! » Xingqiu commented.
« A damn shame about that letter…I would had LOVED to "persuade" Feiyun Commerce Guild's daddy… » Angel smirked.
« Thankfully, there was no need of such "persuasion." » an angry Xingqiu replied.
« By Rex Lapis, the Cor Lapis is selling like candies! I'll be able to buy back my collection if this keeps up! » Chang exclaimed.
« All of the shit has been bought, and now all that remains iiiisssss….. » Angel said, as he noticed a group of men walking forward.
« So it was you! You were the ones sticking your necks out for Chang the Ninth! » the man, none other than Gentry Maocai, alongside a small entourage of Fatui.
« Like a bug to a zapper… » Angel smirked.
« I went everywhere trying to find someone selling Cor Lapis before I realized the Feiyun Commerce Guild had been on an acquisition spree! » Gentry exclaimed. « Cor Lapis is hardly a rare mineral, and yet suddenly the stocks dry up, just like that! And now you even DARE to slander my products, right in front of my propriety! Explain yourselves! What is the meaning of this persecution? »
« This is what happens to fucks that work with the Futas. » Angel replied.
« It's Fatui. » a Fatui agent replied.
« Bitch you know what I am all about! » Angel shot back, as he pulled out his Thompson submachine guns and fired at both the Fatui and Gentry, using his vision to turn the bullets into ice shards and frozing both Gentry and the Fatui.
As Angel kept on smirking, he noticed the horrified looks of Chang and Xingqiu. « Streets warfare. That's how mafia works. »
« …Well then….guess I don't have to worry about…the Gentry Maocai….» Chang said terrified.
« Indeed… » Xiangqiu added.
« Oh, come now. Don't be like that! It was fun! AND we saved Liyue from the evil Futa's once more! » Angel exclaimed.
« …Yeah, I guess that makes sense…» Xiangqiu shrugged.
« I cannot thank you two enough for saving my business! » Chang exclaimed, before handing the two a pair of books, one being a love novel for Angel and the other being volume six of Legend of the Shattered Halberd. « Here, I know it's not much, but also know that whenever you visit my business, I'm more than happy to give you two, and also the Feiyun Commerce Guild, a discount. »
« Looks like a nice book! » Angel replied, before turning towards the Fatui corpses. « But first….»
Xxxxxxx
Five minutes later, Angel had climbed to the top of the Jade Chamber with the leader of the Fatui strapped on his back, and once on top, he proceeded to drop him, the ice statue shattering in thousands of pieces once hitting the ground.
« And the rest will make a fine addition to the streets decoration. » a tired Angel smirked evilly.
« Why is that every time you lot want to get rid of a Fatui body you always come to MY Jade Chamber? » an annoyed Ninnguang asked.
« Shut it, Earth Tits. This is for the guns. » Angel angrily replied, before she slammed a rock to his face. « I attempt to stand my ground to the provocations of the Earth, yet the dirt always finds itself victorious. »
« I hope he wasn't too much of a bother, Master Xingqiu…» Ninnguang sighed.
« Not at all. I have to say, his methods were…creative, I'll tell you that…» Xingqiu shrugged.
« Wait, "Master Xingqiu?" Who the hell is that kid? » Angel asked confused.
« I am Xingqiu, disciple of the Guhua Clan and second son of the Feiyun Commerce Guild manager, and I make no secret of it. » Xingqiu replied.
« Huh. Explains the letter. Didn't want this beauty banging daddy, huh? » Angel teases the boy.
« You do that and….well I guess you don't really need your legs, now, do you? » Xingqiu replied angrily. « I mean, you would have to crawl with your arms…then again, it would suit you…»
« Do not fuck your dad, got it… » a terrified Angel replied.
« Well I'm glad that you managed to stop the Fatui into making ill deals with my citizens, and I'm glad that you aided a man in these tiring times, however if you have no business to attend could you please get the fuck out 'cause I'm pretty busy right now. » Ninnguang said annoyed.
« On my way, Earth tits! » Angel replied. « Something tells me Smiley is gonna be a bit…frustrated….»
Xxxxxxx
Back at the Hotel, Alastor had sacrificed countless Hilichurls in a most foul ritual to gain the approval of the TGC gods.
« Surely, with this many bodies, the gods will listed, will the not? » Alastor pleaded, on the verge of a mental breakdown.
« What if there aren't any TGC gods? » an unemotional Shenhe asked.
In response, Alastor turned his head 180° degrees to meet Shenhe, the latter having a terrified expression on her face.
Five minutes later, she felt fear after countless years, as she ran for her life, whilst Alastor chased after her in the shape of a gigantic stag monster with Jurassic Park T-rex's roars.
Xxxxxxx
Many thanks to Inanna for many of the suggestions for this chapter.
I hope you enjoy this new chapter! Please review so I can know your opinion. I'm willing to accept suggestions for what is going to happen, so stay tuned! Also, remember to like and follow, if you want!
See you to the next update!