"Swish—"
In an instant, all eyes in the room turned toward the man in red.
Orion suddenly froze midway through sipping his tea.
Except for Shenhe, who normally didn't read, everyone else had at least heard of the book *A Mortal's Journey*. It had been selling incredibly well recently.
Similar to how *Demon Slayer* and *Defeated Heroine* became hugely popular in Inazuma, and *IS* inexplicably exploded in popularity in Fontaine, which has a strong technological atmosphere, *A Mortal's Journey*'s success also possessed strong geographical characteristics.
Although it sold reasonably well in other nations, overall it was lukewarm; however, within the borders of Liyue, it was selling extremely well, with readers like Xingqiu unable to put it down.
Sure enough, Xingqiu rushed over to Orion in a few steps, grasping both of Orion's hands: "So you are the author of *A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality*, Teacher Author Pseudonym!!!"
Orion stared at Xingqiu's hands in shock. *Aren't you a genius from a martial arts sect and an author? How are a boy's hands this smooth? They're like Venti's.*
Wait, Venti IS also a boy? Then never mind.
"Uh, that's me. Albedo and I... are related somehow, so he offered to draw some illustrations for me."
"Then we truly are family on top of family!"
Holy crap, Second Young Miss, what are you saying?!
Why did the atmosphere in the room suddenly turn into a Sichuan Opera performance?
Across from him, Skirk paused when she heard the pen name Author Pseudonym. Thoughts raced through her mind, and suddenly a Khvarena flashed. She pulled out the copy of *Battle Through the Heavens* she carried with her and looked at the spine.
[Author—Author Pseudonym]
Skirk quickly raised her head, staring straight at Orion, a yellow button flickering in and out of sight in her eyes.
On Orion's side, Xingqiu was pouring out his continuous admiration and understanding of *A Mortal's Journey*. He especially praised the book for adding the concept of 'Realm' to categorize cultivators at different stages. He believed this 'Realm' setting greatly enhanced the readers' ability to judge who was stronger or weaker, lowered the barrier to entry for reading, and even presented a relatively clear path for the previously vague cultivation journey of Immortals.
Most storybooks and novels in Liyue currently still focus on the perspective of ordinary people or martial heroes. Those involving Immortals are typically stories like *Bamboo Forest Moonlight Night*, which follow a clear pattern: [Ordinary person mistakenly enters a blessed land → Meets an Immortal → Immortal invites the ordinary person somewhere or gives them something → Ordinary person leaves, thinking it was a dream → Returns to ordinary life].
This belongs to a very ancient type of story.
Some might ask, doesn't Liyue have many legendary tales from the era of the God War, or relatively recent legends like *Eight Wonders Refining Peach Capital*? Don't they use these for creative writing?
The answer IS yes, but what they create are older versions, simple stories that are, at most, re-enactments—similar to how Master Yun Jin's *The Divine Damsel of Devastation* relates to Shenhe's life story.
But the stories Orion wrote for Liyue were like a breath of fresh air—something truly innovative.
To be honest, Orion initially thought that the few books he had plagiarized wouldn't be successful in Liyue. He never imagined they would become so popular as soon as they were published!
And now, Xingqiu was holding Orion's hands just like that, continuously talking about his understanding of the plot and his speculations for the upcoming story.
He even expressed his lingering regrets regarding certain characters, such as the Mo Family Three Sisters.
Orion looked at his captured hands, continuously trying to subtly pull them back, but he couldn't manage to withdraw them without lifting his power limitations.
You're clamping down harder than Yunli's thighs.
Orion cast a pleading look toward Chongyun. Chongyun saw it but subtly looked away, knowing that once Xingqiu entered this state, he couldn't be stopped until he had thoroughly expressed himself.
Orion looked toward Shenhe and Skirk. Shenhe was continuously eating pastries; she hadn't stopped.
Skirk, meanwhile, had flipped *Battle Through the Heavens* to the last page and was continuously tapping the words "To Be Continued."
Her delicate mouth was slightly open, saying something to Orion. Orion carefully read her lips.
"Hurry—up—and—update."
Oh, she's demanding an update.
Why don't you help me!
But just then, an unexpected person voluntarily came to Orion's rescue.
"Aiya! I didn't realize Brother Orion was also a great literary genius!" Hu Tao knelt on one leg on her chair and slapped Orion hard on the back, directly interrupting Xingqiu.
Xingqiu scolded, "Hu Tao! Use less force! What if you injure the teacher and he can't write books anymore?"
"Aiya, I couldn't help it. I'm sorry, Teacher Author Pseudonym~" Hu Tao knelt on both legs on the chair, placing both hands on Orion's shoulders, rubbing and kneading them apologetically.
*So cute, I want to R...* Then, she suddenly leaned forward, bringing her head close to Orion's ear: "Actually, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just didn't expect that someone who looks like a foreigner, Brother Orion, You really know your way around Liyue culture! As it happens,, this Hall Master also has a few things she wants to ask Brother Orion!"
She slightly angled her face, and a fragrant breeze wafted past Orion's ear: "Brother Orion, how do you think we can use Fontaine's advanced technology to increase the number of customers at our WangSheng Funeral Parlor?"
Orion:...Big Sister, you are in the funeral industry!
Why do you say that, as if you want to use Muskets to kill everyone in Liyue?
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