"So… we actually have that much Mora at home?"
"Why didn't I know about this?"
"A full one hundred billion Mora—if I had that kind of money, I could run for the Liyue Qixing myself!"
Yanfei blurted out in disbelief.
She had been fostered at Madame Ping's home since childhood.
To her—and to her junior sisters—Madame Ping was no different from a family elder.
Madame Ping's home was their home.
She was always frugal, always telling them to save and live modestly. Yanfei had assumed their household finances were tight.
Who would have thought…
Madame Ping was this rich?!
"Child, that money doesn't belong to me alone," Madame Ping explained gently.
"It is the accumulated wealth of the adepti and yakshas across countless ages."
"Unless absolutely necessary, it was never meant to be touched."
"One hundred billion Mora is about enough," Severin said calmly.
"I'll begin teaching you tomorrow."
Even Severin hadn't expected the adepti to be this wealthy.
The real reason he had accepted the dinner invitation was Madame Ping herself.
He had assumed that immortals who'd lived for thousands of years would at least have tens of billions of Mora.
Instead—one hundred billion.
That amount even exceeded expectations.
For reference, the Golden House—the Liyue Qixing's strategic reserve—held roughly the same sum.
The currency war against Liyue was already in full swing.
An economic crisis was looming.
If the adepti's Mora entered circulation at the wrong moment, it could shift the outcome of the entire commercial war.
It had to be spent.
And the best way to burn Mora?
Artifact refinement.
Pill refinement.
Potion crafting.
That was the true reason Severin had spared no effort in "selling" the concept of True Immortals—
To make the adepti willingly spend every last coin.
"Then it's settled, Your Highness," Madame Ping said decisively.
"Tomorrow, I'll summon all the adepti to cultivate the True Immortal arts under your guidance."
"Even if artifact forging, alchemy, and medicine are merely auxiliary branches, mastering them would massively increase our strength."
To Madame Ping, trading one hundred billion Mora for such an immortal opportunity was a bargain beyond measure.
Mora could always be earned again.
True immortal destiny?
That came once in a lifetime.
"Wait."
"I object."
Yanfei suddenly stood up.
She, Yaoyao, and Xiangling didn't really understand what "True Immortals" or "defying the Heavenly Principles" meant.
But they did understand what one hundred billion Mora meant.
Seeing such an astronomical fortune about to vanish felt painful.
Painful… and suspicious.
In Yanfei's eyes, the Snezhnayan Prince was starting to look like he was coaxing Madame Ping.
She couldn't help being wary.
After handling Yelan's case, Yanfei had learned one thing very clearly—
This man was dangerous.
Yelan and her entire clan had deposited their fortune into the Northland Bank after being led by the nose.
Now he was proposing to burn the adepti's wealth in the name of "cultivation."
Suspicion was unavoidable.
"Your Highness," Yanfei said firmly,
"I'd like you to answer a few questions."
"You said earlier that Liyue's adepti cannot obtain Visions because their true forms are non-human."
"Then why does Xiao, one of the 'Three Eyes, Five Manifestations,' possess a Vision?"
"Why do Ganyu and I have Visions?"
"And if Madame Ping's current form is human—why does she lack one?"
"If you can't give a reasonable explanation," Yanfei concluded sharply,
"then that means you're lying."
Her tone was piercing, aggressive—pure lawyer instinct.
The earlier drink hadn't dulled her mind in the slightest.
"Do not be disrespectful to His Highness."
"Your Highness, this child lacks manners. Please forgive her."
"Still… she does raise valid points."
Madame Ping coughed lightly.
Yanfei's questions had, in fact, highlighted certain inconsistencies.
But her approach was crude—too blunt, too confrontational.
This was the Snezhnayan Prince.
And a guest, no less.
Publicly pressing him like this was hardly courteous.
"Xiao did not possess a Vision during the Archon War," Severin replied calmly.
"Later, to repay Morax's grace, he voluntarily entered a contract to guard Liyue for a thousand years. Only then did he obtain one."
"Ganyu gained her Vision after the war, when she signed a contract to serve the Qixing as their secretary."
"Do you understand now? Xiao and Ganyu are exceptions."
"In their cases, Morax's will directly influenced Celestia's decision."
"The Seven do not distribute Visions themselves. For those two Visions, Morax paid a heavy price—perhaps lifespan, perhaps authority, perhaps deeper erosion."
"But whatever the cost, Xiao and Ganyu were worth it."
"One in the light. One in the shadows."
"They are the twin pillars of Liyue's stability."
Yanfei sighed softly.
"Xiao and Ganyu truly deserve respect."
For thousands of years, the Qixing had changed again and again.
But as long as Ganyu remained at Yuehai Pavilion, Liyue's administration never faltered.
Xiao bore the karmic debt of endless slaughter, performing the Bane of All Evil to keep the nights peaceful.
Only these two remained bound to the mortal world.
Morax's decision to secure Visions for them was precisely so they could protect Liyue better.
They were exceptions—not proof that all adepti could do the same.
"Now, Lawyer Yanfei," Severin continued,
"your second question."
"As for the Streetward Rambler… her true form is actually—"
"Your Highness!"
Madame Ping cut him off hurriedly.
"My disciples have always believed I'm just a human grandmother. I don't wish my identity to disrupt our closeness."
"Please… keep it confidential."
Yanfei's eyes widened.
So Madame Ping truly wasn't human.
Just as suspected—Liyue's adepti merely differed in beast-form or human-form. Their origins were the same.
Severin nodded in understanding.
Revealing that she was a transformed green carp in front of her disciples would undoubtedly shatter her image.
"As for why you possess a Vision," Severin said, turning to Yanfei,
"it's because you are half-human, half-adeptus."
"You may exist as either."
"You chose a human profession, so your human aspect dominates—and thus you received a Vision."
Yanfei raised her cup.
"Your Highness… I was overly suspicious. I'll punish myself with a drink."
She downed the entire cup in one go.
"Your Highness's generosity in teaching the True Immortal arts humbles me," Madame Ping said sincerely.
"Please allow me to play a piece for you."
In Severin's eyes, the elderly woman before him suddenly transformed—
Back into the breathtaking beauty she once was, one half of the Guili Assembly's Twin Luminaries alongside Guizhong.
Only Severin could see it.
To everyone else, she was still an old woman plucking a zither.
Yet Yanfei, her junior sisters, Tubby, and the native spirits all listened intently.
For since Guizhong's passing—
No one had heard such celestial music again.
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