"What are 'Drink to Live, Dream to Die' and 'Butterfly Dream'?" Ling became deeply interested in the idioms and wine names Chen Luo mentioned.
"'Drink to Live, Dream to Die' — a single pot of wine; you don't need to be drunk to know sorrow. Drink it, and you'll dream for a thousand years. That's just the poetic description, of course. In reality, after one glass, no matter how strong your tolerance is, you will get drunk, and after getting drunk, you'll definitely have a grand dream. It's perfect for people who love dreaming."
"'Butterfly Dream' comes from the idea that if you dream you're a butterfly, how do you know it wasn't the butterfly dreaming it was you? That's roughly the meaning. Perhaps the answers you can't find in life might reveal themselves in a single glass of this wine."
"These two wines are simulated versions, so they're weaker than the originals. Their effects might not be as strong—maybe you'll just gain a bit of insight. But compared to ordinary wine, the effects are still very good. And most importantly, they taste great," Chen Luo said.
Chen Luo, being a Grandmaster-level mixologist and above—at least within the bar—naturally wasn't familiar with ordinary wines from various worlds. That was because he focused mainly on wines with imaginative concepts.
For example, both 'Butterfly Dream' and 'Drink to Live, Dream to Die' had original versions elsewhere, and those originals were incredibly powerful. Even the Void Wine couldn't fully imitate them.
Void Wine only imitates taste, and, as its description states, it carries no special effects.
The fact that it can produce any effect at all is already impressive.
Otherwise, with how Venti had already downed more than twenty glasses of the Anemo Archon Wine, if imitation wines carried full effects, he might've already evolved into a several-star Anemo Archon.
"Mmm, then… let's try 'Butterfly Dream' first?" Ling had a vague sense that this wine was exactly what she needed.
"Coming right up." Chen Luo nodded, then lightly tapped the rim of the Void Wine glass.
As soon as his finger lifted, the wine turned slightly cloudy, and the glass itself transformed into a beautifully crafted colored-glaze cup.
Naturally, a special wine deserved a matching cup.
It only changed appearance, but the craftsmanship truly looked exquisite.
Chen Luo even thought: If he ever went broke, he could probably sell just this cup for at least one meal.
And speaking of money—he was still puzzled why Primogems couldn't be exchanged for any currency at all.
But thinking about it again, since they couldn't be exchanged, there was no point enabling that feature in the first place.
After the wine became 'Butterfly Dream,' its cloudiness allowed Ling to clearly see her reflection in the cup. For a moment, her reflection seemed to turn into a butterfly, but it quickly returned to normal.
"This suits my taste perfectly." Ling lifted the colored-glaze cup and drank the entire thing in one go.
Despite being described as someone who could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, Ling felt dizzy after just this one glass.
Seeing this—and given that she was a new customer—Chen Luo kindly took out a cushion.
It was a Honkai Beast cushion he had grabbed from somewhere in Nagazora City.
"Thank you," Ling murmured, woozy, before collapsing onto it and instantly falling asleep.
"This wine is pretty strong," Chen Luo muttered.
He glanced at the wine cup still clutched tightly in Ling's hand.
He really wanted to add it to his collection, but she was gripping it so tightly that he doubted he could pry it loose.
Forget it.
[Ding! Task completed. Task achieved great success. Reward: 90 Primogems + "A Thousand Cups Without Drunkenness."]
"...So there's such a thing as a 'great success'?" Chen Luo raised an eyebrow.
He had achieved "big success" tasks before—those doubled the reward—but this was the first time he had triggered a "great success," where the reward tripled and even came with a random skill.
Although "A Thousand Cups Without Drunkenness" only prevented getting drunk before the 1000th cup, and Chen Luo wasn't much of a drinker, so the skill wasn't especially useful.
He might as well give it to Venti—let him drink a thousand glasses of Anemo Archon Wine and get completely wasted.
Still, a skill was a skill. It might come in handy someday.
Speaking of Venti…
Chen Luo walked to the bar counter and looked at Venti, who was slumped over after downing ten glasses of Anemo Archon Wine in a row. He was completely drunk again and would probably sleep for another whole day.
"Should I just toss him out at Windrise?" Chen Luo wondered aloud.
Ring-a-ling!
Chen Luo turned instinctively toward the door and saw that Lisa and the others had finally arrived.
"Jean, Lisa, you're here. By the way, want to become the Anemo Archon? There's one lying here defenseless." Chen Luo pointed at the deeply sleeping Venti.
"Uh… How did Lord Barbatos get drunk again?" Jean covered her forehead.
Of all things to run into after finishing her official duties and coming here for a break.
Not that she could manage the Anemo Archon anyway—he was far beyond her authority.
"You really don't want to be the Anemo Archon? He's completely defenseless. One stab—"
"Alright, enough. Let's just have afternoon tea first. Jean hasn't eaten yet." Lisa waved him off.
No one would ever actually harm the Anemo Archon. What would be the point? He was a useless god anyway, and his Gnosis had already been stolen.
Speaking of the Gnosis, that was a bigger problem.
Jean had been preparing to confront the Fatui. But with the Grand Master having taken all of Mondstadt's elite forces on an expedition, the city's defenses were spread thin. They couldn't even spare enough forces to pressure the Fatui properly.
One issue after another. If only the Fatui had caused trouble while the Grand Master was still in Mondstadt—he would've cut them down instantly.
Or better yet: if Klee's mother went to Snezhnaya, the whole matter would be resolved in a single trip.
"What would you two like for afternoon tea?"
"Mmm… since it's free, the best you've got," Lisa said.
Lisa vaguely remembered Chen Luo saying his bar didn't charge money.
And since the bar could be summoned at any time, cost nothing to maintain, and had a great atmosphere, it was simply the perfect place for slacking off.
"Sister Lisa, Acting Grand Master Jean." Little Klee suddenly spoke, drawing everyone's attention.
"It's Klee. Having lunch?"
"Yes! Today, in Sister Lisa's workshop, I taught Brother Chen Luo all the bomb-making methods I know. Brother Chen Luo is simply a genius—he learned faster than me and could already graduate." Klee nodded seriously.
"That fast?" Jean looked surprised.
Klee caused plenty of trouble, but her skills were undeniable. Otherwise, she wouldn't have turned Stormbearer Plains into Stormbearer Mountains.
"I told you, I'm a genius," Chen Luo said confidently.
"You all sit for a moment. I'll prepare tea and snacks." After saying this, Chen Luo turned and stepped into the small kitchen inside the bar.
When he came back, he had already taken out various tea snacks stored in his inventory.
He deliberately placed the tea snacks near Klee so they could sit together.
After all, one should never underestimate a child's liveliness or appetite. After finishing her grilled fish, little Klee might want more, and she could just reach out and take it.
After arranging the snacks and seating, Chen Luo sat at Klee's table, eating the Adeptus' Temptation he had just made, feeling strangely sentimental.
Since when had his bar become so lively in the daytime?
And judging from today, even running it during the day could bring in a decent amount of income. Maybe he should start opening the bar during the day occasionally.
While eating, Chen Luo glanced at Ling, who was still sprawled across the Honkai Beast cushion.
After drinking that glass of wine, she had fallen asleep instantly. Who knew what she was dreaming about now? But because of the wine's properties, even the surrounding noise wouldn't wake her unless someone touched her.
So he didn't need to worry about the bar disturbing her.
"A'Luo, did we forget something?" The Herrscher of Sentience asked suddenly while eating half her grilled fish.
"Forget what?"
"Didn't we forget to prepare lunch for Book of Fuxi and the little fox?"
"Ah…" Chen Luo froze.
That was what happened when you got too engrossed in research—you forgot the time. While learning bomb-making and studying how to improve his skills, Chen Luo had forgotten to eat.
And since neither he nor Klee had eaten, he naturally hadn't prepared food for the other two either.
"This shouldn't be too big a problem, right? Although it's a bit troublesome for the little fox to take care of itself, Book of Fuxi should be fine… right?" Chen Luo said, sounding unsure.
The little fox's reputation for being gluttonous and lazy was not undeserved. She would never allow herself to go hungry.
"…Fine. I'll go check." Even so, Chen Luo still felt uneasy.
He felt he was enduring hardships someone his age shouldn't have to.
A seventeen-year-old running a bar filled with all sorts of strange customers.
Customers who constantly issued bizarre requests, slowly shaping him into their image.
And after saving the world, he still had to babysit three troublesome children—the Herrscher of Sentience, the little fox, and Book of Fuxi.
He felt utterly done with life.
Chen Luo got up with a look of despair and walked toward the bar's exit.
Come to think of it, those two little troublemakers hadn't shown up at the bar today either.
Honestly, they needed someone to supervise them just to eat.
Complaining silently about their foolishness, Chen Luo walked out.
When he opened the bar door, he returned to the living room.
"…Hm?" Something felt off immediately—the living room was unusually quiet today.
"Gurgle…" A painfully weak noise sounded. Chen Luo turned his head and saw the little fox—looking unbelievably frail, as if completely drained.
"Xiao Ba, what's wrong? Xiao Ba? Uh… Book of Fuxi, what are you doing?" When he fully processed their positions, his voice rose sharply.
Book of Fuxi was on the sofa, her belly swollen and round, wearing an eye mask she had dug out from somewhere, sleeping soundly while clutching something and biting it.
That wasn't the main issue.
If Book of Fuxi ate too much, fine—he could afford to feed her.
The problem was that the thing she was biting… was the little fox's paw.
The little fox looked up at Chen Luo with tearful, pitiful eyes, then tried to use her other paw to pry her own paw free. But Book of Fuxi's strength was too great.
Or rather… the little fox's strength was too small.
"…When did she bite your paw?"
"Yingyingying…"
"…Right. You can't talk." After seeing too many strange things lately, Chen Luo had unconsciously started treating the little fox like a person.
"Don't move. I need to take a photo for evidence first." Chen Luo took out his phone and snapped a picture.
After taking the photo, he didn't put his phone away. Instead, he opened the surveillance app.
Anyone with pets at home eventually gets into the habit of installing cameras in shared spaces like the living room. Chen Luo was no exception.
He thought he would never use it again, but with two additional pets, he found himself needing it now.
After reviewing the footage, he finally understood what happened.
Some time after he left, Book of Fuxi woke up first, floated downstairs to look for food, and found the insulated lunch container he had left.
Through the surveillance, Chen Luo watched helplessly as she ate every bit of food meant for both herself and the little fox. Hence her now-round belly.
After that… the little fox came downstairs to forage for food, only to find the lunch container emptied, the remnants of fried tofu scattered about, and Book of Fuxi sleeping contentedly with food still at the corner of her mouth.
The furious little fox tried to confront her—there was tofu residue right on Book of Fuxi's lips.
And then… the little fox's paw got bitten. And stayed bitten.
The worst part was that no matter how she hit her, Book of Fuxi wouldn't wake up.
She slept like a dead pig.
The little fox had lost all hope in life.
This was truly too cruel.