[...The two were inseparable, complementing each other, and were even a pair of lovers with hearts as one...]
The shopkeeper gasped.
[..."Mora" could not bear to see his beloved "Kexi" vanish... he chose self-sacrifice, merging his divine soul into the body of "Kexi"...]
The shopkeeper's hands began to tremble, and the manuscript rustled.
[...Though "Morax" gained his name, he could no longer generate a single true Mora out of thin air!...]
[...What "Morax" could do... was forge and transform ordinary rocks, simulating "Mora" to circulate in the world... In other words, the vast majority of "Mora" currently circulating on the Teyvat continent is not true "divine gold," but rather "counterfeit" rock currency created by Morax!...]
"Pfft—cough cough cough!" The shopkeeper suddenly covered his mouth, letting out a world-shaking cough. His face turned beet red, and he nearly passed out!
"Mora and Kexi... were two people? And a couple? Mora eventually merged with Kexi?! Because Mora died, he couldn't create Mora currency anymore? Most of the current Mora is just imitation stone?!" He felt his worldview taking an unprecedented hit, and cold sweat poured down his face.
He felt like he wasn't reading a manuscript, but a shocking document capable of overturning the entire economic foundation of Teyvat!
This—this was no longer unofficial history; this was digging up the very roots of Liyue! And "disseminate with caution"? If this got out, the entirety of Teyvat would face a currency crisis by tomorrow!
Trembling, he picked up a nearby teacup and gulped it down. Only when the cold tea hit his throat did he manage to suppress the itch in his throat and the stormy waves in his heart.
He panted heavily, his eyes scanning the manuscript with suspicion and alarm at phrases like "a certain consultant of the WangSheng Funeral Parlor who wishes to remain anonymous" and "forced to drink fire-water by a Snezhnayan Harbinger." He felt his scalp go numb.
This author really dared to make things up! This refers to that Mr. Zhongli from the WangSheng Funeral Parlor, right? How did that man from the Funeral Parlor and the Fatui even get dragged into this!
After finally calming down a bit, his gaze involuntarily fell upon the other manuscript.
regarding the matter of the geo archon being a synthesized god who caused his wifes death... With the "preparation" from the previous piece, the shopkeeper could almost imagine what kind of "bloody storm" was inside. His hands trembling, as if pulled by invisible strings, he flipped it open.
[Chapter 1: Covenant of Twins]... [Chapter 2: The Counterfeit Rock]... [Chapter 3: My Name is Morax]... The shopkeeper's eyes flew across the words. The expression on his face went from shock to horror, from horror to numbness, and finally, there was even a faint hint of... a strange "pathos"?
Although this author was talking nonsense, blaspheming the gods, and had malicious intent... this story... this setting... ["Kexi, your power is the foundation of protection; it cannot disappear." Mora held his partner's hand... "And my clearance... if it can become the foundation left for this world by the new 'us,' then it is enough."]
["Live on," Mora's voice was gentle yet brooks no refusal, "carry my power, my name, and live on together. From now on, you are 'Morax'."]
[Kexi roared in agony, but he could not stop his lover's self-annihilation.]
[He gradually became unwilling to touch Mora, never carrying any when he went out. It wasn't forgetfulness, but rather that the pain was too heavy.]
["...Kexi." Finally, he finished reciting his own name. The wind wailed, like a sigh spanning a thousand years.]
Shopkeeper Sun silently put down the manuscript, remaining speechless for a long time.
While the content was sensational, the writing was still sophisticated. The bizarre setting actually carried a hint of strange rationality and tragic beauty, elevating the Archon's "lack of money" to the profound height of mourning a late wife... He subconsciously touched his chest, feeling a bit stifled and bitter.
Ridiculous! Bizarre! Blasphemous! Damnable!
But... but why... did it feel a bit ship-worthy?! (Struck out)
But why... did the deep sadness and romantic sacrifice in this story, combined with the Archon's usual "forgetting his wallet" meme, actually produce a kind of persuasiveness (?) and emotional resonance?!
For a moment, he even dizzily wondered: Could it be that the Lord Archon really... had a wife named Mora? So what he created wasn't Mora but rocks? So the reason he doesn't bring money is that it reminds him of the past?
No! How could the Archon possibly not bring money! It's all the fault of that leisurely wanderings of star glitter! It led his thoughts astray!
Slap! The shopkeeper suddenly gave himself a light slap to wake himself up.
"Crazy, I'm going crazy. I'm almost being led astray by these manuscripts!" he muttered to himself, his heart still pounding with lingering fear.
This manuscript is poison—arsenic coated in honey. To read it is to be addicted; to spread it is to lose one's life!
Now he completely understood why that contributor came and went like the wind. If someone were caught with this on the spot, they'd be singing behind bars for the rest of their life!
But... the shopkeeper's gaze fell on the two manuscripts again, his eyes filled with immense complexity.
The dread was real, and the fear of being implicated was also real. But as a book merchant, his sharp intuition told him that these two pieces—especially the first one with its shocking title and toxic content—once printed, would likely cause a sensation ten or a hundred times more violent than leisurely wanderings of star glitter!
People would curse it as blasphemy while secretly scrambling to buy it, racing to read and discuss it with fervor!
The sales... the Mora... Shopkeeper Sun seemed to see a vast ocean of Mora surging toward him. But at the same time, he also seemed to see the Millelith instructor, Fengyan, looking at him with disapproval, alongside cold, damp prison meals.
His heart fell into an unprecedented internal struggle.
To print? Or to burn it immediately and pretend he never received it?
That was the question.
But... why did he have an impulse to let others see these two articles as well?
On one side, logic was screaming frantically: Burn it! Burn it! It must be burned!
This was no longer a common joke; it was practically a heart-piercing heresy! If people from the General Affairs Department or the Sea Gazers Pavilion saw this, forget the bookstore—he himself would likely be unable to escape the consequences! Although the Archon has passed, his lingering prestige remains. How could the Qixing allow such remarks that shake the nation's foundation and blaspheme the gods to circulate?
On the other side, a book merchant's instinct was stirring restlessly.
He could imagine what kind of stormy waves would be kicked up in Liyue Harbor once this shocking title and its bizarre yet tragic setting were released.
People would be shocked, angry, would discuss it, and secretly pass it around... Mora would flow in like water. And... stripping away the coat of treason, the story itself had a magic that made it impossible to stop reading.
He picked up regarding the matter of the geo archon being a synthesized god who caused his wifes death again, his gaze landing on the end of the third chapter.
["...Kexi." Finally, he finished reciting his own name. The wind wailed, like a sigh spanning a thousand years. The Geo Archon Morax, today, still protects Liyue, and still... remains penniless.]
The shopkeeper's throat bobbed; he actually felt his nose go a bit sour.
"Ridiculous!" He cursed himself in a low voice, shaking his head hard. "Old Sun, oh Old Sun, you're really getting worse as you get older. How can you believe such nonsense?"