Klee, the very instigator of the chaos, suddenly went limp and fainted.
Fortunately, Ye Yun reacted quickly and caught her in time.
He carefully picked her up, looking at the peacefully sleeping Klee in his arms, and smiled helplessly.
Even though this little one had learned powerful magic, her physical strength still couldn't keep up. Just one use, and she passed out.
At that moment, Himeko walked over, glanced at the sleeping Klee, and gently took her from Ye Yun's arms.
"I'll take her. I'll carry her back to rest."
The other three little ones saw Klee had fainted and immediately abandoned their scratch cards, hurrying after her.
They followed Himeko closely, asking in soft voices:
"Sis Himeko~ Is Klee gonna be okay?" Hook blinked her big, worried eyes.
Himeko smiled gently.
"She's fine. Klee's just tired. Do you still want to open your trash cans?"
The three little ones looked at each other. Diona said:
"Forget it, let's not. We'll go rest with Klee," Bailu added.
Hook and Diona nodded in agreement.
Then, Himeko carried Klee and took the three little ones back to rest.
Ye Yun glanced at the seven remaining unopened trash cans, then looked at Lumine, Amber, and the other girls who were clearly itching to try.
"You guys go ahead and have fun."
With that, Ye Yun turned and walked back onto the train, ready to rest.
As soon as the girls heard him say that, they rushed toward the trash cans.
Lumine was the fastest, grabbing one instantly, her face lighting up with mischievous glee.
From an outsider's view, she looked completely like a gleeful gremlin—image totally gone.
"Hehe, little trash can~ I wanted to play but had no money, and now I get one for free? Lucky~ Even if I get canned herring, I'll take it!"
The others grabbed one each too.
Hu Tao leaned close to one trash can, knocking on the lid and listening to the echo, wondering what she'd get.
"With my Hall Master luck, I've got to get something useful, right?"
Amber said from the side:
"Why don't you open it and find out?"
Hearing that, Hu Tao opened the trash can. A flash of golden light—and a Hydro Vision appeared before her eyes.
Hu Tao rubbed her eyes, barely believing it.
Lumine, witnessing the scene, immediately imagined Hu Tao casting Vaporize reactions all by herself.
Hu Tao was already strong—now with a Hydro Vision on top of her Pyro one?
Lumine figured she must now be at least at the level of a divine beast's follower.
Amber's eyes lit up when she saw the Hydro Vision. Only someone with a Pyro Vision would understand what it meant to Vaporize solo.
"Wow! Hu Tao, you actually pulled a Hydro Vision? That's crazy lucky!"
Hu Tao scratched the back of her head, stuck out her tongue, and smiled.
"Hehe, just got lucky~"
Amber couldn't wait to see it in action.
"Hu Tao, try it out—let's see what it can do!"
Hu Tao hooked the Hydro Vision onto her waist, pulled out her Staff of Homa, and poked it at a nearby wooden crate.
Then she spun around—both her Pyro and Hydro Visions flaring at once.
Two elemental serpents—one blue, one red—wrapped around her weapon.
With one thrust, the dual-element spears lashed toward the crate.
The moment they struck, a loud explosion rang out, followed by a cloud of thick steam.
As the steam cleared, the wooden crate was reduced to powder.
Amber was stunned with envy. Vaporize, all on your own? That was something she had only dreamed of.
And now… she had witnessed it in real life.
Amber turned to her own trash can, clasped her hands, and closed her eyes in a sincere prayer.
"May the Anemo Archon bless me—please let me pull a Hydro Vision too!"
With hopeful anticipation, Amber opened the lid.
A flash of golden light—Amber froze, her face falling as she saw what she got.
Lumine peeked over and smirked.
"Ohho~ I mean, your prayer kind of worked? It's water-related, at least. Don't you think, Amber?"
Lumine mischievously picked up the water gun Amber had drawn and gave it a playful squirt.
Seeing Lumine's smug face, Amber burst into tears.
"Waaaah!!! Why does Hu Tao get a Vision and I get a water gun?!"
Lumine ran around with the water gun, gleefully squirting here and there.
"Amber, how about I buy your water gun for 1 star coin?"
Amber, hearing Lumine still daring to tease her, immediately pulled out her longbow, notched an arrow, and lit the tip.
"Lumine! You're asking for it!!"
Lumine thought Amber was just bluffing and kept playing.
Suddenly—
She felt a burst of heat near her ear—an arrow, trailing fire, had just missed and landed in a nearby container.
"Hiiiss!!" Lumine sucked in a breath. Uh-oh… looks like she pushed too far.
"Amber! Calm down!"
But Amber wasn't hearing it. She loosed another arrow.
Lumine dodged quickly.
"No calming down! Lumine, you're dead!!"
Lumine fled in panic, Amber chasing close behind.
As Lumine ran, she begged Eula, Stelle, and the others for help.
The girls, however, all shrugged. You started it—deal with it yourself.
Meanwhile, the others had gathered by Eula. Stelle and March 7th had already opened their trash cans and unlocked… something new.
Cow Stomach Soup.
The smell alone nearly made them vomit on the spot.
To Stelle, this stuff was even more lethal than canned herring.
Stelle turned to Eula.
"Eula, you haven't opened yours yet?"
Eula nodded.
"I'm just about to."
She opened her trash can, revealing a capsule inside.
Eula picked it up.
"What is this thing?"
Stelle took it and examined it.
"Some kind of medicine? Let's ask Ye Yun."
So, aside from Amber and Lumine still causing chaos, the rest returned to the train.
Eula found Ye Yun and showed him the capsule.
"Ye Yun, what is this?"
Ye Yun took a look.
Item: Experience Capsule. Description: A special item from a certain game world. When fed to a spirit creature, it greatly boosts its growth rate. Price: 10,000 star coins
Ye Yun explained, pointing at Blu by Eula's feet:
"It's an experience capsule—for Blu. Feeding it to him will greatly speed up his growth.If all goes well, he should evolve."
Eula was surprised—she hadn't expected to pull something for Blu.
She knelt down and handed the capsule to Blu, gently patting his little head.
"Blu, would you like this?"
"Blu blu~" Blu nodded eagerly, clearly enjoying the affection.
Eula gave him the capsule.
***
Blu ate the experience capsule.
In an instant—
Blu was enveloped in a white light, and its body began to change.
After a few minutes, an elf who looked very similar to Blu appeared in front of Eula.
"Blu~ Blu~"
Blu had completed its evolution and became Blukuku.
Blukuku reached out its little hands to hug Eula, looked up, and smiled sweetly at her.
Eula patted the little one's head, noticing a brilliant blue gemstone had appeared on it.
Ye Yun said:
"This is Blu's evolved form, Blukuku. Alright, if you don't have anything else, I'm going to rest."
The girls shook their heads.
Seeing this, Ye Yun turned and headed to his room.
Meanwhile, Stelle, March 7th, and Eula went to the sofa lounge area to relax.
As usual, Stelle plopped herself directly onto her exclusive "trash can" sofa.
Lying on the couch, Stelle looked at Blukuku, who was playing with Eula, and suddenly had a thought flash through her mind.
"What do you think about us organizing a little spirit competition?"
Hu Tao shook her head immediately.
"I don't think that'll work—I don't even have a little spirit yet."
Eula placed Blukuku in her arms, using one hand to gently tease its chin.
"A competition would need lots of people, right? With just a few of us, it wouldn't be much of a match."
Hearing that, Stelle temporarily gave up on the idea. Yeah, there weren't enough people or spirit yet, so a competition wouldn't be any fun.
They played a while longer, then each returned to their rooms.
—The scene shifts to Liyue Harbor's Wanmin Restaurant.
Hu Tao, feeling a bit hungry after returning and already being at Wanmin Restaurant, asked Xiangling to make hotpot. The two sat at a table near the street outside the first floor and chatted while eating.
The dining area on the first floor of Wanmin Restaurant was an open space right next to the street.
"Xiangling, I think you should add this hotpot to your menu. Business will definitely boom."
Xiangling nodded thoughtfully—it made sense. She had learned this hotpot recipe from Ye Yun.
Liyue had spicy dishes before, but nothing like hotpot.
"That's a good idea. If I do this, it'll also take some load off my dad."
Hu Tao picked up a piece of beef and popped it in her mouth, immediately feeling satisfied.
"Ah~ so good, muamua~"
At that moment, a white-haired woman with golden eyes walked down the street outside the railing. Her dignified aura made passersby naturally step aside.
This woman was none other than the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
Originally, Sustainer of Heavenly Principles had been monitoring the False Sky from Celestia.
Suddenly, she sensed an immensely powerful energy erupting in Liyue.
So she secretly descended to Liyue, curious to investigate.
Before she knew it, she had arrived at Wanmin Restaurant and spotted Hu Tao and Xiangling enjoying hotpot by the street.
Leaning against the railing, Hu Tao saw Asmode too.
Their eyes met, and Hu Tao waved.
"Hello there!"
Asmode nodded coldly in response and was about to walk away—I am the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles! I do not accept handouts!
Just then, a delicious aroma wafted into her nose.
"Gurgle gurgle~" Her stomach let out two thunderous growls.
Seeing this, Hu Tao said,
"Hey friend, want to come eat with us?"
Sustainer of Heavenly Principles looked at Hu Tao, about to refuse. But Hu Tao continued cheerfully,
"Come on, come on! No worries!"
She got up and gently pulled Asmode to the table.
Xiangling also brought over a new set of tableware for her.
"Can you use chopsticks? Want me to get you a knife and fork instead?"
Hu Tao picked up some beef and placed it in Sustainer of Heavenly Principles's bowl.
"No need to be shy. In Liyue, we say: 'A guest is a guest, no matter where they're from.' When traveling, anyone can run into trouble."
"I'll even take you to Yujing Terrace later to report your lost items—maybe we can help you find them."
Yes.
Hu Tao and Xiangling had assumed Sustainer of Heavenly Principles was a traveler who had run into hardship—lost her wallet or something like that.
Hu Tao thought: What else could it be? Didn't you hear that stomach growl just now? Loud enough to shake ten streets!
Sustainer of Heavenly Principles looked at the beef in her bowl, then at the two warmhearted girls inviting her to eat.
Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, she decided to eat just a little. Just a little.
After all, how could she let down such warm hospitality?
Half an hour later—
Hic~
Sustainer of Heavenly Principles leaned back in her chair with a satisfied expression, her small hands gently rubbing her stuffed belly.
Looking at the towering stack of empty dishes, Hu Tao and Xiangling were now completely convinced that she was a traveler who had fallen on hard times.
No one knew just how much she had eaten—Hu Tao felt her appetite could rival even Paimon's.
Incredible. Truly terrifying.
The three chatted while eating. Hu Tao even warmly invited Sustainer of Heavenly Principles to stay at her place for the time being.
Wait until she felt better, then she could move elsewhere.
As they sat and chatted, Sustainer of Heavenly Principles mostly listened while Hu Tao and Xiangling shared little stories from their everyday lives.
After a break, Hu Tao and Xiangling began clearing the table.
Sustainer of Heavenly Principles stood up to help too.
She might be of high status, but that didn't mean she lacked common courtesy, alright?
After cleaning up, Hu Tao said goodbye to Xiangling and led Sustainer of Heavenly Principles toward the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
"Hey, you can stay at my place for now. There's a spare room next to mine—I'll get you new bedding and everything."
Sustainer of Heavenly Principles looked at Hu Tao, who kept chatting and making arrangements for her, and a warm feeling surged in her heart.
That feeling... wasn't bad at all.
Her lips curled into a subtle smile, a rare hint of emotion showing on her face.
Half an hour later—
Sustainer of Heavenly Principles and Hu Tao arrived back at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Just as they entered, Sustainer of Heavenly Principles noticed the flickering lights of an internet café.
"What's this?"
Seeing Sustainer of Heavenly Principles's curiosity, Hu Tao said:
"That's one of our side businesses—an internet café. It's where you can play games. If you're interested, just go in and give my name to the clerk."
Sustainer of Heavenly Principles nodded and followed Hu Tao further inside.
They arrived at a quiet courtyard, far from the internet café.
Next to Hu Tao's room, she lit a lantern in the adjacent room.
"Here, you can stay here for now. Tomorrow I'll get you an electric lamp—it's more convenient. I'll also bring you some fresh bedding. Take a rest for now. See you in a bit!"