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ArabicGenshin Impact: A Guide to the Unofficial History of Teyvat — Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Print It!
After agonizing for a full day and night, Shopkeeper Sun ultimately couldn’t resist the intoxicating allure of a guaranteed hit. The readers’ fervent demands for updates had practically battered down his doors.
He gritted his teeth, stomping his foot against the floorboards. “Print it! Just slap a disclaimer on the cover. We’ll say it’s an out-of-print, unofficial history manuscript imported from overseas! For reference only, absolutely not to be taken seriously!”
Wiping the nervous sweat from his brow, he muttered a desperate string of self-consolation. “His Venerable Lordship is broad-minded. The Geo Archon has watched over Liyue for millennia… he probably wouldn’t bother striking down a commoner like me over a few absurd jokes.”
And so, The Name of Morax Actually Hides Twin Deities and a Contract of Life and Death! alongside Regarding the Matter of the Geo Archon Being a Synthesized God Who Caused His Wife’s Death quietly hit the market shelves that very afternoon.
This time, the resulting shockwave utterly eclipsed her previous release.
Within days, Liyue Harbor plunged into a collective, stunned silence—and then exploded into an absolute uproar. Teahouses, market stalls, and tavern tables became battlegrounds of heated debate.
“What?! His Venerable Lordship… wasn’t alone after all? He actually had a wife?”
“Wait, if you break down the name ‘Morax’ like the book says… it actually makes a terrifying amount of sense!”
“So, it’s not that Mr. Jueyun Chili just forgets to bring his coin purse, but that he physically can’t create Mora anymore? He walks around penniless to imitate his departed lover? Oh my god… that is just too tragic!”
“No wonder he always says ‘I want it all’when shopping. Is it because the original’Mora’ used to say that?”
“The current Mora is made of stone? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I handle coin every single day, it’s clearly metal!”
“But think about it… why hasn’t the Archon directly minted Mora in public lately? It really feels like it’s been an eternity since we last heard of the Lord of Geo creating money with his own hands…”
“The more I think about it, the more terrifying it gets!”
The fervent discussions spiraled into unmatched territory. The citizens of Liyue were deeply captivated by this bizarre, tragic romance. Even though the vast majority logically recognized it as absurd fiction, they simply couldn’t resist the gripping plot, the raw emotional weight, and the story’s uncanny ability to explain away several of Liyue’s long-standing ‘unsolved mysteries.’
The wooden threshold of Sanyu Bookstore was practically worn flat by the stampede of foot traffic. The freshly bound booklets sold out the moment they hit the counter. Shopkeeper Sun counted his Mora until his fingers cramped, his heart perpetually in his throat, terrified that a squad of Millelith would kick down his doors and seal the premises at any given second.
Yet, while Liyue Harbor churned with undercurrents and explosive gossip over the two little books, Lovia—the sole instigator of this cultural chaos—went about her daily business as if nothing had happened.
“Keeping your achievements hidden, and making a fortune in silence—that is the true way to survive,” Lovia declared to the empty room.
Her small shack sat in a neglected, secluded corner near the docks. It was dilapidated and painfully simple, barely offering enough structural integrity to block the wind and rain. For the past few days, she had treated it strictly as a temporary lodging, not bothering to sweep the dust or seriously manage the space.
But recently, the bookstore had forwarded her a cut of the manuscript fees. While it wasn’t enough to buy a mansion in Yujing Terrace, it was certainly enough to elevate her standard of living. The unexpected, staggering success of the Record of Shi Po’s Wanderings gave her a solid sense of security, sparking a sudden, domestic urge to ‘nest.’
After all, a person—or rather, a Melusine—needed a decent place to call home.
The weather today was beautiful. The damp sea breeze drifted through the gaps in the walls, carrying the rich, salty scent of the ocean.
Lovia rolled up her sleeves, exposing her slender arms, and carefully lined up new wooden planks over the worst, draftiest holes in the shack. Her movements were entirely unskilled, bordering on clumsy. The heavy iron hammer occasionally slipped, striking her fingers and causing her to gasp sharply, furiously blowing on her reddened skin to soothe the sting.
“Hmm… it seems building a house is significantly harder than writing fanfiction,” Lovia mumbled, her bright blue eyes narrowing at a particularly stubborn plank. “Once I actually figure this out, I’ll add a new chapter to the Record of Shi Po’s Wanderings called ‘The Archon Teaches You How to Build a House with His Own Hands.’ Hehe.”
After much struggling and a few more bruised knuckles, the planks were finally secured.
Next, she retrieved an old, faded piece of fabric, measuring it out to hang as a makeshift curtain over the single broken window. That specific window was a nightmare; the sea breeze would whistle through the jagged glass at night, blowing a freezing chill directly onto her bedroll.
Fortunately, she was a Melusine. If she possessed a fragile human constitution, she would have caught a severe cold on her first night and ended up in Bubu Pharmacy. And at that point, the medical expenses would completely eclipse her hard-earned manuscript fees—a catastrophic financial loss.
Lovia mused idly as she stood on her tiptoes, stretching to tack the fabric into the frame. She had discarded her wide, concealing hood for the day, allowing her prominent Melusine features to show freely. Her unique hair, long expressive antennae, and gem-like blue eyes looked exceptionally vibrant in the dim, dusty lighting of the shack.
This was the only place in all of Liyue where she didn’t need to hide.
After a solid hour of sweating and adjusting, the shack finally looked somewhat orderly. At the very least, it no longer resembled a pile of driftwood waiting to be blown into the ocean.
Lovia dusted off her hands with a satisfied nod, admiring the small space that was slowly transforming into a cozy sanctuary. The house might be rented, but her life belonged to her!
She reached into her bodice and carefully withdrew a small, heavy cloth pouch containing her entire life savings. Tipping it over the wobbly table, she let the golden Mora spill across the old tablecloth, counting the coins one by one.
“Hmm, this stack is enough to buy a thicker blanket, so I won’t freeze tonight.” She slid a small pile of coins to the left.
“This pile… maybe I can afford an iron pot that doesn’t actively leak?” She pushed another stack forward.
“Ah, wait, I still need to reserve funds for quality paper and ink…” Her brows furrowed, her expression turning incredibly solemn as she carefully calculated her margins. “Indeed, poverty makes me rational!”
Having intimately experienced the sheer desperation of being penniless in a foreign land, Lovia cherished every single Mora she earned. She had to budget flawlessly to avoid slipping back into the cold, hungry misery of her first days in the harbor.
A long while later, with her budget firmly set, Lovia scooped the coins back into her pouch, pulled her heavy hood over her head, and slipped out the door, smoothly blending into the bustling afternoon market.
She lingered at a general goods stall for ages, scrutinizing the thickness and thread count of various blankets before making a choice. At the kitchenware vendor, she held an iron pot up to the sunlight, thoroughly inspecting the bottom for hairline fractures, before attempting a very clumsy—and highly ineffective—haggling routine. Finally, she stopped by the docks to purchase fresh sea fish and crisp vegetables, fully intending to cook a proper meal.
Even though her culinary skills were questionable at best, cooking at home saved an astronomical amount of money.
She had only occupied the shack for a short time, but Lovia had already quietly crowned it as her ‘home.’ Every corner of the cramped space was beginning to fill with the warm, obvious traces of her daily life. Carrying her hard-won trophies back through the streets, her chest swelled with a simple, grounded sense of satisfaction.
By mid-afternoon, the sun beat down with scorching intensity. The humidity rising off the harbor steamed the air, creating an oppressively hot, sticky atmosphere.
Lovia could feel her Melusine biology protesting the dry heat; her skin practically ached for moisture.
Dropping her purchases on the table, she quickly threw together a self-created ‘Seafood Medley Soup’ and happily devoured it. But as she sat idly digesting her meal, the stuffy heat inside the shack became unbearable. She peeked out the back door, scanning the area. Seeing no one around the secluded docks, she bolted for the backyard.
It wasn’t a yard in the traditional sense, but rather a sturdy wooden platform extending directly over the clear, deep seawater.
“No one’s watching anyway…” Lovia murmured to herself.
She quickly shed her heavy outer robe and boots, leaving herself in just a simple linen shirt and shorts. Stepping to the very edge of the sun-bleached platform, she took a deep breath and slipped silently into the ocean.
The cool, heavy embrace of the seawater instantly enveloped her, washing away the oppressive heat in a single, glorious rush. She twisted gracefully beneath the surface, stretching her tired limbs, feeling a deep sense of comfort—as if she had finally returned to where she belonged. The water gently caressed her sensitive skin, drawing a soft, contented sigh from her lips.
Is this the legendary Melusine free air conditioning? I love it!
Moving with the effortless agility of a fish, she darted through the shimmering blue currents. She surfaced occasionally to catch her breath, resting her chin on the water as she gazed out at the dense silhouettes of merchant ships in the distance. The layered, majestic pavilions of Liyue Harbor climbed the distant mountains, bathed in the afternoon light. She floated there, savoring the deep tranquility.
Once her skin felt thoroughly hydrated and her muscles relaxed, she hauled herself back onto the wooden platform, dripping wet. Sitting on the edge, she let her bare feet dangle gently in the rolling tide. She watched in silence as the setting sun bled across the horizon, dyeing the ocean in brilliant strokes of gold and crimson. The faint, rhythmic clamor of the distant market drifted over the waves, anchoring her in a state of absolute peace.
As for how the bookstore was handling the sales? What the readers were plotting? Whether the Millelith were currently sharpening their polearms?
Hmm… that was entirely outside her current jurisdiction.
The manuscript was submitted, the Mora was in her pocket, and her pantry was stocked. The rest of the fallout was Shopkeeper Sun’s problem. And even if the Millelith really did issue an arrest warrant, they didn’t even know what she looked like. Hehe!
Right now, she only wanted to bask in this quiet evening, enjoying the slightly upgraded life her writing had bought her.
Lovia’s lips curved into a soft smile as she let the warm sea breeze dry her blue hair.
“Hehe. Nothing to do today. Maybe I’ll go listen to music at the pleasure house… oh wait, no. I mean, slacking off by the sea.”