After much picking and choosing, Zhong Baiye and Paimon each selected six or seven Uncut Stones. They certainly weren't treating Childe like an outsider, spending his Mora without the slightest qualm.
Zhongli also chose a plain, unassuming Uncut Stone.
Next came the exciting part: cutting open the Uncut Stones. Although Teyvat's technology wasn't on par with Blue Star's, it still had specialized machines for the job.
The machine looked like nothing more than a table. According to the shop assistant, it was a piece of cutting-edge technology imported from Fontaine in recent years.
All they needed to do was place an Uncut Stone on the table, and a trained operator could cut it however the customer wished.
Paimon was the most impatient. Seeing that there weren't many people around, she immediately claimed a spot and eagerly placed the Uncut Stones she was carrying onto the table, one after another.
Since most of the Uncut Stones were about as big as Paimon herself, she could only carry them over one at a time.
One square Uncut Stone was even twice Paimon's size. Even Zhong Baiye would have had to grit his teeth to lift it, yet Paimon picked it up with ease.
This was the first time Zhong Baiye and Lumine had realized just how strong Paimon was.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Paimon's Uncut Stones were cut open one by one. A few were reasonably good, yielding decent-quality magic ore and crystal ore.
Most, however, were worthless rocks with barely any value.
Paimon refused to accept the results and wanted to choose more Uncut Stones. Luckily, Lumine grabbed one of her legs, or Childe might actually have gone bankrupt that day.
Cutting open Uncut Stones was just like pulling in a gacha, so Zhong Baiye wasn't planning to open his own selections right away.
He wanted the others to build up some pity for him and improve his odds, so he gave his spot to Zhongli and Lumine.
Zhongli stroked the Uncut Stone in his hands, his expression resembling that of someone bidding farewell to an old friend.
A moment later, without any hesitation, he placed the Uncut Stone directly onto the cutting machine.
Was this only to be expected of an Uncut Stone chosen by Rex Lapis?
The moment a small opening was cut into it, everyone present felt as though a vast flood were surging over them.
As the cutting continued, that sensation grew stronger. Some even thought they were fish, swimming carefree through the water.
Even the shop assistant was swept up in the sensation and stopped cutting.
The commotion also drew the shopkeeper, Shitou, over. As soon as he arrived, his gaze settled on the Uncut Stone atop the cutting machine.
He switched off the machine and picked up the Uncut Stone to examine it closely.
"Excellent. Truly excellent. These naturally formed Geo Patterns, this richly layered texture—it's nothing short of a treasure of Liyue. Who chose this Uncut Stone?"
As he lifted the Uncut Stone to inspect it, the strange sensation vanished. Only then did the assistant come to his senses and answer Shitou's question.
Shitou finally noticed Zhongli, dressed in traditional Liyue attire. He seemed to be recalling the sensation from earlier, paying no attention to his surroundings.
At the sight of Zhongli, Shitou's eyes narrowed slightly. He could already tell that Zhongli was a connoisseur whose expertise rivaled his own.
"Honored guest, this cutting machine isn't worthy of an Uncut Stone of such exceptional quality. Would you allow me to cut it open by hand?"
Zhongli said nothing, but nodded his agreement.
The assistant beside them was astonished. Their shopkeeper, Shitou, hadn't taken up his blade in ten years.
Every Uncut Stone Shitou had personally cut in the past had yielded a priceless treasure. One of them was even still carried around by Ningguang, the Tianquan.
The assistant then handed Shitou a short knife with a three-inch blade.
Holding the knife in his right hand, Shitou carefully felt the Uncut Stone with his left. Seeing his intense concentration, everyone around him held their breath, not daring to make a sound.
Shhk, shhk!
Zhong Baiye and the others saw only Shitou's knife hand make a single turn. They couldn't make out what had just happened.
The next instant, the Uncut Stone's outer shell slipped off on its own, as though shedding a garment.
A dazzling blue light filled the eyes of everyone present.
Zhong Baiye rubbed his eyes hard before finally making out a broken piece of horn. He had no idea what creature it had come from.
A drop of blue liquid still clung to the tip of the horn. That drop was the source of the light.
Zhongli paid no attention to the broken horn and simply picked up the drop of blue liquid.
Yes, he picked it up directly.
Only then did Zhong Baiye and the others realize that it wasn't blue liquid at all, but a blue gemstone. It was so perfectly clear that they had mistaken it for liquid.
Zhongli studied the gem intently, then sighed.
"What a pity..."
He said no more, but the gem seemed to react to his sigh.
A sense of sorrow spread through everyone present, as though the gem had once had an owner, but that owner was now gone.
Then Zhongli crushed the blue gem in his hand. A blue radiance flashed, and the gemstone vanished without a trace, taking that sorrowful feeling with it.
When the shopkeeper and Paimon recovered, both lamented the loss. Zhongli had destroyed such a priceless treasure just like that.
But it belonged to Zhongli in the first place, so the shopkeeper had no right to stop him. Paimon, meanwhile, was somewhat afraid of Zhongli.
Zhong Baiye had had a chance to stop him, but if Rex Lapis was doing this, he surely had his serious issues... his reasons. So Zhong Baiye hadn't intervened.
Besides, when he had first seen the blue gem, he had felt a deadly threat from it, making every hair on his body stand on end.
When the gem was crushed, that feeling disappeared.
That convinced Zhong Baiye that some enormous secret lay within it, but such a secret was far beyond his current ability to get involved with.
As the sense of danger faded, he let out an inward sigh of relief.
Next, it was Lumine's turn to have her Uncut Stone opened. The shopkeeper knew Zhongli was no ordinary person, so Zhong Baiye and the others accompanying him surely had something exceptional about them as well.
Wanting to make a good impression, Shitou offered to personally cut open all their remaining Uncut Stones.
But when he saw the Uncut Stone Lumine brought over, the wrinkles on his face nearly bunched together.
"This... this Uncut Stone looks far too poor. Are you sure you want to open this one?"
Shitou frowned at the Uncut Stone in his hands.
Lumine examined the Uncut Stone carefully again. Although she had initially chosen it because she wanted the cheapest Uncut Stone in the shop, she now felt something familiar about it.
She glanced back at Zhongli. He wasn't looking at the Uncut Stone, but he still gave her a nod.
"I still want to choose this Uncut Stone."
Before you continue