Stellar Train: I Open a Small Shop on the Train-Chapter 76

Hu Tao's words piqued everyone's curiosity, and they all gathered at the entrance of the cave.

Before their eyes appeared an underground ruin.

The ruin was extremely dilapidated and overgrown with weeds. The only light source in the entire structure came from a large opening at the top, allowing a beam of light to shine through.

At the entrance, the ripples of flowing water were clearly visible—there was no doubt that this ruin lay underwater.

Stelle looked around and found a small path.

"Look over there. Let's go down from that side."

With that, Stelle took the lead, descending from the entrance along the narrow path toward the main body of the ruin.

The core of the ruin was an ancient city made entirely of massive stones.

Stelle, Hu Tao, and the others followed the path to the gate of the ancient city.

Hu Tao looked around the city, feeling puzzled.

"That doesn't make sense. A ruin this big shouldn't have gone undiscovered for so many years."

March 7th shrugged.

"Maybe it's just too well hidden? Think about how deep we had to dig to get here."

Hu Tao thought over March 7th's words—it wasn't impossible.

The ruin was deeply buried underground. It was indeed possible that it had gone unnoticed for so long.

Stelle hoisted a pickaxe.

"Whatever, let's go take a look first."

With that, Stelle walked swaggeringly toward the main gate of the city and pushed it open.

The wooden door had clearly aged for who knows how long. With a gentle push from Stelle, the entire door collapsed with a crash.

The sight before them sent a chill down Stelle's spine, and he froze in place.

When Hu Tao and the others came closer, they were speechless.

All they saw were countless salt figures standing on the street—humanoid shapes made entirely of salt, all with the same expression.

Terror, as if trying to flee the city.

March 7th looked at the scene and couldn't help but voice a chilling thought.

"Could these people have once been real, living humans?"

Paimon jumped in fright.

"Yikes! March, could you not say something so scary?"

Lumine examined the salt statues closely and noticed that each one was unique. With Teyvat's level of craftsmanship, there was no way they could be this lifelike.

"I'm afraid March might be right."

Stelle looked along the street—every salt figure had its back turned toward a distant fortress, as if trying to escape from it.

"That must be the source. Let's go check it out."

Hearing this, everyone cautiously moved through the streets, heading toward the distant fortress.

Along the way, it was eerily quiet. As they went deeper into the ruins, the light grew dimmer.

Eventually, they arrived at the gates of the ancient fortress.

Eula knocked on the door and heard a noise from behind it.

"Let's look around nearby. There must be some mechanism to open this door."

Stelle pulled out the Judgment of Shamash.

"No need for that. Judgment Of Shamash, Unleashed!"

With a swing, Stelle sliced the stone door in half.

The door crumbled with a loud crash, revealing a hidden chamber.

The chamber was packed with salt figures trying to flee.

At the very center of the room lay an altar with a broken sword enshrined on it.

March 7th took out her camera and snapped a photo. This was her first time exploring such an ancient ruin.

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Stelle stepped up and picked up the sword. It was rusted and clearly very old.

"Hu Tao, take a look—think this is worth anything?"

Hu Tao examined it.

"It's just an ordinary sword. But you could try bringing it to a jewelry shop—maybe you can sell it as an antique."

Hearing this, Stelle stored the iron sword in his storage ring, planning to sell it later in Liyue Harbor.

After storing the sword, Stelle looked around and found three passageways. He thought for a moment.

"Let's split up. If you run into danger, send a signal."

Hu Tao and Lumine agreed.

Then, the group split into three teams and headed into different tunnels.

Seele took the right passage.

Suddenly, strange sounds came from ahead. Seele looked closely and saw a group of hilichurls dancing and singing around a campfire.

She quietly pulled out her scythe and crept forward.

"Disappear among the sea of butterflies—illusions of the past!"

With one strike, she wiped out the hilichurls.

After dealing with them, Seele had time to inspect the chamber.

Inside were two offering platforms—one holding a ruler and the other a bronze cauldron.

She picked them up. The cauldron still had half its salt inside.

"What the heck are these? Whatever, I'll just take them and ask someone later."

Seele stored both the ruler and the cauldron in her ring and continued exploring.

About three hours later—

The three teams regrouped in a large chamber.

At its center was a small pile of salt.

March 7th took another photo.

Stelle looked a bit disappointed.

"I thought we'd find some Primogems here. Turns out it's all just junk... sigh~"

Hu Tao checked the time.

"Let's go. We should head back. It'll be dark by the time we reach Liyue Harbor."

So, they retraced their steps, exited the mine they had dug, and boarded their RV parked by the road, heading back to Liyue Harbor.

Meanwhile, on the Treasure Boat—

Ningguang was making preparations for tonight's banquet.

"Get all this food to the kitchen quickly—Xiangling will be here soon to cook.

And these flowers—what house sent them? I paid a fortune and they send me this subpar mess? Baiwen, take someone and go. Some people aren't cut out for business.

Also, the fireworks—handle them carefully. Don't let them get wet. Got it?"

Ningguang personally oversaw everything on the Treasure Boat, leaving nothing to chance—she didn't want anything to go wrong tonight.

This year's Lantern Rite was different from previous years. Many important guests were attending.

Ningguang issued orders one by one as crew members bustled about the ship.

She stood by the railing, looking at the sun halfway set over the sea, and sighed softly.

Preparations for the banquet were nearly complete—now it was just a matter of waiting for the guests.

Soon—

Ye Yun, Welt, Zhongli, Jing Yuan, Huaiyan, and Jiaoqiu—members of the elder group—were the first to board the ship.

Ningguang quickly went to greet them.

"Welcome to the Lantern Rite banquet, everyone. Please, come in."

Under Ningguang's guidance, Ye Yun and the others went up to the second floor to enjoy tea in a tea room.

They thanked her warmly.

Just as Ningguang finished receiving them, Topaz and Jade arrived with gifts in hand.

"Ningguang! We're here!" Topaz waved and greeted her cheerfully.

Recognizing them, Ningguang went up to welcome them.

"Topaz, Jade—how was your day?"

Jade smiled.

"Today was wonderful. It's my first time exploring a city with so much historical charm."

***

Ningguang smiled upon hearing that.

"Good. Tomorrow is the main day of the Lantern Rite. You two should walk around more then—there will be many more interesting things to see."

Jade smiled and agreed.

At this moment, Topaz suddenly asked.

"Ningguang, Jade and I plan to set up a small stall to sell some things tomorrow. We asked around and heard we need a permit from you. Could you issue us one?"

Ningguang replied,

"That's not a problem. But you mustn't sell anything dangerous."

Topaz flipped her hair.

"Of course not! Jade and I are planning to set up a pitch-pot game stall. See if we can earn some Primogems."

Ningguang thought for a moment and then nodded. Most of the Primogems within Liyue had already been collected by the Geo Archon.

As for those in private hands, she had already spent money to reclaim most of them.

Letting the two set up a small stall wouldn't hurt. They probably wouldn't earn much.

"Alright—no problem at all. I'll issue you a permit shortly."

Topaz beamed with joy.

"Thanks, Ningguang~"

Ningguang smiled and gestured invitingly.

"Please, both of you come in and take a seat. There are still many guests yet to arrive."

Topaz and Jade entered the floating pavilion and found seats to rest in the first-floor hall.

Topaz sat down and took out some snacks she had bought today, placing them on the table to eat.

Not long after—

Cloud Retainer, Moon Carver, Mountain Shaper, and Xiao arrived with Shenhe.

Seeing the arriving Adeptis, Ningguang went up to greet them.

"Welcome, honored Adeptis."

Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper politely exchanged pleasantries with Ningguang, since she was the host.

As for Cloud Retainer—she went straight into the ship, found a corner, and pulled out a pile of computer parts to continue her research.

She had convinced Hu Tao, after much persuasion, to sell her a computer, from which she had taken these parts.

Just like with Hu Tao's flying motorcycle, Cloud Retainer could take things apart but not put them back together.

Looking troubled, she sat in a corner pondering how to reassemble it.

Xiao went straight to the second floor to greet Zhongli.

"My Lord."

Zhongli nodded slightly.

"The Lantern Rite is here—relax and enjoy yourself a little."

Xiao nodded.

"Yes."

Next to arrive was Madam Ping.

She brought the six little ones and Yanfei aboard.

Each of the little ones held a sky lantern they had made themselves that day.

Instead of entering the cabin, they stayed on the deck, chattering and comparing their lanterns.

Klee hugged her lantern.

"Yaoyao~ when can we release the lanterns?"

Yaoyao placed her lantern on the ground and clapped her hands.

"That'll be at night. When you see fireworks, that means it's time!"

Klee replied,

"Klee understands! Fireworks, fireworks, when will you come out?"

Qiqi hugged her lantern, blankly staring at the sky.

"Fireworks... what are... fireworks? Qiqi doesn't remember."

Bailu happily said,

"Fireworks are very pretty things! You'll see soon."

Then Bailu suddenly remembered—Qiqi has a poor memory.

She thought for a moment, then asked Yaoyao,

"Yaoyao, does Qiqi really have such a bad memory?"

Yaoyao nodded.

"Yep! Qiqi is a zombie. Her memory is really bad and she often forgets things."

Bailu was intrigued.

A zombie! She had only seen those in movies—she had to study this properly.

Bailu grabbed Qiqi's hand to feel her pulse.

Qiqi blankly watched her.

Suddenly, Bailu frowned—there was no pulse at all. Qiqi's heartbeat wasn't even active.

That was a problem.

"Qiqi, come with me tomorrow—I'll take you for a check-up."

Qiqi asked,

"Where to?"

Bailu replied,

"A nice place. You'll see when we get there."

Qiqi nodded in agreement.

At this point, Klee jumped in.

"Klee will go find Brother Ye Yun for help~ Brother Ye Yun can do anything—he'll definitely cure Qiqi!"

Bailu smacked her forehead.

"Right! Let's go find Yeyun, then we won't need to run around."

She put down her lantern and pulled Qiqi toward the ship interior.

The other little ones followed along.

Madam Ping and Yanfei went to find Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper.

The six little ones came to the tea room on the second floor.

As Bailu opened the door, they were greeted by a teasing voice from Jing Yuan.

"Oh my, look who's here! Aren't these our adorable little ones?"

Bailu rushed over to Yeyun with Qiqi.

"Ye Yun, do you have any medicine that can treat zombies?"

Ye Yun looked at Qiqi.

Qiqi? How did she get here?

He guessed the little ones must've brought her.

He examined Qiqi—her internal energy was extremely chaotic, which explained her poor memory.

As for her zombie body, that was easy to fix.

Ye Yun searched through his system's shop and finally found a suitable item.

[Item: Water of Life]Description: Essence condensed from the Tree of Life in a certain fantasy world. Harmonizes internal energy and restores bodily vitality.Price: 30,000 Star Coins

Ye Yun didn't even blink at the price and bought it immediately.

In the next second, a small glass bottle filled with green liquid appeared in his hand.

Ye Yun smiled at Qiqi.

"Qiqi, open your mouth."

Qiqi stared blankly at him.

Bailu patted her chest.

"Don't worry, Qiqi—Ye Yun is a good person. He's treating you so you won't forget things anymore."

Qiqi wasn't focused on that part—what caught her attention was "won't forget things anymore."

She opened her mouth, and Ye Yun poured in the Water of Life.

It was just a small bottle, and Qiqi drank it quickly.

Bailu, Klee, and the others stared at Qiqi, full of anticipation.

"Well? How do you feel, Qiqi?" Klee asked excitedly.

Qiqi looked at her body and pinched her hand.

"Qiqi... feels warm..."

Ye Yun nodded.

"Good. The Water of Life is working to restore your vitality and harmonize your energy."

Klee tilted her head.

"But Klee still hears Qiqi talking funny..."

Ye Yun explained,

"Don't worry. It'll take a little time. You guys go play for now—she might be completely better soon."

The six little ones left the tea room with Qiqi.

Huo Yan glanced in their direction.

"Mr. Ye Yun, you really care about children."

Ye Yun didn't deny it.

"Of course. Anyone who knows me knows I love raising daughters the most."