(HIATUS) Valkyrie Traveler (Honkai Impact 3 x Genshin x Kiana Reader)

Chapter 13

You went to Wanwen Bookhouse to get a Liyue edition of the Teyvat Travel Guide, but Jifang stopped stocking it, so you can't buy one. Luckily you can still get it by requesting a copy from Chang the Ninth. Surprisingly, someone else wanted to request a book from him, so you decided to let him tag along.

*Later when you arrive...*

"*sigh* The heavens are smiting me... Smiting me to smithereens..."

"Excuse me, are you Chang the Ninth?"

"Uh-huh. And what do you want? Come on, spit it out!

"We've heard you've got tons of old books lying around, and we wanna borrow the Liyue volume of the Teyvat Travel Guide."

"Hmph. Don't get me started on the topic of my books...After the Chasm was sealed off, the family mining business started going south. Then, the Fatui started working to sabotage me...to pay off my debts, I had no choice but to pawn off my beloved book collection. Every last book! Do you have any idea what that means?!"

"You're sad you've got nothing to read now?"

"Wrong! That was my life's work! I devoted my entire life to curating, collecting, caring for them... And now they're gone! Gone, I tell you!...*sigh* It's useless ranting and raving at you like this. All I can do is try to save enough Mora to buy them back. Unless you have other business here, I'm done talking to you. Goodbye! Off you go! Go on, go!"

"Please tell me that you didn't pawn volume six of Legend of the Shattered Halberd?"

"Legend of the Shattered Halberd... There's a title I haven't heard in a long time. You have good taste, my boy!"

"What, but we don't?"

"That work was an epoch-defining masterpiece. Granted, it was almost unknown at the time it was published...but over time it was the work that came to define the genre of martial arts novels — and sparked a plethora of imitation works. Barely any copies of the first edition were ever printed.

"The later edition inexplicably went out of print almost as soon as it was released — a shame given what it allegedly added to the original story."

"Yes! That's right, how did I forget? The original-edition sixth volume of that work is so rare, I could never bring myself to pawn it no matter how much I needed the money."

"You mean...you mean you still have it?!"

"Yes. It is my one and only remaining treasure-"

Someone came and interrupted your conversation. After they finish talking, Chang the Ninth handed Xingqiu the book and he went off.

"So you like reading, huh, Mr. Five-Second Hero?"

"Ho-ho, amazing... I never saw that coming..."

"Hello!...Xingqiu? Anybody in there?"

"No wonder this book is so highly sought after..."

"UGH!"

"That guy back at Chang the Ninth's was pretty bossy..."

"How can they bully poor Chang the Ninth like this, forcing him to sell his ore for dirt cheap? It's daylight robbery, pure and simple!"

"Together, we'll find a way to help Chang the Ninth!"

"Yeah!"

"Don't forget me! I'm in too."

"Oh, so NOW you can hear what we're saying!"

"The reason I borrowed this book is that it would be a real pity if Chang the Ninth ended up having to pawn it. And I meant every word I said to Chang the Ninth. I will return his act of kindness. It is the just thing to do. I will be custodian of this book, and I will also help find a way to buy back the rest of his collection."