Finally, a good commission!
Chen Li was extremely tempted by the forging commission posted by Brother Sunday.
He happened to have a Relic perfectly suited for forging that particular Curio, the reward was generous, and most importantly, it would give him a way to travel to the Honkai: Star Rail world through Sunday!
With all these conditions combined, Chen Li couldn't think of a single reason not to choose the third commission.
So~~ he chose the fifth one!
"Why?" Tonghua was a little confused after hearing Chen Li's choice.
Since he needed her to provide some materials with Entries, Chen Li hadn't hidden the details of the five new commissions from her.
"Because I just realized something," Chen Li said.
"What?"
"I'm the kind of person who doesn't like using transitional, ordinary Curios. If I'm going to forge a Curio for myself, it has to be the best. But right now, I don't have good enough Entries or enough Crystals to construct one."
He had struck it rich because of his meeting with the Aeon of Abundance, but opportunities like that were rare. Chen Li didn't dare spend all of the seventy-odd Crystals he had.
He needed to keep some to create blank Miracle Cards for self-preservation, and he also needed to reserve enough to ignite the Flames of Miracle for his next forging.
"So, why don't I first accept a commission to forge an offensive Curio, use the item myself for a while after it's made, and then deliver it to the client once I get a better commission or find the Entries I truly want? That way, I can even earn some Crystals in the process." Chen Li felt like he was an absolute genius.
"Good heavens. So you're planning to make every one of your clients use a second-hand Curio?" Tonghua was stunned.
"As long as I agree on a delivery time with them beforehand, it's fine, right? They can afford to wait," Chen Li said.
Take that Vita, for example.
Although Chen Li didn't know what time period she was in, he was confident she could wait.
Let Vita suffer a little; I'll take the blame.
With that thought, Chen Li typed a message in the comment interface: [Contact me again when you have prepared items related to the concepts of Subordination, Connection, and Gekokujō (the low overthrowing the high)] and sent it to Vita.
He didn't get an immediate reply. He wasn't sure if the other party was wary of the message that had suddenly appeared before her, or if she was currently asleep.
"So, what materials do you need to forge this longbow for Kikyo? Tell me, and I'll help you find them," Tonghua asked.
"There's a problem with that line of thinking. I'm the forger. Have you ever seen anyone ask a forger to make a weapon and expect the forger to provide their own materials? Of course the client provides the materials. If we didn't have a good relationship, they'd have to pay a forging fee on top of that," Chen Li said with his arms crossed.
He might be earning Miracle Crystals, but that wasn't money paid by the client.
Of the three Curios Chen Li had forged so far, the first was for himself, so there was no fee.
The second was for Elysia, for which he received her pay card and the promise of a precious Entry.
The third was for the cat, for which he received a Death Note.
"So?"
"I'll ask Kikyo if she has any preferred materials. If she doesn't have any, the forging fee will have to be a bit higher," Chen Li stated.
Truthfully, he wouldn't mind forging a Curio for free just to earn the Crystals, but didn't Kikyo have something good in her possession?
"Are you there? I'd like to ask, regarding the sturdy longbow that can channel any kind of power, have you prepared any preferred materials?" Chen Li sent the message.
"Starting with 'Are you there?' You're definitely a simp," Tonghua jeered from the side.
"Watch if you want, but if you don't, I'm turning off public mode," Chen Li, who was holding the Guide and chatting with the client, shot a glare at Tonghua.
Far away, across infinite time and space, Kikyo took a long moment to process the screen that had suddenly appeared before her and the information about the forging commission that had flooded her mind.
Only after Chen Li initiated an interaction with a commission poster would they become aware that they had posted a commission.
This function was designed to prevent Chen Li from being harassed.
"A Curio Forger who travels the worlds?" Kikyo was quite surprised.
But she didn't doubt the message's authenticity.
Since it cost one Miracle Crystal just to refresh a single commission, the energy wasn't entirely spent on the search; it was also used to make the other party deeply believe in the truth of the matter.
This prevented situations where a lot of time would be wasted just explaining his identity and getting the client to believe him.
However, because everyone's situation was different, and their communication with the Curio Forger would vary, the information provided to the client wasn't comprehensive. This was to avoid affecting the Curio Forger's "art of communication."
"Preferred materials… It would be better to discuss this face-to-face." After a moment's hesitation, Kikyo rose from the spring, dried herself, put on her clothes, and then used the video call function on the virtual screen she had just learned about.
It was best to talk first.
After all, talking didn't cost anything.
Even a miko could be curious.
And maybe…
"Hello," Chen Li greeted enthusiastically as the holographic projection appeared before him.
"Ah, hello." Feeling her senses extended in a peculiar way, Kikyo curiously examined all the novel things in front of her.
"So you don't have any preferred materials? In that case, do you have any specific requirements for the longbow you want to be forged?" Chen Li asked.
"Requirements… As long as it's sturdy, I have no other requests."
"What about the style of the longbow? A classic Japanese longbow, or would any type of bow do?" Chen Li continued.
This was a crucial point.
If any bow was fine, he would forge one similar to Elysia's and then learn some ranged attack methods from her.
If it had to be a Japanese longbow, he would just have to make do with it.
"Either is fine. But before that, may I ask about the forging fee?" Kikyo asked cautiously.
Her first meeting with a world-traveling Curio Forger and the completely unfamiliar environment made Kikyo feel like a child in a general store for the first time—more worried about whether she could afford the goods than about getting what she wanted.
This was a good sign. It meant she was a good person to trade with, and he wouldn't have to worry about her backing out.
"The forging fee… I have a great idea, Miss Kikyo. Would you like to hear it?" Chen Li asked.
"What idea?"
"How about… I use the Shikon Jewel to forge a longbow for you?" Chen Li revealed his endgame.
"Huh? How do you know I have the Shikon Jewel?" Kikyo looked at Chen Li warily.
As the miko responsible for guarding the Shikon Jewel, Kikyo was extremely vigilant about anything related to it.
The Shikon Jewel was formed from the souls of a powerful miko named Midoriko and countless demons during their struggle; it was a sacred jewel that possessed immense spiritual power.
It was said that the jewel could grant immense power to demons, but it could also vanquish evil.
It was a peerless treasure that practically everyone desired.
"Because the commission description says you want to forge a longbow to better protect and purify the Shikon Jewel. It also provided me with some basic information about it. So I was thinking, since it's something that needs to be purified, why not just forge it directly into another form?" Chen Li said, skillfully employing the art of language.
What he truly wanted were the leftover Entries after the Curio was forged.