Ah, the Lantern Rite. A time for celebration, fireworks, and in the world of Teyvat, a time for me to completely embarrass myself in front of two adorable paper cutouts named Guoba and Yuegui. Let me tell you about the Paper Shadows A-Foraging event. It’s this cute little puzzle minigame they trot out during the festivities, and my goal was simple: guide these culinary mascots to ingredients while navigating a maze of vines, crates, and my own profound lack of spatial awareness. All for the sweet, sweet price of Primogems. Nine stages. Nine opportunities for me to question my life choices. Buckle up.

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Stage 1: Fragrant Mountain Delicacies (Or, The Illusion of Competence)

They call this the "tutorial." I call it a trap designed to inflate my ego. "Just push the crate, silly!" the game whispered. So I, feeling mighty, guided Guoba to shove a wooden box. It fell. A path opened. I collected a mushroom. I felt like a strategic genius. The rewards poured in: 20 Primogems, some Festive Fever, Mora, and Agnidus Agate Fragments. "This event is a breeze!" I declared to an empty room. Oh, how naive I was.

Stage 2: Wandering Fowl Warm and Cool

This is where the devs decided to introduce the concept of "limited moves." My first attempt? I sprinted Guoba straight for the key like a maniac, only to run out of steam two steps from the finish line, staring at the ingredient behind vines I couldn't clear. The solution, which I only found after a minor tantrum, was hilariously simple: just walk back to the start to reset your moves! It’s like the game was teaching me a lesson in patience, or perhaps in not charging headfirst into every situation. The Varunada Lazurite Fragments were a nice consolation for my wounded pride.

Stages 3 & 4: Sealed Flavors and Smoky Savoriness

Stage three was more back-and-forth crate pushing. By this point, I was getting into a rhythm. Push, backtrack, push again. It was a peaceful, almost meditative destruction of Nagadus Emerald-bearing vines. Then stage four dropped the bombshell: I had to control both Guoba AND Yuegui. It was like trying to pat my head and rub my stomach while solving a Rubik's cube. They each had their own move counts! The goal was a cute meetup at the ingredient square. My first several attempts looked less like a coordinated duo and more like two very confused ants lost from their colony.

The key (literally) was sending Guoba home to reset while Yuegui fetched the key. Once I got them synced, the Vajrada Amethyst felt earned. This stage was the real turning point—the training wheels were off.

Stage 5: Eight Treasured Flavors

Three keys. Green, Blue, Red. The puzzle board started to look like a toddler’s particularly aggressive finger-painting. The step-by-step was crucial here. It involved a delicate dance of pushing boxes to access keys in a specific order. One wrong push and you’d block a path entirely, forcing a restart. I may have created a Guoba-shaped traffic jam more than once. The moment both little guys finally reached the prize and those Vayuda Turquoise Fragments popped up? Pure, unadulterated relief.

The Grand Finale: Stages 6 Through 9

If the earlier stages were a gentle hike, stages 6-9 were mountaineering with oven mitts on. Stage 6, "Intricately Stuffed," lived up to its name. It was a box-pushing symphony that required planning several moves ahead for both characters. I spent more time staring at the screen than actually moving.

Then came the cart levels. Stages 7 and 8 introduced the brilliant mechanic of them pushing each other's carts. Picture this: Guoba, with all his might, shoving Yuegui's little wagon. It was absurd and wonderful. Stage 8 added boxes into this cart-pushing chaos, creating a puzzle so devious it made the Shivada Jade and Prithiva Topaz fragments feel like a reward for surviving a mental obstacle course.

And finally, Stage 9: "Juicy, Just Juicy." The name is a lie. It should be called "Everything Including the Kitchen Sink." This final puzzle threw every mechanic at you—keys of all colors, multiple carts, boxes, limited moves on both characters. It was the ultimate test. My desk was covered in scribbled diagrams. When I finally executed the last step—having Yuegui push a box to the far right for the final Green Key—and saw that completion screen with the Recipe: Eight-Treasure Duck and the last 20 Primogems, I nearly cried. I had done it. I had foraged.

The Loot Table of Triumph (and Despair)

Let's break down what all that headache was for, shall be? Here’s the full bounty from my Paper Shadows saga:

Stage Primogems Key Rewards
1-7 20 each 3x Elemental Fragment (Various), 50 Festive Fever, 30,000 Mora
8 & 9 20 each 6x Hero's Wit each, + Recipe in Stage 9
TOTAL 180 A bruised ego & culinary knowledge

So, was it worth it? For 180 Primogems and a fancy duck recipe, absolutely. Would I do it again? Ask me after next year's Lantern Rite, when I've inevitably forgotten all the solutions and get stuck on Stage 2 all over again. The Paper Shadows A-Foraging Event is a perfect microcosm of Genshin Impact: charming, deceptively tricky, and ultimately rewarding. Just maybe have a walkthrough handy. I know I will.