At noon, the meal was served.
Barbara, tasting Gods' Temptation for the first time, was so moved she nearly cried.
At the same time, her Silver Progress Bar filled rapidly with every bite.
Xia Zhi glanced at his inventory, where a new Silver Treasure Chest had appeared, and chuckled.
An unexpected bonus for the day.
Ganyu, as always, had her exclusive portion of Hundred Herbs Broth.
She was still in that special state—foods like this left her overheated, though thankfully no longer making her smell of coconut milk.
Shenhe noticed her flushed cheeks. "Senior Sister, are you alright?"
Ganyu murmured softly: "I'm fine."
Eating grass by day… tonight she'd probably be a beast of burden again.
Since three dragons were present, Xia Zhi had prepared extra Gods' Temptation, letting Guoba feast as well.
Laughter and clinking cups filled the room.
Guided by Jean, Barbara toasted both Venti and Xia Zhi, asking them to look after her in the future.
But Barbara couldn't handle alcohol. After one drink her face turned bright red, her eyes watery, staring at her sister with nothing but a silly smile.
After the meal, everyone sipped tea and chatted, the atmosphere warm and pleasant.
Jean even found herself reluctant to return to work.
But duty was duty.
Amber fetched a new set of Wind Gliders from Cloud Retainer for Eula.
And soon, one by one, everyone said their farewells and left the Serenitea Pot.
Noelle supported a staggering Barbara, helping her back to her room at the church.
On the way, Lisa rubbed her stomach with a sigh. "Mr. Xia's cooking is too good. Every time I eat too much."
Jean nodded in agreement. "I know… I feel stuffed too."
Eula glanced at her. "Still, Acting Grand Master, you need to exercise more. Unlike me, always on missions outdoors, you're always sitting in your office. Be careful or you'll get fat."
Jean suddenly smiled. "Thanks for the reminder. But I'm not worried about that."
"Oh?" Eula raised a brow.
Jean replied: "You don't know yet, do you? Mr. Xia's massage techniques are amazing."
"Massage? And what does that have to do with this?"
"He has a special technique that helps with weight loss."
"! There's such a thing?" Eula's eyes widened.
Lisa, meanwhile, grew thoughtful.
She remembered Jean once coming to ask her about Sumeru's massage parlors, whether she'd ever tried oil massages, or male masseurs…
At the time she thought Jean was just making idle conversation.
Now it seemed Jean had already experienced Xia's massages herself.
When Lisa studied in Sumeru, she often pulled all-nighters, her back sore from leaning over desks. She and her classmates would sometimes go to massage parlors, but only with female masseuses. She had never heard of any technique that could help with weight loss.
"Are you serious?" she asked.
Jean nodded. "You've eaten instant noodles before, right? One pack is practically a full meal. With all my overtime, I was eating five or six packs a day, barely moving… yet look at me—no weight gain."
Lisa's eyes roamed over her figure. "That's true…"
As a scholar, Lisa couldn't help but feel an intense curiosity toward this miraculous slimming massage.
She was tempted to study it herself.
At a crossroads, Eula bid farewell, saying she was heading out with the squad.
Once Jean and Lisa were gone, Eula turned into a side street, slipping quietly into a bookstore.
There she bought a copy of Mr. Xia's novel.
Tonight, she would have something good to read.
---
After the meal, Xia Zhi sat down beside Xiao, listening as he recounted the events that had recently unfolded in The Chasm.
At first, there had been no major difficulties—until the three of them stumbled upon a strange domain deep underground. There, they found an adeptal artifact known as the Fantastic Compass, said to possess the ability to warp time itself. Supposedly, it had once been gifted by a mysterious adeptus to Yelan's ancestors.
Xia Zhi, hearing this, couldn't help but doubt the story of its true origin.
To craft an item capable of manipulating time… the creator themselves would have to wield the power of time, much like him—or like Dvalin, who had only today completed her transformation into the Dragon of Time.
But ordinary adepti, whose strength generally only reached the Platinum Tier, likely weren't enough.
Xiao studied him quietly. "If Mr. Xia is interested in the Fantastic Compass, when we return to Liyue, you might ask Miss Yelan to let you examine it."
Xia Zhi nodded. "Mm. I'll consider it when the time comes."
Xiao hesitated, then said: "There's another matter I must confess to you."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Before our departure, you entrusted me with the [Bodhi Beads], asking that I secretly protect Miss Yelan and Miss Yanfei without their knowledge. But once… I slipped. I told her."
This wasn't true. Xiao rarely spoke, and he wasn't the type to break such a promise.
But Morax had also commanded him not to conceal this matter—he had to tell Yelan.
On the road, torn between both, Xiao had finally followed Morax's order, finding a chance to tell Yelan himself.
He couldn't pretend it hadn't happened. If Xia Zhi and Yelan spoke later, the truth would come out anyway. Better to admit it now.
Lowering his head, Xiao said quietly: "Forgive me, Mr. Xia. I broke my word."
Xia Zhi chuckled. "It's fine. It wasn't such a serious matter to begin with. If Miss Yelan knows, then she knows. No need to blame yourself."
Xiao still seemed unsettled. "If there's ever anything you require of me in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."
Xia Zhi smiled. "Good. Ah—by the way, Dragon King mentioned last night he wants to rope you into playing games with us."
"…Games?"
Xiao blinked. Hadn't Dragon King gone to bed early last night? When did he meet Xia Zhi?
"Not in reality. In a dream."
"…A dream."
The word made his eyes flicker.
It dragged up memories he hated.
Once, when he was still ignorant and young, a demon god had exploited his weakness, forcing him into servitude as a Yaksha under its command. He had committed countless bloody deeds, trampled ideals, and been ordered to devour the dreams of the fallen—suffering torment beyond measure, yet powerless to resist.
Until Morax freed him, gifting him the false name "Xiao."
Xiao pushed the roiling memories back down, his gaze steady again.
"So you mean… Dragon King and the others were all in the dream last night?"
"Yes. Not only Dragon King—Mr. Zhongli was there as well."
"Even the Archon?"
"Mm. Hard to explain in detail. Tonight I'll bring you in. Don't resist—you'll understand once you're inside."
"…Alright."
"Normally I'd give you a phone too, but I don't have enough Akasha Terminals yet. We'll have to wait for Sumeru to send more over."
"…Phone?"
"Think of it as a device for long-distance communication."
"…I see."
Xiao quietly committed it to memory.
Not far away, Venti was strumming his lyre again, tipsy from drink.
The breeze carried the music to Xiao's ears, calming his emotions. The sorrow over Bosacius' fate faded a little.
The Archon's words had proven true.
And tonight's so-called "game"… since it had Morax's approval, it must be something worthwhile.
---
Sucrose carried a food box in her hands.
Returning to the Alchemy Workshop of the Knights of Favonius, she stopped outside a certain door and knocked gently.
"Master Albedo, are you inside?"
"Yes."
The door soon opened.
Albedo stood there, wearing casual clothes, colorful paint stains marking his sleeves.
"Master Albedo, were you painting?"
"Yes. This morning I had some inspiration."
"From this morning until now? Then you must've forgotten to eat again, haven't you?"
"It's fine."
"That won't do. Here—this is for you."
"…What's this?"
"I was invited to eat with Miss Ying'er and the others today. Mr. Xia cooked—his food was amazing. Everyone else was packing some up, so I did too. These are snacks he made. Please try them, Master Albedo—I promise you won't be disappointed!"
"…Thank you."
She handed him the food box, then curiously glanced past him into the room.
On the easel was a landscape, not yet complete, but already beautiful in outline.
She was about to turn away when another painting on the wall caught her attention.
One she'd never seen here before.
It showed various Hilichurls surrounding a valiant young man, masked, spear in hand.
Albedo noticed her staring. "Sucrose? What is it?"
She blinked back to herself, pointing. "That one—is it new?"
Albedo followed her finger and nodded. "Yes. I bought it from a street stall. The artist was quite skilled, and painted it to my request."
"I see… Then, please don't forget to eat the snacks. I'll return to my research now, so I won't disturb your work."
"Mm."
He closed the door.
Outside, Sucrose frowned faintly.
Her mind replayed the image of that painting—the Hilichurls, and especially the masked youth with the spear.
Though his face was hidden, the cold, proud aura he exuded through the brushstrokes felt strangely familiar.
It reminded her of someone she'd seen.
She thought hard… until at last, the figure surfaced in her mind.
Him!
She remembered—she had seen him today at the Serenitea Pot, during lunch.
He had been sitting at a nearby table, silent and aloof.
Out of curiosity she had looked at him a few extra times. Miss Chi Yu had introduced him as Xiao, a friend of Mr. Xia's from Liyue, in Mondstadt for the Windblume Festival.
But no…
Sucrose shook her head.
The aura matched, yes—but the height didn't.
The boy in the painting was too short.
And Xiao was tall.
They couldn't possibly be the same person.
Just her imagination, surely.
She pushed the thought aside and returned to her desk, continuing her study on emotional gases and Twilight Mushrooms.