The night was still young, and the streets were alive with passersby.
Qiqi left Bubu Pharmacy, slowly making her way toward Feiyun Slope. The girl's shadow stretched long under the lantern light, swaying gently on the ground.
When she reached the entrance of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Qiqi stopped and looked up at the two stone lions standing guard.
They were symbols of the Ministry's authority—and also Qiqi's "friends."
In the past, she would pass by here alone every night. Sometimes, she would pause to look at them or even reach out to pat their heads.
Back then, she had been much shorter, with a medicine basket strapped to her back. She had to tilt her head up and stand on tiptoe just to touch them.
But now, things were different. Like Yaoyao and Diona, she had grown a little taller.
Qiqi walked up to the stone lion on the right, meeting its gaze at eye level. A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
After a moment of silent staring, she reached out and gently patted the lion's head, whispering, "I'll be leaving tomorrow. Goodbye."
With that, she turned and walked away.
As she neared the shop, Qiqi suddenly heard a long, drawn-out, overly sweet meow.
She looked up and spotted a familiar cat perched on the eaves.
This was the same cat that often lingered outside Xinyue Kiosk, wandering from shop to shop in search of food—a true freeloader raised on the generosity of Liyue's merchants.
It was already February.
The weather was warming.
And it seemed the cat's springtime had quietly arrived.
Qiqi watched the lonely little female cat for a moment, then took out a whistle and blew into it softly.
A low, melodic sound drifted through the air.
The cat instinctively turned its gaze toward Qiqi below.
"Meow~"
"Don't meow here. You'll disturb everyone's sleep. Go look somewhere else."
"Meow…"
The cat let out a soft meow, glancing back at a certain second-floor window with reluctance before obediently trotting away.
Qiqi put away the whistle, took out her keys, and unlocked the shop door.
She didn't need sleep—meditating on the techniques her master had taught her was enough.
---
Inside a room.
Xia Zhen and Xia Ci were chatting when, suddenly, Xia Zhen turned toward the window.
"Why is there a cat meowing outside?"
Xia Ci replied nonchalantly, "Isn't that normal?"
"But this one sounded… off. Like it was in heat."
"Not 'like'—it was."
"Isn't it a bit early for that?"
"From a purely rational standpoint, yes, its behavior is indeed premature."
"Ugh, stop talking like Morax."
"It's being influenced."
"Huh?"
"Don't you smell it?"
"Smell what?"
"There's a faint scent in the air… like coconut milk."
"I didn't notice…"
Xia Zhen sniffed the air.
"Now that you mention it… maybe Diona's secretly mixing some weird drink in her room again."
Xia Ci gave her a meaningful look. "Perhaps."
After all, not every goddess was the God of Wisdom, privy to the peculiarities of the Qilin bloodline.
[Where the Qilin treads, life flourishes.]
---
"Senior Sister, I'm back."
Shenhe pushed open the door.
A rich, fresh scent of coconut milk instantly filled the air.
Shenhe froze.
The pleasant aroma was irrelevant—what mattered was that she suddenly felt hungry again, craving a late-night snack…
Suppressing the urge, she closed the door behind her and saw her senior sister already tucked into bed.
"Junior Sister."
"Senior Sister, you're asleep?"
"Mmm…"
"Do you want some osmanthus cake?"
"No."
"Okay."
Shenhe walked over and slipped under the covers.
The scent was even stronger here.
"Senior Sister, why do you smell like milk?"
"I drank some earlier."
"Oh… Senior Sister, weren't you wearing different sleepwear before?"
"That one was uncomfortable. I changed."
"Okay."
"Let's sleep."
"Mm."
Shenhe closed her eyes.
The two girls lay facing each other, close but not touching.
Ganyu twitched her nose slightly, but this time, she couldn't detect any unusual scent on Shenhe.
Impossible…
I definitely heard the sounds…
And they were so intense…
Ganyu stared at her junior sister, whose clothes were spotless—as if she had just bathed—and fell into deep thought.
---
After Shenhe left, Xia Zhi returned to the desk and picked up Detailed Explanations on Faith Power, intending to continue reading.
The moment the book touched his hands, the system's voice echoed in his mind.
"Trait [Erudition] activated. Direct comprehension of this unknown knowledge is possible. Proceed?"
Xia Zhi lowered his gaze to the ring on his finger.
[Erudition] was the evolved trait of the [Scholar's Ring].
Its activation rate was between 1% and 5%.
This was the first time the new trait had triggered.
He had initially assumed that any knowledge would be instantly absorbed upon activation, but it seemed the system had a built-in firewall—it still required his confirmation.
"Proceed."
The moment he confirmed, a flood of new knowledge about faith power surged into his mind.
The sensation was identical to using an experience book.
After digesting the information, Xia Zhi stroked the ring.
Not bad.
This would make learning new things much easier in the future.
He set the book back on the desk and reopened it.
The text remained intact—it hadn't turned into a blank slate.
This meant [Erudition] didn't consume the original knowledge medium.
Unfortunately, once books were purchased from the [Shop], they became "non-refundable."
Otherwise, Xia Zhi could have exploited [Erudition] and his high Luck stat to "borrow" every book in the [Shop] for free.
Shaking off the thought, he focused on the newly acquired knowledge about faith power.
Known: The more devout a believer, the purer and more abundant the faith power they generate.
Known: Faith power is usually bound to a deity. Only the corresponding deity can absorb and utilize it—with rare exceptions.
Known: Using the power of Divine Speech, special items can be crafted to collect, store, and utilize faith power in place of a deity.
Known: Faith power can grant the ability to wield corresponding elemental energy. (For example, Shenhe could use light-based abilities with the [Wand of Light] Xia Zhi had made.)
After some thought, Xia Zhi had an interesting idea.
He retrieved a stone from his inventory and, using the geo-based skills he'd learned from Zhongli—like [Midas Touch]—transformed it into a durable alloy. Then, he shaped it into a small key.
The key had a unique design: its bow resembled the head of a mythical bird, complete with a crimson beak and a pair of spread, snow-white wings.
Once the form was complete, Xia Zhi engraved a series of intricate Divine Runes onto the key:
- Faith power collection and utilization.
- Spatial manipulation.
- The power of light.
- The power of contracts.
The process was so complex that it drained a significant amount of his Divine Power and mental energy.
[Key of Light]
Quality: Platinum.
Type: Charged Artifact.
Traits: Divine Blessing, Transformation.
Effect: Absorbs faith power to charge. Once fully charged, the wielder can transform into a Magical Blessed Form.
Hidden Effect: The purer the faith in light, the stronger the transformed power.
Recyclable Value: 1,000 Points.
Platinum?
Xia Zhi was surprised.
This was the first time he'd crafted an item of such high quality.
His skill level had clearly risen.
If he had used the same amount of Divine Power and mental energy to craft Gold-tier items instead, he could have made eight or nine—earning roughly the same number of points in total.
Holding the [Key of Light], Xia Zhi pondered who to give it to.
"If this were for Sakura Kinomoto, she'd be an elementary schooler with a bubbly personality… so, Yaoyao?"
He shook his head.
Yaoyao was a local of Liyue and still young. Her faith likely lay with Morax. Since this item required faith in him, it wouldn't work as well for her.
Shenhe was a definite candidate. The [Wand of Light] had already proven her pure devotion to him.
But the idea of a tall, mature woman like her transforming into a magical girl felt… off.
Someone else, then.
A girl who believed in him, with a more youthful physique… Qiqi?
Compared to Xiangling, Qiqi had some awareness of his true nature.
After all, he had only taught Xiangling cooking—but he had taught Qiqi many techniques.
He had also noticed that Qiqi seemed to harbor some… unusual feelings toward him as her master.
Of course, he couldn't be certain—she had never acted inappropriately. Maybe it was just gratitude…