News about the Magical Girl Adventure Team reached Xia Zhi immediately.
Qiqi told him.
Along with that, he learned they were preparing to head to Amakumo Peak to defeat the Thunder Manifestation.
Xia Zhi did not know much about the Thunder Manifestation himself.
He had only seen a brief description in Alice's Teyvat Travel Guide. It described an abnormal Electro elemental life form. While it resembled the Oceanid in appearance, it lacked her intelligence and memories.
Back when he was searching for books in the Mondstadt Library, he had seen similar mentions in a few travel journals.
His overall impression was that it was a crazed, gigantic elemental creature.
"The Thunder Manifestation…"
Xia Zhi tapped the table, deep in thought.
Whether it was crazy or not did not matter. What mattered was that it reminded him of the first Slimes he encountered in the wild.
That large Slime had dropped a Silver Treasure Chest.
By recycling that Silver Treasure Chest, he had obtained the medicine needed to heal Cloud Retainer's broken wing.
So elemental monsters had progress bars too. Compared to the ancient war machines in Araumi, they were on a completely different level.
The Thunder Manifestation was far stronger than a Slime. It almost certainly had one as well.
If it had defeated multiple large Adventure Teams, it was probably Platinum.
Xia Zhi checked his inventory. Inside sat a Platinum Treasure Chest.
It had dropped from Urakusai a few days ago after he completed his transformation.
Last night, after pulling Fujin into the Dreamscape, she also had a Platinum progress bar.
Their connection was not deep enough yet, so it was not filled. Given a few more nights, he would probably get her chest as well.
For Xia Zhi now, Platinum Treasure Chests were no longer that tempting.
Still, no one ever complained about having too many treasure chests.
"Since I don't have anything else going on, I might as well tag along and have some fun. Maybe land the finishing blow."
Xia Zhi sent Qiqi a message.
"Qiqi, let me know when you set off. I'll go with you."
---
"Okay, Master."
Qiqi replied immediately.
Then she started thinking.
Master was probably worried about everyone's safety.
Or maybe he wanted to see how strong everyone had become.
It was also possible he wanted to check on her cultivation.
After thinking it over, Qiqi decided she had to perform well and make Master proud.
---
As usual, Xia Zhi refined some pills.
After putting away the furnace, he started debating whether to sleep in his own room tonight, Cloud Retainer's room, or his cousin's room.
Last night, he had been with Ganyu and Shenhe.
Just then, his cousin sent him a message.
She said she was working late alone at Tenshukaku, felt a little scared, and wanted him to come keep her company for a while.
Xia Zhi stared at the screen, lost in thought.
Tenshukaku…
The highest seat of authority in Inazuma.
Equivalent to Yuehai Pavilion in Liyue.
Or the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius in Mondstadt.
Compared to Yuehai Pavilion or Tenshukaku, Acting Grand Master Jean's small office did seem a bit modest, though the desk itself was quite large.
His thoughts wandered for a moment.
Another message came in from his cousin.
This time, it was a photo.
Several fingers coated in nail polish.
Seductive. Mouthwatering.
So this is what you call working overtime?
Xia Zhi admired it.
He really could not do anything about her.
Tenshukaku was huge. Being alone there would indeed feel lonely.
He decided to go keep her company.
Xia Zhi turned off the lights, and his figure vanished from the room.
---
Tenshukaku.
Xia Zhen looked up at Xia Zhi as he suddenly appeared, a sultry smile forming on her lips.
"You're here."
"Yeah. So this is what Tenshukaku looks like inside."
"First time, right? It's basically like this… hurry up."
"You're in that much of a rush?"
"Ei is bringing me a midnight snack soon."
"…"
The time domain expanded.
After that, there was nothing left to say. If anything, it was that the desk inside Tenshukaku was bigger than the one in Acting Grand Master Jean's office, with a much longer history.
The quality was excellent too. It did not wobble at all. at alllllll.
--
Late at night.
Just like the past few evenings, Ei prepared a midnight snack in the shrine kitchen and brought it to Tenshukaku.
She knocked on the door.
"Big sister."
"Mm, Ei, come in."
Ei pushed the door open.
The air inside smelled a little strange.
She did not think much of it.
After all, she did not have much experience.
"Big sister, your midnight snack."
"Thanks for the trouble."
Xia Zhen smiled as she took it.
She was genuinely hungry tonight and ate with great appetite.
Ei watched her sister eat, her face full of satisfaction.
Yet within her consciousness, Xia Ying felt a flicker of confusion.
Why was there no nail polish on her fingers anymore?
Xia Ying's attention drifted back to Xia Zhen's lips.
Sure enough, the lipstick was gone too.
She had not noticed it right away, so she could not be certain whether it had already been gone before, or if it disappeared while Xia Zhen was eating just now.
Still, she suspected it was the former.
Xia Ying quietly surveyed the surroundings again.
Looking carefully, she did find a few suspicious details.
For example, the documents spread across the desk were in complete disarray.
Normally, with Xia Zhen's meticulous personality, everything should have been neatly sorted and categorized.
Not to mention that several documents had actually fallen onto the floor.
Something must have happened here earlier…
After thinking it over, Xia Ying chose not to mention any of this to Ei.
It was only speculation, after all. Dragging Ei into it would just complicate things. It was better to investigate slowly on her own.
Besides, for Ei, being able to watch her beloved sister eat food she had personally prepared was already the happiest thing in the world.
She did not care about anything else right now.
After finishing the midnight snack, Ei cleaned up the dishes and returned to the shrine.
Xia Zhen leaned back in her chair and stretched lazily, satisfaction written all over her face.
Having a thoughtful little sister and a perfect cousin was enough to make anyone feel content.
She lowered her gaze to the desk in front of her. Earlier, she had found it annoying because it was covered in government paperwork. Now, it suddenly looked much more agreeable.
The only issue was that the material was a bit too hard… lying on it for too long made her waist ache.
When the desk was first built, the idea had been to make it sturdy and durable.
And sturdy it certainly was. From the time it was completed until now, more than a thousand years had passed, yet there was barely any sign of decay.
As for durability, it had proven that too. Even after what had happened before, it showed no sign of falling apart.
Xia Zhen reached out and gave the desk a shake, lowering her head in thought.
Using the desk once in a while was fine, but she could not keep relying on it.
She really needed to get a proper bed installed in Tenshukaku.
It was just a shame that the youkai craftsman who had helped build this desk had vanished five hundred years ago during the great calamity.
Maybe… she would wait a bit longer.
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