Chapter 174

It was Wednesday.

Outside, the weather had turned gloomy again, looking like it was about to pour.

After lunch, Xia Zhi sat at the table, holding a carving knife and a piece of jade, carefully sculpting.

Diona lay beside him watching, her face full of amazement.

"Boss, how do you do that?"

"Nothing special, just practice." (In Liyue dialect)

"Huh?"

Diona was confused; her Liyue language wasn't very good, and she couldn't understand such complex sentences.

Zhu Zi seized the opportunity to show off.

"What the boss just said in that old Liyue saying means there's no special reason, it's just about doing it enough times."

"Oh! I see! Senior Zhu Zi, you're amazing!"

"Not really."

"Senior Zhu Zi, how did you learn to speak Liyue language so well?"

"I learned it from the people at the docks."

"I learned from the customers at the bar! But I can only speak, not read or write..."

"It's also about the environment. Once you stay in Liyue longer, it'll come naturally. If you want to learn faster, you can read more books."

"I love reading!"

"I love reading too! We bought many novels for our shop before, all those books on the tables, I've read them all. Would you like me to recommend some?"

"Sure!"

"For example, this one..."

The two girls huddled together, starting to discuss novels.

"Zhu Zi."

"Yes?"

"Your medicine today..."

"I'll go right away!"

Zhu Zi hurriedly got up, pulling Qiqi along as they ran into the kitchen.

Xia Zhi lowered his head and smiled, continuing his carving.

Soon, a cute white cat appeared in his hands.

"It's done, Diona, for you."

"Thank you, boss!"

"You're welcome... By the way, since you've moved to a new place, have you been sleeping well these past couple of nights?"

"Very well!"

"Good."

After a while, Zhu Zi came out of the kitchen, her voice filled with relief: "The medicine... finally finished..."

"Although your old condition has been cured, if you don't pay attention to your rest and diet in the future, it might come back."

"Boss! I'll definitely be careful!"

"Mm... It looks like it's going to rain heavily tonight. If any of you can't sleep or are afraid of nightmares, there's incense in the small cabinet in the back hall that you can use. It's very good for calming the mind."

"Okay!"

The girls nodded, showing they understood.

Xia Zhi specifically "looked" at Shenhe, noticing her expression hadn't changed.

Her personality was really... While he could take good care of her daily needs, when it came to these hidden troubles, if she wasn't willing to speak about them, he couldn't really offer guidance.

He hoped the incense would help with her nightmares.

Xia Zhi stood up, making an excuse about returning the carving knife upstairs, and went back to his room alone.

Closing the door, he took out the [Transformation Badge] and continued to infuse it with light element power.

After using up all his mana, about one-tenth of the badge lit up again.

The charging progress was really slow.

It was mainly because his current mana cap wasn't high enough.

Xia Zhi looked at his current available points: 873.

Just 127 points more and he could buy the [Second Meditation Method] priced at 1000 points.

He could now steadily earn seventy to eighty points per day, so it would take about two more days.

Xia Zhi put away the [Transformation Badge], crafted a piece of [Bliss Incense], then took out the small bag containing [Bliss Rice]. He grabbed a small handful, wrapped it simply in paper, and brought it downstairs.

"Zhu Zi, come help me with the fire."

"Okay! Boss, what dessert are we making today?"

"Rice pops."

Rice pops were a very simple snack.

Xia Zhi still remembered that snack brand he used to buy often at the supermarket — "Old Rice Man," where you could get a big bag for a very cheap price.

Just fry regular rice until it pops, coat it with syrup, and pile it on a plate.

"It smells so good!"

"Go get me two food boxes, we'll save some for Miss Ganyu and Granny Ping... Alright, take the rest out for everyone to eat."

"Mm!"

After Zhu Zi went out with the plate of rice pops, Xia Zhi took out the small package of [Bliss Rice] and poured about a dozen grains into the hot oil.

Regular rice would pop in just a few seconds, but these [Bliss Rice] grains took over a minute to become fluffy. They grew quite large, like popcorn made from corn, slowly floating up from the bottom of the wok.

A special fragrance spread through the air.

Xia Zhi scooped out these special rice pops, let them cool for a moment, then carefully picked up one grain with chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

Crispy! Fragrant! Sweet! These were the initial sensations, followed by an indescribable deliciousness...

Xia Zhi chewed slowly, his expression gradually becoming as serene as an enlightened monk's — holy, pure, natural.

After finishing one grain, he felt as if his entire being had just visited the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, all worldly thoughts cleared from his mind.

This extraordinarily peaceful and comfortable mental state was somewhat similar to the post-reward sage time, but without the emptiness and regret.

Xia Zhi tried to store the plate in his inventory and checked the item information.

[Bliss Rice Pops]

Quality: Silver

Type: Consumable

Properties: None

Effect: Fried Bliss Rice, consuming it makes one feel as if they've reached the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Hidden Effect: Can accelerate spirit value recovery.

Non-recyclable.

This was a special dish that could quickly restore spirit values.

Xia Zhi opened the system panel and checked his spirit value attributes, and sure enough, the spirit value he had consumed earlier upstairs while crafting incense had largely recovered.

Xia Zhi took the plate out from his inventory, picked up another [Bliss Rice Pop] with chopsticks, coated it in the previously made syrup, and put it in his mouth.

No sweetness...

Xia Zhi frowned slightly, the syrup made from regular white sugar was completely incompatible with the taste of the [Bliss Rice Pop].

No, not incompatible — it was being rejected.

Under the taste of the [Bliss Rice Pop], the syrup's flavor seemed to become "invisible."

It must be that ordinary ingredients couldn't match supernatural ingredients.

Xia Zhi thought for a moment, then took out that bottle of [White Jade Honey] which contained mysterious life force and could enhance positive emotions and strengthen constitution when consumed.

He poured out a drop, added water to make a new syrup, and mixed it with the rice pops.

This time, the rice pops underwent a mysterious change, as if they had been permeated by the syrup, their appearance changing from snow-white to honey-colored.

Xia Zhi checked the item information again.

[White Jade Bliss Rice Pops]

Quality: Silver

Type: Consumable

Properties: None

Effect: Fried Bliss Rice drizzled with White Jade Honey, consuming it makes one feel extreme happiness.

Hidden Effect: Can accelerate spirit value recovery, can enhance constitution, can maintain good mood for an entire day.

Non-recyclable.

Extreme happiness...

Xia Zhi was curious and tried one grain with his chopsticks.

A moment later, Xia Zhi, with a face full of joy, carried out the remaining [White Jade Bliss Rice Pops].

"Boss, come eat... Oh? You still have more... Wait, why are the ones in your plate so much bigger?"

"I just thought of a new method and tried it."

"This fragrance is the same as the lotus seed porridge from lunch the day before yesterday!"

"Yes, I added honey, try some."

The girls curiously reached out with their chopsticks.

Xia Zhi "watched" as Shenhe ate, and finally, he saw her smile.

It was truly very beautiful.

----

You can join my P@treon to read 40+ chapters early and support me and my work.

P@treon.com/rivyura