Chapter 264
"Why is my cousin smaller today?"
"Do you want the truth or a lie, Cousin?"
"The truth."
"Because I wanted to play with little Shenhe today."
"Oh, truly admirable of you. Playing with Yaoyao during the day and then with Shenhe at night. Must be tough."
"Isn't it?"
"Come in, then."
"Don't you want to hear the lie?"
"And what's the lie?"
"To cater to your peculiar tastes, of course."
"I don't have any peculiar tastes!"
"Exactly, which is why I said it's a lie."
"But your gaze says otherwise!"
"Really? Cousin, don't sweat the small stuff. Come on, let's play some games!"
"..."
Xia Zhi looked at the adorable girl before him, shook his head, and raised his hand to open a rift leading to his [Meditation Space].
The three entered the rift and arrived at the familiar room.
---
Shenhe walked over and turned on the computer.
"Brother, I'm too short to see the screen. Can I sit on your lap?"
"!?"
Shenhe immediately turned her head to glare at Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
How brazen can you be?!
With a single hand gesture, Shenhe shrank her tall frame into that of the petite form from yesterday, looking like a serious child. She firmly refused, "No!"
"Why not?"
"Because I'm sitting there."
"It's fine. Cousin has two legs, doesn't he? We can each take one. Isn't that perfect?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Sitting on one leg isn't comfortable."
"Cousin, your girlfriend is so demanding. Unlike me, I'll only…"
"Enough!"
After some playful squabbling, Xia Zhi eventually gave in and let Shenhe sit on his lap.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata sat calmly on a nearby chair, holding a bag of chips. Occasionally, she even shared the chips with Shenhe, who sat nearby.
The scene of these two young girls enjoying themselves together was oddly harmonious.
---
"Cousin."
"What now?"
"The chips are gone."
"Here's another bag for you."
"I want spicy strips."
"So demanding... Fine, here."
"Shenhe, try one."
Shenhe took one of the bright red spicy strips, frowned slightly, and said, "Not good."
"I think it's delicious."
"It tastes weird. Not as good as the ones the Boss makes himself."
"Cousin, you've made spicy strips before?"
"Yes. I called them Osial's Flesh."
"Pfft... What kind of ridiculous name is that?"
"It's random. Sounds similar to Tang Monk Meat, doesn't it?"
"I want to try it."
"Okay."
"Cousin, make some for me tomorrow."
"Ask nicely."
"Please?"
"But we're attending the Jade Chamber banquet tomorrow..."
"That's perfect! We can bring spicy strips as snacks. Those banquet dishes at the Jade Chamber? Even Ningguang doesn't eat them—she's always here freeloading meals at your place. Can't really expect much."
"Now that you mention it... Fine, I'll make some spicy strips tomorrow morning."
"Thanks, Cousin!"
---
Watching the animated cutscene on the screen, Xia Zhi couldn't help but feel like he was spending summer break playing games with two little girls.
Shenhe licked her lips, dyed red from the spicy strips, and turned toward Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. "You're the former Dendro Archon. Doesn't it feel awkward to call the Boss 'Cousin'?"
"Not really."
"Not really?"
"He's an Outlander, and I'm an Old God. Plus, he saved me for... special reasons. Calling him 'Cousin' isn't a bad trade-off."
"..."
"Shenhe, you wouldn't understand, would you?"
"No, I do."
"Oh? Tell me!"
"I won't."
"So stingy! I even shared my chips with you."
"Boss."
"Here, have a bag too."
"Thank you, Boss."
"Shenhe, shouldn't you be calling him 'Husband' instead?"
"Mind your business."
"Cousin, isn't it more thrilling to be called 'Husband'?"
"There's no saving you."
---
"How long have you two been living such leisurely lives in this dream world?"
"Over a month now, I think."
"A month in the real world?"
"Yeah."
"Then the dream's time must feel like nearly a year! I get it now!"
"What do you get?"
"You're into... raising people."
"?"
"No wonder you like Yaoyao!"
"I'm not, I didn't, and stop making things up! Is there no amount of spicy strips to shut you up?"
"Cousin, your spicy strips are just too small!"
"?? You weren't like this before! Did you pick up bad habits from Ying'er these past two days?"
"Bad habits? I just picked up a bit of her talent for the art of speech."
"You didn't learn it well. Don't learn it again."
"I'll learn it as much as I want!"
"Cousin, you wouldn't want to be locked out of this room and unable to play games anymore, would you?"
"I think you're right, Cousin. It's unbecoming for a young lady to talk so brashly all the time!"
---
"Always bragging…" Shenhe glanced at her, sensing the shade being thrown, but decided to let it slide.
She shifted her attention back to eating chips.
---
The three continued watching anime, playing games, and gathering mushrooms together.
Although they called it "mushroom gathering," it was more like a leisure trip.
Along the way, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, as usual, somehow stumbled upon another golden-quality plant.
Xia Zhi accepted it with a strange expression on his face since it netted him another 100 points.
"Where did you find this?"
"By the roadside. Liyue's dreamscapes are surprisingly high-quality."
"How come I didn't see it?"
"Perhaps women are affecting your vision?"
"..."
---
"Cousin, have you ever thought about something?"
"Thought about what?"
"A long time ago, humans had to roam through forests every day, gathering berries and hunting animals to survive. Eventually, they learned to use fire, forge tools, and live in settlements, gradually developing civilization."
"Speak plainly."
"You're so dense! What I mean is, running around every day in the dream world collecting materials is exhausting and inefficient. Wouldn't it be better if we just farmed them ourselves?"
"Farming..."
"That way, we'd only need to sow seeds and harvest periodically."
"It's a great idea. I've thought about it before. But it's difficult to implement. First, we'd need a stable and highly potent dream world to serve as the farm. Ordinary people's dreams can barely support the growth of two or three [Twilight Mushroom]. For large-scale sustainable farming, it'd require the dreams of either a powerful adeptus or even a god. How would you solve that?"
"Well, we have two options," Greater Lord Rukkhadevata replied.
"Oh?"
"One is Guyun Stone Forest. The ocean there is full of Demonic Gods. They've got nothing to do but sleep and dream all day. You could strike a deal with one of them—maybe give them something entertaining in return. They probably wouldn't refuse, though you might need someone's approval first."
"That does seem feasible... What's the other option?"
"The second is similar, except the target isn't in the ocean—it's in the mountains."
"The mountains?"
"Have you heard of Azhdaha?"
"?!?"
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