After dropping off her junior, Qiqi left by herself.
Xia Zhi returned to his desk, and Xia Lin immediately followed.
She stood beside the chair, her hands gripping the table as she curiously stared at the ancient-looking alchemy furnace on top.
Xia Zhi picked it up and introduced it to her.
"This is the Yin-Yang Medicine Furnace."
"Yin-Yang Medicine Furnace?"
"It's a furnace used specifically for refining medicine."
"Oh."
"Wanna try it out?"
"Can I?"
"Of course you can."
Seeing that she was a bit too short, Xia Zhi reached out and lifted her onto his lap.
The little girl's body was soft and light, and since she'd just had a bath, she still carried a faint scent—part sweet fragrance, part subtle powdery firework residue.
Xia Zhi asked curiously, "Did you go set off fireworks just now?"
"Yeah, Papa. Klee made them. They were really pretty!"
"Mhm. That's how it should be. Go out and play with your friends more. Being too introverted isn't good for you."
"Oh…"
"You three went out together?"
"No, Auntie Cloud Retainer took us. She even brought us up to that huge statue in the plaza."
"You went all the way up there?"
"Auntie Cloud Retainer said it was a good spot to launch fireworks."
"Well, it is. Cloud Retainer's always been the playful type. Did Klee head home already?"
"Yeah, that Kaeya guy took her back. Klee said she's going to make even bigger fireworks."
"Ambitious. But the bigger the firework, the more dangerous it gets."
"Dangerous…"
"But compared to Klee's usual explosives, a firework barely counts as dangerous."
"Oh…"
"Here, let me show you how to use the furnace. First, you put the ingredients in. See this lid? Just align it properly, and it'll start working on its own."
"Whoa…"
As the two yin-yang fish etched into the lid began to swim around vividly, the girl's eyes widened with wonder.
After a while, the fish returned to their positions.
Xia Zhi told her to open the lid, and she carefully poured out a few smooth, round pills from inside.
They were Calming Pills, the very first extraordinary item Xia Zhi had bought from the [Shop], and also a core ingredient for Calming Incense.
Now that he had the [Yin-Yang Medicine Furnace], he'd purchased the recipe for [Calming Pills] from the [Shop] and experimented with refining them using store-bought ingredients. The process went just as smoothly as what they'd just witnessed.
Compared to the regular [Calming Pills], these freshly refined ones were noticeably rounder and more refined.
Xia Zhi picked up one of the pills and added it to his inventory.
[Perfect Calming Pill]
Quality: Silver
Type: Consumable
Traits: None
Effect: A unique pill crafted using the Yin-Yang Medicine Furnace. Calms the mind and eases the spirit.
Hidden Effect: +30% to calming and soothing effects.
Recyclable: 10 points
Thanks to the "Perfect" prefix, this batch was much more potent than the standard version.
He packed the pills into a small bottle and handed it to Xia Lin. "Here you go."
The girl blinked, confused, and turned to look at him. "Eh?"
"These are special pills to help calm your mind," Xia Zhi said gently. "If you ever have another nightmare, just take one, and you won't feel scared anymore."
She stared at the bottle, then asked hesitantly, "So… if I have a nightmare again, I'm not allowed to come find Papa anymore?"
Xia Zhi chuckled. "Of course you can. But sometimes, I might not be right next to you…"
Before he could finish, the little girl abruptly hugged him, her face burying into his chest. "Papa, don't leave me!"
He could even hear a tremble in her voice, like she was about to cry.
Xia Zhi let out a soft sigh. "I didn't say I was leaving you. Just that sometimes I might be busy or away, so I might not be able to be there every time."
She said nothing, face still buried in his chest. "…"
After a moment, Xia Zhi said, "If you really can't sleep alone, you can go to Sister Shenhe and sleep with her."
Only after a while did the girl murmur, "…Okay…"
Xia Zhi gently patted the back of her neck, his fingers brushing against the golden ring around it.
It was the [Golden Circlet], an artifact with the traits [Suppression] and [Devotion].
[Suppression] had turned her from a catastrophe-tier magic dragon into an innocuous little girl, while [Devotion] meant that the longer she wore it, the higher her favorability toward Xia Zhi would naturally grow.
Seeing how reliant she was on him now, it was probably not just gratitude for saving her life—[Devotion] was surely playing a role too.
And she'd only worn it for a few days…
Xia Zhi fell silent for a moment, then pushed those thoughts aside and opened the [Shop], purchasing the recipe for [Recovery Pills].
After reading the formula, he bought all the required ingredients and placed them into the [Yin-Yang Medicine Furnace].
A few minutes later, a fresh batch of [Perfect Recovery Pills] was complete.
Just like the [Perfect Calming Pills], these were also more effective than the regular versions.
While they weren't of much use to Xia Zhi himself, they would be very helpful for the girls.
Especially for the upcoming competitions that required high stamina—if they dissolved one of these pills into their drinking water, they'd be able to stay energized the whole time.
This wasn't considered cheating either. The Mondstadt officials allowed contestants to bring their own drinks—mostly hard liquor, a regional tradition.
But the girls couldn't handle alcohol. If they only drank water, they'd be at a disadvantage compared to those drinking wine. So Xia Zhi decided to give them something better.
A proper pay-to-win strategy.
After finishing up with the pills, Xia Zhi moved on to his real task. He gently helped the girl off his lap, then took out the [Dragon-Turning Pot] to begin brewing wine.
He'd promised Venti a hundred bottles by tomorrow—couldn't go back on that.
Considering that Venti had gone so far as to sneak into the Favonius Cathedral to steal the [Holy Lyre der Himmel], Xia Zhi figured he should give him something higher quality this time—not just some random blend or Rainbow Wine.
The ideal base? Bliss Rice.
He poured the sparkling, crystalline grains into the [Dragon-Turning Pot], added special yeast and clean water, and began fermentation.
Soon, a vat of fragrant [Bliss Rice Wine] was ready.
Scooping up a ladleful to taste, Xia Zhi found the flavor quite nice—though a bit light on the alcohol content.
Knowing Venti's preference for strong liquor, this might not hit hard enough.
Meanwhile, the little girl beside him sniffed the air and stared at the ladle in his hand.
There was still a little wine left inside.
Xia Zhi smiled and brought it to her lips. "Want a taste?"
"Mm!"
Probably thanks to the alcohol, she squinted contentedly after drinking it, her cheeks taking on a soft blush.
Xia Zhi set the ladle aside and walked over to the window, retrieving the [Essence Bottle] he had left there to absorb moonlight. Then he poured all the [Bliss Rice Wine] from the vat into it.
Using the bottle's [Contain] trait, the wine would age overnight and taste even better by morning.
He placed the bottle back by the window, picked up his phone, and texted Shenhe and Ganyu, telling them he wouldn't be visiting tonight and they should go to bed early.
"All done. Time to sleep."
The little girl wobbled over, clearly tipsy, and hugged him tightly.
"You didn't drink at dinner tonight?" he asked.
"Nope…"
He picked her up and laid her gently on the bed.
After turning off the lights, he climbed in beside her.
She immediately rolled over and clung to his arm.
"Go to sleep now."
"…Okay…"
But after a while, she was still squirming around.
Xia Zhi said, "Sleep properly."
"Papa," she said pitifully, "I want to hear you play guqin…"
"It's too late. If I play now, I'll wake others. I'll play for you tomorrow."
"…Mmm…"
That tone… It was like she was accusing him of favoritism—playing only for Dvalin and not for her.
Kids. Especially girls. Especially tipsy ones. Logic just didn't apply.
He really didn't have it in him to say no.
Waking others wasn't the real concern—he just didn't want to accidentally summon Dvalin again.
With a sigh, Xia Zhi sat up and took out a [Silence Orb], setting up a silencing barrier.
Then he retrieved the [Dragon's Call Guqin] and played a gentle lullaby.
Under the soothing melody, the little girl finally drifted into peaceful sleep.
Xia Zhi stowed away the Guqin and lay down beside her.
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