Next morning.
Amber came by the Church of Favonius to hang out, and was delighted to find Collei there too. "Collei! When did you get here?"
Collei looked a little stiff. "Two days ago. I stopped by your place, but you weren't home."
Amber slung an arm around her shoulder. "I was out on a scouting mission. Just got back last night. Hey—your hand's healed?"
Collei nodded. "Yeah, Mr. Xia treated it."
Amber lit up. "That's great! Mr. Xia's amazing."
Xiangling walked over and handed Amber a small box.
Amber blinked. "Is this… a phone for me?"
She knew about phones—she'd often seen everyone using them when they played together. She'd wanted one too, they have a spare, so she could only watch enviously.
Xiangling smiled. "Mm. Collei brought in a batch of Akasha Terminals, so we made some new phones. You've always wanted one, right?"
Amber rubbed her neck sheepishly. "Hehe… thanks!"
Kirara still had other deliveries to make and couldn't stay long. She planned to leave tomorrow.
"Where to next?" Xia Zhi asked.
"Through Qiaoying Village, then to Fontaine. I've got a delivery for Chiori."
"Fontaine, huh. I happen to have something for a friend there. Take it with you."
"Sure. Shame I'm not as fast as the Lord Xiao…"
Xia Zhi chuckled. "Doesn't matter. Since you're leaving tomorrow, I'll cook lunch today. We'll gather everyone."
A cheer went up. "Yay!"
--
Mr. Xia was cooking again.
Another familiar feast.
Sadly, Eula Lawrence was still away.
But this time, Albedo joined.
Even Jean didn't use work as an excuse—she changed clothes and showed up an hour early.
Barbara came too, still blushing when she greeted Xia Zhi.
Xia Ci handed out phones to all the newcomers who didn't have one.
For Collei, it was her first time eating here.
Seeing everyone's eager faces, she started to feel a bit excited too.
When the Gods' Temptation was finally served, she took one bite and realized just how incredible it was.
Amazing. Truly amazing.
Since her Eleazar had been cured, life just kept getting better and better.
After dinner, Venti played music, and Barbara was pushed forward to sing.
Facing her sister and Mr. Xia, she was terribly shy, but with everyone urging her on, she flushed bright red, forced herself to hum a few lines, then bolted with her face in her hands.
Jean snapped a few pictures on her phone, pretending to test the camera, then smiled with satisfaction.
During the after-meal chatter, Xia Zhi casually mentioned his plan to open another potion shop in Mondstadt.
Everyone perked up, curious about the location.
Xia Zhi grinned and told them the story of the "haunted" property he'd bought yesterday.
Everyone laughed it off—except Venti, whose expression turned oddly serious.
But with so many people around, he just drank in silence.
After a while, people drifted off.
Xia Zhi stopped Xiao.
"Mr. Xia, what is it?"
"I've got a favor to ask."
"Please, go on."
"Are you free tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"I need you to escort Kirara to Qiaoying Village, then to Lumidouce Harbor."
"Alright."
"Zhongli's books are ready too. On your way back to Liyue, bring them along."
"Understood."
"And deliver some phones to Ningguang and the others."
"I'll handle it." Xiao nodded.
Venti lingered last, leaning close to Xia Zhi and whispering, "My friend, that shop you bought… it really does have a problem."
"Oh? What kind?"
"Gets a little rowdy at night."
"Haunted?"
"Not ghosts. Something else—harmless, though."
"Explain."
"Er… you know about imaginary friends?"
"Imaginary friends?"
"When children are alone, they often make up a 'friend' to play with—maybe a plant, maybe an animal, maybe even a monster."
"That's it?"
"Well, that kind of innocent creativity shouldn't be destroyed."
"True enough. But why are they gathering in that shop? Shouldn't they stay with their creators?"
"Something there must be attracting them."
"You don't know what?"
"I never investigated. Not really worth my time."
"You didn't have time?"
"Had to drink, didn't I?"
"…."
"So, I suggest you check that place in detail tomorrow afternoon. You might find whatever's drawing them. Remove or destroy it, and they won't gather anymore."
"Got it. Thanks for the heads-up."
"Don't thank me—we're friends, aren't we? See you."
Venti waved and left.
Xia Zhi smiled. That sounded a lot better than exorcisms.
--
Lisa had finished the novel these past days.
When she left, she returned the book to Amber, thanking her.
Amber just laughed it off. Then she noticed Collei watching the book in her hands and assumed she was interested.
"Collei, I've got a really good book. Want to borrow it?"
"I-I'm not great at reading… and it's in Liyue script…"
"That's fine. You're not used to any script, so it doesn't matter what you read—it's all the same."
"I…"
"This book was written by Mr. Xia."
"Mr. Xia…"
Her best friend recommending a novel written by the person she admired most? She couldn't refuse.
Collei accepted the book with both hands, a look of determination flashing across her face.
She would work hard to read it.
----
In the afternoon, everyone went together to check out the newly purchased shop.
Xia Zhi first told everyone to search around inside, to see if they could find any strange objects.
Treating it like a treasure hunt, the group ran up and down the place several times, but in the end, they still found nothing.
It seemed that using ordinary means wasn't going to reveal the thing Venti had mentioned.
After thinking for a moment, Xia Zhi pulled out the [Treasure Compass] and handed it to Shenhe.
[If there exists a item of Platinum-tier or below nearby, the compass needle will point toward it (to the closest one).]
The moment it was taken out, the needle began to turn, finally settling toward Shenhe's front left.
Shenhe said softly, "Over there."
"Got it."
Following the indicated direction, Xia Zhi walked over until he reached a corner of the room.
It was just a plain little cabinet.
Switching to his god's-eye view, Xia Zhi carefully examined the cabinet, and finally spotted a thin candy wrapper stuck to the underside.
It looked exactly like a piece of trash—discarded after the candy inside had been eaten—still with a dusting of sugar clinging to it.
Xia Zhi crouched down, pulled it free, and stored it in his inventory.
[Unnamed Candy Wrapper]
Quality: Silver
Type: Special Item
Trait: None
Effect: A scrap of paper still dusted with strange sugar, it attracts wandering spirits.
Hidden Effect: None
Recyclable: No
Xia Zhi checked its description. As expected, it was just an ordinary red candy wrapper—the only unusual part being the sugar stuck to it.
That faint sugar dust was what drew nearby spirits, making them gather and squabble over it.
Most likely, because the wrapper was in such an inconvenient spot—and because the spirits weren't exactly brilliant—they could never actually reach it. All they could do was knock things around in frustration, pushing the cabinet's contents about, which at night became eerie noises that made the neighbors think the place was haunted.
Well… technically, that did count as a haunting.
"Boss, is this really what caused the haunting?"
"Yes."
"…It just looks like a candy wrapper."
"That's because it is a candy wrapper."
"Huh!?"
Klee suddenly cried out.
"What's wrong, Klee?"
"This thing—Klee thinks she's seen it before!"
"You've seen it?"
"Mm-hm! It looks really familiar!"
"Do you still remember where you saw it?"
"Klee's thinking… it was… um… ah! Klee remembers! At home!"
"At home?"
"Yeah! Once, when Mama came back, she brought Klee a whole jar of candy. The wrappers were all colorful, super tasty, and one of them looked just like the one Big Brother's holding now!"
"Did your mama say anything special about them?"
"Mama said… not to eat candy outside the house."
"So then, this wrapper was something you tossed outside, wasn't it?"
"Klee doesn't know!"
"You don't know?"
"Klee always eats candy at home!"
"Maybe you tossed the wrapper and the wind carried it away. Eventually, it ended up here."
"Klee doesn't knooow."
"Guess this means you shouldn't litter anymore."
Xia Zhi casually put the wrapper away. He could have used [True Sunfire] to burn it, but decided to keep it—maybe it would come in handy for something fun later.