After dropping Yaoyao off at home, Shenhe made her way to Yuehai Pavilion.
She had planned to visit her senior there, but Ganyu wasn't in the office.
After a moment's thought, Shenhe headed to her senior's residence instead.
Ganyu had just finished showering. The nightwear she wore couldn't quite hide her rather generous figure.
"You're here, junior."
"I just dropped Yaoyao off. No overtime tonight, senior sister?"
"Mhm. I don't need to work late anymore."
"This is for you."
"What is it?"
"Something I picked up while shopping tonight. I bought two—one's for you."
"Oh, thank you, junior!"
"Well then, I'll be heading back. Rest well, senior. Good night."
"Good night."
Shenhe's figure gradually disappeared down the path.
Ganyu lowered her gaze to the figurine in her hand.
Of course she recognized it.
She had personally taken part in the battle at Guyun Stone Forest.
Back then, the Giant of Light had left her utterly stunned—it had casually shoved Osial back into the depths of the sea, as easily as flicking a bug off a sleeve.
Later, when she found herself in her senior sister's dream realm, she and her junior had watched an Ultraman anime on the computer. Only then did she realize... that Giant of Light had been Mr. Xia.
"So... so cute..."
Ganyu couldn't resist picking up the little plushie and rubbing it against her cheek.
And then, as if suddenly realizing what she had just done, her face turned red.
—
Yaoyao returned home and eagerly told Ping and the two Adepti everything that had happened in the shop that day.
"You had fried chicken and fries again today?"
"Mhm! Yup!"
The two Adepti looked at her with open envy.
"Miss Mona came by the shop too."
"Mona? That name rings a bell. Isn't she the one who writes that astrology column in the newspaper?"
"Yep, that's her!"
"An astrologer, huh..."
Moon Carver nodded thoughtfully.
A fellow kindred spirit in the mystic arts, so to speak.
"Miss Mona said she wanted to take Sister Xia Ci as her apprentice…"
"Huh?"
All three immortals blinked in surprise.
"And then?"
"Sister Xia Ci said she needed to ask Big Brother first."
"A respectable gesture. The elder brother is like a father, after all."
"Ahem, ahem…"
Moon Carver gave a polite cough or two, signaling Mountain Shaper to be careful with his phrasing.
"Then Miss Mona said she'd do a divination for Sister Xia Ci, to see if she—"
"Cough! Cough cough cough!!"
This time, Moon Carver's coughing was all too real.
You're trying to divine the fate of the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata herself? Seriously?
"Uncle Moon Carver? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine…"
Mountain Shaper was already giving him a look of pure schadenfreude.
"So, what happened after that?"
"Well… Miss Mona's Astrology Orb broke."
"Broke?"
"It cracked and couldn't be used anymore. Miss Mona said it must've been too old—she'd used it for too long."
Moon Carver wore an expression full of sympathy.
He'd made the same mistake back in the day—carelessly divining the future left and right until he ended up ruining a few ancient Mora coins that had accompanied him for millennia.
"Then, that evening, we went shopping, and Miss Mona bought a new Astrology Orb at one of the stalls."
"How much did it cost?"
"Six hundred thousand Mora."
"That's... kind of steep."
"It was originally a million Mora! But Sister Xia Ci and Sister Xia Zhen bargained it down! They were amazing!"
Watching Yaoyao recount the whole scene with such excitement, the three adeptus glanced at one another, wordless. It felt like the elegant and wise image they once had of those two goddesses… had been completely shattered.
—
Inside the room.
Xia Zhi once again took out the little plushie.
He stretched out his hand and drew several shimmering motes of light from it.
These were the fragments of faith.
While they were nowhere near as pure or potent as the concentrated faith he'd seen offered to the Geo Archon, the nature of the energy was identical.
The most important thing was—these were faith fragments that belonged to him alone.
That Giant of Light who had appeared during the battle at Guyun Stone Forest had been none other than a manifestation of Xia Zhi himself. Those moved by his grace had bought figurines of him and, with sincere reverence, offered prayers—causing the resulting faith energy to gather inside the dolls.
There was no real difference between this and how the people of Liyue knelt at the Geo Archon's statue in Yiyan Hall.
Whether it was a doll or a statue—they were merely conduits.
Xia Zhi waved his hand gently, and the glowing motes floated into his palm. He clenched his fingers around them.
A voice echoed in his mind, the system's voice.
"Faith energy detected. Ready for absorption. Proceed?"
"Yes."
The specks of light in his palm responded as if drawn by some invisible force, merging into his body.
The process of absorbing that faith filled Xia Zhi with an indescribable, almost euphoric pleasure.
It wasn't a physical kind of pleasure, but a deep, soul-level euphoria.
Unfortunately, the amount of faith energy in Xia Zhi's hand was far too small, so the sensation only lasted a fleeting moment before dissipating.
He was left with a strange sense of loss—just a whisper of longing. Then, his expression turned serious.
That kind of feeling... was dangerously addictive, even for a god.
Now he was beginning to understand why so many deities were so obsessed with collecting faith. And those legends about incense offerings and worship... maybe they weren't just myths.
This kind of thing, it seemed, wasn't without its downsides.
Xia Zhi opened his system interface and checked his status panel.
The bit of faith energy he had just absorbed had restored exactly 0.003 points of divine power.
Aside from that? No other changes.
At this rate, it was no wonder his cousin, even after ruling Sumeru for so long, was still such a tiny thing.
Xia Zhi shook his head.
He had already formed a Contract with Morax, and that contract forbade him from actively cultivating his own faith.
These plushies weren't made or sold by him—they were crafted by others and circulated on their own. Technically, that didn't count as breaking the Contract.
Still, it had piqued his interest in the power of faith.
He opened the system Shop, searched for a book titled [A Comprehensive Guide to Faith Energy], and spent 100 points to buy it.
The book wasn't thick, but the content was incredibly dense.
Xia Zhi had only made it through a few pages when he suddenly heard a knock from the wall next door.
Forget it. Not tonight.
---
Time for the daily routine.
The next day—Friday.
As usual, Ganyu came by.
During dinner, Xia Zhi brought it up. "Everyone try to get up early tomorrow—we're heading back to the school."
"Got it, Boss!"
"This time, the school's construction is fully complete. You'll be able to go inside and check out the academic building."
"Mm-hmm!"
"If you have time, you can help set up the venue too. The day after tomorrow is the official opening ceremony."
"Mm-hmm!"
Later that night, Shenhe, as usual, claimed she was hungry and went to get some snacks for her senior.
Ganyu nodded.
After her junior left, she took out the little plushie, gently caressing it in her hands as she sat on the bed, zoning out.
---
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