The two adepti exchanged a knowing smile.
See? My divination was accurate, wasn't it?
Absolutely! A great fortune indeed!
Moon Carver quietly asked, "Dragon King, did Mr. Xia say he was going to make Gods' Temptation?"
The Dragon King paused in surprise. "Gods' Temptation? What's that? I thought it was Adeptus' Temptation?"
Mountain Shaper explained, "Gods' Temptation is a new dish Mr. Xia created, using the cooking method of Adeptus' Temptation."
"Is it even tastier than Adeptus' Temptation?"
"At least a hundred times better."
The Dragon King fell silent for a moment, then admitted, "Mr. Xia didn't mention making that last night."
The two adepti looked disappointed. "He didn't say anything about it..."
Seeing their crestfallen expressions, the Dragon King thought for a moment and said, "It's fine, I'll ask Mr. Xia later if he can make it."
"Dragon King, you might not know, but it's not exactly a dish Mr. Xia can just make whenever he wants."
"Oh?"
"It depends entirely on the ingredients available."
"What do ingredients have to do with it?"
"Because this dish uses ingredients far superior to those in Adeptus' Temptation."
"How superior?"
"They're essentially all spiritual herb-level ingredients."
"..."
The Dragon King fell silent again.
He was the Geo Dragon King, not the Dendro Dragon.
If it were rare stones, no matter how scarce, as long as they existed in Teyvat, he could find them.
But for spiritual herbs, he had no such ability.
Still, the Dragon King stubbornly insisted, "I... I'll still go ask. Who knows, he might have some."
The old dragon's stubbornness truly hadn't changed a bit.
The three of them walked inside the adeptal abode.
Cloud Retainer had already risen and was busy cleaning the living room with a mechanical device she'd invented herself. When she saw Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver, she seemed a bit surprised.
Cloud Retainer paused her cleaning, asking, "Why are you two here?"
Mountain Shaper briefly explained, "There was an earthquake last night, so we went to check on the Dragon-Queller tree. While we were here, we thought we'd also check on you. Have you recovered?"
Cloud Retainer casually waved off their concern. "Just some minor injuries. I recovered long ago."
Moon Carver knew her prideful personality, so he didn't call her out on her obvious bluff. "That's good. Still, please be careful next time."
Cloud Retainer lowered her head slightly. "I understand. You two take a seat first; I'll prepare some tea shortly."
The Dragon King chuckled, "Cloud Retainer, these two boys came in a hurry and haven't eaten breakfast yet."
Cloud Retainer glanced at them, surprised.
She knew exactly how far Wangshu Inn was from the Dragon-Queller tree, and they'd traveled all night without rest—plus the distance from the Dragon-Queller tree to Mt. Aocang—just to check on her.
Since when did these two care so deeply about her?
After a pause, she nodded, "Then let's eat together later. It's rare for the Dragon King to be here as well. Since we're all gathered, why don't you two stay here for a couple of days if you're not busy?"
Such a wonderful opportunity?!
Both adepti immediately agreed enthusiastically.
"Not busy, not busy at all! We just finished patrolling Guili Plains before coming here."
Truly, a great fortune!
Soon afterward, everyone else gradually woke up.
Seeing the two adepti sitting there drinking tea, they all came over to say hello with friendly smiles.
Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver responded warmly. They were all old acquaintances by now, after all.
Xia Zhi entered the kitchen. Xiangling had already prepared most of the ingredients.
Having such a capable apprentice was truly wonderful.
"Good morning, Master!"
"Good morning, Xiangling. And good morning, Guoba."
"Wuu!"
Breakfast was noodles again.
Considering the Dragon King's terrifying appetite last night—he ate ten bowls and was still hungry—Xia Zhi directly prepared twenty extra servings this time.
In the end, the Dragon King devoured eighteen bowls, and Guoba happily finished off the remaining two.
Quite the appetite indeed.
In the late morning, everyone went fishing by the lake outside.
Xia Zhi and Xiangling remained in the kitchen to prepare for the lavish lunch they'd planned.
As Xia Zhi was prepping ingredients, the Dragon King quietly walked into the kitchen.
Approaching Xia Zhi, he whispered, "Mr. Xia, I heard from Mountain Shaper that your Gods' Temptation dish is extremely delicious?"
Xia Zhi smiled, "It's alright, I suppose. Everyone seems to enjoy it."
The Dragon King nodded. "I also heard it requires a great deal of special ingredients."
"Yes, the ingredients needed are quite special and hard to come by."
"Hard to come by? Well, I do have extensive knowledge. Why don't you tell me what these ingredients are? Perhaps I might know where to find them."
Xia Zhi pondered briefly and listed a few ingredient names.
The Dragon King furrowed his brows. "That's strange. I've never even heard of these ingredients..."
Xia Zhi explained, "Perhaps it's because these ingredients grow in special locations—they actually originate from dreams."
The Dragon King was stunned. "Dreams?"
Xia Zhi nodded. "Yes. Last night, Ganyu and Shenhe went to gather these ingredients. But constantly searching through various dreams is troublesome. I'm planning to find a stable dream realm to cultivate them myself in the future."
A stable dream realm? That wording...
The Dragon King suddenly realized something. Leaning in, he whispered, "Mr. Xia, my dream realm is fairly stable. If you have need of it, feel free to use it for planting."
Xia Zhi politely declined, "Wouldn't that be too much trouble?"
The Dragon King immediately insisted, "Not at all! It's just sitting there unused anyway—better not to waste it."
Xia Zhi considered briefly, then nodded. "Then, thank you very much for your help, Dragon King."
The Dragon King waved his hand dismissively, "No need for thanks!"
Neither of them mentioned Gods' Temptation again, tacitly dropping the subject.
After chatting casually for a few more moments, the Dragon King left the kitchen to avoid disturbing Xia Zhi's cooking.
Outside, he saw Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver, both holding fishing rods and sitting by the lake.
The Dragon King walked over and, as usual, slapped them heartily on the shoulders, laughing, "Caught any fish yet?"
Feeling the familiar immense force again, the two adepti quietly inhaled but dared not complain.
"Dragon King, you're back?"
"I'm back."
"What did Mr. Xia say?"
"Nothing much."
"Huh?"
The Dragon King confidently reassured them, "Relax. Mr. Xia will definitely make Gods' Temptation for lunch."
He stared down at the fishing bait floating quietly on the lake surface and suddenly chuckled to himself.
It turns out I'm the one who got baited like a fish.
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