After dinner, Xia Zhi played two rounds of mahjong with the Dragon King, then took a shower and returned to his room.
Having worked all afternoon, he was exhausted.
He collapsed onto the bed, not wanting to move at all.
It wasn't physical fatigue.
With his current attributes, this amount of physical labor was nothing to him.
Rather, he felt mentally drained.
Baking cakes was entirely different from cooking regular meals.
He needed to wholeheartedly focus on every little detail, making sure each aspect was as perfect as possible.
Xia Zhi rolled over on the bed, letting out a long, deep sigh.
His state of absolute concentration this afternoon had reminded him of Furina's constant effort to wholeheartedly act out her role as a god.
He had only maintained this intense focus for one afternoon—even counting the tenfold slowed time, that was only about ten afternoons.
If one afternoon counted as about six hours, then in total, it was just two and a half days.
Xia Zhi himself had only done this for two and a half days and already felt mentally worn out.
Yet Furina had maintained this mental state for five hundred years.
It was hard to imagine what her mental state must have become in the end.
The more he thought about it, the more his heart ached for her.
Xia Zhi took out the [Tears of the Goddess] and gently held it in his hand.
"Why must you struggle so painfully in acting your role? Isn't the best way of acting to simply become the character you wish to portray?"
Suddenly, he found himself deeply missing Furina.
He took out the [Dream Pillow], hugged the large, soft pillow tightly, and rested his cheek against its comforting surface.
The pillow emitted a soothing scent filled with the power of dreams, and Xia Zhi soon felt a drowsy feeling slowly washing over him.
He yawned lightly, hugged the pillow close, and closed his eyes.
Hopefully, tonight he could dream of Furina...
With this gentle wish in mind, Xia Zhi quickly fell into a deep sleep.
---
The next moment, Xia Zhi opened his eyes and found himself standing amidst a swirling storm of wind and snow.
In the distance stood a massive pillar of strange, cold metal—he recognized it immediately.
The Skyfrost Nail.
It was the peculiar object that had appeared atop Dragonspine.
Durin had been weakened and brought to clarity under its influence, eventually willingly dying beneath Dvalin's fangs.
"So, have I entered Durin's unique dreamscape again?"
Xia Zhi stood amidst the snowstorm, feeling somewhat cold.
He glanced around, but saw no one else present.
"There are Scarlet Quartz stones here. It seems this is Dragonspine after Durin's death."
Xia Zhi walked over, picked up a piece of [Scarlet Quartz], and crushed it in his palm. A comforting warmth immediately enveloped him.
This was a blessing from the demon dragon Durin.
Spreading his [Radiant Wings], Xia Zhi soared up from the snow-covered ground.
Once he was high enough, he saw the gigantic remains of a dragon, reduced to mere bones.
This must have been Durin's corpse.
Xia Zhi descended toward the enormous skeleton, landing atop its skull.
Within the dragon's skull, there lay a beautifully crystallized [Crimson Agate].
But Xia Zhi did not take this crimson gemstone.
"It's strange... if Durin is already dead, why would he dream of the scenery after his death?"
He pondered quietly.
"Could it be that Durin isn't fully asleep like Cousin, unaware of the outside world, but is instead in some semi-conscious state?"
At that moment, Xia Zhi suddenly heard a faint sound drifting toward him through the howling wind and snow.
"Thump."
Then again.
"Thump."
Clearly, this was not an illusion.
He pinpointed the direction of the sound and quickly flew toward it.
He soon realized that the sound was coming from within the chest area of Durin's gigantic skeletal remains.
When he landed there, he finally saw it clearly.
Right before him was a massive, fresh, and vividly red heart—still slowly and stubbornly beating.
The gigantic heart, its surface laced with streaks of black veins, continued to beat stubbornly before Xia Zhi's eyes.
So, this was Durin's true condition.
He had already died, his body decomposed into a mere skeleton, yet he wasn't entirely gone.
Only a broken heart remained, sheltering his soul, struggling desperately to survive atop this snowy mountain.
But even so, he was still alive.
Like a dangerous bomb, forgotten and abandoned in this uninhabited place.
Someday, it might explode on its own, or worse—be exploited by someone with malicious intent, causing another terrifying dragon disaster like the one from five hundred years ago.
Truly troublesome…
Xia Zhi recalled that Diona's hometown, Springvale, lay at the foot of Dragonspine.
If such a disaster occurred again, her home would likely bear the brunt of it.
Mingyun Village and Wangshu Inn weren't far away either, and could easily be affected.
It would be best to find a way to permanently resolve this potential threat.
The simplest and most straightforward method, of course, was to completely erase this heart, removing its source from the world entirely.
Given Xia Zhi's current strength, this was a trivial matter.
However, Xia Zhi didn't wish to do this.
In Durin's previous special dreamscape, he'd witnessed Durin's entire life from birth to demise.
He knew Durin wasn't genuinely an evil dragon who committed atrocities deliberately.
His experiences had been filled with tragedy and drama.
His end was especially tragic.
If Durin could return to the past and receive a second chance, perhaps he would have a different ending?
Five hundred years had passed.
Durin had been trapped beneath Dragonspine for that long.
And conveniently, Xia Zhi also had a platinum-grade item: [Golden Circlet].
Such a coincidence… why not give it a try?
Xia Zhi quietly watched this vivid heart, carefully observing its rhythmic beating.
After a few minutes, he reached out a hand, gently placed it on the heart, and spoke a greeting in the language of monsters.
Initially, he hadn't known the monster language.
However, he'd recently used [Temporary Certificate] and [Skill Steal] to learn it directly from Shenhe.
Thus, unlike the last time in Durin's dream, he no longer had to go through the trouble of writing and using the certificate to temporarily master it.
"Hello there."
Xia Zhi received no verbal response.
However, he clearly sensed the heart's reaction.
At the moment of his greeting, the heart's beating quickened slightly.
It seemed Durin had indeed heard him.
It was unclear whether he couldn't respond or simply didn't dare to.
Xia Zhi patiently waited for several minutes.
The heart still gave no verbal reply, instead gradually returning to its original rhythm.
At this moment, Xia Zhi spoke again, still using the monster language.
"I know you, Durin."
As his voice fell, Xia Zhi felt the heart beat accelerate abruptly once again.
"Don't be afraid. I'm not here to harm you. I'm just a good person who happened to pass through your dream."
Xia Zhi deliberately emphasized that he was not a villain but a kind-hearted individual.
He knew Durin's mind wasn't mature, more akin to that of a child—an innocent and pure-hearted child.
Yet, Durin's perception of beauty and goodness differed greatly from that of this world's inhabitants.
What Durin saw as beautiful appeared as disaster and apocalypse to the people of Teyvat.
"Your past can be summed up in one sentence," Xia Zhi softly said.
"Good intentions, but disastrous outcomes."
The heart beat slightly faster.
"Have you ever regretted it?"
"You've been lying dead beneath this snowy mountain for five hundred years—an incredibly long time."
"But to another person, perhaps lying quietly, carefree and without worry, like you, would be merely an unattainable dream."
"I digress."
Xia Zhi lowered his gaze toward the heart, slowly asking:
"Durin, I want to ask you—do you wish to live again?"
The heart paused momentarily, then began beating even faster, more urgently.
"What good is it to remain here, just lying silently?"
"Relying solely on the blessing of these stones to protect travelers climbing the mountain?"
"If you truly feel regret, and if you wish to atone for the sins you committed unintentionally, perhaps you need a chance like this?"
"This place is your dream, and I can't do much here except tell you these words."
"I can help you leave your snowy grave."
"But you'll also have to sign a contract with me."
"You can take your time to think about it."
"The next time I come to find you in reality, I hope you've clearly made your decision."
Xia Zhi withdrew his hand, his figure fading away into nothingness.
Only a crimson heart remained, continuing to beat steadily.
----
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