After ending the call, Xia Zhi noticed a notification on the screen.
It was from Xia Ci, telling him to hurry up and log in—everyone was waiting for him to open the internet café.
Xia Zhi sent a reply saying he'd be a bit late tonight, then put the cube away.
He glanced at his inventory, where a sparkling Platinum Treasure Chest lay quietly.
He had obtained it earlier from Focalors.
No rush—he could open it tomorrow.
Xia Zhi climbed into bed and closed his eyes, slowly drifting off.
Thanks to the bond he now shared with Furina, he no longer needed the [Dream Pillow] to enter her dreams—he could do so directly with his authority over dreams.
The next moment, he found himself in a familiar room.
The décor, down to every piece of furniture, was exactly as it had been five hundred years ago—not a single detail had changed.
On closer thought, this was actually quite unusual.
After all, no matter how luxurious or expensive, wardrobes and beds were just ordinary objects. They shouldn't have been able to withstand five centuries of wear and tear.
Unless Furina or Focalors had used their divine power to preserve them.
But was that really necessary? To expend divine energy just to maintain a few mundane items...
Perhaps what was truly precious wasn't the objects themselves, but the memories they carried.
Xia Zhi saw Furina sitting at the table, smiling at him.
"Cousin!"
"Cousin, long time no see..."
Focalors appeared by the mirror with a light scoff. "Liar. It's only been a long time for us. For you, it's barely been a moment."
Xia Zhi turned to her. "You sound upset?"
Focalors met his gaze. "Not at all. I'm just stating facts."
"Alright, my mistake."
The three of them sat around the table, each in the same spots as five hundred years ago.
Furina propped her chin on her hands, grinning at Xia Zhi.
Her eyes traced his face before settling on his no-longer-dull gray irises.
"Cousin, can you see now?"
Xia Zhi nodded. "In dreams, my vision is temporarily restored. But it reverts when I wake up."
Furina's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Cousin, can I touch them?"
"Touch what?"
"Your eyes!"
"What's so interesting about touching eyes?"
"They're so pretty!"
"If you really want to, go ahead."
Xia Zhi leaned forward and closed his eyes, feeling Furina's fingers lightly brush his eyelids.
Her touch was feather-light, as if handling fragile treasure.
For some reason, Xia Zhi suddenly felt grateful Furina wasn't a yandere anymore—otherwise, he might've worried she'd poke his eyes out on impulse.
He remembered a novel he'd once read where the heroine, not wanting the hero to lay eyes on any other woman, had gouged them out...
"Had enough?"
"Mhm..."
Furina reluctantly withdrew her hand, deciding not to wash it for a while.
Xia Zhi opened his eyes. "How have you two been all these years?"
Furina counted on her fingers. "Eating, sleeping, judging trials, stacking mana, gaming... That's pretty much my daily routine. As for Focalors, she usually just reads in the mirror."
"That book on Faith Power?"
"Yep!"
Xia Zhi turned to Focalors. "After all this time, you must've mastered everything in it, right?"
Focalors stiffened slightly, averting her gaze. "Obviously!"
Her confidence seemed a bit forced.
After all, the knowledge in that book was incredibly vast and profound.
Even Xia Zhi had only grasped it instantly thanks to the [Scholar's Ring]. Otherwise, it would've taken ages to study.
Xia Zhi smiled. "In that case, it's useless to you now, isn't it?"
Focalors instantly grew wary. "What, are you asking for it back?"
Xia Zhi pretended to consider it. "Well, I originally meant to give it to Xia Ci..."
At the mention of that familiar yet distant name, subtle shifts crossed Focalors and Furina's expressions.
Xia Zhi continued, "But since I gave it to you instead, I'd have to rewrite a whole new copy. Seems like a hassle. If you're done with it, maybe—"
Focalors cut in sharply, "No! You gave this to me! It's mine now!"
Xia Zhi shook his head. "You misunderstand. I just want to borrow it to make a copy."
"Copy...?"
Focalors blinked, as if remembering something.
"You mean...?"
Xia Zhi nodded, producing a small box. "Exactly. The same thing I used to duplicate the phone for Furina. Is that okay?"
Focalors eyed the box before reluctantly agreeing. "Fine..."
She took out the book and handed it over.
Xia Zhi flipped through the worn cover, noting the dense annotations filling the margins.
It seemed Focalors had been studying hard all these years.
After feeding the box, he placed the book inside. Moments later, two identical copies emerged.
He returned one to Focalors and kept the other.
At this point, Furina casually asked, her tone laced with curiosity, "Cousin, who's this Xia Ci you mentioned?"
"Another cousin of mine."
"By blood?"
"Of course not."
"Then..."
"Her situation is similar to yours."
"Huh?"
"I met her at a certain point in the past and picked her up. You definitely know her—her original name was Buer."
"Buer?! The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata?!"
"Correct."
Focalors was momentarily stunned, caught between shock and self-doubt.
Shock that the previous Dendro Archon hadn't perished after all.
And self-doubt that such a venerable existence—the incarnation of Irminsul, the God of Wisdom, the previous Dendro Archon—would write such shameless novels. Not just one, but multiple.
The radiant image in Focalors' mind had thoroughly crumbled. Any thoughts of confronting Xia Ci were summarily dismissed.
Furina, however, took it all in stride. She was simply curious about Xia Ci's identity—the rest didn't matter to her.
Her stance was simple: If you also like Cousin, then we're sisters from different mothers!
After chatting a while longer, Xia Zhi stood.
"Alright, time's up. I should head back."
Furina gasped. "So soon?!"
Xia Zhi explained, "There wasn't much to discuss anyway. I just wanted to see you both. Besides, I promised Xia Ci tonight—"
The moment those words left his mouth, Furina and Focalors' expressions turned peculiar again.
Focalors narrowed her eyes. "She needed you for something?"
Xia Zhi said, "Not really. We just agreed to—"
Furina gasped dramatically. "A date?!"
Xia Zhi shook his head. "You've got it wrong. It's not a date. There'll be a bunch of people—Azhdaha, some of the adepti... I set up an internet café in the meditation space a few days ago. We planned to game together."
If there was one thing the two of them were experts in after five centuries of gaming, it was video games. They had mastered every genre of single-player titles imaginable.
Furina's eyes lit up. "I want to play! Cousin, can we join?"
Focalors cut in flatly, "No. Our identities can't be revealed to outsiders. It could jeopardize our plans."
Furina pouted. "Right... Guess we'll have to wait."
Seeing her disappointment, Xia Zhi thought for a moment. "Actually, I have an idea."
"!"
Xia Zhi said, "As long as you don't interact with the others, it should be fine. Gaming just requires computers. The meditation space has the internet café, plus a private room. I'll take you there first, close the door, and you can stay inside without coming out."
Furina beamed. "Perfect!"
Focalors nodded. "Acceptable."
"Let's go, then."
Xia Zhi opened a rift and led them into the private room.
"Make yourselves comfortable here. I'll go get the others."
"Okay!"
"Go ahead."
With a nod, Xia Zhi vanished into another rift.
Furina immediately flopped onto the bed, hugging the sheets with a blissful sigh.
"Hehe... Cousin's bed..."
Focalors stood nearby, arms crossed. "Furina, what's your plan?"
"What plan?"
"About Xia Ci."
"Oh, her? Obviously, I'll befriend her properly. I'll add her contact info tomorrow."
"And then?"
"Then I'll beg her for updates! She left so many novels unfinished on the phone. Not knowing how they end has been torture all these years."
"..."
Focalors' eye twitched.
"Are you seriously this hopeless?!"
----
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