After his bath, Xia Zhi returned to his room.
Before long, there was a knock.
"Big Brother, I'm here!"
Yaoyao's voice.
"Come in, Yaoyao," Xia Zhi called with a smile.
She pushed open the door, wide-eyed with curiosity.
His room was spotless, carrying a warm, comforting scent.
She padded to his side.
"What's Big Brother doing?"
"Making medicine."
"Medicine…"
Xia Zhi pulled out a small pendant.
Like Qiqi's [Key of Light], this pendant brimmed with the power of Light.
For a girl as sweet as Yaoyao, it was perfect.
"This is your transformation item. It's ready."
"Thank you, Big Brother! How do I form a Contract?"
"Just wear it."
"Like this?"
"Yes."
"Big Brother, my heart feels… funny."
"Good. You can try transforming now."
"Okay."
Yaoyao closed her eyes.
Then, the system's voice rang in Xia Zhi's mind:
"Fanatic's prayer detected.
Respond?"
What?
Yaoyao… was actually a fanatic?
Xia Zhi was a little surprised.
He hadn't expected Yaoyao to be the same as Qiqi—one of his fanatics.
Probably because the little girl was so pure and kindhearted.
For someone like her, if others gave her a little kindness, she'd try to return it tenfold.
Since she believed Big Brother treated her the best, she trusted him unconditionally.
Xia Zhi chose to respond.
"Yes."
Then came the by-now familiar process of transformation.
Since the transformation item was Light-element, Yaoyao's Magical Girl form ended up the same style as Qiqi's—pure white.
A white necklace, a white headband, a white leg band.
On the little girl, she looked like an adorable little Angel.
As for her weapon, it was a long spear with white tassels, instantly making her a Spear Master.
Yaoyao gripped the white-tasseled spear, marveling. "Big Brother, I feel like my spear skills suddenly got way better!"
Xia Zhi nodded. "Mm. You've now mastered Spear Proficiency—your strength is about on par with your master's."
"Can I beat Master?"
"Without spells? Probably not. She's been a Spear Master for years, and she's close to reaching Spear Grandmaster."
"Hehe…"
Yaoyao stuck out her tongue, giggling shyly.
"Then… Big Brother, can I beat Senior Sister?"
"Xiangling? Yeah, you probably could."
"Really?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Be like Noelle. Pay close attention to this state, memorize the feeling of using the spear. That way, even after you cancel the transformation, you'll still be skilled with it."
"Got it!"
"Later you can find Qiqi. Have her take you out tonight."
"Okay! Thanks, Big Brother!"
Yaoyao twirled the spear with ease in the room, handling it like second nature.
Meanwhile, Xia Zhi's eyes drifted to the medicine cauldron on the table.
The yin-yang fish pattern had already settled back into place.
Which meant the pills inside were finished.
He opened the lid and poured out a few smooth, round pills.
After a moment's thought, he opened Yaoyao's character panel, picked up one pill, and pressed it against her portrait.
A system prompt popped up:
"Bestow [Perfect Calming Pill] upon this follower?"
As expected, the sub-panel wasn't just for Transfiguration. It had other functions too.
Gift.
Or rather—Bestow.
Xia Zhi made his choice.
"Yes."
The pill vanished from his hand.
At the same time, Yaoyao froze mid-swing with her spear.
She heard a strange, indescribable voice in her mind.
Guided by it, she instinctively extended her hand. In her palm appeared a smooth pill.
Along with it came information about the item, rising naturally in her mind.
"Big Brother!"
"Hm?"
"This pill—Calming Pill—did you give it to me?"
"Yes."
"Should I eat it?"
"You can. Or you can save it."
"Then I'll save it! It feels… really useful!"
"Oh? You know what it does?"
"Calms the heart, eases the mind."
"How do you know that?"
"I didn't! But when I got it just now, the knowledge just popped into my head!"
"I see…"
Xia Zhi mused.
So this Bestowal function even came with an automatic description. That saved him from having to explain everything afterward.
He pulled a Sunsettia from his inventory.
Then pressed it against Yaoyao's portrait.
Another system prompt:
"Bestow [Sunsettia] upon this follower?"
"Yes."
The fruit vanished from his hand.
Yaoyao blinked, then reached out—another Sunsettia appeared in her palm.
"So sweet! Thanks, Big Brother!"
Xia Zhi tested several other items with her, quickly figuring out how the feature worked.
In short: he could bestow any item on a follower, so long as they had a character panel.
There was no delay. Items appeared instantly in their hands.
And no distance limit either.
Xia Zhi thought carefully.
This Bestowal feature was actually very useful.
For instance, if Fischl ran into a powerful monster in the wild and got hurt—if he couldn't reach her in time, he could just Bestow her a healing potion. She could recover immediately.
And if things were really dire, he could even Bestow her a Revival Coin, making her fearless against death.
Of course, such emergencies would be rare.
After all, his Magical Girls all commanded Tier 4 spells of their elements—their strength comparable to Platinum-ranked Adepti. In today's Teyvat, there were basically no opponents for them.
Except maybe Collei.
She intended to take revenge on Il Dottore, who wielded short-term power on par with an Archon. That would be a tough battle. She might even be at a disadvantage.
But that was fine.
Xia Zhi still had Cloud Retainer's prototype Elemental Box Weapon stored away. He could always Bestow it to Collei, let her smash Il Dottore with it—give him a little mechanist's surprise.
Then another thought struck him.
If items could be bestowed… what about skills?
He opened Yaoyao's panel, raised his hand, and cast [Light Shield] on her portrait.
This time, no prompt.
The spell just succeeded.
From his god's-eye view, he saw a white shield shimmer around her body.
Like casting directly on a teammate's portrait in a game, no need to target them physically.
This too counted as Bestowal.
[Bestowing Divine Power upon Followers].
That made Collei's revenge even safer.
Even if he wasn't by her side, he could still grant her buffs from afar, letting her fight across tiers with ease.
Just like Shenhe crushing Beisht.
He tested a few other skills on Yaoyao. When the time felt right, he told her to rest.
Yaoyao obediently wished him goodnight.
She even kissed his forehead.
Then looked at him expectantly.
Xia Zhi chuckled and kissed her forehead lightly in return.
Yaoyao left, face full of satisfaction.
Now alone, Xia Zhi opened her panel again.
A new thought surfaced.
If he could bestow things upon them… could they bestow things back?
Or rather, the opposite of Bestowal should be Offering.
He recalled a book he'd read on Faith Power.
It did mention sacrifice rituals, used by followers to please their gods.
Of course, he didn't need them to perform strange ceremonies for him.
But if his hunch was right, then [Bestowal] and [Offering] could serve as a way to transmit items remotely.
No cost, instant delivery—much faster than relying on Kirara or Xiao to deliver packages.