Chapter 58

After lunch, they bid farewell to Xiangling and slowly walked back.

Hu Tao stretched both arms out to her sides, walking as if on a balance beam, lifting her feet one after another.

"Mr. Xia."

"Hmm?"

"I think we forgot to pay for lunch just now."

"No, Xiangling treated us."

"Really?"

"Of course. It's been like this every time we've eaten at Wanmin Restaurant these past few days. Xiangling makes new dishes, and I help her taste-test them."

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"Is Madam Director Hu jealous?"

"Maybe a little bit, but not too much."

Hu Tao stopped walking, a complex expression of reminiscence appearing on her face.

"Actually, I used to help Xiangling taste-test her new dishes too, but back then her creations were really strange... I wouldn't say they were inedible... just... just not very good... Things like Hilichurl Grilled Fish, Horse-tail Rice Meat... During that time, I almost became afraid to go to Wanmin Restaurant..."

Listening to Hu Tao talk about the past incidents between the two girls, Xia Zhi couldn't help but show a faint smile, saying: "That was in the past. Xiangling is a master chef now."

"Yes, many customers say Xiangling's cooking is even better than Chef Mao's now. When ordering, they specifically request that Xiangling make their dishes."

"Can Madam Director cook?"

"Ah... cooking... Of course I can!"

Hu Tao nodded solemnly.

"My cooking is delicious!"

But under the God's-eye view detection, Xia Zhi clearly saw an extremely unnatural expression flash across Hu Tao's face.

It seemed those two statements of hers were greatly exaggerated.

Walking past the wooden bridge over the rock crevice, Hu Tao stopped and waved: "I'll head back to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor now. Mr. Xia, Miss Zhu, goodbye!"

"Goodbye, Madam Director."

Xia Zhi and Zhu Zi returned to their shop. Like in the morning, Qiqi had moved a chair to sit at the store entrance, sitting straight with her legs together, quietly watching the street outside.

"Miss Qiqi, we're back. Thank you for watching the store."

"It wasn't troublesome."

"Did any customers come by?"

"Yes, I told them to come back in the afternoon."

Qiqi stood up, picked up the chair she was sitting on, and carried it back to its original position inside the store.

Xia Zhi "looked" at the bandages wrapped around Qiqi's legs, and followed her inside.

Knowing that her boss had a habit of drinking tea in the afternoon, Zhu Zi thoughtfully took the teapot to the kitchen to boil water.

Xia Zhi found a table and had just sat down when he saw Qiqi walk up to him.

"Mr. Xia."

"Miss Qiqi?"

Qiqi took out a somewhat old but clean small cloth bag from her clothes.

The sound of coins clinking together came from inside.

She opened the bag, counted out 50 Mora, and handed it to Xia Zhi.

"Payment."

"Hmm? For what?"

"For today's juice."

"No need, that was my treat."

"Not acceptable."

Qiqi looked at him with a serious expression.

"For the first customer, you must accept payment, or business will be bad."

Xia Zhi was stunned for a moment, then smiled and reached out to take the Mora from her hand.

During this process, their fingers inevitably touched.

Xia Zhi felt that Qiqi's fingers were very cold, yet soft, not at all like a zombie's fingers.

Seeing that he had accepted her Mora, a hint of relief flashed across Qiqi's face.

She carefully tied the cloth bag and put it back in her clothes, then looked at him and said softly: "I need to go now."

"Leaving already?"

"Yes, the incense has burned out. It's not good for me to occupy the table."

"That's not a problem, but I also have something to give you."

"Something?"

Xia Zhi took out the [Perfect Calming Incense] he had just refined earlier and handed it to her.

Qiqi was stunned. The incense before her was regular in shape and crystal clear, quite different from the incense Xia Zhi had given to Hu Tao. Instead, it resembled the one she had seen this morning, though it was much larger.

"Since Miss Qiqi likes the incense from my shop so much, let me give you one."

"I..."

"We're friends, aren't we?"

"Friends..."

Qiqi hesitated for a moment, then reached out to take the incense from his hand.

Their fingers touched again.

Xia Zhi once more felt the cold softness of her fingers.

Qiqi said softly: "Thank you."

Xia Zhi smiled and said: "It's just a piece of incense, nothing special. When Miss Qiqi runs out, I'll give you a new one."

Looking at his gentle smile, Qiqi held the incense in her hand, feeling an unusual emotion stirring in her heart.

She lowered her head and said quietly: "I'll go now."

"Alright, goodbye."

"Goodbye."

After a while, Zhu Zi finished boiling the water and brought over a pot of tea.

"Boss, where's Qiqi?"

"She left."

"Oh, Boss, when do we start business this afternoon?"

"At 2 o'clock. You can take a good rest first, go up to your room for a short nap if you'd like."

"I'll just sit here and rest."

"Alright, as you wish."

Xia Zhi leaned back in his chair, appearing to be resting his eyes but actually looking at the system panel before him.

In his inventory lay two golden treasure chests.

One obtained from Qiqi, one from Hu Tao.

[Golden Treasure Chest]

Quality: Golden

Type: Consumable

Properties: None

Effect: Open to randomly obtain a golden-quality item.

Hidden Effect: None

Recyclable: 200 points

In the [Shop], golden-quality items were priced between 100 and 999 points. Choosing to open it might yield high-level golden items worth far more than the recycling value, but these items might not be useful at his current stage. Choosing to recycle for 200 points would provide enough to freely choose lower-level golden items he could actually use from the [Shop].

With [Wings of Radiance] on him, Xia Zhi was already considered a pre-divine being and didn't have much need for high-level golden items.

What he needed were items that could help increase his mana limit.

Xia Zhi first recycled one golden treasure chest, obtaining 200 points, then purchased two items from the [Shop] that he had been eyeing for a while.

[Third Meditation Technique]

Quality: Golden

Type: Skill Book

Properties: Passive

Effect: Upon use, immediately gain the passive skill "Third Meditation Technique," permanently increasing mana limit by 1 point per hour.

Hidden Effect: Reduces mana consumption when casting spells by 10%

Price: 100 points

[Scholar's Ring]

Quality: Golden

Type: Accessory

Properties: Amplification

Effect: While worn, increases all non-damage passive skill effects by 30%

Hidden Effect: Immune to second-tier and below mental spells

Price: 100 points