Not long after, Xu Zheng brought out three cups of freshly made ice cream.
Thanks to the abundant ingredients at Wanmin Restaurant and his deft control of Cryo energy, it wasn't all that hard for him to whip some up.
"Come on, try it!" he said, beaming.
"Yay!" Xiangling cheered.
He'd served the ice cream in delicate little cups with matching fancy spoons. Very aesthetic.
Xiangling took one bite and immediately had stars in her eyes.
"Little Xu Zheng, you're too amazing!"
Ganyu delicately scooped up a tiny bite and closed her eyes, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks. The silky, milky chilliness melted on her tongue—absolutely perfect for a hot afternoon.
Then her eyes shot open.
Wait a second…
Her disciple was this good at cooking?!
Was she… going to get fat?
A terrifying image surfaced in Ganyu's mind—her accidentally sitting on a minor god and crushing them to death with her thick thighs. She shuddered violently and shook the thought away.
No. She must eat less.
But... it was so good.
Just a little bite. One last little—
…
Ganyu stared down at her slightly rounded belly, then at the empty bowls on the table. A wave of regret washed over her.
Clearly… her cultivation of willpower still needed work.
Xu Zheng clapped his hands and said, "Alright! You guys full? Then I'll play a little tune for you on the flute. Just a warning—I'm still a beginner, so it might be a bit rough."
"We won't mind," Xiangling said, instantly sitting upright, hands on her lap in an exaggerated pose of respectful attention.
She'd already decided: no matter how terrible his playing was, she'd say it was amazing.
After all, he just cooked her a damn five-star dessert. And he was just a kid. What's a little eardrum damage between friends?
"Clap clap clap!"
A few other diners at Wanmin joined in. Free post-meal entertainment? Who cares about quality!
Xu Zheng took out his purple bamboo flute and raised it to his lips.
The restaurant went dead silent.
Only the sound of the flute flowed gently through the air.
"???"
This was a beginner?
Every pair of eyes widened in stunned disbelief.
That wasn't beginner level—this was prodigy minimum, maybe even master-tier!
Bro, why are you pretending to be humble?!
Even Xiangling was frozen, mouth slightly agape, momentarily forgetting how to breathe.
She thought he only had a talent for cooking, but this?!
This tiny kid was just casually being amazing at everything? What the hell?
None of the audience may have been music experts, but pleasant was pleasant—and this tune was divine.
And what they didn't know was: Xu Zheng's flute came with the passive skill Soothing Melody, which literally calmed the hearts of listeners.
By the time the piece ended, the entire restaurant sat in a daze, as if collectively waking from a dream.
Then came the shouts:
"Encore!"
"Yeah, play another one!"
"Hey, my household could use a musician—we pay well! Interested?"
One woman with heavy makeup leaned forward and winked, "Little brother~ want to come home with big sis—I mean, I'm looking for a… little brother."
"???"
Ma'am, you're the problem.
Xu Zheng turned his head and spotted Ying'er in the crowd. She had slipped in at some point and was smiling mysteriously.
[Flute-Charmed +1]
[Flute-Charmed +1]
Progress notifications echoed in his ears. He pulled up his task screen:
[Daily Quest 2: Charm 20 people with your flute. Progress: 19/20]
Oh? So close—
[Progress complete! +10 Primogems awarded]
Boom. Task cleared.
That afternoon…
Ganyu returned to work at Yuehai Pavilion, back to her usual mountain of paperwork.
Xu Zheng, meanwhile, relaxed in their courtyard, pretending to practice his flute. In reality, he was plotting how to clear the rest of the day's quests.
Two still remained:
[Daily Quest 3: Kill one slime]
[Daily Quest 4: Use a teleport waypoint]
Problem: You don't exactly find slimes casually hopping around inside Liyue Harbor.
Also problem: Ganyu would never let him go out of the city alone. And dragging her along just for slime-killing? He'd feel guilty. She was clearly overworked already.
Still, he had a hunch—those two quests were probably linked.
If he could use teleportation, he could slip out, smack a slime, and slip right back in without Ganyu even knowing.
Best-case scenario: instant round-trip.
But… he didn't know how to teleport.
"System, is there a teleport feature?"
[Teleport unlock requires 50 Primogems. Confirm unlock?]
"Wait, what? It actually exists?"
System, you sly dog. Always full of surprises.
Still—50 Primogems? That was robbery!
Even in Genshin Impact, teleporting was free! This thing was worse than Paimon with a monthly card.
Still… he needed it.
The cost hurt, but the value was there.
"Confirm unlock."
[Unlocking…]
[Teleport feature unlocked. Explore the interface for more.]
Xu Zheng watched his Primogem count hit zero and winced. Pain. True pain.
He opened the system interface and found a massive map filling his vision. Every zone in Liyue was labeled in fine detail.
And only Liyue.
The other six nations were blacked out, grayed, and inaccessible. When he tried clicking on them, a notice popped up:
[Please interact with the regional Statue of The Seven to unlock this zone.]
[Note: Unlocking new teleport regions costs an additional 50 Primogems per nation.]
"Bro."
Seven nations = 350 Primogems.
And that's not counting places like The Chasm or Enkanomiya. God knows what hidden fees the system was planning.
Scam. Total scam.
But right now, priorities.
He spun the map and randomly selected a spot.
He had no idea where slimes spawned in this version of the world. It wasn't like Genshin's precise farming route maps applied here.
"Teleport."
With a shimmer, he arrived at Guili Plains.
[Daily Quest Complete: Use teleport waypoint.]
Sweet. One down.
He glanced around—and bingo! A little blue slime was bouncing around nearby.
Ice-type.
Perfect.
He took a step forward, ready to end this poor thing's bouncy life, when he heard it again—
Some people died, but not completely...