NOVEL WEB Chapter 178: Almond Tofu and the Body of a Demigod...
Xiao had returned to his room to rest due to a flare-up of his karmic affliction, and the crowd in the garden dispersed.
While Lu Chen was preparing dinner, Venti arrived right around mealtime. Upon hearing about Xiao's condition, he frowned.
"It just happened out of nowhere...? But there aren't any evil spirits here. Where did the killing intent come from?"
Lu Chen put down the kitchen knife and thought for a moment. "Maybe it's because he broke six Glaze Lilies? So he's furious?"
"He's an Adeptus from Liyue, how could something like that...?" Even Venti found it a bit absurd.
"Just kidding." Lu Chen sliced the almond tofu with the knife.
Though it looked simple, the preparation was anything but.
He ground sweet almonds into a paste, boiled them with water, then mixed in milk and gelatin. After chilling it until it solidified, the mixture took on a tofu-like texture.
Once it was cut into neat little cubes, Lu Chen drizzled osmanthus syrup over the top. A dish of light, refreshing almond tofu was complete.
Evening sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a soft glow. Venti quietly leaned closer, taking in the almond aroma mingled with a faint floral scent in the air.
"It smells amazing. Looks delicious too!" He reached out his hand.
Only to have it slapped away by Lu Chen.
"This is specially made for Xiao. If you want some, I'll make more for you."
"Oh."
As he thought about Xiao, Venti suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Speaking of which, I've got something to do. Wait here, I'll be right back—"
Lu Chen glanced at him, and in the next second, Venti disappeared in a breeze from the open kitchen. Soon after, hurried footsteps echoed from upstairs.
"Strange..."
Lu Chen waited a while but still didn't see him return, so he went back to cooking, puzzled.
Venti never came down for dinner, but Xiao did, taking a seat beside Zhongli like nothing had happened.
Lu Chen pushed the almond tofu toward him. Xiao looked up.
"Thank you."
"As long as you like it." Seeing that Xiao was really enjoying the tofu, Lu Chen picked up a small piece himself.
"What's so special about this almond tofu?" Miko leaned over, curious.
"Hmm..." Lu Chen paused, thinking.
He remembered that before Xiao was rescued by Zhongli, he had once been enslaved by a cruel Archon who wielded the power of dreams. Xiao had carried out countless killings under that Archon's command, devouring the beautiful dreams of the defeated.
Later, while traveling with Lumine, Xiao had mentioned that the texture of almond tofu reminded him of those "beautiful dreams."
Lu Chen believed that memory was deeply tied to Xiao's past.
They chatted as they ate, and just when the meal was nearly over, Venti finally showed up.
A breeze swept through, and Venti appeared before them, holding a high-end music player and a pair of headphones.
"These are for you."
"Huh?"
Xiao looked a bit puzzled but hesitantly accepted the headphones Venti handed over.
"The second album by the wildly popular music producer and mysterious singer V.T—'Winds from Home and Afar'~"
Venti made the announcement with a flourish.
"The new album's finally out!" Barbara said excitedly.
Venti nodded with a grin. "That's right! And Miss Barbara made a special appearance in the album—don't miss it!"
Lu Chen applauded. He had helped with the album shoot and even did Barbara's makeup. He'd listened to early samples and thought it was even better than the first one.
"This album's going to be a hit." Lu Chen looked at Venti helping Xiao put on the headphones and immediately understood his intent.
"My music will definitely soothe your heart. If you ever feel bored or down, just listen to it."
With the headphones on, Xiao's image took on a slightly odd vibe. Everyone stared at him, which made Xiao purse his lips, unsure of what to say.
After a long pause, a faint smile briefly flashed across the face of the usually stoic Adeptus.
"Thank you, Venti."
"Thank you, everyone."
...
After dinner, Lu Chen sat on the balcony enjoying the breeze.
He thought back to what Ei had interrupted him about earlier and reopened the system, entering the wish interface.
It was the familiar gacha session. Without thinking much, Lu Chen launched an 80-pull.
As meteors streaked down, a dazzling golden light emerged.
Getting a gold wasn't anything new anymore. He skipped the preliminaries and went straight to the rewards.
[Gold Item — Vision (Dendro)]
[Gold Item — Skyward Blade]
[Gold Item — Skill Pool Exchange Ticket]
[Gold Item — Constellation: Body of a Demigod]
Another Constellation? Lu Chen quickly opened the details page.
"As you grow throughout your journey, your ancient body awakens. You gain the power of a demigod, mastering all elemental forces to the peak just beneath the divine. The path is long and challenging, but you will one day return to the summit."
So he was back at demigod level. Just like last time, the moment he received the Constellation, his perception of the world transformed completely.
Previously, with [Power of Returning to the Source], he could gather elemental energy and mimic others' elemental skills. But now, he felt like he was the element itself, capable of understanding every mystery of the elemental world with ease.
With his Geo Vision, he was confident he could summon a meteor just like Zhongli.
And this was in Reality World No. 110786, where elemental energy was thin. If he returned to Teyvat, with its dense elemental energy, "Demigod Lu Chen" could pull off even more earth-shaking feats...
Relieved to have regained his strength, he didn't bother looking at the other gold or purple rewards. What he really wanted now was another "duel before the emperor" with Ei.
But just as he was about to leave, the system sent another update.
[Updating follow-up challenge missions...]
[Challenge: Mondstadt Wine Industry—Unstoppable!
Help Diluc expand his business. Increase Dawn & Craft Brew Beer's sales by more than 20 times.]
[Challenge: For good reads, choose Yae Publishing House!
Launch multiple hit authors under Yae Publishing House. Each author must have a flagship title with over 500,000+ reads.]
[Each completed task rewards: 4,800 Primogems, 4.8 million in real-world currency, and a real-world special skill.]
After reading the new task list, Lu Chen fell into deep thought...
The first task was tough but doable. But the second...
Where was he going to find three popular authors from Teyvat, each with over 500,000 reads?
Well, he could count himself as one—his book had already surpassed that mark. So, he only needed to find two more...
"Eh?"
"Wait, what was my book called again...?"
"Liyue's Floating World Amid a Thousand Rocks?"
It suddenly came back to him—he actually had a novel.
And it had been left on hiatus for several months...
Lu Chen opened up the reader comments and editor messages, only to be greeted by an overwhelming flood of notifications.