A gentle fragrance slowly filled the entire shop as the morning sunlight slanted through the window, giving the scent a delicate, visible form.
Qiqi sat with her eyes half-closed, inhaling the scent of the incense while sipping her juice, a look of contentment crossing her face.
The scene before him reminded Xia Zhi of those who leisurely enjoyed their wine with small dishes of appetizers.
"Does Miss Qiqi usually partake in incense?"
"No, I don't."
"Why not? There are many incense shops in the city, and the prices aren't expensive."
"Those incenses don't taste good."
Qiqi opened her eyes and spoke softly while looking at the incense burner.
"I only like this one."
Xia Zhi, not being a divine spirit, couldn't taste the "flavor" she spoke of in the incense, but he assumed it must be a matter of quality.
The incense sold outside, regardless of craftsmanship, even if it contained traces of mortal wishes, was still of ordinary quality.
The incense in his shop, though only of the lowest Iron quality, belonged to the supernatural realm.
Under the enhancement of the [Blazing Incense Burner], its effect was plainly written as "pleasing to spirits," making it somewhat specialized for supernatural beings.
Combined with the [Spirit-Calming Pill]'s effect of "stabilizing the mind," it held a natural appeal for Qiqi, whose consciousness was incomplete.
These two factors together explained why she craved the incense's aroma so much.
Perhaps this was the first time since becoming a jiangshi that she had truly tasted anything?
Xia Zhi looked at Qiqi's expressionless pale face, then at Zhu Zi's happy expression as she drank her juice, and suddenly felt a pang of sadness.
He lowered his head and quietly sipped his own juice.
After a moment, he looked toward the bamboo basket full of fresh herbs by the wall.
"Miss Qiqi, did you go herb gathering in the mountains again last night?"
"Yes."
"Didn't you just go the night before? Shouldn't you rest at the pharmacy for two days?"
"Yes, but I'm not tired."
Perhaps feeling she hadn't properly expressed what she wanted to say, Qiqi added softly:
"Yesterday, I felt somewhat different from before."
"Different how?"
"My memory seems better."
"Oh?"
Xia Zhi was startled by her words.
Qiqi gazed at the incense burner, her eyes showing a hint of hazy remembrance. "I think I remember some things. I used to... often gather herbs alone in the mountains. Then..."
"Then?"
"Then something happened, but I can't remember what. So I wanted to go back to the mountains to gather herbs and see."
"I see." Xia Zhi looked at Qiqi's slightly furrowed brow and consoled her. "It's alright, Miss Qiqi, there's no need to rush. Take your time, you'll remember eventually."
"Mm."
Qiqi thought for a moment, her brow relaxing as she gave a slight nod.
After finishing her cool juice, Qiqi put down her cup and cast a reluctant look at the still-burning incense burner before saying softly, "I should go now. Mr. Xia Zhi, Miss Zhu Zi, thank you for your hospitality."
Xia Zhi smiled and shook his head, saying, "No need for thanks. If Miss Qiqi enjoys it, you're welcome to visit our shop again tomorrow."
Qiqi stood up and said earnestly, "Alright."
She walked to the wall, picked up her herb basket, then turned to look at the [Grand Opening, Half Price First Day] poster on the wall before saying softly, "Goodbye."
Xia Zhi nodded, "See you tomorrow."
Zhu Zi also waved with a smile, "Bye-bye, Qiqi!"
Qiqi walked out of the shop, slowly disappearing from his detection range.
Along with her disappeared the golden progress bar showing [Progress: 86%].
The progress was almost complete.
When Qiqi returns tomorrow, he should be able to unlock the golden treasure chest associated with her.
Xia Zhi stretched lazily, finished his remaining juice, put the cup aside, then lay on the table with his hands cushioning his head.
"Zhu Zi."
"Yes, boss?"
"I'm going to take a nap. Please wash the cups later, and if I'm not awake by noon, remember to wake me up."
"Alright, boss."
Breathing in the comforting scent of the incense, Xia Zhi slowly drifted off to sleep.
Zhu Zi quietly collected the cups and took them to the kitchen to wash. When she returned, she sat silently at another table far from him and began reading.
--
Qiqi returned to Bubu Pharmacy, set down her herb basket, and emptied out the herbs inside.
Then, she crouched down and carefully sorted them. Today, she found this task easier than yesterday.
Qiqi felt her mind was clearer, and she had more memories about the medicinal herbs.
But she still couldn't remember some important things.
She knew she was a jiangshi.
But how exactly did she become one?
Who turned her into a jiangshi?
Why did they abandon her after transforming her?
Was it out of kindness or malice?
She knew she had a Cryo Vision and could instinctively use it.
But where did it come from?
Qiqi stared at the herbs for a while, then took out her notebook that she always carried with her.
The notebook contained many things, but had no answers to any of the questions above.
It seemed that when she wrote this notebook, she had already forgotten these things.
Qiqi opened the notebook. The text was written in a script from several hundred years ago, the handwriting delicate and familiar.
The first page described methods for flexibility exercises.
Further pages contained descriptions of various herbs and some commands.
For example: [Hear the decree, proclaim this edict.], [Jade seal, unlock the immortal method.]...
She must have been an herb gatherer before, right?
But why did she know these [commands]?
These shouldn't be something an ordinary herb-gathering girl would know, right?
Were they taught to her by the person who turned her into a jiangshi?
Qiqi slowly turned the pages of her notebook, carefully reading through everything written there again.
When she reached a certain page, she found the writing there was chaotic and illogical.
It seemed like something she had written randomly when bored.
But that wasn't possible.
The notebook contained only things that her past self had deemed absolutely essential to remember.
She would never write randomly in the notebook.
So, these must be fragments of memory that she had hurriedly written down when she suddenly recalled something.
"Child who brings death back to life", "Three eyes", "Loss of control", "Madness", "Wear and tear"...
Qiqi looked at it for a long time but couldn't understand what these words were trying to express, nor did they trigger any of her forgotten memories.
Closing the notebook, Qiqi looked up and saw a small finch in the tree branches.
How cute.
She watched it, lost in thought once again.