Hope then asked, trying to distract Zixin, "Did you also have a personal chef?"
Zixin's expression turned solemn, shaking his head and explaining, "My dear sister does, however, that's more or less just the assigned experts of the Heavenly Palace."
Hope nodded and continued to ask, "Speaking of the Heavenly Palace, is there even anything interesting there? I heard it was built a long time ago."
Zixin's eyes immediately flashed with excitement, speaking with a slightly enthusiastic tone, "From my honest opinion, it would be the Endless Library, which houses nearly every published book in the Land. Although it's called a library, it was actually meant to be a storage room for books, so over the years, it became quite hard to find specific books since new ones would always come, and the people who wanted to organize would always have to reorganize to add more."
He added softly, "Over the years, countless individuals have tried and failed. In the end, they gave up and chose to make their own libraries instead. And it's not like everyone had access to it either, since it's inside such an important place."
Hope shot him a deadpan look and commented, "I'm not a knowledge-obsessed scholar like you. Even though I find value in it, at the end of the day, I lack interest in it. You know, I'm pretty normal."
Zixin tilted his head, looking strangely innocent as he asked, "Am I not?"
"Most people's social skills aren't as bad as yours, you know?" Hope replied and immediately asked, "Oh, right, have you used Snowdrop on someone before?"
Zixin's expression immediately turned complicated. He thought about her words: Isn't she basically asking me, if you had used Snowdrop on someone before, surely, your social skills would have improved?" But after experiencing Elmer's memories, it hasn't changed much about my social skills. The most it probably did was make me easier to talk to… sigh, even though those seven years' worth of memories were a lot, changing a person completely ultimately came down to their self. Even if it did something, it's not like Elmer was good at socializing. Most of the time, he basically just spoke his thoughts out loud.
Thinking back, did I even gain any significant skills out of it? Well, I did gain his terrible cooking skills, but it was really just a minor setback. After I learned a bit more, it didn't bother me anymore. Zixin rubbed his chin and thought.
After a long pause, Hope decided not to ask further and fell silent.
And just as she did, Zixin had a strange realization: Due to Elmer's memories, haven't I technically lost my first kiss? Huh? Why did I suddenly think of this? Sigh… Charlotte, Elmer's fiancée, the woman he chose, yet can never be with because he died in my hands. If possible, I must find her and tell her the truth before this hint of romantic love that I have gained from Elmer's memories becomes a burden I can no longer bear.
After they finished their meals, Zixin started to wash the dishes. As he did, he noticed Hope reading a book again.
Hmm… something feels odd about her today. Was there a hidden motive behind her questions? Zixin thought, but he quickly shook his head and continued: Whatever, I'm probably overthinking, but just to confirm, I might as well probe a bit.
With the book in his sight, an idea flashed through his mind. He spoke, asking with curiosity, "What are you reading?"
Hope lowered the book and glanced at Zixin before speaking, "It's a romance novel, but the two main characters are too afraid to tell their feelings. It's really frustrating, you know?"
Zixin frowned, having found nothing out of the ordinary in her reply. A second later, he lightly commented, "That sounds like a normal reaction from two people who are in love. However, it does sound irritating."
Hope nodded her head vigorously like a child to an adult. It made Zixin pause in confusion, but it quickly faded the moment she spoke, "Yes! It's absolutely terrible! If not for the fact that I want to see the ending, then I wouldn't have read until now."
Zixin's gaze fell to the remaining dishes before him as he muttered, "In that case, can't you just read the end?"
Although he was slightly farther from Hope, she immediately caught on and shook her head, her eyes shining as she said, "No way! Only an idiot would commit such a crime."
Zixin let out an awkward laugh and finished washing the dishes. He then sat down next to her and closed his eyes, concentrating on his mind.
Hope noticed Zixin's expression and immediately understood what he was doing. To most people, seeing someone this calm with their eyes closed would lead them to assume that they are meditating, which wasn't far off. To Hope, who knew that Zixin was a Holder, it became clear that he had just entered the White Palace. So, with this in mind, Hope completely fell silent, not making a single sound.
Before Zixin completely concentrated, he glanced at her and spoke, "May I ask for a favor?"
Hope immediately nodded her head. A second late,r Zixin explained what the dead wolf requested. It was to protect its two comrades. He then dug into his memories and gave a detailed description of the two wolves. As for who would find and complete this, he didn't know. It was just that he had to tell her in case he forgot.
…
Inside the White Palace, Zixin observed the white void with a plain expression. After finding nothing out of the ordinary, he sat down.
When I fought the wolf's will, I should have had the advantage since this is my home ground; however, I still lost. Although I managed to learn to use my thoughts to create objects inside this void, it still wasn't enough. And from my experience, the more complex an object is, the harder it is to form. Zixin sighed as he thought back to not long ago.
Zixin stretched his hand as a golden sphere of light flew out of the void. He pulled with his hand, and in a matter of seconds, the thought had been transformed into this ordinary brick.
Due to Zixin's fascination with history, he had indirectly learned about structural integrity. It was mainly because every era would have a different building technique, which became essential to unearthing mysteries and deducing time periods based on a structure.
He stretched his hand out again as dozens of thoughts flew out and turned into bricks. One by one, Zixin stacked the bricks and created a fragile wall.
After looking at the wall, he let out a sigh and waved his hand. Dozens of thoughts flew out and started to merge. After a second, the blade was formed, and a second later, its handle came with it.
Although the process was rather smooth, Zixin's expression immediately twisted the moment it was completed. He took a deep breath as the exhaustion started to bother him.
After a long pause, he let out a sigh and slightly recovered.
"Why is this so much harder? Hmm? Is it because I split it into two? In that case, creating the blade and handle at the same time should be better, but that's a lot more exhausting. It's theoretically possible but…" Zixin muttered to himself and shook his head.
Not long after, Zixin started to form the knife in one go, but the moment it finished, the blade would instantly shatter into pieces. To create the knife, Zixin would have to visualize the image, which consumed more thoughts.
Zixin started to create another one. This time, when he finished, he grabbed the knife and stared at the blade. He nodded his head. The knife was shining with its decently sharp blade.
Zixin moved his thoughts, and a table with a piece of paper immediately appeared before him. A second later, he cut down the paper.
After examining it, he tossed it aside and continued to practice this for the entire afternoon.