Genshin Impact ship pairings

After placing the food on the table, Zhongli asked Kong to sit down and eat. At first, Kong wasn't quite able to coordinate with Zhongli's actions so well, but under Zhongli's subtle influence, Kong could now cooperate with Zhongli's other actions very well, and they became increasingly cooperative as they lived together.

"No matter when, I always feel that Mr. Zhongli's cooking is the most delicious. Now, I just can't eat the food cooked by other people." Kong said to Zhongli with a hint of annoyance, half complaining and half coquettishly.

Zhongli remained unmoved upon hearing this, only saying to Kong with a hint of pleasure, "Was the food I prepared last time enough? I've prepared some new food for you this time." Not long after falling in love with Kong, Zhongli began to gradually take control of his diet. Preparing ingredients and meals for his travels—it's hard to imagine a god acting this way after falling in love.

Strangely enough, the dishes made with ingredients prepared by Zhongli always seemed exceptionally delicious and different from the others. Sora hadn't eaten food cooked by anyone else in a long time. Previously, Sora had fed Paimon food made with ingredients prepared by Zhongli, which Paimon thoroughly enjoyed. However, Zhongli wasn't happy about it and even prepared other food for Paimon. Sora was initially confused, but later seemed to understand something, and realized that he was the one preparing the food for Paimon.

Seeing Kong enjoying his meal, Zhongli smiled, his golden pupils revealing satisfaction and pleasure.

After reuniting with his lover, Kong took some time to visit his other companions in Liyue. He gave Xiangling a cookbook from Sumeru and gifted Ningguang some Sumeru's specialty fish... Then, he thought of that tireless Yaksha.

Wangshu Inn

When she returns to Liyue, Kong always visits Xiao at Wangshu Inn and makes him a delicious almond tofu.

After borrowing the kitchen from Yanxiao, Sora started making almond tofu. She had always used ingredients she bought herself, but this time when she went to buy more, she happened to run out of what she had bought last time. Sora used the ingredients that Zhongli had prepared without realizing it.

After finishing, Sora went upstairs. She called Xiao out and handed him the almond tofu. Xiao seemed a little shy when he saw Sora.

However, upon tasting the almond tofu, Xiao's expression suddenly darkened. "...Sora, did you make this almond tofu?" Xiao asked Sora, putting down the food in his hand.

Sora seemed somewhat bewildered; he didn't realize that Xiao's emotions had suddenly become strange. "Of course."

After thinking for a moment, Kong replied, "Zhongli prepared some ingredients for me, but I didn't use the ingredients he gave me this time."

"As you know, I travel a lot, and my life before was inevitably a bit rough," Kong smiled. "But after being with Zhongli, he prepares so much for me, and now I feel like I can't live without him."

Xiao was startled upon hearing this, recalling the events of the Demon God War.

During the ancient era of demon god rivalry, he was captured by the Dream Demon. Those were dark and gloomy days, filled with killing, hunger... all sorts of negative emotions haunted him, intimidated him, and tormented him, driving him to the brink of suicide. Fortunately, he encountered Morax, the Rock Demon of that time, and was finally freed.

However, after being rescued by Morax, he was severely injured. The hardships he had endured had left him on the verge of death after relaxing. To save him, Morax fed him food imbued with his divine power several times. Miraculously, his body quickly recovered, which made Xiao even more respectful of this deity. Xiao only ate that food a few times; after recovering, Morax never let him touch it again.

He had wondered why he was being given such food, but it was indeed the food that made him feel better. The only thing that puzzled him was that after eating that food a few times, he inevitably found other normal foods somewhat tasteless, and even longed for foods imbued with divine power. He had tried many human foods, all of which were unpalatable, except for the slight sweetness of almond tofu, which brought him great joy, but even that paled in comparison to the foods he had eaten when he was seriously ill.

Xiao believed that was his romanticized image of the food as he was dying. But regardless, he missed the food terribly. He even longed to eat it again.

The Naga King Ruoduo of that period was not the madman he is now. Back then, he was brave and skilled in battle, yet gentle in his dealings with others. His ferocity was reserved only for his enemies; he was extremely kind and tender to his friends and people. The Naga King Ruoduo seemed to have noticed Xiao's confusion. After a long sigh, he explained the reason to Xiao.

“I didn’t approve of you eating that kind of food from the beginning, but your condition was too bad back then. However, it’s right to prevent you from having contact with that food again now.” Ruoduo paused and said, “Those are not ordinary foods; they are foods purified by Morax’s power. To call it purification is a bit of an exaggeration; I prefer to call it contamination.”

"Perhaps it's because Morax is a rock dragon, his power is extremely special. It's somewhat different from elemental power; this power has the ability to change things."

At that time, Ruoduo stroked the head of Xiao, who was still young despite having experienced many hardships, and said, "That divine power seems to have a kind of possessive power. It can remove impurities and retain the best parts, and it also has a healing effect to some extent."

"I see. As expected of Lord Morax, possessing such powerful yet gentle strength," Xiao exclaimed in amazement.

"Gentle? That doesn't count."

Ruoduo chuckled softly, then said with some worry, "I once studied this ability with him. It's a terrifying power. If you inject that power directly into an animal's body, it won't heal it; instead, it will cause the animal unbearable pain until it dies a miserable death. You wouldn't want to know how agonizing it is for those animals to die."

Regardless of the animal, when directly subjected to force, they all exhibit unbearable cries of agony. External wounds heal rapidly, but death soon follows. Death is often painful, and the body remains remarkably lifelike, its interior entirely golden, completely petrified. The corpse does not decay, resembling a work of art.

"After a period of research, we discovered that only when incorporated into food and ingested can it enhance physical fitness and heal wounds. However..."

At this point, Ruoduo seemed to recall something terrifying, and after a pause, he said, "However, this brings new problems."