Klee came back into the Realm Within, proudly holding Lisa's hat over her head. The Spark Knight placed the hat on the table. Yoimiya checked a box on her list.

"Good job, Klee! That was worth ten points."

Klee began a celebratory dance.

Yaoyao hurried along next. She carried Itto's most prized fighting beetle. Shortly afterward, Shuyu came in with Lyney's magician cards and Nepecha with Xilonen's hammer. The girls placed their finds on the table.

"Nice!" said Navia with a grin. "Each of you gets ten points."

Shuyu and Nepecha did a cute little high-five. Yaoyao joined Klee in her celebratory dance. Then, Diona entered the mansion carrying Beidou's flask. She shot the captain a disapproving glare, folding her arms and murmuring about the drunkard captain.

Kachina and Qiqi came in with Navia's umbrella and Mavuika's helmet. The Pyro Archon and President of the Spina de Rosula gave them both a thumbs up. Then, the little girls scoured the Teapot for other items.

They found Kaveh's Mehrak, Benben, Tamoto, Nilou's hairpiece, Charlotte's monocle, Xianyun's kite, and Suanni Man Chai. On went the scavenger hunt until at last, they had found everything on the list. The scores were all tied up.

"We need a tiebreaker," said Kaveh.

Gaming glanced around the mansion. Just outside, he spotted the Adeptus Xiao standing at the cliff's edge. He stared at the endless ocean before him, grim and stalwart. Suddenly, Gaming got an idea.

He announced, "Alright, how's this? Ten points to whoever can find Xiao's smile!"

Yoimiya and Navia were uncertain. In all the time they knew the Yaksha, he never once smiled. His life involved a lot of death, and people who went through what he did didn't have much to be happy about. The kids would be so disappointed if they couldn't make him smile.

They were about to call it off when Qiqi raised her hand.

"Um… can Qiqi try something?"

The little zombie wandered out of the mansion and approached Xiao. She tugged on his purple tassel, making him turn around. Then, she gestured for him to follow her. Qiqi brought him back inside the mansion.

"What did you want?" he asked the little girl.

"Could you… lean over? Qiqi wants to tell you something."

Xiao squatted on a knee. Qiqi stood on her tippy toes, cupped her mouth, and whispered into his ear. Nobody could make out what was being said. Qiqi paused. Then, she whispered a little more.

They all watched in amazement as those solemn lips bent. Xiao chuckled—a rather raspy sound—stifling a snort as he pressed a hand to his forehead. Charlotte busted out her camera and snapped a picture.

The film developed, and there it was for all of them to see: the Conqueror of Demons was unarguably smiling.

Gaming clapped. "Nicely done, Qiqi! You win."

"How'd you do that?" asked Charlotte. "What did you tell him?"

Qiqi pressed a finger to her chin and cocked her head.

"Qiqi just…told Xiao a joke."

They all glanced at the Adeptus, still chuckling in amusement.

"That really worked?" said Yoimiya in disbelief.

Xiao cleared his throat and shrugged. "It was… funny."