Chapter 31: Hu Tao: Hehe, there

Teyvat.

Because of the need for public street news and shop advertisements, many places in Liyue had bulletin boards erected.

And on the bulletin board in Feiyun Slope, there was such a message.

【Citizens, if you witness a zombie child walking at night, stretching her limbs, or climbing mountains to pick herbs, please do not panic. My Qiqi is an herb picker and medical apprentice at Bubu Pharmacy, and she is harmless to you all.

——Bubu Pharmacy, Baizhu.】

And below the message, there was a note from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

【Life and death have their own destiny; why suffer by keeping one who should have departed in this world, forcibly extending their fate? It would be better to bring Qiqi to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. To be buried with rites, to be at peace, and to return to the cycle of elemental order. Wouldn't that be wonderful?】

Reply:

【Please, Director Hu, stop joking.】

Although the bulletin board was being used like a chat app, which was somewhat laughable,

it also showed the "conflict" between the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and Bubu Pharmacy.

Facing the thousand-year-old little zombie Qiqi, the two sides had completely different attitudes.

Because of his own reasons, Baizhu hoped to pursue immortality through Qiqi.

Hu Tao naturally could not agree with this concept of defying life and death.

In her view, Qiqi had already died long ago.

Now, trapped in a zombie state and unable to find release, she was enduring unimaginable pain.

Sending her into the earth would not only boost the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor’s performance, ah no,

not only would it allow Qiqi to be completely released, but it would also balance the order of yin and yang!

Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Holding onto this thought, Hu Tao had made several attempts.

After calculating the time, she would quietly kidnap Qiqi.

Then she would prepare to stuff her into a grave on the outskirts of the city using a standard cremation ceremony.

But every time, she was stopped in time by Baizhu.

The successive failures made Hu Tao somewhat depressed,

but she didn't give up.

She still kept a secret watch on Bubu Pharmacy and Qiqi.

On this day,

after hearing that Baizhu had matters to attend to and would be leaving Liyue temporarily, Hu Tao knew her chance had come.

After secretly following Qiqi to the wilderness, she grabbed a sack and rushed up.

"Qiqi, where are you running to?!"

That speed, that posture—it was so practiced it made one sigh.

Although Qiqi had a poor memory and her reactions were a bit slow,

she remembered Hu Tao!

Seeing this dangerous woman rush up, she turned and ran.

Thus, the two began a "game" of chase in the wilderness.

Through her long life of escaping, Qiqi already knew which hidden spots were near Liyue.

However, it was a pity that the "enemy" she faced was Hu Tao.

An hour later, Qiqi was caught after all.

Then she was stuffed into a bag, with only her little head exposed, her eyes filled with confusion.

"Whew! Finally succeeded!"

Hu Tao put one hand on her hip and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the other.

She didn't even know how many times she had tried.

In the past, she was stopped by Baizhu every time.

This time, with Baizhu away, she figured it should be fine.

"Next is to find a suitable time!"

Hu Tao calculated in her heart.

A burial ceremony wasn't that simple; the timing had to be calculated.

For Qiqi, there also had to be a standard cremation process.

In the past, she would have everything prepared before acting.

But this time, with Baizhu away, it was a rare opportunity, so she hadn't had time to prepare.

Now that she had caught Qiqi, she could start considering it.

Seeing Hu Tao walking toward her, a hint of fear appeared in Qiqi’s eyes.

This woman really wanted to bury her!

So she shook her body and began to struggle.

"Hehe, we're out in the wilderness, and Baizhu isn't here; no one will pay attention even if you scream for help!"

Hu Tao walked over with a giggle.

"Help... help, help..."

Although Qiqi was shivering, she still struggled and called out twice.

Perhaps it was that Qiqi’s fate was not meant to end, or perhaps "help" really did pay attention to Qiqi,

but at this moment, the situation changed abruptly.

A stone gate flickering with a faint light suddenly appeared not far from the two.

It radiated a trace of mysterious aura.

"Huh? Why is there a stone gate here?"

Hu Tao blinked, her beautiful plum-blossom pupils filled with confusion.

Because she often wandered around, she was very familiar with the regions of Liyue.

She had never seen such a thing before?

Clatter~

With a dull sound, the stone gate slowly opened.

However, the inside was shrouded in white light, making it hard to see clearly.

Instead, it felt even more mysterious.

"Something’s not right!"

Hu Tao put away her smile, her expression becoming solemn.

Where there is something abnormal, there must be a demon!

A mysterious stone gate suddenly appearing in the wilderness—no matter how she thought about it, it wasn't normal.

Although she wasn't afraid, Qiqi was present today, so it was better to be safe.

Wait, what was that?

At this moment, Hu Tao noticed a sack jumping toward the stone gate.

No, that wasn't a sack!

It was Qiqi!

"Hey, hey? Why are you running?"

Seeing her "performance" running away, Hu Tao became anxious.

She had finally caught her.

How could she let her slip away?

Thinking of this, even though she felt the stone gate was a bit strange, she still rushed up.

Sensing that the woman was chasing her again, Qiqi increased her speed.

She didn't know what was inside the stone gate.

But her instinct for survival drove her to run inside.

No matter what, it was better than being buried!

As the distance grew closer, hope began to bloom in Qiqi’s eyes.

However, just as she was about to reach the door, she was pulled back by Hu Tao.

"Qiqi, there might be danger here; let’s leave quickly."

As she spoke, Hu Tao pulled Qiqi back.

"No..."

Qiqi looked at the stone gate, the hope in her eyes shattered.

She would rather go inside the stone gate!

No matter how dangerous it was, could it be more dangerous than you, this woman?

It seemed the stone gate heard Qiqi’s wish.

At this moment, a powerful suction force erupted from within the stone gate, rushing rapidly toward Hu Tao and Qiqi.

"Oh no!"

Feeling this force, Hu Tao’s expression changed.

This stone gate was indeed not right.

A faint light flashed from the Pyro Vision behind her, and Hu Tao prepared to rush out with Qiqi.

However, in front of the stone gate, everything was futile.

Without even a moment of struggle, the two figures were directly sucked toward the stone gate.

However, their moods were completely different.

A flash of panic crossed Hu Tao’s eyes.

And for Qiqi, it was a narrow escape.

Although she didn't know what would happen next,

at least she was saved for now!

As the two figures entered the stone gate,

Clatter~

The stone gate slowly closed.

Then it turned into specks of starlight and quietly dissipated.

It was as if it had never appeared at all.

PS: Thanks to [Shou Jie] for the 8000-point tip!

Thanks to [13642..] for the tip.

My god!

This is the first time this little amateur has seen so many tips; I kneel to the bosses!

Thump, thump, thump.

My typing speed is a bit slow, so I can only rely on time to save up; I hope the bosses will forgive me.