Hu Tao accepted the Mora without any pretense of politeness. If it's free, why not take it?
"So… Kiana, you've been staying at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor these past few days?" Koji asked with a complicated look.
"Yeah. I didn't have anywhere to live, so this lady could only crash at Hu Tao's Wangsheng."
"Then… did you sleep in a coffin?"
Koji knew Hu Tao would sometimes sleep in a coffin on a whim. He couldn't help wondering if Kiana had gotten the same "treatment."
"Ahem. I can't get used to that kind of… special bed. I stayed in a normal room."
Kiana instantly understood what he meant. When she'd seen Hu Tao casually lie down inside a coffin, she'd completely frozen on the spot. What kind of normal human being chooses that as a bed?
Sure, the coffin was clean and had never been used, but a normal person still wouldn't climb in and sleep there.
"What's wrong with coffins?" Hu Tao said, completely unfazed. "This Director's been sleeping in them since she was little. Quiet, nobody bothers you, and it's ridiculously comfy."
For her, sleeping in a coffin was even more comfortable than a regular bed. She could just lie down inside and immediately fall asleep.
It had been an accidental discovery when she was little—she'd lain down in one, drowsiness hit, and she drifted straight into dreamland.
"You two have never tried it, so you don't know that sense of security," Hu Tao declared.
"Security… like the security of being buried?" Kiana shot back.
Lying in there was nerve-wracking. One moment of inattention and you'd be afraid you'd be dumped underground the next.
"Peachy, I want to ask," Koji said with a grin. "Before you, did any previous Director of Wangsheng ever sleep in a coffin?"
"Probably not…" Hu Tao thought about it. "I think I'm the only one who's bold enough to do that."
"Do you guys really not want to try it?" Hu Tao asked, clearly trying to sell them on the coffin-bed lifestyle.
"Pass," Kiana said, shaking her head. "Most people can't accept something like that."
Sleeping in a coffin came with this eerie, sinister atmosphere pressing in on you. Sure, that was mostly her own imagination scaring her—but other than Hu Tao, normal people weren't going to enjoy it.
Yeah, lying in a box like that did feel strangely safe… but a coffin? It just made you feel like you were about to get buried.
Hu Tao sighed. Such a great bed, and nobody wanted to experience it. She'd even invited Xiangling to try it once—Xiangling got so scared she nearly cut her hand.
If she didn't already know Hu Tao's personality, Xiangling would've thought Hu Tao was about to bury her.
"Since it's break time, how about we go bury the little zombie together?" Hu Tao invited, bright-eyed.
"Zombie… like the kind of zombie I'm thinking of?" Kiana asked curiously.
Fu Hua, their class rep, had mentioned zombies before. In Kiana's imagination, they were probably pretty similar to those undead honkai creatures.
"Not exactly. That little zombie hasn't hurt anyone," Hu Tao said, tone turning serious. "But birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural order. Qiqi should've gone to the next world, but she's trapped in the mortal realm. So sending Qiqi into the earth is balancing the order of yin and yang."
As she spoke of life and death, Hu Tao's gaze drifted, quiet and heavy, to Koji.
Guizhong's revival… and the Yaksha being brought back… those were both disruptions to the balance of yin and yang.
To be honest, she disliked that kind of thing. But seeing that old Zhong so happy about it left her with nothing but helpless resignation.
"Relax," Koji said with an easy smile. "I'm not reviving people randomly. It won't affect much."
"I know," Hu Tao said. "If you were reviving whoever you pleased… even if I couldn't win, I'd still make it my problem."
"Yes, yes," Koji nodded. "I know. It's limited to people I know. As for random nobodies? I can't be bothered."
Kiana's blue eyes shifted slightly.
If reviving was possible… could her mother Cecilia be brought back too?
A seed was planted in her heart. She'd find an opportunity to ask later. Since Hu Tao didn't like actions that broke the balance between life and death, she definitely wouldn't ask in front of her.
"Peachy," Koji said, changing the topic, "do you really have to bury Qiqi?"
He actually felt a bit sorry for that little zombie. Getting targeted by Hu Tao—this living demon-judge—who knew how many times she'd been buried already? If Baizhu and the others hadn't rescued her in time every time, she'd have been peacefully underground a long time ago.
Qiqi's memory was terrible. She'd quickly forget the people she remembered… but she didn't forget being buried by Hu Tao. She'd been buried so many times it left psychological scars—just seeing Hu Tao made her tremble on reflex.
"Even if I want to bury Qiqi, I never succeed," Hu Tao said earnestly. "But what if one time… I do?"
"Peachy, do you know Qiqi's story?" Koji asked. He figured he should tell her, so she'd give up on this "bury Qiqi" obsession.
"Tell me."
Hu Tao really didn't know Qiqi's story.
"Back then, Qiqi was an ordinary herb-gathering girl. One day, because of an accident, she hurt her leg badly and hid inside a mountain cave…
…
In the end, Liyue's adepti couldn't bear it. Each of them took a sliver of their immortal power and sealed it into Qiqi's body, trying to revive her.
When Qiqi awakened, she gained a new life—but because she couldn't control the immortal power inside her, she fell into an unprecedented frenzy…
…"
Koji told Hu Tao what had happened to Qiqi. Not many people knew the details; if you asked the adepti, they'd give you the answer.
"I didn't expect Qiqi went through something like that," Hu Tao said softly after listening, sympathy rising in her expression.
Qiqi definitely didn't want to become what she was now. Fate had turned her into a little zombie.
Her appearance didn't change, and she gained a lifespan that was absurdly long… but she couldn't really be called human anymore.
"Alright. I get it. I won't try to bury Qiqi anymore."
Hu Tao planned to ask the adepti for more details. Since Qiqi was the "True Lord of Healing and Salvation," then there was no need to bury her.
"Kiana," Hu Tao asked as she was about to leave, turning back, "are you still going to stay at Wangsheng?"
"Nope. Maybe next time. I'm going home too," Kiana shook her head.
After following Koji to the Previous Era and coming to Teyvat, she'd relaxed enough.
"Alright," Hu Tao nodded. "Wangsheng welcomes you anytime."
"…"
Kiana's mouth twitched.
Now she knew what kind of place Wangsheng was. Hearing "Wangsheng welcomes you" was… yeah, no thanks. She planned on living for a long time.
Hu Tao grinned mischievously and skipped away, lively and energetic like a pure-hearted girl.
"Working in the funeral business and still being that innocent," Kiana said with genuine amazement.
"She was born for this line of work," Koji replied.
Hu Tao was smart. Even though her voice resembled Kiana's, she was completely different from that idiot… well, from Kiana's usual brand of chaos.
Even if she didn't inherit Wangsheng, she'd still have plenty of other paths.
"Why do I feel like you're thinking something bad?" Kiana narrowed her eyes, suspicious. "Something's off. Like… nine parts out of ten off."
"I'm not thinking anything," Koji said with a straight face. "You're probably just too sensitive."
Kiana's instincts were pretty sharp, weren't they?
(End of Chapter)
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