When Hu Tao stepped into the Jar Shop, Felix, who was inside, also noticed the Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
She was a beautiful young girl with twin tails that faded from dark brown to crimson.
She wore a traditional Chinese-style coat with a long back hem, patterned with red spider lilies and plum blossoms.
On her head sat a hexagonal hat, adorned with a black bow at the back. The hat's material was stiff, and the front bore the emblem of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
The plum blossom decorating the side of her hat was plucked from a plum tree she had planted herself.
Her slender, pale fingers were painted with black nail polish. Her black robe reached her waist, paired with shorts, socks, and black shoes. Red knots were tied around her legs, and her Vision rested on her back.
The moment you saw this girl, the word "eccentric" would pop into your mind.
At first glance, she seemed like nothing more than a quirky, cheerful girl.
In reality, she was the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, the young woman in charge of all its affairs.
Despite her high position, she carried no airs of authority.
She was not only the Director but also a "famous" Liyue poet, whose "Hilitune" had spread through every alley and street of the harbor.
While Felix observed her, Hu Tao also noticed Felix the moment she walked in.
Her first impression was that Felix was very young—just like her—and quite handsome.
She then scanned the shop's surroundings. It wasn't very large.
Not far away stood a counter, and behind it was a shelf. In each grid of the shelf sat an ordinary-looking jar.
But on the very top of the shelf, there was a jar radiating a brilliant, polished shine.
This jar was completely out of place compared to the others, and it caught Hu Tao's attention immediately.
One look, and she knew this jar was different from the ordinary ones around it.
"Hello there!"
Hu Tao walked in, realizing the young man must be the owner. She grinned and extended her hand. "Nice to meet you! I'm Hu Tao, the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. The 'Hu' as in 'Who puts the fun in funeral?', and the 'Tao' as in... well, you can't spell 'Tao' without 'totally awesome'!" (Note: Adapted her pun for English context, or kept literal: "Hu as in 'Hu-chi-hai-he' (eat and drink gluttonously), and Tao but not 'Tao-qi' (naughty).")
"Hello."
Seeing her extend her hand, Felix smiled and shook it. "You can call me Felix, or just Shopkeeper."
As he spoke, Felix admired the beautiful girl before him.
Her stunning plum-blossom eyes seemed to carry a hint of enchantment, making it easy for people to get lost in them.
Even her modest black robe couldn't hide her figure.
Hu Tao wasn't just quirky; she embodied the word "sprite" to perfection.
"Hehe, I'm here to open jars. Xiangling told me your jars are amazing."
Hu Tao giggled. "By the way, can I ask? Did someone really pull a Vision from here earlier?"
She believed in the items Xiangling pulled—strange and magical.
But even knowing the shop was magical, without seeing the Vision herself, it still felt a bit unreal.
"They did."
Felix nodded. "The jars contain more than just Visions. There are plenty of things even better than Visions. It all depends on your luck. If you're lucky, you'll get good things. If you're unlucky, you might even get an empty jar."
"There are empty jars?"
Hearing this, Hu Tao blinked her beautiful plum-blossom eyes.
Xiangling hadn't mentioned empty jars.
Whatever. I'm already here. Might as well just open them.
Thinking this, Hu Tao pulled a bag of Mora from her sleeve and handed it to Felix. "Here's 500,000 Mora. I'll take five jars first. And I want that one!"
She pointed to the exquisite jar at the very top of the shelf.
"That jar isn't for sale to just anyone yet."
Taking the money, Felix shook his head with a smile. "To buy that jar, you first need to buy a certain number of ordinary jars. Only then do you qualify to buy the exquisite jar. Think of it as... the exquisite jar is for promotion."
"I see."
Hu Tao nodded in realization. So that's how it works.
No wonder that exquisite jar looked different.
But this meant everyone else had been buying ordinary jars.
She felt her luck wouldn't be bad.
While Hu Tao was thinking, Felix smiled and said, "So, Director Hu, please choose which five jars you'd like."
"I'll take those five on the right."
Hu Tao pointed with her slender, pale finger.
Felix waved his hand, and five jars floated steadily through the air, landing neatly on the counter.
This move made Hu Tao's eyes light up. Her plum-blossom pupils scrutinized Felix.
This shopkeeper really isn't ordinary.
Although she couldn't sense any elemental power from him—he looked like a regular person—she knew he couldn't be.
Ordinary people didn't sell magical jars.
"Director Hu, is there a flower on my face?"
Seeing Hu Tao staring at him instead of opening the jars, Felix chuckled.
"Just sensed that you aren't an ordinary person, Shopkeeper, so I took a second look."
Hu Tao said seriously, then turned her gaze to the jars. She decisively smashed the first one.
"Bang!"
As the first jar shattered, a small staff fell out.
"Eh?"
Seeing the item, Hu Tao curiously reached out to touch it.
The moment she touched it, the staff suddenly grew, expanding into a cane several dozen centimeters long.
"It gets bigger?!"
"And... it gives off a very comfortable feeling."
Holding the suddenly enlarged staff, Hu Tao looked amazed. Her plum-blossom eyes blinked rapidly. This staff is so weird.
But the aura radiating from it felt like the border between life and death.
The mysterious realm rare in this world. The boundary between life and death, a secret place managed by generations of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
There, one can meet deceased relatives and souls with unfulfilled wishes.
She sensed that specific aura—the energy of the border—coming from this staff.
She was very sensitive to it.
"Shopkeeper, what is this? It's not just an ordinary staff, right?"
Hu Tao asked Felix curiously.
Since she didn't know what it was, the shopkeeper surely would.
[Soul Staff]: Anything struck by this staff will develop a soul. If used to strike a living being, it can knock their soul out of their body.
"Does this jar tailor its rewards to the person?"
Seeing the staff's description, Felix rubbed his chin.
He was starting to feel like these ordinary jars were targeting their buyers.
Ningguang pulled the book on banking. Wanmin Restaurant pulled a recipe. And now Hu Tao, the funeral director, pulled a soul-related item. It was too coincidental to be ignored.
"Forget it. Doesn't matter."
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Felix explained to Hu Tao, "This is called the Soul Staff. Anything you hit with it will gain a soul. If you hit a living person, it can knock their soul right out of their body—an out-of-body experience."
"That magical?"
Hearing this, Hu Tao's beautiful eyes widened.
This plain-looking staff in my hand can knock people's souls out?
That's too interesting!
And this tool would be incredibly useful for her.
For Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's business, she often traveled to the border of life and death to meet souls with unfulfilled wishes.
With this thing, she could just knock someone's soul out directly. That would be amazing! It would save her the trouble of traveling.
Running to the border every time was quite a hassle.
Hu Tao giggled happily.
Eager to try it, she held the staff and swung it a few times, aiming it at her own head from different angles.
Felix: "..."
Seeing this, Felix's eyelid twitched. Is she trying to knock her own soul out?
The description doesn't say what happens to the soul after it's knocked out. That's pretty risky.
"Shopkeeper! Shopkeeper! Open jars! Open jars!"
Just then, an urgent voice rang out.
A man ran in from outside, looking excited.
"Hmm?"
Seeing the man, Felix raised an eyebrow.
He recognized him. It was a customer from yesterday.
When Childe was opening jars, this man had run in and—right in front of the unlucky Childe—pulled a Chef's Experience and a fishing glove.
"Got money again?"
Looking at the excited man, Felix chuckled. "I remember you only opened three jars yesterday."
"Yes! And for that, I have to thank you, Shopkeeper!"
The man looked thrilled. "That fishing glove I got yesterday let me catch several rare fish! I sold them for over 200,000 Mora! That glove is incredible—it finds and catches fish automatically!"
Speaking of this, the man was ecstatic.
After getting the glove yesterday, he tried it out and was shocked.
It didn't just catch fish; it found them automatically.
He just had to wear the glove, and it did the rest.
He caught several rare fish and made a fortune, which made him overjoyed. He immediately rushed back to open more jars.
He knew that everything he had now came from the jars.
Just one item had made him rich. If he got something else useful, he could make even more Mora!
So the moment he had money, he ran back.
"Director Hu!"
As he spoke, the man suddenly noticed Hu Tao, who was still gesturing with the staff. He recognized her immediately.
As a Liyue local, he knew the Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
He had seen her around often, but he didn't expect Director Hu to be here opening jars too!
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