"Huh?"
Hu Tao's pretty eyebrows arched.
"What are you talking about? Qiqi is not a human, she's a zombie!"
"I don't believe it! You're the one who isn't human! Do you take me for a three-year-old child? Calling such a cute little girl a zombie? Why don't you call a deer a horse instead?"
Fengluo said with righteous indignation.
*Favorability toward Hu Tao has decreased!*
"Um... Qiqi... really is a zombie..."
Inside the burlap sack, Qiqi raised her small hand and said weakly.
"..."
"..."
A heavy silence fell over the scene.
Fengluo fell silent.
This slap in the face came rather quickly, and loudly.
He could feel his face burning.
It was even more humiliating than losing to Hu Tao just now!
Hu Tao spread her hands and shrugged at him.
"Hey... You're joking, right?"
After a long while, Fengluo asked with a dry voice.
"No... Qiqi doesn't lie..."
Qiqi still looked completely innocent.
This made it very hard for Fengluo to believe that this little girl could possibly be a zombie.
His scalp tingled as a flood of terrifying legends flashed through his mind.
Soon, however, Fengluo realized that he might have transmigrated into a game world.
Judging by the art style here,
it shouldn't be that dark, right?
So, he asked tentatively.
"Then—does Qiqi eat people?"
"No."
"Will she hurt people?"
"No."
"That settles it, then!"
Hearing this, Fengluo immediately felt relieved.
"Look, Director Hu, Qiqi is a harmless zombie. She even saved my life. Why are you still giving her such a hard time?"
"Because it disrupts the order between Yin and Yang."
Hu Tao said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"If people who are already dead continue to exist in this world, wouldn't everything fall into chaos?"
"Our Wangsheng Funeral Parlor exists precisely to prevent such things from happening."
Since she had nothing better to do anyway,
Hu Tao simply found a rock to sit on and proceeded to tell the boy and the zombie all about the history of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Wangsheng Funeral Parlor
was the organization responsible for funeral rites in Liyue Harbor.
As the Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao liked to wander around Liyue whenever she had free time.
On the one hand,
she did it to take in the scenery and find inspiration;
on the other hand,
she wanted to see if she could pick up any business along the way.
Because the finances of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor... had a rather high deficit rate.
Of course,
on very rare occasions, Hu Tao would also casually bury evil monsters that might pose a threat to the world.
And the reason she wanted to bury Qiqi was because she had sensed that Qiqi's true nature was that of a zombie.
In Hu Tao's understanding, an entity like Qiqi was harmful to the world.
Therefore, she had to be eliminated.
"That's pretty much how it is."
Hu Tao said, taking another sip of water.
"This... this..."
Fengluo's worldview received a massive shock.
He was almost convinced by Hu Tao.
However, when he looked over at Qiqi, he saw her waving her stiff little hands frantically.
"Qiqi... doesn't want to die..."
Although Qiqi's expression remained calm, her brows were slightly furrowed, and her eyes held a pitiful look.
This touched a soft spot deep inside Fengluo.
Gritting his teeth, he suddenly lunged forward, grabbed Hu Tao's leg, and yelled, "Qiqi, run! I'll hold her off!"
"What are you doing? Oof!"
Hu Tao hadn't expected Fengluo to pull this stunt, and she struggled hard to shake him off.
But somehow, Fengluo had found a burst of strength and clung stubbornly to her leg, refusing to let go.
"Run, Qiqi!"
Fengluo howled, "I can't hold on much longer!"
"Thank... you..."
Seizing the opportunity, Qiqi snapped out of her daze and clumsily scrambled out of the burlap sack.
With stiff, labored steps, she scurried away.
She knew Hu Tao wouldn't attack a living person, but she still kept looking back every few steps.
"Don't look back! Just run!"
Fengluo yelled, still clinging tightly to Hu Tao's leg.
Not until Qiqi's figure vanished from sight
did he finally let go in exhaustion.
"Hugged enough?"
Dangerous light flashed in Hu Tao's eyes as her fair, slender fingers curled into small fists.
"Since you dared to pull this, you must have prepared yourself for the consequences, right?"
Fengluo covered his face with one hand and protected his vital spot with the other.
"I'm ready."
Bam, bam, crash!
Outside Liyue Harbor, the sound of heavy blows landing on flesh echoed alongside a young man's screams.
After getting a severe beating from Hu Tao, a bruised and battered Fengluo was dragged back to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor by her.
Of course, not to be cremated.
To Fengluo's surprise, he received treatment there.
His scrapes and bruises were tended to, and the large bump on the back of his head—inflicted by goodness knows who—was bandaged up as well.
"What... what on earth are you trying to do?"
Wrapped up almost like a mummy, Fengluo looked nervous and uneasy.
Right now, he was sharing a room with a bunch of unsold coffins.
It wasn't a terrible arrangement, though.
After all, Hu Tao slept in the coffin right next door.
"What do I want to do? Treat your injuries, of course."
Hu Tao sat up in her coffin, resting her chin on the edge as she stared at Fengluo.
"You may not be much of a fighter, and you're a bit dim-witted, but you're quite loyal."
"This Director appreciates your kind. How about it? Want to work for me? Wangsheng Funeral Parlor doesn't usually recruit outsiders, you know. You must have accumulated some good fortune in your past life to get this kind of blessing now."
"Blessing?"
At the mention of those two words,
the corners of Fengluo's mouth twitched.
He remembered.
His previous life had practically been a 996 routine.
He certainly had accumulated enough "dedication blessings" for a lifetime!
Still...
Though Fengluo still had his doubts about Hu Tao and felt that this erratic girl was a bit unreliable,
he had to admit that her proposal was extremely tempting.
Hu Tao was furious about him interfering with her capturing Qiqi,
yet she hadn't let personal grudges interfere with her duties and had even treated his injuries.
If nothing else,
Fengluo at least knew how to repay a kindness.
"Hey! Have you made up your mind yet? Don't just sit there staring into space!"
Hu Tao urged, "My time is very valuable, you know! If you're going to agree, agree. If not, I'll..."
"I agree!"
Fengluo nodded without hesitation.
Whatever!
Even though Hu Tao seemed a bit flaky,
Wangsheng Funeral Parlor held a prominent position in Liyue Harbor and dominated the funeral industry, so it had to have something special about it.
"Ha! That's more like it! This Director loves your decisive nature!"
Hu Tao chuckled, then lay back down in her coffin to sleep.
"I'm going to take a nap. Once your injuries heal, find some work to do on your own."
"If there's anything you don't understand, go ask Consultant Zhongli."
"Snore... snore..."
Then came soft, light breathing noises.
Hu Tao actually fell asleep just like that!
???
Fengluo's head was full of question marks, and he felt the whole situation was utterly absurd.
I'm hired just like that?
Is your precious time apparently spent on sleeping?
They really do things differently here!