Returning to the Funeral Hall

As a large shopping mall, it had a dazzling array of goods.

Once again, as expected, Hu Tao's eyes sparkled. She was so lively and spirited, always brimming with curiosity.

"Wow, there are so many people!"

As expected, seeing the people around them pointing and whispering about the three of them, Lin Yiyi knew he had no choice but to keep Zhongli and Hu Tao apart again.

The mall was huge. If polite people came over to collect photos, he could simply pull Hu Tao and Zhongli a little farther apart, and Hu Tao would not hear Zhongli's identity.

But if they ran into hardcore fans or obsessive stans, then upon seeing Zhongli, it would be hard to stop them from shouting something as deafening as, "Lord Rex Lapis!"

Lin Yiyi was momentarily at a loss, but there was no good solution. He could only bite the bullet and head inside first.

The moment they entered, he heard someone exclaim, "Wow! Lord Zhongli! Director Hu!"

The youth was startled at first, then let out a long breath. Thankfully, he had not called Zhongli the title Lin Yiyi least wanted to hear.

"Let me make this clear first: they're working in character right now. Just treat them like they came over from Genshin Impact. There are things you shouldn't say, and things you shouldn't ask about. Got it?"

Looking expressionlessly at the boy who had run over hoping to take a photo with them, Lin Yiyi spoke bluntly. For now, they could only take things one step at a time. He hoped the boy would not let anything slip.

"Oh, oh. Okay, okay."

Since they were staying in character, he could not let this Hu Tao cosplayer find out that Zhongli was Rex Lapis!

Fortunately, the boy had a bit of chuunibyou in him and was willing to play along with them.

"Director Hu, can we take a picture together?"

As Hu Tao stood with her hands on her hips and nodded, another photo that transcended dimensions was added to the world.

"Welcome. What are you looking for? We have men's, women's, and children's clothing!"

After quite a while, the three of them finally arrived at the clothing section.

The three stared at the rows of hanging clothes. Hu Tao in particular had stars practically shining from her eyes.

Lin Yiyi said to the two of them, "Go pick something out yourselves."

The two nodded and began browsing around together, while the youth silently followed behind them.

"Look, Consultant Zhongli, this black outfit would suit you perfectly!"

Hu Tao pointed at an outfit: a white shirt, a black tie, a black jacket, and a pair of black trousers.

"This is a suit. It's mostly worn for formal occasions. If it's for a funeral, this would be very suitable," Lin Yiyi explained.

"Then let us follow Director Hu and Young Friend Lin's advice and purchase this set."

After Lin Yiyi asked the salesclerk to take down the outfit, he led the two directly to the women's section. They could pay for everything together later.

The moment Hu Tao entered, she made a beeline for an outfit.

It was a shirt similar to Zhongli's, except unlike his black one, hers was simply reddish-brown.

"Mm, it complements her Pyro element nicely. It seems she really likes this color."

Lin Yiyi smiled, then asked Hu Tao, "Are you buying another set? One formal outfit and one casual outfit."

Hu Tao nodded and picked out a jacket in a similar shade.

Once they confirmed that Zhongli did not intend to buy a second set, they went to check out.

"The total is 748 yuan."

Lin Yiyi paid expressionlessly. After stuffing their original outfits into the bag, the group strode out of the mall.

Lin Yiyi noticed that it was already twelve o'clock, so he decided to make do with a fast-food restaurant outside.

"Oh my, there are so many people?"

Hu Tao repeatedly exclaimed as she looked at the packed restaurant.

"The mall is right next door, so there's a lot of foot traffic," Lin Yiyi explained, noticing that many of the young people in the restaurant were looking their way.

Thankfully, cosplay was not unusual, so most people merely glanced at them twice. Even more thankfully, no one came over to ask for photos.

After all, everyone needed to eat. The youth did not delay and quickly ordered several dishes, after which the three sat at their table and waited.

Because Lin Yiyi had indulged himself last night, he had no choice but to eat something lighter this time.

Guo City Funeral Home was far from the city center, so the three had no choice but to take a taxi. After half an hour of bumping along the road, they finally arrived at their destination.

When they found the funeral hall, they discovered that everyone was still eating.

"Oh, it's Little Lin! Are these two your friends? Come, sit down, sit down."

"Have you eaten? If not, eat with us."

After the three entered, Uncle Xu Nian, who was still wolfing down his meal, hurriedly put down his chopsticks and immediately came over to invite them.

"No need. We already ate before coming. I brought two people with me today, uh, you could say they're colleagues. They're here to help me keep things under control."

The youth smiled faintly as he replied.

"Ah, ah, alright. Then I'll have to trouble you two. We'll settle the bill together afterward."

One could not perform rites for others without charging a fee, and an entire set of procedures was not cheap.

Different ritual masters charged different rates. Lin Yiyi's full set of services came to around 6,000 yuan.

It included chanting scriptures to guide the dead, choosing an auspicious date for cremation, playing gongs and drums, as well as other smaller rites performed during the scripture chanting.

The youth walked once around the ice coffin in the center of the funeral hall. Unfortunately, the entire body was covered with cloth, so he could not see the deceased's face.

Lin Yiyi did not know how many times he had seen scenes like this. At first, he too would ache at heart upon hearing the heartrending cries of the deceased's relatives.

He had once questioned his master about why there was no spell that could bring the dead back to life.

"Birth, aging, illness, and death are common things in this world. Life and death are natural; life and death are merely temporary departures. Whatever is natural is inevitable. There is no room for choice."

"If you secretly use forbidden arts, you will only be going against the laws of Heaven."

"Colleague, what is that yellow robe you're wearing?"

Hu Tao watched as Lin Yiyi put on a loose yellow robe with a Taiji symbol printed on the back. It was completely different from the clothes she wore when conducting funerals.

"This is a Daoist robe. It is what we Daoists wear when conducting ritual ceremonies," the youth explained.

When he changed into the robe, everyone seated behind him widened their eyes.

So he was a Daoist priest?! At such a young age? He looked to be only around twenty years old.

"Then why didn't you wear it yesterday, Little Lin?"

An ill-timed voice suddenly rang out. Xu Nian was a straightforward man, so he asked directly.

Lin Yiyi scratched his head awkwardly.

"I forgot."

After putting on his Eight Trigrams cap and arranging Zhongli and Hu Tao at either side of him, he began chanting once more.

"I proclaim to the mother of the Xu family: the Supreme One grants transcendence, transcending your lonely soul, all ghosts and spirits, that the four forms of birth may receive grace—"

"By this decree, all of you, swiftly attain transcendence—"

"Jingle, jingle, jingle—"

As the funeral music played, the youth shook the Three Purities Bell in his hand and led everyone present in a deep bow.

He had sent another deceased soul onto the Bridge of No Return.

"I checked the date. The cremation can be held tomorrow," Lin Yiyi said to Xu Nian as he removed his cap.

"Ah, good! Good! You've really been a great help, Little Lin!"

The youth nodded slightly, then asked Zhongli and Hu Tao, "What did you think?"

"Oh my... all the gongs and drums, it's quite similar to our Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."

Holding a bronze gong in her hand, Hu Tao said, "At our Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, we pick an auspicious day, then play music as we seal the deceased in a coffin before burying them in the earth."

Lin Yiyi nodded. "You use burial, while it's different here. Different ethnic groups have different funeral customs."

"The most common ones here are cremation, burial, and water burial."

"Besides those, other regions also have sky burial, cliff burial, cave burial, flowerbed burial, and so on."

"Funeral homes usually conduct cremations, meaning the deceased is sent into a furnace to be cremated."