Second life: Qiqi, kidnapped by Hu Tao

Liyue, Mt. Tianheng.

"Two! Not bad!"

Xiu Yuan looked up at the steep cliff, where two of the flowers he was after grew.

Violetgrass.

One was not too high up, but the other was considerably higher.

"Wait here for me, Qiqi."

With that, Xiu Yuan moved to climb the cliff.

But as soon as he placed his hand on it, Qiqi tugged at his clothes.

"Qiqi... wants to help too..."

She knew the cliff was dangerous. If he fell, Xiu Yuan might die.

She was different. She was a zombie, and a fall could not kill her.

So it would be better if she climbed instead.

Most importantly, she did not want Xiu Yuan to die.

"Be good, Qiqi. Just wait down here. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Seeing her concern, Xiu Yuan spoke with the utmost gentleness.

"But..."

"Don't worry. I'll be all right."

"Okay... Xiu Yuan... be careful... Qiqi will be down here... to catch you."

Then Xiu Yuan rolled up his sleeves and began climbing.

After quite some time, he finally picked the first, closer flower and began making his way toward the second.

Qiqi watched Xiu Yuan on the sheer cliff with a worried expression, her heart in her throat.

Little did she know.

Danger was slowly closing in on her.

Behind Qiqi, a girl wearing a Primordial Hexagonal Hat crept toward her with a sack in her hands and a wicked grin on her face.

"Huh... why... did it get dark...?"

The sack had now covered Qiqi's vision.

"Got you!" Delighted, Hu Tao slung the sack containing Qiqi over her shoulder and took off running.

Dazed, Qiqi had no idea what had happened. Before she could even cry for help, Hu Tao had carried her far away.

"Phew..."

"Finally got it."

Xiu Yuan tucked the second violetgrass flower into his pocket and let out a heavy breath.

Climbing up was easy; getting down was hard. But that only applied to ordinary people.

Xiu Yuan was different, of course.

He dropped his weapon straight down. As soon as he heard it hit the ground, he vanished with a Flame Flash Body Flicker. When he reappeared, he was safely back on the ground.

"Qiqi, let's go to the next..."

"Huh?!"

"Where did she go?!"

Xiu Yuan paled in alarm, looking all around and calling loudly for Qiqi.

But there was no response, as though Qiqi had never been there at all.

Still, the observant Xiu Yuan noticed a bright red flower petal on the ground.

"A plum blossom...?"

"Little Tao..."

"Holy shit!!!!"

He was screwed now!

When had that little rascal Hu Tao set her sights on them?!

How had Qiqi gotten kidnapped without making a single sound?!

Xiu Yuan had no time to think. He hurried toward the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

If Qiqi got fucking buried, wouldn't she be done for?!

Meanwhile.

Hu Tao tied Qiqi beneath a plum tree.

"Little zombie, we can't upset the balance of yin and yang. Let this director bury you."

With a shovel in hand, Hu Tao spoke to Qiqi as she dug away, leaving only Qiqi's head poking out of the sack.

"Bury...?" Qiqi looked at Hu Tao with her big pink eyes.

She seemed to understand what this girl was saying and immediately shook her head. "Qiqi... doesn't want to be buried... Qiqi doesn't want to die..."

As she spoke, she began to struggle.

"That won't do. Just wait a moment. I'll have the hole ready soon. You'll feel much better once you're buried."

Hu Tao sped up her shovel strokes, scooping out heaps of dirt as the hole grew larger and larger.

"No... Qiqi doesn't want to... you're a bad person..."

"How could this director be a bad person? I just want to bury you, that's all. Once you're buried, you'll be free."

"Waaah..." Qiqi was terrified.

But just then, a crimson javelin suddenly plunged into the ground beside them.

In an instant.

A figure appeared right beside them.

"Xiu Yuan... help..."

At the sight of Xiu Yuan, Qiqi looked as though she had found a lifeline. Her big, tearful eyes pleaded desperately with him to save her.

Xiu Yuan hurriedly untied Qiqi and freed her from the sack.

"And you are...?" Sure enough, Hu Tao did not remember Xiu Yuan.

At Hu Tao's question, Xiu Yuan froze for a moment, a complicated smile appearing on his face.

Hu Tao, who had once grown up alongside him, was now asking his name as though he were a stranger.

It would have been a lie to say it did not hurt.

Though the Hu Tao of this world did not remember any of it, Xiu Yuan always would.

How could he simply forget more than a decade of memories...?

"Hello, I'm Xiu Yuan. I'm with Qiqi."

"Are you a zombie too?"

Hu Tao's eyes gleamed, as though she wanted to bury Xiu Yuan as well.

Fine.

Very fine.

Absolutely wonderful.

Hu Tao was really something. What a friend.

The moment he stopped being her grandpa, she was ready to bury him.

Xiu Yuan's face, so wistful just a moment ago, immediately darkened.

"I'm not a zombie."

"Oh... all right."

Seeing Hu Tao's disappointed expression, Xiu Yuan's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Seriously, was she that disappointed she couldn't bury him?!

"Then I can only bury Qiqi." As she spoke, Hu Tao turned her gaze back to Qiqi.

Qiqi jolted as though she had been shocked and hurriedly hid behind Xiu Yuan in fear.

Xiu Yuan scooped Qiqi up and took off running.

Before Hu Tao could react, Xiu Yuan and Qiqi were already far away.

"Hey!"

"..."

"They... ran away...? Hmm... I'll have to act faster next time."

Hu Tao reflected on how slowly she had acted. Had she been a little quicker, she could have freed Qiqi from her suffering.

She looked at the half-dug hole and felt a little guilty.

Still.

There would always be another chance.

Hu Tao firmly believed she would meet Qiqi again.

Only after running a considerable distance and confirming that Hu Tao had not followed did he let out a heavy breath.

"Phew... finally safe."

"Who is she... why does she want to bury Qiqi... Qiqi doesn't want to die..."

"Her name is Hu Tao. She's the seventy-seventh director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, and her main job is conducting funerals. She thinks Qiqi, as someone who's already dead, shouldn't still be living in this world, because it causes you suffering. So she wants to free you by burying you."

Xiu Yuan explained to Qiqi why Hu Tao had acted that way.

"Hu Tao is a bad person... Qiqi doesn't like her..."

Xiu Yuan could only smile helplessly.

After all, in Qiqi's eyes, Hu Tao had just tried to kill her. Asking Qiqi to immediately accept and understand Hu Tao's actions was a bit much.

So Xiu Yuan said nothing more. They just needed to be careful not to let her get kidnapped again.

Xiu Yuan knew Hu Tao was stubborn, just like him.

Having failed this time, she definitely would not give up.

Now they just needed to find the violetgrass as soon as possible and trade it with Xiangling for coconut milk. Then they could go home, where they would be much safer in the forest.

"It's all right. As long as I'm here, I won't let anything happen to Qiqi," Xiu Yuan said gently.

"Mm... Xiu Yuan is so nice... like you..."

"There's... violetgrass..."

Sharp-eyed Qiqi had spotted what they were looking for on the sheer cliff.

"This time... can you... let Qiqi go... Qiqi doesn't want to be taken away..."