The kidnapped Qiqi

"Wangsheng Funeral Parlor? I know where it is. Follow me."

Keqing recalled where the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was and led Zhong Baiye toward it.

Outside the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

Even from a distance, Keqing and Zhong Baiye could hear people arguing.

"Stop kidnapping Qiqi. She doesn't want to be laid to rest."

"Hu Tao is scary. Qiqi is scared."

"Qiqi, don't listen to him. Come with me. I'll take you somewhere fun."

Keqing and Zhong Baiye drew closer.

A woman wore a red robe, her long red hair topped with a rounded, six-sided hat adorned with her signature plum blossoms.

She was carrying a sack on her back. Its contents were hidden, apart from the head of an adorable zombie poking out. The girl looked terrified, almost scared to tears.

Beside her stood a green-haired young man who smelled of medicinal herbs. Alarmingly, a white venomous snake was coiled around his neck, continually flicking its tongue.

Zhong Baiye recognized them at a glance. Weren't these Hu Tao, Qiqi, and Baizhu?

He thought back to the game's lore and immediately understood what they were doing.

In the game, Hu Tao had always had her sights set on Qiqi, wanting to lay her to rest. She had even abducted Qiqi several times for that purpose.

It seemed Hu Tao had kidnapped Qiqi again, only for Baizhu to catch her.

Hu Tao spotted Keqing and Zhong Baiye approaching.

She immediately let Qiqi out.

"Keqing, I didn't do anything. Ask Qiqi if you don't believe me."

Hu Tao spoke to Keqing with a perfectly serious expression, but her eyes betrayed her. She couldn't look Keqing in the eye.

Keqing glanced at Qiqi, who was on the verge of tears, then turned to see Baizhu helplessly spreading his hands.

Then she told Hu Tao sternly, "Hu Tao, if I catch you kidnapping Qiqi again, you can forget about promoting the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's packages."

"Yes, yes, of course. You're absolutely right, Keqing."

Hu Tao agreed at once, but everyone knew she didn't mean a word of it.

Once freed, Qiqi immediately hid behind Baizhu, looking at Hu Tao as though she were a demon.

"Qiqi is scared."

Seeing Qiqi trembling, Baizhu said, "Let's go back."

After greeting Keqing, Baizhu led the shivering Qiqi away toward Bubu Pharmacy.

Once Qiqi was gone, Hu Tao looked disappointed.

But she quickly regained her smile and spoke to Zhong Baiye.

"Yo! What brings you to this parlor director? Hmm? You didn't know? I'm Hu Tao, the seventy-seventh director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor! Still, looking at you, you're positively glowing with health. Hmm... I take it you're here for something unrelated to business, right?"

Seeing Hu Tao's beaming face, Zhong Baiye was instantly won over by her cuteness. After all, before coming to this world, he had been a devoted Hu Tao fan.

Noticing Zhong Baiye staring blankly, Keqing assumed he didn't believe Hu Tao was the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's director and promptly explained.

"Believe it or not, Hu Tao really is the seventy-seventh director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."

Keqing's words snapped Zhong Baiye out of his daze as he stared at Hu Tao.

"Ahem! Hello, Director. I'm Zhong Baiye. I came to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to find someone named Zhongli. Could you take us to him?"

Hu Tao lowered her head in thought, then looked Zhong Baiye over.

"Zhongli is our guest consultant at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. He's usually pretty elusive, but I happen to know where he is right now. Follow me."

Hu Tao then led the two of them to a teahouse.

"Now, as for Rex Lapis..."

On the teahouse's raised platform, a storyteller was recounting a tale about Rex Lapis.

The seats below were packed with people from Liyue listening to the story.

But one man had an extraordinary air about him. He looked nothing like an ordinary person and stood apart from everyone else.

Zhong Baiye recognized him at first glance as Rex Lapis, Zhongli. It was because of his fully constellation-unlocked Zhongli that he had ended up in Teyvat.

Hu Tao led them to the handsome young man's table.

She addressed him.

"Zhongli, these two honored guests have come to see you about something."

"Caw, caw, caw..."

A long moment passed, but Zhongli remained engrossed in the storyteller's tale, ignoring Hu Tao.

Unable to stand it any longer, Hu Tao slapped the table hard.

Smack!

Zhongli finally realized Hu Tao was beside him and roused himself from his memories of the past.

Seeing Hu Tao's angry expression, Zhongli asked apologetically, "Hu Tao, what brings you here in your spare time?"

Still angry, Hu Tao repeated what she had said.

After hearing her out, Zhongli turned his gaze toward Keqing and Zhong Baiye.

When he saw the Vision at Zhong Baiye's waist, his pupils contracted slightly.

Before Zhong Baiye could speak, Zhongli asked him, "May I take a look at your Vision?"

Zhong Baiye felt a little uneasy. After all, the man before him was the genuine Rex Lapis. In theory, only those who earned his recognition could receive a Geo Vision.

But his Vision had come from a system check-in. In a sense, it was a fake.

Even so, Zhong Baiye handed his Vision straight to Zhongli without hesitation. As he remembered it, Zhongli was the friendliest toward humans among the gods who had appeared. Surely he wouldn't do anything to Zhong Baiye over a fake Vision.

Zhongli took Zhong Baiye's Vision and ran his fingers over it, feeling the patterns on its surface.

After a while, a hint of nostalgia actually appeared in Zhongli's otherwise placid eyes.

Then Zhongli returned the Vision to Zhong Baiye.

"Is your name Zhong Baiye?"

Zhong Baiye was astonished. He hadn't told Zhongli his name, yet Zhongli had been able to say it.

Seeing Zhong Baiye's surprise, Zhongli immediately reassured him. "There's no need to worry. I have a special ability that lets me learn people's names through their Visions."

Zhong Baiye didn't dwell on it. In any case, he had cleared the hurdle with his Vision. He went straight to the point, taking the Sigil of Permission Tartaglia had given him earlier out of his bag.

"Mr. Zhongli, do you recognize what I'm holding?"

Zhongli examined the Sigil of Permission in his hand closely. His expression didn't change at all, remaining as calm as still water.

"I understand why you've come to see me. But without rules, there can be no order. Whether mortal or adeptus, only by fulfilling their respective duties can they preserve lasting peace in Liyue."

Hearing Zhongli's words, Zhong Baiye thought for a moment.

In plain terms, he probably means that Liyue's people and adepti each have their own rules, and he can't break them.

But when he thought of how Osial might kill the people of Liyue Harbor, Zhong Baiye could no longer worry about all that. He wanted to plead with Zhongli again.

"Mr. Zhongli..."