"Ah, you finally caught up." Watching the two finally approach, Hu Tao wore a meaningful smile.
"Any later, and we'd miss the appointed time. So..." She looked at Tang Wang.
"Legendary adventurer, for the sake of bringing Consultant Ronava's first official job to a successful conclusion, use Shrinking the Ground to an Inch."
"All right." With that, Tang Wang once again used his authority over the Shadow Domain within him.
In Liyue Harbor, the ability was something of an open secret among some of the people who knew him well. Under normal circumstances, though, most people couldn't keep track of an S-rank adventurer's whereabouts, so there were hardly any people like Hu Tao who would ask him to use the ability outright.
"Speaking of which, what exactly did this adeptus Ronava do before?"
During their short walk, Hu Tao seized the opportunity to ask.
"Guiding the dead into the Ley Lines, clearing out the Abyss and other things that cause the Ley Lines to run out of control..."
As Ronava spoke in words imbued with an indescribable aura of death, Hu Tao's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"In that case, having you take part in mortal funerals as a consultant is a bit of a waste of your talents, isn't it?"
"If so, once we finish this job, you can also go meet Adeptus Xiao and clear out monsters with him."
"Of course, Adeptus Xiao isn't short of money, so he does it for free. But you're different, adeptus Ronava. As our new consultant, you'll definitely be paid for all of it!"
"Oh..." Hearing Hu Tao's words, she naturally thought once again of what Tang Wang had just told her. If this was the standard for a normal job, then as far as Celestia was concerned, they probably really were slaves.
"Wait, why do you call me an adeptus?"
"Oh, I understand, I understand." Hu Tao wore another meaningful expression. "Forgive my slip of the tongue, Consultant Ronava."
"All right, we're here." Tang Wang stopped in front of a house with funeral wreaths set outside its gate.
"If you'll excuse me for a moment." Then he set off again, heading toward the Adventurers' Guild.
Ronava instinctively reached out, seemingly wanting to ask where he was going and what he was going to do. But before she acted, she restrained that instinctive movement.
After all, she was a consultant for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor now.
"Let's go, Director Hu." She turned, her voice carrying that familiar aura of death. "Let's get to work."
Meanwhile, Tang Wang had to make a trip to the Adventurers' Guild. His purpose was simple...
"Yes, yes, that's how it should be written." After an almost exhausting exchange with Katheryne, he finally described the details of his original ability as thoroughly as he could. "Then post it as a higher-rank commission and see if anyone can provide any leads."
Since Zhongli had said so, he was certainly going to try to find it. From what he knew of the old geezer, the fact that Zhongli dared tell Tang Wang to look for it was enough to show that he was strong enough to retrieve it now.
"All right." After the commission was posted, Katheryne paused as if she had frozen. "Oh, right, there's also a letter here for you."
With a slightly stiff movement, she pulled out a distinctive sheet of pink-and-gold stationery.
"Ah, let me guess, Linaya sent it?" As he spoke, he had already begun opening the envelope.
Seeing the graceful handwriting on the stationery and a half-dried flower tucked inside the envelope, he immediately came to a conclusion.
"Is she in Mondstadt or Sumeru now?"
"Yes, she's in Mondstadt now." Katheryne's answer was as standard as ever.
"All right, let me see..."
Then, in front of Katheryne, Tang Wang began reading the letter Linaya had written him.
"Hello, my dear Tang Wang! Long time no see! Have you been well over in Liyue?"
He had read that familiar opening more times than he could remember.
"Same as always." A smile tugged at Tang Wang's lips, though he didn't notice it himself.
The letter was short. Judging by how uneven the ink and handwriting were, she probably hadn't written it under particularly stable circumstances.
In short, the letter said roughly this: Mondstadt had recently been suffering a dragon calamity, and as an adviser who happened to have come to the Adventurers' Guild in Mondstadt, she had chosen to use her strength to help as many people as she could.
However, no matter how much she helped, it was only treating the symptoms without addressing the root of the problem.
Mondstadt was now gathering powerful fighters in the hope of hunting down Stormterror. Hoping the disaster would end soon and that Mondstadt would suffer fewer casualties, Linaya wanted him to come to Mondstadt and help.
"After all, of everyone I know, you're already the strongest!"
"But don't push yourself too hard. If you run into danger, your safety comes first."
Linaya hadn't signed her name at the end of the letter. In its place was a chibi drawing of Lumi.
"I see. Mondstadt's main storyline is about to begin..." Tang Wang nodded. "Well, I'd better go. Getting on good terms with our esteemed Fourth Descender ahead of time should take care of quite a few things."
As he spoke, he looked into his Shadow Domain Space. He had already stored several thousand Primogems there.
He had obtained some of them from chests and bought some with Mora through his connections, such as Linaya and Naifu'er. Others had been given to him as payment by clients who couldn't afford to pay him for commissions.
To the natives of Teyvat, Primogems were just "rather pretty bits of rock." But if they fell into the Fourth Descender's hands, then according to the setting of the game he had played, they were rare and valuable treasures.
Wait, could I be a playable character too? But, hmm, the ones pulled with Primogems seem to be some kind of "phantoms of fate"? After all, in the story as established by the setting, the Traveler always seems to fight alone...
At that thought, he suddenly felt that he might have wasted his efforts. Still, now that he had the information, doing something in advance was always useful.
As for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor? A funeral that could be called simple was already drawing to a close.
The mourners, dressed in mourning clothes and weeping, filed out of the hall. The wooden coffin was then buried beneath earth and stone.
Only after all the other uninvolved people had left-including the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's funeral attendants and ferrymen-did Ronava finally voice the question on her mind.
"There's been something I've... been unable to understand for a while now."
"I have long heard that humans have customs and rites for burying their dead. But is it really necessary for such a ceremony to be so grand?"
"The person is already dead, right? No matter how bitterly they cry, it won't change anything." Ronava didn't mention the part about reincarnation through the Ley Lines, but that didn't change her view.
"But that's no reason for them not to cry." Hu Tao's usual playfulness vanished, replaced by a grave solemnity.
"Their tears are both a comfort to the dead and a comfort to themselves." Her voice wasn't loud, but every word rang with conviction.
"Just as you said, these people have already died. That's why people should say goodbye to the dead like this."
"Otherwise, how can those who have died and those who are still alive begin the next chapter of their own stories?"