"Hey, tell me, what's wrong with our leader?"
"A ritual attendant at the Rebirth Hall asked in confusion."
"I don't know..."
Upon hearing this, his colleague beside him also expressed some doubt.
"Ever since the traveler brought something back that day, the hall master has been in this state..."
“I remember that apart from the day the previous leader passed away, our leader has never shown this kind of behavior again…”
"Shh... watch your mouth. Haven't you noticed that the atmosphere in the Hall of Rebirth, and even the whole of Liyue, has been a bit strange lately? Even the Jiang Clan Farm, which doesn't close for the Lantern Festival, has temporarily closed..."
"Who says otherwise? By the way, speaking of Jiang's Farm, I remember their boss and Master Hu have a pretty good relationship, right? Could we invite him here to comfort Master Hu?"
"Sigh, who knows? By the way, that famous traveler seems to have been staying at our Hall of Rebirth lately. She seems to be quite familiar with our hall master. Should we ask her for help...?"
"This...is indeed a good idea..."
………………
Just as the two were whispering to each other, suddenly, Hu Tao's door opened.
"Hall Master Hu!"
Upon seeing Hu Tao emerge, the two quickly bowed, respectfully greeted her, and said hello.
"Um."
Hu Tao simply hummed softly. Apart from losing her usual mischievousness and becoming serious, everything else about her was exactly the same as usual. She didn't seem like someone who had locked herself in her room for three or four days at all...
Or rather, for some reason, the two officials even felt that their master was actually... faintly excited?
"Tell everyone to get ready, we've got a job..."
As she spoke, Hu Tao thought for a moment and added.
"We need to prepare according to the highest standards of our ancestral hall, understand?"
Upon hearing this, the two were taken aback for a moment, then nodded.
"Understood."
With that, the two ceremonial attendants went to prepare...
As the two figures walked further and further away, Hu Tao quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well, it seems my acting skills are still pretty good..."
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded, and Zhongli, with a solemn expression, walked in from outside.
"Hey, Zhongli, you've arrived!"
Hu Tao waved to Zhong Li.
"Over the next few days, we're going to be welcoming a big client, so be prepared!"
Zhongli didn't say much, just nodded slightly, and after a long while, he slowly spoke.
"Master Hu, next time you do your makeup, remember not to rush."
"Huh? Zhongli, what are you saying? I don't understand."
Hu Tao feigned anger.
"I'm naturally beautiful, do I even need makeup?"
"Hall Master Hu..."
Zhongli said softly.
"Dark circles under the eyes...and tear stains, not completely concealed..."
Upon hearing this, Hu Tao's face froze instantly. She quickly turned around and ran back to her room...
"..."
After a moment of silence, Zhongli sighed softly, turned around, and went to prepare the items needed for the next few days.
Just as Hu Tao said before, these next few days... will be busy...
After a long while, Hu Tao looked at herself in the mirror and only felt relieved after confirming that her makeup was flawless...
"Alright, it's time to go out now..."
After straightening her clothes again, Hu Tao walked out confidently...
………………
Soon, Hu Tao arrived inside the Hall of Rebirth, in a room he had set up exclusively for one person.
In the corner of the room, a candle burned quietly, bringing a sliver of light to the room.
By the light of the candles, one could vaguely see a man lying on a couch in the center of the room.
"This is a room I prepared especially for you, but I never expected you to move in at this time."
Hu Tao gently wiped the face of the man lying on the tatami with a damp handkerchief, she said softly.
"Life is truly unpredictable..."
"I remember when we first met, you looked just like this..."
“At that time, I almost dragged you into the Hall of Rebirth, but luckily you still had a breath left…”
"Thinking about it, we've known each other for so long already. Fate is truly a wondrous thing..."
Like a rambling old woman, Hu Tao kept recounting what had happened between them to the man on the bed, as if he were really just asleep.
"Thanks to you too, if it weren't for you, I might really have gotten married, and my life... would have been ruined..."
"But...why did you leave me so soon..."
"You must be a truly wicked villain, stealing someone's heart and then just leaving like that..."
"However, I am a magnanimous person and will not pursue your previous rude behavior."
………………
At this moment, Jiang Mu stood next to Hu Tao, staring blankly at this scene.
He knew that Hu Tao had feelings for him.
After all, she was the first person Jiang Mu met after arriving in Teyvat, and the two had been through a lot together...
To say that Jiang Mu has no feelings for Hu Tao... would be an absolute lie.
In his previous life, Jiang Mu had read many light novels about transmigrating to Teyvat, and had fantasized about having intimate interactions with these girls, some of whom were pure and cute, others charming and alluring.
However, it's absolutely impossible for Jiang Mu to be like those male protagonists in light novels, taking in every woman he meets...
Because that wasn't a person, that was a bulldozer...
However, it's too late to say all this now; he's already dead...
In the past few days, he has tried various methods to communicate with Hu Tao, or even the little ghost beside him, but all of them have ended in failure.
He even tried to contact Zhongli, but whether he spoke to him directly or shouted at him from the side, he still came up empty-handed...
………………
"Why didn't you book the all-inclusive service at the funeral parlor beforehand? Now you're trying to do it retroactively, and there's no discount for that..."
At this moment, Hu Tao continued to ramble on and on.
Putting down the handkerchief in her hand, Hu Tao gently stroked Jiang Mu's face. Looking into those eyes that had once faced the very realities of life without fear, she realized they would never open again...
"You didn't listen to the hall master back then, and now you're paying the price..."
"never mind……"
"This will not happen again..."
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