"Uh... that's probably not a good idea."
The undertaker girl paused in her page-turning and said hesitantly.
"What's not good about it?"
Hu Tao was taken aback and asked, "You mean the umbrellas cost too much to make? Don't worry about that. I'm on fairly good terms with the Second Young Master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild, so I should be able to get a pretty decent discount."
"That's not it."
The undertaker girl shook her head, caught between laughter and tears, and said, "Keeping an umbrella with the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's emblem on it at home would be pretty scary, wouldn't it?"
"Scary? What's scary about it? They'll all become our customers someday."
said Hu Tao.
"But that's a matter for the future. People still find the subject of death rather taboo."
said the undertaker girl.
"There's a good line in one of Fang Qiu's books: live to the fullest, die without regret."
Hu Tao waved a hand and said, "As long as it's not an accidental death—just the natural course of birth, aging, sickness, and death—I don't think there's anything to be squeamish about."
"It's not about what you think—for something like this, it's about what they think, isn't it?"
the undertaker girl said helplessly.
"That's exactly what I'm trying to do—get them to see it that way too. Birth, aging, sickness, and death; all the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth lie within our purview."
Hu Tao said, "Alright, it's settled. I'll go place a custom order with the Feiyun Commerce Guild tomorrow."
"Fine."
The undertaker girl gave Hu Tao a helpless look, and knowing she couldn't change the Director's mind, she stopped trying to persuade her.
After all, Old Meng had tried to talk her out of it for ages, and Hu Tao still hadn't changed back that slogan of "buy one get one free, buy two get three, the more you buy the more you get."
Reading the part where Hina Amano pressed her palms tightly together and summoned clear skies, Hu Tao stretched lazily and looked up at the sky.
"Looks like the snow's coming down harder."
Beneath the ink-black night, a mighty wind carrying a sky full of drifting snowflakes wailed across the heavens over Liyue Harbor, sweeping off grandly into the distance.
The wind drove the snow past the lanterns hung along both sides of Feiyun Slope's streets, brushed past Zhongli as he walked the flagstone road beneath his umbrella, and at last settled upon the upper floor of the Wanwen Bookhouse—upon the tavern proprietress Jiang Qin Ji, who stood staring blankly at the chatting, laughing novel enthusiasts.
The cold snowflakes pattered haphazardly against her.
Fang Qiu... she actually wrote a happy ending this time?
How worrying.
Surely Fang Qiu wasn't really going to do what those people said—believe in love, turn over a new leaf, and stop writing tragedies from now on?
That can't happen!
Without Fang Qiu's books, the tavern's monthly income would drop by quite a bit...
No, next time she ran into Fang Qiu, she'd have to sound her out, ask whether her new book was a tragedy or a happy ending.
She sighed, walked all the way down from the Wanwen Bookhouse, and returned to the entrance of her own tavern.
Inside the tavern, there were already a few patrons.
But business was nowhere near as booming as it had been before.
Just as she was sighing, she suddenly caught sight of an ethereal, white-haired woman gliding along beneath an oilpaper umbrella.
It was Fang Qiu.
Who would have thought—speak of Fang Qiu, and Fang Qiu appears.
Just as she smiled and prepared to call out a greeting, and incidentally fish for a little intel from Fang Qiu, the white-robed woman walked straight past, not sparing her so much as a glance. ?
She froze.
What was going on?
Why didn't Fang Qiu even look at her?
Was it because the snow was too heavy and she was in a hurry to get home, so she just didn't glance this way?
Or had she somehow offended Fang Qiu at some point?
Watching the white-robed woman gradually walk off into the distance, the tavern proprietress's refined, fair face wore a look of bewilderment, and a hint of hurt.
Before, rain or shine, as long as she was standing at the door, Fang Qiu would always greet her of her own accord whenever she passed by.
Why was she being ignored this time?
At that very moment.
A tall, upright figure beneath an umbrella crossed paths with the white-haired woman and came to stand before her.
"Good evening, Mr. Zhongli. Have you finished the book? Was it to your satisfaction?"
The tavern proprietress let out a long breath, pushed the matter of Fang Qiu to the back of her mind, and looked at Zhongli, offering a greeting.
"I've finished it. It was reasonably satisfying."
Zhongli nodded, then said, "Proprietress, are there any seats left in the tavern?"
"Yes, plenty of them."
the tavern proprietress said. "Your usual seat is free too."
Worried as she was, when answering Zhongli's question she still used a thoroughly cheerful tone.
"Mm."
Zhongli nodded and said, "Two pots of your finest Osmanthus Wine. Go and prepare them; I'll see myself to my seat."
"Mm."
The tavern proprietress nodded.
She made her way to the counter, prepared two pots of fine Osmanthus Wine for Zhongli, and carried them over to the table where he sat by the window, gazing pensively at the snowy scene outside.
"Enjoy, Mr. Zhongli."
Having said this, the tavern proprietress smiled at Zhongli, then turned and left.
Watching Zhongli pour himself a cup of wine and drink it in silence, the tavern proprietress felt something was off.
According to what Mr. Zhongli had just said, he'd already finished Fang Qiu's book.
By rights, Mr. Zhongli should have been reading it this whole time.
Wasn't Fang Qiu's book a happy ending?
Why would he come here to drink away his troubles?
How strange.
Just as she was puzzling over it, a woman in her twenties, holding a copy of "Weathering With You," sat down across from Zhongli.
She recognized this woman too—she was a secretary from the Yuehai Pavilion.
Today, though, she didn't seem to be wearing her Yuehai Pavilion attire; she was probably off duty.
"What would you like to drink?"
the tavern proprietress asked, stepping forward.
"Osmanthus Wine."
the woman said in a low voice, her eyes red.
As she spoke, tears slipped once more from her reddened eyes.
"What's wrong? Are you alright?"
the tavern proprietress asked with concern.
Even Zhongli set down his cup and turned his gaze toward her.
"It's nothing. I'm just in a bad mood."
the woman said, shaking her head.
"Then please wait a moment."
The tavern proprietress glanced at the copy of "Weathering With You" beside the woman's hand and grew even more puzzled.
Was this "Weathering With You"... really a happy ending?
Mr. Zhongli, this Yuehai Pavilion secretary—why did they both come to drink after finishing it?
Surely they hadn't finished it yet and, expecting Fang Qiu to twist the knife, decided to down some drinks first before reading on?
Still, puzzled as she was.
Since the other party didn't want to talk about it, it wasn't her place to pry.
She returned to the counter and brought the woman a pot of Osmanthus Wine.
"Thank you."
After thanking her, the woman poured herself a cup and began to drink in silence.
Drinking and weeping all the while.
The woman had a poor tolerance for alcohol; a single cup down her throat, and a rosy flush suffused her fair face.
Yet she didn't stop, immediately downing another cup. By the fourth cup, the woman was quite thoroughly drunk.
But still she didn't stop.
After two more cups, she collapsed onto the table with a thud, tears streaming down uncontrollably as she mumbled indistinctly in her delirium.
"I miss you so much... Why does the Osmanthus Wine you loved... taste so bitter..."
Was she missing her beloved?
Looking at the woman slumped across the table, Zhongli raised his cup and took a sip.
This Osmanthus Wine did indeed carry a hint of bitterness.
"Why... didn't you listen... to me? Why did you have to join... the Millelith..."
the woman wept. "If you hadn't joined... the Millelith, you wouldn't have died... We might even have... been married by now..."
The Millelith?
Zhongli paused mid-drink.
This woman's departed beloved had been a member of the Millelith.
Had he died in battle protecting Liyue?
"What 'protecting Liyue,' what 'as firm as a thousand rocks, unmoved by any barrier'... I don't understand any of it... Why can't you see—in my heart... compared to Liyue, you matter more..."
The woman's voice was full of grief.
Hearing these words, the hand with which Zhongli held his cup trembled slightly.
He turned his gaze to the window.
Outside, the wind and snow whistled bleakly, and passersby hurried along the road.
A few novel enthusiasts who had just finished "Weathering With You" laughed as they discussed the book's plot.
Behind them were a woman in her early thirties with lovely features and a cute young girl wearing a ponytail.
"Big sister Han Shuang, the snow's getting heavier and heavier. How about we go see 'Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother' tomorrow instead?"
"Good idea. Let's find somewhere to grab a bite and warm ourselves up first. It wouldn't do to catch a chill—my treat."
The two of them walked off into the distance as well, vanishing into the wind and snow.
Zhongli raised his cup and drained it in one gulp.
For mortals, one could choose to cast aside the world for the sake of a beloved.
Hodaka Morishima wanted the one he loved to live, even if it meant Inazuma City would be drowned beneath the waters.
This woman sitting across from him was just like Hodaka Morishima—she only wanted the one she loved to live.
Neither of them was wrong.
But he was different.
He was the god of Liyue.
Whether it was sealing away the Dragon King Azhdaha, or...
it had all been his... choice...
He had chosen the people of Liyue...
A gust of cold wind blew in from outside the window, and the woman sitting across from him shivered and huddled into herself.
Zhongli set down his cup, and an invisible force instantly enveloped the woman, shutting out the freezing cold.
The woman's trembling body gradually settled.
Just as Zhongli poured himself another cup and continued drinking, the woman mumbled another line in her sleep.
"Though I can't... take to the battlefield and slay enemies... like you did... I protect the Liyue you loved... in my own way... I'm a secretary at the Yuehai Pavilion now..."
Having said this... she sank into a deep sleep.
Looking at her sorrowful sleeping face, Zhongli filled a fresh cup with wine, poured it out the window, then raised his own cup and drained it in one gulp.
Watching Zhongli and the drunken woman, the tavern proprietress finally understood why Mr. Zhongli had come to drink.
Perhaps Mr. Zhongli, too, had a past.
A memory of casting aside something precious in order to protect something precious.
The tavern proprietress picked up a copy of Fang Qiu's "Weathering With You" that lay on the counter and turned to its last page.
On the left-hand page, the male lead Hodaka Morishima and the female lead Hina Amano embraced happily upon a long embankment.
On the right-hand page was written a single line: "Between the world and you, I choose you."
This meant the same thing as the drunken Yuehai Pavilion secretary's words: "Compared to the world, you matter more"...
They must have read "Weathering With You" and found it resonated with them.
She sighed, set the copy of "Weathering With You" in her hand down on the counter, then took out a blanket, walked up behind the Yuehai Pavilion secretary, and draped it over her.
"Mr. Zhongli, it's cold out. Perhaps drink a little less."
the tavern proprietress said.
"Thank you for the reminder."
Zhongli nodded.
The tavern proprietress said no more and withdrew.
She walked all the way to the entrance.
Outside the door, the wind and snow raged on unabated.
The snow seemed to be falling harder and harder...
"Oh, Fang Qiu, Fang Qiu, you really are... someone to love and hate all at once."
the tavern proprietress murmured, looking in the direction Fang Qiu had earlier departed.
Come to think of it...
she'd almost forgotten about how Fang Qiu had just ignored her...
It was probably just that the snow was too heavy and she was in a hurry to get on her way...
The vast, boundless snow rustled down, and from time to time a mighty wind swept the heavy snow off into the distance.
Meanwhile, Fang Qiu was curled up before the fireplace, holding Tingyu and leafing through the book in her hands.
This book was "Offering My Heart to Lady Kujou Sara," written by an Inazuma author.
It was a work about a Tenryou Commission soldier who followed Kujou Sara into battles across the land.
The work was extremely realistic, as if the author truly were a Tenryou Commission soldier.
Though it had a strong sense of realism, it was lacking in storytelling.
This couldn't help but remind her of an incident some time ago, when a Snezhnayan spy had written a spy novel to earn some extra cash, and after being investigated, was confirmed to indeed be a spy from Snezhnaya.
She wondered where that Snezhnayan spy was being interrogated now, whether his face had been beaten into a swollen pulp, and whether the word "spy" had been branded onto his face with instruments of torture.
Just thinking about it hurt.
Come to think of it, this sort of thing seemed to have happened in her past life too.
It seemed being a spy wasn't easy either.
You had to moonlight writing novels to earn extra cash.
Besides spies, there also seemed to be tomb raiders writing tomb-raiding novels.
Supposedly, there was an organization in Liyue called the Treasure Hoarders.
She wondered whether any of them, short on Mora, might write tomb-raiding novels to earn extra cash.
Just as she was thinking this, the door to the hall opened.
Fang Qiu rose and, carrying the already-sleeping Tingyu, walked into the hall.
She saw Shenhe closing her umbrella and stepping in through the main door.
"Welcome back. Bath first, or dinner first? I got takeout from the Wanmin Restaurant today; it just needs heating up and it'll be ready to eat."
Fang Qiu said with a smile.
Tingyu, in her arms, seized the moment when Fang Qiu wasn't paying attention to slip down to the floor, then dashed off in a flash to the back hall.
"Dinner."
Shenhe said.
"Huh? Wait, Shenhe, what happened to your hand? Why is there blood on it?"
Fang Qiu was just about to go heat up the food for Shenhe when she suddenly noticed that Shenhe's hand was stained with fresh blood, and she hurried over to grasp Shenhe's wrist and examine it.
But after examining it, she found no wound on Shenhe's hand at all.
"On the way back, I saw two petty Treasure Hoarder thieves extorting someone, so I stepped in and gave them both a beating."
Shenhe said flatly.
"So you're saying, this is their blood?"
Fang Qiu asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Mm."
Shenhe nodded.
"Those two Treasure Hoarders... they're alright, aren't they?"
Fang Qiu asked, swallowing.
"Don't worry, they won't die. They just took a bit of a beating."
Shenhe said flatly.
"Next time something like this happens, it'd be better to call the Millelith."
Fang Qiu said.
"Don't worry. I can handle two petty thieves without coming to any harm."
Shenhe said flatly.
"Uh... alright then. Go wash your hands, and I'll go heat up some food for you."
Fang Qiu hesitated, but in the end couldn't quite bring herself to say aloud that she'd been worried Shenhe might have beaten them to death.
Besides... the force Shenhe had joined seemed to be something akin to the Millelith.
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