"Rock… bloomed?!"
Hu Tao felt her worldview shatter.
That Zhongli—who spent his days watching operas, drinking tea, strolling around, and teasing birds—
that absolute social fossil—had actually brought home a beautiful woman?!
Guizhong smiled sweetly and gave Hu Tao a polite bow.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Guizhong, Zhongli's fiancée. I hope to join Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and stay with my fiancé."
She said it with heartfelt excitement—
—and instantly fried Hu Tao's CPU.
"F-Fiancée?!"
Hu Tao felt like the world was ending. "That guy… already has a fiancée?!"
Seeing Hu Tao go blank, Cael waved his hand in front of her face.
"So? Director Hu Tao—are you approving her or not?"
Hu Tao snapped back to reality and nodded rapidly.
"Ah—yes! Of course! No problem at all! From now on, you're Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's female consultant!"
She didn't mind adding another consultant at all.
In fact, having Zhongli's fiancée around to properly discipline him so he'd stop being a social liability sounded like a bonus.
Guizhong's eyes lit up.
"Thank you, Director Hu Tao!"
...
...
Seele stared at Guizhong and Zhongli in disbelief.
"F-Fiancée?!"
Her reaction was identical to Hu Tao's earlier one.
"No way… You're telling me Morax, that block of stone, actually has a fiancée?!"
Even Black Seele was stunned.
Guizhong looked at Seele with fascination.
"Wow—you're two people in one? That's amazing! And the energy inside you… it's actually from—"
"Guizhong."
Zhongli cut her off immediately.
"Hm? We're not allowed to say it now?" Guizhong tilted her head, confused.
Zhongli replied calmly,
"It's part of a contract."
"Oh."
...
...
Cael and Seele both wore the exact same expression:
[subway · old man · phone]
Damn it—another pair of riddle-speakers!!
What is it already?! I'm so curious!!
...
...
Seele sat in Cael's lap, happily eating an orange and swinging her legs.
Her mood was excellent.
Hu Tao, resting her chin on one hand, glanced at her irritably.
"Go ahead and sit there. Once you grow a bit older, I'm kicking you off."
Black Seele was equally displeased.
"Seele… next time, sit on my lap instead."
...
At that moment, Zhongli, who was showing Guizhong around Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, glanced at the time.
"It's almost time."
"Time for what?" Guizhong asked curiously.
Zhongli replied,
"I have a—friend. He invited me to dine at Wanmin Restaurant today. Apparently, someone requires my assistance."
Cael chuckled.
"Looks like Childe's asking you to help prepare the Rite of Descension," he said casually.
Alright, enough fooling around—time to push the plot.
He turned to Zhongli.
"Mind if I come along?"
Zhongli nodded.
"Of course. You were going to be invited anyway."
Seeing them leave, Guizhong, Hu Tao, and Seele all wanted to tag along as well.
With Zhongli's approval, the whole group set off together.
Along the way, Cael glanced at the crowd and silently worried for Childe's wallet.
...
...
Perspective shift — Lumine.
"If you want to see Rex Lapis's divine body," Tartaglia said with a grin,
"I happen to know a few… people from the underworld."
"Underworld people?" Lumine tilted her head.
Paimon, casually munching sunflower seeds, shrugged.
"Let's check it out. Nothing to lose, right?"
Lumine thought it over and decided to follow Childe to meet these so-called "helpers."
Trying wouldn't hurt.
"Good choice," Tartaglia said cheerfully.
"Then follow me—let's head to Wanmin Restaurant."
"Yay! Food!"
Paimon kicked her legs excitedly—
—and immediately got punched on the head by Lumine.
"Behave."
...
Childe led them smoothly into Wanmin Restaurant.
Compared to half a year ago, the place had expanded massively, now spanning multiple floors.
He smiled at Xiangling, who was wandering nearby.
"Excuse me—where's Room 404?"
"Over there—"
Xiangling suddenly froze when she noticed Lumine.
"Eh?! Traveler?!"
Childe waved a hand with a smile.
"Let's skip the catching up—we've got urgent business."
"Oh—right, right! Sorry, guests!"
They moved on.
...
Childe pushed open the door—
—and immediately brightened.
"Wow, that's a lot of people. Looks like today's lively."
Lumine stepped in behind him—
—and the moment she saw Cael, she froze.
A memory flashed through her mind—
him casually telling her before to "bring a corpse back to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."
"Cael?!"
Both Lumine and Paimon exclaimed at the same time.
They hadn't expected to run into him here!
Childe laughed.
"Since you already know each other, I won't bother with introductions."
He gestured one by one.
"This is Zhongli, one of Liyue Harbor's most knowledgeable scholars—on par with Cael. This is Hu Tao, the 77th Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. That's Seele, a very cute kid."
"And this one is…?"
Childe turned to Cael helplessly.
Cael sighed.
"This is Guizhong—Zhongli's fiancée."
"What? A fiancée?!"
Childe was genuinely shocked. He'd never heard anything like that.
Still, he quickly offered his congratulations to Zhongli.
At that moment, Paimon spoke up.
"I've actually been curious for a while now. What does Wangsheng Funeral Parlor really do? Cael mentioned it before, but never in detail."
Hu Tao looked at Paimon and broke into a mischievous grin.
"Our Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?"
"We escort people to the afterlife. We operate in the shadows—true underworld professionals."
"Operate in the shadows?!"
Hu Tao continued ominously,
"At night, we take the deceased and send them on their final journey…"
Lumine and Paimon were instantly horrified—
their faces morphing straight into reaction memes.
"S-So Wangsheng Funeral Parlor isn't a hitman organization, is it?!"
...
...
—
A bit sleepy today—this chapter's only around 1800 words.
Thanks for understanding 🙏