[You reclaimed your former identity in Liyue. Every trace of your life in the House of the Hearth had been erased by the Fatui.]
[To the world, you were still Kael, the son of a wealthy merchant who once sought fortune in Snezhnaya.]
[After your father's business collapsed and your parents died, you struggled in Snezhnaya for a long time, barely scraping together enough to buy a ticket back to Liyue.]
[With your parents gone and your sister adopted by a Snezhnayan family, you decided to return to your homeland and rebuild your life in Liyue.]
[The Knave instructed you to hide your Vision and pretend to be an ordinary boy.]
["A child so young already wielding a Vision draws far too much attention. A good spy must blend into the crowd perfectly. Until we move forward with our plans, keep your Vision out of sight."]
[Obediently, you tucked the Vision inside your luggage and pulled on clothes patched and worn.]
[Your current appearance matched your fabricated identity perfectly, a penniless, destitute orphan.]
[Once you stepped off the Snezhnayan merchant ship, you wandered through the streets of Liyue with a dazed expression.]
[Your first assignment from the Fatui was to integrate yourself into Liyue society and craft a flawless new identity.]
[But what exactly counted as flawless?]
[You walked aimlessly, until muscle memory led you to a familiar place without thinking.]
[Your old home.]
[The stately, elegant mansion you once lived in was now weathered and collapsing. Standing by the outer wall, you saw the Sunsettia tree your father had planted for you because you loved the fruit so much. It had withered away, leaving only brittle branches behind.]
[Your happiest, most carefree memories had all been born in this home.]
[Now, seeing it in ruins, a deep sadness rose inside you.]
[You pushed open the gate and stepped inside.]
["Hey! Are you still not leaving? We agreed, if I catch you while we're playing hide-and-seek, you'll obediently move on to the afterlife!"]
["You ghosts have no sense of honor! Don't make me call Grandpa. If he comes, he'll scatter all of you!"]
[The moment you entered the courtyard, you heard a little girl shouting at empty air.]
[Not far away, a chorus of voices answered her.]
["That girl's the Director's granddaughter. If she really brings her grandpa here, he'll blast us into pieces!"]
["But aren't we good at hide-and-seek? Not even Kael ever found us back then."]
["Kael was much cuter than this girl."]
["We finally meet a human who can see us, and she wants to send us away. Kael was better…"]
["I miss Kael big brother…"]
[Those voices struck you like lightning.]
[You would never forget them. They were the ghosts who grew up with you… your childhood friends.]
[The little girl stood in the center of the courtyard, still threatening the air.]
["Hmph! You pesky ghosts! I'm going to get Grandpa right now!"]
[From her muttering, you gathered that she had a grandfather capable of scattering ghosts.]
[Afraid she might hurt your friends, you hurried toward her and blocked her path.]
"Wait, stop!"
[The girl puffed out her cheeks, hands on her hips.]
["Who are you?"]
[The ghosts hiding in the shadows saw you and immediately brightened, rushing forward in excitement.]
["Kael, you're back!"]
["You came to see us?"]
["We waited so long for you, Kael!"]
[They swirled around you, cheering.]
[The girl raised a brow after hearing your name, unimpressed.]
["So you're the Kael they keep talking about."]
[She glanced at the ghosts, who were practically vibrating with joy.]
["When I come here to play, you never act this happy!"]
[Seeing the faces of your old friends, warmth spread through your cracked and exhausted heart.]
[In that moment, you were like a hurt child finally returning home. Huge tears streamed from your eyes.]
["Kael, why are you crying? Where are your mom and dad?"]
[You squatted down and hugged your knees, sobbing uncontrollably.]
"They're gone! I don't have Mom or Dad anymore… we lost everything in Snezhnaya… I have nothing left…"
[The ghosts panicked, circling you in distress.]
[They wanted to hold you, but they had no bodies. All they could do was hover nearby, murmuring comfort.]
["It's okay, Kael. We're still here. We'll stay with you."]
["Yeah. We're not going anywhere. We'll stay right here, so don't worry."]
["Hey!" the girl protested, frowning. "Grandpa said the boundary between life and death has its order. Ghosts shouldn't linger in the mortal world!"]
[The ghosts responded with perfect unity: they pretended not to hear her at all.]
[The girl's cheeks puffed up even more.]
[She had been able to see spirits since she was little. One day, she accidentally discovered a large number of ghosts gathered inside this mansion.]
[As the heir to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, she believed she had a duty to guide them to their proper place.]
[Ever since discovering them, she came every day to persuade them to move on.]
[But the ghosts were stubborn. No matter what she said, they refused.]
[They told her they had made a promise to a child, that they would stay in this mansion until he returned.]
[A promise had to be fulfilled. Until they saw that child again, they would not leave.]
[Hu Tao looked at you, still crying on the ground, and felt troubled.]
[The child they had been waiting for had finally returned, but now that they'd seen you, the ghosts seemed even less willing to leave.]