Several days later, during this time, Lucian had been staying at home writing.
Shenhe was out working, and the Traveler was off adventuring, leaving him alone at home.
Hu Tao would occasionally drop by to hang out, and Zhongli would sometimes check on his writing progress—other than that, he had no social interactions.
Oh, and one more thing worth mentioning: Cloud Retainer had moved to Liyue Harbor and was now living in Lucian's house.
Lucian's home had become too small, so Hu Tao gave him the adjacent house and had the courtyard wall demolished overnight, merging the two into one.
Zhongli would occasionally drop by to check on his novel's progress before heading over to Cloud Retainer's place to help her design interior decorations.
After that, he'd go find Granny Ping for some tea or listen to a bit of opera at Yun Jin's place—one could say he was quite busy, though it was unclear what exactly he was busy with.
"Finally finished." Lucian slumped into his chair.
This time, he had written two stories: Act III of the Liyue arc and a portion of his new book, Teyvat's Strange Tales.
"Done? Let this Hall Master take a look." Hu Tao immediately spoke up.
Knowing Lucian was close to finishing, she had been waiting patiently—quite impressive for someone of her temperament to sit still for so long.
"Here." Lucian didn't hold back, handing both manuscripts to her.
Hu Tao took them and read: Chapter 1: Act III: A Star Approaches.
After reading a bit, Hu Tao concluded that the person most likely to be Rex Lapis… was her consultant?
So that meant this Hall Master was super impressive? Just like her ancestors, she had unknowingly struck a deal with Rex Lapis himself!
That was Hu Tao's current train of thought. She didn't react much to Zhongli's possible identity as Rex Lapis—after all, she had vaguely overheard his conversation with Lucian during the victory banquet and had already mentally prepared herself.
"So it was that guy who unleashed Osial." Reading further, Hu Tao learned that it was Tartaglia who had released Osial.
Though she had been at the scene helping out, she actually knew very little about the details.
Later, Lucian wrote about the victory banquet and the Divine Damsel of Devastation, saving the revelation of Zhongli's identity for the very end.
After all, this was heavyweight information—knowing it too early would affect the impact of the preceding content.
As for Zhongli being Rex Lapis, Hu Tao didn't react much. She didn't care about such things, and she had always sensed that Zhongli was extraordinary from the start.
But now, looking back at the things she'd said in front of Zhongli… it felt like she'd been hit by her own boomerang.
Thankfully, Lucian wasn't Rex Lapis. Given the way she interacted with him, if he had been the Geo Archon, that would've been…
After finishing the story, Hu Tao had an idea.
Previously, Zhongli had to hide his identity, but now that it was about to be exposed, couldn't she start advertising?
Wait, no—wouldn't the release of this book itself be the best advertisement?
Though the advertisement wouldn't make much difference—people would buy the services sooner or later anyway.
But Hu Tao just loved the feeling of promoting things. Whether it was effective or not didn't matter.
As expected, things unfolded just as Hu Tao imagined: Wangsheng Funeral Parlor became wildly popular, but very few people actually purchased services. Most just wanted to meet Lucian and Zhongli.
This gave Hu Tao a massive headache—she was swamped with work but couldn't sell a single service.
Aside from Act III, there was another story. Hu Tao continued reading.
Teyvat's Strange Tales: Shenhe
As the title suggested, this story was about Shenhe.
After finishing it, Hu Tao sighed softly. "Ah, when will people ever truly 'understand' death?"
For humans to 'make peace' with death was far too difficult.
Shenhe's father couldn't accept his wife's death and ended up causing an even greater tragedy.
The work of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was to maintain the balance between the living and the dead—to help the deceased let go of the past and guide the living toward the future.
People like Shenhe's father weren't unheard of to Hu Tao, but few were as resolute as him.
Back then, Hu Tao herself couldn't accept her grandfather's death and had wanted to see him again in the afterlife.
Perhaps that had been her grandfather's final lesson for her: the master of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor must live without regrets.
Now, looking back at the story of Divine Damsel of Devastation, she felt something different.
Melancholy? Sympathy? Indignation? Perhaps all of them. But Hu Tao knew these weren't what Shenhe needed.
"When Shenhe gets back, I'll have her try this Hall Master's specialty dish." Hu Tao smiled faintly.
"Huh? Did Shenhe offend you or something?" Lucian asked, puzzled.
Hu Tao pouted. Her specialty dish wasn't something just anyone could eat—aside from a select few like them, most people wouldn't even get the chance.
She reached out to tickle Lucian's ribs but ultimately held back.
In a soft voice, Hu Tao asked, "Lucian, do you know my story too?"
Lucian nodded. "I do."
"Sigh… Now it feels like I have no secrets in front of you two." Hu Tao shrugged.
Lucian knew, and Zhongli—as Rex Lapis—probably knew as well. So both of them knew her past, but she knew nothing about theirs.
This was supposed to be a story about three people, so why was she the only one left out?
Weren't they all supposed to be acting in Burn in Winter together? How did it turn into White Album halfway through?
"Won't exposing Zhongli's identity cause problems?" Hu Tao asked. She still preferred calling him "Consultant Zhongli."
Zhongli had already faked his death to step down—if his identity was exposed, wouldn't people try to reinstate him as the Geo Archon?
"My 'contract' with Zhongli is already fulfilled. As for what comes after… Zhongli told me this will be his final test." Lucian sighed.
Lucian's contract with Zhongli was that he couldn't reveal Zhongli's identity before the plan was completed.
But exposing the plan itself was fine, which was why Lucian had mentioned Zhongli's scheme to Ningguang.
Lucian had thought he'd outplayed Zhongli by exposing him, but the old man had turned the tables and used him instead.
A millennia-old monster was truly formidable—not only was Zhongli unfazed by the exposure, he even planned to use it.
Zhongli had already made it abundantly clear that he was stepping down and returning power to the people—he'd even explicitly stated so at the Northland Bank.
If, after all this, the people of Liyue still insisted on reinstating him as their god…
Well, Zhongli would probably agree, because that would prove Liyue wasn't ready yet.
"Is that so… Hahaha, the consultant truly is the consultant." Hu Tao laughed.
"Yeah, an old fox will always be an old fox." Lucian sighed.
Meanwhile, Zhongli was strolling around like nothing had happened, browsing antiques. "This one's nice."
Better to buy now before his identity was exposed—once shopkeepers realized who he was, they'd probably start giving him things for free.
Transactions were also a form of "contract," and Zhongli didn't want to break that principle.
His biggest worry now was probably that, in the future, he wouldn't be able to leisurely enjoy tea, storytelling, or opera like he used to.
If Iron Tongue Tian knew he'd been reciting tales of Rex Lapis right in front of the Geo Archon himself, would he still be able to perform properly?
"Hmm… Perhaps I should send this bill to young Lucian this time?"
Lucian: I'm not paying for you—send the bill to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Wait, no—the Hall Master was right next to him, so he didn't even need to send the bill. Hu Tao would just settle it directly.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voiceline · Lucian: About Zhongli's Bills
"I may have money, but I refuse to foot his bills. That man spends like there's no tomorrow."