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[Cheat] Chapter 106: Hu Tao (1)
🕑 Added 2025-06-18 03:44:11 +0000 UTCWhile Jack was a good person, Zephyr still prepared himself to beat him up if they met again.
Good person or bad person — what does it matter to me?
I treat everyone equally. If I don't like someone, I'll teach them a lesson.
Jack had already delayed things enough. So he made his way toward the third mining spot. This one was bigger, with even more ore.
It was tough, but he finally finished mining. By then, it was already dark.
Paimon wiped away the sweat from her forehead. “Why did it get dark so quickly? The wilderness at night is a dangerous place. Let’s get back soon!”
Zephyr casually put a piece of candy into his mouth. “What's there to be worried about?”
“That’s because Paimon is afraid we’ll run into danger at night!”
“What’s there to be afraid of? If the monsters attack, we’ll deal with them. Besides, you can fly — what’s there to be afraid of?”
Paimon’s eyebrow twitched. “Do Paimon really need to be more direct? The Mondstadt hotel closes at 10 p.m. We need to get back ASAP!”
“It’s fine. We still have plenty of time.”
“The moment you say that, Paimon get a bad feeling…”
Before Paimon finished, her expression suddenly changed, and she trembled as she pointed in a direction.
“Wh– wh– what’s that!?”
In the night sky, clusters of blue flames were drifting slowly. It was a terrifying sight in the dimly lit night.
“Ghost fire!!”
Zephyr paused and said, “Calm down. What ghost fire? That’s phosphorus fire.”
“Phosphorus fire?”
“Let me give you a scientific explanation. Phosphorus fire is actually phosphine. It often appears in graves during the dry season, but sometimes it shows up in cities. Because human bones contain phosphorus, after a body decomposes, phosphorus converts to phosphine, which can spontaneously ignite. This forms phosphorus fire. The color of the fire depends on the elements present in the body — green, blue, or red. If there’s a special color, it means there’s a particularly large amount of a certain element in it.”
“Ph… phosphine?”
Paimon was completely confused.
“Ahem, I also just looked it up online. Now you know it’s not ghost fire, right?”
“Uh… Paimon know, Paimon know… but it’s still a bit scary at night.”
Zephyr touched his chin. “You make a fair point. But I remember this kind of phenomenon usually occurs in Liyue. How come it’s also appearing in Mondstadt?”
Thinking carefully, it made sense — whether in Liyue or Mondstadt, there were many adventuring individuals, and many fell victim to creatures or fell into danger. So it's not unusual for their bodies to produce phosphine after death.
Paimon was just starting to calm down and get used to their surroundings when something appeared in the nearby forest.
“That… What’s that?”
Out from the forest came something white, ghost-like, transparent, and drifting back and forth.
“Uh… honestly, I’m not sure what that is. Let me… do a quick search.”
All of a sudden, a voice came from behind them.
“Whooo…”
It was as if someone was blowing directly down their necks.
Paimon screamed in fright and jumped into Lumine’s arms.
“Hehe, did I scare you?”
Standing in front of them was a young girl dressed all in black.
“Y– y– you… are you a human or a ghost!?”
“Of course I’m human.”
Paimon reluctantly raised her head. After seeing that it really was a person, she turned red with indignation. “Hey! Who are you, and why did you scare us!?”
“Hehe, I just overheard your conversation and found it quite amusing, so I couldn’t resist scaring you a little. What are you two up to in the middle of the night?”
“That’s a question I should be asking you!!”
Zephyr furrowed his brows. The Vision — this person had a Vision. Who was she? Was she a native of this world? Or a character from a future game update? He hadn’t recognized her, as he had only played the closed beta.
“Hehe, I’m guessing you two are lost.”
The girl winked, smiling. “Come with me. I’m the Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao. I can see you safely back.”
“Ah!!”
Paimon trembled once again.
“Aiya, I meant I’m sending you down the mountain, not sending you to the afterlife.”
Hu Tao stretched out her hand, and a butterfly flew out from her sleeve.
“Here — this butterfly is for you. Don’t be afraid.”
Zephyr was puzzled. “What’s the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?”
“The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is a service for sending people off to the afterlife — simply put, we handle everything from ceremonies to cremation.”
Paimon was shocked, her eyes widening. “So it’s a funeral parlor!?”
“Ahem, to be more accurate, we’re a funeral service.”
Zephyr was a bit confused. How come he hadn’t heard of Wangsheng before?
“Wangsheng… How come I’ve never heard of it?”
“That’s normal if you’re from Mondstadt. Our parlor is in Liyue, after all.”
“That makes sense.”
He thought it might be some kind of underworld organization introduced in a future game update.
The girl glanced around and, seeing there was no one else, whispered, “Let me tell you a little secret — our Wangsheng Parlor is a thousand-year-old tradition in Liyue.”
Paimon exclaimed, “A thousand-year-old funeral service!?”
“That’s a fair way to put it.”
The small butterfly flew down and rested on Paimon’s hand.
“Whoa, it’s so pretty.”
“It’s pretty, isn’t it? I really love butterflies. Want to know why? Because butterflies and I both share the surname Hu — we’re destined by fate.”
Zephyr sighed. “Then why not just change your name to Hu Carrot?”
“Hu Carrot! Hu Carrot! Pfft! Hahaha, that's so funny.”
The girl covered her stomach and fell into a fit of giggles.
Paimon’s eyebrow twitched. “Paimon honestly do not get your sense of humor.”
Zephyr sighed. “…Me neither.”
“Ahem.”
Hu Tao put on a serious expression. “It’s getting late. Considering you’re both lost, I’ll lead you down the mountain.”
Half an hour later…
Paimon said in exasperation, “Didn’t you say you’d lead us down? How come we’re getting further and further away!?”
“That’s strange… I was sure I was going in the right direction. I even tried turning another way, but it’s still not correct.”
Hu Tao whispered to herself.
Paimon turned to her in disbelief. “Don’t tell me you’re… lost!?”
“Hehe, you noticed.”
“That’s not something to laugh about! You’re the one who said you’d lead us down, but now we’re more and more confused!!”
Lumine was at her wit’s end, adding, “Exactly — you’re supposed to guide us, yet you’re the one who’s gotten us even more lost. Where’s your confidence from?”
Hu Tao turned a little red with embarrassment. “Ahem… I just thought we’re all stranded on the mountains together, so I wanted to be helpful.”
“That’s not helpful when you’re also lost! Furthermore, we’re not even lost ourselves!”
“Not… lost?”
Hu Tao blinked. “That’s great! Since you’re not lost, then you can guide me down the mountain instead.”
“...”
“That girl’s really thick-skinned.”
Hu Tao cheered up. “Adventuring really sharpens your sense of direction — I love adventuring the most.”
Paimon asked curiously, “Why? Because adventuring makes you strong?”
“No — because adventuring brings me more prospective clients! I have a very good impression of you. If you do business with the Wangsheng Parlor, I can even give you a discount voucher.”
Paimon said, “No! Paimon is not going!!”
“Aw, come on… The two of you — we have a promotion. Second person is half price!”
“Are you eager for Paimon to die!?” Paimon screamed.
Zephyr pressed his forehead, feeling powerless against this energetic girl.
“Your name is Hu Tao, right? May we make a proper introduction?”
“Of course! Ahem… I’m Hu Tao, the 77th Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. And you?”
Paimon said, “Paimon is Paimon, and this is my best friend, Lumine.”
Hu Tao blinked and asked, “I’m really curious — are you a pet? Or a new monster? Why can you talk?”
“Who’s a pet! Paimon a fairy!” (T/N: Yup, fairy-type Pokemon!)
Zephyr sighed. “We’re sticking with that story… I’m Lumine.”
Lumine: “？”
//END
