9 People Of Wangsheng

Sorry if the chapter isn't too great, it's rather short compared to the others as well. Mainly due to me currently going through a rather horrible phase of depression and self-harm. Life ain't exactly rainbow and sunshine. I'll try to pump out chapters, but that's not certain.

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"Speech"

'Thoughts'

『System/Persona Speech』

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Ayato was currently present standing beside what looked to be a rather large bookshelf, his eyes curiously scanning over the contents of the book currently in his hands. The place he was currently at was a local library he had found not too long ago.

He was curious to find out a bit of history about Liyue, so he came into the place to check out what they had. The book in his hands seemed to tell a bit of history about Liyue, nothing too detailed, but it did give a simplified story telling of the nation.

Since he had just finished his daily training, he figured that he might as well find something else to pass the time. Learning a bit about the history of Liyue had crossed his mind, so that's what he was doing. He would be staying here for a good while, so might as well learn about the place.

He wasn't entirely sure how much of the content he actually read was accurate, after all, there are some people who make fake history as to fill in the gaps. Perhaps this book was actually perfectly accurate. Nonetheless, it was interesting to read.

"O-Oh, my apologies!" Ayato blinked when he felt someone bump into him. He was too absorbed in reading the book to really register anything around him. "I was too fascinated by the number of books in this fine library that I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings."

"No, it's fine. No need to worry."

Ayato looked at the person who had bumped into him, and noticed that it was a male around his age, though the person had quite the feminine look to them. They had navy blue hair along with a pair of amber eyes, and their outfit was interesting to say the least.

While he himself could tell that this person was a male, he could definitely understand if some other person mistook them for a female. Not to mention the ridiculously short pants this dude was wearing. He's seen a number of females in the past wear very short shorts, but not guys.

He's seen guys wear shorts, he himself had worn them every now and then, but not THIS short!

"Even so, please allow me to give you my sincerest apologies." The male gave him a small smile while rubbing the back of his head. "Oh, and allow me to introduce myself! My name is Xingqiu, a humble literature enthusiast. May I ask for you name?"

"Ayato. Kuragasaki Ayato, a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh~? Are you perhaps from Inazuma?"

"...Y-Yes, I am." Ayato gave a small chuckle as he responded to the question. He actually didn't respond for a quick second as he still hadn't gotten used to this little lie of his. He needed to get it in his head that he was from Inazuma, even if it was a total lie. "A literature enthusiast, huh? Looking for a book to read?"

"Indeed! Are you perhaps like myself?"

"I wouldn't call myself an enthusiast when it comes to books, but I do like to dabble myself in their contents every now and then."

"I see, that's good!" Xingqiu gave a nod of approval as he heard this. "Being interested in the arts of literature is an admirable quirk indeed! Perhaps we could talk about some books late-."

"I've finally tracked you down, my future client!"

"Wha?" Both Xingqiu and Ayato stopped their little conversation when a new voice suddenly shouted. They turned their attention towards the front open door where they saw someone having skidded to a stop, to which said person quickly dashed inside the library towards the two of them.

"Hu Tao?"

"Future client?"

Ayato couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion when he heard this person's words. Person appearing to be a young girl their age, wearing a rather interesting set of dark-coloured clothing along with having brown hair tied into twin tails, and also a pair of unique eyes with blossom-shaped pupils. Weird...

"What are you doing here, Hu Tao?"

"Why I'm greeting my future client, of course!" The girl known as Hu Tao smiled, though the smile was both cheerful and also had a rather dark feeling to it. Kind of made Ayato uncomfortable seeing it. "I'm Hu Tao, the current director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. I believe we shall be doing business in the future, perhaps the near future. Hehe~."

"Wh-What? Okay... My name is Ayato, nice to meet you, Tao-san." Ayato smiled a bit awkwardly as he raised a hand to shake. The girl gave a small giggle before accepting it, which Ayato soon noticed that her hand was a bit cold, maybe due to the numerous rings she wore. "What is this Wangsheng Funeral Parlor exactly?"

"Oh, we at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor trifle in matters that have to with... well, with matters involving mortality." Ayato just gave her a blank look when he heard the response, Xingqiu laughing nervously next to them. "Even so, it's a rather satisfying trade to be in. We're quite well-known around the town."

"How am I a client exactly...?"

"Well, everyone here in the mortal realm is considered a client. Even Xingqiu here is a client, a future one, just like yourself. Everyone will eventually become our clients, let it be now, tomorrow. or some other time. Hehe~!" Ayato just deadpanned as he heard this, just the way she spoke so lightly about such things astonished him.

'I feel like I should already have been a client... Yeah, not saying anything.'

"You'll get used to her antics, Hu Tao is rather interesting, as you have noticed..." Xingqiu gave a nervous laugh as he stated this. Ayato just giving him a look of doubt. "W-Well, you MIGHT get used to her... I personally haven't..."

"I can tell."

"The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor particularly keeps a close eye on adventurers such as yourself! You are our VIP clients after all!" Hu Tao gave a small giggle before crossing her arms. "Would you like to make a reservation? Just make sure you're not still alive and kicking when the big day comes."

"Uh, no! I'd like to pass!"

"Oh~? You want to pass on now?"

"Hell no!" Ayato yelled comically at the girl as a tick mark appeared on his forehead. "I meant that I want to pass up on the offer!"

"Aw~, that's too bad." Hu Tao shrugged with a shake off her head as she gave a small sigh as well. "Well, just know that we'll be more than welcome to you when you decide to do business with us! Sooner or later you'll be ready to kick the bucket! When you do, we'll be there!"

"...Koroshite." Ayato muttered as he facepalmed himself. He had met a number of unique individuals over the years, and Hu Tao here sure takes one of the top places of weirdest. That's for sure. He soon felt something smack him in the face. "What's this?"

"A special coupon!" Hu Tao smiled as Ayato just blinked as he looked at the small slip of paper that Hu Tao smacked onto him. His eye twitched though when he saw that it had a skull on it, along with small images of ghosts. "You are a VIP, of course we'll have discounts for you! No need to thank me!"

"..."

"For now, I shall take my leave! Farewell, Ayato. Xingqiu!" Hu Tao gave a small wave before stepping out of the library, though she stopped and gave a small creepy wave at them as she soon added. "I'll be waiting! See you two on the other side~!"

With that, she did a nigerundayo and disappeared.

『A mysterious voice rings in your head...』

『Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Death Arcana...』

『You have established a new Social Link』

'Of course it's the Death Arcana...'

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get used to her."

"I doubt every single word you just said."

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After saying his farewells to Xingqiu, Ayato decided to go and get something to eat to also help clear his mind off a few things. Including that little scene with Hu Tao. Don't get him wrong, he didn't see that girl as a bad person, not at all. She was just... unique.

Anyway, moving on from that. He decided to come and eat at Wanmin again since the food here was almost as good as his own mother's cooking. The last and only time he ate here was the day he first arrived here at Liyue Harbor, which was around four days ago now.

Meaning that it had been three days now since he fought that Pyro Regisvine, that pain the ass stupid fire plant. Anyway, Ayato had already ordered his food and was now looking around for a spare empty table to sit at while he waited.

He hadn't seen Xiangling either, which kind of confused him. Didn't she say that this was her family restaurant or whatever? Was he not remembering correctly? Well, there wasn't much reason for him to ponder too much on it. She might turn up at some point in the future.

"Oh~? It seems that we meet again."

"Hm? Oh, it's you!" Ayato seemed rather surprised when a familiar face made themselves known. Ayato stopped and saw that the person was the same guy he got directions from a few days ago, the very same person who Dagda identified to be a god. The person who they had suspicions might be the Archon of this nation. "Nice to see you again, sir."

"Same, it seems that you're doing well. Please, do take a seat." The man gave a polite nod before gesturing to the seat opposite of him. Ayato smiled and nodded before giving a polite bow as he sat down facing the male. "I hope you're enjoying Liyue Harbor. At least I assume that you're new here?"

"Yes, I am. Thank you for the help a few days ago, I hope I didn't trouble you at all."

"Not at all, I was more than glad to help." The male smiled while taking a small sip from the tea cup that he had in his hands. The male pouring Ayato one as well, which Ayato accepted with a grateful nod. "Allow me to formally introduce myself, my name is Zhongli. The consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."

"I see, nice to mee- wait, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor? I assume you know Tao-san?"

"Tao...san? Oh, you must mean Hu Tao." Zhongli realised as Ayato just nodded his head in response. Zhongli sighed a bit before adding. "That child is the director of Wangsheng. You seem to know her. I hope she hasn't caused you too many problems."

"No, she's just... unique."

"Indeed, she is."

"Hehe~." Ayato an amused chuckle before coughing into his fist. "Since you introduced yourself, It's only right for me to do the same. My name is Ayato, Kuragasaki Ayato, a visitor from Inazuma. It's a pleasure to meet you, Zhongli-san."

"Inazuma? That's rather surprising." Zhongli widened his eyes slightly after hearing Ayato's introduction. Placing his cup down onto the small plate as he stared at Ayato. "I'm amazed that you managed to leave. The borders of Inazuma don't let people leave so easily, especially with the Vision Hunt Decree currently in play."

'Vision Hunt Decree, that again...' Ayato narrowed his eyes ever so slightly as he heard this. He's heard the term mentioned a few times now, what was it? He couldn't just ask Zhongli now since he already said he was from Inazuma, and that would make him seem suspicious since this decree or whatever is quite well known from what he's heard.

Also, on top of that, just what was happening in this Inazuma place? He had caught hints of surprise and all that when he mentions he's from Inazuma, and mostly about how they're surprised about him having left. It sounds as if the citizens in the nation aren't permitted to leave it's borders.

This kind of scenario wasn't exactly unknown to him, and countries that didn't allow their people to leave typically had their reasons. The most recent reason was the COVID incident where people would be quarantined if they were to leave to other countries. He had a feeling this wasn't exactly the same case.

To him, it sounded more like the people living in Inazuma were being suppressed if anything...

"Here are your dishes, gentlemen. I hope I didn't leave you waiting too long."

"Not at all, Chef Mao. Thank you for the food." Zhongli responded politely as Mao walked on over towards them before placing down their orders onto the table. Ayato just gave a nod of thanks to the man who bowed before walking back to the kitchen. "As always, the food here is magnificent."

"Do you eat here often?"

"Indeed. While there are other places like the Liuli Pavilion and the Xinyue Kiosk, this simple restaurant has its own personal charm and incredible delicacies." Ayato nodded his head to this. He had seen those restaurants a few times, they were big places and naturally their menus were expensive. Much more so compared to your typical dishes here at Wanmin. "Also, if you don't mind me asking. Since you have come from Inazuma, did you do so on your own or by yourself?"

Ayato blinked in surprise to the sudden question as he pondered over it for a second. He didn't really see a reason to give a detailed response to the question, it was just a simple question that had two simple responses after all.

"I came here on my own."

"I see. That's quite surprising." Zhongli nodded before taking another sip from his cup of tea. "You appear to be rather young, so being able to escape Inazuma's borders at your age is quite impressive. Are they not concerned about you being alone here?"

"My parents are no longer a part of the living world, they passed on not too long ago. So, it's just been myself." Ayato quickly made up the lie before he spoke. Honestly, he was taking a few risks here forging these lies. One mess-up of information then suspicion rises through the roof.

He didn't want to say that he had parents still staying behind in this Inazuma place. After all, if he ends up going to that place at some point and someone he knows also ends up going, it could mean trouble since there wouldn't be parents there to greet them.

"I see, I'm sorry for your loss." Ayato just gave a small smile before waving it off. It was honestly quite ironic. He spoke as if his parents had left the living world, but it was honestly the other way around. He was the one that died, though he did get reborn. "Anyways, I better get going. I want to check up on any new commissions."

"Oh? You're an adventurer?" Zhongli asked with interest as Ayato just nodded in response. "Then I wish you the best of luck out in the field. The job of an adventurer is full of danger, so it's best to be prepared for anything that may occur."

"Thanks for the advice, see ya."

"Have a good day." Ayato smiled before standing up and leaving the restaurant. He hadn't ordered anything big, so it was pretty easy to finish his meal quickly. He wanted to see if there were any decent commissions, he didn't want to just get one about gathering materials or something. Zhongli watched as he left the place, narrowing his eyes as he did so. "How bizarre..."

There was something about Ayato that really seemed to catch his interest, and that was the smile that the boy had on his face. While he could tell the smiles were genuine to some extent, they just didn't feel right to him. The smiles felt more like... a mask. Almost like a facade.

Ayato didn't seem to notice Zhongli's stares as he left the restaurant.

『A mysterious voice rings in your head...』

『Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Hermit Arcana...』

『You have established a new Social Link』