A Gentleman

Meng dashed back to the mortuary room to finish his duties after a brief chat, promising to speak with Hu Tao later.

Meng was an old acquaintance she made over a year ago. He initially joined so he could ask the director, Hu Tao, to help him search for his deceased childhood friend called Big G.

But so far, searching for Big G in Spirit Realm and in the Mortal World became fruitless and unsuccessful, leaving Meng to wonder whether his childhood friend already passed on or not...

...

..

.

With a smile, Hu Tao invited everyone into her office upstairs.

Once they entered, they took notice of a rather tall and handsome gentleman sitting inside, reclined on a leather chair, seeming comfortable as he sipped his cup of tea in silence.

He was dressed very nicely for a funeral visitor or an employee, wearing a long dark brown tailcoat with dragon scale patterns, gold and silver accents, and golden tassels.

Underneath the coat, he wore a beige dress shirt, a brown and amber waistcoat with black trousers.

His posture was perfect and erect, resembling authority combined with elegance, a contrast that enhanced a stately presence.

A square face with prominent chin lines gave his features a respectable appearance, giving no room for doubt in their definition, which was accomplished by his overly noble eyebrows, that lifted upward at the arrival of Yomite's party, leaving room for skeptical curiosity.

"Director Hu, pleasure to see you again. I hope today too shall be prosperous."

The man elegantly placed the cup of tea on a table beside him and stood up, bowing deeply, keeping eye contact with the group throughout, his bold gaze remaining unyielding in its intent.

He seemed professional, sincere and polite, full of business airs yet impeccably refined, conforming neatly to whatever task needed to be done during funerals and visits.

"Ah, Zhongli! No need to be so stiff! I've returned to make the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor prosper after my months of absence, once more!" Hu Tao smiled broadly with confidence.

She continued, "This is Zhongli! He is a consultant here, at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor! His knowledge is vast and profound...So thorough...although he tends to use a lot of archaic words so you might not immediately understand what he wants to say, but I can guarantee you that he is like a walking encyclopedia!"

"A walking encyclopedia? So he's like Paimon?" Lumine guessed.

Paimon crossed her arms atop her pitiful chest with a stoic expression.

Her lips became tense as if disapproving of Lumine's remark

"Hey! If anything, Paimon is a floating encyclopedia! Not a walking one! Also, Paimon prefers the term, 'Mascot', more than 'Emergency food' or 'Encyclopedia'."

"Is that seriously any better...?"

Zhongli stayed silent and continued looking through the guests, nodding now and then in recognition, until his eyes befell on Iris; just staring off at her as if he was trying to gather memories from somewhere deep within his brain...

He could feel a familiar irritation starting to bubble inside his stomach, sensing that it must've been some decades since he'd last interacted with someone with this kind of energy...

"..."

Did he know her from some place before, or perhaps...?

How strange, he was almost certain of having seen her somewhere before, yet he couldn't remember exactly when or where...

Shoving that thought aside, Zhongli narrowed his eyebrows and remarked upon Iris.

"How may I adress you?" He politely inquired in a light voice, though maintaining control of himself.

Iris was looking around and didn't even register someone was speaking to her, saying nothing in return...

"....."

Yomite waved his hand, "Don't take it to heart, she never really pays attention unless it comes to food. Her name is Iris, I'm Yomite, and this behind me is Lumine, Fischl and Barbara. As for the flying cutie, that's Paimon, our flying dog, and you already seem to be familiar with the creature on top of my shoulder."

He made a short introduction that earned him a squeeze from Hu Tao's thighs, and an angry look from Paimon before continuing...

"We're from Mondstadt, and we came to visit Liyue to relax for a while, and also to take part in the Rite of Descension that'll be happening any day now."

"Mondstadt...I see. Rite of Descension. A great timing indeed. Tomorrow shall be the day." Zhongli responded, appearing uneasy at this statement.

Although it did strike Yomite weird that this Zhongli person kept on staring at Iris, it didn't feel like he was trying to be rude, but rather examining her; like dissecting every single pixel on her body. As if he was trying to remember whether they ever met before.

But something about him was very strange...his appearance even, reminding Yomite of something...

(Amber eyes...amber eyes...where have I heard that description before...)

...

..

.

(Ah.)

He warily eyed Zhongli, and felt unease sprout in his innards at the exact striking resemblance to the person they've been looking for...

"Lumine..."

Yomite whispered while waving his hands discreetly.

"What is it, Party Leader?"

She wasn't sure why Yomite called out to her all of a sudden, but he seemed to be alarmed about something.

"It's him. Grab a rope...we are jumping him..."

"Eh? Eeeeh!?"

She was visibly panicked at the prospect of tying Hu Tao's friend with a rope, but once she calmed down, she immediately realized that the description did fit...

In less than a second, a finely woven rope materialized in her hands. She held it between both of her palms, preparing to grab it tightly.

Anything to get information about her brother...

Some radical means were indeed necessary...