Chapter 14: encounter
( A/N decided to introduce a character in this chapter, i hope i write her well enough… )
After purchasing everything he wanted, ryuma went on and began walking to the exit of liyue harbor. Prepared for his journey to mondstadt
But there's something he wanted to mention, everyone he met isn't a character he's seen in the game
Asides from the npc's, he never met a playable character
To his final conclusion, He thought he wouldn't encounter any playable characters, either nowhere to be seen or too young
He personally wanted to meet xinqiu, chongyun and beidou. But most importantly, xiangling.
He forgot what xinqiu has in his life, but it has to do something with a publishing company or something
Chongyun is probably training to be an exorcist in this point, so Ryuma doesn't know where to find him
Beidou… she is a pirate, so she's probably sailing somewhere in the ocean with the crux, with her crew…
But that leaves 1 of the people he wanted to meet… xiangling
He and xiangling have something in common, they both love to cook. Journeying through teyvat to find many potential ingredients
But alas, it turned out to be near impossible.
He asked the system how far is he from the original timeline of teyvat, and it turned out to be 6 years.
Xiangling was probably around 13-14 when genshin impact released, meaning she is 7-8 years old now…
And big shots like ningguang, yelan, ganyu and shenhe are nowhere to be seen.
Reality… is often disappointing
He walked through the streets of liyue, minding his own business… but what he didn't expect is that he saw a familiar figure
It was a woman with traditional red shirt with a mandarin collar, a brown coat with a darker collar and sleeve cuffs, and black shorts with gold accents. Her Pyro Vision is embedded in the back of her coat, along with long rectangular coattails, and golden brooches attached underneath her coat's collar and waist.
Theres no doubt, any cultured genshin impact player will now who it is…
It was hu tao, The 77th director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor
She was currently trying to offer… a discount?
"-I promise it's one of a chance mister, buy one and get one free~" the director said as she handed what seems like to be a coupon to a potential client of hers
"Please leave me alone, i am not planning to die anytime soon!" The same person replied with a frustrated tone, it seemed she's been doing this for quite some time
After he finished his sentence, hu tao continued "Don't be so sure, the future tends to be..pretty unpredictable! that doesn't mean one has to live in despair... In fact, life only has worth when it is 'finite.' It's what makes living, so fascinating~!" She replied, not backing down yet
The npc had enough, replying with "do you want me to call the millelith!? Now scram!" He raised his voice at her, having enough of this conversation
Hu tao frowned at his sentence "ayaya…" *she sighed* "…You're not a customer, are ya...?" With her final words, she left disappointedly, not managing to get a client
…
…
Ryuma was baffled by the scene in front of him, experiencing it in-game is something… but infront of him directly, is another experience…
He looked at hu tao in wonder, she's the only playable character he's seen so far. Should he talk to her? Hell, should he even do something?
And he can't believe it… on the topic of not meeting any playable character, there is one in front of him now…
He was oblivious that he was staring at her for too long, hu tao noticed his gaze on her, so she couldn't help but approach
"Hehe, don't stare like that! you'll make me think you're actually scared of me. Come, what seems to be the problem?" Hu tao striked up a conversation with him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Ryuma didn't know what to say, now this is the first time he was talking to a recognized character…
After some moments, he finally spoke up "were you… giving that guy some… coupons?" He questioned her as he noticed a couple of papers stored in her hat, an odd place if he says so
Hu tao looked at him, then deciding to answer his question "Oh, right! Yeah, I just gave them out for free. It's nothing, really, I just feel that people nowadays are a little too serious. They don't appreciate the beauty in this world. Hehe, that's why sometimes, I'm a little generous with my discounts." She told him with a slight smile, something told him this was the furthest she has ever gotten… but he admits, She had a point.
He just stayed silent for the time being, still not believing he's actually talking to a what used to be fictional character, right here in front of him.
Or rather, he didn't know what to say at all.
Hu tao acknowledged his quite demeanor, and continued "What's wrong? I thought you were scared of me, I was in the middle of being all ominous, too! Oh, well, what do you think of the coupons? We can discuss a deal if you'd like!" She give him the same offer as that past person.
no one has accepted a coupon from her as of now.
Always refusing and claimed they didn't need it…
Some told her to stop, as if she is gonna listen to them
At this point, She was wondering if he'd actually accept it
After contemplating for a moment, ryuma spoke again "i mean, sure… i guess?" He accepted with a bit of hesitation, not knowing if its the right thing or not
"That's the spirit! Here's the deal: you promise not to tell anybody about the coupons — the less people that know about them, the better. And I'll give you 42% off on your next purchase at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Whatdya say?"
she handed him a coupon, and Ryuma accepted it regardless if he had to or not. As he said, it's impolite to refuse a gift.
or coupons for your own funeral, that too may become important…
"…sure, a discount is a discount after all… i see no reason to refuse an opportunity…?" he said with a complicated tone as he shrugged
Seeing his reaction, hu tao smiled "Hee-hee, that's the spirit! You're a smart one, and I like that. Just remember not to tell anyone, okay? Alright, I'm all done here. See ya 'soon'!" She waved to him, and just like that, she walked away.
He could've sworn he heard her say something before she got too far away…
…
…
Well this was an enigmatic encounter
Ryuma just stared at the coupons that he obtained, not knowing what to do with them…
'I guess if i die, ill just walk to the parlor and offer these… but as if am gonna pay, because im already dead…' he thought as he stored them in his inventory for later use, but not without pretending to put them in his pocket to avoid any further suspicion
Besides, he shouldn't stall anymore… he wants to get out of liyue, the faster, the better.
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( A/N: on a scale of 1-10, rate how well i wrote hu tao, i tried my best… but asides that, this chapter is short because i dedicated my self into writing hu tao as carefully as possible
…i may we-write this chapter in the future, but anyways, i wish you all a great day )