In the eternally sunless Wuwang Hill, a young girl hummed an eerie tune as she walked through the sinister forest. Above her, a dark golden baby dragon followed closely.
Lin Yuan hovered in the air, observing the ghostly flames around him as he trailed behind Hu Tao.
Lin Yuan thought to himself, "This is my first time seeing the real Wuwang Hill. The eerie atmosphere here is fitting for a place that connects the realms of the living and the dead." Suddenly, he felt the urge to sneeze and rubbed his nose, muttering, "Who's talking about me behind my back? Could it be Ganyu bringing food to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and finding me gone?"
Imagining Ganyu showing up with delicious food only to realize he wasn't there, Lin Yuan sighed in disappointment. He wished he could be at home, enjoying her cooking, instead of following Hu Tao to this creepy place. To comfort himself, he took a big gulp from his oversized milk bottle.
Hu Tao glanced at him and commented, "Didn't think you'd learn to fly so fast. You're really something, huh!"
Lin Yuan, still nursing from his bottle, was too busy to respond.
Hu Tao continued, talking to herself, "But compared to the dog from the restaurant across the street, you're still a bit lacking."
Hearing that, Lin Yuan glared at her fiercely. Unfortunately, with a milk bottle in his mouth, his attempt at looking menacing failed completely and only made him seem cuter.
Feigning seriousness, Hu Tao said, "The dog across the street can greet customers at the door now, and it's brought that restaurant a lot of business. When will you start helping attract customers for us?"
Lin Yuan ignored her. He was beginning to think that Hu Tao's understanding of him was a bit off—she often compared him to the restaurant's dog. Plus, the way she described that dog, it seemed like it could do anything. If she told him one day that the dog could cook, Lin Yuan wouldn't be surprised.
Still, this didn't motivate Lin Yuan at all. He had no intention of changing his laid-back attitude. After all, people shouldn't compare themselves to dogs, and it would be even more demeaning for a divine dragon like him to do so.
Hu Tao went on, "But this is your first official job, so you'd better perform well!"
Just hearing this made Lin Yuan feel a bit melancholic. He had been resting comfortably in his cradle when Hu Tao suddenly burst in, grabbed him, and dragged him out of Liyue to Wuwang Hill. She claimed that this was Lin Yuan's first business deal since joining the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and insisted on bringing him along as a lucky charm to boost their success.
Not long after entering Wuwang Hill, Lin Yuan was already missing his warm cradle.
Hu Tao continued talking as she led the way, "This job isn't too difficult, and the reward is decent. We need to complete it perfectly! That way, we'll leave a good impression on the client, and they'll come to us again when something happens."
Lin Yuan silently listened, finding Hu Tao's business strategy rather odd. We're a funeral parlor, why do we need to cultivate repeat customers? By the time the client comes back, they'd likely already be a ghost!
Hu Tao's sales tactics seemed to be taken directly from other industries and poorly adapted for their line of work. No wonder the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor had been around for so many generations, yet its performance remained mediocre.
Still, Hu Tao seemed confident. "With the two of us forming a professional team, we'll guarantee customer satisfaction!"
As she babbled on, Hu Tao finally noticed that Lin Yuan hadn't made a sound. Seeing him staring at the ghostly flames around them, she assumed he was scared and patted her chest proudly. "Are you scared of ghosts, little buddy? Don't worry, you're in the company of a genius from the funeral world, unmatched in a hundred years!"
"With me here, no ghosts would dare show up," she declared confidently.
Lin Yuan, however, wasn't scared at all. As a sacred beast, it was far more likely that ghosts would be afraid of him, not the other way around. He had been watching the ghostly flames because something felt off. There was a strange aura around this place.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it made him uneasy.
At that moment, they arrived at a familiar spot. Hu Tao pointed to a hole in the ground and said, "This is where I found you before, and that pit over there is from your egg."
Lin Yuan suddenly realized why this place seemed familiar—it was where he had hatched. His essence as a divine beast still lingered over the pit, which made the ghostly flames in the area avoid getting too close.
But there was another strange aura here—something impure. It was a strong presence, and Lin Yuan could sense it still lingering nearby. Whatever it was, it disgusted him.
What could it be? Lin Yuan wondered, staying alert as he scanned the surroundings.
Hu Tao, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice anything. Instead, she pointed to another hole nearby and asked, "Huh, why is there another pit here?"
Lin Yuan glanced at it and rolled his eyes. That's the hole you dug when you tried to bury me!
Letting out a small whine, he reminded her of what happened.
Hu Tao slapped her forehead in realization, "Oh, right! That's the one I dug myself. I've dug so many pits here at Wuwang Hill, I can't keep track anymore."
Hu Tao had dug countless pits in Wuwang Hill, which only added to the eerie atmosphere of the place. In fact, half of the hill's sinister reputation could probably be attributed to her handiwork.
Lin Yuan was about to make a sarcastic comment when he suddenly sensed something. He turned his head to look deeper into the forest.
Not far away, a ghostly figure wrapped in black mist appeared, standing still as if observing Lin Yuan and Hu Tao. The moment Lin Yuan saw the figure, he immediately understood that the strange feeling he had and the foul aura in the pit were all connected to this specter.
Or more precisely, to the dark mist surrounding it.
Normally, ghosts were just the lingering souls of the dead and posed no real harm to anyone. But this specter, enveloped in that ominous black mist, radiated a small but tangible power. Though it was still much weaker than Lin Yuan, it could easily be a threat to ordinary people.
This ghost needed to be dealt with.
Lin Yuan knew that if they didn't destroy this entity now, innocent people might suffer. And judging by how the ghost seemed to be fixated on him, it likely had malicious intent.
----------
A/N:
Get 20 advanced chapters at p@treon.com/Ashborn69. Your support helps me so much Thank you!