Chapter 12: Master of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor

Perhaps out of apology for testing Wang Daoyi's Ice Mist - Mint Cake, Xiangling readily agreed to Wang Daoyi's request. She turned the bag of nuts he brought into nut pastries and even thoughtfully packed them into a gift box for him.

"Mr. Zhongli from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is quite a picky fellow. He not only pays attention to taste but can also pinpoint my problems with precision. The first dish I served him, Salt and Pepper Tofu, he only took one bite and asked me what kind of salt I used. Then he suggested trying the sea salt extracted from the shallow sea near Gu Yun Ge. He said its layers could give the tofu more freshness!"

Xiangling spoke with a mix of frustration and admiration when talking about Zhongli.

"For this reason, I specifically asked Beidou Sister to bring back the sea salt extracted from the shallow sea near Gu Yun Ge. After trying it, the taste was indeed significantly different. Don't you think he's amazing?"

Taking the box of nut pastries handed to him by Xiangling, Wang Daoyi nodded slightly. "Of course, he's amazing. Mr. Zhongli is the most knowledgeable person I've ever met, so I need to prepare a gift when I visit him!"

"I'm off now. I might not come for lunch today, but I'll be back in the evening! Goodbye, Guoba!"

"Alright, take care, Brother Daoyi! Ruru~"

---

Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, located in Feiyun Slope, is nestled against the mountainside with a mountain stream in front of it. The water from the stream flows directly into the sea of clouds. Looking up from here, one can see the towering Jade Chamber.

The architectural style of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's buildings is similar to other buildings in the Drum Tower District of Feiyun Slope, with a dragon and phoenix dance signboard hanging at the entrance, bearing the three characters "Wangsheng Funeral Parlor".

Despite being situated in one of the busiest areas of Liyue, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is still relatively quiet. Apart from a white cat sitting on a stone bench at the entrance, hardly any other living beings, apart from the staff, can be seen.

According to Liyue customs, most people are unwilling to come here unless necessary. After all, to put it bluntly, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is a combination of a funeral home and an almshouse. There were even rumors of hauntings in the past, making outsiders even more reluctant to approach.

However, Wang Daoyi wasn't afraid at all. After all, the game had already stated that there were no ghosts in Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, only the adorable Hu Tao.

Inside Sheng Tang,

The adorable Master Hu Tao was sitting lazily on an old armchair.

After being rejected by Lan, the branch president of the Liyue Adventurers' Guild, when she went to promote Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's adventurer package, Hu Tao also received a warning from the General Affairs Department.

Recently, the Qixing received numerous complaints from citizens, stating that the current master of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was promoting death and terrorizing them into purchasing Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's packages, causing a lot of trouble for the citizens.

Although the Qixing, as the ruler of Liyue, understood the business and responsibilities of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, she still took action in response to the complaints from the citizens.

The lively and cute Hu Tao was grounded. According to the penalty issued by the General Affairs Department, Hu Tao was confined to her home for 7 days and not allowed to promote Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's business on the streets. All of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's business was temporarily handed over to other morticians and consultants.

Confined to her home, Hu Tao stared listlessly at the gate of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor The white cat at the entrance stretched lazily, changed its position, and continued to enjoy the morning sun.

Suddenly, Hu Tao seemed to hear someone calling her.

No, it wasn't just a feeling; someone really was at the door!

Shaking her head, Hu Tao looked at the unexpected visitor with excitement.

"Oh, welcome to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor! Esteemed guest, do you need anything? Wangsheng Funeral Parlor offers great discounts now, buy one get one free!"

Wang Daoyi looked at the suddenly enthusiastic girl in front of him with a strange expression. Although he knew that Hu Tao was very persistent in promoting Sheng Tang's business, being promoted to his face and being offered a buy one get one free deal still made him feel like he was crossing dimensions.

"Master Hu Tao, no need to be so polite. I am Wang Daoyi. I came here today to seek advice from Mr. Zhongli. Is Mr. Zhongli available?"

Wang Daoyi lifted his hand to return the greeting and stated his purpose.

Seeing that he wasn't a genuine customer, Hu Tao wasn't disappointed. After all, in her eyes, there were only current customers and potential customers. After all, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was a monopoly industry in Liyue.

"Zhongli? He left in the morning to promote our services. If you're not in a hurry, you can wait here at Sheng Tang. Zhongli will be back by noon!"

Hu Tao blinked and informed Wang Daoyi of Zhongli's whereabouts, suggesting that he wait at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

Without much thought, Wang Daoyi preferred to wait for Zhongli to return inside Wangsheng Funeral Parlor rather than going outside to look for him.

"In that case, I'll trouble Master Hu Tao. Here's a little pastry for you. Please accept it, consider it as my tea fee!"

Since he didn't directly meet Zhongli, Wang Daoyi didn't feel comfortable holding a gift box and waiting inside someone else's house. So he decided to give the gift box to Hu Tao instead.

Only then did Hu Tao notice that Wang Daoyi was also holding a gift box.

"Oh, this is from Xiangling!" Hu Tao carefully examined the gift box and noticed that it was different from the usual ones, bearing the mark of Wanmin Restaurant.

"Does Master Hu Tao also know Xiangling?"

"Of course, Xiangling's cooking is delicious. In my opinion, nothing beats Xiangling's boiled fish and shrimp dumplings at Wanmin Restaurant. And Xiangling is so much fun, she jumps at the slightest touch and is easily fooled. Those of us in this line of work love people like her. But one must also be mindful, after all, Guoba will stand up for Xiangling."

Speaking of Xiangling, Hu Tao revealed a happy smile. As the master of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, there weren't many people she could be friends with, but Xiangling, who also possessed the Vision of Pyro, was her good friend among peers.

Wang Daoyi nodded in agreement. After half a month of contact, he also found Xiangling easy to fool.

During this half month, Wang Daoyi fabricated stories about his adventures in Mondstadt to Xiangling, who had no doubts and completely believed him.

This lovely girl seemed to have never thought that someone would lie to her.

The two of them happily talked about Xiangling's topic, and as time passed, they became more and more in sync, with the initial awkwardness disappearing completely.

Gradually, the conversation no longer revolved around Hu Tao's pranks on Xiangling and Guoba's subsequent chase, but also touched on various topics such as life and death.

"Brother Daoyi, chatting with you is really enjoyable. Unlike other people, who are always filled with fear of death."

Hu Tao always seemed indifferent when talking about death.

"I am the seventy-seventh generation master of Sheng Tang. My grandfather was the seventy-fifth. The first thing I did when I took office was to organize my grandfather's funeral."

With that, Hu Tao glanced at Wang Daoyi, who also showed a suitable expression of surprise.

"Surprised, aren't you? Ah, unconsciously, I've been in this industry for many years. Time flies!"

Wang Daoyi looked at Hu Tao, who was talking about arranging her grandfather's funeral without any sadness on her face.

Perhaps in this girl's eyes, the definition of death had always been different from others, or perhaps she no longer showed sadness to outsiders.

"Talking to the master has also benefited me a lot. The master's definition of death is refreshing and worthy of careful consideration!"

Wang Daoyi truly felt that Hu Tao's definition of death was worth pondering.

Life and death follow a certain order, destiny is unpredictable, and death is difficult to predict, but it also has its rules. Regardless of when and where, for whatever reason, one should not easily challenge the concept of death. Only by understanding and respecting it can one understand the value of life!

This was one of Hu Tao's definitions of death. She believed that people should not evade or resist death but should accept it, understand it, and face it. Only then could they live better and seize the time to live better.

Wang Daoyi, whether in this life or the previous one, was not a philosopher and couldn't judge whether Hu Tao's views were correct, but he admired Hu Tao's optimistic attitude.

(End of this chapter)