"Eh? Amber and the others already left? I didn't even get to say goodbye!"
When Hu Tao returned to her room after finishing the comic, she realized her friends had slipped away without notice.
Still, Hu Tao wasn't upset. Mondstadt was in chaos right now, so it was understandable that Amber was in a hurry to return. She was just a bit disappointed, after all, that girl's personality was so likable.
Seeing her reluctant expression, Su Han comforted her. "They had urgent matters to handle, so they left early. If you really miss Amber, how about I take you with me next time I go on a business trip to Mondstadt?"
"Business trip? Didn't you say last time that Mondstadt was a total mess and you'd rather die than go there again? Something's fishy... definitely fishy. Talk. Did they give you some kind of benefit?"
Hu Tao looked at him suspiciously, feeling something was off. Sure, Su Han was capable, but he was also incredibly lazy.
If he didn't have a reason, he could probably find a hundred ways to slack off.
She still remembered how once, when she asked him to promote a new business for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, he somehow distracted her by talking about the tragic love story of a fox spirit.
...and she didn't remember the promotion again for an entire week!
It was clear: Su Han was the ultimate master of slacking off!
Realizing he couldn't hide it from this sharp little girl, Su Han took out the land deed.
When Hu Tao saw the contents, her eyes went wide. "My goodness, you really went big! I've seen that property, it's not only right on the main street but beautifully decorated too! But it's supposed to be not for sale! How did you even get it?"
She briefly suspected Su Han might've pulled some tricks, but then again, that wasn't like him. If he needed Mora, he could've just asked her.
After all, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was loaded. Lending Su Han a few hundred million Mora temporarily wouldn't be an issue. His comics were wildly popular anyway.
"That? Oh, someone just recognized my brilliance, of course."
Su Han grinned smugly and gave her a brief rundown of what had happened.
By the time Hu Tao heard him mention politics, faith, and governance, her head was already spinning. She waved her hands frantically.
"Stop, stop, stop! That's enough. Just listening makes me dizzy. Those kinds of things are way beyond what this Hall Master can handle.
Let's talk about something else. By the way, has Xingqiu come back yet?
Last I saw, he was still out. How about we all get together for a meal today? My treat!"
Hu Tao naturally loved lively gatherings. Now that her branch store had opened successfully, she wanted to celebrate. Of course, Su Han knew her real motive, she just wanted a chance to brag.
Still, a free meal was a free meal. It would be rude not to accept.
Su Han nodded immediately. "What a coincidence. Xingqiu's leaving tomorrow, so let's call him over."
"Mm-hmm! I'll go invite them. You go on ahead to Wanmin Restaurant and wait for me!"
After agreeing on the plan, Hu Tao hurried off, energetic as ever, even after returning from Mondstadt.
Evening.
Inside a private room at Wanmin Restaurant, Hu Tao and Xingqiu hadn't arrived yet.
Only Su Han and Xiangling were there, chatting. When the conversation turned to her family's restaurant, the girl's face was full of gratitude.
"Brother Su, thank you so much! I didn't expect that besides helping with the renovations, you'd also give my dad new recipes. He said business has increased by more than fifty percent!"
"It's nothing. We're friends, aren't we? And since Master Mao keeps sending me dishes every day, I'd feel bad just eating for free."
After all, all his meals lately came from Wanmin Restaurant, and they didn't charge him a single Mora. He only had to tell a waiter what he wanted. With them being that kind, Su Han couldn't just freeload forever.
So, he'd casually shared a few recipes from Earth. Some overlapped with existing ones, but the occasional new dish was more than enough to inspire Master Mao.
After chatting for a while, footsteps sounded outside.
Almost simultaneously, the door opened, Hu Tao came in, followed by Xingqiu, Zhongli, and another young man with pale blue hair.
It was none other than the heir of an exorcist family, Chongyun.
He also had another affectionate title: nephew.
"Hehe, kept you waiting, didn't we? But this time, I brought a new friend! Su Han, allow me to introduce, this is Chongyun, heir to an exorcist clan, a powerful thaumaturge, and also—"
"Wait, wait, wait! It's not as amazing as she's saying. I.. I'm Chongyun, an exorcist. Nice to meet you, Su Han."
Chongyun was so embarrassed by Hu Tao's exaggerated introduction that he wanted to sink through the floor. To stop her from saying anything worse, he hurriedly introduced himself first.
Everyone laughed. They'd all been through something similar and were long used to her antics.
With that bit of comic relief, the atmosphere lightened up. Xiangling excused herself to cook, and since preparations had been made in advance, the dishes came out quickly.
In less than half an hour, the table was filled with aromatic, mouthwatering dishes.
Hu Tao's eyes sparkled. "Wow, it smells so good! I can't hold back anymore! Everyone, dig in!"
The group chuckled and began their feast.
During the meal, Chongyun suddenly remembered his purpose and turned to Su Han. "Um… I actually wanted to ask you something."
"Sure, go ahead."
Su Han set down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth, feeling pleasantly full. Xiangling's cooking really was a notch above Master Mao's.
After hesitating for a moment, Chongyun finally spoke. "It's about your comic Under One Person. The diagram of the Qimen Formation that appeared in it, where did you get that? Was it really bestowed by an immortal?"
"The formation? You mean the one used in the fight between Zhuge Qing and Wang Ye? But that's fictional, isn't it?" Hu Tao asked.
Chongyun shook his head. "The story is fiction, but the formation isn't. You know this, Hu Tao, our exorcist family's techniques and talismans are based on the principles of the Eight Trigrams and Yin-Yang balance.
Of course, our family's teachings differ from what's in the comic. They're two separate systems. But over generations, our power has weakened and begun to fade.
Then I discovered the Qimen diagram in your comic. I couldn't understand it, but I could feel it contained something profound. When I showed it to my father, he told me it was real.
He said the formation holds power no less than our clan's own ancestral methods."
Everyone was stunned.
Xiangling exclaimed, "Wait, are you saying the techniques in Brother Su's comic are real?"
"Now that you mention it," Hu Tao recalled, "I did hear people in the city saying the comic was acknowledged by immortals. Su Han, is that true?"
Apparently, the rumors about "immortal fate hidden in the comic" weren't exaggerated after all.
Good grief, he was actually serious!
All eyes turned to Su Han.
He calmly took a sip of tea and said, shocking everyone with his words: "It's true."
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