Morning mist draped over Liyue Harbor like a silk veil. The first light rising from the sea brought little warmth, and the early workers hurried along, pulling their thin clothing tighter against the chilly air.
As the largest port in all of Teyvat, Liyue Harbor was already alive with activity at dawn. Shops opened one after another, filling the streets with bustle and noise. Yet among the lively storefronts, one place—Wangsheng Funeral Parlor—remained quiet and untouched.
"Aiya, isn't this Zhongli? Zhongli, how do you have time to sit here today? Don't tell me Yanshang Teahouse is closed today?"
A young girl pushed open the funeral parlor door. She wore a black outfit embroidered with patterns and a long trailing hem, topped with her signature Qianyun Taigua hat adorned with a plum blossom and the Wangsheng insignia. The lively touch of the flower added a burst of energy to her already eccentric appearance.
This girl was none other than Hu Tao, the 77th Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor—and, nominally, Zhongli's superior. She hopped inside carrying two food boxes, only to be surprised to find Zhongli sitting calmly in a chair.
"That can't be right. Even if Yanshang Teahouse is closed, you have plenty of other places to go. Seeing you inside the funeral parlor is really strange."
"Oh well. Since you're here, you can have the extra portion of Zhongyuan Chop Suey. Has Brother Subai not woken up yet?"
Zhongli shook his head and began eating the chop suey, savoring it with a rare sense of nostalgia. It had been many years since he last tasted such a simple street dish. Today's bite felt no worse than anything served at Xinyue Kiosk.
"The sun's practically shining on his backside and Subai still isn't up. No way, this Director is waking him up. It's the perfect day for going out to promote our Wangsheng VIP package!"
Hu Tao dashed upstairs with her usual playful energy. Zhongli could only shake his head helplessly. Subai had been such a diligent child—how had ten years in Inazuma turned him into this?
He still remembered worrying that Cloud Retainer would turn the boy into a shut-in, so he allowed Subai to study in Inazuma. Now it seemed it might've been better to leave him with Cloud Retainer after all. Being raised by Yae Miko had its… consequences.
Upstairs, Hu Tao tiptoed to the bedside. Seeing the boy still sleeping, she pulled back his blanket with practiced ease. Immediately, two fluffy white fox tails popped into view. With a mischievous grin, she placed her cool morning hands right on them.
The soft fluff made her smile in pure satisfaction. Truly, the early bird gets the worm—if she woke up earlier than Subai, his tails were hers to pet.
The boy trembled slightly at the sudden touch. His pair of soft white fox ears twitched atop his snowy hair, but recognizing the intruder, he made no effort to get up.
"Subai, wake up, wake up! The weather's perfect today—you should use that irresistible charm of yours and help me talk some young ladies into signing up for our VIP package!"
"Hu Tao… do you never check the time? Haven't you heard the famous saying of the 'ultimate slacker ninja' Sayu? Work is overrated; sleep is better."
"And you still dare bring up 'helping you trick young ladies'?"
With Hu Tao was relentlessly rubbing his tails, Subai couldn't sleep at all. He glared at her grumpily, only pulling his tails away after she'd had her fill.
"Last time I used my tails to help you promote your package, we somehow ended up in front of Keqing. And you, instead of warning me, ran off! Do you know she held onto my tails for a whole hour before letting me go?"
"My bad! But can you blame me? Your tails are too nice to touch. Even someone as serious and hardworking as Keqing couldn't resist!"
Her apology was completely insincere, and Subai could only roll his eyes. What a humiliation. If Hu Tao didn't give him one-fifth of the Mora for every VIP package sold, he'd never use his tails like that.
"Anyway, enough nonsense. I need to head to Mondstadt for a bit. Just letting you know."
"Mondstadt? Subai, that place is dealing with the dragon crisis right now. Aren't you worried that the big bad dragon will eat you? … Though dragons probably don't eat foxes? Ow!"
Hu Tao held her head after Subai tapped it with his signature hand-chop. She still didn't understand why his hand-chops were always so painful.
"I'll have you know I'm an adeptus. A well-known fox spirit in Liyue Harbor. Why would Dvalin eat me? And if I was eaten, who would sell your weird packages for you?"
"Aiyaaa, don't be mad! I bought you breakfast, didn't I? Since you're not helping today, I'll get going. Bring me something nice when you come back from Mondstadt!"
With that, Hu Tao jumped straight out the window, humming one of her bizarre Hilichurlian tunes—the ones she proudly claimed to have "composed."
Subai couldn't help smiling. He knew Hu Tao only went out promoting whenever she had no real work to do.
"Wonder who the lucky victim is today…"
"Sigh. I hope Miko-neesan's doing fine. I heard Inazuma's enforcing the Vision Hunt Decree. Surely Sara won't try to seize hers… right?"
Since he was already awake, Subai got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast.
Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, built from the finest wood, forbade Hu Tao from using her Vision inside—because of obvious fire hazards.
As Subai descended the stairs, he expected to find his usual empty seat. Instead, he found someone sitting there—someone he could never see through:
Zhongli.
"Zhongli? You're not out spending Mora? That's rare. Don't tell me you came to see me off."
Zhongli remained as composed as ever—calm enough to face even Yae Miko without flinching.
"I've had little to do lately and felt somewhat fatigued. A short rest is all. Little Subai, I've heard Mondstadt's dandelion wine is rather unique."
"Alright, alright—'Little Subai' when you want something, 'Subai' when you don't. You want wine? Fine. I've got some Mora. I'll bring back a few bottles."
Hu Tao's last commission payout was still sitting inside the pocket-space granted by his Vision—Cloud Retainer's external realm techniques truly were miracles.
Speaking of that Vision… he only got it because the Raiden Shogun ate the dango Yae Miko gave her. Young Subai, furious, grabbed a nearly-boy-sized tiger slaying knife and challenged the Electro Archon.
His backside was swollen for three days. And then—of all things—a Vision fell from the sky and hit that very same spot. He nearly threw it away out of spite.
"That would be excellent," Zhongli replied.
"Then I'm off. I'll chat with Old Man Ruotuo when I get back."
At the mention of "Ruotuo," Zhongli's face stiffened. He knew Subai had torn a gap in Azhdaha's seal using Inazuman ritual techniques. He knew Subai had awakened old memories through illusion arts.
But he never expected that when he visited his ancient friend recently, the first thing Azhdaha roared was—
"IT HURTS. IT HURTS SO MUCH, MORAX! WHY—WHY ARE YOU AVOIDING ME?!"
Zhongli had been stunned. It felt like being sealed away again and then blasted by a Superconduct reaction for good measure. Pure emotional damage.
Even now, he still hadn't quite recovered.
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TL Note: I found this novel synopsis kinda interesting, so I'll translate this too when I have time.