"Oww! Who was that? Can't you watch where you're going?"
Paimon sat on the ground, clutching her head. She had no idea why her head always seemed to be the target of misfortune.
"Paimon, never mind that! Run! There's a zombie in Wangsheng!"
"Paimon isn't afraid of zombies! Wait... zombie? That's just Qiqi. What's there to be scared of? You should apologize to Paimon."
Paimon put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin proudly. With Lumine and Su Bai by her side, she felt bold. There was no way they'd let anyone bully her.
Su Bai was also puzzled. Zombie? He hadn't sensed any zombie presence in Wangsheng. And even if there were a zombie, shouldn't it be the one running? Why was Xingqiu the one panicking?
"Are you looking for me~"
A small, cold hand quietly landed on Xingqiu's shoulder. The ghostly whisper made his skin crawl. He turned mechanically and saw a strange figure in sunglasses standing behind him.
"AAAAH! Su Bai, help!"
Before Xingqiu could even scream, Mona beat him to it. Feeling unsafe, she used her astral projection to slip behind Su Bai.
Feeling Mona's grip on his tail, Su Bai realized for the first time that Mona might have the potential to become another Shenhe. Perhaps after spending more time with Sister Shenhe, Mona could become a battle mage.
Imagining Mona as a violent astrologist swinging her catalyst like a club, Su Bai felt sorry for her future enemies. Catalysts, whether books or made of other materials, were incredibly sturdy.
When he was younger, Yanfei had taken him into the mountains to look for Cor Lapis. Watching her smash the stones with her Solar Pearl had left him utterly stunned.
"Huh, there really is a zombie! Wait, why is there a zombie in Wangsheng?"
"Did Hu Tao bury Qiqi? Did Qiqi's family come to settle the score?"
Paimon tilted her head in thought. Based on what she'd heard from Qiqi about Hu Tao, her theory seemed plausible.
"But that doesn't make sense. If Qiqi had family, she wouldn't be working at Bubu Pharmacy."
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Qiqi at the pharmacy in a long time. Last time I was there, Mr. Baizhu even asked us to help find her. If Hu Tao really buried Qiqi, it all adds up!"
"Lumine, should we go tell Keqing about this?"
The more Paimon spoke, the more convinced she became. Lumine rolled her eyes at the little fool. Couldn't she tell the zombie was just Hu Tao in disguise? Only Hu Tao had a chest that flat.
"And what exactly would you tell Keqing?"
"Kidnapping, of course."
"But if I remember correctly, Qiqi is several thousand years old."
Su Bai's words left Paimon speechless. What? Qiqi was thousands of years old? Then again, as a zombie, it made sense.
"Then Hu Tao is guilty of assault! Yes, assault!"
"But Qiqi is a zombie. She's not human. That charge won't stick either."
Su Bai pinched Paimon's chubby cheek. What could be more entertaining than teasing her? Paimon was stumped. After thinking for a while and finding no good argument, she retaliated by swatting at Su Bai's tails.
"Guys, stop watching! Help!"
"I think this zombie is about to bite my neck."
Xingqiu was getting desperate. He could already feel the cold draft on his neck.
Wait. Cold draft? Zombies breathed? In an instant, Xingqiu realized something was wrong. What kind of zombie breathed? He wasn't just some ignorant young master of Feiyun Commerce Guild. He had read many books!
"Alright, alright, Hu Tao. Stop scaring people. Look how pale Xingqiu is."
Su Bai removed the sunglasses from the zombie's face. Xingqiu recognized those familiar plum blossom eyes and let out an embarrassed cough. He had indeed made a fool of himself.
"Xingqiu, this director's zombie costume was pretty convincing, wasn't it? Even a bookworm like you was scared."
"Director Hu, how could you do this? Scaring people like that can actually kill them!"
Mona grabbed Hu Tao's shoulders and shook her furiously once she realized the zombie was just her. Hu Tao offered an apologetic smile.
"Hehe, I thought there was a thief in Wangsheng, so I dressed up to scare them off. I didn't expect it to be you guys."
"So that hand in the coffin was yours too?"
"Yeah, the director was so tired I accidentally fell asleep in the coffin. I only woke up when Mona bumped into it."
Seeing Mona's face grow darker, Hu Tao quickly pulled out a sheet of paper with various dish names written on it and handed it to her.
"Mona, this is Wanmin Restaurant's menu. I was planning to treat you tomorrow. Take a look and see what you'd like to eat."
The tactic worked. Mona's attention shifted to the menu. Paimon, equally curious, floated over to join her. Soon the two foodies were deep in discussion.
Xingqiu noticed Chongyun standing frozen and patted his shoulder. The touch snapped Chongyun back to reality.
"Huh? What happened, Xingqiu? Did something happen?"
"Chongyun, what were you thinking about so seriously? I was just held hostage by Hu Tao dressed as a zombie."
"I thought you'd figure out it was Hu Tao in disguise, so I didn't step in."
Xingqiu's mouth twitched. So he was the only one who hadn't realized it was just Hu Tao? How embarrassing. Still, what really caught his attention was what Chongyun had been thinking about.
"It's nothing. It's just... this person reminds me of a relative."
Xingqiu glanced at the quiet Shenhe beside Su Bai, then back at Chongyun. Apart from both having Cryo Visions, he couldn't see any resemblance.
Despite the lack of resemblance, Xingqiu still encouraged Chongyun to ask. He gave his friend a nudge.
"Chongyun, instead of hesitating, why not just ask?"
With that, Xingqiu quietly pulled out a Kamera, ready to capture the moment. Encouraged by his friend, Chongyun gritted his teeth, walked up to Shenhe, and asked with a red face:
"Um, excuse me... are you my aunt?"