Morning sunlight spilled warmly across the courtyard.
Adrian, dressed in ritual robes and holding a three-pronged bronze handbell, shook it gently as he solemnly recited the "Chapter of Departure and Burial." His verses guided the deceased forward, clearing the path for the soul's journey.
After finishing, he led Chongyun and Zhongli to haul over bundles of wood, building a funeral pyre in the courtyard.
Then they lifted Grant's body onto the wooden mound.
In ancient Liyue, zombies, skeleton fiends, and corrupted spirits often roamed the land.
To protect the dead and prevent disturbances, cremation became the traditional Liyue practice.
And in this trade, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's techniques were the most refined—able to burn remains so thoroughly that the ashes turned to fine powder.
Ordinary families could never reach such a level; they usually ended up with charred bone fragments.
Adrian did not possess Wangsheng's flawless craftsmanship…
But he did have the talisman passed down by his master.
He took out a beautifully inscribed talisman from his chest and poured all of his thin spiritual power into it.
At once, the talisman rose into the air—
And unleashed a surging wave of blazing flames, like a roaring fire dragon crashing down, instantly swallowing the corpse and the pyre whole.
From a distance, Shenhe watched silently, speechless.
This talisman was originally meant for Adrian's self-defense.
Yet this man had used it… to cremate a corpse.
If her master ever found out, Adrian would be scolded to death.
The talisman's power lasted barely five minutes before its energy exhausted and it drifted gently downward.
Adrian sprinted forward, catching it mid-air, then tucked it carefully against his chest.
By now, Grant's body had nearly finished burning.
Though not as perfect as Wangsheng's technique, the ashes were mostly powdery—acceptable enough.
Time slipped by.
By noon, the flames finally died.
Adrian walked forward quietly, took out a prepared cloth bag, and gently gathered the ashes by hand.
Then he instructed Chongyun step-by-step as they placed the ashes into a delicate urn.
Normally, the next step should be burial.
But there was a problem—the burial site had not been decided.
That wasn't Adrian's decision to make.
So he temporarily placed the urn on the offering table in the main hall and set a spirit tablet beside it.
A temporary resting place for the soul.
Once Grant's illegitimate daughter returned, they would discuss the burial.
Adrian then guided everyone before the spirit tablet.
Each person held a stick of incense.
As the blue smoke swirled upward, they placed their incense into the burner and bowed deeply.
After the bow, everyone dispersed.
At last, the funeral came to an end.
[System: Ding! Congratulations to the Host for sending off Liyue merchant Grant and revealing the truth of his death. Reward: 20 cultivation points.]
[System: This is the Host's tenth funeral. Milestone achieved. Awarded special system skill — Insight of Yin and Yang (Beginner). This skill allows the Host to view the identity information of the deceased.]
Twenty cultivation points… not bad.
But that skill? Adrian nearly rolled his eyes.
I'm a funeral worker, not a detective. What the hell do I need this for?
And seriously—who would ever misidentify their own dead family member?
After Grant's funeral, Adrian returned to his previous state of lazy idleness.
Every day, he sat outside his shop like a statue, staring into the distance with empty eyes.
As for cultivation?
He had completely given up.
Even if he trained without sleep for an entire year, he might only gain three to five points.
A complete waste of life.
After two days of this empty routine, Adrian began to feel suffocated by boredom.
With nothing else to do, he took out a notebook and began hand-copying the immortal novel from his past life—"A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality."
Something to pass the time… and relive old memories.
He had barely written a few lines when someone rushed over with urgent news:
Lord Dean was requesting him.
Hearing this, Adrian's heart leapt.
Without hesitation, he bolted toward Lord Dean's estate like an arrow released from the string.
Whether he could buy a house in central Liyue Harbor depended entirely on this commission.
Soon, he arrived at the manor entrance.
He didn't rush in.
Instead, he paused, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and steadied himself.
Then he adjusted his facial expression into one of sorrow and walked inside.
In just a few days, Lord Dean looked as though he had aged ten years.
When he sensed Adrian enter, his gaze drifted toward the corpse covered with a white cloth in the ice coffin.
A swirl of emotions flickered in his eyes—longing, reluctance, heartbreak.
He finally let out a deep sigh, heavy with a father's grief.
The sound echoed through the hall, adding to its desolate chill.
Then he turned to Adrian.
His voice was firm, unwavering, and full of command:
"I leave my daughter's funeral to you.
I want a ceremony grand enough to shake all of Liyue—unprecedented and unforgettable.
If you can accomplish this… the reward will be this entire estate."
Adrian remained outwardly calm, but inside—
Only one sentence was flashing like a jackpot:
This is it! I'm going to get rich!
This mansion was worth at least ten billion Mora.
It took him a long moment to collect himself.
Finally, he bowed deeply.
"Lord Dean, rest assured. I will do everything in my power to give your daughter a magnificent, unparalleled funeral."
Lord Dean nodded, impressed that Adrian could remain calm before such enormous wealth.
As expected of a disciple of the adepti.
Adrian lit a stick of incense, placed it in the burner, then bowed before the corpse.
Looking at the body inside the ice coffin, he suddenly felt tempted to test out his new skill.
He activated Insight of Yin and Yang.
The moment the identity information appeared—
His expression twisted instantly.
As if he were suffering from severe constipation.