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***

Afternoon.

On the outskirts of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, a woman clad in black was walking silently alongside another young woman with pale blue hair, looking quite somber.

As they made their way deeper into the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor territory, both of them seemingly ignored the heat waves beaming down from the red sun above as if it weren’t there. Neither of them looked very enthusiastic nor relaxed; rather, the mood between the two was rather stiff.

“Dear secretary of the Liyue Qixing, Ms. Ganyu…I beg of you. Please reconsider. Give us more time…two months aren’t enough to pay the debt.”

“I apologize, dear Ferrylady…I am simply following orders, for me, they are absolute. Unfortunately, two months were the stated quota…within two months I’ll come back to collect the debt..I’ve only arrived today to inform you about the situation…There is nothing I can do…”

The woman called Ganyu, let out a bitter sigh, shaking her head with a disappointed expression.

The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

She had been watching it grow for nearly two millennia.

A giant standing tall as the strong symbol of Liyue, it became so engrossed with growth that it caught up with itself.

It soon grew beyond where its gates would close shut, and it faced a dire threat: bankruptcy.

The seeds of decline.

She watched its power decline with sadness; almost two thousand years ago it peaked, and she was also there when the first Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was elected.

Ganyu had seen the first Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor use taunts and humor to comfort the hopeless…saving the people she came across crying and lamenting.

Time passed, and with the limited lifespan of humans, many different Directors took charge of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

However, something unexpected happened a couple of years ago.

When Ganyu met Hu Tao for the very first time, she stared at her in disbelief, for it was as if she met with the first Director once more.

Hu Tao looked exactly the same as the first Director. Her appearance, speech pattern, and tone were all similar, as if she stepped right out of Ganyu’s memory. It almost felt like she was her reincarnation.

A cheerful woman in front of everyone else.

She was just the type of Director the position required.

No personality trait that betrayed her own inner thoughts or wishes…never at fault for lacking knowledge on procedures.

Allowing her employees freedom and not interfering with their tasks.

A woman who smiled easily and showed love to everyone around her…

Now that Ganyu heard the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor could no longer meet its end goals, it pained her, but such was fate.

She pitied them and yet, she couldn’t disagree with the order given from the main branch of Qixing, but as if pouring water into a gaping maw, she was willing to release everyone at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor from this misery, if only the debt was paid in full.

Such was the contract, and all contracts in Liyue ought to be followed.

If not, unimaginable consequences would arise…

If only there was a miracle, but she feared, it wouldn’t happen.

“Please understand, I only wish for the Wangsheng Funeral to prospect… however, the present situation at hand does not—” Ganyu paused mid-sentence as she saw a tall man in the distance, slowly walking toward her direction, while scanning the graveyard within the cemetery, clearly unhappy.

At first sight, she thought that someone must have angered him very deeply, for it looked like he was on a rampage.

“Dear Ferrylady… isn’t this a place only employees can visit?”

“Mhm, indeed it is, Ms. Ganyu. Why do you ask?”

“Do tell, is that man an employee?”

The stiffness that crept onto Ganyu’s face became noticeable immediately.

Just looking at the man in question, something solid in her stomach was tightening, causing goosebumps to form on her skin.

Her instincts were screaming at her, sending chills up and down her spine.

That man was dangerous, she was sure of it.

Those eyes…seemed familiar…

Those eyes, contained a toxic essence that was directly piercing right through her heart.

He was gazing at her with an intent to unsettle her.

“Oh, him…not exactly. He is not an employee. It’s one of the ghosts that roam this place.” The Ferrylady let out a soft chuckle, as if the man was of no concern.

Of course she knew him. He was her Director’s lover.

However, she didn’t say a word. Simply because her Director’s private life was no one else’s business.

Director Hu Tao was a woman too, after all. She needed her privacy.

“A-A ghost? I see…Eh? He is not floating but walking normally…I don’t…I don’t think that’s a…ghost…” She looked thoroughly confused.

Within a few seconds, the man had reached them. Being so close, he looked frighteningly large compared to the rather short Ganyu.

“E-Eh…?”

She looked up at him fearfully and noticed his intent gaze was upon her.

Something sinister shone in those golden, bright eyes, brilliant and shiny as Cor Lapis itself.

It reminded her of someone…

Was he perhaps…?

“Excuse me…Are you perhaps…Rex Lap—”

Ganyu muttered but stopped herself, noticing the man wanted to say something.

The man slowly opened his mouth, “They look cute, can I cop a feel?” And dropped a small bombshell, causing Ganyu’s lips to twitch in confusion.

“Eeehhhh?!” She shrieked with surprise, but then quickly recovered herself, her cheeks coloring slightly in embarrassment.

She then cleared her throat to cover her outburst, composing herself to give off an aloof, unaffected air.

Trying to put distance between herself and the intimidating man, she softly replied, “S-Sorry Y…You want…what? A…hug?”

Yet her poker face soon crumbled and her fearfulness was rising gradually with every word spoken, knowing instinctively that the severity of his request needed a sudden halt.

“Nah, not a hug. I want to cop a feel…would that be alright with you? Of course, if you refuse, then it’s fine.”

His wild demeanor contradicted what he was actually requesting, but his hand remained outstretched, as though not giving Ganyu the right to say ‘no’.

The man was obviously Yomite, and with this, he had a goal in mind, but it seemed to be impossible to attain at this very moment.