After reading the story of Childe, some people had a slight change of heart towards the Fatui.
They originally thought they were a group of heartless villains, but they didn't expect them to have human emotions.
A dream from childhood? Hu Tao recalled, somewhat in a daze.
At thirteen, she took over the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, becoming the seventy-seventh Director, and then... presided over her grandfather's funeral.
She also tried to find the person who nurtured her dream, but she searched for a long time in that world and couldn't find that figure.
It was then that she understood: the Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor must live without regrets while alive.
Hu Tao looked at Lin Qiu, who was sprawled motionless on the table, and thought to herself:
What will his story about me be like? How far into my future will it be? What will I be like then?
Little Qiu Qiu, how well do you truly know me?
Lin Qiu lay weakly on the table, having laughed himself numb. He seemed exhausted, but in reality, he had been gone for a while.
"Lin, will you write my story?" Even Navia couldn't help but ask.
Lin Qiu didn't speak, he just raised a hand and gave a thumbs up.
Navia finally relaxed. 'Good, you'll write for me, the second boss, after you finish writing for the big boss. No favoritism.'
Meanwhile, Rosalyne had also finished reading the story.
She put the book away, uncharacteristically not arguing with Tartaglia for taunting her.
For someone who couldn't recall her past, a childhood dream seemed too distant.
Now, only flames remained in her dreams.
In Mondstadt, Amy finished reading this story in her room. She also had her own dream, but her dream didn't need others' protection.
She created her own dream kingdom and didn't need others' protection.
She lived in her own dream kingdom and didn't care about others' opinions.
"Please be proud of everything unreal, for we are superior to this world!"
Amy closed the book. She was starting to want to meet the author, Qiu Qiu.
An author with such abilities should also be able to accept unreal things, right?
Inside Angel's Share, the Four Great Talents of the tavern were gathered: Diluc, Kaeya, Venti, and Rosaria were all there.
It was interesting to note that all four of them had somewhat imperfect childhoods or adolescences.
But they all walked the same path, protecting the dreams of others in Mondstadt.
"So the Fatui also have human emotions," Diluc sharply commented on the Fatui. He really disliked them.
"'One-Eyed Little Treasure,' do you think it would sell in Mondstadt?" Kaeya seemed to have found a business opportunity.
"Not if you're involved, you'd definitely use it to scare children," Rosaria replied casually, looking half-asleep as she listened to them discuss.
Venti was 'glug-glug-glug' drinking wine nearby.
In Inazuma, Yae Miko sighed, picked up a piece of tofu, and put it in her mouth to wash away some of her unhappiness.
Raiden Ei, who once protected the dreams of the Inazuma people, had now become the Raiden Shogun, who stripped the people of their dreams.
Yae Miko hesitated whether to show this story to Ei. The last story had a counterproductive effect; would this one be the same?
"Protecting children's dreams? This guy really gets it!" Arataki Itto laughed loudly.
Kuki Shinobu had been reading the prophecy book, so Itto, who disliked reading, also bought and read it out of curiosity.
This Childe, perhaps he could become friends with me—Arataki Itto, the King of Children.
"Boss! The Shogunate's General is here!" Gan, Wen, and Cui, who were beside Arataki Itto, reminded Itto.
"Arataki Itto, surrender your Vision," Kujou Sara said solemnly.
As for Sumeru, the one most skilled at nurturing dreams should be Lesser Lord Kusanali.
Even though her body was restricted, she always tried her best to nurture the dreams of the Sumeru People in her dreams.
It was just that the adults of Sumeru didn't dream, and many children no longer saw Nahida after growing up.
Compared to this story, the 'death' of Morax concerned Nahida more.
However, when she read the second act, she found that it still didn't reveal who the culprit was.
Only Lumine accompanied Zhongli on walks, preparing for the Rite of Parting.
Nahida really wanted to know what happened to her predecessor. Irminsul records the past, but not the future.
Moreover, Nahida at this time still couldn't easily read information from Irminsul.
She couldn't help but lament that she was truly an unqualified god; despite having a close connection to Irminsul, she couldn't freely read information from it.
Nahida read the story, only hoping that this author would quickly write the third act so she could understand what happened to her predecessor, Morax.
Speaking of the second act of this story, some parts of it were very interesting.
For example, it let the people of Liyue know that the reliable consultant, Zhongli, also had flaws.
He never cared about prices when buying things and didn't carry money himself, so wouldn't the bills pile up at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?
No wonder the Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor had to personally promote services; she was forced into it.
They didn't know that Hu Tao's actions were purely a personal hobby; Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was not short on Mora.
There was also another part, which was when the Geo Archon statue was choosing perfume.
As for detailing the process of making perfume? This... this wouldn't be good.
However, Ying'er's carriage indeed made the Chunxiang Kiln store popular.
Back to the Geo Archon, he ultimately chose 'Ethereal Immortal Fate,' which was said to be a scent that mature older sisters would like.
[Paimon: "Could it be... that the Geo Archon is actually an older sister?"]
[Zhongli: "Hahaha... perhaps."]
["The Geo Archon has countless incarnations; perhaps such an image truly exists."]
The Adepti were very satisfied with this Zhongli. He was truly one of the few people in Liyue who still understood the rites of parting, truly worthy of being a consultant for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
He greatly respected the Adepti.
However, this Mondstadt friend Zhongli mentioned always felt somewhat familiar...
Or was it that all Mondstadters were like this? Bringing wine when meeting friends?
The Adepti still didn't know that Zhongli was the Geo Archon, because the Geo Archon hadn't yet informed them of this in a dream.
The incarnation the Geo Archon used when meeting them was not Zhongli, and moreover, to avoid trouble, he didn't even go to see the Adepti.
The story also had a part where the Traveler went to Granny Ping to get the Cleansing Bell, which exposed the identities of Granny Ping and Zhongli.
So that's how it is... Zhongli, he is—an Adeptus! No wonder he knows so much.
The Adepti also realized that this Zhongli was probably... also an Adeptus!
They just didn't know which old friend's incarnation he was.
Only Aping and Cloud Retainer fully understood; they knew the Cleansing Bell very well.
Other Adepti weren't interested in music and mechanisms, so they didn't know the secrets within.
Other Adepti knew of the Cleansing Bell, but didn't know who held it, nor were they clear about who knew where the Cleansing Bell was.
So they only thought Zhongli was also an Adeptus, and didn't think of him as the Geo Archon.
After all, holding one's own funeral was too explosive; it was quite explosive even in the realm of explosiveness.
But Cloud Retainer knew: the Geo Archon was indeed not dead!
"So he's like Aping, planning to live as a mortal..." I Love Inventions True Monarch sighed in relief. Regardless, it was good that the Geo Archon was alright.
She flapped her wings, intending to tell this information to the other Adepti, but then thought better of it and stopped.
These guys didn't even let me attend the Rite of Descension, hmph, I'm not telling them!
---------
Character Voice Line · Xianyun: About Wang Xiaomei
"Hmm... what a lovely name. Ganyu, that child, actually has such a nickname. As her master, I didn't even know. No, I must remember this."