A few days later, Lin Qiu had been writing at Lin Qiu's home during this time.
Shenhe was out working, Lumine was out adventuring, and only he was cooped up at home.
Hu Tao would occasionally come to play with him, and Zhongli would also occasionally come to see how his writing was progressing; besides that, he had no social life.
Oh, and it's worth mentioning that Cloud Retainer moved to Liyue Harbor and is now living at Lin Qiu's home.
Lin Qiu's home was no longer big enough, so Hu Tao gave the adjacent house to Lin Qiu as well, tearing down the courtyard wall overnight to combine them into one house.
Zhongli would occasionally come over to check on his novel's progress, then go to Cloud Retainer's place to help her design house decorations.
After doing all this, he would go to Granny Ping for some tea and then to Yun Jin to listen to a play for a while; he was very busy, but no one knew what he was busy with.
"It's finally finished," Lin Qiu slumped in his chair.
This time, he wrote two stories: the third act of Liyue and a portion of the new book, 'teyvat story collection'.
"Finished? Let Hall Master see," Hu Tao immediately said.
She had been waiting ever since she knew Lin Qiu was almost finished, and it was a wonder her personality allowed her to sit quietly for so long.
"Here," Lin Qiu didn't hide anything, handing both books to Hu Tao.
Hu Tao took them and saw, 'Chapter One: Act Three: Approaching Guest Star'.
After reading a section, Hu Tao thought, 'The person most likely to be the God of Geo is my consultant?'
Then isn't Hall Master super amazing? Just like her ancestors, she's also formed a contract with the God of Geo!
This was Hu Tao's current thought; she hadn't changed her opinion because of the possible identity of the God of Geo.
She had vaguely heard Zhongli and Lin Qiu's conversation at the celebration banquet a few days ago, so she was already mentally prepared.
"So it was that guy who released Osial," Hu Tao continued reading and realized it was Tartaglia who released Osial.
Although she was also present and helping at the time, she actually knew very little.
Later, Lin Qiu wrote about 'Goddess Splitting the Clouds' at the celebration banquet, saving the reveal about Zhongli for last.
After all, this was crucial information, and knowing it beforehand would affect the later content.
Regarding Zhongli being the God of Geo, Hu Tao showed no particular reaction; she didn't care about such things, and besides, she had felt Zhongli was unusual from the very beginning.
It's just that thinking back now, the things she said in front of Zhongli felt like a boomerang hitting her.
Fortunately, Lin Qiu wasn't the God of Geo; with her and Lin Qiu's way of interacting, if he were the God of Geo, it would be too...
After finishing this story, Hu Tao had an idea.
Zhongli wanted to hide his identity before, but now it's about to be exposed, so can she start advertising?
No, no, wouldn't publishing this book be the best advertisement?
Although this advertisement wasn't very significant, the only difference was whether people bought earlier or later.
But what Hu Tao liked was this feeling of promotion and advertising; whether it was effective or not didn't matter.
In the future, just as Hu Tao imagined, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor became incredibly popular, yet few people bought services; most just wanted to see Lin Qiu and Zhongli.
This gave Hu Tao a massive headache; she was incredibly busy yet couldn't sell a single service.
Besides the third chapter, there was another story, which Hu Tao continued to read.
'teyvat story collection: Shenhe'
As the title suggested, this story was about Shenhe.
After reading it, Hu Tao sighed softly, "Alas, when will everyone truly 'understand' death?"
It's truly too difficult for people to 'reconcile' with death.
Shenhe's father couldn't accept his wife's death, which ultimately led to an even greater tragedy.
Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's job is to maintain the balance between the two worlds, allowing the deceased to let go of the past and the living to move towards the future.
Hu Tao had seen people like Shenhe's father before, but those as resolute as him were rare.
Hu Tao herself couldn't accept her grandfather's death back then and wished to see him again in the afterlife.
Perhaps that was the last lesson her grandfather taught her: the Hall Master of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor lives without regrets.
Now, looking back at the story of 'Goddess Splitting the Clouds', she had different feelings.
Empathy? Sympathy? Indignation? Perhaps all of them, but Hu Tao knew these were not what Shenhe needed.
"When Shenhe returns, I'll let her try Hall Master's special dish," Hu Tao smiled.
"Huh? Did Shenhe offend you?" Lin Qiu asked, puzzled.
Hu Tao was displeased; Hall Master's special dish wasn't something just anyone could eat; besides you few, others couldn't eat it even if they wanted to.
She stretched out her small hand, about to tickle Lin Qiu, but ultimately didn't.
Hu Tao asked softly, "Qiu Qiu, do you also know my story?"
Lin Qiu nodded, "I do."
"Sigh, now I feel like I have no secrets at all in front of you two," Hu Tao spread her hands.
Lin Qiu knew that Zhongli, as the God of Geo, probably also knew; so, they both knew his experiences, but he didn't know theirs.
It was supposed to be a story of three people, so why was he the only one excluded?
We agreed to perform 'Burning Winter' together, but how did it turn into 'White Album'?
"Then is it okay for you to expose Zhongli's identity?" Hu Tao asked; she was still more accustomed to calling him 'consultantZhongli'.
Zhongli had already faked his death to escape; what if he was welcomed back as the God of Geo after being exposed?
"My contract with Zhongli is complete, as for what comes next... Zhongli told me this would be his final test," Lin Qiu said helplessly.
Lin Qiu and Zhongli's contract was not to expose Zhongli's identity before the plan was completed.
However, exposing the plan itself was fine, which is why Lin Qiu mentioned Zhongli's plan to Ningguang.
Lin Qiu originally thought he had exposed Zhongli, getting one up on him, but the old man turned around and used him.
The old monster who had lived for thousands of years was indeed formidable; not only was he not nervous about being exposed, but he also planned to use this exposure.
Zhongli had already made his intention to step down from his divine position and return power to humans very clear, even explicitly stating it at the Northland Bank.
If Liyue's people still wanted to welcome him back as the God of Geo after all this...
Then Zhongli would still agree, because it would prove that Liyue's people were not yet ready.
"Is that so... Hahaha, the consultant is indeed the consultant," Hu Tao laughed.
"Yes, an old fox is an old fox after all," Lin Qiu sighed.
At this moment, Zhongli was acting as if nothing had happened, shopping for antiques, "This is good."
While his identity wasn't exposed yet, if he didn't buy now, the shopkeepers might just give things to him later.
Transactions were also 'contracts', and Zhongli didn't want to break that rule.
Zhongli's biggest worry now was probably that he wouldn't be able to enjoy tea, listen to stories, and watch plays as he did now.
If Tian Tiezui knew he was telling stories about the God of Geo right in front of him every day, would he still be able to tell stories properly?
"Hmm, this bill, why not send it to Lin Xiaoyou?"
Lin Qiu said, "I'm not paying for you; send the bill to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."
No, the Hall Master was right next to Lin Qiu, so Lin Qiu didn't need to send the bill at all; Hu Tao would just settle it directly.
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Character Voice Line · Lin Qiu: About Zhongli's Bills
"Although I have money, I don't want to pay for him; he spends money without limit."