"Ah, Taro…"
Seeing Taro's half-skeptical expression, Hu Tao shook her head and muttered:
"I have plenty of experience with this kind of thing, you know."
"If you don't listen to your elders, you'll suffer right in front of your eyes."
"Elders?"
Taro gave her a sidelong glance.
"You little brat, how old are you really? Talking like you've lived for centuries—still just a fledgling chick."
"Hey!"
Hu Tao's eyes widened, full of indignation.
"I've been running around Liyue Harbor for years! What haven't I seen?
And you don't believe me?"
"How can this be judged by age?"
"What's wrong with being young?"
"Humph, just wait—you'll see I'm right."
Hu Tao was clever since childhood.
Though young, she didn't fall short of adults in wit or experience.
She'd seen plenty of strange cases. Families tearing each other apart, quarrels that never ended—hardly rare.
"Not everyone's the same."
Taro shook his head with a smile:
"Mortals live barely over a hundred years. Their youthful years, just twenty or so, once gone, never come back.
So of course they struggle and fight."
"But for the long-lived, time stretches endlessly. What's the point of fighting? Competing? It becomes more about cherishing bonds—shared interest, shared amusement. Do you understand, Hu Tao?"
Hu Tao opened her mouth but couldn't find a rebuttal.
He sounded… well, annoyingly reasonable.
Indeed, she didn't understand the perspective of immortals, nor how they viewed such matters.
"Fine, I'll admit you've got a point."
She gave him a thumbs-up. "I learned something today."
"But… does that mean the other two with you are also immortals?"
She glanced toward the others, curiosity flashing.
Immortals, huh… In her lifetime, would she even be able to bury one or two? Probably not.
Especially since the man before her could defy life and death so easily. To the Hall of Rebirth, he was a terrifying threat—worse even than that Baizhu.
"Grandpa, what would you have done, facing someone like this? Someone who can undo death itself… is that against the natural order, or is it a miracle?"
"Immortals? You could call them that."
Taro nodded calmly.
Heulia was a god, Yingda a Yaksha. Calling them immortals wasn't wrong.
"And you, Taro? What about yourself?"
Hu Tao leaned forward, chin in hand, eyes narrowing.
"I'm just asking casually. If it's a secret, forget I said anything."
Though curious, she wasn't going to push. Even old friends deserved privacy, and she'd only known Taro for a short time. Pressing too much was impolite—and dangerous. As head of the Hall of Rebirth, she knew curiosity could kill.
"We talked about this before, didn't we?"
Taro waved it off with a chuckle.
"I only came to this world recently. Strictly speaking, I've been here less than a week. How could I be an immortal?"
"What?"
Hu Tao's jaw dropped.
"You mean… you really are from beyond this world? You're not lying?"
A visitor from beyond the skies?
She had read of such things in old texts… and even in some of Xingqiu's novels. But to meet one in person? That was unprecedented.
"Hey, Taro, tell me—what's it like out there? What does the world beyond look like?"
Her curiosity surged like a cat clawing at the door.
"Can't say~"
Taro grinned, shaking his head.
"If you want to know, you'll have to get past Zhongli first."
It wasn't that he couldn't tell, but Zhongli preferred to shield Hu Tao from that knowledge. Matters of the stars were dangerous—best left unsaid.
"Tch."
Hu Tao pouted, disappointed.
"Fine, if you can't say, you can't say. Shouldn't have asked in the first place."
She knew better than anyone that some secrets couldn't be spoken. She herself carried plenty of them.
"Alright then, Taro, let me ask you this instead."
Her expression grew serious, eyes sharp as plum blossoms in winter.
"You have the power to reverse life and death. Does that mean you'll disrupt the balance between the living and the dead?"
"No."
The answer was instant, firm.
Hu Tao blinked, caught off guard. She'd expected at least a pause.
"You're sure?"
"Of course."
He nodded without hesitation.
Hu Tao scratched her head, embarrassed.
"Sorry. I guess I let my imagination run wild."
Maintaining the balance of life and death was her duty as Hall Master. But asking this so bluntly was hurtful, and reckless besides.
"Tell me, Hu Tao, have you noticed any problems with that balance recently?"
Taro asked with a smile.
"None."
She shook her head. "I even went to check myself. Solid as ever."
"Then there's your answer."
He leaned closer and whispered with a mischievous grin:
"Here's a secret: those two in the kitchen? They only came back to life a few days ago."
"What?!"
Hu Tao shot to her feet, staring between the kitchen and Taro in shock.
"You… you mean… not only yourself, but others too…?!"
Her mind buzzed, nearly blank.
It was one thing for a man to revive himself—but to revive others as well? That was enough to overturn the world she knew.
(End of Chapter)
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