"Huh?"
Hearing Paimon's words, the faint smile Keqing hadn't been able to hold back instantly vanished.
Huh?
The Golden Shrimp Balls were all gone?
Fang Qiu followed her gaze and discovered that the plate had long since been emptied.
Who was the culprit?
Everyone present exchanged glances.
At last, Paimon turned her gaze toward Guoba.
"It must have been Guoba again!"
Paimon said.
"I think Paimon robbed the henhouse she was guarding."
Lumine said.
"No way! I was clearly just calling Keqing over to eat, so how would I have had time to sneak any!"
Paimon stamped her foot furiously in midair.
"It's fine, it's fine, I'll make another batch right away."
Not even waiting for Keqing to speak, Xiangling immediately got up and returned to the kitchen to start cooking together with Chef Mao.
Soon, two plates of Golden Shrimp Balls were ready.
"Golden Shrimp Balls, coming through—hurry and give them a taste."
Xiangling slapped down on the hand Guoba had readied to swipe one, then said, "Guoba, bad! Let those who haven't tried them yet have the first taste."
"Uh…"
Seeing Xiangling actually treat Guoba this way, Keqing couldn't help being taken aback.
This was the Stove God, after all…
But when she saw that Guoba, far from being angry, instead grinned honestly at Xiangling and scratched its head, she couldn't help giving a faint smile.
Perhaps this was exactly the thing about Xiangling that Guoba liked.
Before she could even pick up her chopsticks, Guoba lifted the plate holding the Golden Shrimp Balls and set it down in front of Keqing.
"La la la."
Guoba waved its little hand with a beaming smile. "?"
Keqing was slightly taken aback, then, after voicing her thanks, picked up a Golden Shrimp Ball and began to eat.
"Everyone, hurry and eat too."
The others nodded.
The gathering went on for a good long while before it gradually broke up.
Everyone returned to their own homes.
After returning home, a layer of snow had already cushioned the courtyard.
The snow was still falling.
"By the way, Shenhe, did you find a suitable job at Yujing Terrace today?"
Fang Qiu asked.
After turning in her manuscript today, she'd carried a coconut all the way to Bubu Pharmacy and played with Qiqi for a long time.
The small finch named Tuantuan that she'd given to Qiqi was lively and full of energy, and especially clingy toward Qiqi.
So it wasn't until evening that she went to Heyu Tea House to meet up with Shenhe and the others, and she'd never had a chance to ask Shenhe about this matter.
"Mm, I found one."
Shenhe nodded and said, "Basically just handling some odd tasks."
"Some odd tasks—roughly what kind of work is that?"
Fang Qiu was a little puzzled.
With Shenhe's personality, no matter how you looked at it, she really wasn't suited to handling odd tasks, was she?
True, whenever she stayed by Fang Qiu's side, the Misfortune within Shenhe would be suppressed considerably.
But when she was out on her own, that wasn't the case at all.
One bad exchange, and she might just press someone's head into the ground and smash it down a few times.
"My senior sister originally wanted to arrange for me to be a secretary at Yuehai Pavilion, but I don't like interacting with people, so I had her place me in a more combat-oriented organization instead."
Shenhe said.
"Combat-oriented? Won't you run into danger then?"
Fang Qiu was a little worried.
"Don't worry, it's fine."
Shenhe said flatly, "It's just dealing with a few small-fry types who threaten public order, that's all."
"Still, you always have to mind your safety in everything. Don't let your guard down just because your opponents are only Treasure Hoarders. Remember the principle that even a lion uses its full strength when pouncing on a rabbit."
Fang Qiu cautioned.
Although she was well aware of Shenhe's combat strength.
After all, being able to seal off a tsunami nearly a hundred meters tall with a single move, her combat strength was by no means comparable to that of ordinary small fry.
With the Treasure Hoarders, for instance, she'd grab their heads and slam them against the ground three times, and it would be settled.
But a flag like this was absolutely not something to be raised carelessly, or something would surely go wrong.
"Mm, understood."
Shenhe nodded.
Heading back into the house together with Shenhe, Tingyu was lying in the blanket nest on the sofa, poking out its little head and gazing at her with a face full of resentment.
Only then did Fang Qiu remember that she seemed to have forgotten to prepare Tingyu's cat food….
Fang Qiu hurriedly rushed into the kitchen and before long brought the fragrant cat food over in front of Tingyu.
Seeing Fang Qiu's ingratiating manner, Tingyu finally withdrew its resentful gaze and began to eat the cat food.
"Well then, Shenhe, I'm going to head off to bed now. Good night."
Watching Tingyu finish the cat food and slip into her room, Fang Qiu smiled and bid Shenhe good night.
Then she stretched lazily and returned to her room.
Tingyu had already curled up in its cat bed, its head resting against the rim, quietly watching outside the window.
The snow outside the window was still coming down.
Fang Qiu swiftly stripped off her clothes, changed into her pajamas, and burrowed into the covers.
And peacefully drifted off to sleep.
The snow outside the window grew heavier and heavier, the wind and snow howling.
On the streets of Liyue Harbor, pedestrians were few and far between.
Zhongli walked along the street, his feet crunching over the snow that blanketed the flagstone-paved road.
"As expected, no matter what I do, I can no longer taste the flavor of those years."
Zhongli halted, lifted his head to gaze at the night sky filled with swirling snow, and a trace of desolation seeped into his expression.
The heavens set all things in motion, mountains and seas take form, stars rise from the wastes, brilliant as the blazing sun.
This was a saying Azhdaha often kept on his lips.
Just like the Yang Jian that Fang Qiu wrote in "Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother."
Back then, had he not suppressed Azhdaha with the very same feeling as Yang Jian suppressing the Third Holy Mother?
He had dotted in Azhdaha's eyes to bring him to life, and Azhdaha had campaigned alongside him across the four directions—you could say they were as close as brothers.
Yet once Azhdaha had become worn down and brought calamity upon the region, he'd had no choice but to force down his reluctance and seal Azhdaha away.
He did not regret doing so.
It was only that seeing the play Fang Qiu had written inevitably made him think of Azhdaha.
Made him recall the expression on Azhdaha's face when he willingly let himself be sealed underground by Zhongli's own hand; made him recall the trembling voice that cried out his name as Azhdaha's consciousness faded away.
"If one day I could stand face to face with you again and share another cup, that would be enough."
Zhongli sighed, withdrew his gaze, and continued walking onward.
Of the two jars of wine, he had drunk one, and left the remaining jar for Azhdaha.
Just at that moment, a voice drifted through the wind and snow.
"Ten Hilichurls ran about to seek their food, one choked to death with none to save it, and of the ten there were only nine. Nine Hilichurls, sleepless deep in the night and truly worn out, lay down and slept themselves to death, and of the nine there were only eight…"
Hu Tao walked toward the gate of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor while humming the dark nursery rhyme Fang Qiu had improvised for her a couple of days ago.
She really liked this nursery rhyme Fang Qiu had composed for her, the one called "Ten Hilichurls."
You could say it stood shoulder to shoulder with her own "Hilitune."
Just as she was still singing, she caught sight of Zhongli, who had stopped on the snow-covered street and was watching her.
"Zhongli, good evening~ Have you eaten?"
Hu Tao waved her hand.
"Greetings, Director. In answer to your question, Director—not yet."
Zhongli shook his head as he spoke.
"You haven't eaten?"
Hu Tao smiled smugly and said, "I've eaten. And a lavish feast at Wanmin Restaurant, no less."
Looking at Hu Tao standing there with her hands on her hips, grinning at him, Zhongli couldn't help the corners of his mouth curving into a smile so faint it was barely visible.
"Director, the wind and snow have picked up. Let's head back to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor first."
Zhongli said.
"Sure."
Hu Tao nodded and stepped up to fall in behind Zhongli, saying, "By the way, it's so late—where did you go?"
"I went to pay a visit to an old friend."
Zhongli said.
"An old friend? Do you mean one who's departed—someone deceased? Did they pass through our Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?"
Hu Tao turned her face aside, blinked her eyes, and asked.
"I mean an old friend, as in a longtime one."
Zhongli said, casting a helpless glance at the Director and her leaping train of thought.
"A longtime friend, huh? Then has he ordered the service our Wangsheng Funeral Parlor rolled out? The all-of-Liyue full-coverage package."
Halfway through her words, Hu Tao seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, "Oh right, have you seen the play Fang Qiu wrote?"
"You mean 'Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother'?"
Zhongli asked.
"Ah, yes, yes, yes—that's the one."
Hu Tao nodded.
"I've seen it."
Zhongli nodded.
"Then good. Today at Heyu Tea House they performed 'Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother II.' In a few days it should be showing at Reflection Pictures Studio. You can go watch it—it's really good, and so heartwarming."
The corners of Hu Tao's mouth curled up with a hint of mischief.
Yet no sooner had her voice fallen than Zhongli said, "I've watched 'Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother II' as well."
"Huh? So you were there too? Then how come I didn't see you?"
Hu Tao was a bit puzzled.
"Perhaps the Director simply didn't notice."
Zhongli said flatly.
"Is that so?"
Hu Tao arched an eyebrow, then said, "Well then? How's your verdict? What did you think of it?"
"It is a fine play."
Zhongli said flatly.
Reaching the front of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, with a creak he pushed open the main door, and the wind and snow immediately swept into the hall.
Hu Tao hurriedly stepped through the door of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and then pulled it shut.
The moment she came in, Sanmi came trotting all the way up to Hu Tao, and then, with a single bound, leapt into Hu Tao's arms.
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