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“So, Mr. Welt Yang and company,” Hu Tao said brightly. “It’s so nice of you to finally stop by. What brings you to Teyvat?”
The man who introduced himself as Welt Yang took a small, tentative sip of the tea Hu Tao had prepared for the four of them before setting it down. His expression didn’t change, but he did not seem to be about to pick it up again.
“Ugh,” said the much less tactful woman next to him, setting the cup down with a slight clatter. Hu Tao stifled a giggle. “Mr. Yang, you really could have warned me.”
“Now, now, Stelle,” chastised the third member of their party, a red-haired lady with an elegant demeanor that seemed violently out of place in the wreck that Wangsheng Funeral Parlor had become. “Don’t be rude to our host.”
“It tastes like shit, Himeko,” replies Stelle. “And this place is a mess anyways.” As if on cue, a gust of wind blows what remains of the door wide open, making a loud clacking sound as it slams against the wall.
“I apologize for the rudeness of our rowdy companion,” said Welt diplomatically. “She’s… having a bad day. We are the Nameless. We came from outer space to Teyvat using the vehicle known as the Astral Express. Our party consists of the three of us, and three more staying on the express as of now.”
“My, my,” said Hu Tao with a smile on her face. “A group known as the Nameless, yet I already know that you are Welt Yang, you are Himeko, and you are Stelle. Perhaps it’s time for a rebranding?”
“It’s just a name, smartass,” Stelle replies, deadpan. “Why are you serving tea to aliens, if your business is a funeral parlor?”
“We came to this world,” continues Welt as if the conversation had never been derailed, “as a response to the detection of a Stellaron. The Stellaron is the cause of the calamity that has struck this world recently.”
“I see,” replied Hu Tao. “It’s good to finally have something to blame for this mess besides the cruelty of fate! A Stellaron, huh… it even sounds nasty!”
Stelle narrows her eyes and opens her mouth, but before she can protest, Himeko continues where Welt left off.
“We arrived here and have already sealed the Stellaron, so the disaster should be mitigated. Of course, we can do little about the massive amounts of destruction that the thing has already caused, or the monsters that seem to have been created or empowered by it. But it should, at the very least, prevent more from being created.”
“How noble of you! So, the three of you— sorry, the six of you are like… Stellaron hunters, traveling from world to world in your Astral Express and neutralizing the threats you find?”
“…You could say that,” agreed Welt wryly, “though I would hesitate to use that term in particular. Anyways, now for the reason that we are speaking to you.”
Himeko set down her tea, and amazingly, she had completely finished it. This woman had good taste.
“We have a means of detecting signs of sentient life that are near us, back on the express. We used it here, and found that you are the only notable presence left in this world aside from the monsters.” Himeko pursed her lips. “Even you were barely detectable. We couldn’t help but fear that you had passed away just as we used the device.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that! I’m a bit of a special case,” Hu Tao assured her. “As the Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, I’m quite familiar with the border between life and death, and I spend my time closer to that border than most others do. In fact, I can even tell you right now that we have some eavesdroppers on this conversation who you might not be able to see. Hello, Xiao!”
She waved at Xiao’s incorporeal form, barely visible and watching from the corner of the room. The adeptus stared back at Hu Tao with an unimpressed look before vanishing from her view as well.
“He’s shy, I think,” giggled Hu Tao, ignoring the way Welt and Himeko’s brows furrowed with concern and how Stelle’s face suddenly went pale. “Oh well! Maybe I can introduce you to him later, if you all stick around in Teyvat for longer. I wouldn’t recommend it, though. If you can’t see all the people waiting here on the other side, it really is a rather lonely place.”
“Wait, miss Director–” began Welt, but Hu Tao had already taken a page out of the Vigilant Yaksha’s book and stepped away, vanishing into thin air with a quick flurry of flaming butterfly wings.
Xiao was waiting for her when she reappeared outside the building, his arms crossed and a spectral spear at his side. “You didn’t even listen to what they came to tell you.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” replied Hu Tao cheerfully. “I was starting to have my own guesses, and if that’s what they wanted… Well, they’ll have to work for it! And besides, we both know that I still have work to do here.”
“You have already conducted my Rite of Parting, and I found it satisfactory,” Xiao said, his tone exasperated. “Do not linger for too long if it’s not necessary. Sometimes, it is better to walk away from a problem than to sink into it and damage yourself.”
Hu Tao blinked, an incredulous grin growing on her face. “Xiao,” she asked, “are you telling me to die?”
“Obviously not, you idiot,” he snapped. “Do not intentionally be obtuse. I am only saying that a life spent clinging to a destroyed past is hardly a fruitful one. You have an opportunity to leave it behind, so you should.”
“Sure, Xiao,” said Hu Tao sweetly. “Then why are you still here?”
Xiao’s face went blank, and Hu Tao regretted her barb instantly.
“Insolent mortal,” Xiao muttered, and then he was gone again. Hu Tao winced. That was poorly handled on her part… Oh, well. She could worry about him later, but for now– the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor had some work to do.
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Hu Tao wasn’t expecting to find Yelan so soon. Someone who was so slippery in life being the first vision holder that she stumbled over felt strange. It could also be that Yelan wanted to be found, though that seemed pretty unlikely. The real reason was probably just that she got lucky.
“Yanshang Teahouse,” says Hu Tao as she steps into the ruined building. “It makes sense I’d find you here, doesn’t it?”
“Ah, the Funeral Director,” says Yelan. She’s sitting at the table. The chair she’s sitting on is utterly broken and couldn’t support any weight at all in its current state, but that would hardly matter to a ghost.
“Take a seat, Hu Tao,” she said, crossing her legs. “My chair is not serviceable for you, but the other one is.”
“It would be rather rude of me to sit in an occupied chair anyways,” quipped Hu Tao, pulling out the other one with an irritating squeak as it slid across the floor. “I see the dice on the table, Yelan. Would you like to play a game?”
Yelan smiled. “I could never say no to a game of dice. But, I don’t know you very well, and even if I won’t do anything with the knowledge now, I’d love to learn something or another. Being dead gets boring, after all, so let’s put some stakes on the games, eh?” She leaned forward on her elbows, her gaze boring a hole in Hu Tao. “We play rounds, but every time one is over, the winner gets to ask a question of the loser. The loser must answer truthfully. And no funny business– I’ll know if you’re lying.”
“That sounds wonderful!” exclaimed Hu Tao, taking a seat. “If you lie to me, I’m sure I wouldn’t even notice, but please don’t! I have a job to do, and it would be much easier if you told me the truth.”
“Oho, so you have your own motives here, eh? Well, then, this will be productive for both of us.”
It looked like Yelan had already set up the game, so the two of them were able to start. Very quickly, Hu Tao remembered the people’s common advice: Don’t play dice at Yanshang teahouse.
“Drat,” she muttered, staring at the dice. Wait, how could Yelan even pick them up and roll them? She was literally dead.
“Ooh, you lose,” taunted Yelan, leaning back in her chair. “Ready for the first question?”
“Yeah, yeah. Shoot!”
“Hmm…” Yelan steepled her fingers, making direct eye contact with Hu Tao.
…Hu Tao wasn’t normally one to get flustered, but… Yelan just kept making eye contact, and staying silent… Was it getting warmer in the room? Jeez.
“Alright, I’ve thought of all my questions,” Yelan said suddenly.
“All of them?”
“Yep.” Yelan smirked again. “You’re pretty bad at this game, Hu Tao. So I just wanted to take a second to think of all the questions now, so I wouldn’t have to waste time thinking every time I win a game.”
Hu Tao’s mouth dropped open. “How rude of you! This game is literally based on luck.”
“Let’s just say I have a feeling that I know how lucky you’re gonna get,” Yelan drawled. “Anyways, first question. Who else is alive out there besides you?”
…It was a good thing that Hu Tao was a practiced expert at dealing with mood whiplash.
“Lucky for you, Yelan, I got my answer to that question only today! I’m the last one left.”
“Nobody… Nobody you’ve seen, or are you sure that you’re the last human life left in Teyvat?”
“The latter.”
Yelan drew her mouth into a thin line, and a short silence fell on the table once more.
“How do you know?”
“Ah ah ah,” taunted Hu Tao. “One question per win, no?”
“Yeah, yeah,” replied Yelan, rolling her eyes. “Let’s get this over with, then.”
The dice hit the table a few more times, and before she knew it, Hu Tao had swiftly lost another round. All she could do was gape at her terrible rolls. Surely a ghost wouldn’t be able to tamper with the dice… right?
“Well, answer my question,” prompted Yelan.
“Fine, fine, you cheater... There are some visitors from beyond Teyvat who have a technology that allows them to locate life on our world, and they couldn’t sense anyone but me. I haven’t confirmed yet how reliable their estimate is, but… I’ve searched, myself. I believe them.”
“Hm.”
“Don’t look at me like that!” Hu Tao laughed. It sounded forced. “I’m a Funeral Director, after all. I’ll never be out of work again.”
“Uh huh,” said Yelan flatly, but there was pity and regret in her eyes. “Well, shall we go on to game three?”
The dice rolled, and Hu Tao lost soundly.
“How long has it been since you’ve seen a living person?”
“I haven’t really been counting, but I would guess… maybe a year? Maybe half a year…? I don’t remember.”
The dice rolled again.
“What have you been doing since then?”
“… Traveling. Speaking to the ghosts that haunt the land, and trying to find them some closure to send them off. Everyone deserves to see the other side, not the barren wasteland Teyvat has become these days, you know?”
The dice rolled.
“Have you seen the spirits of any vision bearers in Liyue?”
“You’re the first, Yelan. Well, besides Xiao, but he’s not very talkative.”
The dice rolled.
“Have you seen the Traveler or their ghost since the disaster?”
“Nope!”
The dice rolled.
“Why did you wait so long to get to the vision holders?”
“…Aiya. Must I spell it out for you?”
“If you don’t want to answer…”
“No, no… I was running away from familiar faces for as long as I could. And you know, when you’re a vision holder, you get to know the other vision holders, eh?”
The dice rolled.
“Zhongli was Rex Lapis, wasn’t he?”
“Well, yes. That one was pretty obvious, wasn’t it?”
Yelan reached out to pick up the dice once more, but her hands phased right through them this time. She looked surprised for a second, staring at her hands– her form looked a little more ethereal than it did when Hu Tao had first walked in.
“Huh.” Yelan looked at her hands for a few more seconds, then back at the dice. “Oh, I see. That’s…”
“I can roll them for you,” offered Hu Tao, scooping up Yelan’s dice in her left hand and her own in her right. “Don’t worry about it!”
Yelan stared at Hu Tao, the realization coming to her, and then grinned incredulously. “Damn. You’re good at your job.”
Hu Tao didn’t say anything, but just rolled the dice again, cursing when she lost once more. She was even the one who rolled the dice for Yelan! What the hell?
“Well, we’ve already gone all the way down to my last question,” said Yelan. “You sure did lose a lot.”
“I know you’re cheating, but whatever,” said Hu Tao with a pout, but Yelan’s ghost was getting blurrier and blurrier even as she watched, so was she really losing? “Hurry up and get your question over with.”
Yelan smiled.
“What will you do when you’re done, Hu Tao?”
Hu Tao’s smile faltered.
“...If you don’t know, or don’t want to tell me, that’s fine.”
“I don’t know,” said Hu Tao honestly. “But… those people from beyond Teyvat have been seeking me out, so… who knows where the future will take me?”
“That’s a good enough answer for me,” said Yelan. She smiled, and for the first time, her smile was kind instead of smug. “Take care.”
Hu Tao waved. “See you on the other side, Yelan!”
“The dice are weighted, by the way,” Yelan said, and then she was gone.
Hu Tao sighed and shook her head. Of course they were. She pocketed them anyways– They could come in handy later.
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Xiao was waiting for her outside the Yanshang Teahouse.
Well, he’s not exactly waiting for her, but she could make out a green figure in the distance, standing atop the ruins of a building. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t want her to find him, so she scrambled up the broken walls to reach him.
Hu Tao pulled herself up a few ledges and half-broken ladders before realizing that this wasn’t Xiao at all. In her defense, this guy also had similar dark hair, green-white clothing, and a strange-looking polearm beside him. He was engrossed in staring at some rectangular device he was holding in his hand, not seeming to notice her at all. Huh.
“Hello, stranger!” said Hu Tao, pulling herself up to the ledge he was on, and then immediately and instinctively ducking because suddenly, the guy was holding his spear as the wind from his swing tickled her face.
“...You startled me,” he said. “I’m sorry. There are many monsters to deal with in this world.”
“I understand,” said Hu Tao, smiling. “It always pays to be on your guard, after all.”
“Hm.” The man lowered his spear. “Are you the funeral director that the others told me about?”
“That’s right! Then you must be one of those aboard the Astral Express. Well, allow me to formally introduce myself!” Hu Tao removed her hat, sweeping into an exaggeratedly deep bow. “I’m Hu Tao, the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor!”
“Right. I’m Dan Heng.”
“Nice to meet you, Dan Heng! I must say, you reminded me of my friend from a distance, which is why I approached you.”
Dan Heng nodded. “Yes, I assume you mean the adeptus Xiao, the Vigilant Yaksha?”
“Oh ho, you are well versed in Liyue’s history indeed!”
“No, that’s not it,” Dan Heng shot back bluntly. “Himeko and Mr. Yang told me that they think you see dead people, and you mentioned the name Xiao, so we did some digging.”
“Yes, yes, allow me to confirm!” Hu Tao nodded enthusiastically. “As a director of a funeral parlor, my job is much easier when I can communicate with my clients regardless of their state.”
“...Right. I imagine that Teyvat is full of them, no?”
“Well, not so much.” Hu Tao sat down on a beam next to him, swinging her legs. “Most people pass on to the other side when they die. It’s only those with strong enough regrets or other attachments to the living world who stick around– and, well, since the living world is so vastly different from what it was when most of them were alive, there are very few things left to be attached to. There are a few stragglers left, but… Well, Teyvat is almost as barren as it looks to the average observer.”
“It may be barren of human life,” admitted Dan Heng, taking a seat next to her. “But the world, even destroyed as it is, clearly has a rich history and fascinating stories to tell. It’s a pity that nobody is around to tell these stories except for you… We’ve learned a lot through what texts remain and our own investigations, but I'm sure there is plenty of information that we could add to the archives if we had the right living sources.”
Wow, Hu Tao thought. Dan Heng was a nerd. “Um, hello? Do I not count as a living source?”
“...While I do not doubt that you would have inputs that could provide valuable input, you are only one person. There is a limit to what kinds of things you know about…” He paused, his brow furrowing. “Though, of course, as a funeral director, I’m sure you have valuable insights on the history and tradition of at least Liyue.”
“Yes, indeed! I also knew Rex Lapis personally.”
Dan Heng’s eyes went so wide, they nearly fell out of his head. “What, you mean the archon?!”
“Yep! He worked as my consultant.”
“But…”
“I’m afraid you’re out of luck, however. I am the only living person left from Teyvat.”
“Yes, that’s right.” Dan Heng looked at her for a second, then looked away. “I’m… sorry for your losses. I’m sure it must be painful.”
Hu Tao didn’t respond for a moment, looking out over the ruined and scarred landscape of what was once Liyue Harbor. Despite the destruction, it was still beautiful.
“Come with us on the Astral Express,” said Dan Heng, and that sinking feeling that Hu Tao had felt when she was talking with the other Nameless yesterday returned with full force. “I know you must have attachments to this world, but anyone can see that it is no place to live. Please, do not cling too hard to a past that–”
“Yes, I know,” interrupted Hu Tao. She sighed. “This is what your friends wanted to offer me when we first met, too, I assume.”
“Indeed,” confirmed Dan Heng. “The Express travels to many different worlds. You can come with us until you reach a place that you would like to disembark at, however long that place takes to find. You can finally be free of this world.”
“I appreciate the offer, Dan Heng.” And she really did– it was sorely tempting. But…
“Alas, I still have work to do here. A funeral director’s job is not done until she’s satisfied with the sendoff her most valued clients have received, after all, and I do have a few more to deal with here.”
“I see,” said Dan Heng. “So, when you are done with that, you can join us?”
Hu Tao tried to squash her complicated feelings. “I’ll… let you know. It may take me a while, you know. Some of my clients are rather stubborn individuals.”
“We’re in no rush,” replied Dan Heng, shrugging casually. “We normally only stay in each world for about a couple of weeks at most, but Himeko and Mr. Yang seem to not be in a hurry this time. Who knows why, but I won’t complain.” He lifted the rectangular screen he held, and it lit up, displaying images and symbols. “The archives won’t fill themselves, after all.”
A couple minutes later, after Dan Heng had said his farewells and left to do his own thing, Hu Tao smiled impishly and spoke her next words into the wind.
“He’s like you, but taller and less prickly.”
A sudden gale carried her hat off her head, and she dove after it with a yelp.
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If there was any comfort in Hu Tao’s solitary search for the ghosts of Liyue, it was that she didn’t have much success finding them. So many of the people who she knew and cared for had clearly passed over the border without her help, and she was so proud of them. The Feiyun Commerce Guild was blissfully free of the rustling sound of a turning page, the many concert venues (both official and makeshift) that she revisited were devoid of rock music, and Yujing Terrace had no more late night workers, nor any wise old adepti wistfully gazing over what remained of the glaze lilies. The Jade Chamber had long since crashed, and the Alcor had eventually shipwrecked– both pitiful sights, but neither frequented by regretful souls.
The biggest surprise to Hu Tao was when she finally mustered up the courage to head to Third Round Knockout and saw an empty store. There was no familiar head of brown hair, sipping away at piping-hot tea.
“Huh,” said Hu Tao, staring at what remained of the shop. “No regrets, old man?”
Only silence remained.
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“Xingqiu’s gone,” said Chongyun’s ghost. He leaned on his greatsword, which would have been a bad habit had he been corporeal, but it hardly mattered now.
“I know. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would stick around, anyways,” pointed out Hu Tao. She was happy for him. She hoped he was enjoying the other side.
“What is the kind of guy who would stick around, then?” muttered Chongyun, scuffing his shoe on a rock. “A worthless exorcist like–”
Hu Tao poked him hard right in the middle of the forehead.
“Hey!”
“Who cares why you’re sticking around?” laughed Hu Tao. “Whatever the case is, you’re here now, aren’t you? You’re a sight for sore eyes in this horrible place, honestly.”
“And now, you’ll send me away,” Chongyun mumbled. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? Don’t try to hide it from me. I know you have to.”
“Well, yes,” admitted Hu Tao sheepishly. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t be glad to see you, you dolt! You know I had to deal with Yelan’s ghost before this? That was a hell of an experience.”
“Really?” Chongyun blinked, and finally, that dreary glaze lifted from his face, replaced with a genuine curiosity. “I never got to meet her. What was she like?”
Hu Tao recalled Yelan’s piercing gaze, her smug smile, and her lazy drawl. She gulped. The loaded dice she’d gotten from the woman felt like they were burning a hole in her pocket.
“She was… a lot,” muttered Hu Tao. “I see why people said the things they did about her. It was like she could see right through me, even though she was the ghost…”
“You’re blushing,” stated Chongyun flatly.
“Am not!” Hu Tao blushed harder. “I– okay, look, you had to be there, okay? She was a little scary, but it was kind of hot at the same time…”
“Gay ass,” said Chongyun, his face completely deadpan.
The irony of hearing this statement from Chongyun, of all people, made Hu Tao’s jaw drop so hard she thought it would come off her face. After a moment of silence, Chongyun snorted, and Hu Tao couldn’t keep a straight face, and the sounds of their laughter echoed off the walls of the ruins for a solid minute.
“Huh,” said Chongyun after they had calmed down enough to talk. “I haven’t laughed that hard in… well.”
Realization struck Hu Tao like a bolt of lightning. Chongyun was dead. There was no pure yang spirit left in him. She looked down, saw a broken hilichurl mask on the floor near him, and the answer formed in her mind immediately.
For one selfish moment, she thought to herself that maybe she could wait to use this trump card. Maybe Chongyun wouldn’t mind spending some time with her here before he had to depart…
But no. If she grew too used to the company of the dead, it would only make her job harder.
Hu Tao faked a yawn. “Well, Chongyun, I’m glad I found you,” she said, “and we’ll figure out how to get you to the other side, like I said. But… I’m so tired…”
She leaned back and lay down on the grass.
Chongyun looked thoroughly unimpressed. “That was sudden.”
Hu Tao turned away from his knowing face. “I can’t help it! I’m just… so, so sleepy.”
Chongyun sighed. “I know what you’re–”
“You’ll protect me, won’t you? I know you don’t need to sleep…”
And, okay, this was originally just part of her act, but there was little time for real sleep in her schedule at this point, what with the interrupting monsters and all. She felt her eyelids suddenly grow way heavier, and she yawned again, much more genuinely this time.
“Good night, Chongyun,” Hu Tao mumbled, and her eyes fluttered shut.
Chongyun might have said something in reply, but she had already drifted off into a dreamless slumber.
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Hu Tao woke up from the best sleep she’d had in months as the wind whispered over what was once known as the Dunyu Ruins.
The area around her was littered with monster remains. The claws of a pack of rifthounds, the shells of consecrated beasts, countless broken masks, and everything in between littered the ground, interspersed with cryo formations and adepti talismans here and there that were beginning to melt under the heat of the rising sun.
Chongyun’s Blackcliff Slasher leaned against a wall. Hu Tao rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, got to her feet, and approached the wall.
There were three simple words carved into the stone, waiting for her. She smiled as she read them.
Good night, sleepyhead.
There was a slight breeze, and suddenly, Xiao was there.
“That was reckless,” said the adeptus, with his arms crossed as usual. “Relying on a ghost to protect you, while expecting him to cross the border while doing so.”
“Xiao!” Hu Tao turned around, and stepped closer to him, stopping herself before she intruded on his personal space. “I– I’m sorry. Last time we spoke–”
“Do not concern yourself with that,” interrupted Xiao, looking somewhat uncomfortable. “I reacted childishly and impulsively. It was unlike me.”
“I… okay,” Hu Tao mumbled. She wished she’d just been able to get her apology out, but if he wasn’t willing to hear it, there was no point in forcing it… right? “Anyways, I knew Chongyun wouldn’t go until he knew I was safe. He wouldn’t have overcome that regret until he’d protected me, no?”
Xiao stared at her. “You have remarkable faith in your friend.”
Hu Tao shrugged. What was there to say to that?
Xiao sighed. “Do not put yourself in unnecessary danger,” he said. “I know you are a capable woman, but you cannot die now. I… I cannot let myself…”
“...Yes?”
Xiao stayed stubbornly silent.
“Aiya. Okay, you don’t have to tell me.” Hu Tao smiled and reached out, holding out her hand to shake Xiao’s. “Thanks for looking out for me.”
He gave her a look, but eventually, Xiao hesitantly reached forward and awkwardly accepted her handshake.
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Hu Tao took a deep breath, hesitated for a moment, and then stepped into the kitchen of Wanmin Restaurant.
“Hu Tao, Hu Tao! There you are!”
Oh, no, the deep breath was useless. She was already getting emotional.
“Good thing you came, because boy, I could use your help for this. Come here, come here… I’m working on a dish, and I’ve managed to get the dough done, but I’m kind of…”
Hu Tao blinked away the film of tears just in time to see Xiangling’s hand pass helplessly through a knife handle. “Yeah, I can’t really… Could you help me out? I’ll tell you what to do!”
“Yeah, yeah… I’ll help.” Hu Tao stepped forward and picked up the knife. “I’m not exactly an expert cook, you know.”
“Of course I know that,” laughed Xiangling. “That’s why I’m here to help!”
With Xiangling’s guidance, Hu Tao rolled dough into balls, sliced some peppers, salted the meat (how on earth was there still fresh meat here?!), and chopped the ginger. The smell that came from the kitchen transformed from the old, musty scent of a place too long abandoned to the painfully familiar scent of Wanmin Restaurant’s kitchen. It was a miracle, surely, with the state of the world, that there was enough here to make a real meal, but Hu Tao knew better than to think too hard about how things worked when interacting with the border between life and death.
Before she knew it, the dish was finished.
“Yes, awesome! Great work, Hu Tao! I always knew there was a great cook within you somewhere.” Xiangling clapped her hands together, and reached out to pluck one from the plate. She held it out towards Hu Tao. “Well, you’re the chef, so you know what to do, no? Try it, try it!”
“Yeah, yeah,” said Hu Tao, opening her mouth and closing her eyes obediently. She chewed and swallowed, and couldn’t help the grin that covered her face.
“Delicious,” she said. She heard Xiangling’s chuckle in response, and opened her eyes to the bittersweet sight of an empty kitchen.
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Stelle had been waiting for her in a rather stalkerish manner outside the kitchen, so Hu Tao stepped outside to meet her.
“Hello, there! Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Stelle blinked and cocked her head. “You look distressed. Are you all good?”
“Ah, do I?” chirped Hu Tao. “Please, don’t worry about it. It’s all in a day’s work, you know– I’m sure Dan Heng told you about it.”
“Yeah,” Stelle admitted. “Was that a friend you were talking to? You know,” she jerked her chin toward the kitchen. “In there.”
“That’s right. It was Xiangling Mao, the best cook in all of Teyvat!” Hu Tao felt her voice starting to wobble. “She– She always had the most creative recipes. She would use the most outlandish ingredients. Who would think you could use an everblaze seed as a spice?”
“...Uh huh.”
“But it would always be delicious,” said Hu Tao, her voice thick. She sniffled. Had she caught a sickness? Maybe she shouldn’t have eaten that food. “No matter what ingredients she used, it would always be the best food I’ve ever tasted. And– And her father was always so proud of her. And I would come with our other friends to try her latest new dish, and…”
Stelle stepped forward, and wrapped her up in a firm, warm hug.
“Oh,” breathed Hu Tao, and then immediately burst into tears.
“Yeah, let it out,” said Stelle softly, a stark contrast from the brash manner she’d displayed in their previous encounters. “It must be hard, huh?”
“I– Oh, archons, I hate it,” Hu Tao hiccuped. “They deserve to leave this place, but… it feels so empty when they’re gone… It was so easy when I didn’t know the people I was sending off, but this… I’m so selfish–”
“You’re so strong, for helping them even though it hurts you,” Stelle said fiercely, her arms tightening around Hu Tao. “You’re one of the most kind-hearted people I’ve ever met, and I’ve met a lot of people, you know.”
Hu Tao didn’t know what to say to that, so she just kept sobbing into Stelle’s jacket. Honestly, she was clinging to Stelle like a limpet. It had been so long since she’d felt the touch of a real, breathing person, and her warmth felt heavenly.
The hug lasted until Hu Tao had more or less cried her eyes out. She wasn’t really sure how long that had taken, but she felt like she was walking on clouds as she finally stopped shaking.
“Oh, goodness,” said Hu Tao, sniffing and finally pulling away from Stelle. “I’m so sorry, I’ve cried all over your jacket.”
…She immediately felt achingly empty without Stelle’s warmth, and had to consciously resist the urge to jump right back into this near-stranger’s arms. She was… concerningly touch-starved. This was a little embarrassing.
“How close are you to being done?” asked Stelle, completely ignoring the damp patch on her shoulder and Hu Tao’s apologies. Hu Tao dried her eyes with her sleeve.
“I’m more or less finished,” said Hu Tao. “There’s only one more customer left, and… Well. Once I’m done with him, my work here is over.”
Stelle nodded decisively. “And when you’re done, you’re coming with us and getting the hell out of here. I know it’s your home, and I’m sorry, but this place is way too sad to live in.”
“...Maybe you’re right,” conceded Hu Tao. There was a creeping, crawling feeling in her gut, but she wasn’t sure if it was anticipation or unease.
“Dan Heng has done his research on Liyue,” Stelle continued. “Said he looked more into the Xiao guy you mentioned earlier. Any chance he’s your last… uh, customer?”
“I… yes,” admitted Hu Tao. “How–”
“Dammit,” Stelle swore. “I owe him a hundred credits now. I thought for sure that it’d be the archon. Anyways, he said that if you were having trouble with Xiao, his guess was that it was probably because his job is to protect all of Liyue, and you’re all that’s left of it now.”
The words hit Hu Tao like a gut punch. “So… you mean–”
Stelle shrugged. “I’m just repeating what Dan Heng told me. To be honest, this whole afterlife stuff is still a little spooky to me, and I don’t really get it. So, anyways, good luck on that. Come find us when you’re done. We’ll be wandering around Liyue for the next few days before we depart, and, well. I have a feeling you won’t need long, will you?”
Trepidation and excitement filled Hu Tao. Her work here was so close to being complete.
“And, if you need another nice, long hug from big, strong Stelle,” she added, flexing her arms and shattering the mood, “I’m not that busy! Mr. Yang, Dan Heng, and Himeko are the ones who are really at work right now. March and I are kind of just loitering around and collecting souvenirs.”
Hu Tao giggled at Stelle’s antics, but she couldn’t help but notice that Stelle’s arms were… actually pretty muscular. Wow. Probably from swinging around that heavy-looking bat so much. Maybe Stelle would want to spar with her later. That sounded like… fun…
Okay, that was quite enough of that. Her face was starting to heat up again. Chongyun’s voice calling her gay echoed accusingly in her head.
“March, huh,” stammered Hu Tao. “Who’s that, another member of your crew?”
“None of the others told you about March? Well…”
The rest of the hour passed in cheerful conversation.
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The climb up Wangshu Inn’s dilapidated stairway was tedious and dangerous, not to mention completely unnecessary. Hu Tao knew well that she could easily call on Xiao just by speaking his name, and that he was probably keeping an eye on her anyways. However, she couldn’t help her own sentimentality. Her final customer deserved more than the bare minimum.
She walked into the kitchen, where she’d dined with Smiley Yanxiao so long ago, to help him cross over. He had wanted nothing more than for someone to try his final recipe, and had passed on happily when Hu Tao tasted it. It was, of course, delicious.
(Hu Tao tried not to think of Xiangling. She had cried hard enough with Stelle to last her a year.)
This time, she was going to be the cook. She had brought the ingredients herself, and got to work. Some time afterwards, she was looking at a… passable attempt at almond tofu. Or, well, at least she hoped.
She took her creation to the balcony of Wangshu Inn and took a seat on the floor.
“This was foolish and dangerous,” said Xiao’s voice from next to her.
Hu Tao turned to face the adeptus, who had appeared as she expected. She pushed the plate along the ground to him. “Here! This is for you.”
“I know,” Xiao muttered. He reached down, and his hands passed right through the chopsticks.
“Oh, rats,” said Hu Tao, before she scooted closer to him. She picked up his chopsticks herself, and scooped up a cube of the almond tofu, holding it out to Xiao. “Here.”
To Hu Tao’s immense surprise, Xiao leaned forward and ate the almond tofu without protest. She watched as he chewed and his face changed as he swallowed.
“...Good?”
“Was this your first attempt at making almond tofu?”
Hu Tao winced. “That obvious, huh? I, well, I’m sorry, I–”
“No,” interrupted Xiao. He reached out, and this time, his ethereal fingers managed to take hold of the chopsticks from Hu Tao’s hands. “It was good.”
He brought more almond tofu to his lips, and chewed, and swallowed.
He did it again.
“You don’t have to eat it, if you don’t like it,” Hu Tao said, nervous as she watched his blank expression. “I know it’s–”
“Insolent mortal,” snapped Xiao, but he looked awkward rather than irritated. “I told you, it was good. I’m going to finish it.”
“Oh.” Hu Tao couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across her face. Success! “Okay, then.”
The two of them sat in a comfortable silence as Xiao ate, and Hu Tao took the opportunity to look at what was left of Liyue from above. It was… a scarred and ruined place, but it still had a haunted beauty. In the distance, Mondstadt and Dragonspine were barely visible. She wondered how the last days had gone down there, and in the rest of Teyvat.
“So,” said Xiao, and Hu Tao turned her head to see him setting down the now-empty plate. “Why did you call me here?”
Hu Tao took a deep breath. “I’ve decided to accept the Nameless’s invitation, and leave Teyvat.”
There was a moment of silence that seemed to drag on for millenia.
“I see,” said Xiao.
There was another silence. Hu Tao resisted the urge to chew on her fingernails.
“Well?”
“That’s a good thing,” said Xiao with a nod. “I’m glad you’re leaving this horrible place.”
“Come on, you numbskull,” sighed Hu Tao. “At least say you’ll miss me, or something.”
“I will not,” replied Xiao. “I will be gone. You know this, don’t you? You would never leave if you didn’t.”
“...Yeah. Thank you for watching over me, Xiao.”
“It was my duty, nothing more,” said Xiao, turning his face away from Hu Tao.
There was another stretch of silence. This happened a lot when the two of them talked. Hu Tao loved to talk, but there were some times when words didn’t need to be said, and Xiao knew this better than anyone.
“I can feel the shackles of my karma lessening,” Xiao said out of nowhere, and Hu Tao smiled.
“Is that so? I’m glad to hear it.”
“It feels… good,” laughed Xiao. Hu Tao did a double take– Xiao’s laugh was raspy and short. It made Hu Tao think of a dusty book that hadn’t been removed from the shelf for years.
“I had better not see you on the other side anytime soon, mortal,” said Xiao, standing up and climbing onto the broken railing of the balcony. “I will never forgive myself if I do. Live, and live safely.”
“How bold of you, Xiao! Telling me how to live my life… Like a scared old woman. Aiya. Life is meant to be lived. Plus, any ordinary lifespan will feel too soon for you anyways, won’t it?”
“Hmph. Perhaps.” Xiao looked at her for a moment. “I can feel myself fading away. Before I go…” To Hu Tao’s amazement, Xiao’s face flushed ever-so-slightly. “I have always, my whole life, wanted to dance. I have never had the time, but…”
Xiao reached his hand out to Hu Tao.
“I don’t think I can balance on that railing, let alone dance on it,” blurted Hu Tao, still utterly astonished by the sight in front of her. Was this really the Vigilant Yaksha that she knew? “And there’s no music…”
“I do not mean that we will share a dance the way you humans do,” said Xiao, shaking his head. “Take my hand.”
Hu Tao reached out and tentatively took Xiao’s hand, and then yelped as he dove off the balcony railing, tugging her with him–
And suddenly, she was the wind.
After a moment of shock, she realized this was likely how Xiao traveled when it looked like he would vanish or reappear. She felt so light, and when she looked down, she didn’t see her own body. Xiao wasn’t visible either, but she could feel him with her, carrying her over the rocky cliffs of Liyue.
Even if Xiao was just using the wind as he did to travel, it was clear what he meant by dancing– his path was lazy and winding as he twirled through the places that had been ruined by the Stellaron disaster. As she’d seen from the balcony atop Wangshu Inn, they somehow retained some form of beauty. They soared past broken statues, crumbling towers, and pillars of stone. A ruin hunter stirred as they soared past it, its dull golden eye blinking to life as it stirred with clanks and groans.
Then they were at Wuwang Hill, then Qingce Village, and Hu Tao remembered the sight of the flowers brightening the terraces. Then, they flew further north, past more hills and plains. Xiao steered them through a horde of cryo slimes, and the chill in the air would have made Hu Tao shiver if she had control of her body.
She couldn’t laugh, but she felt the amazed wonder in her bubble up anyways. This was a beautiful dance in its own right, and Xiao was clearly reveling in it.
As the two of them soared towards Stone Gate, Hu Tao noticed a gigantic addition to the landscape– a huge, dark cylinder that gleamed in the low light, with some rectangular… lights? Patches?
No, they were… windows. Hu Tao’s perspective shifted, and she realized immediately that this magnificent vehicle was none other than the Astral Express.
Hu Tao came back to her body as her feet gently alit on the grass before the Express. She blinked in shock as right in front of her, laying on the ground, she saw the Staff of Homa.
“I figured you would want this,” said Xiao. “So I brought it along for the ride.”
But Hu Tao’s attention was immediately moved to Xiao. The yaksha was smiling, bright and happy and without any hint of the stress and pain that always masked his face and demeanor. His hair was tousled, as if he’d truly been flying through the wind with his own body, and of course, his ghost was clearly beginning to fade away. But at this moment, he looked almost like a totally different person.
“I take it you had fun, Xiao?”
“I may have failed to protect Liyue,” replied Xiao, and Hu Tao’s jaw dropped at the stark contrast of his dreary words and his carefree expression. “I may have fought for nothing and watched as the people and the city I was sworn to protect fell to pieces around me. But… You’re still alive, and I’ve protected you.” He turned to face Hu Tao. “One mortal is nothing compared to the hundreds who perished. But, for some reason, I feel satisfied with this ending.”
“Xiao…”
“I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” admitted Xiao. By now, he was nearly impossible to still see, and his voice was becoming more and more unintelligible. “It doesn’t matter. Have a safe journey, Hu Tao.”
“I will,” promised Hu Tao, and she knew then and there that she would cling to what life she had left as stubbornly as a mule. The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was sadly no more, but she remained. If death was going to catch up to her, it would have to sprint!
“Goodbye, Adeptus Xiao! I’ll miss you!”
Hu Tao blinked, and he was gone.
“He kinda looked like Dan Heng, huh?”
Hu Tao jumped. “You– Stelle! Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
Wait. Stelle could see Xiao? That was… interesting.
“Green, spear user, wind powers, quiet, kind of cute,” blathered Stelle obliviously. “I dunno. It fits to me.”
“I honestly approached Dan Heng thinking he was Xiao,” admitted Hu Tao. “He was on top of a ruin, and Xiao loved to stand on tall things. I think he was compensating for being short.”
Wait, Stelle thought Xiao, the Vigilant Yaksha, was cute?
Stelle’s lip twitched. “Don’t speak ill of the dead,” she said, but her amusement was clear in her voice.
“Why not? We’ll join them one day, and then we can repeat ourselves to their faces.”
Stelle snorted with laughter, unable to restrain herself. “Uh huh.” She leaned down and picked up the Staff of Homa, testing its weight.
“Pretty cool weapon you’ve got here.” She turned towards Hu Tao, a glint in her eye. “You know how to use it? I have some experience fighting against spear users, you know, but I bet your moves are different from Dan Heng’s or Argenti’s.”
Oh, dear dead archons. Her sparring daydreams from before were coming true right before her eyes. She cleared her throat. “Well, I do know a thing or two,” she admitted, trying to sound… alluringly mysterious. (Sue her, Stelle was charmingly blunt and effortlessly gorgeous. She had to try something.)
This “mysterious” strategy immediately backfired when Stelle grabbed her by the upper arm and she let out a very non-alluring squawk.
“Alright, get your ass on the train then,” Stelle laughed, dragging Hu Tao bodily towards the door. “After you re-introduce yourself to everyone, I’m taking you down to the training room. Hell, maybe you can teach Dan Heng a thing or two, too, so I might stop beating his ass.” Stelle paused to shoot a look at Hu Tao. “Don’t listen to him if he tells you otherwise. I always beat his ass, unless he cheats.”
“Of course,” agreed Hu Tao easily. She remembers clearly the feeling of the wind from Dan Heng’s reflexive spear swing at her, and is sure that the sparring matches are not quite so one-sided as Stelle lets on, but she decides to humor the girl for now. “What do you mean, cheat? How do you cheat in a sparring match?”
“He has a whole transformation sequence, like one of Mr. Yang’s cartoons!” Stelle exclaimed petulantly. “It’s just a friendly sparring match, and this guy busts out Vidyadhara High Elder magic on me! And he’ll have the nerve to be like, ‘It’s only fair if you’re using the Amber Lord’s lance. They’re both powers tied to Aeons.’ Like that’s the same thing at all!”
“There is so much you have to explain to me,” giggled Hu Tao. “I don’t know what most of those words mean.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Stelle let go of Hu Tao’s arm and instead slung her arm around her shoulders. The warmth and closeness felt just as wonderful as they did the last time. “I guess I’ll have to take you under my wing, huh? Well, we can start with the easy stuff.” Stelle sighed dramatically. “Well, an Aeon is…”