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Zhongli did not want the bard here.
On the other hand, Hu Tao was absolutely ecstatic. Ever since the Poetry Gala, she and Venti had made numerous plans to meet up, much to the retired archon’s dismay.
Gods above, what had he done to deserve this? Now there’s two of them.
Zhongli rested his head on his hands as he watched the two figures burst into his office.
“What now?” he asked, a resigned look plastered across his face.
“Heyy, old blockhead! Wanna come to dinner with us?” Venti walked up to Zhongli’s desk, leaning on it.
“C’mon, I managed to book a table at Liuli Pavilion! And we managed to convince the Conquerer of Demons to come~” Hu Tao added excitedly, following behind him.
Said Conquerer of Demons appeared behind the pair in a flash, frowning.
“For the record, I never agreed to any gathering. You know—“
“Aiyah, it’ll be fun! Just tonight?” Hu Tao interrupted.
“But, my—“ Xiao attempts to continue, only to be cut off again, this time by Venti.
“It’ll be fine, we’re all vision bearers here. Just this once, alright?”
“Fine. I’ll see you there.” Xiao relented, and disappeared in another flash of Anemo.
Two eyes now turned to Zhongli. He glanced at them both, before sighing.
“Alright, alright. Don’t expect me to pay, though.”
The meal went by quickly, and soon, the four sat with empty dishes before them.
“Well! That was fun, we really should do this more!”
“I suppose I wouldn’t be opposed… the food here really is authentic.”
“I still do not think it is wise for me to attend such a gathering.”
“Don’t be silly Xiao, it’s just a meal!“
Venti put down his wine glass and stood up, his sudden movement startling the others.
“I think I have to go now, see you around, ehe!”
He rushes out the door, leaving a trail of wind behind. The three remaining looked on, perplexed.
That was when Hu Tao sensed it; spirit lurking just outside the restaurant. She glanced outside the window, and sure enough, she saw the translucent figure of a young girl, no more than eight, standing outside.
Hu Tau had always been more in tune with the other side, and she had always been able to see spirits who were unable to pass on. Usually, with the children, some encouragement and comfort were able to fix that. It was slightly inconvenient at this time, but Hu Tao couldn’t just leave her.
She stood up as well, and turning to the others, said, “Put the bill on the Wangsheng funeral parlour’s tab. I need to go too.”
However, as she rushed out the front door to find the ghost girl, she heard something.
“—right. You can go now, follow the wind. It’ll take you to a place where you can wait for your mummy and daddy, ok?”
As she turned the corner, she spotted Venti, crouching in front of the girl, who nodded and vanished.
Immediately, this filled Hu Tao’s mind with hundreds of questions, but she asked the first that came to mind.
“Wait… you can see them too?”
Venti looked up at her, slightly startled. He seemed to contemplate something, before nodding.
“Yeah… I can see the lingering spirits. Usually I just help them move along…”
“But… How?” Hu Tao questioned further.
“How do you see spirits?” Venti asked her in return.
“It’s a family thing, everyone in the Hu family could see them.”
“I see… for me, it’s part of my… elemental abilities.”
“Elemental abilities?”
“Yeah. Not a lot of people know, but death… death is one of the domains of the anemo archon Barbatos. It’s said that the winds guide spirits to the afterlife.”
“I’ve gone beyond the veil before, there wasn’t any wind there.” Hu Tao recounted her experiences.
“That’s because it’s where all winds stop. Once the soul’s journey is over, the winds guiding it stop too,” Venti explained.
Hu Tao tilted her head. “That doesn’t explain how you can see spirits.”
“I have an anemo vision. Sometimes, vision bearers manifest abilities related to the corresponding archon’s domain,” Venti replied.
“I never knew that. Hmm, what other domains does the anemo archon have?”
“Hmm, let’s see… obviously there’s his control over winds and his ideal of freedom. He’s also the god of poetry, bards and alcohol.”
Hu Tao chuckled at that. “That kind of reminds me of you.”
Venti laughed at her statement. “What can I say, I’m the embodiment of Mondstadian spirit.”
“I wonder if we’d be friends if I met him. I mean, poetry and death, I feel like we’d get along really well.”
‘Oh you have no idea.’ Venti simply thought.