133: Main story begins!

Returning from his vacation, Huo Xi began to be dragged by Hu Tao to run outside errands.

They called it running errands, but what kind of WangSheng Funeral Parlor business would actively seek outside work? You couldn't possibly knock on every door and ask, "Ma'am, has anyone died in your house?"

Even if you had seven Visions hanging all over your body, it wouldn't help. If you managed to run out of that street, it would mean you were quick on your feet.

As it turned out, Hu Tao actually came up with a unique reason for a business trip: inspecting the ley lines.

Guarding the boundary of life and death in Liyue has been the duty of the WangSheng Funeral Parlor since ancient times. This so-called boundary of life and death is actually a space formed in ancient times when the Eight Wonders refined the corpse of the God Taodu.

Its function is not that of the Yincao Difu, but is more like a resting platform between two flights of stairs, or perhaps the Bridge of Woe itself.

However, Meng Po set up a tea stall at the top of the bridge, filled with tables and chairs, selling two kinds of tea.

If you choose the ordinary bowl, you cannot continue forward. You can only wander in the first half of the bridge, chatting with acquaintances and adjusting your mood.

Once your wishes are fulfilled, you drink the second bowl and walk down the bridge. From then on, your soul no longer belongs to you, but to all of Teyvat.

Hu Tao seemed especially excited on the first day of running errands. She handed over all internal parlor affairs to Zhongli and the Attendant Sister.

"consultant Zhong, Sister Dudu, the parlor is in your hands!"

Zhongli nodded with his hands clasped behind his back, while the Attendant Sister—the Ferrylady—bowed slightly with her hands placed in front of her.

Huo Xi looked surprised: "Who is Sister Dudu? Where did you hide my Miss Bu Zu Gua Chi?"

"You have to call me Sister Dudu from now on. I am not called Bu Zu Gua Chi."

As a result, the first day was quite fruitful. Huo Xi specifically instructed them not to go near Nantianmen for the time being, as that area was currently unstable.

Seeing Huo Xi's serious expression, Hu Tao agreed. The two of them only wandered around Mt. Tianheng and searched the mountains near Liyue Gate, already securing quite a few treasure chests.

Huo Xi remembered that Paimon had been longing for the treasure chest on Liyue Gate that hadn't been dug out yet, so he told Hu Tao he was going up to dig it up, mentioning there was a big one up there. Unexpectedly, Hu Tao wanted to go up too.

But Huo Xi thought the cliff was too steep and climbing would be dangerous for Hu Tao. The two argued fiercely, finally settling on a compromise.

Huo Xi would carry Hu Tao up.

Hu Tao thought it was normal for an alien to jump so high, and with a great leap, she jumped onto Huo Xi's back.

The moment the young woman's soft chest pressed against Huo Xi's body, Huo Xi felt a momentary daze in his mind.

Was this the front or the back?

Oh, oh, it was the front. Hu Tao's hands and full thighs were wrapped around him.

Huo Xi's hands supported Hu Tao's fair legs. When his fingertips sank slightly into the soft flesh, Huo Xi understood.

The texture was delicate, and the figure was well-proportioned. The moment Huo Xi gripped them, he never considered letting go.

Huo Xi then reached the mountaintop in a few great leaps, where he saw an activated Teleport Waypoint.

Let's just pretend I didn't see it; there's nothing here. Naturally evil Teleport Waypoint! Don't interrupt the intimacy between me and my Director Hu!

Guiding Hu Tao to dig open the hollowed-out rock, the two successfully obtained a precious treasure chest. Huo Xi received Primogems, and Hu Tao gained Mora.

Afterwards, the two wandered for a long time and found many treasure chests. However, Hu Tao, this scumbag girl, treated Huo Xi worse the more money she received. Finally, she even directly choked Huo Xi's neck.

"Shouldn't you put me down now?"

"Absolutely not, Director. The vegetation here is dense, and you are wearing so little. I fear your esteemed body might be harmed!"

"Hurry up and put me down! My legs are going numb from your grip!"

"Yaaah!!"

In the end, she didn't get down because Huo Xi used a miraculous biological force field to solve the problem of blood circulation in her legs. Hu Tao suddenly realized this wasn't bad at all. Where else could she find such a good deal: riding on someone's back, enjoying the scenery, and getting paid?

Returning to the WangSheng Funeral Parlor in the afternoon, Hu Tao happily took Sister Dudu to the Spirit Writing Division to count money, while Zhongli came over and pulled Huo Xi away for tea.

This time, he didn't go out for tea. He didn't know that Huo Xi had impulsively given Ningguang an jade token of alliance, so he was still in the stage of planning to give benefits to the Qixing later.

So he came up with a good idea.

"Huo Xi, look what this is?" Zhongli laid out a talisman paper.

Huo Xi took out a magnifying glass and examined it for a long time, replying, "Isn't this a Talisman?"

"That's the only conclusion you came up with after looking at it for so long?"

In the end, Zhongli revealed the answer himself.

"This is called the Talisman of Forbidden Covenants. It is a type of Talisman in which an Immortal has sealed their Immortal power."

"However, this is a relatively basic model. The characters on top function like a formation. As long as the drawing technique is correct, it can even absorb ambient energy without needing sealed divine power, though its corresponding power won't be very great."

Huo Xi nodded. No wonder the Fatui could reproduce this item in the storyline—it was the basic model that didn't require sealed divine power. Didn't that mean the Fatui purely relied on making enough copies and using brute force to awaken Osial?

Zhongli saw Huo Xi nod and continued, "I thought long and hard about how to make it easier for you to leave a contingency plan for the Qixing. If you were to travel to other nations and the Qixing suddenly called you back, wouldn't that be a burden on you?"

"So I remembered this. You only need to draw a few Talismans and leave a tiny bit of power within them. Then, should they encounter danger, they can use the Talismans."

Huo Xi understood. Wasn't that a true treasure? A Great Golden Core Cultivator sealing a portion of their magical power into a Talisman for their descendants.

Thus, Huo Xi began the process of "excelling in both fields": running around carrying Hu Tao while simultaneously practicing making Talismans under Zhongli's guidance.

Huo Xi became more serious the more he learned. He had already planned it: he was going to make the [See Me, Conceive] Talisman!

Also, one stuck on the forehead with a hole cut out for the mouth.

He would call it the [Sect Trial] Talisman!

Perfect. His enthusiasm for learning was unprecedentedly high.

Hu Tao also made considerable achievements. Simply by running around carrying her, Huo Xi inexplicably triggered Xiao's Story Quest.

Essentially, there was a fraud claiming to be an Immortal and scamming people everywhere. Xiao and Chongyun were busy farming monsters these days and completely ignored him, but the number of monsters emitting black energy was increasing.

However, under Huo Xi's advice, Xiao still stepped forward to resolve the issue. It turned out the fraud was a Great Sage Chef, who finally reformed and went to prepare for the construction of temples for the Yaksha.

Yes, the Yaksha. With Huo Xi contributing effort, how could they only build a temple for Pervases the Yaksha? If they were going to build one, they would build a big one!

He even printed out the blueprints for the small temple, which looked like the Little Western Heaven from Black Myth.

Because of this, Xiao seemed to have become slightly closer to humanity, and Chongyun's excellent performance was naturally one of the reasons that facilitated this change.

Hu Tao was greatly moved. Comparing this to the Great consultant in her own parlor who was simply coasting along, Hu Tao vowed to make Zhongli kowtow to Xiao.

Xiao suddenly felt his knees become heavy, as if crushed by Mt. Tai, but he didn't know why, so he assumed he was too tired and left first.

Hu Tao also took Huo Xi... correction, Huo Xi essentially carried her to Wuwang Hill, let him wander around the boundary of life and death, and experience being trapped by a Ghost Wall. Honestly, it was quite interesting.

What shocked Hu Tao the most was that Huo Xi dug out several treasure chests from the boundary of life and death!

Seriously, who buried these? The Eight Wonders? Or a previous Director of the WangSheng Funeral Parlor?

Are you sick?! Why would you bury treasure chests here? To tease ghosts?

But since there was money to be had, Hu Tao swallowed her desire to complain. She figured it was possible that if Huo Xi walked around her own boudoir, he might dig out a few treasure chests too.

Huo Xi also gained a lot. He was now arguably the person in all of Teyvat who knew Hu Tao's thighs best—better than Hu Tao herself.

He even picked up a brush in Griseo's studio and wrote a world-shattering magnum opus: "A Discussion on Whose Thighs Are Superior: Hu Tao's or Eula's—"

The title ended there because Eula discovered it before he finished writing.

Eula was modeling for Griseo in the studio when he came in to write, but since all three people had identical hair colors and Eula had changed clothes, he didn't realize. The three girls were watching him from behind while he wrote the title.

That night, Eula put significant pressure on him.

"I'll let you write! I'll let you write! I'll let you write! Are you going to write..."

...by soloing the Giant Spider!

Just like that, amidst peace and tranquility, as the Damselette Rosalyne refreshed in the Realm of a Thousand Stars on the last day, the bells for the Rite of Descension rang out.

The Liyue main storyline officially began!