Those dozens of Treasure Hoarders—every last one of them—had all become jiangshi themselves!
Her chest heaved violently; she'd been trapped in this ancient tomb for two days and two nights now. Her physical strength was almost completely drained.
At first, dealing with these jiangshi had been effortless. But as time passed, she discovered more and more hidden chambers, venturing deeper underground. With every new corridor came more undead and restless spirits. Gradually, she began feeling overwhelmed.
To make matters worse, some invisible barrier isolated the tomb, cutting off her communication to the outside world. Even though her Communication Device had plenty of adeptal energy, not a single message could get through.
Hu Tao's figure phased briefly through the spirit world, slipping through layers of stone walls, finally stopping in a sealed chamber to catch her breath.
The ghosts and undead would find her soon. All she could do was seize this brief respite to rest.
Hu Tao leaned heavily against the stone wall, conserving energy. "Jiang Xiaobai… If you don't hurry and rescue your Director soon, I'm afraid this Director really might end up buried here…"
...
At that very moment, Jiang Bai suddenly felt a pang of inexplicable anxiety.
The Director had left a note saying she was headed to Wuwang Hill several days ago. By now, even their Communication Devices had replenished their energy. Logically speaking, Hu Tao should've received and responded to his messages, but instead, every message he sent vanished without a trace.
There's no such thing as an unexplained feeling. Once he'd secured this batch of Mora, he had to set off immediately to find the Director.
Ningguang, meanwhile, was intrigued by Jiang Bai's new proposed business venture. "How exactly do you plan to deliver messages within a single day? Are you planning to use some adeptal artifact?"
"That's a trade secret, Lady Ningguang. I have to keep it confidential for now." Jiang Bai put on a mysterious expression, adamantly refusing to elaborate.
He also shot a warning look at Aether, cautioning him not to say anything—or worse, steal his business idea.
Not that Aether had any intention of competing. After suddenly acquiring such a huge fortune, he was already rich. Besides meals, he had minimal daily expenses. Accepting commissions from the Adventurers' Guild here and there would easily sustain him for quite some time.
"Hehe, very well, I won't pry. If I have a need, I'll be sure to reach out." Ningguang maintained her graceful tact, not pushing the topic further.
When Baishi returned with the Mora, Jiang Bai didn't even bother counting it before storing it in his inventory space.
"Oh, by the way, Lady Ningguang—we posed as Treasure Hoarders to rob Childe from the Fatui. If anyone asks, just say the Treasure Hoarders gave him to you. Please keep our involvement a secret!"
Even though Childe would absolutely suspect him, as long as there was no solid proof, he could suspect all he wanted!
"Naturally." Ningguang nodded calmly.
...
Jiang Bai and Aether wasted no time, dividing their newfound riches right there in Ningguang's courtyard.
"We agreed on a 70-30 split, right? You get 30%, and I get 70%." Facing this practically effortless windfall, Jiang Bai felt extremely generous—rounding up slightly and giving Aether around four hundred million Mora.
After all, they were brothers-in-arms now. If similar opportunities came up again, they could definitely work together.
"We're rich, we're rich!" Paimon gleefully rolled around in the pile of Mora.
"I strongly suggest you buy a house both in Mondstadt and Liyue. That way, wherever you go, you'll always have somewhere comfortable to stay," Jiang Bai offered earnestly.
Purchasing property was one of the most important decisions in life—right up there with marriage and starting a family.
Owning a home of one's own created an unparalleled sense of belonging.
"Good idea!" Aether nodded, happy to have a use for the sudden fortune.
After dividing their earnings, Jiang Bai rushed straight back to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, immediately heading for Zhongli's courtyard.
It was already late at night, but when it came to the Director's safety, Jiang Bai didn't care about disturbing anyone's sleep.
"Shifu! Shifu!" Jiang Bai vaulted over the courtyard wall and knocked urgently on Zhongli's door, clearly determined not to stop until he woke him.
Awakened by the commotion, Zhongli opened the door, looking slightly helpless as he pulled a robe around himself.
"What's the matter at this late hour?"
He hadn't even officially drunk the tea accepting Jiang Bai as his disciple yet, but the boy was already comfortably calling him Shifu.
"It's been four days since the Director left, and I can't contact her!" Jiang Bai said anxiously. "I have a very bad feeling about this."
"You can't contact her?" Zhongli's brows knitted together in concern.
He knew very well about the Communication Device crafted by Cloud Retainer. If even that failed, something serious must have happened.
Zhongli stepped aside, motioning for Jiang Bai to enter. "Where did she say she was going?"
"Wuwang Hill. She said some grave robbers discovered an ancient tomb there, infested with restless spirits." Jiang Bai relayed Hu Tao's earlier message.
Zhongli frowned slightly.
Despite having lived for over six thousand years, it didn't mean he knew every single detail about Liyue.
Wuwang Hill…a large tomb…
He carefully searched through his memories, finding nothing relevant.
"With the Director's strength, there are very few places capable of trapping her. If she truly can't be reached, that tomb must be no ordinary place."
"That's exactly what I thought, which is why I came to ask you," Jiang Bai said gravely.
Zhongli considered for a moment, beginning to recall the distant past of that region.
"The ley lines beneath Wuwang Hill are extremely complex, marking it as a thin boundary between the realms of the living and the dead. It's saturated with dense yin energy.
"In ancient times, long before Wangsheng Funeral Parlor rose to prominence, most families in that area buried their deceased on Wuwang Hill. They hoped their loved ones would return on the seventh day after death to gaze upon their family one last time.
"After the outbreak of the Archon War, death became so common that cremation replaced burial to prevent the spread of disease. Thus, any substantial tomb at Wuwang Hill must date back thousands of years."
"It's really that ancient?" Jiang Bai murmured, startled. The Archon War was two thousand years ago, and Liyue itself was established three thousand seven hundred years ago. So, for well over a thousand years, countless bodies had been buried at Wuwang Hill.
No wonder the place felt so oppressively eerie, with ghost lights flickering even in broad daylight.
"But even then, such a place shouldn't be enough to trap the Director, right?" Jiang Bai couldn't understand it.
Hu Tao's strength was unquestionable. Her control over Pyro alone could burn ghosts—and even jiangshi—to ashes. The likelihood of her being trapped seemed incredibly slim.
"Three thousand years ago, people's views on death differed greatly from today," Zhongli continued thoughtfully. "They believed the dead entered a separate world requiring treasures and comforts from this life. To ensure continued prosperity in the afterlife, they constructed enormous tombs filled with countless riches, some even burying people alive as sacrifices."
"You didn't do anything about it?" Jiang Bai asked in astonishment.
Knowing Zhongli's diligent care for Liyue, Jiang Bai couldn't believe he would ignore something like human sacrifices.
Zhongli sighed softly. "Liyue may have been founded three thousand seven hundred years ago, but back then, its territory was vastly different from today. Guili Plains belonged to the Dust Archon, while Wuwang Hill was ruled by another god entirely. Only after the Archon War, when defeated gods fell, did their lands become part of Liyue, and their people became citizens of my nation."
Understanding dawned on Jiang Bai's face. In those days, those regions were not yet under Zhongli's authority—he simply had no right to intervene.
---
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