"Just as we thought."
Lanxi and Hu Tao exchanged a glance, both unsurprised by the revelation. "Truly remarkable. This is the first time someone has returned from the Boundary with such clear information."
"You two… already knew where artifacts come from?"
"Artifact domains are one kind of domain, the Boundary is another. Both draw power from the ley lines. After seeing enough cases involving the Boundary, even without being able to go in ourselves, we've had our suspicions," Hu Tao replied as if it were obvious.
Lanxi nodded. "The ley lines are the destination of all things. In Liyue's oldest legends, it's said that after death, a person's sins are judged, their memories cleansed, and then they begin the next cycle within the ley lines. Now we know that story wasn't just myth—a large part of it is real."
"Cycle… Reincarnation…" So that's what Aether meant by 'helping them return to the cycle'? They really had been rejected by the ley lines.
"Victor?"
"Ah! Sorry, I got a little lost in thought."
"Did you gain anything from this? Can your friend… finally die now?"
"…He probably can't die. The Boundary didn't feel dangerous to me. To him, it's probably no different from swimming."
"That's not good, though. Scheduled death services are a big deal. You can predict your own death, but when's Dainsleif's appointment supposed to be?"
"Well… I already paid in Mora. If he can't die, isn't that a good thing for you?"
"It's not about the Mora. Wangsheng Funeral Parlor has never failed a client… except for you. Since the service is activated, we have to see it through."
"Then let's schedule it. How about in a hundred years?"
"A hundred years… Alright, I've noted it down. If he truly wishes to die but can't do so on time, I'll do everything I can to send him off properly."
Hu Tao's eyes were serious, clearly sympathetic toward Dainsleif's eternal entrapment in the mortal world. It made Victor Wang feel guilty.
This time he'd deceived Hu Tao. Before her, it had been Noelle. Before that, Diona. Then Barbara. Then Vera. And even Klee… All of them, tricked with the excuse of "sunlight allergy"…
Other transmigrators lived flamboyantly by exploiting their knowledge gap. He, on the other hand, had become a massive fraud.
"I really am sorry…"
"There you go again."
"Pfft~ Classic Hu Tao's friend," Lanxi chuckled behind her hand.
"We're not friends—he's a client! The first one I brought in personally!" Hu Tao folded her arms, defensively correcting her. But as she glanced sideways at Victor Wang, she noticed the look in his eyes—guilt so deep it looked like a man ready to reform after deceiving a dozen innocent girls.
"Tch… The thing is, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor doesn't really need outside help. Alright, alright—just tell me what you're good at."
"I'm best at fighting, writing poetry, and storytelling. But I dabble in lots of other fields too. Even if I'm not good at something yet, I can learn. Just let me know what you need."
"You write stories too?" Hu Tao looked surprised. She hadn't pegged her Client #1 as so multi-talented.
"I'm a writer."
"Wow. What kind of stories do you specialize in?"
"What do you like?"
"So confident, huh? Can you write something to rival The Book of Five Springs?"
Lanxi clarified, "You mean The Book of Five Springs, that ancient Liyue legend and tragic love story?"
"That's the one!"
"No story I've seen about life and death here can compare to the undying love in The Book of Five Springs," Lanxi said knowingly. She realized Hu Tao was purposely setting an impossible challenge—to dissuade him from trying to repay her.
Hu Tao looked straight at Victor Wang. "Exactly! I never expected you to repay me. It was just a talisman—if it's gone, it's gone. But if you insist, the only thing I want is to see a story that surpasses The Book of Five Springs. If you can't do that, then just let it go. I won't hold it against you."
"No problem."
"Hm, hm? Wait, you're serious? Bragging can really make people dislike you, you know."
"I'm not joking. I already have a rough idea. It just needs polish." (
"Then I'll look forward to it?"
"If it really surpasses The Book of Five Springs, may I read it too?" Lanxi hesitated, then made the rare request.
"If it's truly good, I'll make sure you see it, Sister Lan."
Thus, the journey to the Boundary reached its end, and Victor Wang and Hu Tao began their return.
Once they exited the territory of Wuwang Hill, the skies brightened dramatically. A quick check of the pocket watch showed it was only 2PM. Victor had thought it was already night, having spent so long in the stone halls—clearly, time inside passed differently than outside.
However, by the time they returned to Liyue Harbor, it actually was night.
At Feiyun Slope, the two parted ways. Hu Tao returned to the Funeral Parlor, and Victor headed to Wanmin Restaurant—he hadn't forgotten the fiery taste of the Black-Back Perch Stew from the day before.
Mao was the chef today, but that was fine—his cooking was still excellent.
While Victor was enjoying his meal, Xiangling returned carrying bags and bundles. When she saw Victor, her eyes sparkled, and she rushed into the kitchen with a tray of translucent cubes.
"Victor! I've found the perfect consistency for Slime Condensate! Here's the finished product—try it and tell me how it compares to the chewing gum in your dream!"
"That fast? Alright, let me try."
Victor picked up a clear cube made of Slime Condensate and began chewing.
"How is it?"
"The texture… still has a bit of stickiness. But it's closer to a solid now thanks to the refinement, which reduces that sensation and adds a lot of elasticity. Really chewy.
"Not bad! This texture is very close to the gum I ate in my dream. I think we've got it.
"And this cube's apple flavor… what can I say? Alchemy is amazing—it really tastes like a real apple, without being overwhelming.
"And… hmm… the flavor lasts a long time. That's actually better than the gum from my dream!"
"Yay!" Xiangling jumped with excitement.
Victor kept chewing and tried blowing a bubble, but it was too stiff to inflate. So, he suggested:
"In my dream, I also had a type of candy similar to chewing gum. It was called bubblegum.
Bubblegum is softer than chewing gum. With a bit of tongue and cheek coordination, you can blow it into a bubble—that's where the name comes from.
If you softened your gum recipe a bit more, I think it could become bubblegum."
"Blow bubbles? That sounds fun! But I've run out of solution. Can you make more?" Xiangling gestured to the bundles—alchemy ingredients she'd gathered for him.
"Heh… Sure. But with this many reagents, do we have enough Slime Condensate?"
"I spent all last night hunting Slimes in the wild—we've got plenty!"
"…Alright then. I'll go make more solution. Do you have any large jars or unused containers?"
"Oh! I already bought them in advance!"
Xiangling ran into the kitchen and came out holding five large transparent cups, each already labeled: Sweet Flower, Mint, Onion, Jueyun Chili, and Apple. Everything was ready—except for Victor.
"You really thought of everything. But we'll need equal parts water too—it's too much to carry all at once. We'll have to make multiple trips."
"Sounds good! I'll help you carry them."
They picked a cup, filled it with water, grabbed the matching ingredient, and headed to the alchemy station.
…
Elsewhere, Lumine and Zhongli had finally wrapped up a long day of preparations for the Rite of Descension.
Uncharacteristically, Zhongli declared he had plenty of Mora and would treat Lumine to a meal. Along with one unidentified flying object, the two headed to Third-Round Knockout…
After several rounds of wine and countless dishes, storyteller Iron Tongue Tian was in the middle of an exciting tale about Ningguang, the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing, when a mysterious woman claiming to be Ningguang's envoy appeared atop the restaurant's winged eaves…
Meanwhile, directly across from Third-Round Knockout, Victor and Xiangling were making their fourth trip to the alchemy station.
Victor skillfully placed a sack of apples on the station, then followed it with a large jar of water. With a practiced gesture, dozens of split mental threads wrapped the apples, transforming them all into apple-flavored solution.
If he had to process each one separately, it would've been like running in single-threaded mode. Luckily, he was multi-threaded.
Once they were done, the two returned to Wanmin Restaurant with their large jar of apple solution. Victor had already noticed the situation over at Third-Round Knockout, but since Lumine and Zhongli were finally enjoying a rare moment of peace, he didn't interfere.
That said… when Ganyu showed up, he couldn't help sneaking a few extra glances.
A head of water-blue curls, those slightly dazed, soft eyes—she always looked just a little sleep-deprived. You could never quite tell if she really needed rest or just looked like it, but it added to her obedient, gentle vibe.
Such a well-behaved girl… why was she standing on someone's rooftop? Maybe she was going through a rebellious phase… Victor Wang, lost in his private thoughts, walked off to make the last batch—Sweet Flower flavor.
Meanwhile, as Ganyu, acting as Ningguang's envoy, conversed with Lumine, her nose twitched subtly.
As a strict vegetarian, her nose was trained to detect even the slightest meat oil in vegetable dumplings. So even in a place steeped in wine and meat like Third-Round Knockout, she could still clearly smell the unique freshness of vegetables and fruit wafting through the air…