Chapter 9 – Wuwang Hill

“It has been a long time, Marcus.”

Qiu Bai and Zhongli looked at Guoba.

“Lu lu lu (^▽^)!”

Guoba happily ran back to Xiangling’s side.

By the time Qiu Bai and Zhongli returned to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, it was already evening.

Qiu Bai pushed the door open and entered. Hu Tao was sitting on a stool, gazing out the window.

As the sun slowly set, Hu Tao stood up from her chair and greeted Qiu Bai.

“Let’s go, Qiu Bai. Come with me to Wuwang Hill.”

“Zhongli and the Funeral Parlor Assistant will watch over the parlor.”

After bidding farewell to the two, Hu Tao immediately set off for Wuwang Hill with Qiu Bai, while Zhongli stayed behind to manage the affairs of the funeral parlor.

The two were on their way to Wuwang Hill.

Halfway there, Qiu Bai patted Hu Tao on the back. Puzzled, she turned to look at him.

“Director, walking like this is too slow. I happen to know a few minor Mystic Arts.”

Qiu Bai spoke unhurriedly.

“Minor Mystic Arts?”

“What kind of minor Mystic Arts? Could they possibly teleport us directly to Wuwang Hill?”

Hu Tao looked at Qiu Bai with some exasperation. It was already dark.

They needed to reach Wuwang Hill before daylight faded completely—not a moment could be wasted.

“Something like that. Please hold on tight, Director.”

Qiu Bai smiled as he looked at Hu Tao beside him.

Though still somewhat confused, Hu Tao did as he said and held on tightly.

Hu Tao felt the world spin around her. When she opened her eyes, they had already arrived at Wuwang Hill, one of the boundaries between Yin and Yang.

“You… you, you!”

“You call this a minor Mystic Art?!”

Hu Tao widened her beautiful plum blossom eyes in shock, staring curiously at Qiu Bai and examining him from head to toe.

Goodness! Wuwang Hill was thousands of miles away from Liyue Harbor!

Qiu Bai had brought her here in an instant—how could she not be astonished?

Hu Tao now strongly suspected that Qiu Bai was an Adeptus. He didn’t look much older than her, yet he gave off the impression of an ancient relic.

“And why didn’t you tell me you had such an Art?”

“You made me walk all this way for nothing!”

Hu Tao grumbled as she looked at Qiu Bai.

“Hahaha, you never asked, Director.”

“How was I to know whether you enjoyed walking?”

Qiu Bai couldn’t resist teasing the adorable Hu Tao before him.

“Fine, fine. With you around from now on, I won’t have to trek back and forth like this anymore.”

“Walking such distances all the time is exhausting.”

Hu Tao held the ancestral sacred weapon Homa in her hand as she walked through the forests of Wuwang Hill, with Qiu Bai following closely behind.

This was the boundary between Yin and Yang. The sky here was perpetually gray and gloomy, with no daylight to be found. Eerie ghost fires were visible everywhere.

Since childhood, Hu Tao had been able to see things ordinary people could not. As the seventy-seventh director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, she would soon come here to guard this boundary between Yin and Yang.

Qiu Bai scanned the surroundings and spotted a group of Treasure Hoarders in the distance. With the ears of a Demon God, he could clearly hear what they were saying.

“What kind of cursed place is this? We can’t find a way out.”

“Exactly! We keep going in circles. Even after marking our path, we always end up back where we started.”

The eight or nine Treasure Hoarders were nearly skin and bones from hunger, having been trapped here for three days and three nights.

“And that elusive little girl—she nearly scared me to death!”

“Hey, do you think we’ve encountered ghosts?”

One of the Treasure Hoarders collapsed to the ground, his face filled with fear as he spoke to the others.

Before they entered, a little girl said there was treasure inside, so they followed her, only for the girl to suddenly vanish before their eyes.

Ever since then, that little girl would pass by in front of them every day. They would run over, but find nothing there.

In the woods, echoes would always linger: “Uncle, there’s treasure over there… and there too…” It nearly scared them to death.

“Don’t scare me like that, I’m easily frightened.”

“I don’t want to search for any treasure anymore, I just want to get out of this haunted place.”

Qiu Bai, watching from afar, found it amusing how the ghost had lured these Treasure Hoarders here, and he told Hu Tao what he had seen.

“Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter!”

“But that little girl must be a ghost.”

Hu Tao suddenly fell into deep thought. Maintaining the boundary between life and death was an important duty of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

That little girl must have some unfulfilled wish, unwilling to go to that “ordinary place.”

It must be said that Qiu Bai’s eyesight was truly remarkable. From such a distance, it would take quite a while to walk over.

But for now, the priority was to send these Treasure Hoarders out of here.

“Qiu Bai, we need to figure out a way to get those Treasure Hoarders out.”

“Then find the little girl they mentioned and send her back to where she belongs.”

After that, Hu Tao and Qiu Bai headed toward the Treasure Hoarders’ location.

Naturally, Qiu Bai knew exactly where Hu Tao was referring to.

Not only had he completed Hu Tao’s story quest, but as the Adeptus of Yin and Yang of Liyue, he had already visited Wuwang Hill over a thousand years ago.

When Hu Tao and Qiu Bai approached the Treasure Hoarders, Hu Tao raised her Homa staff, ready to drive them away, but Qiu Bai stopped her.

“Qiu Bai, don’t stop me! I’m going to chase them off.”

Hu Tao looked at Qiu Bai beside her with confusion, not understanding why he was holding her back.

“There’s no need for such trouble, Director.”

Qiu Bai said softly, then waved his hand, causing the group of Treasure Hoarders to vanish. He then turned to look at Hu Tao beside him.

At that moment, Hu Tao was so shocked by Qiu Bai’s actions that her mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.

Wow, Qiu Bai had already given her quite a few surprises, but making people disappear with a wave of his hand? What kind of move was that?!

“You—where did you send those Treasure Hoarders?!”

“You didn’t kill them, did you?”

Hu Tao stared at Qiu Bai in astonishment, wondering to herself, What kind of little Mystic Art is this?

This guy Qiu Bai is really mysterious, just like that Zhongli fellow.

“Hahaha, of course not.”

“I sent them out of Wuwang Hill.”

Qiu Bai explained with a smile, realizing that his actions had left quite an impression on Hu Tao.

Qiu Bai’s move had truly shocked Hu Tao for the entire year. Sent them out? How?

With just a wave of his hand?

Meanwhile, outside, the Treasure Hoarders stared at each other in utter bewilderment.

“How did we get out?”

“Who cares? Now that we’re out, let’s get away from this haunted place as fast as we can. I don’t want to stay a second longer.”

As soon as they were out, the Treasure Hoarders rushed straight back to their camp. Having gone three days without food, all they could think about now was eating.

Back inside Wuwang Hill, Qiu Bai and Hu Tao were searching for the little girl the Treasure Hoarders had mentioned.

Hu Tao followed the traces step by step, heading in that direction.

Qiu Bai followed behind Hu Tao, quietly watching the girl ahead of him—a strong yet pitiable little girl.

Usually so mischievous and spirited, who knew what untold stories lay hidden behind her?