At last, right in front of Hu Tao, a glowing translucent little girl sat quietly on a stone.
"Big brother, big sister, are you here to play with me?"
Hu Tao let out a sigh, looking at the little girl with a helpless expression.
"Play? No way, it's time for you to go where you belong. Come with me."
She reached out to take the girl's hand, ready to guide her to the afterlife.
Qiu Bai leaned against a tree in the background, silently watching the interaction between Hu Tao and the girl.
"But... Grandma told me to wait for her here."
"I've been waiting for so, so long, just like she said."
The little girl, Xiaoming, looked up at Hu Tao with innocent trusting eyes.
"Hu Tao, come here for a moment," Qiu Bai called out from where he stood.
Hu Tao turned to him, confused.
After a brief hesitation she decided to listen.
This girl had been dead for a long time, her grandmother was likely gone as well.
At this point, if Qiu Bai told her he could bring the grandmother back she'd probably believe him.
With all the insane things he'd already done like instant teleportation and making people vanish with a wave of his hand, nothing he did could surprise her anymore.
With that thought, Hu Tao walked over.
"What now, Qiu Bai?"
"Don't tell me you're actually going to bring her grandma back too?"
She waved a hand dismissively, giving him an exasperated look.
Qiu Bai blinked in surprise.
"How did you know? That's exactly what I'm going to do."
"WHAT?!"
"You—you're serious?! You can actually bring her grandmother back?!"
Even though Hu Tao had mentally prepared herself, she was still completely floored. At this point, she had no idea if there was anything Qiu Bai couldn't do.
"Fine! I'll just stand right here and watch," Hu Tao declared, crossing her arms.
"I want to see how you pull this off!"
She widened her eyes, staring at Qiu Bai without blinking.
Qiu Bai felt a little awkward. Being stared down by a pretty girl like this was slightly uncomfortable, even for him.
Still, he focused his energy.
In his hands, yin and yang energy began to swirl together.
Hu Tao's expression shifted from disbelief to complete shock as she watched.
The dark and light energies spun rapidly in his palm before he cast a beam of white light toward the little girl.
The light entered Xiaoming's body, illuminating her form.
A moment later, it emerged again, returning to Qiu Bai hand, infused with the lingering soul of her grandmother.
Qiu Bai pressed his palm to the ground, letting the combined forces of yin and yang take shape.
A kind-looking elderly woman materialized before them.
She raised her hand and waved toward Xiaoming, her gentle smile full of warmth.
The moment Xiaoming saw her, she ran forward straight into her grandmother's embrace.
"Xiaoming, I'm here to take you. Come with Grandma."
The elderly woman smiled warmly as she picked up Xiaoming, speaking to her with gentle affection.
"Okay! Xiaoming will listen to Grandma," Xiaoming said cheerfully, looking up at her with a bright smile.
The old woman then turned toward Qiu Bai, bowing deeply.
"Thank you for allowing us to reunite. I will take Xiaoming to where she belongs."
With that, she and the little girl waved goodbye to Hu Tao and Qiu Bai. Their figures slowly dissolved into glowing particles, fading away into the night.
Hu Tao blinked, still processing what had just happened.
"What the hell just happened?"
"How did you just summon the little girl's grandma out of thin air?!"
She swore she hadn't even blinked, yet somehow Qiu Bai had just pulled this off like it was nothing.
Then again, this actually worked out pretty well.
Normally, she'd have to spend an entire night dealing with something like this, but Qiu Bai had wrapped it up in just a few moments.
Maybe she should bring him along more often.
"Heh, no need to be so shocked Director" Qiu Bai chuckled, seeing the disbelief on her face.
"I have a small understanding of the Power of Yin and Yang. As long as I can be of help, I'm happy to assist."
Hu Tao sighed, rubbing the back of her head.
"Alright, alright, the job's done. Let's head back."
She grinned at Qiu Bai and playfully slapped his shoulder.
"Heh, from now on, you're officially my friend!"
She then gave him a knowing look, clearly expecting him to use his 'little tricks' to get them back to Liyue Harbor.
Qiu Bai, of course understood exactly what she was thinking.
"Hold on tight, Director."
"Got it!"
Hu Tao grabbed onto Qiu Bai clothes and suddenly, the world spun around them.
By the time she opened her eyes, they were already back at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
The sky was still dark, the night unchanged.
Hu Tao stood there for a moment, feeling completely disoriented.
After all, this whole night had been absolutely insane.
Normally, whenever she went to Wuwang Hill, she wouldn't return until the next morning.
But this time? She was back in an instant.
Hu Tao leaned against the window, staring at the moon as she muttered to herself.
"Qiu Bai really one hell of a helper. Way more useful than that old fossil Zhongli, that's for sure."
Sitting nearby, Zhongli had, of course, heard everything.
He let out a slightly awkward cough, then shifted his gaze toward Qiubai.
Qiu Bai being a man of survival instincts, immediately avoided eye contact.
Zhongli sighed and turned his attention to Hu Tao.
"Director, it's getting late. You should rest."
"The Rite of Descension is in two days, we'll need to prepare tomorrow."
Zhongli steady voice pulled Hu Tao back from her moon-gazing.
Honestly, sometimes he really felt like an old father figure.
"Got it, got it. Qiu Bai, Zhongli, you two should rest early too."
"Ahhh, I haven't had a good night's sleep in days. Good thing Qiu Bai was around."
Yawning, Hu Tao made her way back to her room, praising Qiu Bai one last time before disappearing inside.
Now, only Zhongli and Qiu Bai remained.
Zhongli waved his hand, placing a soundproof barrier around them.
"I have made a contract with the Tsaritsa."
"The day after tomorrow, her Fatui Harbingers, Childe and La Signora, will arrive in Liyue to take the Gnosis."
Zhongli took a sip of tea and looked at Qiu Bai, speaking slowly.
"The Tsaritsa, she seizes the authorities of the gods. But for what purpose? Even I do not know."
"However, the presence or absence of a Gnosis does not affect you in the slightest."
Qiu Bai walked over, picking up the teapot from the table and pouring himself a cup.
There were far too many mysteries in Genshin Impact's story, even as a transmigrator he didn't know everything.
As he gazed at Zhongli, a thought formed in his mind. he decided to restore some of the erosion within the former Geo Archon.
A god who had ruled for 3,700 years.
How many departed friends had he mourned?
How many stories had unfolded before his eyes?
All of it had shaped the Liyue of today.
Even the immovable rock that could withstand a vortex would inevitably erode over time.
Zhongli noticed Qiu Bai staring at him and furrowed his brows in slight confusion.
"Old friend, why are you staring at me like that?"
"Do I have something on my face?"
He raised his hand and touched his cheek, there's nothing in my face.
Then why was Qiu Bai looking at him like that?
Just as Zhongli was about to ask, Qiu Bai finally spoke.
"Morax, I am going to restore the erosion within you. Relax yourself."
Erosion, something placed upon them by Celestia itself.
Could it really be undone?
Zhongli opened his mouth to say something. But when he saw the absolute seriousness on Qiu Bai face, he hesitated.
In the end, he chose to trust him.
"Then I leave it to you, old friend."
Zhongli let his body relax, slowly closing his eyes.
Qiu Bai channeled Yang energy into Zhongli's body.
At that moment, Zhongli felt a gentle breeze like the crisp, pure air atop Jueyun Karst's peaks.
His memories became clearer.
The past resurfaced, countless recollections overlapping in his mind.
But rather than feeling burdened, he found himself immersed in them.
For the first time in thousands of years, he was simply enjoying his memories.
As time passed, Qiu Bai slowly withdrew his hand and Zhongli gradually opened his eyes.