Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

With a 'pop', the little ghost flew backward like a deflated balloon.

Walnut would sometimes submerge its head to blow bubbles, and sometimes pop its head out of the water, having a great time.

After soaking for about half an hour, she appeared in Zhongli's courtyard with a brisk walk, having finished her bath and changed her clothes.

"Grandpa, it's been so long, have you missed me?"

"Well....."

Zhongli, who was teasing the bird, saw the walnut, pondered for a moment, and finally decided to tell the truth.

"No."

Hu Tao's expression immediately fell, and she listlessly lowered her arms, defeated.

"I miss you so much, and you don't miss me at all. It's so heartbreaking..."

Zhongli smiled slightly, placed the bird from his fingertip into the birdcage, then sat down at the stone table in the courtyard and said unhurriedly:

"Was the trip successful?"

Hearing him ask about the itinerary, Hu Tao immediately perked up again, sat on the stone bench, swung her little feet, and proudly patted her chest, "Of course, with this hall master personally taking charge, there's nothing I can't accomplish!"

Having lacked paternal love since childhood, it's inevitable that she would transfer some of that paternal affection to Zhongli, who had been a guest elder at the Hall of Rebirth since she could remember.

Zhongli knows everything and has knowledge of many things that they don't. Unlike his grandfather, he is very young and resembles his father.

As a child, Hu Tao often wondered if her father would have been as knowledgeable and mature as Zhong Li if he were still alive.

Although Zhongli's identity remains a mystery, he seems to age without changing like an immortal and has always remained so young.

But as long as Zhongli is there, it's like having a solid support system, and there's nothing to fear.

Therefore, whenever she achieved something satisfactory, she couldn't help but want to show it off to him.

Even if I don't get any praise, just seeing him listening makes me happy.

Hu Tao laid out the items she had received one by one on the stone table and introduced them one by one.

"This Kongtong Hundred Spirit Jade was all thanks to Qiqi, and this Four Directions True Soul was given to me by True Lord Lishan Dieshui after I completed his task..."

"Qiqi? The child that the hall master often goes to catch?" Zhongli was somewhat surprised.

Logically speaking, if Hu Tao encountered that child, she would definitely choose to send her to her death. Judging from this, something must have happened.

Hu Tao rested her chin on her hand and sighed as she spoke of Qi Qi.

"Yes, but I don't plan to capture her anymore. She tried so hard to live, how could I possibly want to send her to her death based solely on my own feelings? Let's just consider her an exception in this world..."

Zhongli poured her a cup of tea. "Everything that exists has its reason. The balance of Yin and Yang is not so easily broken."

"Hehe, I feel relieved to hear you say that!" Hu Tao swung her legs back and forth, and the huge weight that had been hanging over her heart finally lifted.

"I'm genuinely afraid that I might disrupt the order of life and death, and break the balance of yin and yang..."

"But that child's background is also pitiful. I heard from True Lord Lishan Dieshui..." Hu Tao rambled on as she told Zhong Li the story she had heard.

Zhongli was an excellent listener, listening quietly and occasionally asking a few questions.

After listening to Hu Tao's account of the events leading up to Qi Qi becoming a zombie, Zhong Li blew on his hot tea and sighed:

"I see..."

He knew there was such a zombie in Liyue, but he didn't investigate the reasons behind it.

After all, there are so many people and things in Liyue. If he had to understand and care about every single person and every single thing, he wouldn't be able to care about them all.

"Now that we've gathered everything, we'll go to Grandma Ping's place tomorrow to have her perform the ritual, and then we can officially start advertising!"

Hu Tao rubbed his hands together, feeling that the future was bright.

"I think we should first promote our services to the Adventurers' Guild, create one or two case studies, and establish our reputation! After that, even if we don't advertise, we'll have a steady stream of customers coming to us. What do you think?"

Walnut enthusiastically shared his grand business plan.

"You can handle it as you see fit, Master."

Zhongli had no suggestions; she just wanted her master to be happy.

As they were chatting, Hu Tao suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right, I picked up a greatsword at Lonely Cloud Pavilion last time. It looked to be of pretty good quality, so I took it to the blacksmith to have it tempered and the rust removed. It's been so long, it should be fine by now..."

Hu Tao, with a flurry of words, dashed out to grab her greatsword.

Although it was getting late, it was not yet dark.

The blacksmith's shop echoed with the constant clanging of hammering, and thick black smoke billowed into the sky from the chimney.

Outside the blacksmith's shop were some simple, standard weapons, including knives, spears, halberds, bows, arrows, and magical implements.

Hu Tao walked straight past the weapons into the blacksmith shop, whereupon a wave of heat hit her.

She looked around, then cupped her hands into a megaphone and called out, "Old Zhang, is my sword ready?"

Old Zhang, the blacksmith who was forging iron, came out of his room when he heard the noise and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel.

"It's Hu Tao! Your sword has been ready for a long time."

Old Zhang picked up the greatsword from the weapon rack beside him and handed it to Hu Tao.

The greatsword, once eroded by wind and rain, has now been restored to its original form, its sharp tip gleaming with a cold light.

As Hu Tao gripped the sword hilt, the feeling she had when she first held a sword surged back.

Perhaps because the sword has been repaired, the feeling is slightly stronger than before.

Walnut stroked the smooth blade; after the rust had been removed, the sword was now quite beautiful.

The sword is entirely blue, with dark blue patterns engraved on it.

Moreover, it was quite large, more than a fist's width wider than a normal greatsword.

"This sword is excellent in both materials and forging techniques; it's a rare and fine sword!" Old Zhang praised it highly.

Chapter 82 The Sleeping Soul

"I found it in Lonely Cloud Pavilion. I don't know why such a fine sword would be stuck in Lonely Cloud Pavilion..."

"It's really strange that it was stuck on top of Guyun Pavilion." Old Zhang, the blacksmith, also expressed his incomprehension.

Such a fine sword could have been a family heirloom for an ordinary person, yet it was carelessly placed on the Lonely Cloud Pavilion, left to rust cover its blade.

It's hard to imagine how extravagant this is.

"Here's the Mora, I'm leaving now."

After paying Mora, Hu Tao went straight back to the ancestral hall.

She planned to show Zhongli what secrets this sword held.

"Hehe, Grandpa, I'm back again! Did you miss me?"

Hu Tao appeared out of nowhere in the courtyard, something Zhong Li was already used to.

"What do you want from me now?" Zhongli calmly put down the cup.

Hu Tao grinned and came over, sitting down in her original seat. "Can't I come to see you if there's nothing wrong?"

"The hall master never visits unless he has a reason."

Hu Tao puffed out her cheeks and snorted.

"You're slandering me! I came all this way back and the first thing I did was come to see you! And you don't even miss me..."

“Hehe…” Zhongli smiled without saying a word.

The more you go along with Hu Tao, the more she enjoys it.

Over the years, he has accumulated experience.

Sure enough, he immediately changed the subject and pulled out a large sword, placing it on the table.

"Grandpa, take a look, is it what I thought?"

Walnut tapped her fingers on the stone tabletop, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Zhongli.

The little ghost emerged from her body, hugged her head, and only revealed its eyes, blinking as it looked at Zhongli.

Zhongli looked at the greatsword in front of him, reached out and gently touched the blade, then nodded.

"Just as you thought, Master, there is a sleeping soul within this sword."

His fingertips traced the blade of the sword, and golden light slowly emerged from them, coalescing into a phantom figure whose features were indistinct. The figure's lower body was ethereal, and its arms were outstretched, as if embracing the heavens.

"This soul has existed for a long time, but is now very weak."

I sensed from the beginning that there was a soul inside the sword, but the feeling was too faint, like an illusion.

Later, when I got the sword back from Lao Zhang, the feeling became clearer.

Zhongli then revealed the soul within.

Looking at the figure, Hu Tao blinked and asked in confusion, "Why is his soul in the sword? Logically speaking, shouldn't people go directly to the [Border] after they die? Even if they don't go to the Border and wander in the world, they shouldn't be in this state, right?"

The boundary refers to the boundary between life and death.

The world of the living and the world of the dead are two separate worlds that do not interfere with each other and maintain a balance.

When a person dies in Liyue, their soul travels along the earth to the border and enters the underworld, a realm for souls. After undergoing a series of purifications, the soul is reborn as a pure and innocent infant.

Of course, some people with strong obsessions may linger at the border, waiting for a certain person or a certain message.

But those who linger at the border will gradually become less perceptive, remembering only their own obsessions.

As for staying in the human world, that requires some chance and coincidence.

Perhaps the time of death happened to be an unlucky year, month, day, and hour, and the soul retained consciousness after leaving the body; or perhaps it happened to be carrying a magical artifact capable of nurturing the soul; or perhaps the soul could not reach the boundary of the place of death...

Although rare, it does exist.

Every time such an incident occurs, it's something she has to deal with.

"Perhaps it's because of his obsession!" Zhongli looked at the illusory figure that appeared on the sword, still embracing the sky.

He may have maintained this posture until his death, which may have been his obsession.

If a soul does not travel to the border, it will slowly forget its past memories and become a wandering, aimless ghost.

Some are harmless to humans, but some with deep-seated obsessions can become evil spirits.

Evil spirits will unconsciously invade those they encounter, causing them to be plagued by nightmares, their yang energy to deplete and become weak and powerless. Long-term harassment by evil spirits can even lead to death.

This person must have died by some coincidence, and his soul entered the sword, but has been asleep ever since.

But as time passed, with the sun's rays and the elements, this sleeping soul gradually thinned out, and if it had been discovered any later, it might have vanished.

"Let's place it in the ancestral hall to allow its spirit to rest and recover!"

"Okay." Hu Tao nodded and sheathed her sword.

When Hu Tao arrived at the ancestral hall of the Hall of Rebirth, the hall was filled with the memorial tablets of all the past hall masters, from the first to the seventy-sixth, arranged neatly and completely.

Hu Tao placed the sword on the shelf and took out three sticks of calming incense.

This spirit-nourishing incense is no ordinary thing. Its function of nourishing the spirit and soul alone is worth a fortune, not to mention that it is the incense used exclusively in the ritual of inviting immortals.

In addition, the materials are hard to find and the price is high, and there are few people who know how to make them, which has caused the value to double, and you can't buy them even if you want to.

However, the incense in her hand was produced and sold by their own temple, so it wasn't that precious to her.

She rubbed a flame between her fingers, lit the incense, bowed respectfully to the memorial tablet, and placed it in the incense burner.

The incense sticks burned slowly, and wisps of thin white smoke drifted into the air, carrying a delicate and elegant fragrance that brought peace of mind.

A few wisps of white smoke clung to the sword, enveloping it and nurturing the fragile soul within.

Judging from this trend, by this time tomorrow, that soul should have recovered considerably.

Walnut left with peace of mind.

The sun had already set outside, but it wasn't completely dark yet.

A deep blue sky loomed overhead, with faint starlight visible.

The moon had already peeked out from behind the clouds, radiating its bright light.