Genshin Impact's Sweet and Hard Free People

The eerie atmosphere at Wuwangpo was truly terrifying, along with the ghostly blue flames that flickered in the air. Xin Hui couldn't help but think that a ghost might suddenly leap out and pounce on his face, uttering death threats.

The more I think about it, the more horrified I become.

In this situation, what would it feel like to suddenly encounter a living person?

A pale blue floating object darted through the trees, catching Xin Hui's attention.

It circled around the birch trees that appeared bluish in the moonlight, finally reaching a tall, sturdy tree. A reddish-yellow firelight shone from behind the tree, and the object revealed its true form.

It transformed into a white ghost, a ghost with cute fangs.

It waved its short, small hands up and down, looking quite cheerful. Then, a dark figure peeked out from behind the tree, waving its small, fair hands and letting out a slightly playful voice.

"Were you scared?"

"Honestly, what are you doing at Wuwangpo in the middle of the night? It's not as safe as you think."

The following sentence was accusatory, which made her voice sound even more abrupt.

Just as Xin Hui was about to take a closer look, the white ghost suddenly floated down onto something of the girl and mimicked her movements—raising both hands and letting the ten fingers hang down.

He wore a threatening expression on his face, with a slightly eerie smile on his lips.

This really surprised Xin Hui.

He even thought he had really encountered a ghost on Wuwangpo.

After seeing who it was, he realized that it was the very person he was looking for—Hu Tao, the head of the Hall of Rebirth.

"I am Hu Tao, the head of the Hall of Rebirth. I can give you a ride." Hu Tao then uttered a terrifying statement.

A sinister smile played on her lips, her head bowed slightly, and the shadow cast by her hat made the upper half of her face appear even darker, thus making her look even more terrifying.

However, it doesn't mean sending someone to their death.

Is this what walnuts really look like? Actually, they're quite cute when you look closely.

At the same time, Xin Hui was also very curious. He was attracted here by a bunch of yellow-green butterflies. Since Xin Hui was not very familiar with the environment of Wuwangpo, he could only look around randomly.

At this moment, the shimmering yellow-green butterfly seemed about to fly onto Walnut's finger, and the latter said, "This is the [Guide], who specifically brought you to find me."

Hu Tao's words indicate that she had discovered Xin Hui's whereabouts long ago and even used butterflies to guide him, which truly made Xin Hui feel that she still had a childlike heart.

Then, Xinhui asked her, "Why is the [guide] a butterfly?" The latter answered the question quite readily.

"Why is the guide a butterfly...? Look, both butterflies and walnuts share the surname Hu, right? It's quite a coincidence. Although Mr. Zhongli, who knows everything, has a completely different academic explanation for this..."

Walnut's slender, fair, and shapely legs stood on the bluish-white stone, swaying back and forth, looking quite leisurely.

However, with her pair of red plum blossom eyes, every smile and frown of hers revealed the dreaminess and beauty of a young girl.

"What? Did Mr. Zhongli send you here to find me? Young man, what's troubling you now?"

"However, even if you have something to do now, you'll have to wait until after I've finished the ceremony. The head of the hall has too many things to do, and sometimes it's a difficult task. He can't even finish singing the Qiuqiu Ballad."

Then came her slightly cheerful voice.

"Big Qiuqiu is sick, Second Qiuqiu goes to check on her, Third Qiuqiu gathers herbs, Fourth Qiuqiu hoots~"

Oh right, Xinhui almost forgot, Zhongli said that Hu Tao came to pay respects to his grandfather.

Why is it that, from the moment she appeared, she always appeared lively and cheerful, without a trace of sadness in her...?

Xin Hui followed, staying right behind Hu Tao. This time there was no guide, so Xin Hui couldn't lose her, and thus, he stayed very close to Hu Tao.

The fragrance of walnut petals wafted over, and Xin Hui sniffed it carefully, finding it very similar to the scent of the rainbow flower.

They continued forward, and before they knew it, the road had disappeared, replaced by weeds and mud.

This means that this road is not frequently traveled, so Xinhui was also very curious about where Hu Tao's grandfather, the former head of the Rebirth Hall, was buried.

They stopped their light steps by a large tree.

It was a strange tree with thick, red leaves. To the right of the tree, a grave mound rose high. In front of the grave mound stood a heavy stone tablet.

However, the stone tablet has no inscription, which means there is no name or account of the deceased's life. How can people pay their respects to such a tombstone?

Judging from Hu Tao's action of preparing to take out yellow paper to burn, this should be the place where her grandfather is buried.

However, before she lit the yellow paper, she turned back to look at Xinhui.

"You asked me before why I could endure the constant loss of things. Now, I can give you a concrete answer..."

Chapter 41 The Hall Master Says No

The firelight cast a slightly yellowish glow on her fair face. Walnut, her petite frame crouching there, shook the yellow paper in her hands.

One sheet after another, and then, feeling that the fire was about to go out, he simply threw out all the remaining yellow paper in his hand.

The firelight once again cast a dim, yellowish glow on Hu Tao's face. This time, Hu Tao stood up.

Do you know how I feel about my grandfather right now?

Her voice still has vitality, and energy and spirit seem to be the three things that Hu Tao has the least to lack.

Xin Hui was a little hesitant to ask, since this kind of topic was taboo. So she simply let her tell the story herself.

"My grandfather was my childhood playmate, a source of warm family affection, and a source of happy memories. His passing is indeed regrettable, but I have already let it go."

When Hu Tao said this, her head was slightly raised, her eyes were closed, and her expression was one of indifference and understanding after regret.

“The head of the Hall of Rebirth should not have his information left on his tombstone, nor should his soul wander on the ‘border’ between life and death. My grandfather once taught me that no matter how many emotions one has, one must learn to release them in other ways so that the head of the Hall of Rebirth can properly fulfill his duties.”

"I've always remembered those words, so I've learned to let go of everything, to accept things as they pass by. As long as you can let go, these things won't shake your calm and serene emotions..."

After Hu Tao's voice faded, she opened her eyes, her plum blossom-like pupils looking at Xin Hui, as if waiting for his answer.

Xin Hui, however, fell silent. He didn't know how to answer.

Is releasing emotions in other ways the same as suppressing them?

Can you be open-minded? What does it mean to be open-minded? Xinhui didn't believe it. Even if a person has a big heart that can tolerate everything, wouldn't something still change their state of mind?

In that case, Xinhui thinks that Qiqi's evaluation of Hu Tao is the most accurate.

According to Bai Zhu.

Shortly after meeting the little zombie for the first time, Hu Tao felt that as Qi Qi's best friend, she should let Qi Qi rest in peace forever.

Hu Tao had repeatedly attempted to kidnap Qi Qi and was considering burying her in the suburbs at an appropriate time, according to a standard burial ceremony.

In fact, she would have succeeded if Bai Shu hadn't stopped her in time.

Every time Bai Shu found them, Qi Qi had already been stuffed into a bag, with only her head sticking out, staring in confusion at Hu Tao as she frantically dug a hole.

After being stopped, Hu Tao would write an apology letter to Qi Qi, apologizing for not being able to bury her sooner.

In Hu Tao's eyes, Qi Qi was a pitiful child who had died long ago but was trapped in the world, unable to escape from eternal suffering. (Qi Qi was the kind of immortal who had no memories, not even feelings or tastes.)

Therefore, Qiqi's understanding of walnuts is the most authentic and pure.

"High temperatures, fake smiles, and death... I hate it."

This was Qiqi's assessment of Hu Tao, and Xinhui hadn't previously trusted the little guy's words. However, now Xinhui seemed to understand Qiqi's words somewhat.

Otherwise, why would Hu Tao keep gently stroking the stone tablet after saying all this? She should be very reluctant to part with it, so why did she pretend to be relaxed?

……

Xinhui didn't want to expose her. Because he knew that this girl needed someone to protect her last bit of stubbornness.

After Xinhui noticed Hu Tao gently touching the stone tablet, she stopped standing there and came to him, her glossy black nail polish shimmering. The tiny white ghost that had been hiding on her also peeked out with its round little head.

"Let me introduce you. This is a little ghost who's been following me. Its name is 'White Night.' It loves the night and is a little guy who doesn't want to be reincarnated..."

Hu Tao recounted the story earnestly, saying that when she first met Bai Ye, she was quite startled. Bai Ye lingered at the 'border' of death, flying back and forth. After Hu Tao caught it, it followed her ever since.

"To be honest, I still don't know what's in front of this little guy, but judging from his appearance, he should be harmless!" A determined look flashed in Hu Tao's eyes, and then he nodded his little head slightly.

Thinking about it, it must be like this, it must be right.

However, Xin Hui's focus wasn't on that. What he was concerned about was whether a normal person could catch a ghost with their hands. The key point was that Hu Tao had also grabbed the little ghost's tail, as if the latter couldn't escape unless she let go.

Just as he was about to ponder this carefully, his eyes caught sight of the black ring on Walnut's pale finger. The three rings on her right hand were in the following order: a black crystal ring, a skull ring, and a silver ring.

Wearing black crystal can remove negative energy from the body; a skull ring indicates working with the dead; and a silver ring represents a yearning for freedom.

However, the black crystal ring seemed to contain some life-and-death power, and it was that life-and-death power that allowed Hu Tao to touch [White Night].

Xin Hui observed for a while and felt that this power of life and death was very similar to that of a certain object. At this moment, he reached into his pocket and touched the strange black fruit, and then he realized what it was.

The life and death power on this crystal ring is exactly the same as the life and death aura on the fruit!

Oh right, I came to Wuwangpo to find Hu Tao because of the Goddess of Life, [Yi Meng], I almost forgot!

Xin Hui wanted to slap himself on the head. His attention had been so focused on the walnuts that he had completely forgotten about this.

The sect leader has misled me!

Xin Hui took out the black fruit and began to tell Hu Tao the truth about why he had come here.

The strange power of life and death, the goddess of life [Yimeng]... I guess even Hu Tao didn't quite understand it.

"Stop, stop, stop, I know." Hu Tao waved her hands repeatedly as she listened to Xin Hui's incessant chatter. "Anyway, you're going to the 'border,' right? I get it~"

"Then, is that alright?" Xinhui asked tentatively, seeing that there was hope.

"Hmph~" Hu Tao chuckled softly, her expression becoming mysterious, but the result was beyond Xin Hui's expectations.

After her mysterious expression, Hu Tao became serious and earnest. She crossed her wrists, made a gesture, and clearly stated her intentions.

"no!"

Chapter Forty-Two: Don't Let Go

“What are you thinking, young man?” Hu Tao sighed softly. “Even if you tell me the story of the Goddess of Life, [Yimeng], and explain the purpose of our visit, I still cannot take you to the ‘border’ to find that pillar god.”

The way Hu Tao refers to the goddess of life as "pillar" proves that she reveres [Imu].

But why wouldn't she take me with her?