We traveled through time together, but I'm the only dragon? The others are all beautiful girls?

"what--"

Paimon watched this scene, tilted his little head as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he chose to concentrate on fighting the army of pastries in front of him.

Zhongli simply watched silently.

This scene reminded him of a long, long time ago. Back then, although he didn't have close friends like Akalion and Luminosity, he did have friends of Paimon's caliber.

There are many, many things, but as of today—time is ultimately the most ruthless, cruelest, and most powerful sword in the world.

He picked up his teacup and drank the already cooled tea in one gulp.

That slightly bitter taste seemed exactly the same as I remembered.

In this atmosphere so quiet it was almost frozen, a clear, energetic female voice, like a gentle breeze rustling through the leaves, broke the silence without warning.

"Oh my, who do we have here taking a break? It's our guest advisor, the busy Zhongli!"

Akalion looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young girl wearing a Qiankun Tai Gua hat and a dark butterfly-patterned dress standing gracefully outside the tea stall with her hands on her hips.

Her eyes, as delicate as plum blossoms, were now gleaming with a mischievous light, and her long twin ponytails drew two lively arcs in the air with her light steps.

She was like a butterfly, creating a butterfly effect that instantly turned the atmosphere of the place upside down.

The visitor was none other than Hu Tao, the 77th head of the Wangsheng Hall.

She hopped over to Zhongli in a few quick steps, and without any hesitation, pulled out a long scroll made of fine Xuan paper from her bosom and slammed it onto the table with a loud "bang."

"Mr. Zhongli, shouldn't you give me a reasonable explanation for the expenses recorded in the accounts of Wangshengtang last quarter?"

Walnut unfurled the long scroll, pointing to the densely packed entries, and began to recite them in a dramatic, theatrical tone: 'A rare, out-of-print copy purchased to verify the authenticity of an ancient book,' 300,000 Mora; 'A complete set of Fontaine tableware ordered to experience exotic customs,' 500,000 Mora; 'A whole shipload of moored stones chartered to study the natural textures of raw jade,' 1,200,000 Mora… and this, 'Three bottles of aged dandelion wine purchased to entertain distinguished guests,' 1,600,000 Mora! And, and—'

Hu Tao's tone had already cracked and she couldn't continue.

Faced with this situation, Zhongli remained calm and composed, his face showing no emotion. He slowly poured himself another cup of tea, and only after the rising steam blurred Hu Tao's puffed-up face did he speak, his voice steady and composed.

"Master Hu, this is for official business, there is no need to panic."

"Official business?!" Hu Tao's voice instantly rose eight octaves. "What kind of official business would require so much money?!"

"Wangsheng Hall handles the final farewells of the living. For different clients, especially those distinguished gentlemen, we naturally strive to plan a dignified and fulfilling funeral with the most appropriate etiquette to match their status and taste, just as the head of the hall always promotes Wangsheng Hall's business with an approachable and kind attitude." Zhongli put down his teacup, his still calm eyes gazing serenely at Hu Tao. "Without experiencing it firsthand, how can one know what elegance and style are? These expenses are not pointless extravagance, but necessary investments to maintain Wangsheng Hall's reputation."

This airtight explanation left Hu Tao speechless.

She opened her mouth, but found that, given her own way of doing things, she couldn't find any reason to refute it.

“Speaking of which,” before she could come up with a new excuse, Zhongli subtly changed the subject, turning his gaze to Akalion and his group, “I was just about to introduce you to some distinguished guests.”

"Hmm?" Hu Tao's attention was immediately drawn to it.

“These two are the Emperor’s disciples and Prince Qiongji’s sons, Akalion and Ying, and their travel companion, Paimon.” Zhongli’s introduction was concise and precise. “They are also the Dukes of Brightcrown in Mondstadt. I think, for the Hall of Rebirth, they are also... high-quality clients with unlimited potential.”

"Princes and Dukes—high-value clients?!"

Hu Tao's eyes lit up instantly, her plum-blossom pupils seeming to flash with countless Mora symbols. In an instant, she forgot all about Zhong Li's enormous bills; her business instincts had completely taken over her mind.

She strode up to the three men, a beaming business smile plastered on her face, and recited a well-rehearsed advertising slogan: "Greetings, distinguished guests! I am Hu Tao, the 77th head of the Wangsheng Hall! As the saying goes, 'May you rest in peace, our service is impeccable! Though we are separated by death, do not be afraid! Wangsheng Hall provides a one-stop service for all your funeral needs, guaranteeing your complete satisfaction!'"

"Would the three of you be interested in booking a special value package in advance for your funeral arrangements?"

She first glanced at Zhongli, who was sitting upright, and scolded her in a tone of disappointment: "Zhongli, Zhongli, such a big order is right in front of you, why don't you know how to help promote it? Don't you want to lose this month's sales?"

Then, she turned her expectant gaze to Akalion and the other two.

"No, no, no!" Paimon was the first to react. She was so frightened that she hid behind Akalion, only peeking out her little head, and frantically shook her delicate white hands. "My Teyvat culinary journey has only just begun! I've only eaten two-thirds of it in Mondstadt, and I've only just started in Liyue, not to mention Inazuma's three-colored dumplings, Sumeru's rainforest rice bowl, and Fontaine's... I haven't lived enough yet! I don't want to think about any funerals!"

“Thank you for your kindness, Master Hu.” Ying thought of death and instinctively tightened her grip on Akalion’s hand. “However, I will meet him at the end, no matter what kind of funeral it will be.”

"funeral?"

Upon hearing this, Akalion's grey-white dragon eyes revealed a trace of nostalgia for the last moments of the past, the wild fantasies of 'Blue Heir' before his transmigration.

"If there truly is a day when 'I' will meet my end, I will put my remains into a rocket and launch it directly into space. Then, at the moment the rocket's propellant runs out, it will explode as fireworks in space, scattering everything about me into the universe. With the entire universe as my grave, I will begin an unknown journey that may end in the next moment or never end."

At the tea stall, a silence fell as everyone listened to Akalion's words.

After a while.

"Wow--!"

A dazzling light, unlike anything seen before, burst forth from Hu Tao's plum blossom-shaped eyes.

“Although I don’t quite understand those conceptual terms, but—” she excitedly pulled out a small notebook and charcoal pencil from somewhere and began scribbling at an almost frantic pace, muttering to herself, “—this idea is fantastic! So creative! Combining a funeral with the exploration of the unknown is simply genius!”

She abruptly raised her head, looking at Akalion with the eyes of someone looking at a funeral 'rising star,' and extended a warm invitation: "Your Grace! Your Highness! Please join our Hall of Rebirth and become our special guest! Our Hall of Rebirth is missing someone with your genius ideas about funerals! We can jointly develop this project and name it the top-tier luxury package 'Starry Journey,' which will definitely lead a new trend in funerals throughout Liyue!"

Volume 1 Snowfield Dragon Lord: 106. Rebirth Hall - Walnut (Part 1)

Looking at Walnut's sparkling plum-blossom eyes, which seemed to say, "Our Hall of Rebirth is missing someone as talented as you," Akalion decisively shook his head.

"Thank you Hall Master Hu for your kindness."

“We didn’t mean that!” Ying followed suit, her attitude firm.

“That’s right, exactly!” Paimon crossed her arms, puffed out her almost non-existent small breasts, and flew confidently in front of Walnut. “We’re Grand Dukes, after all! Once the city is built, we’ll have more Mora than we can spend every day! We don’t need to work so hard running around doing business every day!”

"Sigh!" Upon hearing this, Hu Tao let out a sigh that sounded mature. She swiftly reached out and gently pinched Paimon's face, which was caught off guard. The skin felt bouncy and smooth, like a fine slime.

“Little Paimon, you’ve got it wrong—ta-da! Just look at our Guest Elder Zhongli, the treatment at the Hall of Rebirth is extremely, extremely good!”

She dodged the little hand of Paimon, who was puffing up from being pinched on the cheek and trying to retaliate, and lightly jumped to Zhongli's side, saying in a tone like a peacock spreading its tail feathers: "As long as you can give a legitimate reason, whether it's appreciating antiques or experiencing life, all expenses will be reimbursed by the hall."

She deliberately drew out the last syllable of her sentence, while waving the long bill in her hand. Meanwhile, Zhong Li, at the center of the incident, continued to sip his tea silently, as if all the outside turmoil was irrelevant to him.

"As far as I know, Mingguan City is still under construction. At present, the only profitable project is probably the customs duties from that canal." Hu Tao's gaze returned to Akalion, her plum blossom eyes darting around. "I wonder if Duke Akalion has enough money?"

"I am very rich."

As Akalion spoke, he casually pulled out a handful of shimmering gems from the [Cave of Heaven] in his sleeve. These were precious crystals from his world, containing primal magical energy. He hadn't been digging for nothing by carrying a large basket to mine every day during that time.

Even without considering Ansersheen's countless years of collecting, Akalion has already amassed a vast fortune that would tempt an ordinary dragon to rob him.

He doesn't lack Mora at all.

The construction of Mingguan City was sponsored by the Knights of Mondstadt and Leigenfender, without him having to spend a single penny.

As for daily expenses—currently, Paimon's ever-increasing food costs are probably the biggest expense for their group.

Ying, wielding the wondrous sword called "Echo of Eldra," had no need to worry about weapon wear and tear.

In the real world, weapons will eventually wear out in battle, and the more advanced the creation, the more limited the strength that can be restored after repair.

She neither knows the 0-ring trick of Repair nor the overpowered spell [Repair] from the ancient kingdom of Ula'sil in the Dark Souls world—no need to worry about broken weapons, just turn back time to before the weapon broke!

It has a kind of beauty to use a cannon to kill a mosquito.

"...But even mountains of gold and silver will eventually run out." Hu Tao stared longingly at Akalion's face. After a long while, she reluctantly looked away, rolled up Zhongli's bill, and said slowly in an almost pleading tone, "Really, really, really don't you want to consider joining our Hall of Rebirth?"

“Master, there’s no need to be impatient. This matter requires careful consideration.” Zhongli, who had been silent all along, finally put down his teacup. “Besides, Akalion and Ying have their own important matters to attend to.”

"I see!" Upon hearing this, Hu Tao immediately dropped her businessman's demeanor. She sat down in the empty seat next to Akalion, unceremoniously picked up a piece of pastry, stuffed it into her mouth, and complained indistinctly, "I'm starving. I've been running around doing business for a very long time today. It's a pity that no one is willing to talk about their past as frankly as Akalion."

She swallowed the food in her mouth, a look of confusion on her face.

"This is clearly a very important matter, so why is no one willing to give it a proper consideration?"

"Because, who would willingly abandon this beautiful world to face the unknown death?" Ying looked at the tea leaves floating in her cup and said softly, "But Master Hu, the funeral industry in Liyue is entirely controlled by the Hall of Rebirth, so why do you still do this—"

"Hey!"

Upon hearing this, Hu Tao's eyes suddenly widened as she looked at Zhong Li, who had already picked up his teacup again and was pretending not to see anything.

"It's all because of our Grand Guest Elder Zhongli! In just one week, he spent nearly... 100 million Mora!"

"Nearly...nearly 100 million?!"

Upon hearing this astronomical figure, Paimon's mouth gaped open in an "O" shape, and the pastries in her hand fell back onto the plate with a 'thud'. How long...how long would this last her? Decades? Or centuries???

"But...but those bills don't show this much, do they?"

“This bill is so long,” Hu Tao said irritably, unrolling the scroll that could drag on the ground and swinging it in the air. “How could I possibly read it all in one go!”

She glared angrily at Zhong Li, while he continued to savor the fragrant tea in his cup with focused attention.

“But for the only funeral parlor in Liyue, the Hall of Rebirth, this amount of money shouldn’t be much, right?” Paimon looked at Hu Tao with some incomprehension.

According to rumors, Wang Sheng Tang's profit last year was at least 30 billion mora.

“You can’t say that! Although it’s a monopoly, nothing is more important than life and death. You can’t be careless about this…” Hu Tao looked at Paimon and suddenly adopted the earnest tone of an elder, “Little Paimon, as the saying goes, you don’t know the cost of firewood and rice until you’re in charge of the household. Have you ever had a proper job?”

"...I...I..." Paimon shrank back guiltily, but after seeing the encouraging look in Ying's eyes, she immediately regained her confidence. "I'm Ying's best guide now!"

"Ha~" A meaningful, subtle smile appeared on Hu Tao's face. She stopped arguing with Paimon and turned her gaze to Akalion and Ying, extending a final olive branch. "As long as you two are willing to join the Hall of Rebirth, you can receive a fixed salary of ten million Mora every month, even if you do nothing."

"Master," Zhongli, who had remained aloof until now, finally spoke again. He put down his teacup, his calm, unwavering eyes looking at Hu Tao, "Why are you so insistent on inviting Akalion to join the Hall of Rebirth?"

“Because…” Hu Tao deliberately drew out her words, her plum-blossom eyes gleaming with shrewdness, “This is the first time I’ve seen such a great figure possess such extraordinary, genius-like insights into the business of ‘funerals.’ Clad in a rocket, venturing into space… Ah, what a solemn, grand, and romantic final journey it is!”

She really, really, really didn't want to let go of this important person who had such ingenious ideas about 'funerals'.

While there was also the consideration of opening up sales channels in the Mondstadt market...

Volume 1 Snowfield Dragon Lord: Chapter 107. Rebirth Hall - Walnut (Part 2)

"—"

Upon hearing Hu Tao's quirky words, Zhong Li's hand holding the teacup suddenly paused. He slowly raised his eyebrows to look at Akalion, not through a telepathic link, but in a more ancient way, conveying his thoughts through his eyes.

"Young friend, what are your thoughts?"

Just by looking into his eyes, even without a mental link, Akalion could instantly understand Zhongli's deeper meaning—rejection.

“I’m very busy,” Akalion sighed, glancing towards the northeast of Liyue. “Just those remnants of demon gods in Qiongji Wilderness—”

"Eh!"

Before he finished speaking, Hu Tao's eyes suddenly flashed with an astonishing light, like flares that had been lit.

"Dealing with the remnants of demon gods? Does that mean... we're going to hold a grand funeral for those fallen demon gods?!" Her voice trembled slightly with excitement. Wow, the rumors were actually true? Because of the remnants of demon gods, at least two-thirds of the land in Liyue is uninhabitable for humans, not to mention... "My Lord Geo! How could our Hall of Rebirth be left out of such a momentous undertaking?"

She almost instantly moved closer to Akalion, her enthusiasm a hundred times more genuine than when she was promoting the package.

"Take me with you! Take me and Zhongli Keqing with you! I promise you, we won't cause you the slightest trouble! I'll even pay! Wangsheng Hall can sponsor all expenses for this operation!"

In order to witness this historic funeral, she softened her attitude to the point of almost pleading.

“Uh—” Akalion hesitated for a moment. In a sense, his act of devouring the remnant spirit of the demon god could indeed be considered a kind of funeral—isn't that what a sky burial is all about?

"However, my methods are incomprehensible to outsiders, and it is inconvenient to disclose them."

"It's alright! I can make a contract with the Rock King Emperor, and I will never reveal this to anyone—"

"Ahem—" Zhongli's two light coughs interrupted Hu Tao's confident words at just the right moment. "Master, the name of the contract cannot be spoken lightly."

Most importantly, this God of Contracts is sitting right here right now, and if he were to speak out, it would have unimaginable power.

“Even if you swear an oath to the Rock King Emperor, it won’t work.” Akalion glanced at Zhongli and went along with it, saying, “This is an agreement between my master and me.”

"..."

Hu Tao was speechless, her cheeks puffed up like a bun. It has to be said, she looked quite cute with her puffed-up cheeks.

"Moreover, the lingering resentment of the demon god can corrupt the bodies of the living." Akalion's gaze sharpened as he carefully examined Walnut.

Don't misunderstand, he is already circulating his immortal power at this moment, not that he is having a sudden surge of lust.

"That deathly aura, mixed with the resentment of countless dead souls, has been lingering in your body for quite some time."

"Don't move! Let me help you with some things."

Before Hu Tao could react, he gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

A warm yet slightly savage aura instantly surged into Hu Tao's body. The death energy that had seeped into her body from years of presiding over funerals—a mixture of human fear of death and the lingering resentment of demons—was instantly extinguished by this power, like snow under the scorching sun—no, it didn't melt away, but rather seemed to be forcibly pulled up from the ground by an irresistible gravitational force!

Noticing the slight discomfort that had inadvertently shown on Walnut's face, Akalion slowed down his movements and made a request to Luminous.

"Ying, come along too."

"it is good."

Ying naturally wouldn't refuse Akalion's request. She immediately got up, went to the other side of Kurumi, and placed her hand on Kurumi's hand as well.

Unlike Akalion's warm yet violent feeling.

The feeling Ying gave Hu Tao—before she could even register it, it was all over.