"You said there's a treasure chest down here?"
After hearing Orion's explanation, the Ferrylady looked highly unconvinced.
How long had she been at the WangSheng Funeral Parlor? When she wasn't busy, besides running errands for the Director, doing bookkeeping for consultant Zhongli, all she did was stand guard at this entrance.
Setting everything else aside, she was confident that even Director Hu wasn't as familiar with the area in front of the WangSheng Funeral Parlor as she was. Standing here every day, bored out of her mind, she had even given names to all the ants on the ground.
If she were reincarnated into a world, like those light novels in Inazuma, where naming monsters allowed you to build an army, she would probably be dominating a region by now.
Now this handsome young man in front of her was claiming there was a treasure chest she didn't know about? The Ferrylady scoffed inwardly.
Then, Orion climbed onto the wall right in front of her and soon pulled out another treasure chest. (There is a treasure chest in the small depression on the mountain side to the left of the WangSheng Funeral Parlor, and the protagonist dug it out.)
Ferrylady:???
That's a treasure chest, right? Not a bird's egg?
How could someone dig out a treasure chest as if they were digging out a bird's egg?
However, she quickly recovered, stood properly, and bowed slightly toward Orion: "I am a Ferrylady at the WangSheng Funeral Parlor. My real name is Meng Po. I apologize for judging you unfairly earlier; please forgive me."
Orion smiled and waved his hand: "It's nothing, Miss Ferrylady. I also just get restless if I don't dig something up. Besides, we might be colleagues soon."
"Eh?" The Ferrylady paused: "What do you mean by colleagues? Also, my name isn't Ferrylady."
Orion pointed to himself: "I came today at Hu Tao's invitation. Of course, I was delayed by a day due to some family matters. She asked me to come be a consultant."
"A consultant?!" The Ferrylady was surprised, but then she seemed to recall something. She looked at the Mora Orion had just collected and suddenly grabbed his wrist: "You must be Mr. Orion, right? Could we perhaps arrange this: I'll talk to Director Hu later and arrange for you to go out and dig up treasure chests whenever you want during work hours, but could you please deposit some of the Mora you find into the WangSheng Funeral Parlor's accounts?"
Orion was somewhat shocked: "Is the WangSheng Funeral Parlor's business that bad? Not only are you running 'Second Headstone Half Price' promotions, but you're now relying on digging up treasure chests for profit?"
The Ferrylady shook her head upon hearing this: "That's not it. It's just that consultants who don't just spend money but can actually bring income into the WangSheng Funeral Parlor are extremely rare."
Orion:...Zhongli, what have you done to terrify people like this?
Orion pointed toward the WangSheng Funeral Parlor: "I knocked earlier, but no one opened the door, so I didn't dare go in. Now that you're here, can we go inside?"
The Ferrylady nodded: "Yes, but I need to confirm your identity one last time."
"Alright, how do I confirm it? Tell me."
"Hmm, well, please state the secret code."
Orion:?
Wh-what secret code?
Was there talk of a secret code last time?
Why don't I remember Hu Tao telling me a secret code?
But Orion looked at the Ferrylady serious expression. No way, did he really forget?
Wait, no? Huh? Yes? Hiss, yes, yes, yes, he must have forgotten.
But the current atmosphere wasn't one where he could admit he forgot. What should he do?
Maybe he should just blurt out something random?
Orion cleared his throat and said: "Laugh today, dance tomorrow, and don't you worry about the end! If the Grim Reaper comes looking for you, I'll give them such a fright that they'll end up buying tea for the both of us. Guaranteed! "
The Ferrylady did not follow up with the next line, but simply nodded: "It seems to be you. Please follow me." She then turned and walked toward the WangSheng Funeral Parlor.
Orion scratched his head: "So I said the right thing?"
The Ferrylady shook her head: "Not exactly. There was no secret code to begin with."
"Then why did you ask me?!"
The Ferrylady shrugged lightly: "Director Hu said that the person coming would be someone whose thinking was very much in tune with hers. So I thought I'd try it out, and you certainly are in tune with her."
"You were just messing with me."
"Not at all. I thought your reaction was quite cute."
"I really thank you, Miss Ferrylady."
"You're welcome. Also, my name is not Ferrylady."
Pushing the wooden door open, the Ferrylady gestured for him to enter: "Then welcome to the WangSheng Funeral Parlor, Mr. Orion."
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From the outside, the WangSheng Funeral Parlor didn't look like a large establishment, but the interior held hidden depths.
"The WangSheng Funeral Parlor doesn't have many people, but the departmental divisions are clear," the Ferrylady explained to Orion as they walked. "Since ancient times, beneath the highest position of Director, the WangSheng Funeral Parlor has been divided into the Inner Three Divisions and the Outer Three Divisions, in addition to the consultants."
The Outer Three Divisions are: the Ceremonial Division, the Purification Division, and the Coffin Division.
The Inner Three Divisions are: the Yin-Yang Division, the Spirit Writing Division, and the Internal Affairs Division.
The functions of each division are evident from their names: preparing ceremonies, purifying the bodies of the deceased, and preparing coffins fall under the Outer Three Divisions, while rituals, record-keeping, internal logistics, and communication with the Liyue General Affairs Department are the responsibilities of the Inner Three Divisions.
Of course, each division also handles other functions. For example, the Purification Division is top-notch in forensic examinations.
I won't waste any more breath on the specifics here; I'm sure you will quickly learn about them later."
Orion listened dumbfounded. Wait, was this setting in the game? Why is this place so complex?.
But listening closely, it seemed to just separate the various stages of organizing a funeral and internal logistics into several departments, with each fulfilling its own duties.
Moreover, Orion might not remember these details, but the game wasn't this complicated, was it? But thinking about it, Hu Tao, as the Director of the WangSheng Funeral Parlor, couldn't possibly have no subordinates, nor could she personally handle everything.
In the game, they probably deliberately gave Hu Tao all the screen time to deepen the player's connection with the character, or perhaps the subordinates were busy with ordinary funerals, leaving the trickier cases naturally to Hu Tao herself.
In reality, Liyue is a huge place, over a thousand square kilometers. The WangSheng Funeral Parlor even has several branch offices. Although Liyue's population density is far less than Earth's, the total number is still considerable, so naturally, the WangSheng Funeral Parlor has many more people.
If the total headcount weren't relatively small compared to its scale, the WangSheng Funeral Parlor might even count as a major power in Liyue.
Led by the Ferrylady, they turned several corners and walked through a few rooms but still didn't find Director Hu.
The Ferrylady frowned slightly: "That's strange, where is she?"
She led Orion to a room, asked him to wait a moment, and went out to look for her.
After she left, Orion sat for a while, suddenly hearing a noise coming from the corridor.
Although running around unauthorized seemed impolite, the noise was too strange. It felt like... a bit like the sound Xiangling makes when setting traps.
What the hell? Setting traps in a funeral parlor? What are you trying to catch?
Orion finally couldn't resist and followed the sound. After taking a few steps back, a tightly closed door appeared before him.
Orion placed his hand on the door, pondered for a long time, and finally gave in to his curiosity and opened it.
The moment he opened the door, a wave of cold air immediately rushed out, and Orion focused his gaze—inside, there were rows and rows of wooden coffins!
Frowning, Orion slowly stepped inside. Before he walked two steps, however, groups of rope darts shot out from all directions, firmly trapping Orion!
But Orion wasn't truly bound. He moved slightly, allowing the ropes to bundle him in a way that he could easily break free with a bit of force.
However, due to his body movements, the appearance of the ropes after binding him... somewhat highlighted his masculine physique.
Just then, a white-socked leather shoe kicked open the side door, and Hu Tao, wearing large dark sunglasses and wielding the staff of homa, rushed out.
"Hahaha! Gotcha! I've been feeling that the boundary between Yin and Yang has been a bit off lately, and I knew you guys would crawl out sooner or later... Eh? Isn't this my big brother Orion?"
Hu Tao rested the staff of homa on her shoulder, bounced a few steps over to Orion, and asked cheerfully, "Hey! I didn't even know you were here. When did you arrive?"
Before Orion could answer, the Ferrylady, who had rushed back upon hearing the noise, burst in. She then saw Orion tied up and Hu Tao, who looked like a novel's domineering CEO carrying a long spear and wearing sunglasses.
"I see. In the morgue, there would certainly be no audience. I apologize for interrupting."
The Ferrylady silently retreated and closed the door.
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