It was late at night. The scattered lanterns on the streets of Liyue provided just enough light to see the road ahead. Hu Tao carried the sack with Qiqi inside, holding a small lantern and a shovel as she made her way toward Wuwang Hill.
As she sang loudly, the sleeping residents on both sides of the street were woken by her voice.
"Damn it, that's that girl from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor again! Got another customer tonight? Off to dig another grave?"
"Annoying! I curse that parlor to go out of business!"
"Director Hu Tao, could you keep it down at this hour?"
"Go back to sleep!"
"Who's the unlucky one this time?"
The neighbors grumbled as they heard her voice. But soon, as she carried Qiqi farther away, her singing grew fainter. The people cursed a few more times and went back to sleep.
Hu Tao sang one song after another—Hilichurl Ballad, Moonbathing, Little Ghost in Charge. By the time she had nearly exhausted her repertoire, she had finally reached the edge of Wuwang Hill.
Looking at the graves scattered around, a sense of pride swelled in her heart. All these graves were her work.
Before burying Qiqi, she carried the little girl on her shoulder and walked to her grandfather's tombstone. She chatted and laughed with him for a while, then set to work.
She found a prime spot, measured it out, and planned the grave. Then she picked up her shovel and got to work.
Though Hu Tao was a girl, ever since obtaining her Vision, she had an endless supply of energy. Even digging felt easier. She half-suspected that the gods had given her the Vision just so she could dig graves faster. That had to be it.
With a few swings of the shovel, she had already shaped the outline. Beside the grave, little Qiqi, as a zombie, was extremely sensitive to the aura of death around her. She could feel more than one spirit hiding in the bushes nearby, watching them.
She wasn't afraid of spirits, but she hated death. She still had things to do. She couldn't die yet.
But as she watched Hu Tao digging in the pit, the dirt flying up and landing on her face, she could only stare blankly as Hu Tao did all this. In that moment, the friend she had trusted was gradually revealing her true nature. Qiqi began to dislike her, seeing her as a bad person.
"Bad person—"
"Let—let Qiqi go—Qiqi doesn't want to be buried."
She could only stammer out fragmented words, fighting for her chance to live. But it was no use.
According to the customs of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Qiqi was a zombie—already dead. Since she was dead, she should be buried. Only then could she find peace and happiness.
Armed with her Vision, Hu Tao was full of energy, digging far faster than she had as a child. The shovel flew as if she were a grave-digging maniac. In less than half an hour, she had precisely dug a hole just the right size for a child.
"Hehe, this Vision is really something! With it, digging graves is a breeze."
She glanced at the freshly dug hole, then turned her gaze to the sack beside it. Looking at Qiqi's blank expression, her big pitiful eyes, and the strange talisman on her forehead, Hu Tao felt a surge of pity. For a moment, she even thought about hiding Qiqi away and not burying her.
But the thought was quickly dismissed. She couldn't let her own whims delay Qiqi's peace.
Just as she was about to proceed with the burial, she realized she had forgotten something important—the coffin.
No coffin, no funeral.
Hu Tao shook her head, thought for a moment, and came up with a solution. "Qiqi is a zombie, not an ordinary person. There's no need to follow human customs. Burying her directly is better."
She didn't want her oversight to delay Qiqi's rest. So she decided to forgo the coffin and bury her straight into the ground.
She untied the sack around Qiqi and grinned. "Jump in. You're already dead—you need to follow the cycle of the elements. It'll be easier if I bury you."
At that moment, Hu Tao stood in the moonlight, shovel in hand, like a terrifying grim reaper. Fear gripped Qiqi's heart.
She didn't understand. Just moments ago, this bad person named Hu Tao had been feeding her delicious food—and now she was trying to bury her?
Qiqi's stiff body stumbled backward, then turned to run. But she was a zombie, her body more rigid than a living person's. She was slower than Hu Tao, and with Wuwang Hill being Hu Tao's home turf, she had barely taken a step before Hu Tao caught her.
Carefully, as if afraid to hurt her, Hu Tao placed Qiqi into the grave. Then she picked up the shovel and began covering her with dirt.
But when the soil fell on Qiqi, it got into her mouth and nose, causing her great discomfort. Even Hu Tao couldn't bear to watch.
So she adjusted Qiqi's position, standing her upright in the hole, like planting a radish. She buried Qiqi's body in the dirt, leaving only her head above ground. That way, no soil would get into her mouth or nose.
"Hehe, what a genius I am!"
Hu Tao worked with gusto, digging and filling the grave quickly. Before long, the hole was completely filled. Qiqi was successfully buried at Wuwang Hill.
She looked at the strange grave, then leaned down next to Qiqi, reaching out to brush her hand over the little girl's dazed face, closing her eyes.
"Rest in peace. Rest in peace. Leave this world happily and go where you belong."
Helping Qiqi find peace wasn't just for her happiness—it also maintained the balance of the world. That was the duty of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
After finishing, Hu Tao looked at Qiqi's grave again and felt something was off. She racked her brain for a while and finally realized there was no tombstone.
Ah, she had forgotten such an important detail. So she used some nearby wood to make a grave marker on the spot, writing Qiqi's name on it: "Grave of Qiqi."
Satisfied, she looked at Qiqi, whose head was all that was visible, nodded, and walked away singing and laughing.
The moment Hu Tao left, Qiqi began struggling desperately, trying to climb out of the grave.
But this was Wuwang Hill, and Qiqi had been dead for many years. Something seemed to press down on her, making it impossible to break free.
But she couldn't rest. She still had unfinished business. So she struggled with all her might.
Fortunately, after an entire night of desperate effort, she finally broke free from the grave and crawled out.
…
Meanwhile, the next morning, back at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao prepared a basket of offerings, humming a tune as she headed back to Wuwang Hill to check on the buried Qiqi.
She should have found peace by now. Right?