“How does your family’s bankruptcy have anything to do with me?”
Gu Sanqiu looked utterly baffled.
“You still have the nerve to ask?!”
Hu Tao huffed, cheeks puffed in indignation. “Did you or did you not give Zhongli something unusual? Answer me!”
“Uh…” Gu Sanqiu nodded slowly, a sense of foreboding creeping in.
“Within just a few days, my dear Consultant Zhongli has purchased an insane amount of ores, design blueprints, and he’s even discussing buying all the parts needed for a small factory from Fontaine!”
“If it weren’t for the rest of the Funeral Parlor staff putting their foot down, I might not even recognize the place when I got back!”
“How much did he buy?”
Gu Sanqiu was taken aback. He’d assumed Zhongli had gone on a spree testing out his new weapon, and that the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor had been fined heavily for environmental damage. But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Ores, blueprints, factory parts, and who knew what else he might have acquired from the Northland Bank.
Was Zhongli planning to develop a sniper rifle?
Morax—the venerable Geo Archon, the most ancient and combative of the Seven—transforming into a research and development fanatic?
The Gunlord Morax?
“It’s not that much… just the projected annual budget of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor… and nothing more!”
Hu Tao ground her teeth. “And the latter half of the year’s expenses are huge! We have the Lantern Rite to plan for, bonuses to hand out to staff, gifts to buy for the orphanage kids, red envelopes for the New Year, and on and on!”
“Unlike your Gu family, we at Wangsheng earn every coin through hard work. After racking my brain, the only solution was to come to you for help.”
“Whoa, whoa, it’s your Consultant’s fault. Why are you making it sound like I’ve wronged the Funeral Parlor?”
Gu Sanqiu finally understood. So much for her wanting him to be the first to see her new dress. This girl was here to collect a debt.
Oh, and maybe steal his money too.
“Isn’t it?!”
Hu Tao’s expression was fierce, as if she was contemplating biting a few chunks out of him.
“Fine, fine.”
Gu Sanqiu patted her head with a sigh. “Here’s the deal. You find a few people to go get the money. Meanwhile, where’s Zhongli? I need to have a word with him.”
“Zhongli?” Hu Tao tilted her head, confused. “Since when were you two so chummy… Wait!”
She crossed her arms protectively over her chest, glaring suspiciously. “I told you that guy might be really old, and yet you’re calling him brother?!”
“You’ve been plotting to use him to get seniority over me all this time! How could you, Sanqiu, you cunning fox!”
A vein throbbed on Gu Sanqiu’s forehead. He grabbed her cheeks and pulled them apart with both hands.
“Cut the nonsense! Or do you not want the money?!”
“Mmm! Mmmph!”
Hu Tao struggled, but the gap in their physical strength was significant. In the end, all she could do was blink her eyes pleadingly, attempting a desperate, puppy-eyed appeal.
Puppy-eye strategy: Activate.
“Where’s your Consultant now? I need to find him.”
“He’s probably in the woods outside Dihua Marsh, testing his new toy,” she muttered, still pouting. “Honestly, you two are grown men, yet you’re so obsessed over a little toy. And spending all that money? It’s outrageous!”
“Well, from that perspective, I can’t exactly argue with you.”
After all, he was the one who had given the gadget to Zhongli. Hu Tao’s frustration was understandable.
“Fine, go grab the money yourself. I’ll go have a chat with him.”
Gu Sanqiu gave her head a light pat. “Be careful, okay? Don’t get targeted by any unsavory characters while fetching the cash.”
“Tsk, stop treating me like a kid.”
Outside of Dihua Marsh, Zhongli held a newly crafted firearm in his hands, examining the feel and feedback from the recorded data.
“Hmm. The parts are all perfectly aligned, the specifications are impeccable, and I even consulted the master at Hanfeng Ironworks for the fine details like dust-proofing and lubrication. Yet, it still doesn’t match this sniper rifle’s quality.”
He laid the two rifles side by side, studying them closely. “If it’s due to some supernatural influence, the difference shouldn’t be this significant once those factors are eliminated.”
“Perhaps… a test shot?”
Just as Zhongli lifted the rifle, Gu Sanqiu appeared right in his line of fire.
“Zhongli, your Hall Master came to my place, complaining about—”
“Hold on! Don’t shoot, I’m just the messenger!”
Gu Sanqiu quickly raised his hands in surrender. “Zhongli, calm down. I’m not here to interrogate you, so how about putting that thing down, alright?”
“Gu Sanqiu?” Zhongli lowered the gun, looking slightly puzzled. “What brings you here?”
“And that gesture you just made—what was that all about?”
“Oh, that? Your Hall Master said she’s nearly bankrupt, so she came to me for money.”
“As for the gesture, it’s a signal that I’m unarmed and non-threatening. It increases survival chances when faced with someone wielding a gun… though it’s useless if you’re up against a psychotic killer.”
Gu Sanqiu shrugged. “Besides, I heard you’ve been tinkering with that thing lately. I wanted to check how your progress was going.”
“Hmm, ‘tinkering’ might be too strong a word. It’s merely an attempt to realize a few ideas I’ve had.”
Zhongli handed over the rifle he’d been crafting.
“Since you’re well-read, perhaps you can offer some insights.”
“Let me see…”
Truth be told, Gu Sanqiu’s understanding of firearms was limited to childhood toy guns. The items from his mysterious ability always came fully assembled, without manuals or guides.
But since Hu Tao had already stormed over, and his goal was to stop Zhongli from spending more of the Funeral Parlor’s funds, he had no choice but to feign expertise.
“Hmm, about the bullets—how exactly did you make these?”
He removed the magazine, examining the glossy, assembly-line-perfect bullets. Considering the supernatural nature of Teyvat, it was no surprise that such precise work could be achieved through rudimentary tools or sheer craftsmanship.
“Ah, I constructed a mechanism to aim the weapon at myself, allowing me to determine the optimal lethality for such firearms.”
Zhongli continued, “You’re aware that after the events at Jueyun Karst, my abilities have significantly improved thanks to the insights shared by… that individual. Preventing the weapon from backfiring is well within my power.”
Sure, sure. Next time, don’t go into such unnecessary detail—it’s too easy to misinterpret.
Gu Sanqiu almost wanted to roll his eyes and pull a face, but considering Zhongli’s strength, he decided against it.
Imagine dealing with a being who can dream of himself, possess himself, and possesses a combat prowess that rivals the gods—all while pretending not to know the full “truth.” It was suffocating, to say the least.
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