Hu Tao Is Monetizing My Existence. [168]

“No one can exist forever—not even the gods.”

Leaving behind this weighty remark, Morax’s figure vanished from Liyue Harbor.

After the Geo Archon departed, the meeting room fell into silence.

Keqing stared blankly, lost in thought over his parting words. The rest of the Qixing wore varying expressions.

What exactly had the Geo Archon meant by that?

They all understood that gods, too, were not eternal. After all, the Great Lord Rukkhadevata of Sumeru had disappeared five hundred years ago.

Liyue had endured for 3,700 years, but Morax had been born even earlier than Liyue itself. After living for so long, it wasn’t unthinkable that he might one day pass.

Was he telling them to prepare for that day?

But… could Liyue really survive without its Archon?

—

Unaware of what had just taken place in Yuehai Pavilion, Jiang Bai and Hu Tao exited a restaurant, stomachs content and spirits high.

To the people of Liyue Harbor, a full belly for the whole family was far more important than the lofty Rite of Descension.

As they strolled to Feiyun Commerce Guild to walk off their meal, they passed by several people chatting animatedly along the way.

Jiang Bai pricked up his ears. To his surprise, they weren’t talking about the Rite at all—they were discussing a distant nation across the sea: Inazuma.

His curiosity piqued, he slowed his pace and leaned in.

“Can you believe this mess?” a merchant-looking man was complaining bitterly.

“What happened, Old Sun?” someone beside him asked.

“Half a year ago, I accepted a big order from a client in Inazuma. They paid the deposit upfront. It took me months to prep the goods, and last month I finally shipped them out. After weeks at sea, we arrived at Ritou—only to be stopped at the port!”

“Stopped? Why?”

“They said the Raiden Shogun issued a Sakoku Decree—Inazuma’s closed its borders! No foreigners allowed in or out! I spent half a year preparing, more than two weeks shipping the goods across the ocean—only to be told I had to turn back!”

He clutched his chest in frustration, as if the memory physically hurt.

“I poured so much money into that batch—was just waiting to deliver it and collect final payment. Then suddenly they tell me I can’t enter the country?! I was this close to passing out from rage!”

He wheezed as the crowd murmured sympathetically. Someone patted him on the back, helping him steady his breath.

“I spent over two weeks drifting on the sea,” he went on, “and didn’t even make it to the dock before they kicked me out. The official from the Kanjo Commission even warned me that soon the Shogun would be placing storm barriers around the Inazuman coast. If I didn’t turn back then, I might never be able to.”

It took at least half a month to sail from Liyue to Inazuma—that was assuming fair weather and smooth sailing. If the seas turned rough, the journey time could easily double.

And that wasn’t even counting the value of the cargo—just the shipping costs alone were astronomical.

Now, thanks to some sudden decree from halfway across the world, he was staring bankruptcy in the face.

He patted his chest, breathing deeply, trying not to faint from sheer frustration.

“Yikes…”

Everyone around him looked stunned, unsure what to say.

It was just one of those catastrophes you couldn’t see coming.

“Wasn’t everything in Inazuma normal before? Why shut down the whole country all of a sudden?”

“Who knows?”

“Oh no, my brother-in-law’s still over there! I need to go tell my wife!” one man shouted before taking off in a panic.

“As for me, guess I’ll have to take out a loan from the Northland Bank and ride this out… somehow.” The merchant rubbed his temples, clearly on the verge of despair.

He looked like he’d aged a decade just from this ordeal.

Jiang Bai nudged Hu Tao, who had also slowed to listen in.

“Director, didn’t one of our clients head to Inazuma?”

“Sure did. Take out the soul compass—let’s check.”

Jiang Bai pulled out the small pointer device. All the names on it were steady and intact.

Seeing that everything was still normal, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Judging from the merchant’s story, the Sakoku Decree had been issued at least half a month ago—and by now, that lightning barrier was probably in place.

Which meant… if something did happen to that client, there was no way they could even reach Inazuma to fulfill the contract.

As for what to do down the line—they’d just have to wait and see.

After all, who could’ve predicted that Inazuma would suddenly seal itself off from the world?

The two nations were already far apart. By the time the news reached Liyue, the decree was already in full effect.

If we’d known sooner, we would’ve told that adventurer not to go… But now, even if he wanted to return, he probably couldn’t.

“There’s another one who went to the desert, right?” Jiang Bai asked.

“Yep.”

So far, their “Fallen Leaves Return to Roots” project only had three clients—one went to Dragonspine, one to Inazuma, and one to the desert.

Cartis’s ashes had already been scattered into the lake. The other two were still alive and well.

“Let’s hope they stay that way.” Jiang Bai clasped his hands together and offered a little prayer.

The business was a bit like selling life insurance. For the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, it was in their best interest that their clients stayed alive for as long as possible.

The longer the delay, the better.

Ideally, they’d never need the service at all.

But of course, if the client one day died peacefully in bed, they could always convert the service into a traditional funeral package.

“By the way, Director, you still owe me commission from this last job!”

Jiang Bai rubbed his hands eagerly. At 30% commission, that came out to 260,000 Mora.

In an instant, he’d go from near poverty to a man of wealth.

“Here. Count it yourself.” Hu Tao handed him a pouch she’d already prepared.

“Thank you, Director! Long live the Director!” Jiang Bai cheered, grinning from ear to ear as he started counting the coins one by one.

“…259,999… 260,000… 260,001… 300,000?!”

Eyes wide, he stared at the full total.

“Director, wasn’t it supposed to be 260,000? Why is there 300,000?”

“You did well on your first job. The extra’s a bonus,” Hu Tao said with a wave of her hand, as though 40,000 Mora meant nothing.

Jiang Bai’s eyes sparkled like gold. He very nearly kissed her on the spot.

Instead, he suddenly scooped her up and tossed her into the air before she could react.

Suspended midair, Hu Tao’s face was a perfect picture of confusion.

Who am I? Where am I? What just happened? Why am I flying?!

The next moment, she dropped into a pair of strong arms.

Jiang Bai, drunk on joy from his sudden windfall, had lost all sense of reason. By the time his brain caught up, Hu Tao had already been lying in his arms for several seconds.

—

T/N: KIOSSSSSSSSSSS

This is a fan translation of 胡桃拿我冲业绩 by 余溯. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!