"Sniff, sniff, sniff—"
In the morning, Gu Sanqiu glanced at Hu Tao, whose small nose was twitching slightly beside him.
"What are you doing?"
"Hmph, Sanqiu, come clean. What bad things were you up to last night?"
Hu Tao's face took on the expression of a detective possessed. "I smell a woman's fragrance."
"...You know perfectly well what happened at my place last night. Do you think I had the time or energy for anything like that?"
Gu Sanqiu remained unfazed. Seriously, if someone like Mona, with her economic situation, could afford perfume, he'd write his name backward!
As for natural body fragrance, strictly speaking, isn't that just sweat?
Straight-Man Remarks™.
"Who knows? Things were pretty chaotic yesterday. Who's to say you didn't sneak off to unwind somewhere?"
"Please delete whatever romantic drama scenes you've been reading from your brain. Why does every guy look like a reincarnated casanova in your eyes?"
Gu Sanqiu tapped Hu Tao's forehead. "Speaking of which, after yesterday, have you felt anything special? Maybe your body feels lighter or something?"
"Hmph, no. Yesterday I had a toothache, thanks to you making me eat that weird stuff."
o(´^｀)o
"You must be a nightmare for doctors—who'd want to treat a patient who isn't even honest about their symptoms?"
Gu Sanqiu retorted smoothly. "Isn't being straightforward a good thing?"
"No, it's not."
o(´^｀)o
The Hallmaster of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor used the skill [Continuous Pout].
"Mr. Gu, here you are."
A man dressed in predominantly dark green ran over, stopping in front of Gu Sanqiu, hands on his knees as he caught his breath.
"Hey, someone from the Adventurers' Guild? What do you need from me?"
Gu Sanqiu raised an eyebrow. "Could it be that task I requested ages ago has finally been completed?"
"Y-yes, it has."
The young man pulled out a scroll and handed it to Gu Sanqiu. "Your commission has been fulfilled. Please remember to transfer the remaining payment to the Adventurers' Guild account."
"Take this note to the Liyue Bank. It's stamped with my personal seal; they'll know what to do."
Gu Sanqiu smiled. "Also, don't even think about forging anything—the seal has a time limit."
"Understood, I'll take care of it right away."
Hu Tao shaded her eyes with her hand, watching as the guild worker dashed off to the bank before turning curiously to her companion.
"Sanqiu, when did you commission the Adventurers' Guild? Why didn't I know?"
"Of course you didn't know—I almost forgot about it myself."
It was a commission left behind by the previous Gu Sanqiu, practically an ancient request, one that could've been filed under "case closed."
"You nearly forgot, yet they're suddenly scrambling to complete it now?"
"Want to guess how many people I killed yesterday?" Gu Sanqiu chuckled. "You see, this commission took so long because I put it in as a top-level request, meaning it should've been handled by their best adventurers as quickly as possible."
"But I figure someone was already keeping an eye on me by then. To put it bluntly, someone must've bribed people at the guild to deliberately delay my task."
"Do you have anything worth them targeting?"
Gu Sanqiu shot Hu Tao a disdainful look. "Use your brain. A Fengxiang practitioner submitting a top-tier commission—don't you think that's going to pique their curiosity? They'd want to know what's so valuable inside."
"Secrets. Or, more precisely, secrets they could meddle in. That's what makes it so attractive to them."
"So you think the commission was completed long ago, but the higher-ups at the guild and some folks in Liyue conspired to search through the information first?"
"Exactly. It wasn't until I took no further action that they got bold enough to test my limits. If those fools hadn't died so strangely yesterday, I doubt this thing would've made it into my hands."
"Sanqiu, aren't you worried they might give you something fake?"
"I provided the initial information, and their shady actions were done behind the scenes. If they try to cheat me with the results, then the Adventurers' Guild higher-ups clearly don't want to keep their jobs."
After grabbing a quick breakfast at Wanmin Restaurant, Gu Sanqiu led Hu Tao into the Gu family estate, his expression growing serious.
"Wow, there's a smell of blood and some missing souls. You really do have a lot of secrets, huh?"
"As if you don't have things you're hiding from me."
"I need to step out for a while. Can you keep an eye on the house for me? Don't worry about tonight—you can assign a few people to watch. I'm just worried some folks might get desperate."
"Is that all? Piece of cake. Leave it to me."
"Oh, and one more thing."
Gu Sanqiu patted the large Azure Dragon Tile beside him. "I recently acquired this interesting item. I was going to keep it for myself, but—"
"You said that Consultant Zhongli from Wangsheng knows everything, right? Could you help me ask him to take a look?"
"Zhongli's been busy lately. He might not have time for such a small matter."
Hu Tao gave a smug grin. "Why don't you beg me a little? Maybe then I'll be kind enough to put in a good word for you."
"I'll pay you—300,000 Mora."
Gu Sanqiu used the skill [Money Talks].
"Deal!"
ヽ(￣ω￣(￣ω￣〃)ゝ
Hu Tao slung her arm around Gu Sanqiu's shoulder, quickly snatching the silver note from his hand.
"We're such close friends—no need to be so petty about it. Just ask, and I'll help you out, heh."
"So… more money, huh?"
Gu Sanqiu smirked. "Anyway, I'll leave this to you. I trust your work."
"Of course, leave it all to me! Don't underestimate the capabilities of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's Hallmaster!"
ヾ(ﾟ∀ﾟゞ)
"You're not exactly inspiring confidence with that attitude…"
"Has he left?"
In Yujing Terrace, a young woman reviewing documents looked up after hearing the report. She took a sip of strong tea, letting the bitter taste clear her head.
"From what happened yesterday, it's clear our Fengxiang practitioner isn't some fool. So why has he decided to head out on his own?"
"Those people may have returned the item to you, but you're well aware of their true intentions."
"Getting merchants to abandon such enormous profits—profits far beyond what they expected—do you really think that's possible?"
"Leaving now is practically handing those people an opportunity to make a move."
As she combed her hair, the woman pondered aloud, "But now that he has a Vision, those people shouldn't be any match for a Fengxiang heir."
"Dismissed. Keep a close watch on the people in Liyue Harbor, especially those making moves outside and those connected to Northland Bank. Make a list of all of them."
Her eyes flickered with violet lightning. "Liyue Harbor is a place of rules. If some people have forgotten that, we'll teach them in due time!"
"Yes, Lady Keqing."
---
If there are any mistakes let me know!
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