That night, the rain had stopped, but the croaking of frogs in the pond had also lessened. Though still noisy, it was no longer as irritating as before.
Anemo Slimes, despite being monsters, could be quite docile after some training. As long as you didn't poke them with sharp objects, they usually wouldn't cause any trouble.
So, with Baizhu's permission, Qiqi picked up one of the split Anemo Slimes as a new toy.
Qiqi wasn't asleep, or rather, as an adeptus and a zombie, she no longer needed sleep. She had already slept for a very, very long time, and closing her eyes now would only bring nightmares.
"Mm?"
The Anemo Slime's wings fluttered gently as it floated quietly beside Qiqi, its eyes wide like 0.0, watching her fiddle with something.
"Qiqi's nails are sharp, so this way I won't hurt you."
Qiqi's face was expressionless as she stiffly raised her hands, her fingers wrapped in bandages she had gotten from Baizhu.
During the day, she had realized just how sharp her nails were. Poking her own eyes had hurt—a lot.
So she couldn't poke the Anemo Slime.
"Whoosh~"
The Anemo Slime seemed to understand her words, happily flipping around her, its eyes curving into crescent moons like ∧_∧.
The little finch cried itself to sleep in the corner.
"Ah... soft gymnastics."
Qiqi's little brain wasn't very sharp. By the time she realized her limbs were starting to stiffen, she remembered that she hadn't done her soft gymnastics today.
This was one of the few things she rarely forgot. Probably.
Soft gymnastics was the secret to keeping Qiqi's body as flexible as an ordinary person's. But if she ever slacked off, she might stiffen up again.
With a thud, she jumped off the bed and made her way to the main hall of Bubu Pharmacy, intending to do her soft gymnastics outside.
But then she saw a sneaky figure.
Bai Luo.
At that moment, he was trying to put a medicine pot back in its place. The pot had clearly been used to cook something, but it had been scrubbed clean, leaving no trace of what it had been.
Noticing Qiqi watching him, Bai Luo let out a burp and made a shushing gesture.
"Mm..."
Qiqi bit her finger, watching him for a while before deciding not to pay him too much attention. After all, Mr. Baizhu had said that as long as he didn't steal any herbs, he could do whatever he wanted with the stuff here.
He had money.
Qiqi didn't know what money was, but she knew it could buy a lot of coconut milk.
Hmm, that seemed pretty good.
Ah... soft gymnastics.
Feeling the stiffness in her movements, Qiqi finally remembered that she was supposed to be doing her soft gymnastics.
So she stopped paying attention to Bai Luo and went out under the eaves alone, starting her stiff soft gymnastics.
But she didn't know that above Bubu Pharmacy, a pair of eyes was already watching her, seemingly planning something.
"One, two... Qiqi."
"Two, two... Qiqi."
"Three, two..."
Halfway through her soft gymnastics, a figure suddenly dropped down from above Bubu Pharmacy, her eyes filled with plum blossom patterns and a certain enthusiasm.
"Qiqi! I'm here to..."
Before she could finish her sentence, two fingers rapidly enlarged in her vision. A pair of bandaged fingers stabbed straight into her eyes.
"Ow—my eyes! My eyes!"
Looking at the girl on the ground, clutching her eyes and kicking her legs, Qiqi glanced at her fingers again.
Hmm, effective.
Qiqi had a good sense of restraint. The discomfort in Hu Tao's eyes would probably disappear in about a week. But before that, Hu Tao felt there was one more thing she needed to do.
A sack was thrown over Qiqi, and before she could struggle, Hu Tao hoisted her onto her shoulder and ran out of Bubu Pharmacy under the cover of night.
To prevent Qiqi from suffocating, Hu Tao made sure to leave her little head sticking out of the sack. However, she didn't realize just how pointless her actions were.
Because zombies couldn't suffocate.
After leaving Bubu Pharmacy, Hu Tao didn't stop. She pulled out a shovel from the sewer next to the Third-Round Knockout and headed out of Liyue Harbor.
"Little Qiqi, the land of eternal bliss is where you belong. Hu Tao here has already calculated it for you. If I bury you at the right time, you'll be reborn into a wealthy family. Maybe you'll even become a young lady!"
The whole reincarnation thing was something Hu Tao didn't really believe in herself. She just said it to keep Qiqi from struggling too much, so she could quietly cremate her and then bury her.
She had already prepared the grave, but unfortunately, the recent rain had filled the little pit with water. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had to carry the shovel out tonight.
But digging a hole tonight should be easier since the rain had softened the soil. The only downside was that her clothes might get dirty.
"Hmm?"
With the lifeless Qiqi on her back, Hu Tao glanced behind her, feeling a bit strange.
Was it her imagination, or did it feel like someone was following her? But she knew the area well and was aware of all the hiding spots. She was certain there was no one behind her.
Huh? How did she know where to hide? Because she hid there herself all the time.
Besides, it had just rained. If someone had walked by, there would have been footprints, right? But she didn't see any traces.
"Strange..."
Scratching her head, Hu Tao dismissed it as her imagination and continued carrying Qiqi forward.
It couldn't be a ghost, could it? If it were, they'd be in big trouble. Everyone knew Hu Tao was in the business of dealing with ghosts.
When she reached the pre-selected spot, Hu Tao started digging a hole—not to bury Qiqi, but to prepare a pit for firewood.
Qiqi was immortal. If Hu Tao simply buried her alive, Qiqi would probably crawl out the moment Hu Tao turned her back.
So, cremation was the only—and most effective—option.
After all, that little wooden box was her eternal home.
After digging for a while, Hu Tao fetched the firewood she had prepared earlier. Thankfully, she had the foresight to cover it with something.
Otherwise, using wet firewood would result in smoke rather than flames.
"Huh?"
When Hu Tao returned with the firewood, she noticed something was off.
The hole was still there, the shovel was still there, the firewood was still there, and Qiqi was... huh? Where's Qiqi?! Where's my big Qiqi?!
Dropping the firewood and shovel, Hu Tao immediately started searching for Qiqi. But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find her.
"Strange, how could such a big Qiqi just... where's my shovel?"
On that rainy night, the girl stared at a pile of firewood and a hole, questioning her life choices.