Jiang Bai believed that he'd eventually achieve everything he just claimed—saying it now was simply to boost client confidence.
Those nearby glanced at his clothes, then at the Vision hanging from his waist. They didn't entirely believe him—but they did believe a little.
After all, those who wielded a Vision were not the same as ordinary people.
Things that were difficult or impossible for regular folks were often effortless for those blessed by the gods.
Hu Tao had wandered over at some point, now listening in on Jiang Bai's bravado with amusement.
Right on cue, she chimed in to back him up. "That's right! We've been preparing this service for decades! Just developing the artifacts for detecting life and locating individuals cost Wangsheng Funeral Parlor hundreds of millions of Mora! The personnel chosen to execute the job were handpicked with utmost care—guaranteed success!"
Jiang Bai cast her a sidelong glance.
He'd thought he was already pushing it—but now he realized he'd been conservative.
The whole concept had only gone from idea to implementation in under a month, but in Hu Tao's version, it had been decades in the making.
The two magical artifacts cost, at most, seventy million Mora combined. In her version? Over a hundred million.
And as for "handpicked personnel"…
Well. Jiang Bai was the one she'd handpicked.
Noticing that the scar-faced adventurer was still mulling things over, Jiang Bai pulled out his ultimate move.
"Since the service has just launched, we're offering a special discount to our very first client—only 800,000 Mora. One-time offer, only one available!"
"All right. I'm in." The scar-faced adventurer agreed without hesitation.
His name was Kartis. He'd been an adventurer for over thirty years. In the early days, he devoted himself to treasure hunting. Later, while searching for relics in Dragonspine, he fell into a hidden cavern.
The mountain's frigid winds howled above. With an injured leg, barely any food, and no fire to keep warm, he was as good as dead.
Wounded and half-frozen, he scoured the cavern for anything of use—and came across a journal.
Its writer had long since died. The entries recorded years of exploration across the snowy peaks, noting various discoveries and, most notably, fragments of ancient history.
Kartis wasn't a historian, but the few details of Dragonspine's past written in that journal seemed to hold a strange, compelling magic.
Divine punishment from the heavens… A kingdom buried beneath snow…
The more mysterious it was, the more it beckoned him.
The man who left the journal had clearly tried to dig an escape route from the cave. But as his food ran out and the cold gnawed away at him, he collapsed—mere steps from freedom.
The final page of the journal read:
"...My rations are gone. The cold is crawling into my bones. I can't feel my hands or feet anymore..."
"I don't know how much farther I need to dig… I can't go on…"
"I'm leaning against the wall, peering through a narrow crack at the sky… It's all mist and haze. No snow. No stars…"
"To whoever comes after me—if you escape this place, follow the path I carved. Let history emerge from the ice and snow. Let this frozen land feel sunlight again…"
Kartis had read the entire journal in silence. Then, looking up through that same crack, he saw the same dim, gray sky—no snow, no stars.
Carefully, he tucked the journal away and buried the man's remains.
Using the tools left behind, he followed the carved path and dug further. Hours later, he escaped the cavern.
Looking back at that narrow tunnel, his heart twisted.
Just a few more meters. That unknown man had been so close to making it out.
But if it weren't for that path the man forged with his life, Kartis never would've had the chance to escape.
The man had used his death to pave the way for someone else's survival. Kartis, in turn, had taken on his final wish.
In the years since, Kartis had explored every corner of Dragonspine—from the ruins where the shadow of a fallen dragon lingered, to the perilous Starglow Cavern and the underground rivers below.
He was preparing to climb to the very summit of the mountain—untouched by any traveler—to complete the last piece of the puzzle.
But the mountaintop was treacherous, a place where even one in ten might not return. He'd hesitated, putting the journey off.
Now, with Wangsheng's new service, he could go without fear.
With one customer secured, Jiang Bai was ready to wrap up.
Everyone had heard their pitch. Those interested would come to Wangsheng on their own. No point in pestering those who clearly weren't buying.
"Director, shall we head out?"
"Just a sec!"
Under Jiang Bai's puzzled gaze, Hu Tao returned to the reception desk and set her stack of flyers on the counter in front of Katheryne.
Katheryne raised a slightly confused brow.
"I want to issue a commission, Katheryne!" Hu Tao declared.
"A… commission?" Katheryne looked a bit lost.
Everyone knew she was just a receptionist—she never left the Guild. It was practically unheard of for someone to issue a commission to her.
Hu Tao pointed at the stack of flyers. "I'm commissioning you to hand one of these to every adventurer who walks through that door!"
Obviously, standing here all day passing out flyers herself wasn't feasible. She was the head of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor—she didn't have the time or the inclination.
And instead of hiring someone new, why not outsource the job to someone who was already here?
Katheryne's internal processor stuttered for a moment.
This Hu Tao… really would go to any length for promotion, huh?
"Is that not allowed?" Hu Tao asked when Katheryne didn't respond.
Katheryne fell silent.
Technically, this commission didn't violate any Guild protocols. Meaning… it could be accepted.
But accepting this once might open the floodgates for similar requests down the line.
Still, her system ran a protocol check—and since no rules were broken, she accepted the commission.
"I have another request."
"Please go ahead."
"I'd like to post a copy of the flyer at the Guild's entrance—and leave it there for, say, two or three years." Hu Tao grinned.
If she put it up herself, it would probably be torn down by the next morning. But if Katheryne put it up… that was a different story.
Katheryne: "..."
Please, let the branch master be in a good mood when he sees this…
Jiang Bai gave a quiet thumbs-up.
The director truly was the boss. That business mind—peerless in all of Teyvat!
After paying a hefty commission fee, the job was officially registered.
"If anyone's interested, bring your flyer to Wangsheng! We're only accepting 90 clients—first come, first served!"
Jiang Bai waved a flyer overhead and shouted the announcement, stoking everyone's sense of urgency and scarcity.
Then, he and Hu Tao returned to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, ready to receive their clients.
Now, all they had to do was wait for the customers to come to them.
---
...
Huh. You really stuck it out all the way to the end.
Didn't think you had the patience. Guess I was wrong.
WiseTL's the one who actually made all this come together. I'm just here putting a bow on it… or, well, shoving it in a backpack and calling it a day. Same thing.
If you had fun, you know what to do:
👉 [patreon.com/WiseTL]
Heads up—Patreon's 50% off for all tiers during May. So if you were on the fence? Now's the time.
And if you're the social type, there's a Discord too. Pretty decent spot to hang out—no battles required.
👉 [discord.gg/wisetl]
Alright. That's enough standing around. Go on—before you make it weird.
—Leaf