Hu Tao Is Monetizing My Existence.

"He really is impressive." No matter if Aether had help from the gods or not, the way he drove off Stormterror was the real deal.

"After that, I just helped the Knights take care of some things, had dinner, and then came over."

"So, are you heading back there tomorrow?"

"I'll be heading back in a bit—things aren't settled yet!"

"Still not over? I wish I could go join in the fun too!"

Hu Tao was itching with curiosity—having to just listen to all this and not being able to see it for herself was agony.

But even if she set out now, by the time she got to Mondstadt, days would have passed. By then, the excitement would be long over.

"Whatever, I'm going to go ask Granny Ping if I can borrow her mechanical crane! Maybe she'll even custom-make one for me!"

True to her word, Hu Tao spun on her heel and hurried off toward Yujing Terrace.

Granny Ping was in her usual spot, though there was only a tea table, with a teapot set on top—it was obvious she was resting inside her own adeptus abode.

"Granny Ping! Granny Ping!" Hu Tao shouted at the teapot, instantly rousing Granny Ping from her rest.

"Hu Tao, what is it?" Granny Ping materialized beside her, adjusting the glasses on her nose.

"Granny Ping, I want to borrow your mechanical crane for a bit."

Hu Tao looked at her hopefully—whether or not she could make it to Mondstadt all depended on Granny Ping!

"The mechanical crane? That was on loan from Cloud Retainer. She came by not long ago, so I returned it to her." Granny Ping's tone was unhurried, but the news left Hu Tao crushed.

"Ah…" Hu Tao's face immediately fell.

All that excitement, and she couldn't even get there to watch. It was almost unbearable.

Seeing how crestfallen Hu Tao looked, Jiang Bai wanted to smack himself. If he'd known this would happen, he wouldn't have told her things weren't over yet.

She looked so defeated, he actually felt guilty.

"Granny Ping, could you make a device like that?" Hu Tao wasn't about to give up hope just yet.

Granny Ping shook her head, but offered a suggestion, "That's not my specialty. Maybe you could ask Cloud Retainer."

The last time she'd helped make a Sifang Jingyi, it was only possible because she'd had the Sifang Zhenpo as the main material and only needed to tweak it a bit. But as for crafting a traveling device, she'd never done anything like that.

"Thank you, Granny Ping! Sorry to bother you!" Hu Tao shot off as quickly as she'd arrived.

Jiang Bai quickly called after her, chasing her down. "We've got something urgent, Granny Ping. We'll visit again next time!"

Watching the two of them dash off, Granny Ping could only shake her head with a smile.

"Such energetic young people."

"Director, wait up! Don't run so fast!" Hu Tao was gone in a flash, and Jiang Bai had to struggle to keep up.

When Hu Tao finally stopped, Jiang Bai leaned over, hands on his knees, panting hard.

"Director, you're not seriously thinking of heading up to Mt. Aocang to find Cloud Retainer now, are you? Remember how long it took us to get through Jueyun Karst last time? Even if you go now, you'll never make it in time."

"You're right…"

In an instant, all the energy left Hu Tao—she wilted like a salted fish whose dreams had just died.

Shoulders slumped, she trudged back toward Wangsheng Funeral Parlor like the living dead.

"Director, don't be like this! Pull yourself together!"

Seeing the gloomy aura almost physically radiating from her, Jiang Bai shook Hu Tao's shoulders, trying to snap her out of it.

But Hu Tao just hung limply, her eyes dull and lifeless—no matter how much Jiang Bai shook her, there was no reaction.

Jiang Bai looked over at some children curiously watching them from the side of the road. Desperate, he tried, "Director, you're going to scare the kids like this!"

But the children weren't frightened at all. They stopped in their tracks, pointing and whispering to their friends.

Jiang Bai quickly changed tactics, "Even if you don't scare the kids, what if you frighten the cats and dogs?"

A cat grooming itself by the roadside shot him a strange look.

With Hu Tao still deep in her emo spiral, Jiang Bai gritted his teeth, scooped her up under his arm like a body pillow, and made a beeline for Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

As he ran, he yelled,

"Mr. Zhongli! The Director's acting weird!"

"What?"

Zhongli, who hadn't gone to sleep yet, heard him and stepped out into the courtyard, just in time to see Jiang Bai dashing past, carrying Hu Tao in a very peculiar way.

Hu Tao, held under his arm, looked absolutely thunderous—a storm brewing on her face.

Zhongli quietly retreated, closing the courtyard door behind him.

A second later, Hu Tao's furious roar echoed from outside.

"JIANG BAI!"

Sweat breaking out on his forehead, Jiang Bai quickly set his "body pillow" down.

"Hey, Director, you're fine! All good, right? Get some rest, Director, I'll just head out now!"

Before Hu Tao could regain her footing, Jiang Bai was gone in a flash.

Hu Tao fumed, "If you've got guts, don't come back tomorrow!"

She was furious!

Getting carried under someone's arm like a pillow, just because she was short? The nerve!

But the culprit was already long gone—there was no way to catch him now.

Once she'd finished venting her rage, Zhongli leisurely opened the courtyard door.

"Director, what happened?"

Still fuming, Hu Tao stormed into his courtyard and poured herself an entire pot of tea.

"That jerk! How dare he treat me like that!"

Zhongli narrowed his eyes, a hint of danger flickering in them. "What did he do?"

"He—he carried me under his arm!" Hu Tao was both embarrassed and angry.

Zhongli: "…"

He didn't get it. He really didn't—kids these days were too much for him.

"Rationally speaking, that was quite an inappropriate thing to do," Zhongli offered, doing his best to sound comforting.

"I think I heard him say something about the Director acting strange?"

He looked Hu Tao over, but couldn't spot anything wrong.

That just made Hu Tao angrier.

"It's all his fault! He told me Stormterror—the Anemo Archon's companion—was rampaging through Mondstadt, and now I want to see but there's no way I can make it in time!"

For a professional busybody, the worst pain was knowing there was drama and not being able to watch it live.

"Stormterror is running wild in Mondstadt?" Zhongli frowned.

What on earth was happening in Mondstadt?

Had his old friend not awakened yet?

"He said so. Apparently, he arrived right as everything was happening, and some outsider managed to drive Stormterror off."

"An outsider?"

"That's what he said. Didn't say where they were from."

...

As he reached the teleport waypoint, Jiang Bai wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

Director Hu Tao was terrifying—thank goodness he ran fast.

But he'd have to come back tomorrow anyway. He hadn't even checked on his Sweet Flowers yet!

When he returned to Mondstadt, it was already late.

The lights at Klee's house were still on. Klee, dressed in her pajamas, was dozing on the sofa, obviously waiting for him.

Seeing her little head nodding off, Jiang Bai poked her cheek. "Why aren't you in bed yet?"

Feeling his touch, Klee woke up instantly.

"Big Brother Jiang Bai, you're back! I was waiting for you!"

"Waiting for me?"

"Big Brother Albedo said that when Klee's home alone, she has to lock the door. So I was waiting for you to come back and lock up!"

With that, she hopped off the sofa and ran to the door, making sure to bolt it securely.

Jiang Bai ruffled her hair. Such a good kid.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Go get some sleep, okay?"

"Mmhm." Klee yawned and scampered off to her room.

Paimon and Aether were already asleep—after such a long, exhausting day, they'd turned in early.

Jiang Bai headed into the kitchen to wash the dishes. The sound of running water filled the quiet night.

---

That's the end of the chapters. Translator worked hard on this one… and also asked me to deliver a little message on her behalf. She said it herself: she's shameless enough to ask.

So—if you'd like to support her, you can do so at patreon.com/wisetl. It's completely optional, meant only for support, though it comes with the bonus of reading a little ahead.

And then there's the Powerstone system: every 100 Stones = 1 bonus chapter. 100ps = 1, 200ps = 2, 300ps = 3… you get the picture.

She's the shameless one for asking, but I don't think there's anything wrong with it. After all… if no one speaks up, no one gets heard.

—Hanekawa Tsubasa