Of course, the hiding place isn't always the coffin. Sometimes Walnut will sneak over the wall and run out to check on her pet 'Stone Lion'.
As if it were intentional, her grandfather would always find the walnuts again in the evening, no matter where they were hidden.
The picture shows the backs of the two people. Under the twilight, Hu Tao's grandfather bends down slightly and holds little Hu Tao's hand, creating a heartwarming scene.
No one knows whether he was bending over because he was too old or to accommodate Hu Tao's height.
It's like a grandfather calling his child home for dinner; he always takes Little Walnut's hand and takes her home.
Time flies, and little Hu Tao seems to have grown up a bit. Although her face still looks childish, her baby fat has disappeared quite a bit. At this time, she is thirteen years old.
On this day, Little Walnut was reading a book. Feeling bored, she threw the book aside and decided to skip school.
She hid in the coffin to sleep again this time. Don't worry, Grandpa will wake me up at night.
But when Hu Tao opened her eyes, there was no familiar person beside her, and no one asked her 'what do you want to eat?'
Hu Tao panicked. She hurriedly stood up from the coffin and ran to her grandfather's room.
Grandpa was lying in bed. When he saw Hu Tao coming over, he gently waved to her, as if he had used all his strength.
How could this be? Hu Tao quickly grabbed that large hand, which was originally warm but was now somewhat cold.
The hand that had been holding hers was now being held by her.
Tears streamed down the girl's face. The mischievous Hu Tao couldn't stop crying. How could this be?
Hu Tao's grandfather fell ill suddenly; no one expected him to fall ill so suddenly.
In these final moments, Grandpa smiled gently and carefully placed the headmaster's hat on Walnut's head, the brim covering her eyes.
Although her eyes were blocked, Hu Tao could still vaguely see her grandfather's expression—a smile.
Grandpa's hand fell completely to his side, and Hu Tao gripped her hat tightly. The hat was so big that it almost completely hid her face.
Unfortunately, she couldn't hide her tears; they gathered on her delicate chin and dripped to the ground.
How could this be? Hu Tao gripped the brim of her hat tightly with both hands.
Grandpa said this is a hat for vanquishing demons and warding off evil.
This hat symbolizes the identity of the head of the hall, and this is the head of the hall's duty! This is the duty of the Hall of Rebirth!
The lineage of the Hall of Rebirth will never end, because I am the 77th generation head of the Hall of Rebirth—Hu Tao!
The young head of the hall will hold her first funeral, for her grandfather—the seventy-fifth head of the hall.
In the illustration, Hu Tao rarely takes off her hat and places it on her chest, closing her eyes in deep thought. She is no longer as playful as before; she is biting her lip and trying to hold back her tears.
In the corner of the picture, there seems to be a familiar hem of clothing. Everyone is familiar with it; we have seen it in the story of the layered rocks. It is Zhongli!
At the time, the people at the funeral parlor were worried about whether Hu Tao could handle the funeral arrangements, since she was a very lively person and not like a serious one.
But no one expected that the girl would be so meticulous and serious at the funeral, making people forget that she was only thirteen years old.
After the funeral, from then on, no one asked if my porridge was warm, and no one stood with me at dusk.
The hunched figure in the twilight was gone. Lin Qiu used the 'shattered mirror' technique, and the scene 'shattered,' turning the warm image into a knife flying back.
In real life, Hu Tao finally couldn't hold back her emotions and shed tears, which Lin Qiu snapped away.
While comforting Hu Tao, Funina 'chased' Lin Qiu away.
In the story, Hu Tao is not yet able to take death lightly; she cannot accept her grandfather's passing.
With food and water, she walked for two days and two nights to reach the 'border,' searching for her grandfather's trace among countless wandering souls.
In the chaotic 'crowd', only Hu Tao had a clear goal. She was the only entity in this 'transparent world' and an outcast.
Her grandfather had told her that this was the 'border' between the living and the dead, and that if there were any unfulfilled wishes, they would remain here after death and be able to see each other one last time.
In the illustration, Walnut is wearing a big hat and looking up at the coming and going souls. Why is there nothing there?
I found myself exhausted and collapsed on the ground. When I woke up, it was night. I opened my eyes and saw several ghosts around me, but the person who asked me "what do you want to eat?" was still not there.
The ghost laughed loudly: "Silly girl, how could Old Hu possibly be here? Don't waste your time."
Hu Tao wouldn't listen; she stubbornly stayed there, searching for the familiar figure.
For several days in a row, Grandpa did not appear until Hu Tao ran out of food. Instead, an old lady appeared and tried to persuade Hu Tao.
"Your grandfather isn't here because he had no last wishes. You should know that this is precisely because he left this world peacefully. Go back, silly child."
Hu Tao's eyes widened. The big hat could block out her vision and also hide her tears. Would she never see him again?
Doesn't Grandpa want to see me one more time? Isn't he worried about the ancestral hall?
After a long silence, Hu Tao smiled and said, "Grandpa, I never knew you trusted me so much..."
He won't be here. Go back.
Yes, let's go. If we meet, we won't want to leave.
When Hu Tao returned to Liyue Harbor, she climbed over the wall in the backyard and entered her room. She checked her package and found something inside.
But haven't we already finished eating all the food?
In the illustration, Walnut slowly opens the package, inside which lies an Eye of God, lying there quietly.
Hu Tao held the Eye of God in her hands, and tears inexplicably streamed down her face, dripping onto the Eye of God.
After that, Hu Tao, who had no playmates, lived alone. Fortunately, she was good at playing cards by herself and chatting with the stone lions, so she was not 'lonely'.
Hu Tao always had a smile on her face, but it was hard to tell how much of it was genuine.
----------
Character Voice - Kurumi: Her Story
"My little Qiuqiu, you've really written a great story."
Chapter 401 The Walnut Story Ends
Hu Tao altered the hat her grandfather had given her, making it the perfect size, and then added a carefully dried plum blossom to it.
In the painting, Hu Tao, wearing the official hat of the Hall of Rebirth, squats in front of the stone lion, chatting with the stone lion with a bright smile, and even 'combing' the stone lion's fur.
She reverted to her mischievous self, and the good news is that someone is playing hide-and-seek with her again; Xiangling and the others have become her friends.
The next painting returns to the border, where Hu Tao's expression is unusually serious as she chats with the traveler about the history of the Hall of Rebirth.
The page next to it is a memory, in which her grandfather is telling her about the history of the ancestral hall. In the picture, Little Walnut is leaning against the back of the chair, deliberately rocking the chair, as if she is somewhat absent-minded.
At that time, little Hu Tao didn't understand why her grandfather would sometimes tell this story, and why he did so seriously when he did.
Now, she tells this story to travelers with a serious expression.
[The traveler exclaimed in surprise: "I didn't know you could tell such serious stories."]
[Hu Tao laughed, "Hahaha, this is what the old master loves to ramble on about the most. I think I explain it better than all of them."]
The story ends here, with two paintings at the end, one of which is Walnut's smiling face.
Another image appears to be Zhongli's back view, with a walnut-shaped Qiankun Tai Gua hat in his hand.
At first, seeing Hu Tao's smile made everyone happy, but now seeing that smile again brings a touch of heartache.
The same applies to the Emperor; this too will be a period of wear and tear in the future.
Hu Tao slammed the book shut and looked at Lin Qiu with a big smile.
Seeing how I, the head of this hall, cried, you still dared to take pictures! Little Qiuqiu, it seems the performance of the Rebirth Hall is going to increase by 1.
Beside her, Funina was crying. She had wanted to comfort Hu Tao, but Hu Tao calmed down before she could.
At first, when people read Hu Tao's story, they thought she was just a quirky little girl, but later this comic strip depicted Hu Tao's experiences.
Beneath her quirky and mischievous nature lay such a strong heart; she was only thirteen years old at the time!
It's worth noting that she was only thirteen years old when she took over the funeral parlor, and the first funeral she held was for her grandfather.
If one's inner strength is not strong, how could one withstand such a blow?
Navia, who usually enjoys bickering with Hu Tao, was stunned. This experience and personality are so similar to her own!
Navia was not much different. She was also quite young when she took over the Rose Society. The first thing she did after taking over was to hold her father's funeral and clear his name.
Ayaka Kamisato was also suffering, as she and her brother lost their loved ones at a young age and had to shoulder heavy responsibilities.
I was wondering why I was invited even though I wasn't a character in the story. Now I know it's because I could also get hurt.
Is this kind of experience a prerequisite for becoming Boss Lin Qiu?
Linghua looked at Lin Qiu with a wistful gaze, her appearance pitiful to behold.
Fortunately, Lin Qiu didn't show any signs of remorse. He kept his head down and pretended to be a camel, which made the bosses around him break down. What else could he do but pretend to be a camel?
Navia, who has a similar experience to Kurumi, can empathize with Kurumi, and so can others who do not have a similar experience.
Moreover, the timing of this story is also very clever, as everyone had just finished reading about the story of Fushe and his companions.
It was a farewell, a lament about life and death.
Coincidentally, the story of Hu Tao is like a 'deconstruction of life and death', and the two stories appearing together add a new flavor.
Having just experienced the sorrow of life and death, Hu Tao's story tells us to face life and death without regrets.
Xiao and Lao Meng both had five people, but the difference was that only one of Yaksha survived, while only one of them died.
What they have in common is that they are all chasing after the person they parted from, and only after finding them can they find peace.
The five Yakshas once gathered together to talk about their dreams for the future.
But now, only Xiao, who has no dreams, still exists in the world.
Such a contrast is even more heartbreaking.
In Mondstadt, Diluc closed his book. This 'bartender' rarely wanted a drink, and he thought of his childhood.
Like Kurumi, Diluc was very lively as a child. However, unlike Kurumi, who remained cheerful after the death of her loved ones.
Diluc... is also 'cheerful', he wants to create a bright and cheerful world, 'cheerful'.
Well, anyway, the story of Walnut reminded Diluc of many things, and he became emotionally depressed.
Kaeya noticed this too and handed the cup to Diluc: "This time, it's your treat."
Diluc took the glass, a tiny smile playing on his lips, and said, "Don't even think about it, your glass is 1800."
Amber rubbed the pages of the book between her fingers, murmuring, "Grandpa..."
Where is my grandfather? You must still be here, right?
The story of Walnut and Layered Rock: one is about a small love, the other about a great love; one speaks of living without regrets, the other of dying without regrets.
Both stories explore the themes of friendship and family, making them truly complementary.
People were initially saddened by the story of the layered rock, but after reading about Hu Tao's story and understanding her "deconstruction of life and death," they felt less saddened.
No, it's not that I'm not as sad anymore, but rather that it has turned into a lingering, drawn-out sadness, without the dramatic high notes, yet more enduring than high notes.
This feeling is like being stabbed, and then the assailant gave you emergency treatment; the wound will probably hurt for a long time.
What's even more absurd is that the two stories complement each other but do not overlap.
This is a story of the 'small family' and the 'greater good,' two intersecting storylines that are both heart-wrenching and doubly sorrowful.
Readers responded to Lin Qiu's behavior of constantly building up her vulnerability, saying, "Go ahead and keep it up! Give us another story of 'life and death'!"
Lin Qiu is really capable of continuing; his next book is titled "Akizumori Night Test of Courage".
Lin Qiu ran away under the pretext of writing stories, unable to bear the gazes of the bosses any longer.
The others also took the opportunity of this gathering to discuss the test of courage.
Everyone agreed to hold a test of courage event, just for fun, and everyone was very enthusiastic about it.
Hu Tao and Gui Zhong, in particular, were incredibly enthusiastic, wishing they could start right now.
However, there are quite a few participants, and we may need to invite more people later, so we need to discuss the arrangements for the time and place carefully.
Moreover, the "test of courage" event is more interesting because it's not so much about believing you can actually encounter ghosts, but rather about having people play the role of ghosts. So, they are also dividing people into groups.
However, none of these are the main points, because the main point is the "Test of Courage" written by Lin Qiu.
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