Hu Tao Is Monetizing My Existence. [68]

Having Qiqi sleep in the same tent as Hu Tao was obviously out of the question. Qiqi would rather stay as far away from her as possible—there was no way she'd willingly share a tent.

As for Jiang Bai sharing a tent with Qiqi? Even more impossible.

He might joke around all the time, but this wasn't a situation to mess around with.

A grown man sleeping in the same tent as a little girl? That would look so wrong, no matter how you spun it.

"Of course I have more tents." Hu Tao pulled out two additional ones.

Things like this were essential for traveling—naturally, she had plenty prepared.

The three tents were set up tightly inside Jiang Bai's makeshift stone shelter. After laying down moisture-proof mats, Hu Tao took out three sleeping bags, placing one in each tent.

Now they didn't have to worry about the rain making the tents damp.

Yawning, Hu Tao crawled into her tent, leaving only her head poking out.

"Once we're all inside, go ahead and take down the stone walls. No need to waste your energy."

Hu Tao still cared about her subordinates, after all.

"Got it." Jiang Bai nodded—he had been thinking the same thing.

After a long day, he had zero energy left to make himself a coffin. With a quick "good night," he disappeared into his tent.

Qiqi was the last to enter hers.

Technically, she didn't need to sleep. But out of habit—a remnant of her human self—she still went to bed at regular times.

A softly glowing mineral was placed in the center of the tents, providing a dim but warm light.

Sitting inside her tent, Qiqi flipped through her notebook for a while before starting her stretching exercises.

She did them every day. Keeping her body flexible helped her walk more naturally, like a regular person.

She wasn't sure how long she had been stretching, but by the time she stopped, the stone roof had vanished. Outside, the pitter-patter of raindrops fell onto the tents.

Qiqi listened to the rain for a while before crawling into her sleeping bag.

The rain was loud, but tonight… would bring good dreams.

Jiang Bai slept like a rock.

He had expected the rain to keep him awake, but after an exhausting day, he had passed out the moment he lay down.

For the first time in a while, he woke up to morning sunlight instead of being startled awake.

Crawling out of his tent, he saw that the rain had long since stopped. The air carried the crisp freshness of a forest washed clean by the storm.

A thin layer of mist lingered, and as the morning light filtered through, it created a breathtaking Tyndall effect.

Taking in the serene scene, Jiang Bai stretched with a contented sigh.

…If only the campfire hadn't been soaked. The rain had drenched everything—the firewood inside hadn't burned completely, but now it was useless.

He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a small bundle of roasted bird eggs.

He had planned to eat them last night but had fallen asleep and forgotten. Luckily, they weren't crushed. A little cold now, but still good for breakfast.

Hearing movement outside, Qiqi emerged from her tent.

"…Is it morning already?"

"Good morning, Qiqi!"

"…Good morning."

Her voice was as slow and steady as ever.

The two—one grown man, one small zombie—walked to the lake to freshen up. With no better options, they could only rinse their mouths with water and chew mint leaves.

Standing by the lake with their cups of water, both of them puffed out their cheeks and gargled before spitting it out—repeating the process a few times until their mouths felt clean enough.

Afterward, Qiqi crouched by the water's edge, carefully wiping her face with a damp cloth.

Even as a zombie, she still had to keep herself clean and tidy.

The morning lake water wasn't too cold. Jiang Bai scooped up a handful and splashed his face, instantly feeling refreshed.

By the time they were done washing up, Hu Tao still hadn't woken up.

She eventually stirred much later, rubbing her eyes groggily. Her hair was a complete mess, draping over her back in tangled waves.

Since they were camping outdoors, everyone had slept in their clothes—at least that saved time getting dressed.

A tiny yawn echoed from Hu Tao's body as a small ghost drifted out, its sleepy eyes barely open. It floated aimlessly, about to drift right out of the tent.

Hu Tao casually reached out and grabbed its tiny tadpole-like tail, making its round little head bounce back like a rubber ball.

After straightening her clothes, she finally stepped out of the tent.

The sunlight outside was already a bit blinding. Jiang Bai and Qiqi were sitting nearby, waiting for her.

The moment she emerged, Jiang Bai whistled.

"Director Hu, you're finally up! If you slept any longer, I'd have starved to death!"

Hu Tao pulled out a pile of food.

"Here—eat up. We're heading out again after breakfast."

Grinning, Jiang Bai held out his handful of bird eggs.

"Director Hu, could you heat these up for me?"

After last night's rain, everything was still too damp to start a fire.

"I can't control the temperature well. If they turn into ashes, don't blame me." Hu Tao twirled a small flame between her fingers.

"…Uh, never mind." Jiang Bai immediately pulled his hand back. These eggs were perfectly fine—no need to risk them getting incinerated.

After forcing down two cold bird eggs, he quickly switched to the food Hu Tao had brought out.

Thanks to her storage ring, the food inside remained fresh—a near-sterile environment that kept things from spoiling.

The Dragonheir's Heart they had harvested from the Geovishap Hatchling was still in her ring and hadn't gone bad.

"Director Hu, today we're climbing those peaks." Jiang Bai pointed at a cluster of towering stone mountains.

The vegetation up there looked dense—meaning a higher chance of finding Kongtong Lingsoul Jade.

"Got it!"

Finishing their breakfast quickly, the group geared up, determined to find the elusive jade today.

But as the sun climbed to its peak, then began its descent, they still found nothing.

By the time they dragged themselves back to camp, both Jiang Bai and Hu Tao looked completely drained—Jiang Bai was too tired to even joke around.

The only one who seemed unaffected was Qiqi.

At that moment, Jiang Bai actually envied her undead body. No fatigue, no exhaustion—like a walking machine.

…A capitalist's dream worker.

Too tired to even start a fire, they settled for dry rations, eating quickly before collapsing into their tents.

The mountain forest at night was cold, especially in Huaguang Forest, but Qiqi didn't mind at all.

She was a zombie—cold meant nothing to her.

Sitting on a dead tree stump, she flipped through her notebook, occasionally glancing up at the moon.

Tonight, the moon was exceptionally bright, even illuminating the tiny birds perched in the trees.

She no longer remembered how long she had been away from Liyue Harbor. But by now, Baizhu was probably searching everywhere for her.

Turning her gaze to the two small tents, she could hear the faint sounds of steady breathing inside.

She could have gone back to Liyue Harbor on her own—she had always done so before meeting them.

Whether it was monsters or ill-intentioned people, she could easily deal with them.

But… she appreciated their kindness. So she stayed.

Even so… she had forgotten why she was following them.

All she knew was that wherever they were going, it would make Hu Tao finally give up on sending her to the afterlife.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the drawing of Kongtong Lingsoul Jade and stood up.

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T/N: ermm i forgot what i was go OHH CAPITALIST RIGHT!!! yhehehe capitalist

check out my first fanfic! Is It Wrong To Stay Composed In A Dungeon!

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– Syr ✨