Hu Tao story quest redone

The Mysterious Wangsheng Parlor

(please note most of the changes I will be making come in later)

"Why are we here again Traveler? Paimon has a bad feeling about this place.." You two had just arrived at Wuwang Hill, known very well for being haunted. Most people prefer to stay far far away from that place, even if it weren't haunted it gives everyone the creeps. However, it was the quickest way to get over to Qingce village where you were planning the rest up and ask around about your missing sibling.

 "Awe c'mon Paimon, are you afraid?" you said teasingly. "wh- no! Paimons just... concerned for your safety is all!" she blurted out quickly "It's just that this is how lots of scary stories go! You're in an empty place in the middle of nowhere, there's barely any light, and then just when you least expect it, a stranger comes out of-" As Paimon was explaining a stranger appeared out of nowhere, she immediately flew behind you in terror. "Waaaaah! Traveler, do something!" you roll your eyes "I thought you said you weren't scared?" Paimon sinks more behind you as you say this "Paimons intuition says that anyone we run into here is going to be far from normal! If he gets us he's gonna eat Paimon for sure!" 

The guy that had been silent all this time finally spoke up "Wh-who are you?" he said with terror in his voice. "I'm a traveler," you say calmly. "T-Traveler? Are you from one of the other nations? No, I've never seen your kind of attire before..." He thought for a moment then went wide-eyed "Could it be that you t-traveled from... the other side?!" Gee this guy sure does scare easy huh. You're about to explain otherwise when he continues 

"I'm just here for a funeral! I don't mean to offend. No matter who you are, there's no need for ill will between us!" after saying this he quickly runs off. "Phew, seems he's just you're average scardey cat. He looks more afraid than Paimon." "It seems I scared him, didn't I?" you sigh. Paimon pats your shoulder having come out of her hiding spot "Yep yep! Maybe leave the introductions to Paimon." 

He hasn't gone very far, so you two slowly approach him again in hopes of a better conversation than the last. He notices this and tenses up again "-Aaaah! Gods protect me!" Paimon quickly tries to calm him down "No, no, no! Stop freaking out, and stand still! Relax!" "Relax?! okay whatever you say! just don't come any closer! I mean no harm!" and with that, he runs off again, this time out of sight. "Was it something Paimon said...? Either way, we should go after him, he might do something stupid!"

As you approach you notice him talking panicked to a girl, she was around your height with two dark brown pigtails fading into crimson poking out of her hat that was decorated with a wooden talisman. She wore an outfit that vaguely resembled a formal uniform, the whole thing decorated with red silk flowers. As well as a small pyro vision embedded in the back of her coat. 

"Director! Director! There's a ghost after me!" you heard him shout to her "Oh?" she questioned looking over to you with intrigue. "ha, don't get too excited. These are clients, not ghosts" Paimon was quick to agree with this "Exactly! We said we're not ghosts, why won't you calm down and let us explain?" "Aiya, forgive me, this is one of our new undertakers, Meng. It's his first time working a funeral, so of course, he's afraid of his own shadow," she explained.

Paimon thought "Funeral... Funeral... Oh! The Wangsheng funeral parlor- Zhongli is a Consultant there. They deal with this stuff a lot, right?" She looked a tad relieved hearing that  "Oh, you know Zhongli? Well! That saves me a lot of explaining. I'm Hu Tao, the current director of the Wangsheng funeral parlor. Responsible for... well, trifling matters having to do with mortality." That explains so very much. "A satisfying trade to be in, though, and Wangsheng funeral parlor is well known around town. Whatever the request, id be glad to hear it." she smiled warmly. 

"Ha thanks, but I don't think we fall into the client category." you joke. "Yeah, Paimon thinks this is hardly the place we would come to looking for your services" Paimon chimes in. Hu Tao gets a devilish look in her eye "Ah but you see, I wasn't referring to clients in the business sense. Everyone who enters this mortal realm will be a client of mine." She leans in and quieter than before says "Sooner or later..."

"Well that's dark" Paimon mutters. "I wouldn't say so, I mean she is right" you countered. Hu Tao's scarlet eyes light up as she continues "Wangsheng funeral parlor welcomes advance reservations! When you choose us, you'll never have to worry about what might be around the corner." She seems to really love her job, it's quite endearing. "But be sure to book the right date! Pro tip: it's a living nightmare to get flowers on short notice. Speaking of dates, if you're struggling to decide, please do come and talk it over. I'd hate to see you still alive and kicking when you're big day comes." 

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, slow down!" Paimon begged, "That's- You- There's a lot to unpack here..." "How often do you get people who know when they're going to die?" you giggle. Meng, whos been very quiet began to apologize "You'll have to excuse her. The director is a rather unique individual. We just came here to perform a funeral in hopes of releasing the spirits haunting this place." "Yep, everything went very smoothly!" Hu Tao chirped. 

"But why are you two here? People being here isn't exactly normal and I doubt you have business here." "Paimon doesn't think your understanding of normal is very normal" "Paimon that's rude." you quickly scolded. "We're here on an adventure." "Ah! you must be from the adventurers guild. That means you're one of our distinguished clients! "wood" to be precise" "Wood? what do you mean?" Paimon questioned.

"That's just how we gauge our client's importance. We have four levels: wicker, bamboo, wood, and marble. The higher the grade, the better we'd like to get to know you!" She says with a smile. "But I've only just heard of this!" Meng blurted. "Well, that's because I only just thought of it. Take a look, our adventurers spend the whole day scaling mountains, clearing domains, and smiting enemies. Danger and peril is their bread and butter!" she began to explain "Clients like these deserve better treatment. Taking an interest in their daily lives will ultimately benefit not only them but also me..."

"That actually makes a lot of sense, especially considering how easy it is for adventurers to die if they aren't careful," you replied. "Exactly! I figure this is the perfect way to put more thought into the funerals we prepare." Hu Tao exclaimed. She seemed very excited you understood and thought her idea was good. People probably look at her approach as wrong a lot, death was such a taboo topic for no reason.