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Xiao has been hanging out with Hu Tao more since zhongli wanted the girl to have more non violent human interactions. So of course Xiao the ever responsible adepts takes Hu Tao to clear some monster camps and she is surprisingly good at fighting. But something was bothering Xiao. In fights or at the beginning of her run she would disappear into butterflies only to reaper a second later.
So he decided to asked her about it.
“Hu Tao?” He asked as they sat on top of Wangshu inn.
“Yes?” She responded staring at the stars, something she did often when they were up here.
“Why do you disappear when you run?” He asked.
Hu Tao’s face looked puzzled as if trying to find a reasonable lie, but then he face melted into, something of defeat.
“Because i work with the dead so closely and have been passed the barrier many times, every time i start something physical straining i kind of evaporate into the butterflies that lead lost souls to the barrier when they’re ready. So essentially because i work with the barrier so closely my body has become slightly accustomed to essentially being dead that it just, disappears like it’s crossed the barrier. It has only happened to me because i work more closely with it to ensure my clients have a peaceful afterlife with no regrets and no other director ever did, they could’ve but they didn’t”
Xiao processed the words before saying anything about the sister he had who was kind of dead already.
“So you’re undead?” He asked to clarify.
“Essentially, yes without the actually dying part,”
Hu Tao’s face no longer dawned its carefree smile that she always had. Her mouth was straight with a small downturn of her lips and he felt that this Hu Tao might be the real Hu Tao. This Hu Tao that didn’t smile when she was hit with pots when she tried to sell her deals. This Hu Tao was different, more closed off. More realistic, Xiao supposed.
She really was an interesting person, and she was friends with the traveler, and any friend of his is a respected individual in Xiao’s eyes.
He let her change the subject because he knew she no longer wanted to talk about this. He understood.
They ended up falling asleep on that roof. When they woke up the next morning they pretended that nothing ever happened and Xiao definitely did not find out Hu Tao was sort of undead. Nope, not at all.