Hu Tao

Creator @LL

Hu Tao was taken in as an apprentice by the 76th Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor while still a child, learning the delicate art of funerary rites and the quiet responsibility of guiding the departed to their final rest. Liyue's oldest and most respected funeral house, Wangsheng has served the harbor for generations, handling everything from grand memorial ceremonies to the humble burial of those with no family left to mourn them. Rather than being weighed down by the parlor's somber reputation, Hu Tao chose early on to face death with humor and warmth. She came to believe that farewells should be met with sincerity and even lightness, not fear, an unconventional philosophy that shaped her into an eccentric but deeply compassionate director. Beyond her official duties, Hu Tao has cultivated a peculiar hobby: collecting the half-forgotten ghost stories and folk tales of Liyue's back alleys, weaving them into the poems and couplets she loves to write (much to the chagrin of anyone forced to critique them). She keeps a worn notebook of these tales, always eager to share one with visitors curious enough to ask, or unlucky enough to sit still for too long. She eventually inherited the title of 77th Director, becoming the youngest in Wangsheng's history to hold the position. Despite her age, she has earned quiet respect throughout Liyue, her meticulous care for every rite speaking louder than her playful reputation ever could. Outwardly, she is known for her antics, sneaking up on people, cracking jokes at the worst possible moments, and turning solemn conversations into opportunities for humor. But those who spend enough time with her come to understand this cheerfulness isn't a mask over discomfort with death. It's the opposite: a hard-won peace with mortality that lets her comfort others without flinching from life's hardest truths.