DUTY | 𝗔 Chili 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗰 | GENSHIN IMPACT

6. Wuwang Hill

Qiqi jumped off her chair in delight, (although it was hard to tell, since her expression barely changed.)

"Qiqi remembers. Qiqi met a cocogoat at Wuwang Hill."

"Wuwang Hill?! I'm not sure that's such a good idea.. why don't we look for a cocogoat somewhere else, right, Zhongli?"

Hmm? Is Childe scared? No, that can't be. Childe isn't immature enough for something like that.. Perhaps he's busy? No. Zhongli knew immediately. Childe was hiding something, and Zhongli needed to find out what.

"I think we should go."

---

6:27PM

The three clambered up to the top of Wuwang Hill. The sun would soon set, so it would be better for them to find this 'cocogoat' and leave as soon as possible. 

Childe scouted the area for anything suspicious, trudging up in front of the other two. The dim shadows of the trees loomed around in a spooky manner as Childe's slender figure plowed through. 

Fatui.

Childe then spotted a camp set up by Fatui recruits a few 40 metres on his right, who upon sight of Childe, began immediately causing all kinds of mischief, burning trees, shattering nearby chunks of Cor Lapis, and even freezing the lake. 

Childe sighed in annoyance, How pathetic.

"Zhongli, let's split up to find this cocogoat. You should take Qiqi and cover the left, and I'll scout the right."

Zhongli briefly nodded, before heading off with Qiqi. 

---

It has been a while, where'd Childe go..?  Zhongli looked back to where they came from, looking out for the familiar figure of the azure eyed male. He began to walk back to their starting point, leaving Qiqi alone. Immediately to his right, Zhongli spotted a Fatui camp. The members of the camp seemed to be huddled around someone. Before Zhongli could take action, the members were all lurched back by a strong force. A figure emerged from between them. One that Zhongli recognised immediately. 

-

"You all are a disgrace to her majesty, the Tsaritsa! Spending your time in random forests, acting like a bunch of hooligans, this is unacceptable--" 
Childe caught sight of Zhongli. With him here, Childe wouldn't be able to teach the underlings a lesson as he had planned to..
"I'm letting you off the hook this once, however, if I see a repeat of this, you will all have a hefty price to pay."

The Fatui recruits all quivered, shell shocked with fear. 

"Yes lord Harbinger!" They cried, scurrying off as fast as possible. 

Childe imitated the face of a tired fighter, pretending to wipe sweat off his forehead. He joined Zhongli.

"Ahh.. Fatui. How troublesome." He wailed.

Zhongli nodded.

"They seemed like quite a docile bunch."

"Oh- Oh, yes. I'm still quite injured so I-I didnt go, uh, all the way with them.. just some threatening." Childe stuttered. It seemed like a very obvious lie to Childe, however, Zhongli simply nodded and continued walking.

Ahh, you almost messed up.. be more careful around this guy.. Zhongli is... smart. Childe yelled in his head.

--

"Zhongli, Childe, Qiqi found the cocogoat."

Qiqi pointed at an old, dusty stall set up at the foot of the mountain. 

Uncle Jian's Kiosk

"Welcome, young'n, what can I get ya?" The owner of the stall asked, in a warm manner.

"Hello, we'd like one carton of coconut milk, please." Zhongli ordered.

The man looked up at Zhongli's face, squinting his eyes as if he was in disbelief. 

"Hey, I know you. You're that Zhongli guy nobody likes," the man scoffed, "Fancy schmansy know-it-all.."

What?

Childe walked up to the stand, a sinister, brooding smile overtaking his pleasant features.

"Don't talk to him like that, sir." His voice was cold and distant, as if he had never seen the light of day, sending chills up Zhongli's spine.

"Wh-what's a kid like you gonn'a do about it? I'll call the Millelith if ya try anything!"

 The man stuttered, clumsily reaching around for the coconut milk. 

"H-here's you coconut milk, now get out of here!!" He yelled.

---

"That was a surprisingly fair transaction. He didn't ask to be paid." Zhongli exclaimed, amusement written all over his face.

"I didn't know people here could be so terribly rude, calling you a know-it-all? That made my blood boil." Childe scoffed.

"I do appreciate that you stood up for me, Childe. It made me glad to see that."

Childe looked down at his feet, as he walked alongside Zhongli, a faint tint appearing on his pale cheeks. 

"Qiqi is still here too." Said the zombie girl, who had been beside them the whole time, their ignorance truly testing her patience.

Childe exclaimed. 

"Oh, yes, Baizhu must be back now. Let's drop you off back at Bubu. How was the coconut milk?"

Qiqi's eyes lit up. 

"It tasted very familiar."



---

Word count: 790 


a/n 
familiar? sus