The Line of Love

6: His Plan

You find Zhongli back at the funeral parlor.

"Where have you been?" He asks, not mad but not exactly happy with you either.

"Back in Mondstat, there was a little trouble at the winery. I actually got injured pretty bad." You answer, leaving out some details.

"Oh my. Are you ok? What happened?" Zhongli's eyes widened.

"The Brothers, one the owner of the winery, the other is a Knight, they don't like each other much, and I got between a fight."

"Y/N, how exactly did you get back here?" This was the question you were dreading, you didn't know if it was safe to tell him that a Fatui Harbinger had rescued you.

"Well... I was rescued, by a kind stranger." Zhongli is still curious, you're going to have to tell him.

"Who was he? and where did he take you after last night?" His questions feel like they're pounding at you. You sigh before giving your answer.

"His name is Childe, or Tartaglia. He's a Fatui Harbinger, but he wasn't bad" You say, hoping for a positive response.

"Hm... You still shouldn't trust this man. He may be fine for now, but his intentions in the long run are definitely of concern." Zhongli says, but you liked Tartaglia, he was kind to you in a way nobody has been before. Then again, so is Zhongli. Zhongli has treated you with nothing but kindness and respect.

"I understand." You say, but you really didn't understand. All your emotions were conflicting, "I've got the wine!"

"Thank you, this should work." Zhongli says and smiles gently as you give him the wine. "We have to get going, we can't miss the Right of Parting."

You and Zhongli begin to ascend Mount Tianheng, above the area the Right of Parting would take place. You approach as figure. Zhongli says he's having an adeptus escort the two of you up the mountain.

"Adeptus Xiao, this is Y/N, her and I must ascend the mountain for the plan." Zhongli says, you sort of don't understand what the plan is or why you're here, but it's definitely important, so maybe watching will be how you learn.

"Yes. Y/N." Xiao turns to you, "my name is Xiao, the Vigilant Yaksha, at your service"

"Oh, I'm Y/N, It's nice to meet you." You say as the two others begin walking. You follow up and up the mountain, staying careful of anything hazardous.

You're getting closer to the top, and it's getting harder to keep your balance. All of a sudden, you make a wrong move.

Your leg gets away from you, it's almost like you can't feel it. Your body can't move, there's nothing you can do. You're falling.

You try to yell for help, and it seems as if the others have noticed. Like a spark or green and black lightning, a masked Xiao jumps off of the mountain after you. You feel his tight grip around you as he catches you and jumps up from the side of the mountain.

Your safe, and now you know why Xiao was accompanying you.

"Are you ok, Y/N?" He asks.

"Yeah, thank you. I'm in your debt." You say and do a small bow to thank him.

"No need, I am here for you." Xiao responds, but why? Why are you being served by an adeptus, shouldn't he be serving Zhongli. You're thinking about this as you continue to walk, being much more careful now.

"We're here." Zhongli says as you approach the land above the Harbor.

Everything looked so small from there, you could feel a breeze, reminding you of your home, but something was telling you that Liyue was your home now. You felt safe and comfortable.

"It's time." Xiao says to Zhongli. He takes a stance almost at the edge of the cliff, "Stand back" Xiao tells you, and you both step backwards.

In a flash you see Zhongli change into a form where his arms turn dark, and his clothing looks old, like something that would have been worn in the time of the gods long ago. A huge light appears and you see him growing in size. A large brown and gold dragon takes his place.

"Woah.." You say in astonishment. Xiao nods and crosses his arms. You walk up to the dragon, he leans his head towards you and you touch his face.

"Be safe." you whisper to him. You have a feeling you know what he's about to do.

And you were right. The dragon takes flight and crashes down into Liyue, you're praying that he'll be alright.

Xiao grabs onto you and jumps after Zhongli. He lands somewhere you can watch. It was scary seeing the dragon form of the man Zhongli lying on the ground, looking dead.

"Rex Lapis is Dead!" A woman with light hair yells. You see a blonde girl begin to run away as if she was responsible.

It seemed as if Zhongli was safe, which is what matters the most.