farewell • xiao

chap. 3

While tightly holding onto her bag, (y/n) quickly proceeded to go forward, moving further away from her hometown with every step she made.

When Kaeya left her, it was around noon and ever since then about two hours had passed. The sun was partly covered by clouds, protecting Liyues Citizens from a lot of heat.

Even though it was only spring, high temperatures were nothing out of the ordinary for Liyue.

A drop of sweat ran down the side of (y/n)'s head, as she once again ran away from Hilichurls who were throwing rocks at her.

She panted and paused, as soon as she was in a safer place. Her legs were exhausted from all the running and after realizing that, she let herself slide down a tree to take a short break.

While sitting in the shadow of the small tree, the female decided to start thinking about the design of the polearm, that she was going to forge for a friend of Zhongli.

'How can someone even manage to break a polearm, and one of highest class too?'

—

Finally, after taking a good rest she decided to start walking again; it was a good decision, if she really wanted to arrive in Liyue Harbor before nighttime.

While quietly mumbling a few words to herself, she packed her stuff back together into her backpack. The grass gently tickled her legs when she stood up from the ground, causing the girl to smile a little.

—

"Oh my god"

Never in her past lifetime she had felt this relieved, as she stood at the gates of Liyue Harbor. Her legs felt like gummy and every step she made felt like a step towards passing out.

The lights of the enormous city and the happy talking of Liyue Harbors Citizens lit up the dark night, causing (y/n) to let out a quiet but relieved sigh.

Liyue itself had a very hilly landscape, so it was more of a hike than a long walk.

"Ah, I see you have arrived"

A tall figure appeared next to her, gently patting her back as he did so.

"We meet again, (y/n). You have changed a lot, since the last time i saw you", Zhongli sounded a little curious as he said that.

Said person greeted the older male with a half-hearted smile, still feeling too exhausted to bring up a proper conversation. "Hello Zhongli. Cant say the same about you", the words left her mouth, just after taking a short look at him. He still looked the same, long brown hair, golden eyes and a warm smile.

He replied with a laugh, though it was more of an amused giggle. "Yes, I suppose i haven't changed".

"Well then, shall we go? After all, there's a reason you came here"

(y/n) nodded in response, stretching her back before she slowly followed Zhongli over the bridge that led into Liyue Harbor.

—

The two of them walked down the peaceful streets of the famous city, the joyful laughter of people filling the air.

(y/n) silently looked around, observing the buildings that were nothing like Mondstadts houses. Usually, Mondstadt was really quiet at this time of the day, unlike Liyue where everyone was outside to exchange news and stories.

"So, (y/n) how have you been? I've heard that you became quite popular during the past few years"

Her lips tugged into a smile, warmth spreading through her body as soon as she started telling Zhongli about her life in Mondstadt.

When she was younger, she used to visit Liyue Harbor every year for a few days with her two brothers, to see the famous Lantern Rite. That was also when she met Zhongli, who would always tell her stories about Liyue. It wasn't just Zhongli, who she met; some people here were almost like a second family to her.

Of course, she was aware of him being the Geo Archon, after all Venti- who she already knew, was the Anemo Archon- happened to be a close friend of hers. The bard didn't hesitate to tell young (y/n) about Zhongli's true identity, in the end she was just a little girl back then. Or maybe it was just because he wanted to annoy the older male.

But after studying ores in Liyue for a certain amount of time, the girl found less and less time to visit the city for the yearly Lantern Rite due to her growing population as a blacksmith. That's when she decided to completely focus on her studies and stop going to Liyue.

"I'm glad you've made it this far", Zhongli gently smiled as they continued to walk towards Wanmin Restaurant, giving the smaller female next to him a warm glance.

The tempting smell of meat filled the air, as they came closer to the small restaurant. Almost every table was empty, except one; a smaller dark haired person looked up from the floor, as soon as they noticed Zhongli and (y/n) coming closer.

"Ah, i see you have arrived as well", Zhongli's lips once again tugged into a welcoming smile at the sight of the other person.

"Well then, (y/n). This is Xiao, the person who needs a new polearm".