farewell • xiao

chap. 4

At the sight of the other male, a small smile danced along (y/n)'s lips.

The Yaksha shortly studied her features, before turning his attention back to Zhongli who quietly sat down next to him.

While the Archon swiftly ordered some tea for himself, (y/n) curiously glanced at her client; his face was framed by some loose hairstrands, meanwhile his golden eyes almost glowed in the dark night.

His clothing looked weirdly thrown together, like it was made out of random pieces of clothing.

"Very well", Zhongli gently smiled at the waitress, as she noted down his order before hurriedly making her way back to the kitchen.

—

"How long do you think it'll take to forge the polearm?", Zhongli took a sip of his brewed tea, before asking.

Xiao looked at the female, waiting for the response as his gaze pierced through her.

"Something around two or three weeks". She paused, thoughtfully staring at her own hands. "Depends on how long it takes to gather the required materials"

"I see..", with a warm smile, Zhongli turned to the Adeptus next to him.

"Xiao will help you, he knows almost everything about Liyue. I hope it won't be too hard to find the resources with his help"

Said person blinked a few times, slowly processing Zhongli's words before nodding. After all, he wouldn't dare to oppose the Archon.

(y/n) felt a wave of relief wash over her, happy that someone was willing to help her.

"I'm glad to have someone lend me a hand", she hesitated for a moment.

"So about the materials.."

—

After discussing the details, Zhongli had decided to show the younger female around Liyue a bit; introducing her to Master Zhang, the owner of Liyue's blacksmith shop, who was kind enough to allow her to use the forge.

He also showed her the harbour, the Jade Palace that floated in the air, flowers that bloomed near the entrance of the city and a perfume shop for whatever reason.

Xiao had silently followed the two of them, his eyes lazily wandered around.

While standing in front of a flower shop, which was surprisingly still opened late at night, Zhonglis gaze wandered over the glaze lilies whose petals shimmered in a delicate babyblue.

He gently hummed, a small smile displaying on his lips before he turned back to (y/n) and Xiao.

"Well then, I'm sure you're tired (y/n). How about you rest? The way from Mondstadt to Liyue sure was exhaustingl, wasn't it?", the Archons eyes closed, as he looked at the female with a gentle smile.

At the sound of his soothing voice, (y/n) couldn't help but feel all warm inside.

She nodded in response, before thanking him for showing her around. "I'll head off then. Have a good night", she waved at Xiao and Zhongli before turning around to make her way to the hotel she was going to stay in.

—

She entered her room and the first thing she noticed was the breathtaking view over Liyue had from her window. Moonlight shone through the glass, before she closed the curtains.

A small bed with snow white bed clothing stood in the corner of the room, a wooden closet standing next to it.

(y/n) let out a small sigh as the tiredness suddenly returned, making her body slightly ache. She stared at the ceiling, replaying everything that had happened today
before slowly closing her eyes.

Showering and all could wait until tomorrow, right?

She let out a small groan at the thought of the amount she had sweated today, but couldn't help to fall asleep after a few moments of relaxing.

—

"Xiao..?"

A surprised expression covered her face as she noticed the Yaksha standing in front of her hotel room, early in the morning.

"What are you doing here so early? The sun is barely out"

"Didn't you mention you need my help to gather materials for the new weapon?"

Her mouth formed an "Oh" before she nodded, shortly scratching the back of her head. "Give me fifteen minutes, I'll be outside by then"

Xiao stayed silent, taking a short look into her room before scrunching his nose in slight displease. Did she not shower yesterday?

—

The Adeptus patiently waited outside of the building, quietly enjoying the peaceful time of Liyue Harbour.

Not many people were up yet, so the streets were strangely quiet for this place. A gentle breeze struck his cheek, blowing hairstrands out of his face.

He rarely went to Liyue Harbour, because of the amount of humans who lived here; but right now the streets were empty, not a single soul to be seen.

"I'm ready", a familiar voice caught his attention, causing eyes to dart around and meet (y/n) whose hair was slightly wet, like she had just showered.

He stretched his back, feeling the chilly morning air against his body as he tilted his head. "Where do we start?"

"I've been thinking about checking out the forge in detail first", she earned a nod from the male, who then let out an almost unnoticeable yawn.

"Let's not waste any time then"

———

i finally reached floor 12 in the abyss.. i'm wondering how people can do 11-3 with three stars, the best i can do is two stars lolol; either way, hope you enjoyed reading <3