nefelibata [xingqiu x y/n x chongyun]

shadow of yore .2

in which lumine, zhongli , y/n , and wanyan meet a so-called archaeologist looking for the consultant's help.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ∞༺♥༻∞ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

y/n and lumine followed zhongli to wanyan near a secluded area. the gray-haired woman ushered them to come closer.

"what i'm about to say is quite disrespectful to the lord of geo and might draw angry looks... so i's best to tell you somewhere quiet." she admitted. the magician and traveler exchanged worried glances. zhongli nodded his head. "so i have a question for you-" she said. "-perhaps you will answer differently from the other scholars. do you think that all the gods the geo archon killed were evil ?" y/n winced slightly.

((AAAAAAAAAA I KINDA REGRET MAKING LOCAL GOD A HAIKYUU ISEKAI CAUSE I WANNA WRITE THIS SO FUCKING BAD))

zhongli placed his hand on his chin. "let's not analyze it in terms of good and evil , rex lapis placed great integrity on contracts , so any gods he killed must have broken some sort of contract." paimon smiled. "rex lapis wouldn't kill the innocent." wanyan sighed. "but when i was doing some research , i heard about the god of salt."

there's a god for SALT ?

"the god of salt , havria , was a very kind god. but one day she encountered morax in battle... morax used a rather... underhanded trick to assassinate her." she said with a frown.

paimon seemed awfully surprised. "what ?! no way!" she exclaimed with her high-pitched voice.

the geo user simply closed his eyes. "this bit of history... is a long sotry. perhaps you would not like the truth when you hear it." she raised her arms. "don't worry ! please tell me what you know , i have already searched for an answer for this." y/n hummed. "you seem awfully embarrassed mr. zhongli." he coughed. "no.. it's just.. where should i begin ?" his thoughts were cut off by a voice that had a joking tone to it.

"ah , mr. zhongli ! there you are , i've were looking for you !"

y/n gasped. it's the fatui ?!

lumine's brows furrowed as she protectively raised an arm over y/n. "what do you want ?! spit it out !" she yelled. paimon agreed with her. "yeah ! p-put down your weapon or else.... or else... p-paimon will report you to the milleith !" the man rolled his eyes. "first of all , i'm not holding a weapon ! ugh... there's no need to be so shaken... i'm just an archaeologist from snezhnaya. i'm not going to cause trouble." the fairy crossed her arms. "the fatui say that all the time."

he scratched his head. "but this time , i registered with the liyue ministry of civil affairs. i can even show you the official document. i'm conducting an archaeological survey here , and sharing the information with the ministry. i heard that wangsheng funeral parlor had someone that was knowledgeable in liyue's anicent history.. so i paid the parlor a handsome amount to hire him as my consultant while i'm in town."

zhongli nodded. "so i suppose this work is for the wangsheng funeral parlor , yes ?"

"what should we do ?" asked lumine.

"well since it's for work , i have no choice. a consultant of the wangsheng funeral parlor must respect their duty." he said. the man smiled. "of course you would be such a reasonable man ! let's head out shall we ?" wanyan blinked twice. "wait , since this is about archaeology , may i go too ? since we are in the same field after all." he nodded. "that will give us a chance to continue the topic we were going to disscuss. ah , you should come as well lumine."

"why ?"

"perhaps it can help you on your future adventures. oh and y/n is under my wing for today." he replied , his hand gently patting her head.

"it is a story before the rising of the seven... although the god of salt has already perished , it is a nice learning experience. " zhongli added on. kilmet sighed. "this is- wait , this isn't even an archaeologist expedition. it's more like a tour group !" he declared. the funeral parlor frowned. "but this friend of mine have a special treasure-finding talent. it will surely help us." his gaze stuck onto lumine.

"oh ? what talent ?"

he smiled. "if my friend finds a treasure chest , they will absolutely find a way to open it."

y/n and lumine sweatdropped at the memories they had together of unlocking various chests in dunyu ruins. from cryo slimes and fatui agents , it was a whole ride.

paimon crossed her arms. "hey ! magical girl and i are good at that too !"

kilmet said; "well.. thats quite enticing... alright then. well lets go then , who knows what we could find ? maybe a piece of the jade chamber ? or even better... a rare artifact !"

"also mr. zhongli... your hair.... i didn't now you were good at braiding." kilmet said with eyes widened.

he smiled. "well i suppose you can thank y/n for this." his choclate-brown hair shone under the sun , the braid is delicately done and finished off with traditional flower pins.

wanyu gasped. "wait- i didn't know you ad a child ! and above all that... your daughter is y/n herself !"

y/n pursed her lip. "oh."

"actually , i'm not her blood-related father... but i suppose that it can be like that." zhongli said with a gentle expression.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ∞༺♥༻∞ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧