Autumn Comes When You're Not Yet Done

Chapter 2

It has been six years since Tao's parents left Liyue Harbor. They said that they would move to Qingce Village but there is no trace of them there. I have no idea where they reside now. Tao is now twelve years old. She is a bubbly girl. She still loves scaring people as well. 

Tao works part time at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu doesn't want her exposed to it's elements too young. The dead bodies that sit in the parlor as we prepare for a funeral. The cremation unit. I agree, Tao should only be given the job when she seems old enough. She insists that she already is but the girl only twelve. Suddenly a voice breaks my thoughts.

"Mr. Zhongli, Mr. Zhongli!" A high voice, one belonging to a young girl. I turn around and there Tao is, grinning widely at me.

"What do you want Tao? You surely don't need me to go to Wanmin Restaurant in need of Jueyun Chili Chicken for the third time today." Recently, Tao has been insisting that Jueyun Chili Chicken makes ghosts happy so after Hu had shown her the Border, she keeps taking the delicacy there and leaving it. 

"Please Mr. Zhongli!! This will be the last time today! The food is always gone when I go back to the Border and I want to keep the spirits happy." The girl whined and tugged on my sleeve with a pitiful look on her face. She is quite irritating.

"Tao, I'm sure the spirits at the Border are happy enough without Jueyun Chili Chicken." I took her hand off of my arm and stepped away.

"But-"

"No Tao, I can't keep spending my mora every day for several dishes of food just because you want to please some ghosts you talked to at the Border with your grandfather took you there." 

"Okay Mr. Zhongli, I'm sorry for bothering you." The girl walked away.

I felt a little bad for telling her off as I did, she is a child after all. I then remembered that I needed to visit Bubu Pharmacy to pick up Hu's prescription. Recently, my friend had come down with a mysterious illness. Baizhu from the Pharmacy doesn't even recognize it. This illness was slowing eating away at Hu, he was even too weak to take a step. This is leaving him bedridden. 

I immediately left the funeral parlor and walked to Bubu Pharmacy. As I approached the pharmacy, a familiar voice called out to me.

"Zhongli, what a pleasure to see you." Baizhu had shown up next to me, "here for Hu's medicine I presume?"

"Yes, the bottle you gave him last week is empty so I have come to receive another."

"I don't have any made at the moment but it doesn't  take too long to mix, should take ten minutes at most." Baizhu led me into the pharmacy and began to take out various ingredients.

"How is Hu doing? Has he gotten any better since I last checked on him?" The green-haired doctor asked me while mixing crushed silk flowers with dendro slime secretions. 

"No he hasn't, in fact I think the illness has worsened." I looked at the floor, Hu's condition had taken a major turn for the worse two days ago.

"I'll have to stop by later and see for myself. Oh, and how is Tao?"

"She is alright, annoying as always. I cannot deal with that child." I wiped my brow and stared at Baizhu. He knew well how irritating the girl could be.

"Well, I have finished mixing Hu's medicine. Hopefully it will help, I will stop by later to see how he is doing for myself."

I thanked Baizhu and took the bottle of medicine from his hand, leaving Bubu pharmacy I noticed a girl in dark clothing waiting at the bottom of the stairs. As I drew nearer, Tao drew a jar from behind her back. Inside was a bright blue butterfly.

"Mr. Zhongli look! Isn't it pretty?" She was almost yelling, her excitement could not be contained. Tao had always loved butterflies, she admired them and always tried to catch them. 

"Mr. Zhongli can I keep it?" She asked, jumping up and down. 

"I don't know, shouldn't you ask your grandfather?" I forced a smile and gestured toward Hu's house.

"I was going to but when I went into his room he was sleeping and I didn't want to disturb him. He hasn't gotten much sleep at all over the past month and I want him to rest while he can." The girl's eyes had darkened and she stopped jumping. She wasn't taking Hu's illness very well, she was constantly worried about him except for when she was chasing butterflies of course.

"Good, let him rest. I do think you should release the butterfly though."

"Aw okay." Tao took the lid off of the jar and the butterfly flew away.

I patted the girl's shoulder and continued walking to Hu's house.

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It's been two days and Hu's condition had plummeted. He was only awake for a few minutes at a time and in the time that he was awake all he would do was cough and sometimes he would even begin seizing. Baizhu didn't know what to do, nothing was working. He had said that Hu may not be around much longer and that it would be smart to say goodbye.

As I sit with Tao next to my dear friends bed,  I look down at the girl. She was staring at her grandfather, confusion and sadness alight in her eyes.

Hu's breathing was becoming slow and quick. After a few moments his chest had stopped moving, I felt his neck, checking for a pulse. There was none.  I squeezed Tao hand as the small girl bent over her knees, I could hear a light, muffled sob. 

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It was late, Hu's passing had been five hours ago. I had sat on a chair beside him with Tao for twenty minutes, holding her until she had gotten up and left. I did not know where she had gone, the front door had been left wide open. I sat on the porch waiting for her return.

I saw a figure moving in the distance, drawing nearer. 

I saw Tao walking slowly toward me with a bag in her hands. As she stopped next to me i could hear her address me quietly.

"I could not find grandfather at the Border, but I did find this. Mr. Zhongli, what do I do with it?" I watched as Tao pulled a pyro vision from the bag she carried. I leaned down and looked her in the eyes.

"Tao, you have received a pyro vision. You have been recognized by the pyro Archon. You can now wield the element of pyro."

"Mr. Zhongli, don't you have a vision?" she asked.

"Yes I have  geo vision." I lied, the geo vison was fake. As I am the geo Archon posing as a mortal, I must use a fake vision so that there is no suspicion when I use the element of geo.

"Will.. will you teach me how to use my vision?" Tao held it out to me.

"Yes, I will." I closed her fingers around the vision and took her back inside.

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As Hu had died the previous day, his only legacy must now take on the position of director at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Most now addressed Tao as Director Hu like her grandfather as Hu is the family name, or they called her Hu Tao. That is how I referred to her. She seemed to be under great amounts of stress, such a large, important job and such a young age. Tomorrow her training where she will learn how to use her vision and how to wield a weapon with begin.