The misadventures of having a vision

Chptr. 10

"We mostly just do...normal things I suppose," once again you were in rural Liyue with Mr. Zhongli, "Trainings, mostly, and familiarizing me with the inner workings of the Fatui. Helping lower Fatui soldiers takes up a lot of time because theres so many,"

Mr. Zhongli waited patiently for you to finish, "Somtimes I get dismissed early so he can go talk to some business people or other Fatui members, I'm not always sure. In short, he's really just buildingthe Tsarista's army,"

Childe had said that something had come up and your morning meeting would be canceled today. That left you with your first meeting with Mr. Zhongli.

"My problem is I fear that I'll be stuck working for him forever and I'll end up having to do things," He gave you a side glance as you walked next to eachother, "Things I not only don't want to do, but also things that involve hurting other people,"

You stopped walking to face him, "How much do you know about the Fatui?"

The answer to that question was far too long and you found yourself unable to keep up. Mr. Zhongli chuckled, realizing this, "I would be more than happy to help you get out of your Fatui situation," the words at the end of his sentence hung in the air dangerously.

You quirked a brow at him, "Last time someone offered me help, I didn't exactly end up in an idea situation,"

Mr. Zhongli let out a laugh. It was a genuine one from his stomach that, although he was laughing at you, almost made the corners of your mouth turn up.

He assured you that you would only be helping him in finding 160 items you couldn't remember the name of. He also set a few more conditions for "the peace of mind of the both of you".

1. As long as you finished helping him carry out his task, he would help you until you are able to leave the Fatui
2. He would work just as much as you in finishing them
3. Finding all 160 items would be both time consuming and tedious, but not difficult or dangerous

He offered your hand to shake but you hesitated, "Wouldn't it be easier to just put up a commission for the adventures guild instead of also going through the trouble of helping me?"

He chuckled in a way that might have been nervous, although you weren't sure, "Well that would be a waste of money and this way, we both get something at of it,"

"What are these things called again, Mr. Zhongli," you had to hold your hand above your forehead to block the sun as you looked up at him.

"Please, call me Zhongli," he put a hand on your shoulder, "and they're called geoculi," (wtf is the plural of geoculus T^T geoculuses?) "They're charm-looking stones that are created as a byproduct of the Geo Archon's power,"

"Are you trying to collect the Geo Archon's power?"

"No," he turned around slightly to show you his back, "I already have it. I just don't want them in the hands of the Fatui,"

"Speaking of which, are you aware of the vision hunt decree that took place in Inazuma?" The two of you were walking along a stream that would lead to Liyue's stone forrest, "A...friend of mind recently went to Inazuma and had a lot of discoveries. You're familiar with all of the harbingers, correct?"

"Yes, Childe always talks about them,"

"La Signora was recently slain," the small stream had split into bigger patches of water and you were forced to go around them, "They say that the Fatui were taking away peoples visions so they would be desperate enough to accept delusions,"

"I heard, but I thought they were just exaggerated drama,"

"No, unfortunately there isn't much to exaggerate," Zhongli shook his head, "The Fatui just lost one of their Harbingers, and all of the visions they had picked up were distributed back again,"

"What are you saying,"

"I do not know what they're up to, but I can only assume this is only another plot of theirs. And for that, I know it is not good news,"

"It makes sense that they'd want people with visions. Is it really that suspicious? There might not be a bigger picture,"

"That much is true, and I do not plan to attempt to stop whatever they are plotting. However, it would be unwise  to think you can simply slip out of this, especially if there is a bigger picture,"

Zhongli wondered why he was suddenly so worried. You were right, it was probably nothing, but he had a strange feeling, one he hadn't felt in a long time.

"It should be here on the map..." you turned around looking at the watery plane of the stone forest, there was a lot to places to look, "How small are these things,"

"They are...rather big. I'd say it would be quite hard to not notice them," Zhongli casually looked up, "There," and he pointed to the sky.

"...how are we supposed to get up there?"

"By climbing of course," he said in a matter of fact tone,

"Not again," you sighed,

And so climbing is what you did. Getting to the top of Mt. Hulao didn't take as long as you thought it would, but it certainly made time for some thinking,

While miscellaneous thoughts about Childe floated in your head like puzzle pieces that didn't know how to connect together, Zhonglis mind went in it's own direction. Unbeknownst to you, you were his subject of choice.

Although he had shed his Archon status for quite some time now, he found that lying to humans was no small feat. Some people, like his boss Hu Tao, put the pieces together while other people had their own intuitive ways. People had a way of coming to him with their problems, just like Liyue citizens had did when he walked among them thousands of years ago with his full status and title.  Not just that, but it wasn't unusual for lost kids to grab his hand in the market begging for help searching for their parents.

At first he had thought it was normal and something that surely happened to mostly everyone, but after he had been gifted a few free meals or extra flowers at the end of the day when going to strolls, he realized his people hadn't quite let him go. Perhaps they simply thought he similar of their beloved diety, or perhaps it was in their subconscious. He did not know.

But what he did know was that you were different. At first he thought that you were just someone coming to him with your troubles, but most people who had done so hadn't waited to beg him for help.

You did.

Not only that, but there was something different in your resolve. Naturally your life was to be slightly more high stakes than someone without a vision, but he sensed a certain good natured will in you.

...That and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.