𝙍𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 [𝘼𝙐 𝙕𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙘𝙝𝙞 +18]

16: House of memories

Zhongli eventually made it to the hospital where Childe was admitted. It had been two long hours of travel until he was able to reach his destination, but at least he was reassured by the fact that everything had gone as he had planned with Ningguang. He wasn't quite sure if she had actually helped them because he felt she still owed them something or because she could take advantage of it, but whatever the case, Zhongli was grateful to the albino.

He had the name and workplace of the serial killer who had given them so many headaches, he could solve the case. Zhongli couldn't help but smile at the thought. Childe would have justice. After all of that was over, he could be free from all those accusations, and he wouldn't go back to prison. The families could rest easy, just like the victims that had been going on for years.

Rosaria Ludwig, a nun who worked at Liyue Cathedral, was the only one in the whole country. It was logical that she had been hidden, the Liyue Cathedral was the second that had more faithful, and also it had direct contact with the Mondstadt Cathedral, which was the most influential of all Teyvat. And considering that her name seemed to be from Mondstadt, it was most likely that she had been transferred from there. If a scandal like that came to light, a lot of things could happen, and not exactly good ones. At least not for those at the top of the pyramid.

After all, the church continued to have a great influence on society, even though the new generations no longer believed so much.

Zhongli took a deep breath. He would have to investigate Rosaria before acting, if he wanted to lock her up he needed more information. Of course, they could pressure Osial to order him an immediate arrest, but he doubted that would ever be possible. Having made him say the name of the culprit was already a great achievement.

The car stopped in front of the hospital, unlocking the doors to let him out. Zhongli thanked the driver, got out of the car, and looked at the front of the hospital. Hu Tao had given him the floor and room number a while ago, but he still had to go tell reception that he was going to visit the redhead.

Zhongli entered the building, heading directly to reception, where he was attended to without much explanation. Considering what was happening and Hu Tao's flamboyant personality, he did not doubt that the girl might have acted a little strange in front of the hospital workers.

Zhongli was grateful when he was told which way to go up to the rooms, speeding up with every step he took. He wanted to get to Childe's room as soon as possible, to check with his own eyes that he was indeed all right. Of course, he knew he was, otherwise Hu Tao would have called him or something.

He pressed the elevator button, nervous. After clearing things up a bit and the waters were somewhat calm, he should go pick up his things from the hotel, along with his car. He would have Anatoly home again after Hu Tao and Yanfei had been taking care of him after all that time...

Zhongli sighed at the thought. He would have to go back to his apartment that same day, he always carried the keys in his jacket pocket so there would be no problem with that. The bad thing would be to recover the car from him. He should go back to Hu Tao for help, and he was sure that it would cost him more than one dinner in that expensive restaurant.

Zhongli sighed again, the elevator doors opening and letting him out into the hallway. He took in the natural light streaming in through the windows, turning his head to look at the room numbers. He found it curious that there was a fourth-floor in that hospital, considering that many buildings did not have that number. But hey, who was he to judge? His workplace and apartment block also had that number.

Zhongli stood in front of door number one hundred and eleven, inhaling deeply and exhaling through his mouth, his shoulders relaxing with his eyes closed. He raised his hand, tapping his knuckles lightly on the wood, waiting for Hu Tao to open the door for him. A few seconds later the girl received him, smiling and stepping aside to let him pass.