Business Partners | Baizhu x Pantalone

First Meeting

[Author's note - This fanfiction takes place before traveler's arrival at Liyue. There are a few spoilers for Baizhu's story quest.]

"One, two..."

Huff...

"Three, four..."

Huff...

"Uh..."

Qiqi blanked out for a minute. She placed a finger on her lips, her usual pose for racking her brains to search for memories.

From behind, a shadow slowly snuck up and covered her body.

"Five, six?" A gentle male voice spoke up.

"Baizhu...?"

Qiqi turned around eagerly, only to not find Baizhu.

Instead, it was a young man in a grey coat and black suit. Though there were some oddly similar features to the pharmacist, it was clear it wasn't him, which could be told by the suffocating and cold air around this man.

"Apologies for interrupting your stretches, young child..." the man said luxuriously, "But may I ask why this little one is standing on such high grounds?" He casually walked passed Qiqi and to the edge of the cliff. With a small flick of his foot, he sent a small pebble rolling down the mountains, never to be seen again.

With that, he turned to Qiqi, "As you can see, such parts like these are quite dangerous for a child to be hanging around..."

Qiqi blinked, "Well, I come up here often to..." She poked her head a little, "Uh...I forgot..."

The man raised an eyebrow, a slight spark of interest on his face, "You forgot?"

"Wait..." She gently raised her palm. With her other hand, she pulled out a journal and began skimming through it. After a couple of flips, she looked up at the sky.

"Yellow sky. Sun almost down," she closed her eyes as she recalled the important information, "Herbs should be collected. Time to go home."

The man watched Qiqi carefully as she opened her eyes.

"Herbs..."

Slowly, she moved her head to glance at a basket full of herbs.

"Go home...." Qiqi nodded slowly before blanking out again.

"Oh...Where is home?"

"Oh? You don't remember where you live?" The man asked.

Qiqi flinched a little, surprised at the man's sudden voice due to forgetting that he was there at all.

She blankly stared at him for a bit before shaking her head, "No..." Qiqi pointed at the tailsman on her head, "I'm a zombie...so I forget a lot of things..."

The man nodded understandably, "I see..."

Qiqi narrowed her eyes.

This man...was lying...

He does not see, as he has already known what she was...

Despite the man's foreign outfit, it was clear he must have some knowledge of Liyue. For instance, how did he know how to navigate around these mountains? A foreigner would certainly not know how to transverse these mountains. Not only that, he was completely unscathed. Not a sweat or even a touch of dust on his clothing.

The question escaped Qiqi's lips, "Who are...you?"

"Hm? Ah yes, it seems like I have forgotten to introduce myself. How rude..."

The man smiled softly and let out a huff that sounded much like a scoff. He hovered his hand over his heart and gently leaned his upper body towards the zombie.