Chapter Text
Liyue never sleeps, buzzing with life even at ungodly hours. Lights shining enough to reach Inazuma.
In such crowded swirl of a place was The Conquer Of Demons himself, Xiao. he despited the loud noises, the constant pushing, the lack of literal oxygen, and he questioned if it was a clever idea to be here at this moment.
He wasn’t sure what has gotten into him, the last a few nights were dreadful, exhausting even. Yet when he got a second to himself, a second to let his fresh wounds heal, he found himself lounging for the city, like a lover lounging for his love.
And so he found himself here, in Liyue Harbor at almost three in the morning. he wished the earth would be so kind and devour him to her core, taking him somewhere a bit more peaceful, or maybe the sky would be so generous and lend him a hand to hang with the stars.
If he was to teleport now, he will draw so much attention, which was the last thing he needed to add to the list of ‘ why he wish he stayed in the Wangshu Inn ’.
Finally reaching a less filled area, he stood at the corner, finally getting to catch his breath, he cursed himself for coming here, for listening to a stupid feeling, he’s an Adeptus, he shouldn’t feel.
His head throbbed as he rested his face in his palms, taking deep breaths, maybe sleep finally have remembered him, or maybe it was the lack of food, but he actually felt very tired for once.
“ hey, are you alright ? ” he heard a sweet voice call out for him, it kind of surprised him in a way, usually on packed days such as this one, no person would ever notice him, even with his obvious unique style that screams ‘ ADEPTUS !! ’.
He lifted his gaze, locking eyes with a strawberry blonde girl, she looked like she could be in her mid twenties, her skin pale yet reflects the lights better than a mirror, her eyes sharp; not fitting the soft structure of her face, yet adding an odd sense of maturity to her look.
After a few more seconds of awkward silence he averted his gaze else where, mumbling a low “ yeah, thank you. ” before trying to walk away. “ hey hey hey ! I’m still talking you know ! ” she hurried to stand back at his face. Great, now he has a headache and a stupid mortal jumping in front of him like a frog, what a great night this is.
“ listen I’m not in the mood so if you could please- ” “ come with me, I know a short cut to get us out of here ” she explained before grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him into the sea of people.
He couldn’t really see a thing as he was pulled through tons and tons of bodies, only to find himself slipping and falling into grass, he looked around; he is finally out from that maze of people and back to the wild. Laying on the ground next to him was said stranger who helped him, she stretched her arms as she sat up, “ finally somewhere more quiet ” she said before throwing herself back on the grass, her voice itself sounded like a warm smile.
Xiao stared at her for a moment, all the noise coming from the Harbor seemed so far now. Such a weird fashion style she had; Xiao thought to himself. A colorful yet dull tee, tight enough to show all her curves easily, she wore navy blue jeans that had a painting of a colorful tree blooming on the side of her thigh.
She must have not recognized him for an Adepti, he was sure that if she did; she wouldn’t be this care-free around him, treating him like any other guy, though he wondered if humans actually do grab each other and run near a forest when they first meet.
To him; it sounded believable, how else would they always be in danger ?
“ anyway, what’s your name ? I’m Meiling, sorry I didn’t tell you that before grabbing you and running, that was rude, sorry ! ” she apologized with a slight bow.
For a second, Xiao thought of what would happen if he just, lied. Told her any common human name and rolled with it, pretending to be a mortal and having normal mortal conversations, maybe they would talk about the weather or something just as normal. That wouldn’t be so bad, right ?
No, he shouldn’t. It’s not like the voices in his head would disappear if he acted like a human, nor would the past be erased. Who wants to be a stupid mortal any way.
He grunted as he stood on his feet, “ be hold, mortal. You’re standing in the presence of an Adeptus ” he announced, as dramatic as possible, in hopes to scare her away.
It didn’t work.
“ an Adeptus ? Aren’t you too short though ? ”, how disrespectful, how uncivil, how ungracious can this low life be. “ you shall not mouth such impolite words to my face unless you are craving death to come knocking at your door. ” he huffed with a glare. “ dame I didn’t know you were sensitive about it sorry. ” she got up from the ground to stand near him, “ look I’m not that taller than you, probably three or four centimeters, so I’m just as short as you. ” her hand flew from the top of her head to his.
At this point, he couldn’t really feel anger, more of confusion, is she unaware of what an Adeptus is or is she just that un-phased ? Whatever, now that he’s somewhere more hidden, he could teleport back to the Wangshu Inn.
He took a couple of steps back, making sure she won’t get harmed by his aura. “ hey where are you going ?? ” she almost stepped closer, but before she could even blink, he was gone. Leaving behind him a gush of wind.
“ am I that bad with communicating ? I should really work more on not offending people.. ” she whispered to herself as she walked back into the crowd.
—————————————
Next morning, Xiao was summoned.
He heard the raspy voice of his lord, it still gave him goosebumps all over his body, he felt a chill sweat drip on his back, in mere seconds he found himself on top of Mountain Aocang, where Cloud Retainer lives.
The wind was colder here, as he observed the area; almost all the Adepti were there, from Ganyu to Madam Ping, and to his relief and horror; they all looked beyond mortified.
“ now that everyone is here.. ” the voice of the Geo Archon echoed the place, though he physically wasn’t there, his voice was enough to set everyone present on high alert.
“ Mountain Shaper, you may come forward with your discovery. ” Morax announced, everyone turning to Mountain Sharper who had the expression of a mortal who’s about to faint.
Mountain Shaper stood facing all Adepti, the air thickening by the second as he too a very loud gulp. “ yesterday, I flew over Lingju Pass to do our once every full moon examination. ” his voice was getting tighter and tighter with each word, like his lungs are about to collapse at any moment.
Xiao knitted his eyebrows, looking around him for any confused faces, only to be met with side looks and low whispers. The only other person who seemed to be as lost as he is was Ganyu. “ forgive me for interrupting, but what is this ‘ every full moon examination ? ” Xiao questioned , folding his arms on his chest.
Everyone had a guilt filled expression painted on their faces, to Xiao; it felt like there was a big secret that was creeping by. like a dead body that he wasn’t aware it was dead.
“ you may ask your questions later, Conqueror Of Demons. As it is a matter of urgency that can not be laid back. ” Moon Craver answered him after what seemed like an eternity of loud, loud silence. “ why all the formalities now, Moon Craver ? I have only asked a simple question, since almost everyone here seems to be well aware of the answer, why won’t you inform me ? Educate me about this urgent matter if you will. ” Xiao chewed his words; spitting them with venom gushing over his voice.
If they weren’t in the presence of their Archon, this would have escalated very quickly. But with him watching over them, uncivil acts are forbidden at all costs. But that didn’t stop Xiao from throwing shade and angry glares.
At his threatening speech was no reply, they all gave each other worried gazes, like they spoke a language that he couldn’t, and it made his blood boil.
Before he could lose his shit, Madam Ping stepped up. “ before the days of the Yaksha came to light. When our savior Rex Lapis was still taking all the Adepti under his wing. There was one Adeptus that used to work for the God Of Envy. After being saved by our Archon, said Adeptus still lounged for their Goddess, and so they were suspected to be planning a betrayal. And so us Adepti decided on our behalf to put an end to their mischievous plan. Putting them in an endless slumber ”.
“ why was I never aware of this ? ” Xiao asked, irritation lacing his words. “ you Yakshas shall be reminded of your place. Shall you not ? You weren’t told simply because you already have enough on your plate. You shall not intervene with the work of an actual full Adupti ” the sound of Moon Craver rang through. “ oh so this is how you want to put it ? Now it’s about ranks ? ” Xiao yelled, losing all control over his voice.
“ all of you, quiet. ” the Archon finally spoke. “ what Mountain Shaper was trying to say is that when he checked on the Adeptus Of Lenience was missing with no track of where they might be. We have no idea of what they plan to do, and so we will need to work as one at the time of crisis. ” Rex Lapis explained.
“ forgive me my lord. But may I be dismissed ? As it seems that I am not needed ” Xiao already was heading out before getting his answer. “ you’re dismissed. ” the Archon replied.
Xiao heard the other Adepti complaining about how he should be taught some manners instead of being dismissed, but he teleported before hearing more of their bullshit.
—————————————
He was back in Liyue Harbor, which was still as lively as ever, but considered empty in comparison to how it was after midnight. Xiao thought most people must be asleep after staying awake until ungodly hours.
Staying at the top of the highest buildings around, taking in the beautiful scenery, watching the people of Liyue go on about their day, it some how calmed him.
He observed the people, catching small details, like how that one guy kept fidgeting in his seat after his assumingely girlfriend held his hand. Or the two kids who were pretending to be a chef and a customer. Or that one lady who secretly bought all the things her daughter showed interest in.
And the thoughts were running back in his head, ‘ wouldn’t it be way easier to be with them ? One of them ? ’. He never found the source of such silly thoughts, but he couldn’t help but scoff every time he had them. Even imagining said thoughts coming to life felt like a fever dream.
‘ even as a mortal, you would always suffer to clense your sins. ” the sound in his voice murmured to him. He closed his eyes shut, trying to send it away. But it kept whispering to him, calling for him, haunting him from every side-
“ there you are ! ” a loud voice yelled his way, bringing him back from his haze. And for the first time, he was really thankful for being bothered that he wasn’t even mad about it.
He gazed down, only to see the same girl from the incident a few hours ago, looking up at him with eyes full of energy. Does this woman ever sleep ? He asked to himself. She was wearing a new outfit, now she had an old looking black dress that reached her knees, with wine red leather jacket on top.
“ it won’t end well for you, mortal. If you keep invading my personal space ” he sighed. “ I just came to apologize about yesterday ! I also brought you a sorry gift ! ”.
A sorry gift ? That peaked his interest enough. Finally giving her the least of his attention; she brought out a plate of almond tofu. His eyes widened, jumping to the ground and grabbing the plate a bit childishly. “ how did you know it was my favorite ? ” he asked. “ oh I just did some digging here and there ” she smiled back at him.
After he was half finished with his food, only now realizing the hunger building up after weeks of no food, did she speak again, “ so am I forgiven, Adeptus Xiao ? ”.
“ …you’re off the hook this time ”.