𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗹 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗰𝘆 ✦ 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁

𝗔𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗮 𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁

[Edited Again]

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

Y/n pouted, "But stealing it will be easier! All I gotta do is throw the old hag, we can grab the bell then we can leave!"

"No, no, y/n! Don't go back to your feral ways!" Paimon protested and y/n glared.

"You can't tell me what to do!"

"Y/n, please." Aether sighed, "Remember, this lady is an old friend of Mr. Zhongli. I don't think he'd like it if you were to... uh... throw her."

Y/n tilted her head, "Can I punch her?"

"No."

"Fine..."

They spotted a little old lady ahead which they assumed was Madame Ping.

Y/n, of course, was the first to walk forward and her traveler partners followed quickly, afraid she would say something rude.

"All things must change..." the woman was murmuring, deep in thought.

"How do you do?" Aether greeted before y/n could say something rude.

"Mm? Youngsters, are you here to admire the flowers?" the elderly lady asked, "It's a shame. These glaze lillies have almost all wilted..."

"Are you alright?" Aether asked hesitantly.

"Must be the dementia kicking in-" y/n muttered and yelped when Aether slapped her on the back quite harshly.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. I just thought it a great shame that so many of these glaze lilies have wilted." Madame Ping assured the trio with a sweet little smile.

"What happened to them?" Paimon asked.

"Back in my day, people said that glaze lilies can read human hearts. If they heard beautiful sounds like laughter and singing, they would also bloom joyfully." Madame Ping sighed, "But if they heard too much wild gossip or slander, they would quickly wither away."

"...So that means these flowers feel what's happening in Liyue." Paimon realized.

"Eh? Flowers have emotions?" y/n asked.

"The rumors of Rex Lapis' death are no small matter. They are everywhere. Some say it was a Fatui plot. Others say that the Qixing made it all up, and still others think that which lies in the deep is breaking free. This harbor is like a mountain of dry tinder. One spark and the fire will consume us all." Madame Ping sighed as y/n crouched in front of the glaze lilies, "...Well, I shall say no more. This old woman's grown too old and naggy... Did you have something to say, youngster?"

"Ah, we'd like to borrow the Cleansing Bell." Aether spoke up.

Y/n was no longer paying attention, staring at the wilting flowers instead.

"Hm...." she hummed, brows furrowed, "Would a lullaby help you feel better? Whenever my fratrem were sad, I would sing lullabies to them. Matr sang lullabies to me too when I was little."

As expected, no reply...

"--still, though I can't recall when it started, it's been a long time since anyone has come to borrow it." Madame Ping was saying when y/n talked to the wilting lilies, "Ah, these old bones are too slow to look for things. I doubt you can wait that long..."