AMONG MIST • GI

10

CHAPTER TEN ;
UPSIDE-DOWN

ACT ONE;
NEW LAND, NEW LIFE

Blondie wasn't half bad. He carried conversations, bought food and empathised with being stuck into a whole different place. It did however take a bit of push to actually talk to him in the first place. Hu Tao had encouraged me to go seek him out so much that it was stuck in the back of my mind even after I found him. Obviously I had assistance so I wouldn't end up harassing a random person.

Said assistance was Zhongli. Throughout the walk he talked about his unusual fascination with rocks and something called osmanthus wine. I made sure to steer far from any type of shop so he wouldn't steal the money Hu Tao had gave me for, 'in case of emergencies, use this but if you're on the brink of death make sure to come back so you can get a nice coffin!'.

When we all met up in the harbour we went flower shopping, but then the walking encyclopedia started to explain how we should the freshest variants rather than getting them store bought. So we went off to the outskirts and started to search for the glaze lilies. It didn't really take all that long but Aether decided to have his own little concert and sang to it. After singing to them, they became much brighter and 'happier'.

Then, a random lady popped out of no where who was also looking glaze lilies for seemingly different reasons. She proceeded to explain other things like adepti, the archon war and being a part of the final farewell to Rex Lapis then bid farewell. It was obviously a lot more wordy bug I had no reason to listen in depth or at all, I was just here for some quote on quote 'bonding time'.

And comes the present, "Ah, you're the consultant to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor — Mr Zhongli, I presume? The Millelith are watching our every move now. These are desperate times, we mustn't act rashly"

"Desperate times?" The consultant raised a brow and crossed his arms in confusion

"The adepti of Jueyun Karst are finally on the move" the masked man clarified

"Do they intend to exercise force?"

"Most likely. I've heard that some members of the Qixing have already gone to meet them... Well, I say 'meet' but it's more like they're trying to stall the adepti outside the city. However, both sides were quite obstinate, and hit an impasse"

"...it seems inevitable given the current situation"

"The adepti do not acknowledge the Qixing, they only acknowledge the contract of the Geo Archon. If the two sides come to blow, Liyue Harbour will be in no position to stop them"

The two carried on their conversation as us three watched in confusion but once the man mentioned  a person called Ningguang, the two gave a knowing look. Zhongli the said he'd go and head back to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to help Hu Tao. Leaving us all alone to ponder.

"So what does Zhongli mean by the 'fuse?" Paimon asked the blonde as he narrowed his eyes as if he knew full well what the wise man was on about.

"Childe"

"A Child?"

"AH! You gave paimon a scare! You're so quiet I thought you went back to the Funeral Parlor!" The floating child screeched whilst crossing her tiny arms.

"I've been here the whole time..."

"Well Piamon knows that now!"

"Not a child. He's fatui harbinger who goes by childe." Aether explained

"He's also ginger and annoying!"

"Ginger... oh you mean that sketchy guy"

"How can you say that with such a monotonous voice?!"

"I met him once when Zhongli got him to buy us stuff, I knew he was a wierdo"

Paimon made a high pitched fake cough, "Uh anyways... where would we find him now?"

The blonde closed his eyes in thought before they flew back open in realisation, "There's really only one place he would go" he then took of running in a random direction.

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Not my AR10 backup account getting kokomi 5 pulls into one pity when it took my main to hit hard pity to get ei 😟

I'm also planning on double update so be ready for another chapter besties !