Sun and Moon | Xiao x Reader

epilogue

"The lantern rite is dedicated to a late adeptus named Skybracer, who saved Mt. Tianheng from collapsing by sacrificing his antlers and continuing to battle the enemy god until his death."

Zhongli lifted a cup of tea as he told the entire group about what the lantern rite was all about. Venti was humming in his seat, completely ignoring the fact that Zhongli was telling such a long tale but he was used to it that he could almost appear listening even if he was not.

You watched the older man continue babbling on about how the lantern rite first came to be. Your question was simply... Hang on, you didn't even ask anything. You simply said, "Those are beautiful lanterns." And then the tall man started with his tale.

It has been a year since you stepped foot in Liyue. You actually met the legendary traveler when they came back to Mondstadt and they asked for your help in going to Sumeru, upon knowing that you were from the nation. You did go, offering the traveler your companionship even when the traveler planned to head for Snezhnaya. Once you returned to Mondstadt, Venti asked if you wanted to visit Liyue for its annual lantern rite festival.

Joining your small table was Childe, the toymaker, who was also in town for the celebration. He was already with Zhongli when your group met up with him. "I'm not really sure that Y/N wants to know too much about history, Zhongli." The redhead chuckled, sending you a conspiratorial grin before turning to the blond next to you, "How about you and I roam around instead, traveler?" Childe has been making moves on Mondstadt's honorary knight, trying to flirt their way back into their good graces.

"Oh, I already-,"

"Traveler!" Katheryne's familiar voice called out to the traveler. You all turned your eyes to the receptionist of the Adventurer's Guild of Liyue. "We have an emergency commission, can you help?" She looked distressed and the traveler stood up to help. You sighed, wondering if the traveler would ever get time to just relax. They're also quite kind-hearted too, it was kind of sad to see them getting constantly swept away by other people as soon as they hear about the distress.

Childe jumped out of his seat and ran after the traveler, desiring to join in the fun, leaving you with a disinterested Venti and a still babbling Zhongli.

"It is such a pity we didn't get to see Xiao, huh?" Venti whispered over to you over Zhongli's voice.

Before entering the city of Liyue, you and Venti stopped in the Wangshu Inn. After a year, you were excited to see the reclusive Yaksha but unfortunately, he wasn't there. Verr Goldet told you that Xiao hasn't returned to the inn for what seems to be a few weeks and she was getting worried about it. Venti reassured the woman, saying the Xiao will always return to the inn regardless of his state.

You wanted to see Xiao, which may be the only reason why you went with Venti in the first place. The lantern rite seemed a bit too tedious for you, hearing about the entire nation preparing for the said event. You knew there would be a lot of people there and you didn't have much energy to interact with anyone, especially after just coming home to the city of freedom from your long journey with the honorary knight.

But Venti mentioned dropping in Wangshu inn which made you change your mind.

"He's busy," You mumbled before shoving a piece of fish in your mouth. It saddened you that you won't get to see the Yaksha; this emotion surprised you a lot too. You've only had a few interactions and so far, he doesn't seem to want anything to do with you.

He was simply being kind by accepting your apology.

"Oh! I forgot to mention, Zhongli! Y/N is a fortune teller!" Venti piped up, finally breaking Zhongli's monotonous rambling.