900 Years is a Long Time to Wait

Chapter 4: Earth and Sea, Eternally Bound Together

Edit 2/25/22: Remembered to redo the first paragraph so that Meiling only has Geo as her vision.

As soon as they stopped at the Harbor, Meiling literally ran to a renovated building named the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, jogging upstairs to a small apartment that looked like it hadn't been touched in years. The rest of the class followed suit, since Meiling was their main tour guide and they couldn't afford to lose her. When they got there, they saw her standing next to a burnished wood bookcase, reading a gold-covered book with a Geo symbol on the top. "Meiling," Venti sighed, "Is that Rex Incognito you're reading?" Startled, she turned around, dropping the book. However, before it could hit the floor, Venti waved his hand and brought it back up to her with a swirl of winds. The vision at her waist glowed softly with amber light as she grabbed the book with one hand, Geo gold shimmering faintly as Venti dismissed the breeze he'd summoned. She slipped the novel back into the bookcase before turning to them.

"Look," she said, staring out the window. "Can you guys see the Guyun Stone Forest from here?" The group crowded around the window, looking towards the pillars rising from the sea. Tall, imposing, and grand, the stone spears stood at angles from where they'd been thrown, trapping the old gods together. The monolith that held Rex Lapis gleamed in the sunlight, its veins of gold shimmering and pulsing. "We'll head there tomorrow morning." With that, she turned and left, heading to her old house, a villa carved into the cliff face that she had made with her father hundreds of years ago. Everyone else headed towards the Wangshu Inn, which was still built around the same pillar that it was years ago. The place felt a little empty without Xiao there, but they brushed it off and fell asleep, wondering why Meiling seemed subdued.

The sun rose over a bustling city, gentle clouds floating above the Harbor as sunlight glittered over the water. They met Meiling at Liuli Pavillion, her hair gently swaying in the cool wind as she finished a steamed pork bun. "You're all here? Well then, time to go. If we start now, we'll make it there by ten." Chongyun stared at her, his face a mask of horror as he said, "You don't mean we're walking to Guyun, are you?" She grinned mischievously, cheering, "Scenic route, am I right?" Xingqiu groaned. "One day, I'll kill you. I swear I will." "But you love me, QiuQiu! Besides, don't you like to walk- OW!" She rubbed her forehead grumpily, glaring at her best friend, whose smug face stared down at her with his trusty Legend Of Sword in hand. Hu Tao snorted, Keqing smirked, and Childe burst into pure, uncontrollable laughter at the sight of her indignant face. "Fine! We're driving there! Happy now?!"

Two minutes later, they were all piled into the bus, traveling the road towards the sea. The salty scent of the breeze was beautifully pleasant, and the wind stirred their hair, cooling the bus and giving them a sense of relaxation. The stone spears rose above the sea, touching the skies and inspiring awe. Venti gave a happy squeak, his eyes sparkling as he saw the familiar view of the Guyun Stone Forest rising above the horizon. The van driver found the parking lot and pulled in, barely managing to park before Meiling jumped out, leading the way for everyone else. There was a small, well-worn path leading towards the beach, as a cliff had been carved over the beach as the years had passed. In fact, it had been Meiling's feet that had worn this path for the first time, her steps slow, as, with a heavy heart, she made her way from Liyue to check that the seals were still in place. It was still largely unchanged from the way it had been centuries before.

It took some time for all of them to get to the beach, since there were so many of them. The younger members pulled off their shoes and ran into the surf, letting the waves crash over their legs. The older people watched them, some, like Kaeya and Venti, opting to join them. Xiangling shrieked as Hu Tao splashed her, setting off a chain reaction. Soon all of the teens in the water were fighting, laughing and giggling as water flew around them. Soon, though, Jean called them back, reminding them that they still had to visit the Geo Archon. Grumbling slightly from their fun being stopped, they stood on the beach and let the Anemo users dry them off. Rai commented that they could keep their shoes off, since there was smooth rock all the way there. Several people raced across the sun-warmed rock towards the huge monolith. Hanging back to chat with Meiling, Childe noticed her abnormally quiet mood. "Meiling. You okay? You're kind of quiet today." Startled out of her reverie, she glanced up before mumbling, "Nothin'. Just wondering about the Archon."