♧ golden brim ♧ [ningguang x traveler]

#4 Zhongli

"Hello! We would like to speak to Zhongli." Paimon greets the lady standing outside of the building.

"Zhongli? Sorry, I believe he's out at the moment. Could I pass on a message?" She answers, looking a bit confused. You figure not many people come looking for him directly.

"Do you know where he could've went?" you ask, beating paimon.

She thinks for a moment before answering: "I think he signed off today, said it's for personal reasons."

"Personal reasons? What personal does Zhongli have to do these days?" Paimon turns to you, but you just shrug and thank the lady for her help, before taking your leave.

"Okay, so if we can't find Zhongli, who do you think we should see?" Paimon asks. You're both standing in the middle of Liyue's streets, not sure where to turn next.

"I don't know. Maybe Baizhu? He seems like a wise man."

"Oh, yeah you're right! Maybe we can ask him about Zhongli too, they're pretty close, right?" you give your travelling partner a nod and glance at the pharmacy. You can barely see it from here.

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"I am deeply sorry! No, Zhongli has not passed through here..." You asked Baizhu weather or not he's seen zhongli and he's given you your answer.

"Aw, what a pain!" Paimon looks quite pissed at the situation, "Well can you help us then?"

"Yes, sure! I'd love to help out my friends. So what did you need?"

You pull out the poem Ningguang gave you and hand it over to Baizhu. He reads it very carefully, focusing on every word. After he's done he folds the paper and hands it back to you.

"So, did you write this? It's definetly written in a very interesting style."

"Interesting? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I'm guessing you wrote it about a specific person. So, most poems have a certain rhythm to them. A lot of the time words repeat to make it easier to read, but this is quite different... It's written more like a story or, ah yes, a legend. But the legend itself isn't that, how do i put this, 'legendary'. As in, the person or thing you're writing about isn't something that special. Just a normal person, I guess. You make them out to be really important, while they don't exactly sound that way. Do you understand?"

"Yes, thank you so much. I'll take this... into consideration when writing my next poem."

"Ha, no need. You must have learned alot in Inazuma, this is some top quality writing. I'd buy a book of your poems!"

"You sound like childe when you give such strange compliments, you know..." Paimon chuckles a bit.

"Childe? You know him? You do mean the fatui, right?"

"Yes! Paimon and traveller met him a while ago. Paimon's suprised you know him!"

"Yes, well he stopped by just yesterday to buy some medicine. He seems to really like qiqi, haha. Well, I've known him for a while, but never got to have a good conversation with the guy. So how do you know him?"

"Let's just say he wanted to cause some trouble and we had to stop him..." you sigh. After a few seconds of silence you finally ask, "Wait, why is Childe in Liyue harbor anyway? Last time he was here... oh no."

"Dont worry. He just said he's visiting a friend, that's all."

"A Friend? Do you mean..."

"ZHONGLI!" Paimon screams put before you.

"Oh? I didn't know they were close." Baizhu wonders.

"Yes, they're close friends." you say with excitement, since you're now a step closer to finding Zhongli. "So did childe tell you where he'd be today?"

"Let's see... Well, I believe he mentioned he'd be eating out. That doesn't leave alot of options, right?"

"Yes, perfect. Paimon knows where to go!"

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You've arrived in Liuli pavilion. You make your way to the table and, as expected, see Zhongli sitting across the table from childe. The men notice you fairly quickly and both look pretty suprised.

"Finally! We've been looking for you." Paimon sighs.

"Oh! Me? Or the old guy?" Childe asks in a sarcastic tone and lends you a smirk. He gets up and walks towards you a bit, sticking out his hand, "Long time no see, traveller."

You choose not to shake it and pass him, taking his seat at the table. "We need your help." you say to Zhongli, while passing him the poem.

He nods and starts reading. Childe walks behind him and also reads over his shoulder. They both finish fairly quickly, compared to Baizhu at least.

"What interesting writing. What would you like to know?" Zhongli asks and passes the note to Childe, so the man can reread it. You make sure to give him an annoyed look for this, but don't say much.

"What do you think this means? Any ideas will do."

"Hm. Where did you find this? In some old ruins, maybe buried in a forest? Or, I'm guessing, the beach?"

"No, it was given to us."

"By Ningguang, am I right?" Childe says and gives the note back to the archon sitting in front of him. "I mean, this just sounds like some fan mail written to her. That's about it."

"Paimon's suprised you could guess so quickly..."

"I see. I didn't think of it from this perspective. Now that you mention it, I can see the Tianquan in this. Are you suggesting this has a deeper meaning? Why else would you need my help?"

"She gave this to us along with a note asking for help with the meaning, and knowing how you're probably the smartest man in Liyue, we just came here." Paimon looks almost as disappointed as you. You really thought Zhongli could help, but seems like this note really doesn't have much of a meaning.

"Do you happen to know when this was written?" Childe asks, "It might be about Ningguang, but there are a few lines in here that don't seem to fit her or her public character. No, never mind. Even if this was written in a different era it wouldn't make sense."

"Which lines?" you ask the red head.

"Well, I mean something like how they talk about just sand. Actually, I'm noticing how they compare Ningguang to the sea, don't you think? With how seashells sound like wine glasses and how she's only a grain of sand... interesting."

You think for a good moment.

"Well, Ningguang wasn't always rich, you know." you finally say.

"I suppose you're right." Childe stares at the note on the table a bit. You suddenly see his eyes light up and he says:

"Got it."