Dominator Stellae

19 | For Me, a World of Lies

The sun burning into my face was the first thing I registered when I awoke. The next thing I registered was another presence on the mountain with me. I tensed up and slowly sat up to gauge how far away from me they were only to be met with the sight of Xiao standing with his back turned to me near the edge of Mt. Tianheng. I didn't have time to wonder what he was doing here since he immediately broke the silence.

"Sleeping outside with no protection is careless," he said, his yellow eyes piercing into my soul when he turned his head to look at me. As closed off as ever, I suppose. I stood, dusted off my pants, and joined him by the edge. It was easy to see the people below walking around the city.

I replied, "Maybe so, but I assure you I'm a light sleeper. What brings you to Liyue." He peered out the side of his eyes at me, a distasteful look in them. I deserved that, I really did. I was just pleasantly surprised he was actually speaking to me. There was no doubt in my mind that he felt betrayed that I'd left after promising him that I'd be by his side.

"Just when do you plan to explain yourself?" He asked, crossing his arms. "It's been a day and I'm getting impatient."

You've been impatient since we met millennia ago, a day wasn't even that long. I held that thought back and kept it to myself. As much as I loved being my sarcastic self, I knew when and when not to make jokes. "Go back to Jueyun Karst and gather the adepti on Mt. Aocang," I instructed. "I'll be there...in three hours give or take. I have some business to attend to."

Xiao sighed, annoyed. "Fine." In a haze of black and turquoise, he disappeared leaving me alone on the mountain. I breathed in the quiet, cool air and prepared myself to head back into the city. The silence was comforting but I knew I couldn't just avoid going down there. Avoidance leads to bigger messes. And bigger messes meant worse pain when all was said and done.

Despite not wanting to be in Liyue at the present moment, I descended the mountain. It seemed even livelier than usual and I believe people were headed toward Yujing Terrace. So, the Rite of Parting was still happening? I shook my head and excused myself as I moved through the crowd of people. I wondered if Baizhu would be attending the rite. When I entered Bubu Pharmacy, there appeared to be nobody at the counter.

"Hello?" I called, slowly walking up to it. Immediately, I saw there actually was someone there. A child, to be exact. There was an adepti sigil on her head, her skin had the paleness reminiscent of a corpse, and there was a rather large fulu talisman attached to her lilac hair. She couldn't be less than maybe eight years old, so why was she here?

She slowly looked up, her dull pink eyes wide but void of emotion. "Hello...I am Qiqi. Do you have a prescription? Or...are you here to see someone?" Qiqi questioned me, patiently awaiting my answer. So many questions about how she got here and her origin flew through my head.

I pushed the ideas away and smiled at her, "I'm here to see Lei-li."

She stared at me for a moment. "...Who?"

Ah, so she had amnesia. It was no doubt a byproduct of her resurrection as a zombie. "She has brown hair, green eyes, and brown horns."

"Oh, dust girl? Follow me." She turned around and went through the door behind the counter. I followed after, nervous that Lei-li would tell me to leave. I just wanted to be sure she was okay before I did anything else. Qiqi opened a secondary door that led to a room I last remembered seeing Lei-li. Sure enough, the brown haired woman is sitting up in bed with a bowl of soup in her hands. She looked up once she heard us.

Lei-li pursed her lips, a conflicted look on her face. "Juno- er... Aphelion..."

"Juno is perfectly fine."