History repeats itself (a Genshin Impact OC insert)

Chapter 22 - cocogoat!

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Arriving at Bubu Pharmacy, they notice something odd. "Huh, the reception is deserted. And it seems kinda spooky in here... hello? Is anybody there?", Paimon says as she looks around. "Welcome to Bubu Pharmacy.", a voice from seemingly nowhere answers. 'If I remember correctly...', Lyra thinks to herself as she starts going closer to the reception.

"Uh... L-Lyra? What are you doing?" The said girl ignores her flying companion's question and instead looks over the counter and down to the floor. Or rather, it looked like she looked down to the floor behind the counter to the others. She lets a small smile grace her face before she speaks. "Hello Qiqi. We'd like to buy something." The others look at her confused.

A little girl comes from around the counter to join them in front of the reception. "Is she... a zombie?!", Aether exclaims. "Ah... Paimon thinks you might be right! Look at the talisman on her forehead!" – "Welcome to Bubu Pharmacy. I am Qiqi. Once upon a time, Qiqi died. Then, Qiqi was saved by the adepti. Now, Qiqi is a zombie.", the little girl introduces herself.

"Qiqi, do you sell Everlasting Incense here?", Lyra asks her. "Excuse me, ma'am. Did you bring your prescription?", she asks her. Lyra looks at Zhongli for answer. "I... surely no prescription is needed to purchase everlasting incense? It's not a controlled substance..." – "Qiqi can get your medicine. But only if you show Qiqi your prescription. These are Qiqi's orders, from Qiqi."

Aether looks at Zhongli and Lyra for an explanation. "'Orders'?" Lyra turns to him to explain. "Zombies are limited to acting within the confines of their orders. And in this case, the zombie issues her own orders to herself."

Meanwhile, Zhongli converses with Qiqi. "My dear Qiqi, we didn't bring a prescription, I'm afraid. But we do hope you can sill help us find some everlasting incense." – "okay then.", Qiqi answers nonchalantly. Paimon looks at Zhongli bewildered. "How did you manage that?", she asks, only to get ignored by everyone.

"But. Qiqi helps you, you help Qiqi. Only fair." – "Paimon doesn't understand. Since when do customers need to do favours for customer service staff?" This time, Paimon's question doesn't go unanswered. "Never mind, just think of it as a peer-to-peer transaction. That way everybody wins. Sometimes, in Liyue, the art of the deal is simply about victory via mental gymnastics.", Zhongli answers.

"go to Mt. Tianheng. Find he Guizhong Ballista. And hunt a cocogoat. Please and thank you."

Lyra looks away as she holds back a silent chuckle. The other three look dumbfounded.

"Hunt the what which the which at where?", Aether asks. "Guizhong Ballista... I have heard of this device before." Zhongli starts. "It is a kind of crossbow turret, installed on Mt. Tianheng by an adeptus in the distant past. An early mechanical device. Located in Tianheng pass, it was designed to automatically fire at large monsters, protecting Liyue from external threats."

Paimon looks at him with stars in her eyes. "Mr. Zhongli really knows Liyue inside out!", she cheers. Said man sighs. "Apparently, not quite... this is the first I have ever heard of the 'Cocogoat'." – "the cocogoat is a legendary animal. An adeptibeast.", Qiqi says.

"Did you wanna add anything else, or...", Paimon asks. "No. Just that the cocogoat is a legendary animal. An adeptibeast. What it looks like: don't know. Where to find it: don't know either. Where it came from: also don't know."

Lyra's eyes flash with an idea, which goes unnoticed by the others, then nods. "She is right. The cocogoat is not something you see every day. Actually, they are very rare to come by. Since there haven't been any sightings of a cocogoat in about a millennia I believe, no information about them is known. Only that they have wonderful, delicious milk.", she says, mirth in her eyes, again going unnoticed by the others.