3 : Departure

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Y/N'S POV

Alright ! Today's the day I will befriend Xiao !

I skip the needlessly wordy description of how I wake up and immediately eat breakfast. I finish quickly and then get in the shower right away. Now... let the cooking begin ! Actually no- wait where... is the recipe ? I'm sure I left it on the table beside my bed... 

"Heehee."

I hear a little girls giggle behind me. I turn around to see a translucent child holding the recipe. As much as I'd like to figure out why this child is see through, I'm much more focused on the task at hand, cooking Xiao his favorite dish. I have to make a dish so mind-blowingly good, he'll let me blow-- 

"Come play with Dusky Ming~"

My thoughts are cut off by the child's eerie speaking voice.

"Hi, uh... I think you have something thats mine actually, could you give it back to me ?"

The child giggles before phasing through a wall and running away. They didn't consider that the recipe doesn't actually go through walls like they can and so the recipe falls to the ground. The child then comes back through the door to get the recipe before they run again.

I chase her but eventually they disappear again, but this time I can't see where they went. I don't really understand what just happened but surely Verr knows something about this, right ?

I ask her about the little girl named Dusky Ming and she said she's a resident of Wangshu Inn. She told me that she likes to pull pranks on people and then go out and play in Guili Plains so that's where I went.

I start looking around for her but a ghostly little girl isn't exactly the easiest thing to find. But while walking past a big rock I hear a familiar voice speaking.

"You can't just go around stealing the guests' belongings. Give that back to whoever you stole that from"

"O-okay..."

I take a peek at the people talking to see Xiao scolding the girl. She walks over to me and hands me the recipe. I'm a bit taken aback at how she immediately knew where I was but, I take the recipe still kind of confused on what's happening right now.

"Come play with Dusky Ming again okay ?"

And with that, she ran off back to Wangshu Inn. I watch her silhouette disappear into the horizon before I turn to look at Xiao, only to find he's been staring at me intensely this whole time. His glare was enough to get me a little bit flustered.

"Uh... hi Xiao !"

I expect a hello back but instead he just walks away. That's it, now I'm even more determined to befriend him ! This is going to be the best Almond Tofu he's ever tasted ! I run back to the inn and ask for Smiley Yanxiao's help to make the Almond Tofu.

He teaches me a lot of new cooking techniques and by the end of it, not only does the Almond Tofu look delicious, but I learned a few new cooking tricks ! 

I walk up to the balcony with the Almond Tofu in hands careful not to trip over and drop it. And there I see Xiao again, looking out at Dihua Marsh.

"Hi Xiao... I made you some--"

Before I can even say what I made him, he starts walking towards me and graciously takes the almond tofu out of my hands.

"What do you want ?"

"Oh nothing really, I just wanted to talk to you, is all."

"Is that so ? You aren't here to ask me for a favor ? Or tell me Rex Lapis was killed ?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Hm, you're strange... all the other humans I've met only come to me when they need one of their mortal quarrels solved by an adeptus, but you are here to merely... chat ?"

"Oh so that's why you're so strong ! And yes, you seemed like a nice person when we first met."

"Fine, then what do you want to talk about ?"

"Oh I don't know, I guess I didn't think that far ahead."

"You wanted to talk to me... despite not knowing what to talk about ?"

"Well isn't that how you make friends ?"

"Friends you say... hm."

Xiao looks back off into the distance and we stay there for quite a while. Not talking, just admiring the view together. The wind here is nice. The sun starts to set and I almost forgot. Tonight's my last night here !

"Oh uh Xiao, tonight's my last night here, just so you know. I'll be traveling to Liyue harbor first thing in the morning."

He doesn't reply. Instead he just glances at me with a sort of... disappointed expression ?

"Well I better go to bed now, I've got a long journey ahead of me. It was nice meeting you !"

"Likewise."

I wave off to Xiao and walk back to my room to sleep. I leave Wangshu Inn tomorrow. I'm gonna miss this place. The people were so nice ! And I wish I got to talk to Xiao some more... but it can't be helped. I'm on a mission, and nothing will come between me and my dreams !

3RD PERSON POV

The dawn of a new day comes and Y/N is up bright and early to leave as soon as they can to get to Liyue Harbor.

Y/N packs all of their things and leaves Wangshu Inn after saying their goodbyes to the workers. Y/N sadly couldn't find Xiao though, the one they wanted to say goodbye to the most.

But alas, it can't be helped, Y/N shakes their head and marches onward to Liyue Harbor. They make it all the way through Guili Plains before the sun sets. According to the map, it shouldn't take much longer to get to Liyue Harbor.

Y/N finds a nice safe spot to set up a camp and then they go to bed. They did find something strange though, the entire time Y/N was walking they could feel something following them, bushes rustling at every twist and turn. But they paid no mind. Sleep was their highest priority.

And so our sweet little adventurer drifted off into dreamland.

But the world had other plans for our little adventurer.

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