Unreachable Hand || [ xiao ]

2.2 Till the day we meet again

Artist: @ luciel0313 from twitter

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2.2 till the day we meet again 

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As the day of the lantern, rite approaches closer and closer aether and paimon starts to get busier. Many commissions are assigned to them and both have not much time to rest at all. Xiao and Zhongli stayed away from the city but close enough to see the harbor getting decorated even more. 

The light sparkles through the city at dawn. The light from each house and building lights up creating a beautiful place. The light from the hanging lantern glows as people walk around, even in the night they still prepare for the day. "This year's lantern rite seems more lively than usual," Zhongli commented as two of them, Zhongli and Xiao, looked down on the city from a hill nearby. 

As xiao scanned through the city, he spotted Ganyu, running around the place with a pile of paper in her hand. "seems like ganyu will always be busy" xiao murmurs out. "hm? ah perhaps on the lantern rite day we should invite her out. how about for a small talk?" Zhongli suggested. 

hearing this xiao had some thoughts about it but gave it a go. he nodded in response. "I will go back to the Guili plains now. when the night falls, we don't know what might come out" Said xiao as he got up from the place and disappeared. 

seeing xiao disappeared Zhongli murmured out. "still fulfilling his duty till this day...". He then gets up from the place slowly, walking down the hill with his feet. On the way down he met childe again who went for his duty during the day alongside with aether. "oh? I guess I'm a little too late. I was hoping to hear more about y/n from Adeptus xiao" said childe, upon noticing Zhongli walking down the hill. Zhongli chuckles a bit at his statement. 

"What's so funny. Mr. Zhongli!!" he yelled out. "no no. nothing is funny. I just like the fact that we all are interested in their story. though I must say, it must be painful for both of them" 

Zhongli glance over to the city and back to the path in front of him, walking down alongside with childe. "what made you decided to rescue her if I may ask?" Zhongli question. He didn't want to come off sound rude but Zhongli is curious. He knows very well that there is a thing such as reason to wanting to save someone but he still wants to know what is childe thinking. 

"...I- well my body moves on its own.. to be honest, I feel like she didn't deserve it. I just thought it's too much for someone who stole gnosis to go through that hell path. in the prison day that I spent with her, I know now how kind she is' ' replied childe. 

Zhongli hummed in reply. "What happens after you rescue her from the arena?" he continued to ask. "she was physically and mentally exhausted. On behalf of her physical health with some rest would be fine but I'm not sure about her mental health. After we both were blasted away, we landed on soft snow, by that time y/n was already at her peak" childe paused. 

Zhongli and childe cross the bridge and walk inside the liyue harbor, passing the alchemist table. "fatui is fast, I had no choice but to leave her with some boots and coat and go back to distract them. walking alongside her till she gets out of Snezhnaya was too risky. So I went back to distract the army while hoping that she got away" he awkwardly stops and nervously looks away. "i- I don't know if she survived in such condition" said childe. 

"may I suggest a contract?" Zhongli spoke up. In response, childe nods his head. "if I heard it correctly, you travel around the region? on my behalf and xiao's will you search around y/n? leave liyue to us. Especially xiao... he will probably not leave his duty to find her, but I know he is searching for her secretly all around liyue" said Zhongli.