Through Thick and Thin- Diluc x (female) Reader

Chapter 52: Dihua Marsh

"And she's gone just like that?" Paimon said, crossing her arms. "This Ganyu lady sure is strange!"
Zhongli chuckled for a moment, bringing his tea to his lips to blow it cool. "It is best that you go to the chamber as soon as possible. You wouldn't want to keep the Tianquan waiting, would you?"
Aether shook his head. "No, probably not. Although, I am a little surprised. Aren't we just normal people? Why does she want to talk to us?"
"As far as I'm concerned, the only 'normal' person at this table is me," I chuckled. "You all have done something recognizable. Maybe she heard about the storm terror incident? You had a lot to do with it," I looked to Aether, who shrugged.
"Maybe. I'm not sure..." he said, looking towards the roof where Ganyu had been.
"This is important," Diluc spoke up, glancing between Aether and Paimon. "You two should go as soon as possible."
"Yes sir!" Paimon said nervous, looking back towards Aether. "Come on, lets pull another all nighter and get out of here!"
"Now?" Aether said, surprised. "But we just got here..."
"Let's go! I wonder what kind of fancy snacks they have in the Jade Chamber..." Paimon mumbled, drooling.
"Is food the only thing you think about?" Aether said, hesitantly getting up. "Alright. I'll see you guys around."
"Meet me at Dihua Marsh tomorrow, Aether," Zhongli waved. "We will gather some more materials for the ceremony there."
Aether nodded and waved to us before setting off, Paimon floating beside him. She tugged at his sleeve, pointing to a few different directions. What could she possibly be talking about?
"They are a strange group," Zhongli said, watching them walk away. "But the traveler has many things ahead of him. I'm sure of it."
I nodded in agreement. "Agreed. However, I can help but have a bad feeling," I began. The feeling was akin the one I had the day 'the incident' occurred, which nearly resulted in Dilucs death.
"Why would that be?" Diluc asked, setting his gloved hand on mine on the table. "They are going to see Ningguang, and if she were going to arrest them she would have done so by now."
"Yes, I know..." I said, pondering. "I don't think that's it, but I just can't put my finger on it."
Zhongli was quiet for a moment, and then he sighed. "Ah, well. I'm certain everything will turn out alright," he reassured me.
"I hope so," I said, sighing as well. "Just a little worried, I guess. Tomorrow is our last day in Liyue, so I'm sure nothing could happen in that time."
Diluc nodded. "Right. And even so, as long as we stick together then nothing will defeat us," he smiled, looking back to Zhongli.
"It seems that Aether and Paimon will be absent for the rest of the evening," Zhongli said, drinking some of his tea. "Why don't you two stay awhile? I'll order some more tea."
"I don't see why not," Diluc said, and I nodded in agreement.
"You two should join us at Dihua Marsh tomorrow as well," Zhongli said, waving to an employee for more tea. "If you aren't busy, that is."
I shook my head. "Oh, no. I've done what I came here to do, so we don't have any more work here. I still have one last day, though," I looked over to Diluc. "If you'd like to, we can join them."
"I don't mind," Diluc said, smiling.
"Hm... you never quite told me what you are here to do," Zhongli said, gesturing to me. "What exactly do you do in Mondstadt?"
"Oh, well..." I said, feeling put on the spot. I took a breath before continuing, a little nervous. "When I say I'm with the knights, I only really mean the alchemy division. My sister is the chief alchemists assistant, so I joined to follow her footsteps. We mainly just do experiments and such, nothing too interesting."
"Well, you did say you were grabbing samples here in Liyue," Zhongli said, turning to thank the waiter as they set a teapot down at the table. "What are you collecting?"
"Mist flower corolla and flaming flower stamen," I said, the words starting to come out more smoothly now that I was starting to get into the subject. "I came all the way from here because of a small incident in Mondstadt. I was grabbing a mist flower so the chief alchemist could do routine energy level checks, and the levels were record shattering."
"Really?" Zhongli said, studying me as he poured Diluc and I some tea.
"I actually met Diluc when I was on that assignment, but it's a long story," I looked over to Diluc, smiling a little. "It continued to grow to the point where it almost gave me frostbite when I picked up a severed petal. The energy levels kept increasing over about a week, despite the fact that the flower had been picked already. We had to get rid of it because it ended up turning into a whopperflower," I chuckled a little.
"Now that is interesting," Zhongli said, finishing pouring the tea. "How can you be so sure the energy levels weren't only increasing because of its transformation?"
"Ah, I asked the same question," I blew on my tea, the steam rising from the cup. "No, we have recorded levels from other whopper flowers going through the same transition and levels were still off the charts."
"And you say that it's nothing interesting," He chuckled alongside Diluc. I flushed a little in embarrassment, but smiled. "Now, why the flowers in Liyue?"
"The chief alchemist wanted to know if it was just the mist flowers Mondstadt, or the ley lines as a whole," I said, taking a sip of the tea. "By coming all the way over here, if we detect a similar occurrence than we can calculate how far the issue spreads."
"Does the chief alchemist theorize that this could have any lasting effects?" Zhongli asked yet another question, his face full of fascination. "It would be even stranger if it didn't, I'd imagine."
"Definitely. However, I don't think it will be a tragedy of any sort. Worst case scenario, whopperflowers and regisvines become more powerful," I glanced over at Diluc, who also watched me speak attentively. "The good news is that these increasing energy levels make it so we don't have to use as many materials for potions and such."
"So it could even be a good thing?" Diluc pipped up, drinking his tea. He watched me with interest. Was it more interesting that I initially thought it was?
I shrugged. "Possibly, but it's too early to make any assumptions."
"You have quite the future ahead of you, y/n," Zhongli said, taking a sip from his cup. "I'm sure of it."

The next day, Diluc and I made our way to Dihua Marsh to meet with Zhongli, Aether, and Paimon. We weren't surprised when they were already there, but we were when we saw Ganyu with them.
"Morning y/n!" Paimon said, her hands on her hips. "Although, it's almost noon, isn't it?"
"Sorry if we're a bit late," I said, waving.
"Not at all," Zhongli said, waving. "We were just searching for some Glaze Lillies."
"I thought I saw some growing at Yujing Terrace," I said, raising an ear. "Won't those do?"
"I'm afraid not," Ganyu spoke up. She still seemed formal talking, but something about the way she spoke seemed calmer and more relaxed. "I ran into these three, so we were just talking. It's a wonderful thing that you are putting this ceremony on for Rex Lapis," she said, looking to Zhongli.
"We are searching for wild Glaze Lillies," Zhongli said to Diluc and I. "I believe they will make a better offering."
"I see," I said, surveying the area. "So where are they?"
Aether held his hands out, several glowing Glaze Lillies sitting in his hold. "I already got some."
"I should be going," Ganyu said, giving us a slight nod before leaving. She turned and waved for a moment. "Thank you once again!"
"She seems quite happy that Rex Lapis is getting a ceremony like this," Diluc said, watching her walk away for a moment.
"That's because she's an Adepti!" Paimon said, almost excitedly.
"An Adepti?" I raised an ear. "Ganyu?"
"Not quite, she is actually half Adepti. Rex Lapis entrusted her with the duty as secretary of the Qixing when Liyue was founded," Zhongli said, also watching her walk away.
"How do you know that? That's a really long time..." I thought to myself. Ganyu had to be hundreds, no, thousands of years old.
"She was just talking to us about it," Aether said, putting the Glaze Lillies away. "It explains the horns she has, at least."
"If I'm being honest, I thought they were hair accessories," I said, scratching the back of my head awkwardly.
"So, what now?" Diluc said, crossing his arms. "Is there anything else you need?"
"It seems not," Zhongli said apologetically. "I am sorry that you came all this way."
"Hey, it's okay," Aether said, smiling to Diluc and I. "Why don't you walk back to Liyue with us? Paimon and I were going to go to Wanmin."
"Yeah! Paimon wants to try some more Liyue food!" She said, practically drooling.
"Sure, that sounds nice," I smiled, Diluc nodding in agreement. "Zhongli? Would you like to come with us?"
"I... have some business to attend to when we return," he said, straightening his posture. "Perhaps I will join you later tonight, however."
"Let's go! Paimon is starving!"

And so we set off, having no idea what was in store for us back in Liyue Harbor.