Cold Blooded

So Close...

Xingqiu awoke to a quick knock at his door. It was slightly frantic and it seemed as if the person had been knocking for a while. Xingqiu groaned as he rolled out of bed and Popsicle yowled in surprise when his perch decided to move.

Xingqiu took a quick look in the mirror and tried to fix his hair and unwrinkle his clothes as well as he could. When that came to no avail, he gave up and instead went to the door. He opened the door and came face to face with Xieshu.

The man had a sly smile on his lips as he handed a slip of paper to Xingqiu. "Zhoshou will be waiting for you at the docks in half an hour. I suggest you try a change of clothes."

With that the man bowed and walked away. Xingqiu closed his door slowly. It was too early for old men and secretive smiles. He unfolded the piece of paper and ran towards his bedroom the next moment. He changed into the first presentable clothes he could find and brushed out his hair as quickly as he could. Grabbing his sword from beside the door, Xingqiu raced towards the docks.

The Karlin was docking today.

-<>-

Getting permission to dock took slightly longer than Andrei would have usually guessed, but he hadn't been to Liyue Harbor in a fairly long time. Saya held Chongyun in her arms as she walked over to Andei.

"We're finally getting him home," Saya said with a small sigh. Chongyun clapped his hands and cheered even though he clearly had no clue what they were talking about.

"Yeah," Andrei smiled at the two kids. It was strange Saya had grown up so much since he had last seen her, and Chongyun, well... he had gotten over a decade younger. "It seems fitting that the ship that took him away, should bring him back."

"Yeah," Saya said with a small sigh. She looked out at the approaching harbor and her grip tightened a bit on Chongyun. "Ca- Captain? I haven't been to Liyue in a little while... but are there normally Milleleth gathered right at the docks?"

"What do you..." Andrei's voice trailed off. He looked at the docks and the crowd that he had assumed was a bustle of merchants and travelers was instead a whole squad of Milleleth.

Andrei cursed under his breath, "Zyrenia, prepare to be boarded. It seems as if our receival at Liyue won't be as warm as we thought."

"Aye, Captain." Zyrenia nodded knowingly. "What would you like me to do with the cargo in the hold, sir?"

"Hm," Andrei scratched the back of his neck. How exactly did you hide a fatui harbinger? "Change its packaging and get a lid on its top."

"Understood, sir," the smallest of smiles creeped onto her lips with the odd code. She headed into the cabin area and then hurried below decks a moment later with a bundle of clothes and a cap in her hands.

Andrei looked back at the squad of soldiers waiting and the docks and took a deep breath. He looked at Saya, Chongyun, and saw Lord Tartaglia make his way onto the deck in shabby clothes and a cap that had most of his bright red hair. This was going to be real fun to explain to anyone if they found out.

~author's note~

I'm sorry this is so late. I'm really behind, but I'm trying to finish all the chapters I missed right now. If we're lucky the next Friday's chapter will be on here within the hour and I will have a chapter for tomorrow ready. Thank you for reading and for being patient.

chapter art in-game