Routine is easy to fall back into. His few days of absence from the funeral parlour are easier than usual to catch up to, all thanks to the increased efficiency of their newest employee, Meng. For a guy who jumps at the sight of his own boss, he’s surprisingly good at handling the typical procedures.
And it helps that this week is slow. Hu Tao complains, talking about inflation and the economy (words she picked up from a certain Guhua Clan disciple), but Zhongli doesn’t mind, not when he can sneak a geology magazine into his office and read it over a cup of tea.
Green tea doesn’t need to be boiled, but the funeral parlour’s hot water dispenser only has two extremes in terms of its settings. He blows on his scalding tea and hopes the flavour remains intact.
The mystery behind cor lapis: its controversial origins. Ah, they’re back on track. He made the mistake of participating in this controversy years ago, trying to convince a band of drunken, self-proclaimed non-believers that the brilliant yellow stone had originated from the scales of Rex Lapis, Liyue’s deceased god-guardian. A red-faced young man had pointed a pencil at him accusingly, asking him if he had any proof that this guardian really existed. Was he actually there, he had sneered, or was he just making everything up?
Zhongli remembers walking out of that room, wishing he could fling himself overboard the Pearl Galley and end his misery.
He takes a sip of tea and moves onto the next article.
The Chasm’s crystal ore vein: the future of blacksmithing? That’s interesting.
Apparently, this new variant of ore had a level of purity never seen before in any other part of Liyue, and it was located—ah. He was there a week ago, too busy fighting off geovishaps in cramped tunnels to notice the unusual ore vein. Maybe he should backtrack, ask Ganyu to pull some strings so he, a civilian, could access the mines. He can say he’s writing a thesis… no, the paperwork for that process is torture, and he doesn’t want to put Ganyu through any more of that. Her fellow secretaries had found her passed out on her desk on Monday, buried in piles of reports on divine remains, and she had apparently made a great fuss about being forced to take a break.
He should talk to her about that sometime.
‘Find anything interesting?’
Zhongli forces himself to not jump. Peering over his shoulder, pretending to read alongside him, is Childe. Zhongli looks around. The door is closed, but there is a slight breeze from his left, a sure sign of his open office window.
‘You could have knocked on the front door.’
‘Yeah, I could, but I can’t risk getting this suit dirty. My washing machine broke, and I’ve been doing all my laundry by hand. Hu Tao’s buckets on top of doorframes are a lot more terrifying when all your clothes are still drying off on your balcony.’
Zhongli sighs. ‘I will talk to her about this.’
‘No, no, there’s no need.’ Childe perches himself on the edge of Zhongli’s desk. ‘Being wary is good for the mind. Keeps it sharp. Unlike all the work these past few days.’
His clenches and unclenches his hands, as if to demonstrate the depths of his excessive energy. Zhongli finishes the rest of his tea in one go, watching Childe’s face visibly light up when he sets down the magazine and heads for the door.
‘I forgot to ask you,’ says Childe. ‘Are plus-ones allowed?’
‘Pardon?’
‘I invited a friend to lunch with us. I… may have let slip that you know everything about anything—‘
‘That is an exaggeration.’
‘That is entirely my mistake, haha, sorry.’ When he next speaks, there is a hint of envy in his voice. ‘She wouldn’t talk to me for the entirety of last week, but now she wants to talk to you, get to know the local myths and legends. Such is the charm of a funeral consultant, huh?’
‘Hm.’ Zhongli pauses in the act of pulling on his coat. ‘Why is she interested in that specifically?’
‘No clue,’ says Childe. ‘She’s always been very interested in dead gods. Think it has something to do with her missing brother. Went missing on an archaeology dig, probably.’
Zhongli files that detail away for later.
Lunch on Wednesdays (sometimes on other days as well) is reserved for Childe and his growing interest in Liyue’s gastronomy. To be completely honest, Zhongli didn't expect the young man’s initial feigned interest to develop into an obsession that drove him to eat his way through every single restaurant in the city, armed with his weakest cutlery.
Today, he’s no better at it than usual, but refuses Zhongli’s offer for a fork. Though he’s not above stabbing his food with his chopsticks when he thinks no one is looking.
Wanmin Restaurant’s main attraction is the child prodigy Xiangling, Chef Mao’s daughter. Thanks to the Rite of Descension holidays, they’ve been running into her more often than not, with great benefits to both Xiangling’s penchant for experimenting with new ingredients and Childe’s curiosity.
Zhongli is watching Childe try to wolf down a Jueyun Chilli-seasoned steak when he feels like he’s being watched. Glancing quickly over his shoulder, he catches a glimpse of a white scarf, followed by what looks like a pale floating balloon.
Zhongli taps Childe on the wrist. ‘She’s here.’
Childe can only nod, too busy downing his third glass of water to speak. When the restaurant doors open, Lumine scans the few customers for a moment and heads for their table, trying her best to conceal her sword behind her back.
Her floating companion, Paimon, speaks first. ‘Hi! Paimon’s been looking forward to seeing you! Uh… she means, she’s met you before, but that was before we heard about you!’
Lumine simply nods. Childe gives a shy wave, still glued to his glass of water. Zhongli sets down his bowl, trying and failing to comprehend… whatever Paimon is supposed to be. A fairy? A white-haired child who just so happens to be able to float?
He makes a conscious decision to be polite. ‘It is a pleasure to meet you as well.’
‘Me too! Uh…’ Paimon floats closer to Lumine, and then in a loud whisper, ‘How do we ask him?’
‘I am used to all sorts of inquiries from the people of Liyue. You’re free to ask away. I’m not easily offended, despite what my appearance would imply.’
Paimon jumps back in shock, still whispering loudly, ‘How did he hear us?’
Zhongli thinks Childe is trying hard not to laugh, but it is at that precise moment that a ringing sounds from his pocket. Childe whips out his phone, eye widening as he realises who it is, and catches Zhongli’s attention with a wave towards the door.
‘Go. I can handle this.’
Childe nods frantically and leaves, almost tripping over a stray stool in his haste. Xiangling pokes her head out from the kitchen at the commotion, eyes brightening as she notices her new guests, but she retreats soon enough. Some dishes require constant attention.
Lumine’s eyes never leave Zhongli as he finishes his soup. He suppresses a cough, as if the sound would scare her away.
‘Ask him about Azhdaha,’ whispers Paimon.
Zhongli’s initial shock makes him miss Lumine’s question.
‘Could you repeat the question?’ he says, as calmly as possible.
‘What do you know about the rampage of the dragon Azhdaha?’
No one, not a single soul should be able to remember that disaster. No one in this city is old enough to have lived through it, and the beginnings of the Qixing had erased every single trace of it from historical records. But here is a young woman with strange eyes and an even stranger motive, asking about it as if it were a conversation on their favourite foods.
Zhongli reaches for a nonexistent cup of tea to calm his nerves.
‘That is a tale lost to time.’
That is the truth. But he has to tread carefully from now on.
He chooses his words.
‘Older tales will speak of a sightless creature, its existence a manifestation of stone and crystal, and how Rex Lapis was merciful enough to give him a physical body. I believe that this is but embellishment.’
He reaches for his imaginary cup of tea again. Paimon follows his hand with her gaze, unlike her companion, who blinks once, slowly, before nodding for him to continue.
‘No matter how he gained a corporeal form, his appearance was accompanied by a period of prosperity never seen before in the nation, brought on by his contract with Liyue’s guardian himself.’
He doesn’t elaborate. Paimon opens her mouth, but shuts it when Lumine pokes her in the side.
‘However, these good days would not last long. Azhdaha’s mind began to decay, though for whatever reason is unclear. There is the theory about an underground network of energy… regardless, he began attacking the very people he swore to protect. That was a breach of his contract.’
Zhongli places his hands underneath the table, not trusting them to stay steady. He thinks Lumine notices anyway.
‘With his own friend a threat to his people, Rex Lapis took action. In a misguided attempt to preserve his friend’s good name, he destroyed all records of the attacks, and with time, the memories of them faded.’
‘Friend?’ says Paimon, high-pitched. Lumine claps a hand over the ear closer to Paimon and blinks again.
‘It is a natural conclusion to draw,’ says Zhongli.
‘And how do you know all this?’ Lumine says, her voice barely audible over the chatter of patrons in the restaurant.
‘I have my sources.’
Paimon opens and closes her mouth. Lumine nods once, never taking her eyes off Zhongli.
‘Thank you,’ she says.
‘Do you think it’s what they want?’ whispers Paimon as the travellers get up to leave.
‘Enough resentment,’ murmurs Lumine. ‘Even if it’s just ashes left…’
They realise Zhongli is still listening and stop talking.
Unpleasant puzzle pieces are clicking in his mind. They were there, when he was first scouting out the area around Azhdaha. And here they are, asking about a long-forgotten tale, talking about ashes…
Out of the corner of his eye, he catches sight of something shiny, dropped from Lumine’s pocket. He immediately swipes it with some complaints from his spine, ready to call for her, but seeing what it is makes his blood run cold.
It’s his hair tie, the one he left at the grave. If they have it, then…
The door to the restaurant all but slams open, making him jump and drop the ornament. With long strides, Childe makes it back to his table, his arms visibly shaking as he sits down.
If Zhongli weren’t so worried about the last of Azhdaha’s remains and the strange travellers, he would have noticed that Childe is breathing heavily, hands clenched atop his knees. But Zhongli is decidedly not calm for the first time in years.
‘Childe,’ he says. That seems to snap the other man out of his quiet rage. ‘Do you know where your traveller friends usually go?’
Childe shakes his head. ‘They wander. Try asking around.’
Zhongli all but bolts out of the restaurant, running towards god knows where. All he knows is that he needs to talk to them, mask off this time.
He’s never needed honesty more.
~~~
When the adrenaline wears off and his knees begin to hurt, he realises he’s left Childe with the bill again. The guilt settles like dust, slow but heavy. He’s not as unobservant as many like to claim: he knows something is wrong, and he should have stayed a while, even if all he can do is offer words of comfort.
Then he remembers the ashes, and starts running once more.
He’s talked to every shopkeeper in this area. They all held a fragment of the puzzle that is the traveller’s movements, and the only conclusion he can draw from their statements is that Lumine is awfully inconsistent.
She shows up to buy fifty tomatoes at once, then never returns. Well, until yesterday. She bought perfume here once but never returned. I’ve seen her. Blonde. Annoying. Always accuses me of scamming my customers. Her? Don’t know much. Not sure if she even has a house. Saw her sleeping on a pavement once.
His frantic jog is taking him further and further away from the centre of the city, heading towards the suburbs. Maybe the people there would remember something about her.
He isn’t paying too much attention to the road, not even when he wanders onto it. The angry honk of a car makes him jump and look around wildly.
‘What’s your problem? Water for brains?’ yells the driver before swerving around him and zooming off. Zhongli sighs and finds a nice bit of pavement to sit on.
This is pointless. This city is huge, and Lumine is quick. He should have stayed behind, asked Childe for help. He was the one who had set up their meeting, after all.
His phone rings. Rubbing his tired eyes, he glances at the screen. It’s a message from someone with the username lordoftheocean, and he has a feeling he knows this person.
‘You coming tonight? Celebration’
With a jolt, Zhongli remembers the invitation that Childe had passed on to him last week. He can’t believe he didn’t check for any appointments today.
Replying to Beidou’s text with a quick ‘yes’, he starts making his way back to the nearest train station. He doesn’t consider himself an alcoholic (unlike some people) but there’s nothing like a good meal with friends to calm the nerves. And he has the opportunity to discuss this matter with Ganyu.
He realises he doesn’t have his wallet when he reaches the ticket counter, so he walks back home.