Xiao stirred his almond tofu gently with his chopstick. He felt more and more reluctant to divulge any personal information about Barbatos with the traveler. As time went on, his memories seemed not just to fade, but also to grow more and more painful. As such Xiao preferred to not think about the past at all. He would try to avoid dealing with them in whichever way was possible, even forcing himself to avoid Barbatos whenever he appeared in Liyue. However, digging into those memories was much easier than expected, both emotionally and memory wise. He frowned a little while looking into the distance. Why that was, he wondered. Were those memories really so good?
Aether arrives while Xiao was still lost in thought. He looks a little more grave than he did in previous sessions. Xiao chose not to remark on this, instead ceremoniously taking the plate of almond tofu from the boy's hands and adding it to his own.
"What if that was for me?" Aether asks, mock scowling. Xiao gives him a withering look. Neither of them speak for a few minutes.
"Can you continue on where you left off?" Aether asks, breaking the silence. Xiao makes a small motion in his chair like jumping, so lost in thought he was surprised. "I want to hear more about your relationship with Venti."
Xiao stays quiet for a moment longer, not making a move. He refuses to look Aether in the eyes, instead electing to stare straight at the ceiling. His lips finally part. "Alright," he responds.
When Barbatos reappeared that day, I forgot about how he had previously left me. I just made a happy noise and accepted his alcohol. It was what felt like the first day I was genuinely happy since he had first appeared. He laughed and joked, and I nodded along, just glad to see him back.
He didn't leave again for about a month. That month felt like the happiest point of my life. I would learn later that he was attempting to indoctrinate me into his sluggish lifestyle. That's just how he is.
I told him about what happened with my master. I told him how useless I felt that after promising one of us would die I let him escape. Barbatos seemed to be proud of me for just driving him out. I told him there was a good chance he could reappear, in which case I'd be fighting for my life this time. It would be even harder than before given that he would be prepared for my hostility. Barbatos just laughed and told me if I did it before, I could do it again, but even he looked a little uneasy.
During that period of time, I received my vision rather unceremoniously. I woke up and found it under my body. I don't know why Barbatos provided me with it given what I know of him in hindsight.
That vision granted me amazing power. I was able to transform temporarily into wind and spear my enemy at great speeds, I felt light on my feet to the point I could jump three times the height of a human, and I was able to conjure weapons made of wind. I thanked Barbatos, for I knew this power would be able to help me kill my master permanently. His reply wasn't what I expected.
"Xiao, why don't you ask the help of the people of the village to stave off your master?" I blinked at him. "What?"
The wind god looked like he was struggling with his words for a few seconds. "What I mean," he said carefully, "is that you weren't the only one wronged by your master. The people of this town were as well. And I'd bet they'd be willing to fight to make sure he stayed away from it."
I shake my head. "They're too weak. They'd die before they were able to raise their weapons. They might eventually overwhelm him with their numbers, but at that point, would their even be a town to defend?" Barbatos looked as if he was about to make another objection, but stopped. "Well, it probably won't matter anyway. We'll be able to defeat your master easy as pie!" I blushed a little when I heard him say "we", happy that he would agree to stay with me.
Looking back on it, I found it ironic that he saved my life but wanted to kill my master when I had done far more harm to people. I guess his ideas of "freedom" won out over his desire to save people. Although it didn't necessarily have to been done because of ideals, he could've saved me because he thought I was weaker and easier to manipulate…
I spent the next few weeks preparing with Barbatos to kill my master. We were able to harmonize well together, both of us having wind powers. I would attack using my spear and he would both provide a constant attack from behind, meaning my master couldn't focus his full attention on me, and prevent him from fleeing again using his powers of flight.
Whenever we weren't practicing, we were enjoying each others friendship. We wouldn't even need to talk, I'd just lie my head against the bard's shoulder, and he'd hold me. We'd stay like that for hours.
Very rarely did I return to "Liyue". I chose to sleep in the shade of a tree rather than find a haven in the town. I felt ashamed of what I'd done to the people there. They wouldn't want anything more to do with me. Barbatos seemed to go there rather often however, playing his instrument to the tune of an old folk song. He'd acquire money that way, which usually went straight to alcohol. He managed to scrap enough together to rent a small apartment that we could both sleep in, but I refused out of panic.
"What do you mean, panic?" Aether suddenly interrupted. Xiao looks startled for the second time that day. "I didn't want to be reliant on him. I knew that if I agreed, I'd be following him around like a lost puppy for the rest of my life. In addition, I didn't want him to think that I was needy." "But Venti was the one who asked," Aether points out. "That's correct," Xiao states, looking slightly angry. "If I didn't speak so soon, I might have agreed." Aether quirks an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything.
The only times I went down to "Liyue" was to buy something, either for myself or Barbatos. Usually alcohol. Sometimes other types of food. Barbatos insisted I try almond tofu, which he later described as "Liyue's best contribution to Teyvat"
"Oh, so you eat almond tofu because it reminds you of your friendship with Barbatos?" asks Aether. "Certainly not!" replies Xiao. "I eat it because it reminds me of the past I can never escape, the hope and dreams of the people I ate, not just by consuming a part of their soul, but by driving a spear through their heart." Aether looks nonplussed. "…That was a joke." the yaksha replies, taking a bite of his food. "I like it because its sweet."
Anyway, whenever I went down to Liyue, I avoided eye contact with any of the humans. I knew they hated me and feared me. I even wore foreign clothes and hid my hair in a hood to disguise myself, although I doubt anyone was tricked.
"Are you sure you didn't interact with any of the humans?" Aether asks. Xiao frowns. "Stop interrupting me boy. I'm trying to talk. Most of them were scared of me, so they didn't attempt to talk to me." He looks as if was thinking, for a further minute. "Actually, there was one human."
Venti didn't just enjoy one brand of wine, he loved a variety of them. Although I was able to enjoy cheap wine created from rotten grapes, he didn't. I guess a few centuries of being an alcoholic lets you distinguish between wines. He sent me into town one day to buy a drink called "Osmanthus wine". I found a stall that sold wine, and keeping my head down, I started to count out the mora, before the stall owner suddenly talked. "You're the demon that haunted this town." A statement, not a question.
I looked the stall owner in the eyes. It was a tall woman. I can't remember what she looked like, except for her eyes. They were a haunting amber color. I replied bluntly to her. "Yes." I didn't know what else I could say.
She laughed a little. I didn't see what was so funny. She nudged my body and pointed to my vision. "What's that?"
"A vision from the wind god."
"Do you know him?"
"Yes."
She laughed again, and gave me the Osmanthus wine. She didn't even ask for payment.
I remember she had arrived only a few months into my master's reign of terror on "Liyue". She never prayed to him but never was on my master's bad end either. I always thought she was creepy and avoided her. Seems I completely forgot about her up until now.
She wasn't particularly relevant to that time in my life. I brought Barbatos his wine, which he immediately forced me to drink.
One day Barbatos asked me a strange question. "Do you want to come to Mondstadt with me?" "You're leaving Venti?" I responded, crestfallen. "No, of course not, not right now!" he shook his head vigorously. "I have to go back to Mondstadt eventually, so I can help the people if they ever need it, provide them with visions, and all that godly stuff. Do you want to come with me after we defeat your master?"
I was going to say no on reflex, but thinking about it, there wasn't any real reason to say no. I had no friends or family apart from him. Everyone in "Liyue" hated my guts. Apart from being born there, I had no ties to the location. I slowly nodded. "Alright…" I said.
"Yayyy!" Barbatos replied. He gave me a quick hug which made me feel lightheaded.
Contrary to what one would think upon looking at the carefree bard, Barbatos was very sly. Coming into my life at the very moment when I had no one around me and offering to take me back to his home. It makes me sick.
The next day when I awoke, I didn't see Barbatos anywhere around me. I felt nervous, on edge. What was wrong?
The air around me suddenly compressed. I dodged just in time to avoid what would've been a fatal blow. It was my former master.
He looked angry, but not the angry he had the last time I tried to kill him. He had a purpose now. Putting an end to me. I didn't give him a chance to throw the next punch. I dashed towards him, spearing the location where he had just been. He managed to fly around behind me and kicked me in the back of my knee. I nearly knuckled over, but knowing that would be my death, sprinted a few meters away. A giant fist fell over where my head had just been.
I stayed still, holding my spear towards the ground, as if I meant to stab it. My master took the bait. He rushed at me. I leapt above his head and drove the spear towards where he was. He dodged, but not quickly enough. I maimed his foot badly enough it would need to be severed.
He glared at me again. He transformed partially into his wind form to compensate for his hurt foot, but not so far that he couldn't deliver even more blows. I sprinted towards him and drove my spear through where his heart should've been. At that moment though, he was completely wind. I didn't damage him at all. He pulled away from me, turned partially solid, and delivered a punch to my gut.
I keeled over, but my master had already retreated, watching me warily. I had a grasp on what his strategy would be. Make himself intangible so I couldn't hurt him, wait for a moment when I was vulnerable, and transform into his solid form so he could damage me. I waited.
He turned solid for a second, but only to taunt me from a distance. I threw my spear at him. It would've been fast enough to penetrate any normal human. My master turned into wind and grinned at me, now that I was defenseless. I waited.
He turned almost completely material and rushed at me. Before he could get within distance of me, I summoned a spear made from wind and penetrated him through his stomach.
He groaned and writhed on the spear. I wrapped my hands around his neck, meaning to snap it. Before I could do the honors, he turned into a wind. He moved directly upwards. "Not again!"
I tried to grab him and spear him, both of which ended futilely. He picked up speed a little and moved towards the town. "No!" I couldn't let him hurt any more people!
I ran after him. Even though the knee my master had injured felt as if it was broken, I ran after him. I ran the fastest I ever could. He was still faster. He arrived in "Liyue" a few minutes before me.
I kept on running, although at that point, I doubt I could've stopped him any more. He could just always transform back into wind.
I burst through the gate and ran into the town, completely expecting my master to have gored ten humans as catharsis.
What I instead saw was a tall man grabbing my master around the neck. His face was stately, strict, just, strict, yet benevolent to those who deserved it. He was cloaked in a hood and his arms were made of solid stone. His most remarkable feature were his amber eyes though.
I was too focused on the man to notice my master. Despite being in his wind form, the man had a solid grasp around his neck, and was squeezing him to death. My master transformed back and forth, into wind, into solid material, until he realized it was futile to escape and instead tried to beat the man with his fists. He didn't budge at blows that would've killed an elephant.
My master made one more blow before he regressed to moving his arms back and forth, as if he were swimming. The man tightened his grip.
The moment my master stiffened, I saw Barbatos out of the corner of my eye. He flew at the man and tried to strangle him with his bow. The man was completely unaffected and punched him, which caused Barbatos to fly backwards, unconscious.
I stayed in place during the entire ordeal out of shock. The man finally noticed me and began walking towards me. I shivered as he did, knowing that if he was able to kill my master and knock Barbatos out so easily, killing me would be child's play.
He ran a hand through my hair, no discernible expression on his face. After a few seconds, he finally smiled. "Good." he remarked.
"That man was Rex Lapis, or as you know him, Zhongli. He looked very similar to how he does now. Acts similarly as well." Xiao glances at his almond tofu which he only ate half of, and then wolfs the whole thing down in one bite. "Ah, look at the time. I'm late for my meeting with Ganyu."
Aether blinks as if taken out of a trance. "What? Oh yeah, right. Good luck with that." Aether starts to get up, but looks reluctant to leave Xiao's house.
Xiao seems to be in a trance himself, as if reminiscing on those days. He still has no idea as to why Barbatos acted the way he did on that day, not just leaving him to fend against his master by himself, but then attacking the man who saved his life. He would later swear up and down that Rex Lapis attacked him first which prevented him from helping Xiao, but Xiao didn't believe him.
He suddenly felt a yearning to talk to Barbatos again, act as if that day had never happened. But he knew it wouldn't be good for him. It would cause conflict with his new master who hated the bard, and Xiao didn't want that. Xiao didn't want Rex Lapis to be inconvenienced in any way. As sad as it made him, he couldn't talk to Barbatos ever again.