Authoress note: Happy Lantern Rite (Happy Spring Festival). It's time when family members gathered together to eat tonight. Hopefully, next year will be more bountiful than this year.
Disclaimer: All characters are property of Mihoyo
Warning: might contained grammar mistakes, apologized in advance.
Lantern Rite
He looked far away at the display of fireworks in the night sky, the harbour had been lit even more than last year. The Qixing truly outdone themselves this time and he could let out a sigh of relief. He made a good decision to step down. The people, his people could do without him. He let out a faint smile. He sipped his wine alone on the second floor. His eyes moved down to the street and blinked. He stared, that signature power of adepti, it surely was not… he chuckled. 2 of the adepti were in human form. He could see Madame Ping, Ganyu, Shenhe and Yanfei in that group coming toward here.
"Morax." He heard her voice and felt her presence on the balcony.
"I'm by the name of Zhongli now." He spoke.
"Ah, yes. I should remember that but Morax is easier to call."
"Are you leading the other to come here?"
"Hmf, as if. Those two fossils went alone after the firework commotion. How dare they goes behind my back like that." The woman pouted. Her long gray hair with light blue tip waved slightly. He chuckled.
"Ah, they dare to do that to you, Cloud Retainer?"
"I will have words with them later but now, won't you drink with me, old friend?"
"…" Zhongli looked below at his 'boss'. There, standing while chuckling was Hutao. She was having fun with Xingqiu, teasing poor Chongyun. Xiangling had been manning the grill and Guoba was jumping here and there to take a bite on something. Traveler, Lumine was also enjoying the display of fireworks while eating some barbecue with her best sidekick, Paimon.
Not far from them, Keqing, surprisingly was there with Ninggang, Beidou, Xinyan and Yunjin. It seemed the whole group were all connected due to traveller. It was really a rare sight when all the important people of Liyue and one with vision gathered together. The adepti group had arrived and most of the mortal were in shock after learning that the two new guys were Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver.
"It is quite rare for those two in human form. And you also agree to put both of your disciplines here." He stated, somewhat dodging the invitation.
"Like what you had said, the era of god had end and the era of mortals has begun. Shenhe had a lot to learn. You should probably order Xiao to do the same." She shrugged.
"… he should do whatever he wants. Besides, there no more contract between us. Who am I to order a Yaksha." His eyes travelled back to the sky as the fireworks exploded in the shape of Mora.
"Still, he will do whatever you're asking for. You realize that he knows the fact that you are Rex."
"Yes. He is and so is one of your students."
"Ganyu?"
"…" He nodded slightly.
"Anyway, the invitation still stands, drink on me. Yuheng gave me a lot of good wines and Shenhe came with lots of food earlier."
"… let me take something and I'll go to your abode."
"Great!" She grinned before disappeared.
…
Minutes later, Zhongli showed up at her abode and sat on the table. The usual empty table had foods and wines. Cloud retainer who was still in her human form smiled. Her eyes notice a handmade lantern on his hands.
"Are you going to release it from here?" She asked, pouring the wine into his cup.
"Do you mind?" He noticed a splash of fireworks below. The Qixing even brought the fireworks display near this area?
"Not really, can I slip a message for Guizhong?"
"You should make one yourself, it's simple to make."
"I love making complicated machinery but I am not interested in making easy trinkets." She grinned. The former lord of Geo shook his head and rolled his eyes but he gave the lantern to her and magically produced ink and brush for her.
The fireworks below had died down. It was now quiet and far from the noises that he used to. No bright light, no chatters, not a single soul except him and her. The small oil lamp was all they have to light the place. Cloud Retainer was still hunched down, brushing letter after letter on his lantern. He missed this place sometimes; it was more prominent with a quiet time like this. He scanned his eyes around only to stop at one silhouette.
"…" He blinked once. That familiar long dusty golden hair, the gentle smile that always graced her face, white long sleeve dress with golden hairpin that he had gave her long time ago. He stood up so suddenly that the stone table almost unhinged from its permanent place due to his knees impact. Their wine cups had fallen, splashing the wine on the stone table. Thankfully, the plates filled with food and the wine jug didn't just fell but only rattled.
"Morax?l Cloud Retainer was alarmed, she never saw him reacted that way.
"Sorry, I was just-." He turned around for a second and then looked back to that same spot. His eyes once again searching for her. Surely it wasn't, or was it? He was questioning himself. He hadn't drink that much today, moreover he rarely even get drunk. He took the lamp and walked toward the place quickly. Cloud Retainer was following his movement with a confused looks but she still sat on the stone chair in the dark.
Using the lamp, Zhongli was checking around but there was nothing to be seen. He muttered to himself. Maybe he indeed drink too much? He shook his head once more then return to the chair.
"What is it, Morax?" She asked as she put the lantern, she just wrote down onto the table carefully.
"I… It's nothing." When he put the lamp down, one flicker of fire was lit so suddenly on his homemade lantern. While Zhongli stared at it then blinked, Cloud Retainer gasped.
"Wait, how's."
The lantern float slowly up, it was hovering slightly between them before finally flying up to the sky.
"I'm not seeing thing, right? I mean I hasn't drink."
"…" Zhongli took the wine decanter before pouring onto the empty stone cup located in front of the vacant seat where Guizhong usually sat. He also poured the wine to Cloud Retainer's empty cup that he knocked off earlier. He then put the decanter down and wait.
"…" The crane was about to take the jug to fill his cup but Zhongli motioned her to stay. The two waited for several seconds but nothing has happened. He let out a sigh and reached for it. The jug had suddenly moved. The wine decanter floated slightly before pouring wine into his cup to the brim; just like what Guizhong had usually done in the past.
"Gui Jie? (Sister Gui)" Cloud Retainer let out a smile. Zhongli stared at the vacant chair; a faint ghostly silhouette suddenly appeared. She smiled softly at him then to her before disappearing. A soft whisper could be heard carried in the wind.
'Happy Lantern Rite, Morax, Cloud Retainer.'
"… Happy Lantern Rite, Guizhong." He took his cup, clicking it onto the stone cup and raised it to the air. Cloud Retainer let out a grin once more before taking her cup, doing the same motion as Zhongli. She clicked her cup onto the stone cup full of wine then clicking it into Zhongli's. "Gui Jie (Sister Gui) I'll bottom up! (我干一杯！)" She yelled before gulping the wine in one gulp. Zhongli let out a faint smile and do the same.
Omake
"Cloud Retainer, I'm here to." Her sentences had died out immediately when she saw a crane form of her teacher was laying down on the stone floor near the stone table. One man; a familiar man that her teacher said not to brother, was also there, pouring a cup of wine. She pulled out an ice charm and was ready to engaged in battle. "Who are you and why is Cloud Retainer laying on the floor?"
The man didn't react much, he however stood up and knee down to retrieve the crane. He moved the unconscious crane with gentleness that no one knew a man possessed. He walked toward her.
Even though it was cold; Shenhe was sweating. One had just dripped down to the ground. She could feel an immensely power present in this man, she gritted her teeth. Her instinct screamed for her to back off. As the man walked closer, she felt like she was transport back to her past. The past that she wished to forget, the one that haunted her. A nightmare when she was just a child, fighting that monster. She never back down back then but this time, the power that she felt was tenfold.
The man however stopped in front of her. "Cloud Retainer had taught you well, Shenhe. She got too many drinks today." He said as he offered the crane to her. She blinked, as if breaking from a spell. Her icy charm had disappeared as she took the body of her teacher and indeed, she could feel the slight rise and falling on her body and a faint murmured. The man smiled before patting her head. "Thank you for taking care of her." He said casually before disappeared from the abode. Shenhe was letting out a long sigh of relief, she didn't even realize that she was holding her breath. She really needs to know who he is. She will be asking that question as soon as her teacher awake.
The End