iii. i don't think words can express your beauty
qiqi may have the worst memory in liyue (and maybe the entire teyvat) but even she will remember the face of the green-haired adeptus after running into him every time doctor baizhu asks her to go gather herbs for his medicine.
funnily enough, it seems the little zombie would almost always find the yaksha surrounded by silk flowers whenever he's not off fighting monsters. qiqi never thinks too much of it, what does she know of the yaksha anyway?
xiao, too, would sometimes notice the presence of the zombie whenever he's not too lost in thoughts of a butterfly that flew away too soon. the zombie's presence does nothing to quell the negative feelings inside him; she only serves as a reminder of the people he has failed to protect in the past.
but even qiqi has with her memories of hu tao (though not a single one of those memories was positive for the zombie). xiao can still remember one night in wangshu inn, hu tao complaining about bubu pharmacy over a nice meal. he can still remember the passion in her blossom eyes as she talked about qiqi, the little girl who should have crossed over long ago but still lingers in the mortal realm, working for a doctor the director despises.
xiao can still remember the words of acceptance once she was done with digging into qiqi's background. how surely there will always be an exception to the rule (she herself was a very good example) and how touched she was that the zombie wanted nothing more than to live.
it was during one of qiqi's errands when the little zombie decided to ask him. the conqueror of demons is lying down surrounded by silk flowers just a little farther from wangshu inn, one arm at the back of his head while the other idly plays with one pink blossom. the breeze is cool and the hilichurls are resting in their huts. xiao can hear the soft sound of footsteps coming closer. if it was a mere mortal, they would know not to disturb a resting adeptus.
but this isn't a mere mortal. she isn't even mortal. qiqi shadows over xiao, purple gaze focused entirely on the yaksha. a bag almost as large as her tiny body is slung over her shoulders, filled to the brim with herbs. she must have come from qingce. xiao opens his mouth to speak. qiqi beats him to it.
"why are you always near silk flowers?" the question was asked with the usual monotone but xiao thinks he can detect curiosity underneath it. he sits up and pats the grass beside him, offering the space to qiqi, who sits down after dropping her bag of herbs.
xiao stares at qiqi. she is one of the few he can afford to show kindness to (the only thing he can offer after what he did). he remembers hu tao and her protectiveness of the little zombie.
qiqi repeats her question.
xiao decides to give an answer.
"there was a mortal. she loved these flowers. i used to see her picking them off from time to time; used to make a mess in this very field."
"she… sounds troublesome."
"she was," the yaksha agrees. "she was someone who had no respect for the adepti. someone who called my name to run mortal errands. truly, her liveliness was irritating. it was no wonder the people of liyue harbor could not stand her.
"with hair the color of oak and irises the shape of blossoms, her laughter used to fill the harbor as she tried to run away from the exorcist she pranked, leaving a trail of golden butterflies in her wake." he continues to ramble off, trying to describe his little butterfly as best he can to his zombie audience. "the millelith always had their hands full of her antics. and her closest friends were nothing but a pair of statues. yet she lived one day to the next trying without regret."
until she met me, he thinks to himself.
qiqi watches as xiao continues to speak. though his words bear nothing but insults, why does his expression look like he is remembering someone fond… someone loved? she wonders if xiao is fond of the girl the same way she is fond of coconut milk.
"where is she now?" she asks. the yaksha's golden gaze goes to the flower still in his hand, his expression darkening somewhat.
"she… has flown away. but someday in the future i wish to see her once again."
qiqi doesn't understand the yaksha's words but she nonetheless nods before standing up and picking up her bag.
"okay. i will be leaving now. thank you."
xiao watches as the little zombie walks back to liyue harbor.
"there is no need for you to worry about qiqi now," he tells the wind. "i will protect her, the same way you once did."