iv. tell me everything will be alright

wangsheng funeral parlor has become more somber since the passing of its seventy-seventh director and though zhongli appreciates the peace and quiet, he would often find himself hoping that a certain young woman would disturb his morning tea. truth be told, the former geo archon hasn't quite taken a liking to the newly-returned seventy-sixth director after leaving his father and child to take care of things while he opted to travel teyvat.

the consultant finishes his tea and, having nothing else to do, wanders towards the room that once belonged to the young woman. the room is just as she left it. peach blossoms still bloom in vases, papers strewn everywhere. if he closes his eyes, zhongli swears he can still hear the laughter that used to resonate in this room.

he can still remember the last time she was here, a day before she left. she was sitting on the windowsill, looking somber for once. she looked at the former archon as he took his place beside her, her features brightening immediately.

"zhongli," she started. "i was thinking… i want you to officiate my funeral!"

the consultant raised a brow.

"your funeral?"

she nodded enthusiastically.

"yeah! so listen to me, okay? when i die, i want lots and lots of plum blossoms and silk flowers in my coffin. where you bury me doesn't matter. you can pick a place for me!"

"and what of the guests?"

the young director had looked at him with a confused expression. "guests? silly zhongli. nobody would mourn for me!"

(she was wrong. on the day of her funeral it seemed everyone in liyue harbor came to pay respects to the seventy-seventh director who had helped protect liyue to her dying breath.)

"mr. zhongli?"

the consultant shakes himself out of his reverie. he looks around to find one of the undertakers.

"there's a… guest here to see you."

he excuses himself with a bow before leaving, the vigilant yaksha taking his place.

of course he would be here. zhongli remembers being surprised at the unexpected friendship between his boss and the adeptus. it was hu tao who had torn down the iron walls the yaksha built around himself; the only mortal who had made him smile after more than a thousand years.

zhongli watches as xiao's features turn more somber; those golden orbs of his taking in the room, the traces of hu tao everywhere. xiao's eyes land on her precious hat.

"it's just as she left it."

zhongli nods.

"i had the seventy-sixth director take office in one of the other rooms."

the yaksha's eyes turn a shade darker at the mention of the newly-returned seventy-sixth director. he couldn't blame him. the director was absent during his daughter's funeral after all, and only returned after she was buried.

xiao closes the distance between him and the hexagram hat, taking it in his hands. they were silent for a while, the older of the two watching the sad scene in front of him. xiao had sacrificed everything for liyue. why must his one happiness be taken from him?

"does it ever leave?" the yaksha suddenly asks. "the pain, that is."

zhongli turns his head towards the window and it's as if he was transported to a different place in a different time when the glaze lilies grew wildly.

"no," he answers truthfully. "but you learn to live with it. even after millennia."

"i see." and it seems that he does. the yaksha is no stranger to pain. if he has lived this long bearing karmic debt, he can shoulder the pain of losing a loved one.

as xiao places the hat back down, zhongli stops him.

"take the hat. i'm sure she would've wanted you to have it."

the yaksha gave him a look, but his lips curl a little to form a smile afterwards.

"thank you, morax."

zhongli watches as the adeptus teleports away, taking the hat with him. the lord of geo walked towards the window, one hand flat on the glass as he stared at the bustling city below him.

"i hope you and hu tao have met each other. i'm sure you would've loved her, guizhong."