The Liyue New Year used to be the worst day of the year for any thing living. It was the day that daemon Nian awoke. And unfortunately, it was also the day that the adepti were reduced to mortals. It may have been the cause of a shift in the stars, but on that day all daemons would take on an instinct, that of the Nian. The daemons would become invincible, and the immortals would lose their power, as if all that made them adepti would flow into the power reserves of the force they most hated. The daemons would be more active, more powerful, but most of all, more bloodthirsty. Any living thing to be unlucky enough to cross a daemon's path would be killed. But worse, on that day the daemons would be able to cross the barrier into the mortal world, meaning their murders would extend to more than just your life force: there would be no body left for families to bury, no soul to haunt the past, and no spirit to return to the wind.

But of course, that all passed the day a simple peasant girl released a firework.

Now, the New Year was the greatest celebration of the year, a chance to gather as a family, and enjoy parties in honor of the advancing spring. Celebrations and customs lasted for a month, and on the day of the Xin Nian, fireworks would be lit throughout the land, the nights turned to day through countless lanterns, warm chatter, and lasting festivities. It was the day of the year that all children got new clothes, new toys, and money was given from elders to children.

And, though many may not know it, the adepti took this chance to enjoy themselves as much as possible, too.

Well, most adepti that is.

"Xiao~~ please come along, it'll be fun~ I promise!" whined a pouting Venti.

The excuse for an Archon had somehow managed to convince "the old blockhead" to join him in a day traveling across Liyue, or a 'tour' if you would like. But however hard he tried, Xiao... Well, he wouldn't leave Wangshu Inn. So in the end:

"Xiao, I order you to come along"

Xiao was stunned but then he grumbled and obeyed Rex Lapis' order, following the two Archons downstairs. They hadn't even left Wangshu Inn when Venti already decided to stop, marvelling at the Silk Flowers that were actually everywhere if you then went into a long and detailed history of the Silk Flower, as well as literally all of it's uses and taxonomy and legends - everything (of course no one was listening). Xiao sighed. He should have known what a day trip with these two would be like.


That long (very very long) day was spent traveling less than half of the Guili plains, even though they originally planned to go all the way to Liyue Harbor. Already the sun was setting, and it's soft orange rays lit up the sky in a splattering of red, purple, yellow and amber, a phenomenon the Liyue people call Rainbow Clouds. And after all, the cloud really were rainbow. The three immortals' shadows stretched out long and thin behind them, and Xiao thought that maybe, just maybe, the trip was worth it after all.

Venti decided to stop them and hold both of their hands, turning everybody's faces toward the sky.

It really was beautiful.

Xiao looked to the two people beside him, the only people who could accompany him till the end. The soft glow reflected in Zhongli's eyes, turning them to a dragon gold that most would have called unnatural. Venti had his eyes closed, but the light exaggerated his features, making his eyelashes cast dark shadows on his cheeks.


Another hour and Xiao regretted ever coming along.

It was dark.

And raining.

And miserable.

Well, the weather wasn't miserable, he didn't care about light or dark, wet or dry, but what he did care about (and this is one of the few things that actually affect him), was temperature. He hated the cold. And so, evidently, no one knew. And he wasn't ready to expose his weakness. And then he was brought back to reality by the horrible cold splash that covered his pants in mud.

"Will you stop! jumping! into! puddles!" Xiao nearly screamed at Venti.

The little bard looked back at him and cocked his head.

"Didn't you love jumping? Why don't you like puddles?"

"Because it's annoying! And what made you think I like jumping?"

"Because literally all your attacks include jumping high up in the air" replied Venti, his back already turned and his feet already splashing the next puddle.

His white stocking were most definitely not white anymore.

...

Soon enough, the cold and wet made even Venti miserable.

"I'm cooold! Why aren't we there yet?"

"Because you have delayed the trip through your endless flower-gazing stops" Zhongli explained to venti as you would explain to a child why you can't eat sand.

Venti crossed his arms and got his face ready to start pouting.

However, before he could, he stopped for a moment and stood, apparently thinking.

"Xiao"

Xiao had a bad feeling... "Yes?"

"You're strong. And warm"

And without warning Venti disappeared in a puff of feathers, only to reappear clinging onto Xiao's neck, his body closely pressed to the Yaksha for warmth.

"Carry me"

"WHAT?! no"

"Please~~~"

"no"

"Xiaaaoooo~~~~"

Xiao sighed. He really didn't understand why he gave into the bard's stupid request.

"Get on"

Venti grinned a quick 'yay!' before hastily climbing onto Xiao's back.

Surprisingly, the little bard was really as light as a feather, considering his clothes were soaked through and covered in tonnes of mud.

After a while Xiao decided it really wasn't that bad, since he was getting much warmer. After a while he heard faint snoring sound coming from behind him, and realised Venti had fallen asleep with his head on Xiao's shoulder. Xiao couldn't help but smile (although in truth it was more a change of his lips from a '⋂' shape to a '_' shape than a smile)

...

"There is a hut up ahead where a kind old lady lives. We could try our luck and see if she let's us in" Zhongli whispered, so as not to wake up Venti.

Xiao nodded to show that he thought it was a good idea. Even with Venti's warm form draped over his back the cold still made itself felt.

Sure enough, a tiny pinprick of light in the distance grew and grew until it shone to be a lantern hung outside an old wooden door. The old house was made entirely of wood, and it's windows were only slits in the walls. A small string of steam came out from a tiny chimney, merging with the surrounding water vapour that came from the rain. But despite the house's haunted appearance, a feeling of coziness enveloped the area.

Zhongli walked up to the front door and knocked. After a little while the sound of soft footsteps could be heard, and the door opened to show a short old lady with jam-pot glasses.

"Madame, could we take shelter from the rain for a moment in your house?"

The old lady looked them up and down, first at Zhongli then at Xiao with a sleeping Venti on his back.

"Why of course! You must be freezing, come in come in"

And she ushered them through the front door, into her little hut. The entire first floor was only one room, with a fireplace and tabletop in one corner, a round dining table next to that, and a few chairs and cupboards on the other side. A traditional bed lay next to the chairs, the type that could only be found in the colder places of Liyue. It took the steam from the fireplace through a pipe and under the bed, to keep the bed warm and heated in winter.

"Sit down! sit down."

"yes, yes there's fine. Oh! your friend, well he can sit there for a moment, I'll go get him some clothes" she said eyeing Venti's mud splattered garments with a knowing eye.

She went upstairs and came down with some, clean, dry linen clothes.

"These used to belong to my son. But he went off to be a Melillith, that naughty boy! Leaving his poor mother all alone!" she chuckled, evidently proud of her son despite her chastising words.

"They should be the right size, but I cant be sure"

She left the room so that they could change. During the time she was upstairs Venti had awoken, apparently deciding that since he wasn't weighing down Xiao anymore, his job was done. Xiao really didn't know whether he was happy that Venti was awake or disappointed that the annoying bard could speak again. Because speak he did.

"What a nice house you have ma'am! Do you live here alone?"

"Well, now I do. I used to live with husband and sons, but my husband died early, and all three of my sons work in the city now"

"That's so lonely! Why don't I sing a song for you?"

"no." -Xiao

They had been chatting non-stop for the past half hour, whilst Xiao and Zhongli sat at the table, sipping tea. The old lady was called Shuzi, and she treated the three of them like family. But that may have been because she missed the days when her own children had all already left, leaving her alone at home. Nobody should spend the New Year alone thought Zhongli. The whole point and tradition of the Liyue New Year was to get together as a family and celebrate everybody's peace and health, and that none of them were 'eaten' by the daemons Nian.

The small room was filled with a cozy happy feeling, more than half of it emanating from Shuzi, as she bustled about the corner of the house she called her 'kitchen', cutting vegetables and pounding meat to make dumplings.

"I didn't originally plan to make any this year, since by my lonesome they would go to waste. But since you three lads are here, some extra food won't hurt"

She chuckled, and Venti giggled with her. Xiao moved to help with the folding of the dumplings. Throughout the many years he spent with Zhongli, it was impossible not to know how to make a traditional food such as dumplings... Zhongli, too helped, rolling the dough into small circles, thicker in the middle and thinner at the edges. And of course, Venti was the only one who didn't know how to do anything (which Xiao actually, seriously believed was a miracle, considering the Anemo Archon's long acquaintance with Zhongli), so he sang without his lyre, since on that particular day, he wasn't able to materialise it out of thin air.

That day it was a feeling in the air. It hung, unspoken, but in all their hearts. And when the three immortals looked at each other, they could see in the other's eyes, that they were thinking the same thing. How great it was, to have a family. To have simple joys, simple worries, a simple life. And for that one night, they fooled themselves, allowing them to indulge in the moment, pretend for just one night, just one, that they were simple travelers, who happened to pass by the home of a kind old lady.


When the rain stopped, it was almost midnight already.

Shuzi didn't have any fireworks, since the village nearby had enough to scare off any Nian for miles around. However, Venti surprised everyone by having practically double everything in the village combined in his coat pockets (so that's how he stole so much of Diluc's wine without being caught... his clothes really had a lot of pockets!), and so the four of them decided to go outside and light them.

They waited until the sound of nearby firecrackers indicated midnight, and then lit their own. It took a few tries, since despite Venti's efforts to keep the dry (he was literally splashing in the puddles, so his efforts worked great), the firecrackers were slightly wet (in fact, it was a miracle they weren't soaked through). Their own firecracker was followed by a multitude of others coming from all sides everywhere, some close enough to see a slight glow, others so far they were only whispers in the wind.

Soon the noisy traditional Liyue firecrackers were followed by the foreign fireworks, the beautiful flowers lighting up the sky. Like the Lantern Rite, the New Year fireworks was something Xiao never got tired of. He could watch it all day, for years, millenia, and still the beauty never ceased to amaze him.

This year was especially memorable. The feeling of being alone that came from the dark, the feeling of being together with people you love and have known for your whole life, the feeling of reassurance that came from unconditional kindness, taking in complete strangers and treating them as family, but most of all, the feeling of knowing that all around you, there are other people feeling just as you are feeling, doing just what you are doing. The insignificance of being a tiny atom in a large whole, of being a part of something, of not being alone... And the countless flowers of light in the sky, the infinite bursts of firecrackers in the distance, and the smile, on the person next to you, told him, that he was not alone.

...

The next morning an old lady found what you would call a 'mountain' of mora on her dining table, with a note underneath saying

"Payment for last night"

...

"You really have no concept of money do you?"


Hi. I made this a separate story from A Gathering of Gods because anything that is more than 1000 words to me, is extremely long. (What does this suggest about my lazy ass? XD)