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Aether has met countless races in his time— from gnomes, dwarves, harpies, lizardfolk, and hilichurls to the tiny sprites of elven forests. Many were strange and unusual, with bodies that deviated from the normal structure of human anatomy. But…
Are necks really supposed to be bending like that?
With an alarming creak of bones, Qiqi, the zombie girl, pushed her head the right way up. It flopped to the other side like a deflated balloon.
Keqing placed a hand over Aether's eyes. He was grateful for it; if he saw anymore, he probably would have puked.
"Don't worry," Qiqi said worryingly. "Qiqi had an accident. Qiqi does not remember what, but Qiqi believes she is fine."
Aether has once again found himself inside Bubu Pharmacy. The owner, Dr. Baizhu, was out, so they had to talk to his… difficult assistant for whatever it was they needed. Aether hoped doing so didn't mean he'd have to go on another literal golden goose chase.
Keqing came prepared, taking out a piece of paper and handing it to Qiqi. "The prescription."
Qiqi bowed. "Qiqi will get your medicine only if you show Qiqi your prescription. Those are Qiqi's orders. Please wait for a moment."
She came back holding a bottle of sloshy, mint-green liquid in her hand. Thick, intimidating foam blanketed the top of the liquid. It roiled with every shake, almost like it was about to burst. Qiqi unscrewed the cork from the bottle, releasing a sickeningly sweet scent of honey in the air. It was as if the excessive sugar mixed in would hide the repugnant bitterness of the medicine.
Keqing grimaced, almost a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.
"Qiqi only found one bottle of medicine," Qiqi said. "There aren't any more."
"That will be enough," Keqing said. She scribbled down an address on the receipt. "Have it delivered here and give it to the sick woman living there. She's my assistant, and I will be grateful if you do not mention any of this to her."
Aether reeled back. "Wait, weren't you buying this for yourself?"
Assuming he saw it correctly… weren't there quite a lot of zeros in that receipt?
"This is a rare elixir that can treat even the most severe of illnesses." Keqing tapped on the side of the bottle. It hissed in response. "Not only is it renowned for its analeptic properties, but some also say that the elixir is capable of allowing a person to do feats considered impossible for man."
A miner could haul ore triple his weight on his back, and a farmer could spend hours tilling his soil without feeling any sort of pain. There were also stories that, once upon a time, a fisherman who was given the elixir survived for days out at sea. He came back unharmed and in his nets was a sea creature so gargantuan, the gods themselves blessed the fisherman's village with abundant harvests, having been impressed with his catch.
Keqing shrugged, flipping her hair haughtily with her hand. "I don't believe in those exaggerated fairy tales myself, but there is no denying its effectiveness."
It was also infamous for its god-awful taste and odor if her scrunched nose was any indication.
"Herb come from adepti," Qiqi added. "Adepti do not like giving away their stuff, so medicine is hard to come by. Adepti only give herb when offered gifts. Makes everything very expensive."
"When will another batch be available?" Keqing asked. To be fair, it only took her a second to realize how pointless the question was.
"I don't remember."
"Do you know anyone I can ask? When will Dr. Baizhu come back?"
"I don't remember."
Keqing sighed.
"Qiqi does not remember who gives medicine to Qiqi, but Baizhu ordered Qiqi to mention 'in a subtle way' that the shipment of medicine will be delayed."
Thank goodness Qiqi did not know what subtlety meant. A lead, at least. Maybe it was his imagination, but Aether thought he saw Keqing's ears twitch.
"Delayed?" he asked.
Qiqi bobbed her head (horrifyingly) as if to nod. "Yes. Bad men attack shipment. They sell medicine on black market. Prices go up. Qiqi knows."
"Treasure hoarders," Keqing said. Her eyes gleamed like twin sparks of lightning. "Fools. They're probably…"
"What about them?"
"...It's nothing."
Aether has worked with her enough to know that it was definitely something. The cautious look on Keqing's face suggested that it was a topic she couldn't discuss out in the open. He learned the hard way that the walls had ears, and if there were people around them, then the Fatui were likely listening in.
"Here." Qiqi pointed at a map, circling a location north of the harbor. "Wangshu Inn. Qiqi remembers that person here sometimes give Qiqi medicine. Maybe you can ask them where medicine is."
Aether stared at the little zombie girl, deadpan. "I'd ask if you know the name of the person we needed to talk to, but..."
"I don't remember."
Yup.
Keqing turned to him with a knowing smile. "Well, that settles it. We can't just let the hoarders do as they please. Traveler, might I ask you to accompany me? I promise it will be well worth your time."
Aether nodded. "If you're buying dinner, then count me in."
How could he say no to free stuff? Seriously, the work he's done today was more work than he'd done in… not that long a time, actually. There had to be SOME payoff, at least.
"It's always food with you," Keqing said, slumping her shoulders in defeat. "Alright. Shall we be off?"
"Thank you for choosing Bubu Pharmacy," Qiqi said. Their business done, the girl returned to her usual place behind the counter. Her arm was the only thing visible from the angle, but there was a nauseating crunch of neckbone as she waved them off. "Please come again."
...
"...Should we really be leaving her like that?" Aether asked.
Even the almighty Keqing sounded uncertain. "She'll heal herself, I think… I hope..."
"An apothecary, you say?", a fisherman in his mid-thirties said. His aloofness, coupled with the frayed clothing would make an ordinary person think twice about approaching, lest he goes berserk.
Aether was not an ordinary person— and frankly, he was too mentally exhausted to ask anyone else. Speaking became a chore; he couldn't fathom why. "Yes. Do you know of any doctor or apothecary around?"
Please say yes.
"Yeah, I know one. What's it to you?"
Oh, thank the Archons. "Where can I find them?"
The man stroked his beard, frustration creasing his brow as the fish refused to bite. "He should be having supper in the inn right about now. Punctual as a beaver that one."
Aether heaved a heavy sigh. "Got it. Thank you very much."
"Great, now scram. You're scaring away all the fish."
Prick.
It was late in the evening when the two of them arrived at the inn. It wasn't all that far away, but having to keep up with Keqing's pace made his legs sore. Teleporting up slopes was cheating.
His stomach grumbled, and his only thoughts were the many, many different dishes he could be ordering available on the inn's menu. There was a perfectly good place for him to crash for the night, too, but his taskmaster of a companion said that there will be no meals tonight until they found who they were looking for.
At least they could go eat now. Keqing said to meet her at the diner when he was done. Scanning the tables for her signature cat-ears, he found nothing.
He wandered his eyes again. She should be here; Keqing was the type of person to show up way too early for a date and berate the man she's meeting with if they arrive even a second later.
There were two tables joined together. The men, filling their mugs with libations, toasted heartily— in a joyous celebration of another hard day at work. Beside them, a couple kissed romantically, fidgeting in their seats and waiting for the other to make the next move. Thinking it rude to stare, Aether looked in the opposite direction. Still no sign of Keqing.
Munch, munch, munch.
"Hm?"
He followed the sounds of munching, and, sure enough, a woman was sitting on the table closest to him. The woman had strikingly long and flowing hair that reached the floor, its violet hue shimmering faintly under the moonlight. He couldn't see her face from his angle, but there was a massive amount of plates on her table, all stacked immaculately on top of one another like a tower made of ceramic.
The woman, though appearing sophisticated and graceful, gorged herself on a large helping of Golden Shrimp Balls.
Golden Shrimp Balls.
The waitress placed another trayful of shrimp on the table. Thanking her, Keqing deftly grabbed one and ate it whole.
"If there's anything else I can get for you, feel free to holler," the waitress said. She smiled and returned to the counter, happy at satisfying yet another customer.
Keqing squealed again. She cupped a hand over her cheek as the cheesy, starchy, golden flavor of the potato melted in her mouth. The shrimp underneath crunched deliciously, neither too soft to be mush nor too chewy to be rubber.
"Mhhhhh! The texture of the shrimp… Only true artisans know the perfect temperature to cook the shrimp for it to be that tender…"
Guzzling down her drink, Keqing chewed on another huge mouthful. "The fluffiness…So fluffy… I feel like I'm in bliss… Golden Shrimp Balls really are to die for…"
Aether's brow twitched. "That can be arranged…"
"Mrgh?!"
Keqing jumped and nearly choked on the shrimp ball, managing to catch herself before it completely lodged in her throat. She hackled in dire pain as Aether sat opposite her, glaring.
"No meals, huh?" he said, eyeing the empty plates. Clearly, someone's been busy 'gathering information.'
"I-I can't help it!" Keqing puffed her cheeks, her blush growing tenfold from sheer embarrassment. Aether had it in mind to tease her that it made her look like a Golden Shrimp Ball. "I haven't had them in a while, that's all; I couldn't resist!"
She only wanted to eat one, but it sort of went downhill from there. Their luscious ball curvature was too indulging— too mouth-watering. Anyone could have fallen for their trap. "I'm sorry, okay?"
Sighing, Aether wiped a napkin on her mouth. He could take her a bit more seriously if she didn't have sauce sticking all over her face. Her eyes widened when he did, hesitating for a moment before leaning into his hand.
She pouted when he pulled away.
"What's with the disguise?" Aether asked. Shameful to admit, but he almost didn't recognize her without the curious little cat ears atop her head. He honestly thought they were her actual ears. She had also done away with her stockings, leaving her legs exposed under a short dress skirt. A gilded merchant jacket covered her top, selling the image of a rich VIP traveling on the road.
Keqing brushed the length of her hair with one suave motion and winked. She certainly had the haughtiness down to an art. "If you couldn't recognize me, then the disguise is working. I'm not out on official Qixing business, so I figured it would be better if I remain incognito."
Wouldn't it be easier for them if they had the backing of the Qixing, though?
"Invoking the name of the Liyue Qixing isn't something that can be done lightly," she said, crossing her arms. "I'll do it if I have to, but it's best to save it as a trump card."
Grinning, she happily stuffed her face with another shrimp ball, poking his nose with her chopsticks as she spoke. "That's why I'm counting on you to do most of the heavy lifting, Traveler. Be grateful. You're finally doing something worthwhile as my assistant."
The hard-nosed and no-nonsense Keqing forgetting the basic tableside manner of not speaking when your mouth is full. What a truly strange day this has become. Aether sighed.
After dinner, and a couple dozen Golden Shrimp Balls between the two of them later, Aether shared what he had found about their mystery apothecary. Surprisingly enough, Keqing knew exactly who they needed to look for just from a brief description. She pointed to an old man seated at the other end of the inn overlooking Dihua Marsh. He wore a scholarly robe and a wide-brimmed hat that hid his balding head. Like Keqing, he was dressed in a way that made him inconspicuous. The man sipped from his teacup and exhaled loudly.
"His tea is cold," Keqing said, having been observing him for a while. "The only reason a well-learned and cultured man like that would let his tea run cold is if he was troubled about something. And look carefully, right there on his table."
Little vials clinked as they fell from the man's table to the floor, empty. On his plate were rice crackers doused in a viscous yellow liquid. He munched on one of the crackers absent-mindedly, the liquid trailing down his fingers while he did.
"Honey," Keqing said. "Do you remember what the medicine smelled like?"
A sickeningly-sweet smell of honey. Aether gasped, putting two and two together.
"You think it's him?" she asked.
Aether nodded. "Worth the shot."
The man wiped his glasses with a tablecloth, staring contemplatively at the horizon when he noticed the two of them approach. Putting on his business smile, he greeted them with a soft voice. "Pleasant evening, travelers. How may I help you?"
Keqing glanced at Aether, nodding slightly. Looked like she was making do with her orders.
Aether turned to the man. "Are you an apothecary?"
"Yes, I am. My name is Shizhen. Are you in need of my services?" A delightful wrinkle formed on Shizhen's face, eager to help a patient, whatever it may be. A commendable quality for one in his field.
"We're looking for an elixir," Aether said, trying his best to sound casual. "The most expensive one you have. Do you know about it?"
"The Divine Peasant's Blessing," Keqing said.
Ironic name, Aether thought. Tacky too, but what did he know?
Shizhen looked at them in shock. His tired eyes bulged out, darting between the two as realization dawned on him. "Wha— Are you treasure hoarders, too?!"
It seems he's the man, alright. Shizhen braced an arm in front of him, ready to push them aside and flee at a moment's notice. Luckily for him, Aether had an easy trick up his sleeve that could calm down anyone.
He took out his worn Adventurer's handbook and showed it to the man. "I'm with the Adventurer's Guild. We heard there might have been an attack by treasure hoarders and we're here to help."
Shizhen held Aether's identification card with his frail, shaking fingers. He warily checked its authenticity, before staring at Keqing. "And the young lady?"
"Uh…"
"Yulia," Keqing said, coming up with an alias on the fly. She bowed courteously to the elderly man. "Please forgive my boorish companion. I was hoping to purchase the Divine Peasant's Blessing from you, and had asked for aid from the Adventurer's Guild when I heard there was a delay in your shipment."
She's good. Aether thought. Also, 'boorish'?
He knew they were only pretending, but the amount of verbal abuse he was willing to tolerate around her astonished even him.
"Ahh…" Shizhen breathed a sigh of relief. He took another bite from his sweetened cracker, the honey softening it up for his worn teeth. "I see, I see… Unfortunately, as you may have expected, I don't have any of the elixir on me, and it may be some time until I can create more."
Keqing sat on the chair beside the man, leveling her gaze to him with a worried expression. "You seem troubled. If it were merely a matter of time, I am willing to wait, but that does not appear to be the case."
"Why yes…" Shizhen said, clasping his hands together as if he had lost hope. "I couldn't care less if the hoarders stole the elixir for their own profit. I'm more troubled about it because they had also stolen my Sigil."
"Your sigil?"
"A Sigil of Permission— gifted to me by Rex Lapis himself. It's what grants me favor with the adeptus, and it is from their abode do I harvest the ingredients I need to synthesize the elixir."
A sigil like the one in Aether had. If he remembered correctly, the sigils were rarely given out to the common folk. Although it was an outdated concept, he had experienced first-hand that those who have the sigil held at least some respect from the adeptus. They were some of the biggest jerks Aether has ever met, but they were all-powerful jerks with near god-like capabilities.
Not fun.
"Can you tell us more about what happened?" Aether asked.
Shizhen rubbed his temples, jogging his memory on how the events had played out. "Because of the nature of my business, I tend to travel around in secret and away from the public. It was by happenstance did I fancy visiting the harbor to talk to an acquaintance there."
He recounts to them how he and his caravan encountered the bandits. He thought they were kind folks at first, merely researchers scoping out the ancient ruins. Since they had some time before they needed to arrive in Liyue, Shizhen invited his caravan to explore around— maybe learn a thing or two about history. As soon as their backs were turned, the bandits robbed them blind. They tried searching for them, but there wasn't a single trace of the bandits anywhere.
"Thankfully, no one got hurt," Shizhen said. He rotated his arm, wrenching the frustration out of his joints. He clapped his hands in supplication "Please! My sigil was in one of the bags they stole. I won't even charge you for the elixir if you retrieve my sigil for me! My livelihood depends on it!"
Aether nodded. "Tell me where you last saw them."
"Thank you…!" Shizhen bowed his head deeply. "We encountered the bandits on the road passing through Guili Plains. They should be hiding somewhere in the ruins there. I know it's not much to go on, but please…!"
"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll manage," Aether said. It was quite late; tracking down the bandits in the middle of the night sounded like a pain, but he'd had worse. If they left now, they could be done before morning.
He noticed Keqing being oddly quiet. She had a contemplative look on her face. "Ke— Ms. Yulia?"
"Dr. Shizhen," Keqing said. "If I may be so bold to ask... why not take this issue to the Liyue Qixing?"
Keqing?
"The Qixing handle all the day-to-day affairs of the citizens of Liyue," she said, almost proudly. "If you ask them for protection, I'm sure they would be obligated to help. In fact, I know someone— "
"Bah!" Shizhen interrupted her with a loud scoff. "The Liyue Qixing? What can they do? Those greedy rats have nothing in their minds but Mora, I'm telling you."
Keqing gawked at the man, mouth ajar. "...Pardon?"
The ill-mannered face of the once kind and unassuming old man spoke volumes of how strongly he felt about the subject. "I take it you have not been in Liyue long? The Liyue Qixing controls every aspect of the nation; there is no business in Liyue where they don't have one hand down their pockets. They're nothing but parasites leeching off the blessings given to us by the gods"
What brought this up? Aether glanced at Keqing who was feebly trying to argue back. She seemed hesitant; if she were to say too much, it might give away her disguise.
Shizhen addressed the two of them with a sage warning. "My advice, travelers: stay away from the Qixing." His voice lowered into a guarded whisper. "Just between you and me, there's been a rumor that the Liyue Qixing were responsible for assassinating the great Rex Lapis, the patron deity of Liyue. Can you believe it? Attempting to kill an Archon, and succeeding? Such blasphemy!"
His next words shocked even Aether.
"That's not all. I heard that the mastermind was one of the top brass. A woman who goes by the name of Keqing, the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing."
The woman herself, sitting beside them, adopted an unreadable expression, silently listening to the wild accusations.
"Why do you think she did it?" Aether asked, careful not rile suspicion for either of them.
"The Yuheng, Keqing, is widely criticized as a revolutionist to Liyue's time-honored traditions. She advocates that humanity should abandon the help of the gods before they are abandoned themselves. According to her, we humans are mere pets living in gilded cages, ignorant of the world around them."
He coughed, having winded his old lungs. "Oh, such blindness! What's wrong with a life of peace and without tribulations? Had she not experienced suffering as a child? The people weep in despair every day, yet carry on with their lives, holding their heads up high. They toil in their fields in servitude of their fellows, providing them rice to fill their bowls. They mine iron and minerals to make the tools they need to hunt game— crafting weapons to better protect their kin. And when they become sick, they mix herbs to make medicine so that they could live to see another day."
He turned to Keqing with a questioning glare, pounding his fist on the table. "Have the people not suffered enough? They have already grabbed their futures with their own hands; what's wrong with a tiny sprinkling of faith? Blaming humanity's successes solely on the gods is as good as ignoring all of what humanity has already achieved!"
...
As the silence faded back to ambiance, Keqing stared at the man, uttering nothing. She pursed her lips in a reply. "...Was he a friend? Rex Lapis, I mean."
Shizhen sighed. Long-buried grief resurfaced on his agitated face. "Rex Lapis was a friend to all children of Liyue… but to me, he was more than that. He was a dear savior, and a companion I have shared a drink with for countless nights. I am indebted to him for all he has done for me, granting me a Sigil of Permission so that I and my family may rejoice in the blessings of the adepti. I was afraid I had gone senile when I heard he was dead. Couldn't believe it."
"I see…" Keqing said. Her impenetrable poker face cracked ever so slightly.
Aether could only gape.
Shizhen bowed his head again. "As you may tell, the sigil means more to me than just a business token. I implore you again, travelers. Please return my sigil back to me, and I promise the elixir shall be yours."
Patting Keqing's shoulder, Aether nodded to the man. It's best if they leave. "We will."
"Thank you…"
"Are you okay?" Aether asked. They walked a far enough distance away from the inn so that no one could hear them, probably.
Keqing stared at the road ahead of them, neither responding nor sparing him a single glance. She charged ever onward, relentlessly.
"Such accusations aren't new to me," Keqing finally said. "You may choose to believe in his words, if you like. He simply held a strong opinion that I did not agree with. I see no reason for me to be upset."
"Did you kill Rex Lapis?"
'Never mince your words with me,' Keqing once told him.
"...I will not deny that I prefer it if Morax had departed from Liyue. Heavenly beings have no place in the lands of mortals. But no, I did not kill him. However…"
She turned to look at him, her lips quivering as if she, herself, regretted what she was about to say.
"You, Traveler, are free to come to your own conclusion. You do not stop until you reach an answer you are satisfied with— and for that, I admire you a lot. I don't want to take that freedom away from you."
"..."
"...Let's go."