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FICTION

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Chapter 25: Between a Rock and a Softer Place

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"This is... Liyue Harbor?"

Shenhe's light awe was reason for a smile. The young woman was stunned by how big the place was compared to the tales of old that Cloud Retainer provided her with. Then again, much of it remained 'unknown' to many Adepti as they hardly left the safe shelter of their current abode.

"Yes. It's a commercial hub so it expanded quite fast from the small ragtag of survivors of the Guizhou Civilization."

The girl nodded, pleased with the response as we started to wander into the harbor for clues. I had the opportunity to speak with the 'Divine Crane' and she gave answers to many but not all of my questions.

Most of the unanswered queries being things that she herself was unsure about. I didn't expect to have the full truth since I could tell this side of the world knew just so much about 'John Bukharin', but I could now say for sure that someone like me, with my face and my name, wandered Teyvat before I came.

Someone that seemed to have been around during the rise of the Abyss, that had met with many Gods and had a lengthy stay both in Sumeru and Liyue, and that had missed on Mondstadt due to Venti being mostly 'self-exiled' in the past. I had a few other questions on how this situation manifested in Liyue, and I learned that my 'other self' had been around to be a 'prank friend' of Street Rambler, a 'harasser' of Cloud Retainer, and a 'jester' to Rex Lapis.

That last one was a bit of a mystery considering that Morax was usually quiet about this sort of matters and since they had been missing from the Adepti's home, things were deep in doubts. So, our path to Liyue was now one of further research on 'my' past. I knew that it wasn't my personal past but... someone with my name and clearly those memories had wandered the world before me.

And I wanted to know what happened to this 'John Bukharin'.

Hence why, despite this revelation, Shenhe was to refer to me as Conan Doyle, 'wandering detective', during the duration of this process as the Fatui were going to be on the lookout for a monkey with that name, and I was pretty much an unknown element for their patrols.

This should have been an easy piece of work... Or that would have been the case if not for the fact that, as we would soon be proved as we finally walked through the southern gates of the city, we learned that Rex Lapis had been 'killed'.

The local merchants were panicking a bit and the foreigners were... 'nervous'. I never considered the potential market crash such an event would cause- sure, the Qixing had funds to prevent disaster, but an economic downturn at the news of a God's death was sure going to be a problem in the social department.

Our arrival also coincided with a detachment of Millelith starting their hourly walk through the gates to keep the entrance path to Liyue safe and sound during this troubled occasion. The Harbor was 'vigilant' for any surprises, but no one knew that the main issue was firmly entrenched in the city and still operating to bring its fall.

The Fatui had their bank putting cash on their plotting- the core of their operations still functional, and while my little stunt may have put some fear of God in them, they were still acting to achieve their main goal in Liyue. We had to stop them before they managed to do whatever bullshit they planned to.

If they were able to 'kill' Rex Lapis, then they had something that worked in their favor against Gods and, thinking back how Signora stole Venti's gnosis, I had to get my company to back me up on this without letting anyone but a few know it was me.

Approaching the main entrance of the company's building, I gave a look at the guards, recognizing them and, thinking back of the codes I taught all those hired to this sort of assignment, I approached the biggest of the two with a small piece of paper I had finished writing on the spot.

"My most sincere apologies, I have a 'duckling' of a message for your current substitute boss."

...

"What?" The smallest inquired. "The hell are you trying to-"

"What manner of duckling, sir?" The tallest of the two, the most menacing even, gave me a serious look.

"Color red, so that the green can avoid trouble."

"W-What?! What are you even sayi-gah! What was that, Xishang?!"

"Message. Boss."

The short dumbass' eyes widened. "Oh, the code."

I facepalmed. "Here."

The tall one picked the message. "Little Lady Nahida shall be warned... but right now she is busy with Lady Keqing in regard to the boss' disappearance. Since you have a message, can you tell us if-"

"He is alive and well, just recovering from issues with the... last scout mission he went for. I suggest high alert for any known groups' request that are not the Millelith."

Both nodded at this, and I walked back to Shenhe.

"This is where you work?" She asked and I nodded. "What's the purpose of the work?"

"Building. One of the many issues a thriving society has to deal with is overpopulation. Too many citizens would cause poverty as the housing can easily fail to grow as much as the population. We work to mostly deal with that."

She offered a tiny smile. "That's an interesting job."

"Now that the others had been alerted, we need to see what the Qixing is doing on the topic," I added and Shenhe hummed.

"And we should focus on finding a place where to eat. I don't wish to sound too demanding but-"

"If you are hungry, you can tell, Shenhe. I am the one with the money purse after all," I interrupted kindly, relieving the girl and... suddenly finding the 'lightness' of the situation taking a completely different development when I found my feet no longer touching the ground and my face pushed upon two heavenly tits- Wait, what is going on her!?

The woman that just kidnapped me bolted at an insane speed, causing a surprised Shenhe to struggle to keep up with her as I found my poor ass carried away from Liyue proper and by the mountain above the Qixing's building. Once the 'chase' was over as Shenhe had failed to catch up with the lady, I found my body pushed away and I got in a fighting stance- how the hell did I miss someone running towards me like that?!

"So, it is indeed you. I thought that my old eyes had deceived me," A womanly voice announced, and golden eyes were aimed at me as I slowly caught up to her refined frame.

This... Oh no. My head hurt a little bit, but while part of me wanted to stay and remember, I was getting Rapey Lumine vibes from this lady that I recognized as-

"R-Rexxy?"

"That's one way to introduce Rex Lapis, but it's appropriate knowing who it is," She muttered with delight coating her voice.

"H-How?"

"I faked my death to retire, I am studying the Fatui's situation without nagging, and I have heard the name John Bukharin being repeated by some wandering merchants upon my abode. I needed to know if it was indeed you- and it is-"

"N-Not really. It's-"

"The vision- two. It's an odd circumstance-"

"I am not the same guy. Same name, identity- but I wasn't the one you have shared fond memories with!" I explained loudly. "This is... a confusing situation."

There was silence, then a loud sigh. "Is that so?"

"The Vision gives me glimpses of the past- but I am sure that it's not my past. I don't know what's up, but I have been finding traces of someone like me that has entertained so many important people."

"John Bukharin was a constant element of Teyvat. Liyue still retains some of his ideas, but it would be a lie to say his name is remembered- mostly due to some issues with Celestia."

...Oh?

"Alas, I don't know enough of the topic. That's something the Electro Archon may know more about."

"I see and-"

"This discussion can continue later," 'Rexxie' remarked abruptly. "Your escort is soon to find us and... it's best to keep contacts limited," She then flashed a smile. "See you soon, John."

The brunette soon bolted away, just moments before I saw a certain white-haired lance-wielding girl catching up to where I was.

"Jo- Conan!"

Shenhe was finally here and... I sighed tiredly. "Situation got defused. I am... fine."

"Who was that? We need to find her-"

"And nothing because she will kill you if you piss her off. That's above what you can muster."

She looked angry despite her stoic face. I walked up to her and she gave me quite the hideous glare but... did nothing to stop me from hugging her. She was incredibly tense, yet her head firmly pressed on my shoulder as she returned it and... soon she was calming down.

"W-Who was that? How do you know I can't beat her?"

"...Rex Lapis is not dead."

...

"That was Rex Lapis. I planned to murder Rex Lapis."

I nodded in the hug and Shenhe went quiet again.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have... let you go."

"It's alright, that caught me off-guard too," I replied soothingly, "Say, how about we go for a nice open bath and clear up this stress. I am a bit tired."

She slowly nodded and... then frowned.

"What's an open bath?"

-d-d-d-d-

AN

Since Rex Lapis is canonically both male and female, I plan to abuse this opportunity a fair bit. Lapis Mommy~!