It was late now, dinner long finished and tea finally poured after his long traditional brewing process.
Zhongli mulled over why Childe had seemed so amused when he informed him that Miss Ganyu would be joining them for lunch tomorrow. The ginger had had this, strangely familiar, grin and undertone to his voice. Amusement had danced in his voice as he had spoken on the favour the half-adeptus had done for him, and how he'd offered to treat her to lunch in return. Zhongli was entirely unsure why Childe had thought this was something to be amused about telling him, sighing he simply decided to enjoy his tea. His day had been pleasant overall, though Childe not showing for lunch had distressed him.
He internally winced as he remembered the way his gnosis had reacted when he had seen Childe safe. Maybe? No. If Childe had realised he was Rex Lapis, he would've torn the gnosis from his chest. Childe did not know the delicate plan he was a pawn in. Zhongli winced outwardly, setting down his tea. Turning to stare out his window at the night life of the harbour. I sincerely hope he does not hate me when he finds out. Zongli had not intended to become as attached to the 11th harbinger as he had. The man had simply been part of his contract. Yet now, Zhongli hoped Childe would allow them to be friends even when all came to light.
Ganyu greeted Childe happily as she took a seat at his table. She might've only properly met Childe yesterday, but spending half a day sorting out a massive fraud case together tends to help you bond. They chatted idly about work in Liyue and how Childe had been faring and adapting since his diplomatic transfer. Ganyu was finding herself pleasantly surprised by conversation with the harbinger. Not that she'd expected to not enjoy it, she knew at the least he wouldn't be insufferable. He was a good businessman, good with numbers, honestly she wasn't even sure if she would've noticed the deviations in the fatuis- er- the Northland Banks, numbers, the errors barely even noticeable in hindsight. Plus, with how long the scheme had been running…
"Mister Childe, I was wondering." He raised an eyebrow, eyes flicking to the side before resting back on hers, sweeping his hand from where it had rested on the table in an open motion until it rested on the back of the chair next to his own,
"Ask away miss Ganyu." She smiled, her own hands resting in her lap as they waited for Childe's friend to join them.
"How did you realise the numbers were off? Their scheme started so long ago, long before you transferred here." He hummed, smiling as he explained,
"I'm good with numbers, always have been. I pay very close attention to my business," Ganyu took a glance at a well dressed man in earthy hues as he approached and sat in the chair beside Childe as he spoke, "and - Hi Zhongli- I realised the income from the harbour should be adding up to a lot more than it was, since I sign off on all the financial reports I see the raw numbers. I ran some calculations for our transactions and the final I reached was different to the one on paper. I told my secretary, pulled some more receipts, reports, etcetera and then well, you know how it ended." Turning to the man now sat serely beside him, "Glad to see you made it with no glitter shower." The man- Zhongli, Childe called him- chuckled and shook his head fondly.
"Indeed, Hu Tao must have felt merciful after the stress you induced yesterday." Turning to her, he smiled, "It's lovely to meet you Miss Ganyu." She smiled, and greeted him warmly in turn.
They chatted for a small while before Xingling began bringing out the food he'd ordered, Ganyu's eyes widening a little as plates and bowls covered the table. Childe smiled happily as he thanked Xiangling, mentally noting to drop off an extra tip for her remembering to place the vegan dishes by his blue haired companion. He served a few items into his own bowl, successful unlike most times when he ate with Zhongli. He had decided he'd rather not subject Ganyu to his skills when it came to chopsticks, so he would put off his practice of them and use a fork like he was used to. Ganyu enjoyed the dishes Childe had ordered, and he could not be more pleased that she seemed to be eating well so long as he and Zhongli also kept eating. He knew she tended to try not indulge, as if it would affect her as it does a mortal, her body type was simply due to her species. It was truly a shame that some people were so ignorant of those types of facts. Regardless, they wouldn't poison her thoughts any longer.
Ganyu waited patiently for a moment where Xiangling was free to gently call for her,
"Miss Xiangling!"
"Oh! Mister Childe's friend! Did you need something?" Ganyu smiled and nodded at the girl, how lively she was,
"I was wondering if I could grab your Jewellery soup recipe from today, it was truly marvellous!" Xiangling smiled and clapped her hands excitedly, giggling a little before rocking on her feet, seeming to have stars in her eyes as she answered,
"It's just regular Jewellery soup with some qingxin flowers added at the very start of the brewing process! Mister Childe suggested it actually!- I'd never thought of it before but I really must experiment further with different flavour notes in such a way! Oop- duty calls~" And with an energetic wave the girl was bounding away to take the order of some other patrons. Ganyu blinked, smiling fondly as she walked out. What a strange man Mister Childe is… Ganyu walked out, making her way to her to Lady Xianyun's domain with a smile on her face.
Zhongli paused on the dock, watching the distant waves as they crashed on the shores of Guyun.
"I must admit Childe, it has been bothering me. Your selection of dishes today were much different to those you would normally order, with the only exceptions being that of your and my own dishes being a part of our regular order. Even if we do normally order a dish or two you have not tried before, to have a large majority of them be new was a surprise. Have you known Lady Ganyu long to know what to order her? You have not mentioned her before last night when you mentioned she would be joining us." Childe glanced at him before chuckling, hands crossing behind his head laxly as he stretched.
"Nah, I just met her yesterday to solve the issue you walked in on us speaking of. I just ordered a bunch of things I thought she might like to be safe." His smile didn't quite reach his eyes as Zhongli allowed himself a moment to appraise him. He'd noticed Childe did such when he lied quite often, though he also did such when he was simply speaking as well. Such a strange man your harbinger is lady Tsaritsa.
Childe turned back to the sea as he finished stretching, rocking on his feet.
"Well Mister Zhongli, I must be off, lest Ekaterina have my head for disappearing on her today, have a good night!" And with a wave he walked off into the harbour, assumedly headed back to the bank to report to. his secretary. apparently. Zhongli huffed fondly, shaking his head as he took a last glance to the sand and stone grave of an old friend, silently hoping he was not suffering, before turning to retire to his own home for the night.
Childe rubbed at his forehead as he poured a glass of water, the echoey voice and its indiscernible words finally fading. The strange occurrence wasn't something that happened often, but it always left him with a killer headache and dizzy on his feet. Downing the water, he quickly changed into some sleepwear before flopping on his bed, he hoped the voice wasn't connected to the abyss, he couldn't really recall exactly if he'd heard it before his fall there. It certainly hadn't been a problem as Osial. The closest thing then would've been prayers or dedications.
Those had always been much quieter though, and never had made him feel so ill. Plus, who would even be dedicating or praying to an ancient god who'd been gone so long people didn't always know his name and often confused his stories with others. He sighed, hoping against everything these bouts would cease. They were off-putting and could throw him off in a fight, which was dangerous. A knock at his apartment door made him glance over. Contemplating the pros and cons of answering he rose and made himself walk to it. Not many knew of his location of residence in Liyue, so whoever it was, if they were at the right place, is probably someone he'd need to answer.
The mask of the agent was cleverly altered to make it not immediately recognisable as fatui for non fatui, probably for ease of life in a foreign nation. They held a package out to him,
"From Lord Harbinger Il Dottore." He grinned, delighted they were finally finished. Taking the box, he nodded and they were gone before he could close the door.
Opening it, he was pleased to see each sigil had been cut and drawn precisely as he had directed. He'd decided to illustrate it rather than sending the one he'd recovered. He did not need Dottore knowing they were meant to glow and hold a sort of presence about them. Otherwise it would be very awkward to explain how they hadn't been fully completed in the workshop yet they somehow were once Childe had them. This way there would be the least amount of questions asked. Just how he liked it. Placing the box on his bedside table, he carefully held one and began syphoning his power into it. It took a while for the glow to become bright enough to satisfy him, and it made him dreadfully tired. He grimaced as he realised this could take a while, depending on how fast he could replenish his power with rest. Placing the glowing sigil beside its inert copies in the box, he replaced the lid on and laid backwards, letting himself fall into the peaceful embrace of sleep.
He'd been managing to avoid Xiao pretty well on his excursions out of the harbour. He didn't venture into the city to what Childe could tell, so his aversion to crowds seems to have stuck with him through the years. Perhaps a bit sad for Xiaos social life, but a massive boon to someone trying to play keep away. Keeping his outings from the harbour short and to business seemed to work for the most part out of Xiaos view. Of course if he sensed that furious anemo he'd disappear from his expedition to pick it up another time if he was alone, and he's sure his comrades are plenty capable without him on any missions they'd be on anyway. The occasional abandoning of his associates aside, things were progressing nicely. It was taking a while to fill the sigils, having to take a day or two between each one.
His frustration with Morax was slowly dimming as he came to accept he was just extremely sensitive to elemental and celestial- honestly, just all energies. Perhaps his abyssal and divine parts were interacting in an unexpected way. He really had no way to test such a hypothesis however. It's not like most gods can withstand the abyss. With it being the universal opposite to celestia, most gods became mortal and succumbed to age, and if not age, then the creatures that lurked down there. Especially considering most gods relied on their divine powers in combat, with those taken by the abyss, few gods could adapt fast enough to survive the slaughter. He hadn't had that issue, as he'd not known of and as such, had not relied on his divine nature back then. He probably would have died to the monsters that survived down there. Had it not been for Skirk finding him and teaching him how to channel his own energy into his vision to replace celestias. How to fight. How to live. How to take the abyss and make it part of himself.
"Childe?" His head jerked up to meet Zhonglis amused one, "Are you back with me now?" Childe chuckled, nodding sheepishly,
"My apologies comrade, it appears I'm more tired from work than I thought myself to be." Zhongli simply nodded at him, carefully rewinding where he had been in his explanation of the history of adepti, trying to go back to a point where he was sure Childe had still been listening.
"As you might figure, the adepti are quite reclusive figures, not often seen in the modern day. However this was not always the way it was."
Childe smiled as he let his old friend recount details of the years past, carefully keeping his face and thoughts controlled, asking questions to ensure to Zhongli he was paying attention. "Back before Liyue harbour, in the days of the Guili Assembly, it is said the adepti used to walk amongst mortals regularly."
Actually.. that's a thought.
Childe couldn't keep a grin off his face as he interrupted Zhongli's recounting,
"So, with these adepti, I've heard people talking of some yakshas, what are they?" He fought to keep his grin even as he wished to frown, watching Zhonglis eyes dim, moving from where they had been fixed on the horizon to stare into his tea. He looked.. wistful, sad. What on Teyvat has happened?
"Yes, the yakshas were indeed adepti." were..? "There were five yakshas, the strongest of the adepti, only under Rex Lapis himself in power during the archon war. They were his five greatest warriors, gifted special masks by Rex Lapis to aid them in battle. Bosacius, Indarius, Bonanus, Menogias and Xiao." Zhongli smiled at his tea, sipping it while it kept its warmth, "The yakshas were tasked with protecting Liyue's people from the enemies of the land, most notably the demons and foul beasts that roamed the lands. They worked hard to keep their people safe, though such a bloody life surrounded by foulness is not without consequence. They were condemned to collect karma for each death that stained their hands. Eventually, such a toll on the mind and body cannot be withstood. Even by Rex Lapis' strongest." Childe could not keep his character smile any longer, the implications of where Zhongli's words were heading, he was beginning to understand why he hadn't seen the rest of them since returning, his brows creasing as he tensed his face to keep from scowling. "Each of them lived long lives, fighting in the end of the archon war, and helping protect the lands in the aftermath. Though is would not be long into Liyue harbours founding when Indarius went mad with grief for the ones she'd lost and the pain of the karma amassed on her soul. She sequestered herself in a mountain range, hiding from everyone as she perished and returned to dust."
Childe screwed his eyes shut as he leaned back in his chair, carefully relaxing his face into blankness as he opened them once more, somewhat thankful for Zhongli's focus being elsewhere as he recounted, unable to register the tightness of Childes muscles, the stiffness in his posture, the sudden lack of playful jabs and sarcastic remarks to interrupt,
"Not long after her death, Menogias and Bonanus got into an argument, the karma made their minds unstable and allowed the argument to escalate into a fight in which they." Zhongli cleared his throat, sipping his tea as if it were simply dry from speaking, "Apologies. It's said that fight is the one in which both of them perished at one another's hands. Shortly following this, Bosacius vanished from Liyue. It is suspected he is the nameless yaksha to have fought with Liyues millelith during the battle of the Chasm. It is unsure how the battle ended, as it seemed to halt suddenly, but all forces who were there… No one returned." Childe internally winced as he forced a disappointed sounding sigh from his lips, the words feeling like tar in his mouth,
"What a shame, I'll not get to fight Morax's strongest, you didn't speak of that last one you mentioned though-" He leaned forward, leaning his hands on the table, "- what was the name? Xiao?" It was easy enough to pass his eagerness to know of his little bird's wellbeing as battle lust.
Zhongli chuckled, shaking his head with- finally- a glimmer of amusement in his eyes,
"Xiao lives, and is often spotted around the Wangsheng Inn fighting the monsters that roam the area, protecting the people of Liyue even now." It wasn't quite what Childe wanted to know, but he supposed it would be strange if he wanted to know how his karma was, let alone expecting Zhongli to know that, Archons keeping up this charade was only getting harder. He stood, stretching his back as he thanked Zhongli for lunch, dropping a pouch of mora to Xiangling on his way out as he made his way to his office. He had a few outings to plan, an Inn to visit and some karma to assess.
