5 - Fox and Rabbit

402 15 24
                                    

The god and the yaksha finally arrived to Liyue Harbor.

It was quite calm on the streets apart from the occasional salesman and other travelers, along with locals.

Zhongli took a deep breath of the fresh sea air, a satisfied smile on his face.

The yaksha observed his surroundings, staying silent.

Xiao wasn't someone who'd be actively socializing with others so human communication wasn't one of his strengths.

He stood close to Zhongli, slightly behind him and ready to defend his master if anyone ever tried to attack him.

"It's alright, Xiao. You can relax." Zhongli smiled to the yaksha, trying to lower the younger's tension. They both came to the city for relaxation after all.

Xiao immediately lowered his shoulders and glanced towards the god, giving him a nod in response.

As they walked through Feiyun Slope, something quite surprising happened.

Someone was running through the streets rather quickly along with some shouting following them.

"Hey! Get back here!"

The running person didn't stop, instead they kept running.

They wore a mask over their mouth to cover half of their face and were holding something in their hands.

They seemed to be a thief and they were taking stuff from other people's pockets as well as they ran.

Zhongli and Xiao followed the situation

Zhongli was surprised while Xiao was rather protective, making sure the thief wouldn't steal anything from his master along the way as the thief approached them rapidly.

Xiao jumped towards the thief carefully, knowing that using his powers here in the city would be quite dangerous.

Though, the thief quickly dodged and grabbed Zhongli's bag of mora.

Xiao hissed slightly and attempted to chase the thief, only for Zhongli to grab him and stop him from proceeding any further.

"Wait." The god said with patience.

Soon someone stepped into the situation.

He was a taller male with ginger hair, slim and quick as he started chasing the thief.

Finally, the hero had arrived.

He seemed to carry a Hydro Vision and soon he took out a Hydro blade, throwing it towards the thief.

It caught the thief from the collar of their shirt and pinned them into a nearby wall.

The thief let go of the things they were carrying, dropping them to the ground as they were caught.

The citizens nearby cheered happily as the ginger walked to the thief and made sure they wouldn't run away.

The people whose belongings were stolen quickly came to retrieve their stuff, thanking the person gratefully.

Xiao stood beside Zhongli and glanced towards him with slight confusion.

"The people will help themselves. As you can see, us Adepti don't need to intervene that much with humans anymore. I've learned this as I've been living as Zhongli so far." Zhongli explained to the yaksha with a small smile.

Soon the Millelith came and took the thief with them, arresting them for theft.

The ginger seemed to have noticed that no one came back for the bag of Mora so he approached the two himself.

You'll also like

          

"This must be yours, sir." The ginger said happily, handing the bag of Mora back to Zhongli with a confident smile.

Zhongli took back his bag of Mora, thanking the person.

"Thank you for your hard work. If you have free time, would you like to join us for a meal?" He asked, smiling warmly.

"A meal you say? Sure, why not! Thank you, comrade!" He answered cheerfully, happy for being invited.

Xiao only silently squinted his eyes at the ginger, not happy that he had come to interrupt him and his master's quality time.

But since it was his master's wish, he couldn't shoo the person away either.

-

The night sky gave Chihu Rock a calm atmosphere.

It was quieter than Feiyun Slope with fewer people around.

"You can call me Childe. I come from Snezhnaya." Childe cheerfully introduced himself to the two as they walked towards Third-Round Knockout.

"Nice to meet you, Childe. My name is Zhongli, and this is my assistant, Xiao. What brings you here from Snezhnaya?" Zhongli introduced him and Xiao to Childe as well with a pleasant smile.

"I'm here to prepare myself for a certain mission. I also heard rumors that people challenge the Geo Archon himself for a duel so that caught my interest as well!" The ginger answered confidently, ready to throw himself into a battle whenever he could.

"...But you can't have a duel with an empty stomach, right?" He mentioned.

Xiao listened to the conversation between the two, but his eyes started to wander around his surroundings as they walked.

He soon noticed a rather... eccentric figure standing next to a railing near an ore shop.

The small breeze ran through their long, indigo hair as they watched towards the lower area of Feiyun Slope.

Their different style of light purple clothing made them stand out even more.

Xiao could easily assume that this person wasn't from Liyue.

He silently stared at the person out of small interest while following the two towards Third-Round Knockout.

Soon, the three were sitting at a round table, having a meal and a lively conversation.

Zhongli was peacefully drinking his tea while Childe was trying his best to get used to using chopsticks.

Xiao stayed mostly silent the whole time, glancing towards the eccentric person in the short distance every now and then.

Zhongli, of course, noticed Xiao's small lack of focus and wondered if everything was alright with the yaksha.

"Xiao? Is everything alright?" He carefully asked the younger.

Xiao quickly turned his attention towards Zhongli and after some small hesitation he then gave him a nod.

"Yes... The city just has... distractions." The yaksha answered, giving his last glance towards the eccentric, who seemed to now be leaving before moving his focus on the other two, trying to stop staring at some random people for now.

Childe chuckled lightly.

"I can agree with him. Liyue Harbor is quite a stunning city, even during the night!" He said, looking at the two.

Zhongli nodded in response.

"It really is, yes." He answered with a warm smile and took another sip from his tea.

-

The night was casual, and the group enjoyed their meal together but soon they would have to depart again.

Childe thanked for the meal.

Though, to his surprise, once Zhongli had opened his bag of Mora, it turned out to be completely empty.

Apparently he had 'forgotten' to take any Mora with him in the first place.

Fortunately, Childe was sweet enough to pay for the whole meal himself.

Once Childe had walked away with a smile and a wave, Zhongli returned his attention towards Xiao.

"Thank you, Xiao. Knowing your discomfort for crowds, I appreciate the time we shared tonight." He smiled warmly to the yaksha, giving him a gentle pat on the head.

Xiao smiled slightly as he looked at his master, happy that he was able to make him happy as well.

He didn't know what else to say, so he simply gave a polite bow for Zhongli.

"Take care, Alatus." Zhongli said.

He then turned around and proceeded to return back to the Golden House, his hands clasped together.

Xiao watched his master leave for a moment before turning around as well, using his powers to teleport himself out of Liyue Harbor, a dark mist surrounding him only for a few seconds before he completely vanished.

It was the time for him to get back to his duty.

Twisted Fate Of The Broken Ones | Scaramouche/XiaoWhere stories live. Discover now