Chapter Text
Kingdom rises and falls like an everchanging season, yet Liuli Pavilion withstands the test of time as it remains all the same to what he remembers. There are miniscule changes that he notices, one such is the addition of six framed pictures among the rows of the pavilion’s owners. It has been more than two centuries, the restaurant surviving for generation after generation is already a miracle on its own.
A well-dressed greeter leads them to the meeting room on the third floor. Its grand, classic Liyuen interior boasts the importance of this particular floor. A pair of bodyguards push open the door, and there they are, the rulers of this land…the Liyue Qixing.
A woman dressed in qipao flashes a smile, gesturing her right hand to the unoccupied seats across from her.
“Welcome, Li-xiansheng. We hope that the weather today hasn’t been rough on your journey here.”
Li…that must be Suxiu’s surname.
Suxiu chuckles, sitting down with Dottore beside him. “A hurricane cannot stop the gears of economy, much less a light drizzle.”
“True.” The Tianquan lady agrees with a nod and the casual pleasantries continue on for a few more minutes. The servers are quick on their feet to serve the food and fill the cups with hot longjing tea. They leave as soon as the work is done.
Dottore keeps his hands down and stares at the food. He cared not for dining manners back then due to his status, no one is going to reprimand him for shoving his meal down before the host allows him. Suxiu glances at him and chuckles at how his secretary look like a drench puppy waiting for dinner. It didn’t take long for the Tianquan to gesture to her guests to enjoy their meal, the soft clatter of tableware filling the room alongside idle conversation.
One of her three secretaries places the meeting documents in front of the meeting attendees after they finished their dinner. Dottore hands the Northland Bank’s photocopied reports to the same secretary to be distributed.
While his boss scans the document, the former Doctor eyes the Qixing representatives. One of them is a familiar face; that light blue hair and a pair of horns…she must be the General Secretary, Ganyu. He remembers meeting her in one of those meetings between Pantalone and the then Tianquan, Ningguang. He was wearing a disguise at that time and it should be perfect, Dottore doubts Ganyu recognizes him now. And it’s better that way, he doesn’t want his infamous reputation to ruin both his new workplace and his new boss.
He looks at his notebook in hand, pen positioned on its pristine white pages, ready to record any information at any moment. Sure there are more convenient ways to make a note in this technologically advanced era, but he remembers better of things that he writes down. The glide and scratch of pen’s tip against paper also give him satisfaction that no touchscreen can offer. There are things about himself that withstand the test of time too.
“I noticed several inconsistency between the transactions recorded by the bank and his import-export reports provided by his business rival,” Ganyu raises her question. “Comparing the two documents, we have found at least ten items are not listed so far.”
Suxiu agrees with a hum. “Yes. I have a hunch that these transactions are done through another bank account instead if not done in cash. However, with our current currency system, it should be hard to smuggle cash on this day and era.”
“Did you find any proof of this other bank account you mentioned?” the Tianquan asks. “If I recall correctly, Northland Bank only allows two accounts under one name. Yuan-xianshenghas a family with one wife and three children of which one is still underage. I believe their bank statements are clear of any suspicious transactions.”
“This is true but…” Suxiu straightens his posture and continues, “what if we factor in infidelity into this case?”
The lady raises her eyebrows in interest and Ganyu widens her eyes for a flash second. “How amusing. The plot thickens, Li-xiansheng. Words on the street suggest that Yuan-xiansheng has been unfaithful and seeing others during his…’business trips’. While our investigation proves this as the truth, does the bank have any proof of money-laundering through his mistress?”
Dottore raises his hand, shifting everyone’s attention to him. “If I may, please turn to page thirty two.” Ganyu flips the pages as if on command. “I found that there are three accounts, all belonging to women, that have suspicious transactions labelled as ‘charity’ or ‘split bills’. Coincidentally, the same amount of money is labelled as ‘repair’, ‘business meals’ or ‘loan to company x’ transfer in Yuan Bozhu’s bank statement.”
He swears he just saw Suxiu smiling proudly at him from the corner of his eyes. His heart suddenly beats faster, but he can’t ruin his focus now of all times!
“Northland Bank did background checks on them, all of whom are Yuan Bozhu’s mistresses…none of them run a charity. There is a catch, though,” Dottore continues, “Yuan Bozhu didn’t directly wire this money to them.”
“He has an accomplice, is what you’re saying…” Ganyu rereads the bank statement.
“Accomplices, in fact.” Suxiu takes the lead again. “We suspect that Chi-Chicken, Fuli drugstore and Fengshun repairs might be tied to his schemes. But, we are unable to trace them for now as some of their people don’t use Northland Bank. Those who have a Northland Bank account should be clear of suspicion.”
“Interesting. This might turn into an international scandal if that organization is involved as well.”
“Byakuren-gumi, huh…That complicates things.” Suxiu reclines, lacing his fingers together.
Heavy silence envelopes the room after the Banker drops this name. Dottore can confidently say he’s out of touch all these years because what on Teyvat is this Byakuren-gumi? Piecing together all information so far, he summarized that the Byakuren-gumi is an international syndicate, or a part of a larger organization. The former Harbinger huffs, Pantalone used to work with the underground in his trades. He recalls that one time the Banker ranted about one of his secret trading routes busted by a Liyuen spy and lamenting over the stolen gift that was supposed for their Archon, the Tsaritsa. But that is a distant memory, and he has forgotten what he felt at that moment. Did he sympathize with Pantalone? Or did he find the Regrator to be annoying for getting worked up over such little loss?
Dottore folds his arms and sighs.
Not that he cares anymore.
“Very well, the Qixing shall handle it from here.” The Tianquan lady stands up and walks to Suxiu who stands up in return. They both shake hands, concluding the meeting with it. “The Qixing will forever be grateful for your assistance, Li-xiansheng.”
“You’re welcome. Our Northland Bank shall gladly assist the Qixing any time.”
“Good night, gentlemen. Baiyang, please show our esteemed guests their way.”
“Yes, my Lady.”
The two bankmen bow slightly and leave the restaurant. A wave of fresh air rushes into Dottore’s lungs at that very moment. Who knew that a meeting with the Qixing is a suffocating and mentally draining event? The subtle tension between the Head Banker and the Tianquan lady still lingers like the musky scent left after rain, the way their eyes were sharp on each other like two carnivores eyeing each other as prey.
During his time as the number two of the Harbingers, Dottore always dominated the situation. He could easily trample over his interlocutor’s confidence and make them submit to his demands; the only ones whose command were absolute above his authority were The Tsaritsa, Pierro and Capitano.
And Pantalone, much to his chagrin. That man was SEVEN ranks lower than him, his physical prowess were nothing close, the only thing he bested the Doctor at was where wealth was concerned. His fellow harbingers sometimes teased his ‘obedience’ towards the Regrator, earning them either a glare or a scowl if they were lucky enough to elicit a response out of the prideful scholar.
He told himself that it was not out of obedience that he agreed with Pantalone’s plans, and the banker never ordered him. He found the Regrator’s lofty ambitions to be entertaining, and his scholarly side was tickled with curiosity to see where it led him (if not both of them).
(In the end…it led them to that day.)
“Yuzhe-xiong, are you alright?” Suxiu asks in worry.
“I’m...fine,” Dottore heaves a short sigh, straightening his posture. “I wasn’t expecting economics and politics to be such a chore that it made my…original career an easier way of life.”
The banker chuckles, the tip of the folded fan rests on his open palm. “Is that so? Now, I’m curious about this ‘original career’ you once sought success in.”
“It was…well, full of experimenting on subjects that piqued me. Ancient civilization technology, for example.”
“Ah, do you mean the Khaenri’ahn technology?”
“Although it was the start, I didn’t limit myself to one civilization. Sal Vindagnyr, the underground civilization of the Chasm and the ancient dragon technology are some of those I looked into. It would be a shame not to introduce more varieties into my theories and experiments.”
Suxiu hums. He sounds… genuinely interested? “I see. I visited a museum dedicated to ancient technology and culture, some which are mundane items and some are…heavy weaponries with nationwide-destruction capabilities. I cannot imagine how hard it was to live back in those days.”
Dottore looks to the vast sea. “It was an age where strife and peace came and went.” Suxiu turns to him as he continues, “An ordinary mortal’s life meant nothing to the chess players that were the gods and the powerful. In the end, change came, the age of gods ended and the age of humanity began.”
“...At least that’s what I read from the books,” the scholar quickly stated, hoping Suxiu doesn’t catch the hint.
It is an excruciating long three seconds before the banker replies, “You are quite imaginative, Yuzhe-xiong. The way you speak makes it seem like you lived through that era yourself.”
Dottore growls. “Are you calling me old?”
“Not at all, not at all,” Suxiu waves his right hand, stepping down the stairs. “It’s just I can’t help but feel that you’re a lot…well, more aged mentally than you look.”
“Tsk,” Dottore clicks his tongue, following the banker. “You just admitted I am old.”
“Let’s not dwell on that.” Suxiu pats the Doctor’s back. “Speaking of which, you did a great job of discovering all that data in less than four hours.”
The scholar huffs. “It was nothing. You did provide crucial information on the suspect, narrowing down my search by a major margin.”
The fact that said ‘crucial information’ comes in the form of the daily gossip of Suxiu’s clients is jarring. The world of science doesn’t acknowledge gossip, however they approve hypotheses and theories as long as it is backed by credible, factual sources. Gossip — according to the dictionary — is a mere casual and or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true; this makes it not a reliable source on many occasions and cannot be trusted. Since he didn’t know Yuan Bozhu on a personal level, he obviously refused to acknowledge Suxiu’s ‘words on street’ intel. It took his boss a good quarter to convince the man of science that his ‘sources’ are indeed 'credible' and it wouldn’t hurt to try when they had no other leads.
Teyvat be damned, he recalls the way he cursed when he found those transactions and their owners’ background.
“We make a good team, don't we?” his boss grins. “Since we just had dinner, how about I treat you to a drink, Yuzhe-xiong?”
“I…I don’t drink at all.”
“Is that so,” that is not spoken in a questioning tone, but more of an understanding. “Then, shall we grab some light bites and go watch something in my home ‘theater’? My penpal from Inazuma recommended to me an Inazuman television series that I think you will like.”
“Oh? You sure I’ll like it? Sounds like you are confident you know me THAT well, boss.”
“I probably know you more than I let on.” Suxiu affirms. Without providing further context, he continues, “So, this series is about a new police officer who’s stationed in a rural village. Turns out this village hides a deep, dark secret tied to ancient practices.”
Ah, it’s most likely those cringe Inazuma low-budget horror movies with boring, predictable jumpscares. Best it gets a 2 out of 5 from him.
“If I end up not liking it, I’d like a permanent 10% raise for my paycheck.”
“My~ You sure are bold, playing such dangerous games with a banker.” his boss chuckles. “Alright, if you end up liking it…you have to treat me to a luxurious meal in Xinyue Kiosk after you receive your first paycheck. I’ll be the one ordering and you the one to pay.” He extends his right hand, smiling, “Do we have a deal, Yuzhe-xiong?”
In all his optimism of his victory, the Doctor shakes the Banker’s hand. “Deal.”
…
Suxiu was right. The series is dang good. Dottore laments the fate of his FIRST paycheck that will soon be gone in three weeks to an expensive dinner.
To Be Continued…