Chapter Text
After that day, they indeed found themselves to be too busy to return to the river every evening, but this did not worry them. After all, now that they knew where they could find each other, one could easily come visit the other’s respective nation whenever they felt like it.
The first time Venti descended upon Liyue, though, Zhongli was alarmed. This was his first time officially visiting the land as the archon Barbatos, of course, and he wondered what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into until he had to reach out to him for assistance.
“Barbatos, Lord of Anemo. Welcome to the humble land of Liyue Harbour. To what do I owe this pleasure of receiving you?” Zhongli greeted him as he descended, his tone slightly worried.
The young god tossed a large bottle into his hands.
“Here’s some wine from Mondstadt. Care for a taste?”
He stared at the bottle of wine in his hands, and then back at the god that threw it at him.
“You came over all this way… for a drink?”
“Yeah! It’s been a while since we’ve hung out, eh?”
“Venti, you do realise you have a nation to look after, right?” he said as he brought out the wine cups.
“I sure do. This is a work-related business trip, okay?”
“Of course it is. Now, what is it that you need?”
“I need you to hear about what’s been happening in Mondstadt of course! Just the other day, there was this dragon…”
Though Zhongli found the notion of abandoning one’s land simply to enjoy a drink with someone to be absurd, he did have a good time with his friend, showing him around Jueyun Karst and introducing him to the adepti. After the trip, Barbatos recollected his journey to Baal, who passed it on to Sumeru’s archon, who told the story to the god of Fontaine, and so on, until the Seven found themselves gathered at Liyue every now and then, sharing meals, drinks, and tales with each other. This, Zhongli thought, was perhaps worth the sacrifices they all made throughout the years.
At one such meeting, Venti was the first one to arrive, and he chatted with Zhongli as they waited for the others to arrive.
“By the way, Morax, it seems that some of your people have started clearing that forest to make a pathway into Mondstadt. I think they're calling it Stone Gate because it's, y’know, a rocky area.”
“Yes, I am aware of that. All the more easier to transport goods, no?”
“Yeah, I was just thinking how the area is gonna be much more lively after this. Which is a good thing for the merchants, of course, but…”
“It is a shame that we did not get a proper chance to relish in its tranquillity for one last time.”
“Exactly,” he huffed, swirling around the wine in his cup.
“Do not fret, Barbatos. You’ve still yet to visit many more sights in Liyue, and I’ve yet to properly travel around Mondstadt. These two places alone would take us years for us to explore, don’t you think?”
“Haha, you’re right. As long as I’m with you, any place would be a wonder to visit.”
Morax simply sighed in contentment, and poured out another cup of wine. The other five would be arriving soon, too, and he wondered what kind of stories they would bring with them this time.