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i have stood alone by myself for many centuries having long forgotten what it meant to indulge myself in simple spurs of happiness.
i am an adeptus, i walk the lands of liyue to protect and to serve rex lapis. nothing more means of importance to me other than my duty.
"xiao, come here." lady guizhong pats the empty spot next to her as we await the geo archon who claims to have an ordeal he must resolve. walking towards her, i sit on the grass she earlier told me to come towards.
"what is it that you need, lady guizhong?" she smiles then looks at me only to open her mouth and ask the strangest question.
"have you ever been in love, xiao?"
love? what is that? i am an adeptus born to serve and protect the lands of liyue brought to the shape it is by the geo archon himself, i do not need to know of such things like love.
"i believe not, lady guizhong. why is it that you ask?" i look at the lady as she sighs and stands up to walk towards a garden of glazed lillies, her favorite.
"i ask simply because i feel as though i am inlove myself, adeptus xiao" she says smiling and doing little twirls upon her garden of beautiful glowing lillies.
in love? lady guizhong is in love? the god of dust herself claiming to be in love, now who exactly could have been the one responsible for such a thing?
"xiao" she says whilst staring off into the vast lands of liyue "yes, my lady?" i ask as i stood up to walk towards her form.
"will you promise not to tell a soul if i tell you who it is i am in love with?" she says while looking at me with all seriousness but the hint of childishness in her tone was notable, as i stood next to her.
"of course, my lady" i say as to which she shakes her head making me raise a brow in confusion
"now now adeptus xiao, you musn't just say ofcourse for i know that if morax asked you, you would tell him my secret" she says crossing her arms whilst still shaking her head in disappointment, she is correct, i would not tell a soul of her secret unless it were rex lapis who wished to know.
"you are right, lady guizhong, do forgive my prude actions" i say and bow my head in shame.
"it is alright, i trust you xiao, i know that you are only ever sincere" she says with a bright smile as she laughs a little aswell, the god of dust truly is a kind and gentle woman.
"i hear that guizhong is laughing, what is it that i missed?" rex lapis asks as he walks towards lady guizhong and i.
"oh! morax, right on time. xiao and i were just talking about how we should drink osmanthus wine" lady guizhong says running towards rex lapis only to turn around for a second and wink at me as to which i can not help but smile ever so slightly.
standing at the very place lady guizhong stood giggling about some person who she was in love with, i think and realize that i never really found out who she meant when said she was in love with those little hints of hers.
rex lapis now known as zhongli has officially retired from being the geo archon and is now living life as a mortal and with lady guizhong, she seems to have finally become one with the glazed lillies that she'd always been so fond of.
staring off to the vast lands of liyue i gaze upon a human, seemingly trying to get a pack of hilichurls off of her back, which she is hardly able to do with how exhausted she appears to be.
"she fainted" i say whilst already moving to aid the human, after fighting off the pack of hilichurls i carry her back to wangshu inn, whereas the manager asks if i wished for some almond tofu. i reply with a yes, of course.
after a few minutes, i feel shuffling by my side only to see that the human i had rescued has finally awoken.
"where am i?" typical question of someone who fainted not too long ago and was brought to some inn.
"you are at wangshu inn, my name is xiao" i say as to which her eyes grow to the size of saucers if that were even possible, she stands up and immediately bows her head.
"you must be adeptus xiao, thank you so much for your help" she says still having her head lowered in a bow
"raise your head, there is no need to thank me. i am merely doing my job as an adeptus and protecting liyue along with it's people"
after a short talk i came to know her name, (y/n), she's a doctor or something of the sort looking around for some herbs to help her create some medicine, she says that she lives not far off from wangshu inn and has told me that if i ever needed aiding to come find her.
(y/n) wears traditional liyuen clothes, she says it is tradition in her lineage for they are a family of healers
spending my days alone were over for the small healer would always come by to visit me and show me her collection of herbs from time to time.
this woman, she reminds me of lady guizhong though unlike lady guizhong she is a lot stronger and a lot more fierce. a woman who could handle herself besides that one time she fainted from days of no rest.
mornings were never much to look forward to, however nowadays i find myself looking for the short lady clad in liyuen clothing, waiting for her to brighten up my day with her clumsy antics.
it seems i have grown fond of her.
my right arm's tattoos are barely visible from the amount of blood covering it, my face marked with small scratches feel slightly painful however, i have gone through worse.
dragging my body towards the small home surrounded by a garden of white qingxen flowers that slowly turned red from driblets of my blood.
i knock on the door a couple of times as to which (y/n) opens it and sees the state i am in, panic in her eyes as she quickly calms herself down, taking me inside of her small clinic.
a few moments after tending to my wounds (y/n) comes in with a plate of almond tofu, worry still visible in her eyes.
"(y/n), do not worry about me, i am alright now." i say as i take her right hand into mine, pulling her closer as i rub my thumb atop her hand to ease her worries.
"adeptus xiao, i can not help but worry for your health for i wish to be able to watch over you all the time" she says furrowing her eyebrows in a small frown whilst looking down
"xiao" i say "what?" she lifts her head to look me in the eyes, ah i love how this woman never fails to look me straight in the eyes.
'love?' suddenly the words lady guizhong asked me came into mind.
"there is no need for you to call me adeptus xiao, xiao will do." i say as she looks at me with pure shock exactly the same as from when we first met.
round eyes looking at me with pure astonishment, as though i were not deemed a yaksha, a demon.
"have you ever been in love, xiao?"
have i? is this what love is?
smiling, i open my mouth yet again "xiao will do for it amuses me that a mere clutzy human ..
has made me, an adeptus.
fall in love."
i say as i kiss the top of her hand, bandages cladding my body, soft and warm tears falling onto my hands.
i did not need for her to say it back with words for i felt every inch of sincerity in her heart through the kiss she placed upon my lips.
lady guizhong, i am in love.