Chapter Text
"Mister Albedo, I'm going out for the day!" Sucrose called, grabbing a knapsack from a hanger in the lab and heading for the door.
"What for?" Albedo responded from a few rooms over.
"I need a Qingxin flower for the experiment I'm working on!" She replied, enthusiastically.
"Why would... Oh! That's quite clever actually. Go for it. Stay safe alright?" Albedo requested as Sucrose was already on her way out.
Sucrose opened the worn, chemically burnt door, which creaked with age as she left. Gently shutting it behind her, she was off on her way. She knew that this would be a tough journey of acquisition, but that it would be entirely worth it if it helped her studies. Her first stop was a small pharmacy just south of Mondstadt, on the edge of Dragonspine. It had recently popped up, and she thought that maybe, knowing the owner personally, that they would have the connections to get such a nice ingredient that was hard to acquire in Mondstadt.
When she arrived however, her suspicions were confirmed. They did not stock that item, or use it in their potions. Sucrose whispered a soft "Bummer!" to herself, which was about as crass as her tongue ever got about any matter. And she knew that this disappointment was but the first of many. After six more attempts in the greater Mondstadt area and heading towards Liyue, there was about two more prominent pharmacies that were known enough to make her list of places that might stock Qingxin: a pharmacy inside Wangshu Inn and one final one in the City of Liyue, from which of course she could take a boat back to just outside Mondstadt, making the return much shorter and easier on her frail legs.
After crossing the bridge, and arriving at the inn, she was met with disappointment again. She began to wonder why things never go right for her. She began to try making substitutes for the flower in her mind, fearing she would never encounter someone who had it. She made the long trip through the ruins south of Wangshu Inn, during which she was temporarily distracted by gathering samples of the land and flora for later, before finally arriving in the city of Liyue. By now, her legs were killing her. She headed up the longest, most unnecessary flight of stairs she had ever encountered, (just her luck, after walking all the way from Mondstadt), arriving at Bubu Pharmacy.
There she was met by a man who had beautiful green hair, similar in hue to her own. He wore a shirt that cut off just above his stomach, and a pseudo-cape. His glasses rested perilously from his nose, looking like they could fall at any moment. Around his neck was a white snake with red eyes that raised its head to look at her. "Welcome miss, what ails you this beautiful afternoon?" the eccentric pharmacist asked.
"H-hi... You... must... be... Mister Baizhu... I..." she panted, struggling to complete her sentence out of exhaustion.
"My my, take a seat, won't you? It seems like you've been through a lot to get here dear, I know how fickle bodies can be, I wouldn't want you to take such a long journey just to collapse in my doorframe." He said, helping her onto a small bench positioned on the side of the lobby area. "Can I offer you a cup of tea for all your troubles?"
"Yes," she wheezed out between breaths, "that... would be great..." Baizhu walked into a back room to begin boiling some water. After Sucrose regained her breath, a small figure waddled out from behind the counter. She wore a purple dress, and a large, round hat. Affixed to her head was a talisman-like object, similar to that of a jiangshi. "Wh-who are you?" Sucrose asked, scared of the little girl with the dead stare.
"My name is Qiqi. Mister Baizhu says that it is polite to greet every visitor." She stated, in a flat tone of voice.
"Well, that's very sweet of him!"
"Will you be my mommy?" Qiqi asked. On that queue, Baizhu came out of the back room, tray covered in ceramic teaware, visibly attempting to resist the urge to laugh.
"Qiqi, that's not the way we speak to guests, okay?"
"Yes, mister Baizhu."
"Sorry... I don't know what prompted her to ask you that, she's never said anything like that before... but, here's your tea, alright?" He said, embarrassed, before lowering the tray so that Sucrose could grab a cup.
"Please, I... don't mind, it was pretty funny actually. Is she your daughter?"
Baizhu sat down in a spot across the pharmacy, facing her, grabbing the second cup of tea off the tray, before putting the tray with only the kettle remaining on it onto the floor. "No, it's nothing like that. Actually, Qiqi is much older than she appears, though mentally she's still a kid. I'm just the one who's taken up the task of looking after her, and making sure her body doesn't run into any issues, being undead and all."
"I see, that's quite kind of you really."
"It's honestly no big deal, and if you will, excuse the mess around here, it's a joint result of both me and Qiqi having such a small space to work with."
"Oh no, I don't mind at all. You seem like quite the hardworking guy."
"It's all worth it, of course."
"How's that?" Sucrose asked.
"Well, I often receive letters of gratitude from the people we help here. That's enough to keep me going sometimes. It's my duty as a doctor to take care of those in need."
"I, see..." Sucrose thought about how her job differed from Baizhu's. While she mainly spent her days cooped up inside, messing with various chemicals solely for the sake of knowledge and discovery, Baizhu helped others directly. She hoped that one day her research would be used to help people as well.