Chapter Text
The adepti of Jueyun Karst were mysterious creatures. Sworn to protect Liyue, their oath with the Geo Archon has held true for hundreds and thousands of years. Since the Archon War, or the War of the Demon Gods, the adepti have not all gathered together in many years. Only rarely did they ever meet-- yet this afternoon, they were together once more to discuss a dire issue.
“Cloud Retainer, why did you summon all the adepti of Jueyun Karst here?” Xiao asked, agitated. “I wasn’t aware of another event to occur just after the Battle of Osial… and after the lantern rite no less. Who is it this time-- is it the Fatui wreaking havoc again? Or is it the Abyss?”
Cloud Retainer silenced him, calmly taking a sip of her tea. “No, not today. Although they are an issue-- today, we are to talk about the far more pressing matter at hand.”
The adepti all listened carefully, anticipating what Cloud Retainer’s next words would be. Maybe another dangerous monster is running rampant? Or perhaps an uncontrollable piece of machinery was set to destroy Liyue?
Whatever the issue was, the adepti were sure they would be able to subdue it.
Cloud Retainer took one look at her current company, then sighed. “Xiao.”
Xiao frowned. “Yes, Cloud Retainer?”
“We need to talk about the Traveler. Or more specifically, your relationship with her.”
Moon Carver let out a chortle. Mountain Shaper snickered.
Xiao’s face turned bright red, flushing with embarrassment. “...Cloud Retainer!”
“Are you able to deny it? There’s clearly something going on between the two of you,” Cloud Retainer said, sternly looking at the adeptus.
He looked down. “There is nothing going on between me and the Traveler.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Answer me this, then. What were you doing on the night of the lantern rite?” Cloud Retainer asked, one eyebrow raised at the adeptus.
“... I was at Wangshu Inn.”
“Was the Traveler with you?”
“Yes,” Xiao muttered, refusing to make eye contact with Cloud Retainer.
“If, by any chance, the two of you… did something, are you aware that you would need to take full accounta—“
“We did NOTHING of the sort!” Xiao interrupted. At the rate they were going, he was going to die of embarrassment. “Lumine, I mean, the Traveler and I, are not like that.”
“Well, we couldn’t exactly see you two when the both of you left!” Mountain Shaper piped up. “We wanted to give you two some privacy after that indirect kiss you shared from the almond tofu—“
Moon Carver tried to silence Mountain Shaper before it was too late, but the words were already spoken.
Xiao stared at the three of them, voice ice cold. “Were you all… spying on me?”
“Ah, of course not of course not! We just happened to be passing by. It was a complete surprise to see the both of you there,” Moon Carver hurried, desperate to quell Xiao’s anger before anything drastic could happen.
“But I thought we were to check up on Xiao and the Traveler?”
Moon Carver stomped on Mountain Shaper’s foot.
“In any case,” Moon Carver continued, paying no attention to Mountain Shaper’s small whimpers. “We were simply curious. Although we met the Traveler during the Battle of Osial, it takes no small feat to capture the heart of the Conqueror of Demons.”
“For the last time, she did not capture--”
Cloud Retainer sighed.
“How is the Traveler ever going to reciprocate your feelings if you keep on denying your heart?”
Xiao stiffened. “Is this what this whole meeting was about? Whether or not I had feelings for the Traveler?”
Mountain Shaper snorted. “We already know you have feelings for the Traveler. What we’re curious about is whether or not you’re going to act upon these feelings.”
“I don’t…”
“Why deny it? We all see the way you look at her,” Mountain Shaper said, attention shifting to the jade parcels on the table.
“What do you have to be nervous about?” Moon Carver asked Xiao gently. “If the night at the lantern rite wasn’t enough proof that she definitely has feelings for you, what’s holding you back?”
“You don’t understand,” Xiao stated, arms crossed over his chest. “It’s not that simple.”
Cloud Retainer smacked Xiao over the head with her wing. “You’re making it too big of a deal. She clearly likes you. Why, back when I was in my prime, I was rejecting several love confessions everyday-- I know when someone harbors deep feelings of attraction.”
“Yeah, ‘ore like u‘ne confeson per centry,” Mountain Shaper muttered, mouth full. Cloud Retainer smacked him, causing him to choke out a bit of his food.
“What was that for..?” He cried, grabbing a cup of water to wash down his food.
“Ahem!” Cloud Retainer cleared her throat. “Back to the topic at hand. We need to find Xiao the best way to confess to the Traveler, one that she absolutely won’t be able to say no to.”
“How about a nice sacrificial offering? Perhaps some incense and a dead boar…”
“Absolutely not,” Cloud Retainer retorted, cutting down Moon Carver’s proposal in a flash. “Clearly you’re not up to date with these kinds of things. Girls like Lumine don’t want dead boars… she obviously seems like someone who would prefer fish.”
Mountain Shaper rolled his eyes. He was dealing with two adepti who evidently seemed to not have a clue about the outside world. “Sacrifices are out of fashion lately. What the young lady needs is something she can eat! Perhaps a couple portions of Adeptus’ Temptation…”
At this point, Xiao just hung his head. He knew that there was nothing he could do when the three of them had their mind set… All he could do was to pray to Celestia that the three of them wouldn’t do anything to embarrass him in front of the Traveler.
“How about we go visit the Traveler and ask her what she thinks?”
No, they were definitely going to embarrass him in front of the Traveler.