Chapter Text
When you first arrived in Liyue, battered, thirsty, and unaware of how much time had passed, you hadn’t expected to meet face to face with one of the richest men in the area.
You had figured he’d laugh at you, or perhaps cast a scornful side-eye as he flipped through the clean pages of his hardcover book. You remember how terrified you were; how you frantically reached behind for your [weapon] in case he’d bring forth security with the wave of his hand. Instead, he stowed his book away and ran over to you, immediately asking you questions that you were too weak and overwhelmed to provide competent answers to.
“Are you alright?” was the first one. And to be honest, that depended on his version of “alright”. But physically? No. Mentally? Definitely not. Spiritually? He shouldn’t even get you started.
“Where did you come from?” was the second one. You couldn’t answer that properly, so you just retraced your steps. You had just left Monstadt after finishing with your adventuring business there, and decided to continue walking until you found something that interested you. Next thing you knew, men in bulky, robot-like suits came chasing after you, and all it took was two gunshots and a swing of an electric hammer to disarm you. And completely destroy your left arm.
“What’s your name?” was the third question. Thankfully, that one was easy. Your name was [name], and you were...well an “adventurer”. You weren’t employed under the Adventurer’s Guild, at least not anymore, but you still found yourself camping in tents, exploring the supernatural, and trying to solve ancient puzzles. You hadn’t been very successful though.
After a few more irritating questions, he helped you to his estate in order to provide you first aid for your injuries. The thought of it sounded lovely at first...until you actually saw the estate. As lavish as the place was, it was overwhelming to say the least. The first floor alone had too many rooms to count, and it seemed like there was at least one maid or servant for each. The food looked...bland, to say the least, but that wasn’t the worst part. For you, it was the other merchants that would enter the estate, the other merchants that would judge each servant and maid from head to toe when they finished caring for you. So naturally, after about three days of hiding yourself, or posing as a clueless Liyue citizen, you began planning ways to escape from an unarmed door, or an unattended window when your wounds had healed a bit.
Of course, they never worked, and each time you tried you’d find yourself apprehended by a servant and escorted back to your room. This continued about four or five more times, until the young merchant himself took matters into his own hands.
He asked you if you needed anything from him, and it took every ounce of self-control to not demand some money, or at the very least a sip of water. After a minute of awkward staring and anxious gulps of nothing, you told him that you’d like to receive medical attention as far away from the estate as possible. He was a bit skeptical of your request, but put it in action, and told you that he could make it work so long as you didn’t attempt to escape anymore. You didn’t like that condition at all, but still held up to your end of the deal; he seemed a bit more trustworthy than the other rich bastards.
And next thing you knew, you were residing in a small house in Qingce Village. Clean water sat by your bedside, fresh food lay on a coffee table near your bed, and your wounds were nicely bandaged and cared for. Next to the clean water sat a note that said “I don’t hold this against you.” in the most atrocious handwriting you had ever seen.
You later learned the merchant was Xingqiu, an extremely wealthy merchant who had ties to the Feiyun Commerce Guild. Upon learning this news from a friend of his, one who you had taken a keen interest in, you no longer felt guilty for suspecting him to be a rich little bastard. He was, but not in the egotistical, condescending way. Turns out, he had a terrifying interest in pranks, and jokes, and not too long after you befriended him, you found yourself the victim of quite a few of them. The worst one was definitely the incident inolving a barrell of explosive slime secretions. To this day, you still fight the urge to slap him across the face for that one.
Still, you owed him your thanks. He had given you medical attention, money, and a temporary place to reside until you made enough to continue your adventures. Yet, you found yourself growing attached to the village of young kids and the elderly. You approached the chief, a lovely woman referred to as “Granny Ruoxin”, and asked if you could do anything to remain inside Qingce village. The tasks were hefty at first, but you soon grew used to them, and before long you found yourself working avidly to help the village in exchange for wonderful hospitality. You knew it wasn’t right to reside in one place for so long, and that you were an adventurer, not a mere citizen of Liyue. You knew very well that you couldn’t remain in that village forever, as many of the elders regarded you with suspicion, and other citizens that stopped by to trade would question your whereabouts. The unwanted attention stressed you out at times, and had you wondering if Liyue should’ve been your place of temporary residence.
And then...you met that one traveler. Well, to say that you went out of your way to meet them couldn’t be farther from the truth; rather, it was Xingqiu who introduced you to them while you were bargaining for some fresh bread. You never got to know their name, or what their purpose in Liyue was...other than the fact that they were in pursuit of knowledge for the sake of their lost twin sibling. The whole ordeal confused you, but when you turned to Xingqiu for aid, he was of no use. So, all you could do was give the traveler and their floating companion a warm welcome as they went about their business.
“That conversation would’ve been less awkward if I had known more about them beforehand.” you had snapped at Xingqiu once the traveler was out of earshot. It was a cool day around the early springtime, and the two of you had just finished your daily bargains.
Well, it was more so Xingqiu dragging you along to his daily bargains.
“It’s not like I know too much about them.” Xingqiu had retorted. “But I consider them a close one of mine, so I figured that you should meet them.”
“Why me specifically?” you had demanded. “Am I a close one of yours now, too?”
“Well…” Xingqiu grew nervous at that point, which had you pause in your tracks. He looked up at you with a shy, yet confused expression and whispered, “...Why wouldn’t I consider you a close friend?”
You immediately left the harbor after that, not wanting that little bastard to see your reddening cheeks. So, he had considered you a friend of his. The little rich merchant who had willingly saved your life, given you hospitality, provided you a starting sum of mora, and drenched you in slime secretions had considered you a close friend.
It was almost sickening how elated that made you feel.
After that incident, you didn’t see Xingqiu again, and you weren’t going to for another two months or so. One hot afternoon, as you tidied the floors of your small temporary home, a soft knock on the door interrupted your temporary relief from the heat. You quickly threw off your cleaning apron, put on a more outdoor-friendly pair of clothes, and opened the door, expecting it to be Granny Ruoxin, or perhaps Xiangling. Instead, you stood face-to-face with that same traveler, their floating companion peeking over their sunburnt shoulders.
“Xingqiu told me that you’ve been to Inazuma before.” they stated, a bit out of breath.
You raised a brow. “Yeah, and this matters, why?”
“I’m planning to travel to Inazuma as well in order to get some answers surrounding my sibling. Since you’ve been there before, you’re likely familiar with much of the ‘do’s and ‘don'ts’, as well as the landscapes and the cuisine.”
“That may be the case.” you admitted, twirling a loose thread from your shirt around your finger. “But the last time I’ve been to Inazuma was nearly a year ago, so it’s likely changed since then. If you were to bring me along with you, I wouldn’t be as of much use as you’d expect.”
The traveler shook their head, holding up a hand. “It doesn’t matter. I could use any help I need. Even if lots has changed since then, there’s still probably areas that are familiar to you. So please, come along with me.”
You froze, eyes darting to the unkempt clothes that you were supposed to wash later today. Venturing with a traveler you had recently befriended with….all the way to a completely different nation. If everything went wrong, you would never get to see Liyue again. If you went with this traveler, and perished with them in battle, you would die being indebted to Xingqiu and the entire Qingce village. There was no way you would do it; you still had chores to do, you still had to visit the harbor at least one last time this summer, you still had to--
“I’ll give it some thought.” the words had fallen out just like that.
Now you were seated atop a rock in Chinju forest, watching a handful of sakura blooms gently float around in your hand. Kazuha had taught you how to loosely manipulate the breezes around you to let them rest above your palm. You weren’t sure how his tactics worked, as you weren’t using any of your elemental powers to control them, but you weren’t going to question it. You were just happy that you could feel like him for a brief moment. Now all you had to do was figure out how to create music with any particular leaf. You had tried it a few times, but your end result was always a pathetic gust of air, and a leaf speckled in saliva.
“There you are. Paimon and I have been worrying about where you went.”
The sakura blooms slip from your grasp and spill into the wind. You let out a quiet, melancholic whine as you fail to catch them, and then turn around to find the source of the voice. As expected, the traveler was walking up to you slowly, obvious signs of stress and fatigue written across their facial expression.
You flash a small smile, and wave at them. “Ah, good evening. How are you doing?”
“I’m hungry.” they grumble, sliding a hand to their hip. “And exhausted. If I’m being honest, I’m kind of jealous of you right now.”
You snort. Other than winning in a hotpot game against the Chief Retainer of the Kamisato Clan, you hadn’t done anything interesting since your arrival. “Why?”
The traveler pouts slightly, kicking at the muddy surface with their boots. “Because you have the privilege of returning to Liyue tomorrow.”
“I wouldn’t say it was a privilege,” you point out. You jump down from the rock and land in the surrounding stream with a hefty splash. “It was more so just me annoying Kazuha until he managed to put together a plan.”
“How did you manage to convince him to secure a ride all the way back to Liyue?”
“That’s not the question you should be asking.” you reply. “What you should focus on is how the hell Kazuha managed to secure a ride in the first place.”
“This is the same man that resides with the Crux Fleet and successfully escaped the Vision Hunt Decree.” the traveler indicates. “Him managing to secure a ride isn’t all that surprising.”
You chuckle. “When you put it that way, it almost sounds reasonable.”
A period of silence went by as you two stare at the scenery enveloping you both. In the few weeks you had come to stay in Inazuma, you had quickly found comfort in Chinju forest. Its dark atmosphere, the assorted arrangement of glowing flora, the quiet streams that ran about...it reminded you of Qingce Village at times.
“By the way…” you begin hesitantly; you had never really questioned the Traveler before, whether it be about their safety, their whereabouts, or their duties. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Okay…?” The Traveler repeats your question, their confused expression and furrowed brows stirring unwanted feelings of embarrassment. What kind of question was that? Of course that Traveler wasn’t going to be okay--they confronted the Shogun themselves and now held a hefty bounty on their backs. It was probably a miracle that you had seen them again since that day.
You open your mouth to apologize, to tell them to completely disregard your question, but the generous smile on their face silences all your frantic apologies. With a quiet sigh, they told you, “I think I’ll be okay. For the most part, anyway. Running isn’t something that is foreign to me...and besides, I have the Resistance on my side.”
“The Resistance….?” you wonder aloud. Then you clap your hands together. “Ah! You mean those rebelling against the Vision Hunt Decree!”
“Precisely so….” they beam. “So I’ll be in good hands, don’t worry.”
You nod, that tight feeling in your chest slowly thinning out. You weren’t sure why the Traveler’s confidence relieved you so much, but you weren’t going to complain. Granny Ruoxin had once told you that it was better to just appreciate what you were given, even if you couldn’t understand the nature of it.
You look up, feeling the Inazuman breezes brush across your face and through your unkempt hair. If there was one thing you would miss about Inazuma, it would definitely be this forest. While it certainly couldn’t surpass Qingce Village’s scenery, or the breathtaking views at Qingyun peak’s heights, it was still a place of comfort and reflection for you. It was the place where you had your first bite of dango, where you let those pitiful tears slip down your cheeks as you held your scratched vision to your chest. It was a place of memories, both memorable and forgetful, and it was going to be rather difficult to bid a farewell to.
And speaking of dango...there were more than enough Sakura blooms around to take, and you still had a decent amount of snapdragons in a small handbag you had stolen from a Tenryou Soldier. They certainly weren’t fresh anymore, but they were still edible, weren’t they?
“Hey uh…” you snap your fingers quietly, which was thankfully loud enough to have the traveler’s head perk up. They raise a brow, observing you curiously as you pull out a small bunch of snapdragons from your pouch.
“Why do you have those?” They ask, perplexed. “You can get Snapdragons just about anywhere. They’re not native to a specific region.”
You roll your eyes. “Never-mind, I don’t feel like offering you some Dango anymore.”
Their perplexed expression disappears, now replaced with an apologetic, yet panic-stricken stare . “W-wait, no! I’m sorry! Please, let me have some! I haven’t eaten since this morning!”
“What did you eat this morning?” you demand. "Don't lie."
“Erm…” they tap their chin, dirty golden locks brushing across the edges of their brows. “I can’t remember, actually; I just remember that it contained meat. I gave most of it to Paimon, anyway.”
“Paimon…” you muse, looking around the forest. Now that the Traveler had brought them up, you had realized that she was nowhere in sight. It was strange...that strange little child accompanied the traveler wherever they went. “It’s a bit odd not seeing them around today. Are they alright?”
“Oh!” The traveler smiles a little. “Don’t worry! Paimon’s in good hands. They were feeling a bit exhausted after dinner, so Ayaka vouched to watch over them while I went out to search for you.”
“Oh?” you falter; how long had they been searching for you? “Have you been doing so for a while? If I had known, I would have alerted you of where I was going beforehand.”
“Ah, don’t worry!” they dismiss. “I wasn’t sure where to begin, actually...until Thoma suggested I start at Chinju Forest. He said you seemed rather attached to this area, and frankly I can’t blame him.”
“Ah…” you could feel your face heating up. “Wow, he certainly is observant.”
“Don’t be embarrassed!” The traveler reassures you, “we all have our places of comfort! Back when I was in Monstadt, I’d always sit with Paimon by this Statue of the Seven at Windrise!”
“Windrise…” the familiar name brings a tired smile to your face. It had been weeks, no...probably months since you had last made your way towards Windrise. You pause, fingers stroking your cheek as you begin to feel anxious. How long had it been since you had accidentally ended up in Liyue?
Whatever the answer was, you weren’t in the mood to answer it right now. You stand up, snapdragons in hand, and begin to look for the old stove by the stream. You were hungry, and so was the traveler, and Dango just happened to be a favorite among you both.
The traveler follows you towards the back of the forest, near the shrine where they had encountered the irritating tanuki spirit. Not too far from the stone steps sat an old stove full of lukewarm water. You glance back at the traveler, give them a nod of approval, and kneel downwards to begin cooking your dish.
“You know what would go perfectly with this Dango?” they cheerily ask you, though they gave you very little time to actually respond. “Some Tri-Flavored Skewers! That, or the recipe that we learned back in Konda Village.”
“The imported poultry?” you speculate, putting a finger in the water to check the temperature. “It’s been a while since I’ve had that dish. I’m not sure if I remember how to make it.”
“That’s alright!” the Traveler laughs. “You don’t mind if I make that for us tonight, do you? I’d like our last meal to be memorable, y'know.”
“Stop talking like that.” you scoff, lighting a new fire near the stove. “You’re acting as if I’m going to war after this.”
“Well, you are leaving Inazuma, despite the Vision Hunt Decree being in full swing.”
“Okay, fair.” you admit, “but they wouldn’t kill me. They’d just...throw me into prison or something. And that can’t be worse than the time I got ambushed by Fatui agents.”
“Ehe…” the Traveler rubbed the back of their neck. “That reminds me...do you even have a vision? I never see it.”
“Oh, my vision…” you murmur, and slip your hand into your back pocket. “The fake one you gave me was taken away by a Tenryou guard a while back. However, the real one is still with me. I just hardly use it since I’m not one that likes getting into fights...or using it at all.”
You retrieve your vision from your back pocket, and hold it outwards for Traveler to see. It’s a bit more cracked than before, and the [element color] glow seems to be dulling, but it’s not like there’s much you can do about it.
“Ah, so you were given the [element] Vision?” the Traveler inquires as you stow it away.
“Nah, I was given the [other element] vision.” you jab at them sarcastically. You then try not to laugh as the Traveler rolls their eyes and pout; Paimon’s behaviors seemed to rub off on them sometimes.
“I think the new fire is good enough now…” they point out, and take out four pieces of fowl. You gape at all the meat, watching as the traveler casually warms it over the fire. How did they have that much raw meat on them, and how could you not smell it?
“Huh...two helpings of this dish sure require a lot of fowl…” you giggle awkwardly as they bring a piece of fowl dangerously close to the flames.
“Yeah, tell me about it…” the traveler huffs, cupping their cheek with their hand. “Eight pieces of fowl for two helpings...such a waste.”
"Eight pieces of fowl?” you repeat with disbelief. Then you glare at them. “Hey, might I remind you that this meal was your idea? You can’t complain about missing out on fowl.”
“I know, I know.” the Traveler defensively holds up a hand. “I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize; I was just reminding you.” you shrug. You get to work on creating the Dango, first by taking out two bamboo skewers. “Now then, what else is needed to make this...imported poultry?”
“Hmm…” the Traveler taps their chin. “There’s one ingredient that I think I’m forgetting, but there’s lavender melon, egg yolk, and lettuce involved.
“Are you sure that’s a dish that can be cooked over just a fire?” you ask. “Especially with something containing egg yolk; it sounds like something that needs to be properly fried, and in order to do that we’d have to go back to the--”
You stop yourself, remembering that even if Traveler wanted to cook in the city, they wouldn’t be able to because of the warrant. Sure, that warrant was partially to blame on them, but they did it to preserve a friend’s vision. You would’ve done the same for anyone you deeply cared about.
A quick image of Xingqiu flashes by in your mind, and you angrily curse and kick your feet against the ground. “Goddammit.”
“Ah…” The Traveler apologizes. “I’m sorry, I got a bit too excited about the dish, completely forgetting I didn’t bring everything with me. I’m sorry for inconveniencing you.”
“No no, that’s not it…” you wave your hand. “Don’t apologize for what you did. Yes, it was a bit stupid, but I would’ve done the same.”
“Mm, alright.” they mumble. “So uh, since we can’t do the whole imported poultry thing right now, how about we make some Jueyun Chili Chicken, but with an Inazuman twist to it?”
You raise a brow. You'd expect someone like Xiangling to put forth that proposal, but not the Traveler. “And do you have any Juyeun Chilies?”
“Of course I do!” they exclaim stubbornly. “They’re not the freshest, but they’re still edible. And ideally, it’d take less time to make the chili chicken, right?”
“If we’re using bootleg frying to cook the poultry, then yes.” you contemplate. “But otherwise, I think they’d get done in about the same time. Either way, as long as we get to eat something tasty, I don’t care. Maybe if we have time, we could attempt a bit of bootleg frying with this stove system here.”
“Not with how long it’s taking you to make that Dango.” the traveler teases, pointing at the bamboo stick soaking in the water.
You scowl at them, almost competitively. “Your fowl is burning.”
“H-huh?!” they exclaim, and look down in horror to see the pink meat reaching an unsightly, dark color. “Shit--!”
“Calm down; you’ll still eat it anyway.” you wanted to say, but decided not to risk it. You’d rather not have to explain to Paimon why the Traveler burned you with a piece of damn fowl.
There wasn’t much you could recall during the trip from Inazuma to Liyue; all you could remember was how stressful and treacherous it felt. You weren’t sure how Thoma was able to help you bypass the guards with a simple drawing of Inazuma’s map, or how the captain of the ship was able to successfully hide you amongst tons of cargo exports. You weren’t sure how you two managed to bypass the initial violence of the turbulent waves, or how the captain was able to manage the majority of the trip with only one other companion to substitute for him. Thousands of miracles had happened while on that journey back home, and for once you were glad you had listened to Granny Ruoxin’s perplexing advice.
Of course, the trip wasn’t fun. Sure, you had bypassed all the obstacles that had you fearing a painful, early demise, but that didn’t stop the rest of the journey from being terrible. Maybe it was the fleeting, yet intense moments of seasickness, or the gnawing sensation of homesickness every time you imagined the harbor’s bustling ports. Whatever the reason was, it made your trip back there much less bearable than the trip to Inazuma, and the stormy skies that soon covered the blanket of cerulean certainly didn’t alleviate the situation.
Yet miraculously, after what felt like weeks of dried fish, restless sleep, carvings in the wood with your [weapon]’s edges, and failed attempts at writing haikus....you saw it. As you lifted your head up to observe the sun’s position in the sky, you saw the familiar stones of the Guyun Stone Forest in the very distance.
You were home. You were back in Liyue once more.
The captain of the ship, a nice elderly man who hadn’t given you a name, insisted that you camp for the night, as the post-venturing fatigue would have you crumbling the following morning. At first, you were skeptical, annoyed even. You had gotten three limbs bashed in by a Fatui electro hammer, and had survived a two, no three story fall when escaping an ambush, yet fatigue was where he drew the line? Was he even listening when you repeated those stories for the fifth, sixth, or even seventh time? What about his companion, whose name you also did not know? Did he not listen to you as well?
Yet, as you reluctantly set up a camp and closed your eyes for a temporary power nap, you immediately understood where he had come from. When you opened your eyes that following morning, The captain’s companion had informed you that it was three o’clock in the afternoon, and that you had been asleep for approximately twenty hours.
The gasp of yours that followed suit scared the living shit out of both you.
Once the captain returned back to the small campsite you three had set up, you thanked him for his hospitality, and told him to send Kazuha your regards. You took the thinning mora pouch in your pocket and set it in his hands, and immediately left without a proper farewell. To this day, that was something you still somewhat regretted, and at times you wondered what would’ve changed had you formally introduced yourself to the captain and his nameless companion.
Whatever that change was, it wasn’t like you could do anything about it; the event had passed, and you needed to focus on the present. You had returned to Liyue safely, and were in good hospitality at Qingce Village once again. You could continue paying off the debt that you owed them, and you could enjoy the beautiful scenery and the chilling breezes once more.
And perhaps...you could reunite with those you hadn’t seen. Even him. The merchant who gave you a taste of Liyue’s hospitality.