Chapter Text
Hu Tao was not dumb. Either that or her employee was terrible at hiding his secrets. It seemed that it was a bit of both. She discovered quite early that her employee, the funeral consultant at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour, was none other than the Geo Archon, the God of Contacts, Rex Lapis. The one who was widely believed to be dead by the people of Liyue. But it was not like she cared though. Was she still going to play pranks on the Archon? Hell yeah!! Was she still going to order him around? Absolutely!! After all, he did sign the contract to do her bidding — as an employee, but that was a minor detail. Plus, she knew that despite him giving her “the stern looks”, he enjoyed it. He enjoyed her company as much as she cherished his.
She could see that he was lonely when she first met him. It was a few days before the death of her grandfather, when he came to visit him. Everyone knew that the 75th Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlour, Old Hu, was reaching his time. As one of the last two remaining Hu, Hu Tao, knew this better than anyone else. After all, dealing with death was a family business and was not something they ever feared. What they feared was the well-being of people left behind. Sometimes, it was easier to deal with the dead than the living.
So when she first saw Zhongli sitting beside her bedridden grandpa, she saw tired sadness behind his cor lapis coloured eyes as if losing yet another friend was just breaking up his rocky heart into even more pieces of pebbles, scattered to never be whole again. She didn’t know how he knew her grandpa or for how long. But she could see the depth of their friendship. Their conversation was playful. Though mostly it was her grandpa who did most of the teasing, true to the name Hu, while the other took it all graciously with deep small chuckles. She could tell that he knew not just the businessman, Director Hu, but he also knew her grandpa. And she saw the same distress she has been fearing day after day, for you can never be truly ready. She felt his loss, his sorrow.
She herself was not much different. She might not have gone through the thousands of years of lifetime — or however old Zhongli was — and didn’t feel the loss of archons knows how many people. Not that she knew this truth back then. But she was just a child, a child who was about to lose her last family. She knew she would be left behind to carry the legacy of her family alone. She was just a child, and she had to burn the pyre of her last family with her own small hands.
Zhongli saw her holding his friend's hat in her hand as she walked toward the husk that once held his soul, buried under the pile of gracefully laid woods. He stayed after the passing to make sure the final rite of parting for his friend was done right. But it didn’t seem he needed to worry. A child she may be but she knew what needed to be done and how. Every single detail to the smallest flower petal was precise and perfect. But he stayed nonetheless to help her. The whole while she was making all the preparations, she was calm and poised. Every instruction she gave, every condolences she responded to didn’t waver her voice. Yet, he stayed and listened to her, her unspoken words. For he was quite familiar with the emptiness that comes from losing someone, one more time. As the last one left, she had already lost many. How many he had lost? He never bothered to count, for even a mountain would melt under the weight of eons of weeping clouds.
She walked slowly toward the unlit pyre. Once reached, she just stood there and stared at her grandfather’s dark brown hat adorned in the front by the insignia of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and plum blossom attached on the side. The blank expression on her face spoke no words. Although, her scarlet flowery eyes spoke at the lightning speed. She stood there, for what seemed eternity until placing the hat on her head. She seemed to have added a ribbon on the rim of it and tied it at the back. After all, the burden of old was too big for a child to bear but she had to make it work. Now, she was no longer Little Hu Tao. She was Director Hu, 77th Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlour. Now, she shall carry the weight of her family’s legacy on her shoulder.
For her first deed as the family head, she took the fire staff and with care lit the cleansing flames of Homa on its tip. She sent her grandfather, his friend, to the realm beyond the world of living. That’s when he saw; he saw her break under the weight of long loneliness that awaits her. Heavy dew drops falling from the flower petals; he finally saw her cry. And as she looked at him, he couldn’t help but shed a tear himself.
Although they must once again smile for the world tomorrow, in that moment, they just wished to find peace in their heartache and sorrow.
Following the funeral, Hu Tao disappeared for days. With growing concern, Zhongli looked for her, only to find her waiting where the line that separated life and death blurs. It was something that only a member of the Hu family could achieve. He knew she was waiting to see her grandpa one last time. He also knew that her grandpa would never come, for only the one with regrets in life tends to linger behind in death. And his friend was wise enough to not have bound himself with such shackles. But, Zhongli only watched from afar and waited, until she came to the same conclusion herself.
When she finally returned, she was not empty handed. She was back with a new ambition, with the ability to control fire, with a Pyro Vision. Her determination and her resolve to upload the legacy burning away any doubts in Zhongli’s heart. But it didn’t hide her lonely eyes, no matter how many playful masks she tried.
That day marked the beginning of his decision to leave the lonely world of archons and walk among the mortals, which eventually led to another chaotic tale a few years later. He was alone for a long time. And stubbornly, like a rock, he was getting used to it. But at that moment, he didn’t want her to be alone. He will be with her even if he had work as her employee as an excuse.
She didn’t hesitate to accept his offer. In the few days she had known him, she only saw longing in his heart. So she decided that he, who tried and failed to hide sorrow for her grandfather, who seemed to be covered in centuries thick dust of loneliness, deserved to have little excitement in his life.
It was not a coincidence that they ended up meeting each other. Old Hu was wise. For only he could see the real pain they both faced — were about to face. And he had made sure she was not alone so what better place than under the care of an immortal god.
However, it didn’t take Hu Tao long to realize who Zhongli actually was. He was too poised to be a human, like a being carved out of single pieces of rock, like an ancient statue. She always thought that he smelled like cor lapis, if one could smell a rock. His habits were flawless, his mannerisms were ageless, and his infinite patience as if he experienced a few years in a blink of an eye. He looked too young to speak words so old, filled with never-ending wisdom. The fact that he knew about things that should have gone extinct in the deepest ruins. But most of all, his inability to be discreet. She was surprised that many hadn’t figured it out. Like do they not see the statue of Rex Lapis scattered across Liyue? Am I the only one with eyes? She thought to herself whenever she passed by them.
His true identity became even more obvious since the sudden and more regular appearance of his little yaksha: Adeptus Xiao.
The first time she saw Xiao, he was just disappearing after talking to Zhongli on his balcony. The balcony that was overlooking the hustle bustle of Liyue yet was perfectly hidden from their sight, from any prying-eye. Allowing Zhongli to see but not be seen, allowing him a brief moment to be Rex Lapis, once again.
It was one of those days, where Hu Tao needed to prank Zhongli. One of those days, she was desperately missing something… someone. She was trying to be sneaky but knew that he was aware of her presence. He always knew and yet he would pretend to be scared. Maybe it was a game they were both playing without ever saying the rules out loud. Perhaps, because he knew she was coming, he asked Xiao to leave or maybe Xiao noticed it himself.
But she saw him with his dark teal hair, dressed in white and purple. She saw the dark green coloured mask hanging on his waist. And she saw the tainted auras of other beings he carried around him. And what she saw scared her. She has never been afraid of ghosts but they were not ghosts. They were far worse. Being filled with manifestation of anger and hatred. And they were not his but he was the one suffering.
But she was Hu Tao and she didn't know how to back down. Every encounter after that was also brief, though no longer accidental. She was curious to know more. And with each, her fear subsided and was replaced with sympathy. She is just a mortal, what did she know about the burden of a yaksha to feel anything more for him. Although, she hoped it wouldn't end there and one day she can truly understand.
Zhongli’s reunion with Xiao, if one would call it that, was something that he wanted for a long time. After he had told all the other adeptus about his true identity, he still didn't have the guts to face Xiao. But like always he stalled not for Xiao’s sake, but to protect himself from facing the truth. He was scared to face the once innocent bird who suffered from the actions of a cruel god. And once freed from those metal chains, he was again bound with the chain of a contact by another god. A contract that will torment him until his eventual end. Zhongli knew that Xiao accepted his new prison because he felt indebted to him. But did he know what he was signing his life away to? Does he regret it? Zhongli didn’t know the answer but he was afraid to meet the man who despite all this, would bow to him with respect. One who would still come to him from a single whisper of his name uttered in the passing winds.
But he couldn’t let Xiao suffer alone, not anymore. He needed to face the consequences of his actions, for Xiao has been carrying Rex Lapis’ burden for far too long. Now it’s Zhongli’s turn to atone.
At first, he summoned Xiao to his balcony, and was shocked to see that Xiao was in worse shape than he thought. What else did he expect? The karmic debt he carried would only grow in size. And standing there in the heart of the city also made Xiao hesitant as he was scared to be too close to mortals, feared of tainting them. Xiao never wished to hurt innocent mortals despite his past actions. Zhongli knew this, which made him even bigger of an idiot. How can he forget what Xiao’s karmic debt would do to the people of Liyue? Moreover, should he really be making someone he is trying to help come to him? After realizing his yet another mistake, he decided next time to visit Xiao instead.
Xiao was, as always, an obedient servant, carrying out his duties even after his god had chosen to retire, dead to most. And it broke Zhongli's heart to see that. How did I let this happen in the first place? He knew he had wronged many but he had been more cruel as he had been to Xiao. Additionally, it was getting hard for Zhongli to read his little bird. It was either due to his own inevitable erosion or maybe something had changed in Xiao. Did he finally realize what I have done to him? Will he finally start to despise me and hate me? These thoughts scared him. But I deserve far worse. Yet despite these thoughts, he still visited Xiao. Either to bring him his medication, tempt him with his favourite dish or with an excuse that he was in the vicinity: “...so I thought why not just drop by”.
Hu Tao noticed that Zhongli left more often than before to visit a “friend”. She knew who it was at this point and eventually found out that he resided at Wangshu Inn. She would be lying if she said that it didn’t hurt a bit. Was it selfish to want him all to myself? He really cares for Xiao and worries about him. He is an archon after all, so he must care for all. But am I not also one of those people? Shouldn’t he care for me? Does he care for me? She pushed away those brief doubtful thoughts for she knew that if he didn’t care he wouldn’t be a Consultant at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. She was an adult now and needed to act like one. So she did the most logical thing she could think of: she went after him to Wangshu Inn.
Zhongli didn’t know when she found out about him. But eventually he knew. Should he still keep on playing the role he has become so comfortable in? Or doesn’t he owe her the truth? After all, that girl wears her true self with pride. Not only that, she also knew about Xiao. He could see the hurt in her eyes when he asked for yet another evening off. How cruel of me to hurt yet another one of my children. Maybe she deserved to know the truth, truth about his past mistakes that he is trying to atone for. Truth about the pain he has caused Xiao. So he decided that he was going to tell her.
One night, he was running late to get home after meeting with Xiao. It was the day Xiao asked to go on a journey in the depth of the Chasm. Zhongli wanted to stop him so badly, to hold him and beg him to not go. But what rights did he have? Although Xiao left quite early, Zhongli couldn’t make himself leave. For this could be the last he ever got to see Xiao. The image of his little bird was on his knees desperately wanting to go and seek the remnants of his lost family. It took Zhongli a while to realize how late it had gotten. Time moves differently for him than for the mortals in his care. He walked down many flights of stairs and only to see her waiting for him at the bottom of the Wangshu Inn.
This is it. He was going to tell her then. He was going to tell her what he did to Xiao. She deserved to know what happened to those who associated with him. He will deal with the consequences after, no matter how harsh they may be. It’s about time he stepped up.
But… that smile stopped him.
She was just there standing at the base of the Inn with a solemn expression. How was she just there but in mere moments was hugging him with the biggest smile? He was stunned. It was not the first time she hugged him. But knowing how betrayed she was feeling before he left and yet seeing her smiling and happy to see him. He was just too selfish. She told him that when she realized that he was running late, it would take a long time till he got back for dinner. So she decided to come here so he can eat in time because “it’s getting late for grandpa”. He truly was the most selfish.
So she did the most logical thing she could think of: she went after him to Wangshu Inn. If he can’t be with her, then she will be with him. Even if all she could do was give him hugs and make him smile by teasingly calling him a “grandpa”. He always chucked at that. He was with her when she needed someone the most. And now she was going to be with him and to help with whatever he needed, whenever he needed it. It was not a debt she was trying to repay. She knows she would never be able to do that. She was just doing what she would for someone she cares about. He might be Rex Lapis, the Archon of Liyue. But to her he was first and foremost, her only family.