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Baizhu knew his body. It had been years of dealing with his illness, too many days struggling with the pain until he finally learned how to push it down and adjust.
He knows his triggers, knows what causes flare ups and episodes. Knows how to avoid them.
Most of the time.
“I apologize, gentlemen,” Baizhu said pleasantly to the five Fatui agents who have slipped through the doors before Qiqi was able to shut and lock them. “But I’m afraid we’re closed now. If you’d like to come back in the morning, we’d be happy to help you then.”
“What we need from you, doctor, is not something you can provide during regular business operations,” the one in charge said.
“Of course, how silly of me,” Baizhu muttered to himself, rolling his eyes and hardly caring if they noticed. He kept his hands clasped together atop the desk, a small smile still remaining on his face. “Well then, I do hope you know I’ll be charging a rather high fee to meet outside business hours.”
The Fatui only chuckled, three remaining at the door while two stalked towards the desk. Nearby, Qiqi stood motionless and Baizhu briefly wondered what was going through her little mind—if she understood anything happening at all—before his gaze returned to the man in front of him.
“There are rumors that Bubu Pharmacy is the best is Teyvat,” the agent said. “And according to most of Liyue Harbor, you are the best physician.”
“I would hardly claim to be the best ,” Baizhu replied calmly. “I’ve heard that the Akademiya of Sumeru has rather impressive doctors.”
“How fascinating that you would mention that place.” The smile on the agent’s face sent a rush of warning down Baizhu’s back, Changsheng hissing quietly. “You see, there’s a doctor in Snezhnaya who was originally from Sumeru. And he’d very much love to speak with you.”
“Well, I’m very flattered, gentlemen,” Baizhu said. “Alas, I’m afraid I simply don’t have the time to travel so far away. I get rather seasick, you see.”
“There seems to be a misunderstanding, doctor .” The Fatui at the door shifted, as though preparing for a fight. “We’re not asking .”
“There’s no need to fight,” Baizhu informed them peaceably. “I’m certain we can come to an agreement. Qiqi dear.” The little zombie perked her head up. “Would you please take Changsheng to bed?”
The girl nodded slowly before saying in her dull tone, “Qiqi. Take Changsheng to bed.” With another nod, this time to herself, the child toddled over and accepted the snake that Baizhu had withdrawn from around his neck.
“Changsheng,” Baizhu said as Qiqi headed to the backroom. “Be a dear, would you?”
It was all he could say without the Fatui growing suspicious. Luckily for him, his loyal pet knew exactly what he was implying.
“Of course, sir.”
Once they were gone, Baizhu turned back to the agents. This time, his smile fell off his face.
“I hope you know I was only being pleasant for Qiqi’s sake,” he told them. “Do not forget, gentlemen, that any action against myself is considered an action against a citizen of Liyue and the Millelith can and will have you arrested for it.”
“You think highly of yourself, don’t you?”
“Hmm, I only state the truth,” Baizhu replied. “ You are the one who seemed to consider me the best physician of Teyvat.”
“You can make this as easy or as difficult as you want, doctor,” the agent informed him. “One way or another, you will be returning to Snezhnaya with us.”
“Changsheng and Qiqi know that I was outnumbered by Fatui,” Baizhu said, though he neglected to inform them of Qiqi’s poor memory. “Should I disappear, it will not be hard for the Millelith to figure out where I’ve gone.”
The agent laughed. “Trust me, doctor, once ours is done with you, you’ll be shipped right back home.” The smile on his face had Baizhu’s heart stopping. “In pieces.”
Baizhu knew then that he was out of time for stalling. He also knew that if he attacked first, he would be the one in trouble. So that means he had to play helpless and allow them to strike him without provocation.
Which, judging by the antsy way the men at the door were shifting, he mused it wasn't going to take long.
And it really didn’t. Not because the men attacked, no, but because there was a knock at the door before a voice called.
“Dr. Baizhu? Is everything alright? Miss Qiqi and…uh…” a quieter voice speaking before the man went on. “ Changsheng came to inform us you needed some assistance from the Millelith?”
Baizhu’s smile was the agents’ only warning before he called, “I’m outnumbered by Fatui, gentlemen!”
And, well, it all went downhill from there. The Millelith wasted no time in bursting through the doors—Baizhu was, after all, the best physician in Liyue—and the fight started instantly.
Baizhu remained where he was, behind the counter, knowing this would be where he was safest. He had a Vision and helped where he could, but being indoors made Dendro nearly useless.
He should have known, however, that he would be targeted sooner or later and just barely dodged the fist flying for his face from the agent who had slipped beneath the counter.
Though the strike didn’t hit where it was intended, it still caught his jaw and he winced at the pain, stumbling slightly. That break in his focus was all the agent needed to grab Baizhu’s shoulders and slam him into the wall.
The second his spine struck the shelves, agony raced through Baizhu’s body and he gasped, vision blurring from the pain as his body crumbled to the ground, limbs shaking against his will.
He curled in on himself, entire body trembling vioelntly as he fought the spasming in his lungs, struggling to breath as his lower back flared in pain. He wrapped his arms over his head, squeezing his eyes shut and lying helpless as the Fatui agent laughed.
“Not so strong are we now, huh doctor?” he demanded, unknowing of the true cause of Baizhu’s state.
Baizhu knew his body. It had been years of dealing with his illness, too many days struggling with the pain until he finally learned how to push it down and adjust.
He knows his triggers, knows what causes flare ups and episodes. Knows how to avoid them.
Most of the time.
Not this time.
The pain was unbearable. Baizhu’s chest jerked and heaved with each difficult breath. The agent standing over him had backed off, solely because of one of the Millelith that had ducked beneath the front counter and cornered him.
Baizhu’s ears rang and opening his eyes was useless as darkness crept in on the corners. He wouldn’t lose consciousness, unfortunately, but the amount of pain as his illness flared was often enough to cause loss of sight for a period of time.
Either mere minutes or many days, there was no way to tell. Baizhu’s ears rang, blocking out any sort of noise and the only thing he felt beyond the discomfort and agony was the overstimulating bangs of feet on the ground.
When that stopped, the pain receded only the slightest amount, though Baizhu’s limbs were too locked where they were to unfold and his vision had faded to only allowing him to recognize shapes around him.
“Dr. Baizhu?” The respect in the voice told him the man speaking to him was a member of the Millelith and Baizhu groaned softly, not out of irritation but rather relief that the Fatui had been taken care of. “Sir! He’s injured!”
“Dr. Baizhu suffers from a chronic illness.” Changsheng’s soothing voice released some of the tension in Baizhu’s limbs, allowing him to relax just slightly. “It seems that when the Fatui pushed him into the shelves, he caused a flare up.”
“I see. What can we do to help him?”
“There is little we can do beyond waiting for it to pass,” Changsheng replied. “Qiqi. Administer a bit of your cryo to Dr. Baizhu’s back. But only a bit, dear. He’s mortal and too much will hurt him.”
“Qiqi.” Baizhu let out a slow breath, hearing the little girl’s voice and knowing she was safe. “Help Dr. Baizhu.”
He felt tiny footsteps moving around him, to stand behind him, and tried not to shiver when those cold hands settled on his exposed lower back. A moment later, a gentle wave of Cryo washed over him and his body relaxed further, eyes fluttering as exhaustion began to take hold.
“Qiqi dear, you can stop now.”
“Qiqi, stop.”
“Dr. Baizhu? Can you hear us?”
Baizhu groaned again, eyes fluttering though he was still only met with darkness and minimal light.
“Yes,” he managed, surprised his voice worked that well, considering the dull pain that still remained and the way his lungs still felt tight. “Apologies…sir. It may take me some…time to…get up.”
“That’s alright. Take all the time you need. Do you want me to stay here with you?”
“I think we can handle it,” Changsheng replied, for which Baizhu was grateful. Though he had been able to manage a few words, the pain still made his thoughts fuzzy and speaking was difficult. “Thank you for acting so promptly.”
“Oh, um, certainly.” Baizhu would have laughed if he’d had the breath for it. If only he could have seen the officer’s face as he spoke with a talking snake. It always threw everyone off the first time. “Ah, I’ll just…” he cleared his throat. “Have a good evening, Dr. Baizhu.”
“And you as well, sir,” Changsheng replied as the soldier stood and left. As soon as the doors were closed, Changsheng spoke again. “Qiqi, let’s help Dr. Baizhu up and to bed.”
“Qiqi, help Dr. Baizhu to bed.”
It was slow going, what with Baizhu’s limbs still feeling numb and out of his control. He did, eventually, make it to his room in the back though and curled up, back still aching. Distantly, he could hear footsteps as Qiqi went around the room but he paid them little mind as he pulled his glasses off his face and tossed them carelessly in the direction of the table on the side.
A moment later, he felt the bed dip behind him before Qiqi’s cold body pressed against his back, her little arms wrapped around his waist. He chuckled softly, reaching a trembling hand back to pat her head.
“Thank you, Qiqi.”
“Qiqi…did good?”
“You did very good, Qiqi.” If he had been in any state to do so, Baizhu certainly would have rolled over and given her a return hug. As it was, he could only give her a pitiful back rub. Qiqi hardly seemed to care though, leaning over him to rest her head on his hip.
“Dr. Baizhu should rest now,” she declared.
He smiled. “Indeed I will. Goodnight, Qiqi. Goodnight, Changsheng.”
“Goodnight, sir.”
“Goodnight Dr. Baizhu.”
In the morning, enough of Dr. Baizhu’s sight had returned that he could walk without needing to hold Qiiq’s hand. Moving was, of course, slowing going and the pharmacy had to remain closed on account of his inability to remain standing too long or, well, see clearly .
But Qiqi evidently didn’t care, nor did she care that he could walk on his own, insisting on holding his hand throughout the day and guiding him anywhere he needed to go with quiet little orders to herself.
“Thank you, Qiqi,” Dr. Baizhu said softly as he watched the girl crawl under the bed in search of the glasses he’d tossed the night before. He hadn’t asked her to, of course, but she’d given the order herself after Changsheng had made a comment and, well…
She always beamed so brightly when he complimented her.
It would take a few days before he was as close to one hundred percent as he could be but Qiqi was more than willing to do as much work in his stead as she could.
Baizhu knew his body. It had been years of dealing with his illness, too many days struggling with the pain until he finally learned how to push it down and adjust.
He knows his triggers, knows what causes flare ups and episodes. And even if he couldn’t avoid them many times, he knew he always had someone nearby who would sit with him until they ended.