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Illuminated by the soft glow of hanging lanterns, Yanfei squints at the map given to her by that festival organizer from Fontaine. The crowds of tourists thin out this far from all the food stalls and festival games, and she soon finds herself more or less alone in the dimly lit streets. Yanfei obviously knows the Harbor like the back of her hand, but she seems to have walked past the secret 'backstage' area he's sending her to more than once. How odd.
The arrow on the map leads her to a back alley hidden behind a stack of crates with a canvas sailcloth draped over top like a tent. Perhaps Dvorak made a mistake? Yanfei stuffs the map into her belt pouch and frowns.
This is all more than a little shady, or at the very least, not very professional.
She's about to turn around and return to the docks when she hears faint giggling from the shadows. There is someone here after all.
Yanfei's hand strays to trace the spine of the tome strapped at her hip. If any unlucky cutpurses or Treasure Hoarders decide to target her of all people, they will be made to regret it. When Yanfei strains her ears, she can just make out several voices from beneath the canvas – conversing?
No, chanting, perhaps – although the words sound like nonsense.
“Red leather, yellow leather! Red leather, yellow leather!”
Now that can't be right. Curiosity piqued, Yanfei creeps a few paces closer, head tilted to catch the sound. The chant has changed, and now she can make out three distinctly feminine voices, all calling in unison:
“Pop's Teas tops peas! Pop's Teas tops peas!”
She finds herself mouthing along with the tongue-twister, and repeats it flawlessly. That's nothing compared to reciting the latest commerce and trade law amendments handed down by the Qixing.
This all seems less clandestine by the minute. Carefully she eases the corner of the canvas to peek underneath and confirm her suspicions.
Hu Tao, Yun Jin, and Xinyan stand loosely around a flickering lantern, all in various poses of stretching. They haven't noticed her yet.
So this is the surprise performing group she was sent to meet with, Yanfei thinks with an amused smile. Dvorak would have no way of knowing they were already acquainted through an assortment of official functions, fire code violations, and acting as the executor of various clients' last wills. It's been some time since she last attended one of Xinyan's shows, but Yanfei has long been impressed by her stage presence.
Yanfei amends her previous impression. They are all well known figures in their own way. A desire for anonymity before a public appearance is not unreasonable.
“Rex Lapis licks rabbits,” Xinyan starts to chant, as the others join in. “Rex Lapis–”
“Does he now?” Yanfei interrupts brightly, throwing open the makeshift tent. “I suppose I've never heard that particular legend before.”
Xinyan and Yun Jin react with appropriate shock. Hu Tao merely collapses into giggles.
Xinyan's face colors, and she waves her hands, quickly correcting herself. “Whoa there, no offense intended to the adepti, Miss Yanfei,” she winces. “We were just doing vocal warm-ups out here, and Rex Lapis sounds better – wait, how'd you find us, anyway?”
Yanfei offers a polite bow. “I was sent here by the festival coordinator when I expressed my desire to join the Iridescence Tour exhibition. He encouraged me to lend my talents to your group, if you'd be open to another collaborator.”
Yun Jin perks up at that, painted lips curving into a smile. “How delightful,” she remarks, warm and sincere in her enthusiasm. “I was unaware you dabbled in the performing arts! Do you play an instrument? Are you a singer, or a dancer?”
“Not just yet. Granny will teach me everything she knows in due time,” Yanfei dismisses confidently. With one foot in both worlds, she seeks to balance the scales between adeptal tradition and human innovation. She can master both. “Speaking rapidly and memorizing long passages are two of my greatest talents, so: I was thinking more along the lines of rapping! I've always said, if I was ever to leave the world of law, my backup plan is to become a rapper. This seems like a golden opportunity to try it out.”
“Oya?” Hu Tao cocks her head to one side, eyes blazing with sudden intensity. “Oya, ya, ya? I can see it now... Fated rivals, the greatest rap battle of all time, with fireworks and Xinyan's pyrotechnics exploding behind us...! That would be amazing for business!”
“Hold your hilichurls, Tao,” Xinyan interjects with weary familiarity. “We are not rewritin' our entire musical number, on a whim, on the night of the show. We can work in Yanfei and I can vamp it, sure, but you don't get to change your part too.”
“Whyever not?” Hu Tao chirps. She slings an overly familiar arm around Yanfei's shoulders, pulling her in so closely their cheeks squish together. Yanfei immediately attempts to extricate herself from Hu Tao's appendages, to no avail. “It could be the performance of a lifetime! Imagine what we could accomplish! Look at how close we are already, the terrible twosome!”
“I would request that you kindly refrain from touching me in the future,” Yanfei announces with all the professional coolness she can muster.
Xinyan rushes to help peel a boneless Hu Tao off of Yanfei and onto herself. She gives Yanfei an apologetic shrug, watching Yanfei straighten her jacket and correct the angle of her hat.
Yanfei huffs. The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's director has always been... unorthodox, but Yanfei has had more difficult clients over the years.
“You get used to her after a while,” is all Xinyan has to offer.
Yun Jin claps her hands together, drawing their attention with the patient authority expected of a troupe leader. “Let us continue our lip and tongue exercises,” she says primly. “'Diction is done with the tip of the tongue and the teeth.' Ten times fast!”
Yanfei falls into the circle, repeating the phrase with the others. Even where they stumble, Yanfei proceeds with impressive accuracy.
Yun Jin nods her approval, while Xinyan bares her teeth in a fierce grin. Their excitement is palpable.
“My turn, my turn!” Hu Tao waves, jumping up and down with uncontainable energy. “Repeat after me: 'I am not a pheasant plucker nor are all my pheasants plucked; I'm only plucking pheasants for some pheasant plucking luck!'”
Yanfei opens her mouth to comply, then notices Xinyan and Yun Jin both rapidly shaking their heads.
“Careful with that one, I fell for it too,” Xinyan warns her.
“Fell for what?” Hu Tao smiles, sharp teeth gleaming in the lantern light. “They're perfectly pleasant plosives!”
Yanfei snorts. She's no amateur. Language is the weapon of her profession. She rattles off the phrase without a single slip, speaking even faster than Hu Tao did.
“Marvelous enunciation,” Yun Jin praises. “I think that's enough for a warm-up. Yanfei, would you like to demonstrate your prowess? Consider it an audition of sorts.”
Yanfei clears her throat, then glances between the assorted faces before her.
“What would you like me to rap?” she intones.
“Doesn't matter, just give us a sample!” Xinyan shrugs. “Show us your chops!”
Yanfei touches her well-worn copy of 'The General Law of Liyue', and considers.
Promotion of Export Trade in the Harbor is a decent section, as is the Liyue Commission on Agriculture and Rural Development Policy. Perhaps the Millelith Organization and Command chapter?
Ah, she knows exactly which article to showcase. Yanfei grins, and launches into the fastest recital of contract law that anyone in the Harbor has ever heard.
“'General Law of Liyue Chapter 28, Section 3, Article 5: Any express or implied contract for: A, the procurement of property; B, the procurement of services; C, the procurement of construction, repair, or maintenance of property; and D, the disposal of personal property; shall contain a clause that requires contract disputes to be resolved through an appointed agent, or by default, the administrative process of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.'”
There is a moment of hushed awe.
Yanfei straightens proudly, and takes a bow.
Then Xinyan hesitantly claps, with Hu Tao beside her bursting into a noisy cheer.
Yun Jin's mild expression turns pensive. “Have you any experience in writing lyrics...?” she proffers. “Or performing on stage?”
“No, this would be my debut,” Yanfei says modestly.
“You are... intending to recite legal passages for your performance, then?” Yun Jin probes.
“Of course!” Yanfei agrees. “I know Liyue law by heart, front to back, which gives me tens of thousands of words' worth of content to work with. Impressive, no?”
Yun Jin exchanges a concerned glance with Xinyan. Xinyan shuffles her feet, and looks helplessly to Hu Tao.
Hu Tao, utterly unconcerned, bounces in between them and drapes her arms over both of her friends' shoulders with a conspirator's grin.
“Rapping is really spoken-word poetry–”
"The hell it is–!" Xinyan hisses.
“–so meter and rhyme will have more effect than the lyrics themselves!”
"The hell they do! Jin, do something about Tao before she–!"
“Here, I'll show you what I mean! Yaho~!”
Ignoring Xinyan's continued protests, Hu Tao springs nimbly to the top of a wooden crate, windmilling her arms to keep balance.
“Yanfei, here I come!” Hu Tao cheers. She leers down at her captive audience, the flickering lantern light casting her face in eerie shadow.
"Light up the incense and ring out the bells
The jiangshi are hopping to say their farewells
A ghostly procession is marching your way
You'd best watch your step, Adeptus Yanfei!
This prose I'm composing, I'm spitting straight fire
Your every attack gets thrown back on the pyre!
This prayer for your send-off is my own creation
The Versemonger's here and it's time for cremation!"
Yanfei blinks, recognizing this as the challenge it is. It's not all that different from a vigorous debate, she supposes.
She doesn't have lines prepared, but that's nothing she can't handle.
“I can go faster than that,” Yanfei grins, slipping into the smooth, even tone she uses with clients who think they know the law better than her.
"'Governance of Liyue, Chapter 27, Section 6, Article 3 stipulates that the current seven seats of the Liyue Qixing shall continue to serve in their capacity until their successor has been appointed, has been qualified, and has been approved by the other members..."
In the background, Yun Jin taps her baton against the wooden crates to give them a steady beat to work with.
Xinyan unslings her guitar and plucks a simple bass line, laying down the foundation for their experimental battle.
"'...Inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in a current member of the Liyue Qixing must be investigated fully before action is taken, and a majority vote among the other seats must be reached before they can be removed. A vacancy created by the removal or death of a Qixing member can be temporarily filled for a probational term of up to five years, during which time the Acting Qixing member shall be investigated and qualified.'"
Hu Tao sputters in laughter.
“You talk real fast but your verses are nonsense, get your hooves in a groove and show me some offense!”
Hu Tao then flourishes her arms in a dramatic gesture, releasing a flurry of sparks that coalesce into fire butterflies.
"Mastering limitless contracts and codices,
Legal advising and adeptus, xiezhi
Eyes see through lies and call out who is phony,
Deciphering all of your false testimony,
Collecting the clues for her investigation
To see who was wronged and deserves compensation!
This legal consultant committed a crime:
Yanfei can talk but alas, she can't rhyme!"
Xinyan lets out a whoop. One of the butterflies alights on the sailcloth and ignites a small blaze, which Yun Jin calmly extinguishes with her handkerchief.
Yanfei ponders for a moment. She can rattle off paragraphs of legalese for hours – literally – but without anything more personalized, she can see where the performance becomes one-sided. What a good demonstration of her own lack of experience. She raises her hand in surrender.
“I concede to your expertise, Hu Tao,” Yanfei says humbly. “I'm beginning to see there's more to this than simply speed and accurate memory...”
“You've got a hell of a mouth on you, though!” Xinyan rushes over to her, bright-eyed and grinning ear to ear. She claps Yanfei on the back, buoyed by the excitement of the moment. “It's about three things, really: content, flow, and delivery! Now, delivery is somethin' you can only learn by practicin' – but content you've got plenty of, and makin' it flow is the part you can work on right now. You could be a real star! Jin, any pro tips?”
Yanfei turns to face Yun Jin, who presses a small, weathered book into her hands.
“Borrow my rhyming dictionary,” Yun Jin says graciously, eyes crinkling into a kind smile. “Like a soliloquy, a rap is a rhythmic speech following the cadence of musical accompaniment. Internalize the beat, then put your emphasis where your audience needs to hang on to your words and themes. Let your brush be the brush of all hearts, and carry the emotions of everyone in the crowd. You want them on your side.”
Yanfei smiles at their earnest encouragement. They're good-hearted people, and she finds their individual approaches to life and happiness interesting. She wouldn't mind meeting like this again, if their schedules coincide.
They would probably get along well with Granny, too. Granny has always been fond of fellow musicians.
Yanfei leans in closer to Yun Jin and Xinyan.
“Are all of you able to think on the fly like Hu Tao does?” Yanfei questions. “Is that common among rappers? I can hold my own debating topics I've studied beforehand, but I can't say I've ever done much in the field of creative writing...”
Xinyan laughs like she's just been told a hilarious joke. “Put the words in front of me and I can rattle 'em off, quick as you like! But off the top of my head? Even writin' lyrics, I can't riff that fast.”
“Fortunately for me, I will not be performing tonight, so my skills won't be measured,” Yun Jin explains. “I'm a playwright by trade, and I can compose operas with choreography, but ad libbing is not my strongest suit.”
Yanfei observes as Hu Tao hops down from her perch, humming a vaguely familiar tune under her breath.
Hu Tao seems disinterested in conversation now that there's no one to challenge her. She stares at one of the butterflies she conjured as it circles around the lantern, flame drawn to flame. Then she reaches out a finger to poke it.
The butterfly dissolves into ash amidst Hu Tao's giggling.
“Tao's brain is one of a kind. In a few ways,” Xinyan mutters. “Beats me how she comes up with half the stuff she spouts.”
Yanfei nods, satisfied with their exposition, and fishes out her notes to jot a few things down.
“Thank you all for your feedback,” Yanfei announces once she's finished, bowing formally. “I will utilize my time to draft counterpoints to Hu Tao's potential angles of attack, and prepare myself for our stage duel. I look forward to collaborating with you all.”
“Ooh, you'd like a public rematch?” Hu Tao brightens, grinning with all her teeth. “How do you feel about special effects? Oh, oh, can we light Xinyan's guitar on fire?”
“Er... I was expressly told I was not allowed to do that tonight. Fireworks, gunpowder, public safety, you know the drill,” Xinyan grins lopsidedly, rubbing the back of her neck. “But the sentiment's there! It's all a bit last minute, but it should be real fun playing with y'all!”
“Indeed,” Yun Jin says, inclining her head in a bow. “I will be in the front row, cheering you on. Break a leg, Blaze Lilies!”
Yanfei sits down cross-legged in front of the lantern and spreads her notes out before her.
She now has a clear time frame and a better picture of what her end goal looks like. There's still a few hours before the show, which is plenty of time for her to speed-read this dictionary and recalibrate her parameters for debate and rebuttal. Mortality and legality has a good ring to it. She'll start there.
The fire of inspiration burns steadily in her chest, lighting Yanfei from within. Time to get to work.