Chapter Text
chongyun knows that his yang energy doesn't really bring out the great potential he would have as an exorcist. he knows it, so much so that, every time he tells himself not to fall into daily let-downs regarding his job performance, it sounds more like an excuse than something completely valid and understandable.
sometimes one has to learn that dreams and skills will not always go hand-in-hand.
but chongyun keeps trying again and again because at least he's relatively good at it.
so, with hopes of being able to catch a supernatural being, the young exorcist sets out to find something, anything, that can make him not think for one more night that he is completely useless, a disgrace to tianheng thaumaturges.
this time he was on the outskirts of the chasm due to the adventurers' guild receiving a report of paranormal activity inside an abandoned house in that area. he clearly knows that he will never find something like that as long as there are hillichurls around (since they are the paranormal activity), but he had no trouble trying even though he had a low chance of succeeding.
it's not that he didn't have a talent for exorcising. it's in his blood, but he wants to rely more on his training, his own effort, than on "luck" or circumstances beyond his control.
his intuition didn't fail him this time: chongyun didn't find any ghosts or possessed people, although they might have fled when they sensed him nearby, he wasn't going to make any assurances for the sake of his mental health. since he couldn't do anything at all, he proceeded to search for treasures and this time, rather than finding something physical, he heard a voice that... was supernatural.
it wasn't someone singing, nor was it someone talking or fighting. just hearing what -whoever it was- was saying froze him completely and made him visualize every word he heard, as if he had entered the mind of an author. as if a movie was running in his memory. in that same movie, he could see happiness portrayed in his own memories; sadness, longing, yearning, ambition. they were not his feelings, but chongyun's subconscious was searching for those memories that made him feel that way. suddenly, he hears a soft crying that wakes him up from what seemed like a trance, and he is surprised to realize that his face was soaked from crying.
then the crying continues to be heard, and chongyun struggles not to lose the sound. he was afraid, he had a feeling that if he continued to be trapped in whatever he was in, his yang energy would increase, but he was not in the ability to control it. it was frustrating him. strange, he thought. a light was tinkling inside a box, which he approached to break, and, again, he thinks everything is strange. he had never encountered a magic lamp in his excursions, this was his first time in several paranormal expeditions.
at that moment, chongyun remembers how xiangling, the chef at the wanmin restaurant, was telling him about how she heard from myths that, in order to activate a magic lamp, you had to rub it until you could see your face reflected in the metal. xiangling is almost never wrong (although that applied to the kitchen), so he heeded the recommendation.
from there, a blue mist began to surround him, encapsulating him in a dense sphere of smoke.
"little ming, you can go, thank you!" the mist spoke, giving chills to the blue-haired man, who saw a little ghost boy run away and smile at him. did the boy make his whole trance happen? 'i'm going to tender my resignation to katheryne,' the human said to himself. "who do i have the privilege of meeting?"
"chongyun." 'why did i answer?' he thought to himself as he slapped his forehead.
for some reason unknown to the genie, chongyun's eyes were watching him. they had come to life, they had sparkle and one full of expectation, not the same sparkle that his former "clients" had when meeting him.
chongyun had already gained a good impression in front of the supernatural being. that's why he took a shape, about the same size as his opponent. with a somewhat unconventional haircut. that's how he remembered himself to be in the past.
"you really are an intriguing species, i might say. i've never heard of someone who finds being a genie exciting. although it's understandable, you like wraiths and such because of your profession."
"this is the opportunity of a lifetime, to be able to change. why wouldn't i be enthusiastic?"
a brief silence once again filled the place, and chongyun was frightened.
"oh, right. because i'm a genie after all, haha" he mumbled almost without volume, even though he had failed in the latter.
the young exorcist doesn't want to state why, but he sensed a bit of sarcasm and disappointment in what the genie said.
yanfei, with whom he always met at xiangling and chef mao's restaurant, had taught him that, even if she and other people in liyue as much as outside the region were beings not fully human like those who weren't human at all, they could still feel and he couldn't simply invalidate them because of their nature. perhaps that's what kept him on good terms with ghosts, adeptus, and so on.
"sorry."
"huh?"
"ah, i spoke out loud." the exorcist ducked his head due to his face being slightly flushed with embarrassment.
'now is not the time! where did i leave my popsicles...' chongyun thought.
the genie thought it was kind of cute, not only the gesture of the opponent, but how humans can express so many feelings in different ways.
it was at that moment that he realized that the young exorcist had understood what he said, the genie thought, to himself.
"w-well, what i was supposed to do, uhm..." the non-human being cleared his throat and, after taking a few breaths, started talking with a powerful voice. "chongyun, you hardly ever find this opportunity. yes, i am a genie and as you may know, i have the ability to grant you 3 wishes. that said, keep in mind that each wish has its consequence for good or ill in your life, so think carefully before you tell me what you wish for. there are no limits and neither am i here to criticize, to warn you or advise you regarding what you choose. let's make this quick."
chongyun didn't even take more than 2 minutes to say his first wish, probably the only one he would ever make.
it's obvious what he was going to ask for, isn't it?
"i wish you to come out of your lamp and become human."
"uh... what?"
everything around them was dead silent prior, however, the absence of noise was made even more noticeable as he said what he wanted, leaving the genie completely perplexed.
"i just always wanted to have friends, i have a hard time dealing with new people."
"how do you think i can help you if i know less than you do? you live with humans, i've been coexisting with myself for almost all my life!"
"oh.. but at least i can feel less weird about myself and vice-versa, right? i don't think being stuck with your thoughts will make you happy."
"hoping that someone will find me and be gentle with me does make me happy."
another silence. something told chongyun things weren't going to go well.
"you said you weren't going to warn me or advise me about what is good or not good for me to choose."
"you're not going to be happy with me by my side, i can tell you that from experience. if that wasn't true, why would i have been marooned here, huh?"
"that's up to me, don't you think? it'll be fun, i promise you that."
the smile on chongyun's face as he said "i promise you that" is probably what made the genie a little nervous and he had no choice but to give in to the request.
"it's not-" sighed the entity admitting defeat. "it's not that, it's just that i've never been asked to do this before and i don't know if it's allowed to do so."
"just fulfill the wish and we'll see what happens next. pretty please?"
"fine, how irritating you humans are. i remind you that you won't be able to ask for more things later. are you sure?"
"i will pay for the consequences of my actions." the blue-haired one joked.
the genie let out a small laugh, snapped his fingers and, surprisingly, the mist began to lighten, returning to the lamp.
"before you say anything, i'm not running away. i'll just get my stuff."
and so he did, the now human even came out with suitcases full of custom-made garments along with his other belongings. the wish had been granted with one small detail: the lamp had disintegrated before their eyes and chongyun's new friend no longer had his genie powers.
"oh, so that was it as a hostage to an object. great."
"how do you feel?"
"strange, but i'll get used to it. right, according to human traditions i need a thing like a name?"
"oh, i didn't think of that. did you go by any names before?"
"i had no friends, but now i have you, so i'll let you choose my human name."
"great." chongyun thought, thought and thought about the name he could give him as he took his friend by the hand and led him to his humble abode.
the answer came to his mind and in the middle of the way he turned to look at his friend with a proud smile on his face. "xingqiu! you will be known as xingqiu."
"for some reason, i feel like it fits me. not bad for your first time naming people."
"hah, you're funny." the exorcist stopped in his tracks, released his grip on xingqiu and turned to look him in the eye to extend his arm again in the sign of a handshake. "nice to meet you, xingqiu."
the dark blue-haired one looked in confusion at the opposite one, at last understanding what he wanted to do. or rather.
xingqiu grasped the other's hand with his thumb and forefinger, letting the remaining fingers hover and shook it, closing the strange handshake as he laughed softly. "thank you, chongyun."