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Liyue’s winter offers no condolences. It is striking, like the waves that break down the rocks at Guili. It is slow to wear you down, but your body and will are fast to fall apart. The cold builds up, into you, until you’re as immovable as the mountains framing the nation. Even those who love danger, who would jump at any opportunity to break something (even their own body), find themselves running from the grasp of the snowy nights, towards warmth.
The Jade Chamber’s surface is cool to the touch, but that’s all. Having yet to freeze despite the ridiculous altitude is enough proof that it is occupied. Granted, it is the dead of the night, so darkness envelops the floating palace. The only signs of life are the quiet, scurrying steps of attendants tending to duties fit for the hours.
Yelan is no stranger to Ningguang’s schedule. The Tianquan’s time can be divided into four phases. Morning, where Ningguang is either at the office or making arrangements for the future. Midday, where she attends meetings and diners of all kinds. Night, where she settles down for the day, and prepares for the next. And finally, midnight, where no one, not even the most valued spies of the Tsaritsa, know what the Tianquan does. Yelan is the only exception.
Unlike the usual spy, Yelan has no need to hide her presence here. Ningguang already knows she is there, heading, like the flow of the most peaceful of rivers, down the hall, into the furthest room down, towards her private office. Ningguang knows, knows when she’s near, when she’s in front of the door, opening it. On the other hand, Yelan knows as well, like she always does, that the other woman is there, at the other side of the door, waiting.
She isn’t.
Cursing herself, Yelan closes the door, turns back where she came from. Now out of automatic mode, unblinded by the routine, she notices lights in another room, dim, but there. It is to the side of the one she just opened, enough so she can notice right away. There is no noise coming from it. Yelan draws near, slowly, until she can make out some form of movement inside.
It never comes, so she opens the door. The light, she finds, comes from a single candle left on a desk. Across it, in the middle of the room, a table lies. Bottles and teacups are thrown carelessly around it, and a single game board rests abandoned in the mess. It must’ve been an interesting game, she muses, as she can only find the pieces thrown around the room.
Messy, is all she can think, not like Ninggaung at all. That should’ve been her warning.
On the other side of the room is a couch. Yelan notices, belatedly, it is occupied. Two figures lie in it, so serenely she had failed to notice them earlier, something she normally did without problem. Hesitantly, she nears them, careful to make no sound as she does so. As expected, one of them is Ningguang. The other, she realizes, is no other than the captain of the crux fleet.
Yelan laughs to herself, finding her current position ridiculous. As she exists the room, she leaves behind a small, clear blue, handkerchief. Hidden away enough so that only Ningguang’s perceiving eyes could tell it was there. Her way of saying, however quiet, that she was there.
To say the Jade Chamber was cold now was an understatement. She wonders if, should she throw a hydro arrow into the air, would it freeze? Would it turn solid? Would it fall down, into her? Strike her? A part of her itches to try.
She does. And all she gets are small war droplets, falling, gently, from the air and into her face. Quickly, she wipes the water off with her sleeves, slightly lamenting having left the handkerchief back in the room. It is cold.
The trip back to the harbor is quiet, only accompanied by the small gusts of wind that blow at her coat once in a while. Normally, she would be too bothered to walk Liyue’s streets in the midst of endless crowds, but it is night, and the only ones outside in this season are the type she would already be used to seeing during her job. It was a familiar sight, so to say.
A multitude of eyes fall on her as she passes by Yanshang Teahouse. As it is always during the night, the post seems to be pouring people in and out of the street by the second. However, the second Yelan walks in, she disappears. There is only the crowd that covers the entirety of the casino, her form flowing through it without problem. She is the crowd. Indistinguishable from the rest of the countless visitors of the teahouse.
Of course, there is a way out of getting noticed. Not as Yelan. But as part of the swarm of customers. There are the offers of meals and expensive teas, the occasional challenge to a game she has played thousands of times before, all to be expected from the simple act of brushing past the teahouse.
Of course, what catches Yelan's attention isn't this, the routine, she is already far too used to it. What catches her eye is not even in the Yanshang Teahouse. Instead, it is the small office just across from it. The lights are on.
It's easy enough to distance herself from the crowd. They're all drawn to the blinding lights lining the street, but this one is warmer, the kind no one would pay attention to on such a night, its visitors even less at such an hour.
The door opens with a creak. The small office seems detached, somehow, from the night. The only light comes from a fireplace in the corner, giving warmth Yelan didn't even know she was craving. Aside from the fireplace, the only furniture is a small desk, covered in papers and books, seats, and a couch across from it.
"I thought you would be asleep at this hour?"
Of course, Yanfei is there too. Sitting on the lone desk, going over some documents Yelan is sure she already knows the contents of. She knows that Yanfei, too, has already memorized them to perfection.
"Yelan?"
The pink haired girl looks up at her, there are small eye bags gathering under her eyes. Instead of her usual attire, she's wearing what seems to be a short pink dress, which she assumes is for her own comfort.
"How you can stay awake this long is beyond me." Yelan takes a seat at the only couch in the room. She watches, bemusedly, as the other girl comes out of her sleep-deprived trance, eyes widening in realization. So much like her.
"Huh?! What hour is it?!" Yanfei jumps out of hair, looking around the room for an absent clock, then back at Yelan. "I swear, my last client left only a few minutes ago…"
"It's well past midnight." She responds, "Doesn't your office close by seven?"
"It should've!" she exclaims, flustered.
The law advisor frets in place, hands scrambling around her desk. Papers are put in order, books stacked in neat piles, pens and ink put away on cabinets, all in quick succession. For some time, the only sound in the room is the shuffling of papers and the shutting of cabinets. All enough for Yelan to close her eyes to.
Yanfei, however, is in front of her before she can take a second of rest.
"Have you had dinner yet?" She asks. Of course, she already knows the answer. "I got some extra chili from Xiangling, I think it'll be enough to satisfy you this time."
"You have to wake up early tomorrow." Yelan follows Yanfei to the entrance, where the girl is already taking out her keys, "Or are you finally breaking some rules, hmm?"
"Objection, miss Yelan." Yanfei approaches the taller woman, standing on her toes to reach her eye level, arms at her hips, she explains, "I have a free day tomorrow, and I am only treating you to dinner because you haven't eaten anything yet, have you?"
Yanfei is right. Truth be told, Yelan had expected to eat dinner on the Jade Chamber, before Ningguang forgot about their meeting in favor of her more personal affairs.
Yelan gently flicks the other's forehead, earning a small squeak from the girl "You're right, as always, so what are we having, tofu, again?"
"You know it."
Yanfei's apartment is just right above her office. They take the stairs going up, their railings painted a deep red noticeable even so far into the night, As they reach the second floor, Yelan looks back into the teahouse, finding the street a lot more deserted than before. Yanfei pulls her inside by the arm, into the medium-sized house, the one overlooking right into the teahouse.
Much unlike Ningguangs own extravagant quarters, the apartment was fairly simple. Aside from the minimum; coaches, a dining table, and bookshelves, there was not much aside from a few portraits and potted plants as decorations. Perhaps the most valuable possession in the room was a steelyard balance, carefully placed at the end of the hallway.
A gift from my father, Yanfei had said, the first time Yelan had visited, they say it was used by Rex Lapis himself.
"I spent most of the day down there, if you haven't noticed already, which I'm sure you did, so I haven't had the time to clean up." Using her vision, she lights up the candles around the room and the fireplace. She also grabs a blanket lying on the couch, "You look cold, use this."
Yelan knows better than to argue. However, she hadn't noticed the cold until Yanfei wrapped the thick wool blanket around her. Then she hugs it tightly around herself, now freezing, remembering the winter outside.
"Thank you." Yelan takes a seat in the couch, watching as Yanfei scrambles around the kitchen. She notices, in the lawyer's hands, a pouch with the image of a jueyun chili on it. No doubt the making of the young chef at Wanmin
Yanfei quickly comes back, plates in hands, and sits beside her, making sure to set down the pouch of chilies in front of Yelan. They both gladly dig in, Yanfei with mouthfuls of tofu and Yelan emptying the pouch in minutes.
She remembers, clearly, the first time the law advisor had asked her to share dinner. It wasn’t anything intimate, or friendly , so to say, at least for Yelan. It was simply a repaid debt, a closure to a complicated case. There was nothing extraordinary about it, it wasn’t anything different from dining with the Tianquan, the Yuheng, or any of the Qixing. Yet she kept coming back, and back, and back again. Before she knew it, the smallest sign of light in the lawyer’s office meant an invitation.
“Ugh, today’s case was just horrible,” Once they were done and their plates were left at the table, Yanfei leaned her head against her shoulder, groaning, “Some man thought his two oldest sons somehow stole his jade reserve, turns out he had sold it all to the commerce guild while drunk. It was easy enough, but it was impossible to talk to him in a sensible manner, I mean, what kind of person just blames his own children of stealing? I’m so glad it’s over now…”
Yelan makes no attempt to interrupt her, simply listening in to her rants as she burrows herself further into the blanket. Despite the lit fireplace in front of them, there was not much to be done against the assaulting cold. Similarly, Yanfei, now silent and eyes half lidded, leans even further, this time even moving the other woman’s arm, above her head, to make space for herself in the blanket, inserting herself into the space between her body and her arm rather carelessly. Yelan remains silent, still, as she does so, only moving back her arm to rest against the other girl’s body after what seems like an eternity of hesitation.
Soon enough, all what Yelan can listen to are her own deep breaths. All she can feel is the beating of her own heart.
Dangerous, she thinks, remembers, it wasn’t the first time she had felt this way, not around her.
Good, then, she had always liked danger.
Mornings were never Yelan’s thing, but when your presence was requested by the Tianquan of all people, there was no space to refuse.
“I hope I’m not disturbing you.” Regal as always, Ningguang takes a generous sip of her tea, served by one of her attendants in what must surely be one of the finest teacups in all of Teyvat. Of course, the tea itself must’ve also cost a fortune. “I know how preciously you handle your mornings.”
Ningguang wasn’t her boss. On the contrary, to imply that Yelan worked under anyone would be an insult. Her job wasn’t a service, it was an exchange. All that contracted her were her equals. After all, they were looking for what she had, what they didn’t. To say that those that sought out, desperately, even, what only she could provide were somehow more than her, was ridiculous.
“You know as well as I that weren’t it not for your invitation, I would be wasting the evening away sleeping.” Yelan paid no attention to her own cup, simply watching as the herbs inside rest in the water, still in abandonment.
Ningguang raised an eyebrow, “Perhaps a sip of tea could help clear your sore throat.”
Confusion, realization, and understanding all cycle through Yelan’s face in a millisecond, not allowing even the woman in front of her to notice her surprise.
“It is unlike you to get sick.”
She's quick enough to brush it off, clearing her throat, ignoring its slight rash, and moving on to another topic, "What did you call me for?"
"I wanted to apologize for not attending yesterday's meeting, as I had some pending affairs."
Yelan snorted. She doesn't doubt that Ningguang had found the handkerchief she had left. In other words, it was her way of saying to remain silent.
"You don't have to worry about me-"
Yelan's words were suddenly interrupted by a coughing fit. Instinctively, she brought her hands into her mouth. She watched, out of the corner of her eye, as the various attendants around them scrambled around her, unsure of what to do.
When it's over, Yelan manages a glimpse at her hand. A single white petal lies on it, its surface slightly wet from bile.
"A qingxin?" In her trance, she had failed to notice Ningguang standing behind her, a frown adorning her face as she watches the offending flower in her hand.
"What the hell did you put on the tea?" She tosses the petal aside, into a corner of the room, where she hopes she won't see it again.
"There was no-"
"Forget it." Yelan cuts her off to stand up, walking to the exit before Ningguang could say anything else. "Let's just cut it short this time around, alright?"
"Alright, I'll dismiss you, then." Ningguang agrees hesitantly, saying nothing else as she watches Yelan walk towards the door, the previous events already forgotten.
"Oh, right." She stops short of the door, "Tell Beidou I said hi."
There is the sound of a teacup breaking behind her, and the few surprised gasps that leave the girls attending them. However, none of it is of her concern as she leaves the office, hand guarding her mouth.
Yelan's house is a cabin only minutes away from the chasm. Of course, this was not always her residence. Her work requires her to move around with the season. Sometimes it would be an apartment at the harbor, a villa in a valley, and even a room on the crux fleet once. Her job required too much movement for a permanent place.
It is small, barely noticeable between the miles and miles of mountains and other similarly small houses. Most of them were supposed to be temporary residences for miners, but were abandoned the second the chasm closed down. Even seasoned travelers wouldn't bother to approach them, simply becoming part of the scenery at some point.
The cabin smells of smoke and spice, the remnants of a rushed morning. The Jade Chamber had smelled of teas and perfumes, as well as the unmistakable smell of mora. But no matter how distinguishable, they were all the same to her. They gave her no comfort.
Her house smelled like silk flowers.
She considers sleeping the day away, but chooses against it and hops into the shower. The water is cold against her skin, sending continuous shivers down her back as it runs through her body. It is unbearable, but she grits her teeth through it.
Her house was always so warm.
A cough.
A petal falls from her mouth.
Her.
Then another.
And another.
Her?
And another.
And another.
Yanfei.
Flowers bloom, no, fall, into her hand, and chest, feet, the petals cover even around the shower she is standing in. Her throat hurts, it’s sore, and the room no longer smells of smoke, but of the fragrance of the petals, as well as the metal of the blood sticking to them. There is something beautiful, yet horrifying, about it. Yelan is left in a trance, staring at the lone petal for what seems like an eternity.
“I don’t think that’s how It's supposed to work.”
Yanfei watches as Itto balances two jades with his hands. One lies on his right hand and another on his left. They look heavy, but he seems to have no problem with them.
“Don’t worry! There is no better balance in Teyvat than Aratakki Itto himself!” Itto moves around the jades in his hands wildly, ignoring Shinobu’s reasoning. He stretches out the one on his left, “This one.”
“Thank you.” Yanfei takes the jade from his hands, “But we still need to verify, if we go around second guessing things, we are going to end up with more trouble than it’s worth.”
“Of course! Anything my savior says!”
“Boss…”
Yanfei takes out her steelyard balance, the others watching curiously as she materializes it from thin air and into her hands. She puts the jade in, watching closely as it weights downward.
“This was a gift from my father, it weights anything in the original value of mora, and I use it for cases like these.” Yanfei watches the scale carefully, noting something down before beckoning Itto to hand over the next, “As much as I admire your strength, weighting things bare-handed is more trouble than it's worth, and it can be wildly inaccurate.”
“Understood!”
Yanfei lets out a small snort towards the oni’s enthusiasm. Beside her, Shinobu watches silently as she weights the second jade fragment. This time, the weight goes even more downward.
“Looks like you were wrong.” Shinobu laughs.
“Hmph, of course my savior knows more about this! You’re just jealous you didn’t get to help.”
“That is a very childish assumption, boss.”
Yanfei ignores their little quarrel to pay attention to the long-waiting jeweler. She hands him the heavier jade fragment, then sets the lighter one aside.
“This one seems to have stronger elemental energy embedded into it, so you should pay your provider appropriately, as for the other, it is much weaker, so you were right to contact me.”
The young man raises a hand to his chin, taking in her words, “Was it a scam?”
“I concur, elemental energy is hard to trace for non-elemental beings without visions, so they probably took two that looked similar hoping you wouldn’t notice the difference.”
Disappointed, yet not debating her conclusion, the man sighs, looking at the now useless piece of jade. Yanfei can’t help but pity, a part of her rages against the people that scammed a young business owner for their own benefit. However, these cases are common enough for it not to be much of a surprise. Not that, if she wasn’t, she would have time to dwell on it for much longer.
"What are you doing here?!"
Already in a sour mood, Yanfei turns to face the source of Itto's scream, only to be met with a familiar woman donning a fur coat. Unconsciously, she smiles.
"Yelan, what do I owe the honor?" She greets. Shinobu acknowledges the new arrival with a silent nod, preferring to use her words for whatever future comments Itto should throw at his self-proclaimed rival.
The other woman just shrugs dismissively, ignoring the oni, "Just passing time. Whatever you’re doing, if it's a case, it sounds fun enough, surely you don't mind if I join?"
Itto steps in front of the shorter girl, shielding her with his arms, "I mind very much!"
Shinobu only sighs, "Boss…"
"Don't worry about him, Shinobu, why don't we ask Yanfei what she thinks?" Yelan glances over Itto's shoulder towards the shorter lawyer. Not that she had any intention into dragging her into whatever one sided fight Itto had with her. But you couldn’t blame her for trying the fastest way out.
And if she was openly bragging about who Yanfei preferred, well, that was just a small bonus.
Yanfei watches the scene, not knowing whether to be tired, amused, or laughing at the argument. It wasn't like Yelan to put so much mind into someone’s antics, as eccentric as they might seem. And it wasn't like Itto to push someone out.
“As long as you two remain civil, I don't mind.” Yanfei said and turned to Shinobu, who was watching the scene silently, "Since you weren't here before, Yelan, I am giving Shinobu a small peek into my day-to-day routine, you can follow if you want.”
Yelan thought about the proposal for a moment, then turned to see Itto fuming beside her before turning back to the other two. She smiled knowingly, “Of course I’d love to learn about your day-to-day.”
Yelan had always had her curiosities over Yanfei’s job. Of course, Yelan knew about almost everything going on in Liyue, but there was always some curiosity, some lingering questions, about what it was like to work normally. No risk, no blood, no secrets, specifically, she had always wondered how Yanfei worked. Obviously, she was already expecting the usual things she already saw the law advisor doing, going through papers, seeing clients, visiting stores and the like for information.
Out of everywhere Yelan expected Yanfei to go to during her work day, she did not expect, well, a fucking mountain.
Maybe their previous experience at the chasm should’ve been a hint. Yanfei definitely took her job more seriously than any other law advisor in Teyvat, or maybe any other person with a job. No wonder she was considered the best of the best. Capable of going through even the most dangerous of terrain in order to complete a case. Now that she thought about it, she should’ve expected it.
It wasn't like she was complaining. A breath of fresh air was undoubtedly good, and it wasn't hard for her to catch up. On the contrary, she was almost always in front of the group. Helping them up, holding their hands as they climb, watching out for enemies. It was all pretty casual stuff for her. But she refused to believe it was for Yanfei.
“Are you sure about this?” She asks, glaring at the sun. It seemed intent on boiling them alive, despite being in the middle of so-called winter.
“Are you backing out, chicken?” Itto taunted, sweat already running down his reddened face, but still laughing loudly at his own joke, “We can always head back, if the chicken wants.”
“That's enough.” Yanfei interrupted, turning towards her with worry on her face, “Are you alright?”
“I am more than fine, thank you, I am simply worrying about a certain big baby that keeps slowing us down.” Yelan sneered, “but really, I didn't expect your job to need… whatever this is.”
“I have to agree,” Shinobu adds, “I expect reckless stunts from Itto, but you? I thought the Chasm was a one time thing.”
“We just need to get some noctilucous jade, and we're set, then we can compare it with the sample back at the store to be sure.” Yanfei explained, mostly to Shinobu since Yelan and Itto were too busy glaring at each other. “I have done this before.”
“You hear that, horns? She doesn’t need you, head back to the harbor.”
Shinobu starts the pace again, rolling her eyes when Itto falls for the obvious provocation.
“Eh?! More like She doesn’t need you!”
“I do need Yelan here.” Yanfei responds, clearly confident in her words. The group remains silent at the last part. Realizing her words, Yanfei's face flushes red almost immediately, scrambling to explain herself.
“I mean, I'm glad because I'm not the best at travelling, and it's good to have someone experienced around!” The answer comes out messier than intended, “I didn’t mean anything else…”
Shinobu laughs at the other girl’s freak-out, “We get it.”
“Wait, so,” Itto points at himself, “Do you need me or not?”
“Not.”
“Stop provoking him” Yanfei nags at Yelan, “I need everyone here, but it's useless if we don’t keep moving.”
Yelan chooses not to acknowledge it, faking ignorance as she pretends to watch the surrounding scenery. All there is to watch are the same rock formations Liyue had always had, in reality, she feels her chest going wild. Her heart beats so quickly it feels as it's going to burst out of her body at any moment, unbearably so, and the ache rises, rises up, up, and up, and then-
She coughs. And there is a flower on her hand. An almost full one this time, not the small petals she got before, this one has a short stem, but the petals are still closed, not yet in full bloom.
Hurriedly, Yelan tosses the plant down the road, hoping no one sees it. Discreetly, she goes back to watching the group. They had not heard anything, from the likes of it, as Itto was telling some loud joke and Shinobu and Yanfei were too preoccupied trying to keep up with whatever poor punchline he came up with. For the first time, she silently thanked the big guy for his inability to speak quietly.
Yelan rushes back to the group ahead, and if they notice her falling back, they don’t mention it. Yanfei flashes her a smile as she continues striking up conversation with the other two. Yelan doesn’t pay attention to most of it, except some parts about Yanfei’s day and some other bits about her time studying law. Remaining silent, she settles for observing their surroundings for enemies that might attack. They arrive at the site, a small mining area away from everything except a nearby village, soon enough.
"Alright, Itto, can you help me get this one? Then Yelan can help you carry it if your hands get tired…" Yanfei instructs, kneeling down next to what she assumes is the objective of their travels.
Itto is quick to refuse, crossing his arms, "I don't need her help!"
"Boss, listen to her, you are going to get tired."
"Nu uh, I never get tired from something this small!"
With that, he materializes his claymore in an instant, warning the girls to back up before slamming it down into the ore. Putting away his weapon, he kneels down before collecting the ore in his hands, a few grunts accompanying him as he struggles to stand once more.
He flashes Yelan a smug smile, "Told you so."
Shinobu and Yanfei let out what must be a synchronized tired sigh, and she only shrugs as the gesture.
Yelan had to carry the jade five minutes into the trip back.
The group is back in the harbor before the sun sets. Liyue harbor is much less packed, Yelan notices, and it is almost time for her to retire to the more underground aspects of her work. After Yanfei finalizes the case with the jeweler, a step-by-step instruction on how to appeal for a lawsuit against his provider, Itto and Shinobu say their goodbyes, the latter thanking Yanfei for the day and the former remaining unusually quiet, his slumped back and scratched arm saying enough for him already.
“Thanks for accompanying me today.” Yanfei says once she waves farewell to the other two, “Shinobu is as respectful as can be, but you know Itto can be…”
“An oversized toddler?”
“Difficult.” She finishes, still snorting at Yelan’s remark, “How about I treat you to dinner for today? As thanks.”
Yanfei stretches out her hand, waiting for a response. Yelan should give out her hand too. Thank her for the offer. Recommend a restaurant with excellent mapo tofu that just opened. Walk her there.
Instead, her hand flies to her mouth, but it doesn't stop the flower, all too quick, that falls into the ground between them.
"A qingxin?" Yanfei looks down at it, brows furrowed. She stares at it, for a little too long, before looking back at Yelan, silent. Her throat burns.
"I had breakfast with Ganyu today." She spits out, faster than she should. "I actually know a place we can visit tonight."
Yanfei doesn't question her further, only taking Yelan's hand and beckoning her deeper into the city, where the lights are already shinning. A sign the sun has already set.
"Well then, lead the way."
Yelan leads her into a more closed off, private part of Liyue, where a small restaurant lies in between houses and other, equally small shops. When they open the door, an elderly man is quick to greet them, beckoning them to their seats and handing them a menu. The restaurant is empty except for them, the owner, and a waitress, who looks younger than both of them.
Yanfei looks around before looking at the menu, already forgetting the incident from before, "This place feels just like you."
Yelan looks over her own, but she already knows what she's ordering, "Really?"
"It's private, built in the middle of a small business district with almost no other populated places around, half the menu is spicy food, and it closes stupidly late." Yanfei smiles at her, the type of smile she gives when she's figured out a complicated case, "it's perfect for you."
"You can order anything you like, my treat, I recommend the mapo tofu." Yelan stands up from her chair, "I'm going to use the bathroom."
Yanfei gave a small nod and a smile, going back to scanning the contents of the menu as Yelan went to a far off section of the restaurant. The bathroom was, strangely so, on a second floor, away from all the activity downstairs. Normally, this was the place she would use to meet clients. Today, she just felt like passing by.
Now alone, the first thing Yelan does is lean on top of the sink and reach into her mouth. Stray petals brush against her finger, and it takes a ridiculous effort to get a hold of a branch, and pull.
It is unbearably painful, even for someone with her pain tolerance. The room is white, but all too sudden, there is red. Running from the hand, still lodged in her mouth, blood from the scratches from the branch she is sure reaches her lungs. She pulls again, this time more strongly.
The flowers, this time the full plant, not some small petals, come out, slowly, painfully, and she lets it plop into the sink. The water under it dyes a soft pink, the blood-red staining the petals diluting after coming in contact with the liquid. Ironically enough, it reminds her of the pink of her hair.
She imagines it. A cotton pink, so soft to the touch, it is easy to get lost in it. The white ends that compliment it so fully. She imagines what it would be like to get lost in it. After a hard mission to sink into it and-
There is a knock at the door, so soft and gentle, she almost doesn’t notice it. Petals overflow her mouth, She lets them fall.
"This is Yanfei, the best legal expert in Liyue."
Ningguang slides the file towards the other end of the table, where Yelan sits, cross legged, inspecting the other images the woman had given her already.
She chuckles lightly as she picks up the picture, at the pair of antlers that stick out like a sore thumb. She looked so wholesome it was comical.
"She received a pyro vision not long after graduating from law school, if that proves anything, and her services are among the best in all of Teyvat." Ningguang continues, "She's pretty much harmless, but expect certain people to seek her out when they're in a tough spot legally."
Yelan's gaze lands on the soft teal, doe eyes, opening the file at the same time. She lets her eyes fall to the paper, not expecting much but everything at the same time.
"Her father served Rex Lapis, according to Ganyu she would be classified as a xiezhi." Ningguang adds, "But she is as much of a dragon as a common lizard."
Her fingers dance on the light pink hair, as if she could touch it through the image, "You never know, she could be hiding it, and one day she might start breathing out fire."
Ningguang doesn't laugh at her joke, "If that happens, then I trust you would tell me, like you would anything else."
"Yo, Yelan!"
The last thing she expects to see is the captain of the crux prancing about the Jade Chamber like she owns the place before the sun even sets.
"Beidou, I assume you're already done negotiating your compensation for your work in the lantern rite?" She makes sure to accentuate the word. "Seeing as you are as carefree as ever."
Beidou looks stunned for a second before bursting into a rough laugh, patting Yelan in the back as does so, "As expected of Ningguang's best, you really don't miss anything. She kicked me out to meet up with you, tell her I'll be around watching whatever expensive trinket she bought this week. See you then." She gives a quick wave before going her way.
Yelan watches her back depart into the bottom floor of the building before going back to her way towards the meeting room. As (almost) always, Ningguang is there, tea already served in two cups across each other. There is not a single strand of hair out of place in the woman.
"You're later than usual, run into anyone?" She asks, already raising the cup into her lips.
"Your girlfriend is running around your office and her fingers still smell like your insides."
"I was helping Yanfei with some cases, nothing you have to worry your head about." Yelan grabs the cup in front of her, swirling it in her hands in a spiral motion.
Ningguang raises an eyebrow, "You seem to like her quite much." She says, casual as she always is. Indifferent.
Yelan watches as the tea threatens to spill from the sides, "I just find her interesting."
"How so?"
This is a normal conversation for Ningguang, dull, even. Yelan knows it. There are few things that could amuse the most powerful figure in Liyue.
After a moment of silence, Yelan responds, this time setting the teacup down, "I admit I was a little disappointed when I found out she was my age and not a millennium old adeptus, but she has a way of knowing everything, that girl, and what she doesn't know she sucks up like a sponge."
There is a small second where her throat burns, and suddenly Ningguang is in front of her, fingers gracing over her lips.
She pulls. Something, Yelan doesn't know what it is until she is lurching forward in a coughing fit. She looks up, glaring in both annoyance and confusion, to find a stem dangling between the Tianquan's fingers.
Beidou must've really influenced her. She looked like a fisherman that just caught its prize. Then the ever careful and clean Tianquan tosses the flowers into the floor next to them, showing a hint of disgust at the blood that covers them but more concern towards the person that said blood had come from, a face Yelan had only seen after the most dangerous of her missions.
"Yelan."
For some reason, she remembers her childhood. Yelan was never an easy child. Why no one grabbed her by the neck and threw her off a cliff out of frustration is beyond her. She would have certainly done so. Stealing, fighting, breaking even the most precious of vases and jewelry, even her own room was a victim of her unfortunate urges, running away to come back a week later. All to get some thrill out of life.
Her parents had asked her one thing, repeatedly, “Was it worth it?”
"Is it worth it?" now, in the present, Ningguang asks.
It was all worth it. Every little thing she did had to be worth it.
"I thought you knew me better than that," If Yelan regretted forcing the words out of a scratched throat she didn't show it, for she gave her best smile as she did, "I never take an unfair deal."
Ningguang, the ever composed Ningguang, who could convince anyone at the apocalypse everything was fine with her face alone, looks at her like she had gone crazy.
Yelan stands, ignoring the other woman's gaze as she does so and the small drops of blood in her shirt, "I assume this is our cue to start the meeting, then?"
It was long past midnight and Yanfei was still looking over paperwork. A special errand that morning had left her with more work than she had thought, including a particularly long case that she was sure would take weeks for even her to solve.
The half adeptus was barely able to keep up with the contents, her eyes tracing over words she could barely comprehend with the little energy she had left. But that was not the only problem occupying her head.
It had been weeks, a few days off a month, to be precise, since Yelan had come by.
She knew how time consuming Yelan's work was, some of the assignments the woman took made her own late night cases pale in comparison. But Yelan wasn't one to lose herself in work like Ganyu or insist on doing it perfectly like Keqing. Instead, she preferred doing things with the minimum amount of trouble involved and having fun in the meantime.
Yet she couldn't keep the uneasiness off her head. Ever since their last time together at the restaurant, it seemed like Yelan had somehow changed. As if one trip to the restroom was all it took for the distance between them to grow to what it was when Yanfei was just a recently graduated law student and Yelan was worlds away from her.
A part of her wanted to seek her out, but she knew it was the same part of herself that would toss in bed with thoughts of azure hair and emerald eyes. So she told herself to wait it out. For another night, Yanfei would drift off to no news of her friend, and pretend it wasn't tearing apart every string in her heart.
This was absolutely, undoubtedly, the most amount of trouble Yelan had ever taken in doing something.
First and foremost, was waking up before the entirety of Liyue to avoid Ningguang's many eyes. The last thing she needed was another lecture on the nature of her newly presented illness, (if she could call it that, perhaps curse , was a more appropriate term, whith annoyance as a close candidate). Then, she had to deal with the only other person awake at the hour.
Perhaps Yelan had underestimated the sheer absurdity of her current enemy.
"Geez, whatever made you go all the way here at this hour without a body?" Hu Tao doesn't even bother to cover her mouth as she yawns, something that doesn't particularly bother Yelan, "So what, you need me to send someone pick it up or…"
"I don't have a corpse for you."
"Right…" The younger woman responds, as if it was perfectly normal to show up at a funerary with no one to bury. Then, for a split second, something seems to turn on her head and Hu Tao tilts her head slightly, long brown hair falling to the side as she "Am I in trouble? I'm still wearing my nightwear, so if you're escorting me, I'm gonna need some time to change."
"You're not in trouble." Yelan says, trying to look as composed as she can, "I just need some information you could help me with."
"Client confidentiality is taken very seriously here, ma'am." Despite her careless attitude so far, the young girl says this seriously, now more stern with her words.
Of course, Yelan tries to not roll her eyes, she's played out this scene a thousand times before, "I'll pay well."
"A client's trust is worth more than any pay." She responds. Yelan had to give it to her, despite having a reputation for being unprofessional, she had more tact than most businessmen in the harbor.
"You don't have to give me names. Just… details, on their death, I mean," Yelan explains, "none of your precious clients need to have their privacy violated in any way."
Hu Tao seems to think about it for a moment, her eyes scanning briefly the desk behind her, cabinets with files upon files lines inside them, obviously Yelan's target, "...depends, what information do you want?"
"Do you have any records of anyone dying from…" Uncharacteristically, Yelan hesitates, still denying the absurdity of her condition, despite how thrilling throwing up bloodied weeds was, it wasn't particularly exciting to come to terms with the fact it was happening at all, "vomiting flowers?"
For the first time, despite the fact she just had a complete stranger show up at her establishment at the dead of night demanding information, Hu Tao genuinely looks hesitant. Her features dance between confusion, questioning, and contemplation. Finally, her face settles into some sort of determination.
Hu Tao turns to look for something in the many cabinets behind her. For a few seconds, the only sounds in the room are rustling papers and Yelan's foot tapping, rhythmically, softly against the floor in her usual restless manner. The director lays out a set of files in front of them, the pile is small but bigger than Yelan had expected.
As she pages through each, it seems the faces of the deceased somehow bury into her. They are all young, some younger or a few years older. In total, there's only thirteen of them.
"I think I know what you're looking for." Hu Tao, despite what she lets show, is perceptive, but it doesn't particularly catch Yelan off guard, "Baizhu told me it's called hanahaki in Inazuma, it's kind of romantic, don't you think? Maybe asking him would be better."
Yelan looks at one of the portraits in the file, a young girl stares back at her, she ignores the comment about the pharmacist, it would leave a record if she made a formal appointment, " Romantic ?"
"We're all going to die someday anyway, don't you think it's beautiful to die out of love?"
Yelan wasn't an idiot, she knew her line of work required at least some awareness into how close and present death was, anytime. But she expected death in fights between tugs, falling from trusting herself on a roof too high, a mission gone wrong.
But to die from love? It was ridiculous, her self of a few years ago would laugh in her face.
"Well, I'm not planning to die any time soon." She stands a tad too quickly, making the other girl flinch away on instinct, "Don't tell anyone I was here."
Hu Tao nods, as if she understands, "Of course, client confidentiality is taken very seriously here." Then, just as Yelan is on the door, she says, “I’d say you have a month. Make it worth it.”
Strangely enough, Yelan finds herself rarely going outside.
The lights on the harbor blinds her whenever she dares to look straight at them, and she finds herself thrown back to a scene she was so used to. Ordinary people ending their day, closing stalls and saying goodbyes as they went home. Others remained in the shadows or just started coming out for the long night to come.
Ningguang had a limit to how many days off she could allow her to get, and she herself was getting bored of days laying in bed, lamenting her own condition. She needed to do something, and it wasn't like a law advisor with a tight schedule would be running around at night. Or that’s what Yelan thought.
"I haven’t seen you,” She says, panting, a thin line of sweat rolling down her face, “in days.”
How do you tell a person you may or may not have a crush on you’ve been avoiding them?
“I’ve been busy.” Yelan lies, and normally, she lies as easily as she breathes, but this time, it hurts. She wonders how much more the truth would hurt, and she stops wondering.
Yanfei lets go of her hand, still breathing deeply, now sheepish, “Sorry, I just… it's been a stressful week. I was worried, you know?”
She glances up, expecting to see Yelan’s usual confident smile, probably, most likely, laughing at her foolishness or complaining about how early it is to be so worked up over nothing.
Yelan notices her gaze, expectant, predicts her question, "Got a long job today, you don't have to worry."
"You look sick, your voice is rough." Of course, she notices. Yanfei doesn't ask before grabbing her arm, and Yelan doesn’t pull away, "Let's go to my apartment, I'll get some medicine from doctor Baizhu, what do you have? A cold? You can still stand and walk, so hopefully it's not that bad…"
"I’m fine." She repeats. Her lungs tighten, but Yelan ignores it, "I promise I'll see a doctor." Another lie, she had enough days of doing nothing, “When I’m done with this.”
She doubts her words, judging by the way her eyes sink down in worry, ‘You shouldn’t overwork yourself if you’re sick.”
"I'll be fine." Yelan waits for Yanfei to release her grip, even though she could shake it off any moment, "It isn't anything too taxing, so you can relax your little head."
She wasn’t lying this time. Yelan wasn't an idiot, and she knew better than to take jobs she couldn't handle, especially in her current predicament. But Yanfei is stubborn, and she swears she can see her vision glint as she steps forward, taking Yelan's hands once more.
"Then." And Yelan knows she can't refuse, because when Yanfei decides on something it is final, and she is an idiot for even trying, "I'm going with you, and making sure you return in one piece."
And maybe Yanfei's eyes shine a little brighter when Yelan doesn’t resist, but she doesn't dare look too deeply.
It is only when she’s forced to cough up multiple petals that Yelan thinks it might've been a bad idea.
But she's used to missions with high stakes, even enjoys them. Disease or curse, she can't deny that she's getting some thrill out of all of this. According to the records Hu Tao had let her see, she had quite a long time before she would need to take decisive action and her life was at stake. She could bear with it a little longer. Right now, she had no reason to avoid the girl.
Yelan thinks back on the arrow she had thrown before, how it came back in droplets. The curse is like an arrow, one she knows is falling towards her, this time just much more slowly. She had time.
She snaps out of her thoughts when she feels a gaze burning through her back.
"You said this mission wasn't too taxing." Yanfei nags, staring at her, crouched next to a bush then at the fatui camp before them, unaware of Yelan's true thoughts.
"And it is, I only have to get some documents and come back out, I don't even have to fight anything."
"We have to get some documents. I'm not letting you go alone."
Yelan snorts, ignoring how genuinely done with her antics Yanfei seems, "You're adorable when you're nagging me."
It takes the best in her not to let out the petals at the tip of her tongue as the other girl pouts and her head turns away from her, forcing Yelan to face a horn rather than her face. She is thankful, though, it is much easier to breathe when she isn’t looking at Yanfei directly.
It takes the best of her to walk side by side with her without wavering, head up and eyes on the target. She knows every glance is a test on her chest, one she will have to pay in blood. Her mind wanders to the arrow once more, feels the cold water dripping into her face.
Yelan wasn't lying. The camp was empty, she had been keeping her eyes on it for a while now, knew when they would be in and out at which times of the day. It was a fairly unimportant patrol unit, so they didn’t have much security except a single agent that would most likely sleep through their duty. She wouldn't have brought Yanfei otherwise.
The first thing that greets them as they set foot inside is the audible snores, a lone agent slumped on a rock. But Yelan knows better than to trust herself too much, so she takes out a pouch as silently as possibly. The wind is strong, so she has to get closer than she’d like for it to work. Hopefully, the guard sleeps more deeply.
When she goes back, Yanfei remains silent, her back to the scene as she stares off into another direction.
She jumps when Yelan touches her shoulder, “Relax. I didn’t kill him.”
Yanfei shakes her head, “I didn’t think you would. It’d be inconvenient to deal with the evidence”
“Oh?” Yelan raises an eyebrow, “Is our law advisor slipping into the world of crime?”
The next part is easy enough. The documents weren’t particularly well guarded, as the fatui didn’t think they were important in the first place. Yelan was counting on it. She grabs the documents, kept in a file in one of the larger tents. To their credit, it was hidden beneath an assortment of supplies, at least having a semblance of security.
When they’re out, watching the agents come back into the camp to finally settle down, Yelan lowers into the nearest bush, as far as she can from Yanfei, and coughs up a flower, except it doesn’t come out in one go. It takes several tugs to get it out, and it grows into a full stem. She wonders how long it would take for the flowers to grow thorns.
She turns to the other girl, trying to play it off as best as she can. There’s little more excuses she can use to explain why she keeps wandering off, but Yanfei doesn’t question it, only smiling when she comes back into her view and occasionally asking about her cough.
They settle into a slower pace once they’re far enough from enemies. Yelan finds her mind wandering once more. She enjoyed the risk factor the disease brought, but it was undoubtably annoying, she trusted herself to end it before it ended her. All it would take was a confession, her feelings didn’t even have to be accepted. But the longer time passes, the closer the arrow gets, she wonders if she’s doing it out of bravery or fear.
Was she delaying it for fun? Or because she’s afraid. It’s been a long time since she felt afraid. It was fun. Likewise, it was confusing.
Then Yanfei coughs, and she comes back to reality in alarm to see her friend is fine. Her hand covering her mouth as she smiles as peacefully as ever.
“I think I got your cough.” She says, chuckling to herself, “I never told you why I was out so late, did I?”
“I just assumed you got an annoying costumer.” Yelan admits, though, it is rather embarrassing to think someone with a job like hers would pass a chance to get any information.
Yanfei laughs for a second before continuing, “I was looking for you, you know? You disappeared for a week, not even Ganyu knew where you went.”
Yelan shrugs, “I’ve been gone for longer”, to the shorter girl’s surprise, Yelan leans in, smiling, “did you miss me?”
The girl pushes her away lightly, not with enough force to actually send her back, but Yelan retracts nonetheless.
Her chest tightens once more, and she can feel the petals in her mouth. Yanfei turns away to cough, covering with her hand, and Yelan takes the opportunity to do the same. She doesn’t actually know how Yanfei caught a cold, but she attributes it to the cold night.
They walk back together. They’re not that far from the harbor, so they naturally agree to settle down in Yanfei’s apartment.
It looks exactly like the last time Yelan set foot inside. It’s as warms as she remembers, and the same scale is on display as it was before. Somehow, it feels more familiar than stepping into her own home.
Granted, it was dangerous. She by no means should be anywhere near Yanfei, she doubts her lungs can hold out much longer. Hu Tao’s estimation was only a close guess, one based on the assumption she wouldn’t be spending the night next to the person triggering the flowers. Once again, she questions why she’s even doing this. She suddenly remembers Ningguang.
Was it worth it ?
Yelan takes one of the blankets from a closet, intending to sleep on the couch, but Yanfei looks more tired than usual, but It's to be expected after the long night, stops her “We’re both sick anyway, so you don’t have to worry.”
She’s already playing with fire, she’s bound to regret it anyway, so why not go all the way? So she accepts, even though she shouldn’t, and agrees to sleep on the bed. Several alarms go off in her head, each louder than the next. She could’ve refused, she could even refuse now, Yanfei isn’t one to question what she does too much. Her chest is already closing in on itself. She burrows one of Yanfei’s longer dresses and gets on.
“You’ve been thinking about something else.” Yanfei says, almost as soon as she lays down. Her tone is laced with worry, her face serious, “For the entire night.”
“It’s been a tiring week.” Yelan replies. It's the most she can say.
Yanfei pauses and thinks for a few seconds, and her eyes open, glowing, as she seems to come up with something.
She turns to Yelan, smiling wide, and spreads her arms, "Come here."
Yelan snorts, "I'm not a child."
Yanfei rolls her eyes playfully, then tries one more time, "Please?"
It could go badly, she's aware. How close could she go before it went too far? Yelan didn't know, but she still accepted the hug, embracing the woman back. Yanfei giggles, something about being too stubborn and her mother doing the same years ago. It feels nice. Her chest is screaming.
Truthfully, she does feel guilty. She's dragging Yanfei into something that could go horribly, and even though it doesn't put the law advisor at any risk, she does feel it is er resposibility. She is overconfident, many have told her so before, but Yelan has to trust that it isn't the case now, not when her friend, the love of her life, is on the line. If Yanfei saw her throwing up bloodied petals now, how would she feel? She knows her friend, there's no way Yanfei would come out, aware she, indirectly or not, caused someone pain, unscathed.
But Yanfei isn't aware of this. Maybe she knows Yelan's head is somewhere else even now, but she doesn't prod. She hums something, a tune Yelan hadn't heard before, as a bit of comfort.
Throat burning, she bears through it all. Her ears focus on the tune less and less as the pain increases. Yelan could put an end to this right then, but she doesn't want to. She knows how it'll end, her body is too weak to contain anything any longer, not if she starts speaking, and she has so much to say. Yanfei doesn't have to know about bloodied petals and thorns that scratch at her throat, it is the last thing she wants to show her. Yelan is strong, she can bear through one more night. Her head is already working up a plan, leave in the morning and come back fine, when the pain allows her to talk.
Just one more night
Surprisingly, Yelan is tired enough to fall asleep. Yanfei falls asleep later than she expected, her arms still draped around her. Her throat burns.
Just a few more hours
The room is cold, but Yanfei makes it a little warmer. Yelan dreams, something she doesn't do often.
She's on a mission. Her old friends are there, exploring the chasm. Everything is distorted, confusing but comforting at the same time. One second, she's getting a pat on a back for retrieving an artifact. They're all up on the edge of the mines, panting and sharing smiles, helping each other up as they talk about the money they'll make, the stories they'll share.
She blinks and she's in the chasm again. This time deeper, in a secluded space she remembers all too well. She is next to Yanfei, talking about something, the others spread around them. They're sitting on the stone floor, and it's cold, but none of them bring it up. Yelan turns her head, a groan behind her, and Xiao is there, eyes closed as he sleeps in a sitting position. He's snoring. Yanfei laughs, tries to contain it and fails. Yelan laughs too.
She didn't know someone so short could snore so loudly.
She didn't know someone could have such a pretty laugh.
Yelan wakes up to the other side of the bed empty, the room cold and slowly, she can feel the petals fade. It is a nice change from the burning sensation the night before.
She stretches when she gets off the bed. The morning is quiet, but she can still hear some of the bustle of the street if she gets close enough to the window. She hadn't felt this good for a long while, like she'd been cured of some horrible ailment at the last minute.
Except Yanfei is nowhere to be seen. Yelan checks on the kitchen, where everything is exactly as she remembers from last night. The same goes for the living room, where she can still see their coats thrown about on the couch. Her next best guess is the office, but Yanfei doesn’t open her services until about an hour from then.
Naturally, she assumes Yanfei just went to take a bath. The bathroom door is closed, but she doesn't hear running water or anything in general. As if she was the only person in the apartment.
She tries her luck knocking on the door, "Yanfei, it's me, are you alright? I need to talk to you about something."
Yelan made herself a promise the night before. She had her fun, she needed to take the final step and get it over with. Even she could have enough of her own antics.
There is no response on the other side. Yelan could check on the office, maybe Yanfei opened earlier to see a special case, or went on an errand in the early morning. But her gut churns, screams at her to open the door.
The handle gives no resistance, the door opens with a creek.
Yelan knows better, so she covers her eyes with an arm as she goes in, calling out, "Yanfei?"
There is no response again. She is ready to turn around, sleep till afternoon and bother Yanfei about leaving a guest alone once she comes back. Then she uncovers her eyes.
Yanfei is there. Right in front of her. Yelan wonders how she could miss a pink so bright. She's leaning on the wall, sitting, her eyes closed. Yelan's heart sinks, sinks in a way she knows all too well. It feels horrible, worse than the tears at her throat only hours before.
She can barely bring herself to fall on her knees, to look closely at the scene before her. Her mind is there, and it's not at the same time. Millions of thoughts run through her head, some she can’t even catch. Had someone broken in? Why hadn’t she heard anything? She rarely slept so deeply even a slight noise couldn’t wake her.
Then she sees the petals. The stems. The flowers littering everything around the unconscious girl’s body. Everything around her feet resembled a destroyed garden. She sees the thorns, can feel them on her throat even if they’re not there, it hurts, and it doesn’t at the same time. Yelan dares to look at the face of the person she loves. Yanfei is so pale, her face betrays none of the chaos around her, calm as if she were sleeping.
She dares to hold her. Ignores the cold, sees the blood on the corner of her mouth. Inside the discord of her mind, everything clicks. The sudden cough, why Yanfei looked for her, why she looked away. Was she planning to do what Yelan has been putting off for days on end?
Yet, in that final night. She had held her. Yanfei had held her like she was the hope of the world and not the very thing killing her. Hugged her own poison, comforted her even, while Yelan ran away from it until the very last second.
Does she even deserve to hold her body? It’s so cold. How long can she stay there? Does she deserve to cry? The petals are gone. Her chest feels empty. How could she not notice? Had every easy breath she took that morning a timer for the one she loved. Yelan would rather choke on petals.
Water falls on her cheeks. She can see the arrow falling down on her, except it's her own tears.