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Dong-dong-qiang! Qiang-qiang! Boom!

Even from far away, it was easy to hear the telltale sounds of Liyuen drums, their pounds reverberating down the streets, often accompanied by the shrill echoes of cymbals clashing together. Those curious enough to follow this sound would consequently find a wonderful spectacle before them; a vibrant performance of Wushou Dance of Chenyu Vale.

As the dancers moved about, donning their iconic lion head props, pulling its inner machinations to make the lions’ eyes blink and flutter, while each duo leaped and twirled on various wooden poles and platforms, there would be a constant rush of energy and excitement. After all, the beauty of such performances was in how the performers made the dancing lions feel alive and real, as if they were beasts emerging from fairytales and springing into the real world. The accompanying music, too, played a part in this illusion, as the lions would move to the rhythms of drum beats and cymbals, adding to the festive atmosphere of Wushou Dance performance.

No matter where they performed, be it in their hometown at Chenyu Vale, the quiet settlement of Qingce Village, or even the bustling streets of Liyue Harbor, it was guaranteed that the Wushou Dance would leave a lasting impression on its audiences, in the hopes of igniting a passion for such talent in the generations to come.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The young boy wiped a sweat off of his brow, huffing a sigh of relief. Thank goodness I can still see the stage from here… He thought to himself. The spot he found himself in certainly wasn’t the safest; after climbing up a tree, stepping onto the roof of a house and climbing to its highest point, the young boy was fairly sure he’d have trouble getting down from there. But at the moment, none of it mattered.

It’s going to start soon!

As if on cue, that familiar drumbeat began to play, attracting the attention of many passers-by. Though there were attempts to crowd the stage, it was quickly handled and mandated by some guards and soldiers nearby, allowing the Wushou Dance to continue without a hitch.

He mentally patted himself on the back for having the foresight to not wait on the ground for the performances of this Lantern Rite. Lesson learned from last year! Now, he had the perfect view of all the happenings on stage.

Woosh! Boom-boom! Dong dong qiang!

As per usual, the young boy could barely tear his eyes away from the captivating performance, watching as the two lions danced and leaped from one corner of the stage to another, all as their heads swayed back and forth, sometimes even interacting with the young audience members at the front of the platform.

While the night dimmed and the lanterns lit up, he kept watching those lions on the stage. He hadn’t had a care in the world then, a sentiment that he was sure to start missing as soon as he grew up.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The winds of Qiaoying Village were particularly chilly that November, as the year was drawing to a close. Though it was growing colder as the days went by, Jiaming found himself unbothered by the weather, often strolling along the rivers of the village when out for a leisurely walk. Today, he found himself walking by the tea fields until a familiar voice rang out.

“ Gaming! Gong gong hou! Fai dim loi bong sau aa! ” (Good timing! Come help quickly!) Ah, there are only a few people who would call him by that name. Without a moment of hesitation, Jiaming placed the book in his hands on a nearby stool and hurried towards the tea plantation of Qiaoying Village. It didn’t take him long to locate his family’s fields; they had marked it with a wooden stake that had a long, colorful sash attached to its end. He could spot four familiar figures there with bamboo baskets on their backs. “What is it?”

His eldest sister, Huaning, spoke. “There are a few tea leaves left on the plants! Still in good condition too! We’re gonna need all the help we can get to check every plant here.”

“ Haa? ” Jiaming could already feel his forearms aching from the upcoming exercise. He already burned his muscles harvesting the tea leaves yesterday. “Are you sure they can still be used? Maybe they’re already shriveled up…”

“ Dong yim hou yi! ” (Of course!) She cheerily replied. “Gotta make the most of them, you know? Especially since we’re reaching the end of the season, didn’t you forget?”

Jiaming stared at her, deadpanned. “No, I didn’t forget! I just…” In the end, he couldn’t say anything else but huff a sigh. Not when his other sisters were staring at him with pleading eyes. “Alright alright, I’ll lend you a hand. Let me go grab my apron and I’ll help you out.”

“Yay!”

Jiaming chuckled softly to himself as he quickly made his way home. No matter how the situation looked, he could never be angry at his siblings forever. Especially not when they were more than capable of harvesting tea on their own with no problems. The fact that they were specifically asking for his help could only mean one of two things: either the harvest was so lacking that his family were scrounging up for as much produce as they could, or his sisters just wanted to spend time with him.

As he passed by the front door, his eyes caught sight of dozens of bags lining up against the backyard, the many fruits of his family’s labor. Seems like the second reason is the answer for today.

He chuckled at the sight again as he grabbed his harvest apron, taking a final look at the bags of tea in their home before he left. I guess that’s the life I’ll have after I graduate, huh?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“ Aiyah , I already told you not to bother him!”

Jiaming bit his lower lip at his mother’s tone. Here we go again…

His second eldest sister, Meiling, spoke then. “But mom, all we did was ask him to pluck leaves with us…”

“And he has already played his part for the harvest yesterday, didn’t you, Gaming ?” He begrudgingly nodded in reply. “ Faning , I thought we already had this conversation; unless the harvest has been delayed by weather, we shouldn’t disrupt Gaming from his studies…”

If Huaning was feeling nervous, she was doing a great job at hiding it. Usually, mother would never address her by her dialect name. “But… the rest of us were out with dad at Liyue harbor yesterday. We haven’t spent any time with our little brother since we came back last night…”

“It’s alright, Ma.” Jiaming reassured her from across the dinner table, reaching to pat her hand gently. “I’m feeling fine, see? And dai jie (big sister) is right. I haven’t seen my sisters in a while, is it wrong for me to spend time with them?”

His mother looked like she was about to go on another spiel until his father placed a hand on her shoulder, gently signaling her to cease the topic. “ Hai , lou po (my dear), let them be. In the end, as long as they’re happy, that’s the most important thing, right?”

Mother paused for a moment to glance at the spectacle of her five children looking back at her, their amber eyes practically pleading for forgiveness. “We’re sorry, mama.” The family’s youngest daughter, Xiuying, apologized earnestly, pressing her palms together and bowing her head. “We’ll stick to our schedule next time, promise!” The third child, Weiqing, added.

That seemed to be the final argument needed to convince their mother to concede. “ Hai , alright, alright. As long as you’re all happy.”

“We are, don’t worry!” Huaning affirmed, stretching her arms to her left and right to pull Jiaming and Xiuying for a hug, the latter which pulled Meiling towards the group hug as well, and consequently causing her to drop the rice in her spoon. Soon, the dining room erupted with noise again, as Meiling fussed about her wasted food and Xiuying apologized for her mistake (though truth be told, Xiuying still looked kinda angry too).

Jiaming chuckled again. Another noisy day…  Times like these are when he’d admired and pitied his mother in equal measure; surely it wasn’t easy to raise them all, and even as teens, antics were still bound to happen.

“I hope they didn’t grind you too hard, Gaming .” His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his father’s voice. Jiaying noticed the heavy eye bags engraved on his face, though he couldn’t tell if it was from his lack of sleep last night, or from his old age.

Not wanting to worry him, Jiaming shook his head. “Not that much. We didn’t pick too many leaves in the end, and started chatting more instead.”

“Oh? What about?”

“Mm, cha mm duo yat yeung aa . (Pretty much the same)” He shrugged in reply. “My studies, Liyue Harbor, how my sisters practiced brewing tea in the city… same things as always.”

His father seemed to smile even wider when Jiaming mentioned tea brewing, turning his eyes to the four sisters chatting with their mother. “Is that so? I wonder why they’d be so interested to chat about tea with you…”

Jiaming was puzzled. Was it not natural for such a topic to circulate around their family? Especially if it was their trade?

“I swear we didn’t tell him!” Xiuying protested, as if already predicting her father’s words. “Not yet anyway!”

“What do you mean, not yet?” Jiaming was even more confused, his raised eyebrows cueing Xiuying to cover her mouth with her hands quickly.

In response, his father chortled a hearty laugh. “Ha ha! Fong sam ah, ah mui . (Don’t worry, my daughter.) I think it’s about time for us to show it to him anyway.”

Knowing how his dad usually never gives in to his incessant asking, Jiaming gave up on asking for a second clarification. Instead, he opted to watch as his parents nodded at each, then at his sisters, sending them a signal unknown to him. Without waiting for Jiaming’s reaction, his four elder sisters quickly gathered the plates and brought them to the kitchen, while his father stood up and walked over to a stool in the corner, where his travel pack from last night lay. Meanwhile, his mother remained at the dining table, reaching out to hold Jiaming’s hand.

Perhaps due to the tension of not knowing what was happening, the young boy tensed when she held his hand. “Ma, is there something wrong?”

“Don’t worry, dear.” She reassured him with a small laugh. “This isn’t because you’re in trouble.”

“Indeed.” His father added as he returned to the table with a large box wrapped in soft silk. It was embroidered with a beautiful pattern of red dragons with green tufts of fur embroidering their body. Jiaming was sure he had never seen such decorated boxes in Qiaoying Village. Did they get this from Liyue Harbor, perhaps?

“It’s a bit early for your birthday, but… We managed to find something special for you, Gaming .” Huaning explained as she and the other sisters returned to the table, having washed all the dishes.

“Happy birthday, sai lou ! (little brother)” His other three sisters echoed.

Jiaming turned to his family, even his mother who hadn’t accompanied his father to Liyue, yet still had a smile on her face all the same. It seemed that they had been planning this in secret for his birthday, just to surprise him. His chest was enveloped with warmth: ah, you all spoil me too much… I could never express how grateful I am.

Burning with anticipation, he carefully lifted the lid of the box, revealing its contents that were wrapped in even more fine silk. A round ceramic teapot rested in what seemed to be a plastic mold covered with silk, accompanied by five smaller cups surrounding the teapot, making the whole ensemble look like a round coin. Each cup was decorated with a small painting of a flower, and no two cups’ designs were the same. As for the main teapot, it contained the same dragon pattern as the one on the box, though this time there were two dragons, their bodies intertwined with each other.

Jiaming was at a loss of words. This certainly couldn’t have been a cheap set. The custom designs on each item were intricate and rough to the touch; they must have been painted on, and not printed. And yet, his family bought it for him anyway? “A teapot set…”

Meiling beamed. “Mm hm! When we each turned 14, we’d get a new teapot set of our own so we would practice tea brewing!”

“So that’s why you have your own sets in your room!” The young boy realized, glancing through the giggling sisters.

Weiqing was the only one who was bowing her head a little. “Sorry that we kept it a secret, little brother. We weren’t sure if Ma and Ba had told you about it, and we didn’t want to run the risk…”

“And we’re glad you didn’t.” Mother cheekily grinned, though her warm smile returned as she spoke to her son. “I know I told you to focus on your studies, Gaming , but we hope that through this teapot, you’ll be able to pick up tea brewing just like your sisters.”

“Yeah! And now we can finally teach you how to make tea together!” Xiuying added with a sparkle in her eyes. “Oh! We can do those fun ceremonies that the farmer aunties talk about!”

“Of course, you can take your time with it.” Meiling advised, patting his shoulder. “Just take it easy and you’ll get the hang of it, okay?”

“ Haiyah , it won’t be a problem for you, right Gaming ? After all, you’re our san tung , you’ll be fine!”

Though his family had erupted yet again into another bout of chats and exclamations, for some reason or another, Jiaming instead found himself staring at the teapot in the box, as if it was staring back at him- no, not staring, more like… glaring at him. Practice tea brewing? Like his sisters? Not that he was struggling with his studies; as his father had said earlier, he was practically the child prodigy of their family. Nothing he tried would end in failure. Tea brewing would just be another skill he picked up with ease. And yet…

He couldn’t focus on his surroundings, then, and his ears only could register the same thought he had earlier that day, before he went out to help his sisters in the plantation.

I guess that’s the life I’ll have after I graduate, huh?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Good. God. Tea brewing was so much harder than he expected it to be.

Leave it to his four sisters being the ones teaching him how this all worked. Even though he had tried asking his mother and father for guidance instead, he knew it was rather selfish of him to ask for such when both of their hands were in no shape to hold a teapot properly. Thinking about it now, it was probably why their family had a tradition to begin teaching the practice at a young age.

Though he didn’t like to admit it, Jiaming’s father had lost a good portion of control over his hands a few years back, just as Xiuying had turned 14. Because of this sudden condition, he could no longer brew tea without the risk of dropping the pot as soon as he picked it up. Mother likewise had thousands of calluses on her hands after decades of processing tea leaves by hand, though she had been lucky enough to be able to continue her craft today with the help of her daughters. As he evaluated the bigger picture, Jiaming came to a somewhat harrowing realization; his family really needed him to help out with their business. Especially if the day when his parents could no longer work was rapidly approaching.

Jiaming sighed as he kicked another lone rock on the road. That conversation was just a few days ago, but somehow, it felt like months had passed. After dinner, he made the announcement of taking a walk around the village again. Seeing how his sisters had inadvertently ‘stolen’ his leisure time earlier during the week, his mother naturally allowed him to do so, leading him to wander aimlessly around the village.

I’m not really looking for anything though… Jiaming wistfully noted to himself. And it was true; it wasn’t as if something was going to happen out of nowhere on such a quiet evening.

So why would he want to leave the house so suddenly for an evening walk?

Jiaming eventually brushed the useless thought aside as his amber eyes spotted a familiar sight ahead. A group of figures dressed in brightly colored clothing, adorned with flashy ruffles and shimmering sashes. In their hands were large props that resembled the head of magnificent beasts, each of them also decorated with fur tufts and ribbons.

He let out a small gasp at the sight. That was…

Woosh! Pow! Dong dong qiang! The vibrant memories of every Lantern Rite flashed through his mind. He blinked once, twice in an attempt to confirm his train of thought. There was no mistaking it; that was the same Wushou dance troupe that performed at every festival in Chenyu Vale!

Without a second thought, he hurriedly made his way over to where the group of performers were standing, a few of them moving their large props into a small building that looked like a shed. One of the few members who wasn’t holding any prop soon noticed the spectacle of his horizon, and waved to the young boy running towards him.

“Hey! It’s you, I remember you!”

Jiaming was shocked, though it probably didn’t seem that way with how excited he was. “You know me?”

“ Ngo gam hai ji dou lei laa! (Of course I know you!)” Even in his seemingly old age, the smile on the man’s face was bright and full, no different than a child’s. “You’re that little kid who’s always climbing the roof of a house to watch our dance! I’d recognise your face anywhere.”

Jiaming scratched his head bashfully then. “Ah, well… It’s to make sure I can see your performance, of course! Speaking of which, I don’t think I remember seeing you here in Qiaoying Village. Are you performing for a business here soon?”

At that, the performer’s expression seemed to change completely, transforming from a jolly smile to a sad one. “Ah… well, to be honest, we’re not here for a performance.”

“Huh?”

His smile seemed to turn graver as he spoke. “ Kei sat (Actually) … the reason why we’re here tonight… is because one of our troupe members is retiring today”

Jiaming blinked. Retire? From the way the man spoke, it didn’t sound like good news. “Did something happen?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” He sighed in response. “During one of our performances last week, Ah Ruan ’s back gave out and caused him to take quite a nasty fall. Though he’s still able to move properly, the doctor warned him that if he fell down again, he was sure to become paralyzed. Because of that, his family is strongly opposing him to continue performing with us. Ah Ruan ’s also agreed to retire too.”

“That’s horrible…”

“ Hai , it can’t be helped. We’re all getting to the age where we can’t dance that well anymore, you know?” Despite the somber news, the elderly man simply shrugged. “To be honest with you, kid, I’ve a strong feeling we won’t be able to perform during the next Lantern Rite either.”

Jiaming’s heart instantly dropped at that. No, it couldn’t be… “Was there another person injured from your last performance?”

“Ah, no, it’s not like that.” Hearing that seemed to ease his heart, if only for a little, as the performer continued. “The thing is, Ah Ruan is one of our lion head performers. Without him, we’d only have one lion present for our performances, and that simply won’t do. Wu aa zeoi, lei ji dou? ”

Jiaming nodded in understanding. Wuu aa zeoi , meaning a crow’s beak, was slang for a harbinger of bad luck. In Liyuen culture, anything that came as singles was most commonly deemed as inauspicious. It made sense that the number of lions present would follow the same rule. “But… is there anyone else to take over Ah Ruan then?” He asked, holding onto a sliver of hope.

“Nope, no one in our troupe can.” Perhaps now feeling his age, the performer turned his eyes to the darkened sky, as if reminiscing something. “The older you get, the harder it is to learn new things, after all. Worst of all, not a lot of young kids want to learn Wushou dance anymore. I hear most of them end up going to Liyue Harbor to pursue greater things.”

Jiaming felt a sting in his chest at that.

“Ah, but… if it makes you feel any better, I’m glad you remember our performances so fondly, kid.” The older man patted Jiaming on the shoulder as he continued. “If I get to see you in the crowd one day, I’ll be sure to send the oranges flying your way*, alright?”

Jiaming nodded at that, though his heart still felt heavy as he bid farewell to the Wushou dancer. His mind raced once more with memories of those past performances, how the air seemed to fizzle with energy as the sounds of the drums echoed in his ears, the adrenaline rush that seemed to be brought about as those beasts had danced on the stage…

To think he may never get to see those performers again, never feel that energy again… A great sadness filled his heart. That was exactly what I was looking forward to for every Lantern Rite too …

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*Author’s note: the act of peeling and tossing oranges during a lion dance performance is often thought to be symbolic of spreading wealth and good fortune to the audience, as oranges are used to symbolize gold in Lunar New Year practices.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

He hadn’t realized that he was walking off the path as he drowned himself in his thoughts again. When he finally looked up from the ground, he was greeted by dozens of bamboo trees marking the path ahead, a path that seemed to be leading travelers to Qingce Village (if he remembered the map correctly).

“Oops, looks like I’ve walked too much tonight!” He muttered to himself with a bashful chuckle. As he turned around, however, he found himself staring at something moving in the bushes behind him.

Rustle, rustle, rustle…

Jiaming tilted his head. How strange. Usually, wild animals wouldn’t linger this long if they sensed a human nearby. And it wasn’t like the mystery creature here was a wild beast either; they’d run away too. In fact, most of the time, it was too difficult for anyone to hunt for such animals unless they used archery to take them down from far away. Yet even as Jiaming stood there, the rustling didn’t seem to stop.

Drawn to it by his curiosity, the young boy took a tentative step towards the noisy bush. Then another. Then another. One step turned into two, two turned into four, and soon enough, Jiaming was right in front of the still rustling bush. He was beyond confused now; what kind of animal was hiding in here to not realize a human approaching them?

With his heart slightly rising to his throat, and a mind hungry for an answer, Jiaming gently pried the leaves of the bushes open… And was enraptured by the sight before him.

Hiding in the branches and brambles wasn’t any ordinary wild animal. In fact, it was anything but ordinary. The creature seemed to have the body shape of a dog, but no tail. It seemed to have the paws of a cat, but its torso was engulfed in flame wisps instead of fur (even though his paws had black fur-!). Its head was no short of normal either, with how it barely resembled any animal Jiaming studied during his lessons. 

Though… Where have I seen that shape before? It feels so familiar…

Transfixed as Jiaming was, the moment was quickly lost as the creature seemingly snapped back to the reality of being spotted, its glowing eyes widening. Turning on its heels, it leapt into the air and hovered past Jiaming’s side, almost as if it was flying away. Even with its speed, it didn’t deter Jiaming from quickly turning around and running after it.

“Hey, wait! Stop!” He cried after the fleeing creature as if it would understand.

What am I doing? I should be going back home! Why am I chasing after this… thing?!

Their chase was cut short when a loud metallic sound rang out, as if two metal surfaces had slammed into each other. Following that, a shrill howl resembling a wolf echoed in the air. It didn’t take Jiaming long to connect the two dots together, cueing him to run even faster to where he last spotted the strange creature. Please tell me I’m wrong, please tell me I’m wrong, please-

Unfortunately, his deduction was true; in a small clearing within the bamboo forest, the strange dark-furred creature laid on the floor helplessly as a hunter’s trap coiled itself around one of its hind legs, its sharp metallic teeth biting into flesh. Even though from first glance, his limbs didn’t seem to be attached to their body, the injury still hurt the creature greatly; it wouldn’t stop whimpering and howling in pain.

He’s hurt! That’s why I’m chasing after it! Jiaming swiftly rushed to the creature’s side to inspect the trap further, while one of his hands tried to pat the little beast’s head to comfort it. Perhaps due to its current state, it didn’t bother putting up a guard against the human boy, instead opting to nuzzle the palm stretched out to him. Jiaming tried not to get distracted by its nose (boop!) as he examined the trap.

A trap that is triggered by weight… No different than common hunters’ traps. It seemed like the only way for him to disarm it would be to pry the two metal flaps apart. He wasted no time in scouting his area, eyes landing on a flat rock that was thin enough to slip through the opening of the trap. Perfect!

It took him a while, but with his nimble fingers and a soft click ,  the trap had been disarmed. Guess those hunting lessons with Uncle Ray weren’t in vain.

However, much to his dismay, as soon as it was freed, the creature hurriedly leaped backwards, staggering slightly due to its wound. If it weren’t for the fact that it wasn’t a normal creature, Jiaming would have simply let it go. Instead, he blurted out. “Wait! Don’t go!”

Its yellow eyes stared back at Jiaming, blinking once, twice. He would have easily gotten distracted by how unique it looked if it weren’t for his gaze falling upon the creature’s wound once again. The steel teeth had unfortunately drawn a wide line across its ankle, red crimson blood slowly but steadily leaking out and matting its fur.

“You’re hurt. I can’t let you go out with a wound like that!” He explained slowly, hoping that the creature could understand him. “Let me at least patch up your leg, then you can go, alright?”

The small beast didn’t say anything (not that it could speak the Teyvat language anyway), but it did continue to look at Gaming quizzically, tilting its head sideways, like a dog or cat would to its owner. “My home isn’t far from here.” Jiaming continued, inching a little closer to the creature, gauging its reaction. “It won’t take long.”

Still unconvinced, the creature shuffled back just as Jiaming got closer. At that, he was just about to give up and go home. Not only was he really tired from chasing this strange creature, but with how the moon was hanging in the sky, he was sure he was out past his curfew. Waking up for tomorrow’s lessons was sure to be a pain.

… His lessons, huh.

Suddenly, the melancholy consuming him earlier returned, after being absent during this pointless pursuit. Right… Tomorrow, he was slated to have his last class on Liyue history before the final exam, in addition to his reviewing lessons for language and agriculture. Not to mention Huaning mentioned that his sisters wanted to teach him tea brewing again that evening. His whole plan for tomorrow had been planned out before he even had a chance to review it.

The recollection brought Jiaming back to his conversation with the Wushou dancer from before, how one of his favorite things to look forward to during Lantern Rite was probably going to disappear. Thinking about it now, it was hard for Gaming to come up with other things that he enjoyed doing. Aside from his family, there really wasn’t anything else he did that felt… different about. Usually, it was the same things for him; studies, plantation, family, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat… 

Was this why he wanted to take a walk?

“You know, I don’t think I can blame you for staying away from me like that.” He found himself mumbling. “If you were to blindly trust me and follow me, you wouldn’t know whether I would trap you in a life you don’t want. I guess… In that sense, we’re kinda alike?”

Ah, what was he saying? His thoughts were becoming more and more ridiculous. There’s no time for him to feel upset like this! He may not like his lessons, or his studies, or even tea brewing, as much as he loved watching Wushou dances, but that didn’t mean he could drop it like that! His family needs him. They need him to continue their bloodline, and their traditions. It’s the least he could do to repay them for raising him. That was how it was meant to be, how it had always been… Right?

Feeling distraught from the sudden realization, Jiaming fell back from his crouching position earlier, instead electing to bring his knees up to his chest, hugging them close. He hated this feeling. How his chest tightened and his breaths quickened and his head spun in dozens of circles, so much that he had to lean forward to hide his face in his kneecaps.

In the midst of this abrupt spell, he could sense something approaching him, wading over to his side with the heat of a small campfire. Though he wanted to keep his head down, the boy eventually lifted his face to see what had caused this new warmth… Only to be met with the eyes of that small beast. Though its eyelids seemed to be fixed in place, much like a puppet’s eyes would, the light in them seemed more alive than any marionette’s; sparkling with empathy and concern, enveloping Jiaming in even more warmth than before. Its paws, too, seemed to be perched on the sashes of his clothing, patting them gently, as if the sashes were a part of this sad human’s body.

He hadn’t even realized how his clothes weren’t being burnt as he spoke softly. “Hey there, little guy.” Jiaming didn’t dare to ask whether the creature trusted him; who knows if it would have broken the quiet moment they were sharing. He chuckled pathetically. “I suppose you’ve never seen a human sitting like this before, haven’t you?”

Surprisingly, the beast shook its head before tilting it at him again, trying to understand why this human was frowning so much. Though it tried to crawl up his shoulder, perhaps to get closer to Jiaming’s face, it couldn’t because of its wound. “Hah, well, if I’m being honest with you, I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this before either.”

His eyes fell upon the sashes that it was sitting on, as an idea popped in his head. It certainly isn’t the best first-aid option they have, but at the moment, it was all they had. Though he felt fatigued from tonight’s events, Jiaming quickly took one of his worn out sashes in one hand, while his other swiftly located a thick twig nearby. With the two items combined, he methodically fashioned a makeshift splint for the beast’s leg, all while the creature, now having trusted the young boy, sat patiently. He would have felt proud of himself if it weren’t for the sight of the moon gradually dipping, a telltale sign of night turning into day.

“I… I should be getting home.” He declared, gingerly picking himself off the ground. It seemed that at least for tonight, he’d be able to save this creature from being hunter meat. But as of now, he was in no clear mental state to take care of him.. “Be careful next time, alright little guy?”

His chest was heavy, as were his steps, as he slowly traced his way back home. Though he wanted to, he steeled himself to avoid turning back to see that strange creature in the clearing, not realizing how it was silently trailing behind that human boy, its bright eyes curious of where he was going.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jiaming was about ready to pass out. Twice. Maybe he’ll sleep a third time for good measure.

Going out last night was definitely something he wasn’t going to do again. Not when he got home just as the sun was rising and he ended up having as much as only one hour of sleep before having to wake up again. Getting through his lessons without sleeping was a slog he wasn’t willing to experience a second time, that’s for sure.

Thank the Archons he was able to take a breather now. His siblings were still out and about running errands for the day, and they were probably not gonna give him his teapot lessons until after dinner anyways. Meaning, at the very least, he has some of the evening to take a power nap for. The sun was shining brightly today too, accompanied by the now very chilly air breezing through the village, making for a great day to stay in and sleep. That would probably explain why some other students felt extra drowsy today…

He was just about to enter the doors to his home before he spotted a strange red cloth hanging by a window. From the looks of it, it seemed to be right at the window for his room too, specifically, a rectangular red cloth with black tassels at its bottom and a … wait.

That pale color. It couldn’t be…?!

Snapped out of his sleepy stupor, the boy rushed into his home, thanking the Archons once again that his mother and father had gone out earlier to visit some neighbors and thus weren’t at home to greet him. Instead, he rushed to his room at the end of the hallway, passing by the four rooms of his sisters. Though being the youngest of the family meant that he was probably having the smallest room, it came with the benefit of being tucked away from the others, leaving him to have his own private corner of the house to himself.

Probably a good thing too, since whatever was hanging outside his window was more liable to be noticed by passers-by if he owned any of his sisters’ rooms…!

Swinging the door open, Jiaming unceremoniously entered his room, a small but cozy hideaway with his bookcase, his bed, a study table and his bedside table… where the subject in question was scrambling to climb onto, half of its body dangling over the window, its paws barely touching the bedside table. The intruder’s features looked fairly different in the daylight, but Jiaming could recognise it all the same; black fur, fire body, small paws and a beast’s head.

A blink.

Two blinks.

A third blink for good measure.

And Jiaming was about to scream from shock. What the heck was the little guy from last night IN. HIS. ROOM?!

Before he could get any answer, he spared no second to assist the little guy off the windowsill, where it had probably placed its stomach on for who knows how long. Fortunately, despite its body being made out of fire, the window itself was unharmed. Jiaming subconsciously started to wonder if the fire making up its body was some form of Adeptal art instead of actual flames.

Wait, no, now’s not the time to think about that!

“What are you doing here?!” He immediately cut to the chase, staring down at the creature who was now gracefully seated on the floor, seemingly unaware of what it had done. “I thought I told you to be careful, not to follow me back home!”

Its head tilted. A sign of processing information, Jiaming hoped. “Listen, I know what I said last night, about taking care of you but… I didn’t expect to see you here like this… And your wound’s not even healed!”

Unfortunately, the more Jiaming spoke, the more it seemed like the creature wasn’t fazed at all. Instead, its bright eyes continued to blink at the human boy, noting how different he looked compared to last night. It was still injured, yes, but unlike last night, it seemed that the little beast didn’t mind this setback at all…

He huffed a heavy sigh. Now wasn’t the time for him to settle this…! His parents were going to be home any minute now, same as his sisters. And with no clear indication of leaving, this creature was sure to try entering the house again if Jiaming was to just put it outside. Not to mention the dangers of letting such a creature run loose in the village; what if the hunters tried to capture it?

What was supposed to be his downtime ended up causing him a headache as his mind ran through all the possible outcomes; throw the creature out while locking his doors, and it won’t bother him again, but it may get injured a second time or even killed; keep the creature home, and probably keep him a secret from everyone in the village for who knows how long, but it gets to live. One of these options clearly outweighed the other, especially given how he hadn’t asked for this creature to arrive at his doorstep like this.

Yet, the other outcome mysteriously intrigued him. To keep this creature with him. In some ways, it wouldn’t be any different from owning a pet… probably. At the very least, the change that would occur could potentially be a good one. At this, his mind thought back to what had happened just a few hours prior, how Jiaming had suddenly yearned for something…. Different from what he already had. If he was asking for something different, wasn’t this the answer?

Besides, in the case where they couldn’t get along, the other alternate option would still be open, cruel as it may be. Either way, it seemed that the benefits of each option had switched places, leaving Jiaming to direct his decision to something he usually never would.

“Okay, listen.” He began slowly, kneeling to the height of the creature that had been politely waiting on the floor ever since Jiaming started considering his options. “I… technically should not be keeping you here. I don’t know how my parents are gonna react to having any animal in the house, let alone something like… you..”

He paused for a moment, thinking that maybe it would react, but continued when it didn’t move at all. “But, I’m more worried about your leg, and about you staying near the village while you’re still healing too, so let’s make a deal.”

“I’ll let you stay in my room until you feel better, but in return, you can’t be spotted by anyone. Not my family, not the villagers, no one. Just stay in my room. As long as I keep doing my own chores, no one else will enter this space, so you’re safe here.” The creature was tilting its head again, but unlike before, it was nodding in tune with Jiaming’s instructions, not a clueless blink to be seen. He felt relieved that he didn’t need to explain himself a second time. “Good. Then I guess this makes us…. Roommates, then.”

Understanding his words, the beast hopped a little, taking care to not aggravate its wound further. With the main issue out of the way, Jiaming came to a realization. “By the way, I don’t think I’ve introduced myself properly to you, have I?” Sure, it wasn’t conventional to say your name to what was basically a pet but… deep down, Jiaming was hoping that wasn’t going to be all of their relationship. Besides, judging by how the little creature had been attentively listening to him and even reacting, it wasn’t too far of an assumption that it could think like a human could.

“My name is Jiaming. But most people tend to call me Gaming instead. Hm…” Upon remembering their supposed language barrier, he stood up and grabbed a roll of parchment from his desk. After he rolled out the parchment across the floor, much to the little beast’s surprise and curiosity, he produced a brush from his desk again, dipping it in dark ink to draw out his name across the paper.

嘉明

“Not sure if you can read this but…” He mused aloud, holding onto his hopes. “This is my name.”

Though it didn’t seem like the little beast fully understood, it was certainly no short of curious about its new companion, cautiously crawling onto the roll of paper and sniffing at the ink-stained portions. Despite his growing fatigue, Jiaming found himself laughing. How could he not when this strange, peculiar, adorable little beast was twirling and dancing around the parchment paper with his name on it? As if it was celebrating his name?46

Perhaps this could be a welcomed change after all.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Wait, sai sau , that’s my brush!”

The little beast, or sai sau as Jiaming had temporarily addressed him as for now, seemed to be grinning cheekily as it held the wooden brush in its mouth. Its fiery body hovered distantly above its friend’s head, taunting him with the glee of a young child. Who knew it could be such a playful rascal?

Jiaming bit his lower lip; that was probably one of the last few brushes he had, the others having worn out ages ago. If he lost this one, his parents would have to travel to Liyue Harbor to get another set for him, and that was the last thing he needed. “Could you please come down? I really need to use it for my work…”

Though his reason was sound, it seemed as if the beast still didn’t want to comply, instead lightly hopping in the air to his bed and throwing the brush into the air to balance on its nose, much like those entertainment Blubberbeasts from Fontaine would. It would have been more entertaining if this was the first time the little beast stole one of Jiaming’s things.

He couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows. “Hai… hou ma fan aa…” (How troublesome) He imagined that trying to chase after the little gremlin would end with either him getting tired or injured, or his brush getting damaged (he certainly remembered when one of his mugs broke last time this happened), thus electing instead to just focus on something else for now. Besides, as far as the past few weeks have proven, anything the little beast touched wasn’t susceptible to burst into flames. And while this was his last brush, it was also relatively new, with how he only used it a few times before. It probably wouldn’t break if the little beast played with it for a while, right?

Holding onto that hope, Jiaming sat back at his desk and turned his attention instead to another book on the table. Battle techniques, or at least the theory of it. The topic had sprung up at dinner a few days ago when his father spoke of one of their neighbors’ sons that started to practice combat to help with transporting goods between Chenyu Vale and Liyue Harbor. The conversation ultimately turned into one whereby Jiaming agreed to learn a few basics of combat, to be safe, if he were to follow his family to Liyue Harbor for their business one day.

A cold shiver slithered down his spine, if only for a moment. Doing something for the family again…

He brushed the thought aside. Now’s not the time, he reasoned to himself, instead flipping the book open and glancing through its contents. It was smooth sailing once he started reading and the wintry winds outside blew against his window as ambient sounds. Thump… thump… thump…

A few quiet minutes had passed before Jiaming paused in his read, having chanced upon a word that he wasn’t too familiar with. At that, he stood from his chair, heading to his bookcase to retrieve a ridiculously thick book with weathered pages.

Perhaps seeing its owner do something different, the little beast waddled over to him in the air, peering over Jiaming’s shoulder. It still had the brush in its mouth, not intending to put it down, but still eager to see what the human boy was doing.

Jiaming giggled at the sensation of his friend perching on his shoulder. “It’s a dictionary.” He explained. “It contains a lot of words in the Liyuen language, all arranged alphabetically. We usually use it if we want to look up words we don’t know about.”

The beast nodded in understanding, shuffling ever so slightly hop off of his shoulder and land on the table, right next to the open dictionary. As Jiaming continued to scan its pages searching for his mysterious word, the beast suddenly placed its paw on the left page, almost startling the boy if he hadn’t known that the beast had a habit of meddling with his things.

Still, this was the first time it tried to pounce on a book. “What is it, sai sau ?” He asked kindly.

The little beast patted the book repeatedly with its paws, each time at the exact same spot as before. Confused, he took a closer look at where its paws were. In the midst of the sea of finely printed words, one word stood out as the one his friend was pointing at: 文

Pronounced as wen . A word with multiple meanings; art, gentleness, refined, ritual, even language and culture…

Jiaming frowned. “Why are you pointing to this?” A part of him tried to entertain the thought that the little beast could actually read the word, but… it felt fairly unlikely.

Sensing that its point wasn’t being sent across, the little beast sprung onto its feet with vigor. In its new energized state, it trotted over to the side of the desk where a spare roll of parchment laid, and kicked it off the table, much to Jiaming’s utter dismay. “Wait, what are you-?!”

It ignored him entirely as it hopped off the desk, as if chasing the parchment as it rolled across the floor. With the brush still in its hand, the little beast methodically tilted its head at an angle where the tip of the brush met the surface of the paper. As it started to walk about on the parchment, Jiaming could only watch in awe; had the little creature learned something from him on the day they started this life together?

When it was finished, and perhaps only after seeing its task was done, the little beast trotted over to Jiaming, who was now kneeling on the floor, and finally dropped the brush on the floor gently to return it. Despite this act of goodwill, Jiaming couldn’t tear his eyes away from the parchment paper, as he examined the writing upon it. Though the little beast’s penmanship could definitely benefit from some practice, he could vaguely make out two characters in the scribbles.

文仔

“Wen zi .” Jiaming recited, his voice tinged with amazement. To think the little creature could actually write something after all. “ Wen zi … What does this mean…” As if to answer him, the beast leaped over to the top of the two words and lifted its front legs a few times, as if directing Jiaming’s attention. Unfortunately, it only served to confuse him even more.

“Are you trying to learn how to write Liyuen characters?” He attempted to guess, only to receive a shaking head as a reply. “Is this a special word to you?” Another shake of its head. “Your favorite… phrase…? Person? Item?”

Though he was resilient in his guesses, the way the beast would always reject his guesses didn’t help his decreasing morale. “You know, I’m wondering whether you wrote this just to spite me…” He absentmindedly admitted, much to the disdain of his friend.

Wen zi, wen zi, wen zi… Surely it couldn’t be referring to the insect, right?* Then again, it made no sense for the little beast to know such a phrase… right? Befuddled by his own thoughts, Jiaming continued staring at those words on the paper, pondering what other phrases shared the pronunciation.

Wen zi… Wen… zi… Wen zi… Wen… Wen…

… Man?

His eyes lit up at that. If he were to read this in his dialect, just like he does for his name…

Wen zi… would become… “Man Chai?” In front of him, the beast lifted his head.

“Man Chai?” It was excitedly nodding now, the sight almost compelling Jiaming to jump too. Finally…!

“Is that your name? Man Chai?” He asked again, his thoughts confirmed as the little beast - Man Chai - leaped into the air and lightly pounced on Jiaming’s chest, nuzzling him with its (cute!) little nose as it cooed and purred like a cat. “Woah! Hey, Man Chai, quit it! It tickles!”

Despite Jiaming’s protests, Man Chai showed no visible signs of stopping. One moment, it would leap off of Jiaming and circle around the human boy, only to pounce on him again from a different angle, all with the intent of showering his friend with affection. Was this how all pets treated their owners?

No… Jiaming declared, back then. Man Chai isn’t just my pet anymore. He’s my friend.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*Author’s note: the pinyin, wen zi, is also the same as that for the Chinese translation of mosquito, 蚊子.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Even though its hind legs were healed, Man Chai didn’t seem to want to leave. And frankly, Jiaming was very glad that he didn’t.

In the past months alone, he had experienced a life far different than what he had before. Sure, he was still doing his studies, talking with his family and learning to take on his family’s business. But now there was an additional feature to his life. No, perhaps the term ‘enjoyment’ is a better way to put it.

Namely, it was how he would look forward to returning home to find Man Chai sitting somewhere in his room, waiting patiently for Jiaming to come home so they’d play together. Even with his studies, Jiaming took the time to talk about all sorts of things with Man Chai. Though it couldn’t reply, the little lion would still bound about and react to Jiaming’s words, sometimes twirling on his hind legs.

No matter if they were reading stories, sharing snacks or even just laying on the bed and staring at nothing, every moment Jiaming spent with Man Chai was full of joy and laughter. As winter took its hold on Liyue and the cold season swept across the land, the duo continued to bask in the warmth of their shared company and camaraderie.

It’s no surprise, then, that after this much time together, Jiaming’s mind began to wonder; exactly what was Man Chai anyway?

Clearly, it wasn’t any ordinary animal. No dog or cat or even wild animal could remotely match his physical appearance. He had a passing thought before that Man Chai could be an Adeptus of some sort, but from the stories he had heard, most Adepti would usually speak in fluent Liyuen language, sometimes even adopting the appearance of humans, to converse with them. In fact, perhaps due to the peaceful times now, fewer Adepti chose to live amongst humans, with most of them retreating to the depths of Jueyun Karst.

So with how Man Chai rarely ever spoke, and only made purring or growling noises, it was probably safe to assume that he wasn’t one of those older Adepti who had been around for millenia. Though this hypothesis helped narrow Jiaming’s guesses, it still opened the door to many mysteries about his friend…

“Hey, haven’t you heard?”

Jiaming’s mind was brought back from drifting away from the classroom, as the students sitting a few tables away from him began to chatter incessantly. “C’mon, be serious. You can’t think that all my misfortune is based on some silly legendary beast.”

A legendary beast? The topic piqued his interest quickly, as Jiaming listened closely to their ensuing conversation. “It could, you never know! My grandfather told me that if you were to anger such a beast, you’re sure to be cursed for the rest of your life!”

“You do know the ‘beast’ I’m talking about could be any beast, right? I mean, there’s no telling if it could be by the hands of a Suanni.”

His orange eyes blinked. A Suanni? The name was new to him, like a song he had never heard of before, or a dish he had never tasted. “Look, I don’t know what else to tell you. You told me that your dad’s hunting trap got triggered once, then someone released it, and all your pops could find on the metallic teeth was some tufts of black fur. Black fur! ” The person speaking seemed to become even more exasperated as they continued. “You know more than anyone else in this village that there are no black-furred creatures in our area, not even the dogs or cats. So what could have gotten trapped in the teeth and set itself free?”

“Maybe… it was a… rat?”

“No! I mean a Suanni!” They facepalmed themselves. “And now that your dad tried to catch it, everything’s been going haywire for you. Don’t you see what I’m trying to say…?”

Their conversation continued to drone within their classroom as the pieces in Jiaming’s mind began to connect. A hunter’s trap being triggered? Someone releasing it? Black tufts of fur?

He pocketed the phrase as the bell rang for the start of class.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Found it!”

Interrupted by the loud exclamation of its friend, Man Chai sprung from the bed like a wound up spring. At his desk, Jiaming seemed too engrossed in his new discovery, having finally located the article of Suanni in a book he borrowed from the library earlier that day. He began to read it out loud. “Usually perceived as a symbol of good fortune, the Suanni are a race of mythical beasts that few humans would ever live to get a glimpse of. Their innate solitary nature results in them dwelling deep in the mountains of Chenyu Vale most of the time, earning them the title of Solitary Suanni.”

Perhaps in reaction to hearing Jiaming sound so intrigued, Man Chai hurriedly bounded over to his shoulder, peering over to see what he was reading so fervently. “Elegant, proud and majestic, they are admired by dozens of scholars and explorers in Liyue. Despite their absence across the land, their presence is still mimicked and celebrated through dozens of local traditions, most notably, the practice of… Wushou Dance.”

Jiaming froze as he trailed off, internalizing what he had just read. That… has to be a coincidence, right?

As he continued scanning through the pages, lost in his thoughts once more, Man Chai had hopped off his shoulder and neatly landed on the table. A common occurrence, though this time, Jiaming felt a heavy weight in his chest when his eyes caught sight of the little beast, reality sinking in. Could Man Chai… really be one of those elusive Suanni? The very beast whose movements were the core foundation of the Wushou Dance he loved to watch so much? The inspiration for the energy-filled dance that was seen day in and out all across Chenyu Vale?

That couldn’t be a coincidence. He felt goosebumps trail across his neck.

“Are you…” He hesitated then, wondering if it was worth it to ask such an obvious question. What point would it make if Man Chai couldn’t verbally tell him what he was, let alone confirm that he was a mythical beast? 

And if he really was a Suanni then… Why in the world did he follow Jiaming home? He shouldn’t be living there! Man Chai belonged in the mountains, not in a small village by the foot of it. The thought of how he could have accidentally taken Man Chai away from a family of Suanni beasts made the boy shiver.

Snapping him out of his train of thought was the sensation of something warm landing on his thigh. Jiaming looked down to be greeted by the sight of Man Chai curled up in his lap, his golden whiskers swaying gently in the air as it snuggled cozily. As his eyelids fluttered shut and his head leaned in close to Jiaming’s stomach, the human boy felt another warmth growing inside him.

Man Chai trusted him; he wouldn’t get this close to a human otherwise. Could this… maybe be a sign for him, too? The fact that out of all the people he could follow, Man Chai chose to stay close to Jiaming?

His mind floated back to the memories they had made together. Their shared moments and growing friendship. To think that out of all the things he experienced, anything that could change his life to ultimately become better, the only thing that brought him happiness was the beast that inspired what he loved… 

Jiaming didn’t feel like believing this was all a coincidence anymore. They had already passed that point by now. This… this had to be fate. Normally, Jiaming wasn’t a believer of such. Not by a longshot. But hey, there’s always bound to be some exceptions, no?

“You know, Man Chai, there’s been something on my mind lately.” He mused as he turned his eyes to the rest of his room. To most other people, it was nothing more than just a bedroom, perhaps more notable in the dozens of papers, books and memories of studying late at night, but otherwise, it was normal. Just like any other room that his sisters had, or his parents, or even the other kids in Qiaoying Village. Even then, Jiaming would beg to differ. This wasn’t a ‘normal’ room.

It was a prison cell.

Staying there meant he was slated to carry a future he had no control over. Study hard and excel in his studies. Carry on the tradition of serving, brewing and cultivating tea. To one day go to Liyue Harbor and ‘pursue greater things’ while leaving his childhood behind.

… Thinking about it now, he’d leave Man Chai behind if he did that, wouldn’t he?

“The thing is, I know you’re already healed.” He let out a content sigh. “It’s great that you’re feeling better now. And by that logic… I shouldn’t keep you here any longer.” If Man Chai was hearing this, he certainly wasn’t reacting to it. Jiaming didn’t have the heart in him to wake the little beast up, instead opting to continue. “Though, if I’m being honest, I really hope you will stay… I don’t think I’ve ever had this much fun in a long time. It’s like every moment we are together, there’s nothing we can’t do.”

“So… Here’s the thing that’s on my mind.” This time, he was really hoping that Man Chai was awake, but he wouldn’t blame him if he wasn’t. “If I stay here, I’ll probably have to follow the dream that my parents have for me. And to be honest, it’s not… exactly something I want either.”

“This whole time, throughout my whole life, I did it for my family. But now I’m starting to think… is that really… a good reason? To follow a dream so blindly without liking it, all for the sake of your own kin?”

Heavy as this realization was, Jiaming steeled himself to continue entertaining it. Though it didn’t help him heal the frown on his face, he knew that if he stopped now, he would continue frowning for the rest of his life. “I don’t know if it’s because of you, or because my favorite troupe is closing, or whatever but… I might just be realizing that doing such a thing isn’t really… worth it. Maybe that’s arrogance, or selfishness or even haughtiness but… I think if I don’t face this now, I’ll stay trapped here forever.”

“Man Chai… If you’re listening, I have a small request to make.”

Perhaps now hearing Jiaming address him, Man Chai slowly raised his head, waiting for him to speak. “I think… I kinda know what dream I have now. It isn’t going to be an easy road, and I don’t know if my family could ever support me with it so…”

“Would you… like to perform Wushou Dance with me one day?”

His rationale had been simple; if the things he did now couldn’t bring him the enjoyment he was looking for, then the only course of action would be to switch gears towards something that did bring him enjoyment. The only other thing he could think of was watching Wushou Dance, but if the troupe were to fade away soon, the switch would die out as soon as it started.

Such a situation meant taking the longer, more experimental route; to try Wushou Dancing for himself. It was riskier for sure, to take on a new skill that was nowhere like what he had done before, but there’s a first time for everything, right?

Man Chai hadn’t even spared a second to hop to its feet and into the air, hovering close to Jiaming’s face as if to sense his determination. Though the boy’s heart still felt heavy at what was essentially a betrayal to his family’s wishes, his amber eyes were focused and clear; he wasn’t backing down.

The little beast’s firm nod was Jiaming needed for him to break into a smile.

“It’s gonna be tough, but I believe in us.” He noted, his voice barely containing his excitement. “But man, to dance like those performers do… I really really want to give it a shot.”

“We can’t rush this, of course. If we do that, I’m sure we’ll lose self esteem and waste all our efforts.” He placed a hand on his chin, thinking. “Maybe as a first step, I’ll try to get in contact with that man I spoke with that night. The night when I saved you.” Hearing this, Man Chai dove in to affectionately nuzzle his chest, causing Jiaming to laugh. “Hah, to think all this happened because I found you that night. Anyway, if that doesn’t work, I guess the other option would be to ask Ah Ruan for some tips and guidance. Oh, and I can’t imagine that those lion props are cheap, maybe we’d have to make some temporary props for practice for now, at least until we can get more funds…”

Despite the growing list of things they had to do, all Jiaming could think about was the end goal; to one day step on the stage and perform the exciting dance for all of Qiaoying - no, maybe one day all of Liyue to see. He chuckled at the dream. “It feels… surreal to have a vision like that. But I gotta admit, it’s pretty nice. Next thing you hear in Liyue Harbor will be an announcer reciting our names for our performance: Man Chai and… Huh.”

In the midst of his daydream, Jiaming straightened his back, having noted something important. “Hm… I was about to say Man Chai and Jiaming but…  I guess it’d be odd if I use a non-dialect name with your dialect name, wouldn’t it?” Though the little beast didn’t seem to agree or disagree, the answer was clear; using the Liyuen form of his name just didn’t match with his friend’s name.

“Man Chai and… Gaming, then.” He resolved with a nod. “That’d be our entrance. Man Chai and Gaming!”

The little beast was quick to hover on his shoulder once again, nodding excitedly at his human partner. Though they didn’t share any words, it seemed that they understood each other perfectly. “You’re right.” Jiaming agreed.

“I like it, too.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A shiver crawled all over her back, as if even her body refused to accept what she was hearing. Without another moment of lingering about, the figure quietly made her way back to her room, heart pounding as the echoed words circulated in her mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This was perfect!

The next day was going swimmingly well. As soon as his lessons ended, Gaming sprinted out of his classroom and back to his village. He made a beeline for the familiar house he spotted so many nights ago, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ah Ruan at home. Much to his surprise, he had managed to find not just the elderly man in question, but everyone from the troupe was planning to stay over for dinner, as part of a reunion of their closely knitted friend group. Though Gaming was initially bashful that he had interrupted such an important event, the troupe members soon greeted him with wide smiles and cheers once he had conversed with the same man from before (as he found out, Ah Leng was his name), and spread the news that he wanted to learn how to perform Wushou dance.

“ Gam hou choi aa! (How lucky!)” echoed back and forth amongst the troupe members, with some patting Ah Leng on the back at how he managed to ‘convert’ Gaming to their culture. Even though Gaming felt compelled to correct him, he retracted his statement once he realized it could expose Man Chai’s existence.

For now, I think I’ll still keep him a secret. At least until we’re both in a better state to prove ourselves.

After making some arrangements for Gaming to train with them after his daily classes, he scurried back home with a wide smile. First step, done! Sure, it was just one step out of the hundred more he probably had to take, but the progress was certainly felt in the pep in his step as he returned home.

Only for that spark of hope to immediately extinguish as soon as a shrill yet familiar voice rang out from his home.

“ Fai di zau hoi aa! ” (Get the heck out of here!) His father screeched, emerging from his house and waving the stick end of their feather duster around as a small, brightly colored ball of fire quickly hopped away from him. It wasn’t long before Gaming spotted exactly who this ball of fire was, and how his heart was both rising to his throat and sinking to the ground at the same time.

No, no no no! I thought Man Chai was hidden in my room? They usually never go in there, how could they have found him?! It seemed that the usual ritual of Man Chai hiding in a box under his bed if anyone came in was devastatingly shattered at this occurrence.

Still enraged by this discovery, his father waved his stick even more rigorously, as if playing whack-a-mole with Man Chai as the target. Though the little beast did its best to dodge his rapid swings, it wasn’t long until he became overwhelmed with fear, turning on his heels and speeding off the road, past the village and back to the path where Gaming had treaded that fateful night. No, Man Chai! Wait! Where are you going?

Behind his father was his mother, her eyes quickly spotting Gaming on his way back home. Without waiting for his response, she sped to his side, squeezing him tightly in her arms. “ Jiaming! Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

He was bewildered at this, not only at his mother’s frantic behavior but also with how she was addressing him… differently than before. “I’m fine, I’m fine.” He insisted, waving his arms in front of him to prove it. “What’s going on, ma? Why is dad chasing Ma- I mean, that creature away?”

Gaming let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding as his mother continued to speak normally, as if not noticing his minor slip-up. “Your dai jie Faning heard a strange noise from your room earlier, so she tried to investigate it. She eventually found that horrendous beast hiding under your bed and shrieked for our help.” She turned her attention away briefly to greet father, who was a panting mess. “ Lou gung (my husband), how are you feeling?”

The older man heaved a cough. “I could be worse… That demon’s a quick one, but I’ll live. Ah zai (my son), are you alright? That thing didn’t hurt you now, did it?”

‘No, it hasn’t been hurting me at all!’ He wanted so badly to exclaim, though he sealed his mouth before the words could fall out. Instead, his mind was running rampant once again with overloading thoughts: Man Chai was… gone. He ran off to the woods without another word, without… him.

And now, with his friend out of the picture, and likely never coming back to their safe haven in his room, he was probably going to go back to his life before, the life he so desperately wanted to forget. Every part of the plan he and Man Chai came up with last night was falling away, as fast as the gushing waters flowing out of pipes and into the drains of their village.

It was all falling apart, his old life was returning, the status quo would return to him…

“ Jiaming? Are you okay?”

No. He wasn’t. This wasn’t okay at all. All the vigor and confidence he had the night before was crumbling before his very eyes.

Gaming struggled to hold the bubbling tears back in his eyes, fearing for what implications it would have if he started crying now. 

Either his parents would be even harsher on Man Chai should he ever return, or worse, seeing how Gaming was returning from home later than usual, they could misunderstand his crying as the outcome of something else he did. 

And the last thing Gaming wanted was to potentially send trouble to the kind hearted Wushou dance troupe who generously offered to teach him.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“ Jiaming? ”

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“Please say something, we’re getting worried.”

This wasn’t supposed to…

“ Jiaming? ”

This wasn’t… 

“ Jiaming? ”

This… 

“ Jiaming? ”

… … … 

Ah.

Of course.

They were still his family, weren’t they?

Of course they’d still worry for… him.

And for him to not reply… Well, that certainly wouldn’t be something a good son would do now, wouldn’t it?

To be their good son… To behave and listen to what they wanted… To follow their instructions to a T…

That was all there was to his life, wasn’t it? There wasn’t anything else.

There wasn’t anything else.

There wasn’t anything else.

There wasn’t anything else… Until he met Man Chai.

And Gaming swore he would never return to the life he had before he met his best friend.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Why did you do that.”

His parents were taken aback by the change in their son’s voice. Gone was his jolly tone, where you could practically hear him smiling before even seeing his face. It was one of his most iconic traits, one that dozens would remember him by. So why…

“Pardon?” His mother timidly asked in turn. Just what in the world was their son talking about?

“Just now.” Gaming stoically responded, keeping his head down and depriving his parents from any clue of how he was feeling. “Why did you chase him out.”

“You mean that little beast?” His father spoke in disbelief. “That was no ordinary creature, Jiaming ! If we left it in your room, it would have burned our house to a crisp-”

“He doesn’t burn, dad.”

Only now as Gaming finally lifted his head could his parents see their son’s face; eyebrows creased, his pupils boring straight into his parents’, and a small but poignant frown on his lips, all basking in the evening sun. The way he spoke, softly and dangerously, added to the downright furious emotion he was displaying. “That creature you called a demon? That beast ? It doesn’t burn. His body just has the appearance of fire.”

“How are you so… sure?” His mother questioned, hoping her thoughts could be proven wrong. Surely her son did not… touch the beast, did he?

“He just doesn’t. I’ve seen him walk around my desk and my bed. He won’t burn everything he touches.” Gaming declared firmly. “So why did you chase him out?”

His mother was panicking internally. Just what happened to his son? Why was he speaking like this? “Are you sure you’re alright, Jiaming ? Do you maybe have a fever or something?”

She was about to raise a hand to touch Gaming’s forehead before the boy hastily swatted it away, making her yelp. “Jiaming, Jiaming, Jiaming, why are you calling me that?” He demanded. “I thought usually you’d use my dialect name at home.”

At first, neither of them wanted to speak, probably since they were recovering from the revelation of Gaming slapping his mother’s hand away like that. Sensing that their son still wanted an answer, his father eventually spoke. “Your mother and I were discussing it last night. Since you will be visiting Liyue Harbor with your sisters soon, we thought it might be better for you to get used to your Liyuen name as opposed to its dialect form. Most denizens in Liyue don’t have a dialect name, after all.”

Making a choice for me again. Without even asking me first.  

“ Jiaming , why don’t we go back into the house first?” His mother suggested, probably sensing the rising tension from her son. “You must be hungry, right? I have some of your favorite Char Siew Bao waiting-”

“You guys go ahead. I’ll pass having dinner.”

“WHAT?!”

Probably as a result of witnessing his son acting out of line twice, a sight unheard of until now, his father exploded into a rage once again. “What do you mean, you’ll pass dinner? Your mother worked so hard to cook for you while you were studying, and this is how you repay her? What are you even going to do now if you skip dinner? You know how important our dinner is to the family-”

“ GAO LE! ” (Enough!) Gaming retorted just as angrily. “That… just, please stop doing that, ba .”

“What? What do you want me to stop?”

“That! The whole… thing about making me feel bad to say no!” Gaming’s heart was pounding, his hands were shaking, but no matter what he said, he refused to run away from this. Not anymore. “There’s something I need to do, so I’m telling you to go eat first. I need to go find Man Chai.”

“Man Chai…?”

“The little ‘demon’ you chased away!” This was very much against the plan, far from what he wanted to do to start his new life, but the reality was, if he didn’t grasp the opportunity now while the sun was out, who knows how far Man Chai would have gone. Not to mention the chance of his dear friend getting caught in a hunter’s trap again… or worse.

His father was indignant. “You’re going to chase after that thing?! ” He roared, almost making Gaming shiver if it weren’t for his newfound resolve. “ Jiaming , what the heck has gotten into you? Why would you chase after such a foul creature?”

“He’s not a foul creature! He’s my friend! More importantly, he’s a Suanni, a mythical beast! And you all just chased him off without a second thought!”

His father tutted his lips. “Oh, that’s ridiculous, Jiaming . Suanni don’t look like that.”

“Have you ever seen one? Huh, ba ? Have you?”

“Don’t talk to your father that way!” His mother interjected, having been silent during this whole conversation. “I don’t know what happened to you, Jiaming , but your father is right. This is no way to speak to your parents.”

Without an argument to rebuttal her, Gaming could only grit his teeth in anger. There was no time to entertain this song and dance; the longer they talked, the lower the sun was dipping into the mountains of Chenyu Vale. He had to go find Man Chai, fast. “Reprimand me all you want, but I’m not coming home until I find my friend.”

“Archons above, why is it so important to you?” His mother tried to understand, though her exasperated tone didn’t make her concern known to Gaming. “Even if it’s your pet, you should have asked us about it first.”

“And you would have chased it away!” Gaming snapped back, earning a look of ire from his parents. “And as for why Man Chai is so important to me…”

He’s gotten this far in exposing himself. Might as well go all the way .

“It’s because he isn’t just my friend… He’s my partner.” Gaming finally declared before his parents. “My performing partner.”

His words sent his parents reeling from shock. They couldn’t even get a word in before Gaming continued. “Ma, Ba, I’m sorry. I know this is going to hurt you more than it does for me but… I have a new dream now. It’s something you’ve never taught me before, something I’m going to learn on my own.”

“I’m going to become a Wushou dance performer. And to do that, I need to make sure Man Chai is safe.”

He didn’t bother keeping an ear out for whatever his parents had to say, instead turning on his heels and speeding into the forest ahead. Though it was primarily in his pursuit to find Man Chai faster, he hoped the run could hide the tears streaking down his face.

“I’m sorry.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“MAN CHAI! MAAAN CHAAAI!”

By now, the sun had long dipped past the mountains, enshrouding the land in a blanket of darkness. Though the moon was hanging in the sky, much to Gaming’s disappointment, it wasn’t full, meaning his visibility was very, very limited. He cursed inwardly for forgetting to bring a lantern with him, now realizing how dangerous it was to wander the forest without a light source.

Could he blame himself though? The adrenaline of what happened earlier was probably what blinded him the most to his common sense after all.

Brushing the thought aside, Gaming continued his search, inspecting every bush he came across in the hopes of finding that little familiar ball of fire. Unfortunately, perhaps as a response to his ill-treatment of his parents, the boy could find no sign of his dear friend, with him even narrowly dodging a number of hunter traps hidden in the grass. Moving around the forest made Gaming realize just how easy it was for Man Chai to get ensnared in the trap where he found him.

“Achoo!” A sudden gust of wind sent a sneeze coming his way, leading him to realize once again of his unpreparedness; going out to the forest this late at night without a single heat source? Maybe I didn’t think this through…

Just as all hope seemed to be lost, he heard a rustle from a bush not too far away from him, the very echoes bringing him back to the night he and Man Chai first met. Though the sound was brief, and only for a moment, it soon repeated itself over and over again, as if to draw the boy’s attention. Could it be…?

“Man Chai?” He called out hopefully while making his way to the rustling bush.

WOOSH!

Instead of being greeted by a familiar face, Gaming had to dodge backwards as a dagger swung before him, nearly nicking his nose if it weren’t for his timely maneuver. As he staggered back from surprise, two shadowy figures emerged from the rustle bushes. Though most of their features were hidden in the darkness, it wasn’t long before Gaming recognized the dark masks on their faces and the wide-brimmed hats on their heads: treasure hoarders.

“Well, look here! Seems like you’re lost, little man.” One of the thieves - he couldn’t tell who - taunted him, waving his dagger in front of his face. “Seems like this will be an easy trip.”

Gaming stood his ground, even though he didn’t have a weapon on hand. “My apologies.” He tried to speak steadily. “I don’t have anything of value for you, sirs.”

“Value? From you? Oh no, we’re not asking for that.” The other man spoke, his voice as fake as counterfeit Mora, yet as sweet as sunsettias. “To ask money from a kid like you is far beyond what we’d do. No, no, we’re here for… well, a different deal.”

A different deal? Gaming thought it best to stay silent as the pair of hoarders continued. “If you’re all out here alone on a cold wintry night… That can only mean one thing: you don’t have a home, don’t you kid?”

Gaming didn’t respond, hoping that his stern face was enough to satisfy them.

“You know we could make some… arrangements to give you a roof over your head, little boy.” They said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Food, lodging… a steady income? What do you think of it, hm?”

“If it’s to your fancy, all you need to do is jo-”

“Not happening.” Gaming interrupted him, stepping back carefully as the shadowy figures approached him. “Don’t even think about it.” It was impossible to see what their facial expressions were, though the simultaneous sigh of disappointment was enough for Gaming to confirm his suspicions.

But just as the duo were about to bring down their mystery weapons onto the young boy, a bright burst of light emerged, leaping over to Gaming’s side and shielding him from the treasure hoarders’ view. As the two thieves scrambled to rub their eyes from the strain, the young boy found himself grinning with glee at the sight of his savior. “Man Chai! You’re okay!”

After doing a twirl and spin in the air to prove its healthy state, the little Suanni dove to hug Gaming once more, overjoyed to reunite with his human friend. Likewise, Gaming could barely hold back his tears upon seeing Man Chai unharmed, even in the danger of darkness. To finally see a familiar face in the forest, especially after that emotional blow-up with his parents, was a warmly welcomed sight for the young boy.

There was no time for them to celebrate just yet; even though they were briefly stunned, the two treasure hoarders had regained their footing fairly quickly, soon brandishing their weapons again to fight the duo…

Only to suddenly shriek and flee just as Gaming and Man Chai prepared to fight back.

“Oooookay, well that’s weird.” Gaming remarked, blinking at the spectacle of two figures running further away from them. He was about to greet his dear friend again if it weren’t for the new sound emerging from behind them.

GRRRRRRRR… It was a guttural growl, with the low tones of a bellow reverberating through the young boy’s head. And judging by the lack of echoes, the source of the sound was probably… much closer… than he expected it to be. As the sound repeated itself a second time, Gaming swore the hairs on his neck had stood up immediately, reacting only to a presence behind him… Something that was standing right there, right behind him, waiting for him to respond…

Even Man Chai had retreated to Gaming’s side, trying desperately yet failing to dig its way into the coat he was wearing. Though he didn’t want to (he really really really didn’t want to-!), the boy cautiously turned around, rotating his body ever so slowly to complete a 180 turn…

And found himself staring at the face of a huge beast. Its golden irises hovered in two seas of black, making it all the more intimidating in the dark night. Though the boy couldn’t quite make out the color of its fur, he could make out the size of its ears; tall, slim and not your standard ear type for most wild beasts. No doubt it was something he didn’t want to get into a scuffle with…

Gaming gulped inwardly, his internal panic sent into hyperdrive as his legs were completely stuck in place, refusing to move no matter how much he wanted to. The harsh cold winds bit at his face, sending pinpricks of stinging pain all over his body in addition to the fright of the beast standing before them. Surely it was going to eat him-

As if answering his thoughts, the mighty beast opened its jaws, brandishing the rows of sharp canines as it roared loudly. Driven only by the rush of adrenaline, Gaming could only hug Man Chai close to him as he shut his eyes, powerless to this enemy.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

No…

NO…!

It can’t end here! Not like this!

I just found Man Chai again! And my dream… I just discovered it… I can’t just give up on it now! Not like this!

I need to go back! I have to get back!

Back to my home… my village…

If I die now without performing on stage even once after finally realizing my dream… I’d rather revert to my old life then!

And I won’t! I can’t! I need to live!

I need to protect Man Chai! He has to be safe, he’s my partner! I need him as much as he needs me!

I can’t die here… I can’t die here… No…

I need…

I just need…!

The power to protect myself, and to protect Man Chai!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“And then? Then what happened?!”

Xiangling couldn’t contain her anticipation as she shuffled about in her seat, waiting for Gaming’s response. Beside her was her trusty kitchen partner, Guoba, who was equally anticipating the next part of the story. The other patrons of their dining arrangement spared short glances at her in amusement, though they too waited with bated breath for their engaging storyteller to continue.

Meanwhile, the Liyuen youth from Chenyu Vale simply chuckled. “You know, Xiangling, if my guess is correct, I think you’re more curious about what happened to the beast than what happened to the main characters of this story, aren’t you?”

“Of course I’d be!” She confirmed with a grin. “Just imagine what kind of meat such a beast could produce! The more you talk about it, the more I want to go find it for myself!”

“I uh, don’t think that’s a good idea, Xiangling…” Chongyun remarked, placing a hand on his forehead. “By the sound of things, it seems like the beast you’re talking about is a fearsome one, nothing close to the wild game that most people are used to. I can’t imagine it producing edible meat…”

“Ah, there’s no point in trying to convince her otherwise, ‘Yun.” Xingqiu shook his head, clearly admitting defeat before even starting a fight. “At this rate, Xiangling could put slime condensates, qingxin and even lizard’s tail in food, and she’d still make it delicious.”

As soon as he heard that last ingredient, Chongyun felt his stomach churn, his mind vaguely floating back to that one time he drank a fairly unique concoction by Mondstadt’s bartender. “Ugh… We’re just about to eat too…”

Across the table, Hu Tao erupted in laughter. “Speaking of which, Gaming, did the two leads survive? Or did they barely escape with their lives, mm?”

The young boy could only smile politely as he replied. “Thankfully, they turned out alright. In the midst of their plight, the young boy’s ambition was seen by the great gods of Teyvat, and in a bright flash of light, poof! A Pyro vision appeared before the duo.”

“Ooh!” The remaining two patrons at the dining table, Xinyan and Yunjin, exclaimed in unison. “So they could fight back in the end!” Xinyan chirped.

He nodded. “Yup. And together with his friend, they fought against the hulking beast, sending waves of flames across its fur, woosh! It was enough to send the beast retreating further into the forest, while our heroic duo hastily made their return home.”

“But even though they were safe, the human boy knew he couldn’t risk returning to his house. Not when he wasn’t sure if his parents would ever accept his new ambition. So, instead of going in by the front door, he sneakily climbed into his room via the window, gathered all of his most important things in a bag, and fled the home once again under the cover of night. With a heavy heart, he vowed to never return until he could prove himself to his family with his newly acquired skills.”

“Oh… That’s a shame.” Yunjin noted with a frown. “I rarely hear such stories of ambition pulling families apart like this…”

“Guess it happens sometimes…” Gaming agreed, pausing briefly to take a sip of his tea. “But there’s no need to worry about them. After the whole incident, the two friends stuck together through thick and thin, enduring dozens of trials and practices ahead. Though they were without a home, they remained content as long as they had each other. And together, they continued to chase their dream of becoming Wushou Dancers.  … Or at least, that’s the ending my seniors told me.” Gaming finished with a tired sigh, finally taking a long break to rest his voice and drink more tea.

As he took five from storytelling, others around the table had begun chatting. “For a story relegated to Wushou Dancers, I’d say that’s a pretty inspiring one.” Xingqiu commented. “I imagine it could work for a popular fairytale as well.”

“That’s great and all that you’re trying to write another book, Xingqiu, but…” Suddenly, there was a mischievous glint in Xiangling’s eyes, one that sent a shock through him as she continued. “If I may ask, what have you been up to, talking with Xu so much this week, hmm?”

The boy nearly spat his tea out. “W-what are you talking about?”

“Oh, I remember now!” Chongyun realized, placing a fist in his outstretched palm. “You seemed distracted all week, looking for excuses to leave early and return to Liyue Harbor every day. Usually, you don’t go home until much later… Is there something going on?”

“C’mon Xingqiu, you can tell us!”

“Please?”

As the Pyro and Cryo duo drilled their (unwilling-to-answer) companion for answers, Yunjin found herself wistfully gazing at the construction poles outside the shop they were in. “Ah, that reminds me. Lantern Rite is approaching soon, is it not? I wonder which Adepti will the decorative tribute be themed after…”

“I certainly hope it will be made on time.” Hu Tao added. “After all, I’m slated to have some special guests visiting us this year.”

“Pardon, are you saying that you are having special guests, or Master Zhongli…?”

“Oh, it’s neither, hehe!” The response made Yunjin tilt her head quizzically. “I meant that the WangSheng Funeral Parlor has guests! All the way north from the coasts of Fontaine!”

The table was soon bustling with conversation again, adding on to the chaos that was the dim sum eating house they were dining at. Despite the noise, Gaming couldn’t stop himself from smiling. After all, this was exactly in his element!

“Oh, by the way, on the topic of Lantern Rite…” Xinyan spoke, cueing Gaming to place his tea down and nod in acknowledgement. “Just wanted to ask, are you gonna be at Liyue Harbor for it?”

He grinned. “Yup! The Mighty Mythical Beasts are slated to perform this year, so I’ll definitely be around. What’s up?”

The musician giggled. “Oh, it’s nothing important. Just that if you have the chance, I’d like to introduce you to someone special.”

His interest was piqued. “Someone… special.”

Xinyan nodded. “Mm hm! They’re a traveler from another world who’s exploring all of Teyvat right now. Usually, they come back to Liyue Harbor for every Lantern Rite, but it just so happens that anytime they’re here, you’re not! That’s why I wanted to ask.”

A traveler from another world? Those very words caught Gaming off guard entirely; it couldn’t be that this traveler wasn’t from Teyvat entirely, was it? But the very concept… sounded far too ridiculous…

Still, he continued to listen to his dear friends chatting over their meal, his mind occasionally drifting back to Xinyan talking about a mutual friend they’d like him to meet.  Thinking on it now, despite their mysterious nature, Gaming was certainly interested: if this person was from beyond Teyvat, beyond the barriers of the world as they knew, and even now, traveling across all the seven nations… Could it potentially pose as an opportunity?

Sensing his thoughts, the little Suanni Man Chai hopped over from its seat to his lap once more, nesting itself there to protect itself from the surrounding noise. The sight of his dear friend on his lap brought a smile to his face; yes, Man Chai was right. Any opportunity for him to show off the majesty of Wushou Dance was one he was more than willing to take.

“After all, if I manage to convince them to love Wushou Dance, that’s a surefire way to spread it to all the corners of Teyvat!”