Work Text:
A new era. The 21st century.
One thing that never changed: Xiao’s duty to protect.
Liyue gradually changed to The Great Republic of China. The population grew and grew, until the government announced that every couple can only have one child.
Xiao found the rule ridiculous. Through travelling so much, protecting “Liyue” from monsters, a lot of things could be improved for the country to adapt to the big population.
Anyhow, Xiao wasn’t a member of Parliament. What gave him the right to criticise?
The legend of adepti and archons vanished in time. No one had the faintest idea of Xiao and Zhongli’s existence. No one had bothered to check their IDs either, which clearly stated they were both centuries old.
Sometimes, Xiao wondered if the government was the best feature of human evolution, or was it the fated end of human freedom?
War never stopped. And Xiao couldn’t perform his duty. He had to leave China by themselves in fear that he would found out and taken away for questioning. People would freak out and cast Xiao away, sentencing him to death… possibly.
But Xiao never left one village alone.
望舒村 (Wangshu Village) was the only village that preserved the stories of archons and adepti, along with long-forgotten stories of other nations. The villagers may not be educated well, but they were extremely well-versed with local tales.
It has been a few thousands of generations that passed. The bloodline of previous Liyue inhabitants were very much alive. 丽君 (Li Jun), 13 years old, like Verr Goldet, would often worry for Xiao and made sure he had a home. 俊笑 (Jun Xiao), 21 years old, like Smiley Yanxiao, would often cook for Xiao and even learned up the recipe of Almond Tofu for Xiao.
It was a small village, considering that it used to be where Wangshu Inn stood. The inn was abandoned due to countless of wars. When the inhabitants returned, there wasn’t much of an inn anymore. So, they tore down the inn and reused the wood planks to rebuild a smaller version of the inn. With Xiao's help, the remaining villagers managed to gather enough resources to make basic facilities for medical, education and entertainment. Nature contributed a part - additional land arose from the waters not long after. It was as if the late Geo Archon made a miracle happen for the villagers to expand their housing.
Wangshu Village was an escape for Xiao. Even though he did not form a close bond with the villagers, they still showed care for him and ensured that he had a great rest before heading out to serve Liyue again.
During the cycle of wars, Xiao couldn't help but remind himself of the days when he spent time with Aether. It has been a long time since he has seen his face. His sister must be having the best time of her life with him. Occassionally, Li Jun would find Xiao at the roof of the rebuilt inn, sitting at the very edge sulking... possibly mourning. She knew enough not to disturb him at that moment.
When the war ended, Xiao barely returned to Wangshu Village, trusting in their abilities that they can take care of themselves. After all, he had told the villagers to call out his name when they need help. He knew they would not abuse the usage of his name.
This time, Xiao is the one who needed help.
There were reports of a strange man with a large green tattoo on his arm holding a glowing green spear, staring down at China at exactly 1am in the morning with an eerie whistle. Police officers have been dispatched to investigate the matter.
Xiao didn’t know of the existence of these reports. He only noticed that the local police stations were more active than usual.
Xiao was in the library, picking out a book about the newest technology invented to analyse any possible risks. His eyes glowed in curiosity as he read page by page. Seeing that it was getting late, Xiao snapped the book shut. He slightly tightened up the jacket around his waist by pulling two ends of the sleeves together, then walked to the counter.
“Are you borrowing this book?” the kind librarian asked. Xiao merely nodded, and the librarian smiled, responding with her hand signalling “OK!”. She knows Xiao as a frequent customer who has random and weird tastes in books. One day he would borrow a book about cooking utensils, the next day he would borrow a book about maladaptive dreaming. Though, the librarian knew enough not to pry.
Upon leaving the facility, police officers caught up to him and tapped Xiao on the shoulder.
“Xiansheng (先生), may we have your ID please?” one police officer asked. His build is muscular, and his shoulder muscles beat whenever his heart beats. He was very much taller than Xiao.
Xiao reached out into his pocket and took out a fake ID. His fake name was 钟雪峰 (Zhong Xue Fung), aged 23, living in 上海 (Shanghai).
“We have a warrant for conducting a search on a suspect,” another police officer declared. This guy was a bit chubbier. He seemed to be a fresh graduate from the academy. His facial expressions may be displaying strictness, but Xiao knew deep down he was tangled with a bundle of nerves.
“No consent,” Xiao replied. He would only allow a search if they pull out an actual-
Warrant. The inexperienced, slightly chubby officer pulled out a piece of paper. Xiao scanned through the contents with swiftness.
“Be alert, Xiao,” Zhongli had advised Xiao a while ago.
Xiao then nodded at the paper shown in front of his face, then gave consent for a search.
The officers did all they could: rummaging through his tiny satchel which contained only his wallet and keys, flipping through every single page of his borrowed book and flipping his jacket inside out. They had found nothing on Xiao that represented a glowing spear. Just when Xiao thought he was free…
“We are not arresting you, but we want to bring you to the station for some questioning,” the senior officer spoke. His tone was serious, gravelly as he enunciated the important words.
“I do not consent,” Xiao once again said. “I request for the presence of a lawyer.”
With that, Xiao found himself deep in trouble. He had to contact Zhongli, fast. He hailed a taxi and headed for Zhongli’s house.
The entire ride there was silent. Xiao was mostly consumed by his thoughts. What did he do that attracted police attention? It couldn’t be the way he dressed - a white t-shirt and long pants, a jacket tied around his waist and gloves that do not cover his fingers. He seemed perfectly like a normal human being.
Suddenly, everything snapped into place. A job. Xiao was lacking a job.
Even so, Xiao cannot commit to a job when he needs to protect Liyue 24/7. What type of job that can allow flexible holidays for employees?
The taxi suddenly pulled to a stop. Xiao nearly jumped out of his seat. In front of them was a car accident that seemed to have just occurred. Strange, usually he would’ve heard screams for help from miles away.
“Drop me off here, please,” Xiao said politely, giving the driver the exact amount of fare he owed. The taxi driver was baffled, but he let Xiao get off anyway.
Xiao stood in the middle of the street. The car accident took place right behind the stop line at the traffic lights. A driver had made a misjudgment while turning - crashing into the car in front of the taxi. Xiao looked at the car with windows that were smashed. The hood of the car was completely obliterated.
It was a terrible crash. Xiao wasn’t surprised to see a puddle of blood already forming underneath the other car that was crashed into. He reached into his satchel, pretending to search for something as he made a pocket knife appear from thin air. He pulled his hand out, and began working to budge open the car door.
A horrible sight and scent presented in front of Xiao. A young lady no older than 18 was in the driver seat, laid dead. Xiao looked into the backseat and found a baby car seat. He reached in to take out the car seat. A baby was indeed still in there, crying when he saw Xiao.
Xiao looked back at the lady without letting the baby see her. He knew the lady who visited the hospital a while ago. She had been heavily pregnant. Her parents were behind her bickering and badmouthing her as she walked into the maternity ward.
A revelation hit Xiao: she did this as a suicide attempt. Lucky, or unlucky, for her, she died. She must have tried to kill her own baby as well, but her installing the baby seat must mean that she hoped her baby would survive and be brought into a good family.
Xiao placed the baby car seat down on the floor, facing away from the crash. He could hear sirens in a far distance heading towards the crash. The pedestrians only walked by, gasping in horror whenever they passed by. Cars behind, understandably, avoided the crash site.
A middle-aged lady went to check on the baby, picking him up from his car seat and rocking him up and down gently for comfort.
Xiao continued to rip open the other car’s door. The driver seemed to be alive. He placed two fingers on the driver’s neck, confirming a faint pulse. Xiao released the seat belt and carefully carried the injured driver out.
Both the lady and Xiao took the driver and the baby to the sidewalk. He carefully placed the driver on the ground and told the lady to make sure the two are met with medical help.
Just then, Xiao’s phone began to ring. He wasn’t sure whether to pick up his phone call with bloody hands. The middle-aged lady handed him a packet of wet tissue, telling him to clean his hands, or else people would think he had murdered someone in cold blood.
For unknown reasons, the middle-aged woman seemed quite familiar to Xiao. She had dyed her long, straight hair red and orange. She was wearing orange overalls, with some jewelry on her fingers. Xiao could almost swear that he saw a diamond-shaped mark on her forehead.
Indarias…
Xiao picked up his buzzing phone.
“Xiao, come over, quickly,” Zhongli spoke on the other end. This sounded urgent.
Xiao hailed another taxi, and finally reached Zhongli’s house. Upon greeting Xiao, Zhongli realised his shirt had been stained with blood. His jacket had some tiny pieces of glass attached.
Zhongli brought a fresh pair of clothes for Xiao to change into. “Xianyun felt concerned for you,” Zhongli started.
Xiao looked up at Zhongli. “帝君 (formal address for Zhongli), did Xianyun mention about what happened already?”
“Go take a shower first, today must have been long for you,” Zhongli motioned Xiao to head into the restroom. “We will discuss further when you are done.”
Xiao hopped into the shower and watched as droplets of water fell on his face. The steam rose into the glass doors of the shower. He usually preferred cold showers, however he knew he would spend too much time in cold showers. Due to this issue, Xiao opted for a hot shower instead.
He listened to the water flowing down the drain on the floor. As he washed himself thoroughly, his eye caught attention on his bloodied shirt that rested on the floor next to the bath mat. It was not too bloody, though the middle-aged lady from earlier was right - he would have been taken in for a suspected murder.
Indarias. His sister’s name was Indarias. His calling for her and the rest of the Yakshas are working. They are coming back. Coming back to him. Coming back to accompany him and draw on his face whenever he sleeps.
In the shower, he didn’t need to hold everything in. He sobbed quietly, teardrops joining together with the droplets of water from the shower. He knew that such tears were meaningless - an offensive act towards their sacrifice. But he couldn’t stop. The tears kept coming. Seeing a reminder of Indarias completely broke him. He couldn’t tell any of his brothers and sisters a peaceful goodbye. They left all too sudden. His only family…
Zhongli heard the bathroom door snap open. Out came Xiao, holding onto his bloodied clothes and a towel wrapped around his shoulder as he used his free hand to use an end of the towel to dry his hair.
“You may leave your clothes here. I will wash them for you,” Zhongli offered.
Xiao remained silent for a moment before finally registering Zhongli’s voice. “No need, I can wash on my own. Do you have a plastic bag?”
After sorting Xiao’s laundry issue out, he sat down with Zhongli at the coffee table. Zhongli poured out a cup of tea and handed it to Xiao. Xiao took a sniff of the tea, immediately noting that the tea was for him to suppress any karma debt issues.
“帝君, some police officers almost detained me,” Xiao began.
“Xianyun had notified me,” Zhongli took a sip of his tea, seemingly already cooled down. “What is your plan?”
Xiao muttered, “Get a job…” Oddly enough, he felt embarrassed to admit that he needed a job. He wasn’t sure why he felt that way.
Zhongli only laughed in response. “To blend in with the norm, I see?” Then, he calmed down. “How about your duty?”
“I am… trying to figure it out,” Xiao admitted. Truthfully, he only knew the risks to occupations, not how to do well in a career. “The police officers told me to get a lawyer by tomorrow morning.”
Zhongli looked at Xiao. “That may be the right move, however I do not have any contacts of lawyers.”
“I have some in mind,” Xiao held up his cup and took a sip. “I don’t know how to solve the job issue.”
“How about a bodyguard job?” Zhongli suggested. “Being a bodyguard would mean putting your life at risk, similar to protecting Liyue. It is not necessary to kill. With this job, you are still serving as a protector of Liyue and blending in with the norm by having a job.”
“I understand,” Xiao took a last sip of tea before getting up. “Thank you, 帝君, for your guidance.”
“It’s Zhongli, now,” Zhongli smiled.
Xiao packed up, waved goodbye to Zhongli and left his house.
“Xiao…”
Xiao stopped in his tracks. That voice…
“Xiao…!”
He turned around to be greeted by an old friend. An old friend with the brightest sunshine smile, and the warmest hugger.