trouvaille | xiao ??

"Tale of Meiying, Tale of Meiying. Oh, beautiful flower. May you find your owner." Xiao swore he could hear someone sing the song he had not heard for a couple of hundred years. The exact tale that had left him with millions of unanswered questions, that his curious self deep down wanted to know the answers.

The Adepti remembered that Lord Barbatos-- who had taken the form of a young bard-- had sung the song to him. He was also the one who had given him the book, which he had read after so many pleads from the God.

"Guardian of Yaksha, conqueror of demons, what have I done to deserve a visit from the Adeptus, who is destined to protect Liyue?" Barbatos teasingly asked the man, who remained stoic.

"You may call me Xiao, Lord Barbatos." He had answered, before taking out the book the God had given to him before. "I have come to return this book. I no longer need it, and wish to give it back to you."

The God smiled, the corner of his eyes crinkling. "Then, you may call me Venti, Xiao." He took out his instrument, strumming it softly. "Would you like to hear a song?"

"If I stay for a while to hear this song, would you accept and take this book back?"

Venti grins. "No promises."

Then, he sang the song.

Xiao frowned in distaste as he remembered the memory. The God never took back the book, and instead, gave him another copy and told him to bury it under a huge golden tree he would find in Liyue. "Give it to someone you find intriguing in the future, maybe then, you'll find your answers." The God had told him while singing.

Though, Xiao never understood his words and instead, shook the questions off his head once again. Lord Barbatos was full of riddles, and if he intended to solve them, he would just be wasting his time.

And so, Xiao watched the people of Liyue, protecting them from the shadows, as he always did. It was his duty, after all.

"I've been to Mondstadt a few days ago and it is true, their God had completely abandoned them! Stormterror had also left them!" He heard one merchant say. "But I luckily managed to chop off a scale from the dragon! And of course, I will be selling it for a fair price."

"Stop lying! Everyone here knows that the so-called scale you have from the dragon is nothing but a fake! I, for one, know all of this for I am the one who has the real scale!" Another merchant chimed in.

Xiao watched the two merchants fight, sighing. Stupid mortals. He leaned over the balcony, taking a look at his surroundings. For any other person, they would be amazed at the sight. But for Xiao, who have seen this view over a million times, no longer felt captivated by its beauty.

A few miles away from where Xiao was, stood a girl who was currently pasting the missing person posters. She had decided to start it early in the morning, in hopes that she would finish right before Aether wakes up. It was her way of saying thanks to him for allowing her to join his adventure.

Lumine.

It was the name of the person the traveler was looking for. Y/N took note of the details he had written on the poster. I'll help you find your sister.

She continued to sing the song she was singing since a while ago, failing to notice that her singing had wakened up a lone ruin guard.

"Tale of Meiying, Tale of Meiying. Oh, beautiful flower. May you find your happy ending." Ironically, it was not ending happily for her.

She turned around, only to see the ruin guard a few meters away from her, ready to attack. She had no weapons with her, and even if she did, the ruin guard would have ended up winning either way. And so she shrieked, squatting down as she covered her head, preparing herself for the impact.

I guess I'll never be able to explore Teyvat.

She waited, and waited. But the impact never came.

Huh?

She took her hands off her head, slowly opening her eyes to see what had happened. The ruin guard was nowhere to be seen. And instead, she had found a young man who had his back turned on her.

He glanced at her from the side, slightly glaring at the female who was staring at him with her mouth gaped open.

"AND THEN, THEY FOUND EACH OTHER."