Chapter 98: All Threads, No Flesh
Herbalist Gui stood behind the counter, carefully sorting medicinal herbs and marking them.
Recently, strange things had been happening at Bubu Pharmacy. For instance, his medicine pot seemed to have been used by someone. Although the culprit had cleaned it meticulously, Herbalist Gui could still tell it had been used.
Thankfully, there wasn't any strange smell left inside—on the contrary, there was a faint fragrance. It wasn't the usual scent of herbs but rather something more like a spice.
Then there was his boss, Baizhu.
Earlier that day at the Liyue Harbor, Herbalist Gui had encountered a merchant from Mondstadt selling plump, ripe Sunsettias. Fresh from the rain, the Sunsettias looked round and glossy, so appetizing that he couldn't resist buying a few pounds for Baizhu to try.
But when Baizhu saw the Sunsettias, his expression turned as stiff as if he was suffering from constipation.
The next thing Herbalist Gui knew, he had been assigned the tedious and mind-numbing task of sorting herbs.
Sigh, life is full of hardships.
The only consolation was that the frogs in the courtyard had become quieter compared to the previous day. Perhaps they had followed the water flow and left? Maybe.
Another thing that was bothering him was the new patient, who wasn't behaving properly.
Every day, that patient would take Qiqi and squat by the koi pond, endlessly counting the fish.
If that were all, it wouldn't be too bad. From the way Qiqi seemed to enjoy squatting beside him, she even appeared to be having fun.
But if only he didn't drool while watching the koi, that would be much better.
Wait… could he have used my medicine pot to cook the koi?
Feeling uneasy, Herbalist Gui went to count the koi after Bai Luo returned to the pharmacy with Qiqi. Fortunately, all the koi were still there, including the plumpest one, which was lazily hiding under a lotus leaf.
However, the pond was missing a few lotus pods.
Maybe some passerby picked them? he thought. Oh well, they aren't that valuable. As long as the koi are safe, it's fine.
Qiqi was a good girl. Bai Luo had realized that in the modern world before.
While others didn't want Qiqi, he had desperately hoped to draw her, even sinking over a hundred pulls into the standard banner for her.
In the end, three Skyward Atlases came first before Qiqi finally arrived.
Now, after meeting Qiqi in person, he found her even more endearing.
No matter how many Sunsettias he brought out, Qiqi would eat them all without ever complaining that they were sour. She even said they were delicious, which made Bai Luo feel a bit embarrassed.
So embarrassed that he shoved the half-eaten Sunsettia from Qiqi into his mouth.
So sour...
Then he remembered—Qiqi couldn't taste anything.
Life at Bubu Pharmacy was much calmer than before, even quieter than his time at Wangshu Inn.
Every day, aside from watching koi with Qiqi, Bai Luo didn't have much else to do. Baizhu, upon learning his full name, had deliberately restricted his movements.
But Bai Luo didn't care. If he really wanted to leave, no one could stop him—not even the Geo Archon himself.
...
"..."
Opening his eyes, Bai Luo saw Zhongli standing in front of him with a gentle smile. Behind him floated a glowing Vortex Vanquisher.
"Good... good morning."
Bai Luo, who had been lounging on the bed with one leg crossed, immediately lay flat. His previously healthy complexion paled visibly at an alarming speed, and his lips even started peeling in patches, making him look half-dead.
"How are your injuries?"
Zhongli asked while casually eating lotus seeds that Bai Luo had peeled earlier. The glowing spear behind him didn't disappear.
"Not bad. Just over eighty stitches."
"...Three wounds took over eighty stitches?"
Zhongli paused his snacking and looked at Bai Luo with a strange expression.
"One wound needed eighty stitches."
As he spoke, Bai Luo lifted his shirt, revealing his abdomen.
Good heavens, while others lift their shirts to reveal abs, Bai Luo lifts his shirt, and all you see are stitches.
At a glance, it was all stitches—there wasn't a trace of flesh to be seen.
"..."
Behind him, the glowing Vortex Vanquisher slowly faded away.
Forget it. He couldn't win this.
"You, busy as you are, still found time to visit me?" Bai Luo asked cautiously.
Only after the spear disappeared did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. At least now he wasn't worried about getting beaten up.
At the same time, he found it curious. Wasn't Childe investigating Zhongli over the past few days? Yet here Zhongli was, taking the time to "visit" him at Bubu Pharmacy.
"As the God of Contracts, there's nothing more important to me than a contract. I came to see your condition and determine whether you can continue to fulfill our agreement."
Zhongli spoke formally, but he knew full well this contract would likely remain on hold.
Looking at Bai Luo's patchwork state, even if Zhongli wanted to fight him, he'd hesitate to strike.
Seeing those dense stitches, unless someone had a deep-seated vendetta, who could bring themselves to hit him?
"And what's your judgment?" Bai Luo asked tentatively.
"If I wanted to kill you, I could do it anytime," Zhongli replied with a smile.
As he said, he was still the Archon of Liyue, and everything in Liyue was under his protection. If Bai Luo's actions—no matter how minor—were deemed a threat to Liyue, Zhongli could act.
For example, if he slammed a door too hard or accidentally peed on some grass...
But Zhongli wouldn't kill Bai Luo.
If the Tsaritsa could see Bai Luo's potential, how could he not? Perhaps this young man represented one of the many possibilities for the future.
Like the branches of a tree, each extending limb held infinite potential. Not only would Zhongli spare Bai Luo, but he'd also ensure he thrived.
After finishing the lotus seeds, Zhongli tossed the shells into the nearby trash bin and reached for a fruit platter containing three Sunsettias.
These weren't placed there by Bai Luo—they were Qiqi's doing.
"Um... Mr. Zhong, those fruits..." Bai Luo hesitated as he watched Zhongli's actions.
"It's just fruit. At most, I'll send someone to deliver a few crates to you later," Zhongli said, glancing at Bai Luo without much concern.
It's just Sunsettias. They're common wild fruits; it's not like I haven't eaten them before. What's the big deal?
The Sunsettia entered Zhongli's mouth. His expression froze for a moment, and after swallowing the fruit with an audible gulp, he waited three seconds before asking in a slightly trembling voice:
"What... kind of Sunsettia is this? A Mondstadt variant of the Konda Fruit? A crossbreed with Inazuma's Tenkabuto Melon? Why... why does it taste so strange?"
"I don't think it's a matter of variety," Bai Luo replied after genuinely pondering for a few seconds.
To this day, he still didn't understand why Sunsettias from the same tree were sweet for others but sour for him.
From the same vendor's stall, others got sweet fruit, but what he bought was sour.
Could the universe be targeting him?
"I'll send you some sweet ones next time," Zhongli said as he silently put the Sunsettia back on the plate.
However, his thoughts were changing.
From a rational standpoint, while killing this kid wasn't an option, leaving him half-dead... that seemed doable, didn't it?
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