"I learned something new!" I smiled, walking backward while looking at Zhongli. Xiao and Childe walked beside him, curious as to what I was going to say.
"Is that so? What is it?" Zhongli cups his chin, pondering.
"You were the one who did that to me, weren't you?" My smile faded. "Why did you do it?"
It was a hunch, but if he replied then that would confirm it.
"It was inevitable and necessary." He responded and I gritted my teeth. He really did do it.
He almost chopped my neck in half during the festival and he claims it as inevitable and necessary!? He has to be joking!
"Also, correction. It was not me who did it. I assigned someone else to do it."
"What are you guys talking about? Let me in!" Childe whines, confused as to what we were talking about. Xiao only stayed silent as he looked between Zhongli and me. He probably had an idea of what we were discussing, since he dragged Childe away from us.
I'll have to thank him with tofu for that.
Anyway, I assumed that the man was probably Zhongli after Ganyu told me that she spotted him there. Master was the first person I saw after I woke up, so it shouldn't be a far-fetched guess to say that he was also the last person I saw before I was sealed away.
However, to think that he would assign someone else to do it for him...
Now all that remains is why?
"Hmm... then what about the contract?" I suddenly remembered what he said the first time we met. I broke a contract and he was there to punish me.
"That comes later. First, find out more about the incident." He smiles.
"Why won't you tell me already!?" I groaned. "I'm already running out of clues!"
"Not at all." He chuckles, holding out a hand to me. I took it with puffed cheeks. "You still have another Adeptus that is older than you, remember?"
"Another one of my co-workers?" I sighed, racking the few brain cells I have left. "Hmm... AH! Madame Ping!" I exclaimed, grinning at the thought of the woman. The last time I saw her, she was a beautiful middle-aged woman.
"She's always at Yujing Terrace. You know what to do, I believe?" Zhongli gently holds my hand with care. I blushed at his warm touch and nodded.
"But why won't you tell me directly...?" I mumbled, feeling irritated. If he told me everything then I might have been able to remember everything much faster than now.
"Recollecting past memories isn't that easy and the process of me telling you everything isn't efficient. You should meet old acquaintances and experiences." He says and I fear that he might begin lecturing me like old times.
"Hmph, fine," I grumbled.
"Childish." He laughs. "Well... it's also because I want you to come back."
"I'm already here though?" I quirked a brow.
"Your previous self... was much more cheery and happy than in the present." His eyes wrinkles in pain and I felt his pain in my heart. With clenched fists, I slowly released the tight clench and cupped the man's cheek with determined eyes.
"I don't understand why you look like that but I will regain my memories and once I do, the Y/n you knew before will be there but this Y/n will stay as well!"
"... yeh." He was surprised but replied as I squished his cheeks. They were pretty fun to play with.
"Hehe." I squeezed the flesh and he stared lamely at my antics. "Hmm... I'll go meet Madame Ping tomorrow. Let's go home!" I dragged him home.
Meanwhile, the passerbys' were blushing at how eager I was to drag Zhongli home.
-
"The glaze lilies are still as fragrant and beautiful as they were before," I commented, brushing my fingers against the flower petals. The lady next to me chuckles and remains silent, watching my hand stroking the flowers softly.
"Indeed they are. What brings you here, Y/n?" Madame Ping smiles at me, which I kindly returned. Her presence reminded me that of a mother's. It was reassuring and warm.
"I... lost a chunk of my memories. Some fragments are clear and some are blackened. I need your help to enlighten me." I laughed, scratching my head.
"Now that is certainly not good at all. I'm not sure if I can help just by telling you so I will transfer some of my memories of you." She placed a hand on my head and I slightly bowed down to make it easier for her.
"Close your eyes, child."
I complied and the same sensation in my mind returned, just like it had when Xiao performed the ritual on me.
"Master! You are hurt..."
"Oh, what a handsome gentleman we have here. Care to spend some time with us?"
"I can't bear it any longer... what do I do, Xiao?"
"Roughed diamond, shining and attractive, you make everyone go blind in madness. I crave for you in the shadows, but in the end, the dark remains in hiding...hahaha..."
"Master... let's play a game!"
With a gasp, I froze in shock at the detailed memories that intruded my mind forcibly. The intake was much stronger than what Xiao had given me. Madame Ping... she was truly amazing.
Not only had she remembered so much, but the memories were also clear. She somehow captured the private conversations that no one should've heard, which was suspicious but it benefitted me anyway.
"Madame..." I whispered before falling, my consciousness slowly fading.
A pair of strong arms took me from behind and the woman stood before me with a smile. Even though I was carried by someone else who I couldn't see, that smile from her was all I needed.
Madame Ping was truly not your typical grandmother enjoying the flowers on a sunny day.
YOU ARE READING
Contract | Zhongli
Fanfiction「 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑, 𝐋𝐄𝐓'𝐒 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘 𝐀 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄! 」 She was once revered as Rex Lapis's most devoted Adeptus. No one would have expected her to break a contract with her own master. However, the moment she finally opened her mouth, everything went so...
