QIQI WAS A good friend of yours for many years before her death, so when you heard that she had been turned into a zombie by Rex Lapis and the other gods, you were determined to find her and see if she remembered you. She probably wouldn't, as zombies always had memory issues, but you might as well try, right?

You heard that she was in Liyue Harbor, working at the Bubu Pharmacy, so you left where you lived in Qingce Village and walked all the way to Liyue Harbor. It took many days, and you were exhausted when you finally got to a mountain that overlooked Liyue, so you laid down in the long, tickling grass and ended up actually falling asleep for quite a long while.

When you opened your eyes, you noticed that it was nighttime, and lights were shining below you as tourists and other native people of Liyue who enjoyed hanging out at night milled about in the city. You heard footsteps from behind you, and your catalyst- which was just an old book filled with children's stories that you had put the energy of your vision into- materialized over your hands. You weren't going to attack anyone just yet, though, just in case it happened to be a friendly city liver wandering around in the mountains.

When the footsteps got close enough, you could see the silhouette of a small figure approaching you. Assuming that it was a child, you called out, "Are you lost, child? The city is right down there!"

A soft, listless, yet emotionless voice responded to you, a voice that you dimly recognized.

"Qiqi is not lost. Qiqi is looking for a cocogoat."

"Qiqi? Are you really her?" you asked, shocked that you could find your old friend so easily.

"I think so..." the silhouette responded. "I mean, I'm pretty sure. I could always be wrong, though."

You shot a blast of fire out from your catalyst to light the area up a little more, and when the fire flew past the small silhouette, you noticed Qiqi, looking the way she had looked when you saw her for the last time so many years ago, cowering in a corner, away from the flames. She had a cryo vision on her hat, which was probably why she hated the fire. A cryo vision was an odd vision to hold for her, though, as her cause of death was being frozen in below zero temperatures. Apparently the gods had a twisted sense of humor.

"Oh gosh, it really is you!" you exclaimed. "I'm L/N Y/N, your old friend! Remember me?"

Qiqi scratched her head and played with the golden talisman above her head for a while before responding, "A little... but not much. We were good friends before I died, right?"

Your heart broke a little, but you gave the child a smile and responded, "Yes, we were best friends. I know that I'm an adult now, and you're still a child, but I would love to be friends with you again."

Qiqi gave you a cute little smile and said, "That would make me very happy. I might forget about you though... If I do, I'm sorry."

"I wouldn't care," you responded honestly. "Now, let's get you back to the Bubu Pharmacy. The proprietor must be worried about you being out so late."

"Master Baizhu is a nice man... Qiqi would not want to worry him," Qiqi said. "Let's go back and make him not worried again."

As a habit, you held your hand out for her to take, so you could run together like you did as kids. You were about to pull it away and apologize for your childlike state of mind, when you felt Qiqi put her small hand in yours. You were shocked by how cold her skin was, but then you realized that her body was probably still in the conditions it was when she died. You tried to not make a big deal out of it, and went down the mountain, carrying Qiqi on your back so that she wouldn't have to climb the mountain (if you didn't know, Qiqi died from falling down a mountain and being stuck there in freezing temperatures while she was injured) and be afraid. Carrying her on your back slowed you down, but not much. She didn't weigh that much, and you were a fast climber. You got down the mountain and into Liyue Harbor pretty fast. Now you just had to find Bubu Pharmacy.

Qiqi pointed to a flight of stairs in the distance that led up to a large, open building, with lights shining from it, which was probably a sign that someone there was either awake or working.

"There's the pharmacy," she said. "Master Baizhu leaves lights on in the night to guide me back there if I forget where it is."

You smiled at the kindness of this Baizhu. He seemed like a person that you would like to be friends with, or possibly even more, if he was handsome.

"Let's go there, shall we?" you said, kneeling down so that Qiqi could slide off of your back. She took your hand once again, and although her body was cold, you felt warmth radiating through your body, starting and stopping at your heart, when she held your hand. It was just like the old days...

Together, you walked through the harbor city, examining the many stalls and stores that were set up along the streets. This place wasn't orderly, like your hometown of Qingce Village. In Qingce Village, everything, even the gardens, were set up according to a certain preordained order. You felt refreshed in this chaos, and were surprised to find that you enjoyed being in Liyue Harbor more than you enjoyed being in your hometown, which you had lived in all of your life.

Qiqi dragged on your hand to stop you once you had reached the stairs, and told you that she could get the rest of the way yourself, and that you should go rest. You refused to leave her side. You hadn't seen her for more than ten years. You needed to spend as much as time with her as you could before you left her, and probably couldn't see her for another ten years. You told her this, and she seemed saddened by your words. Nevertheless, she kept her stoic expression, and gave you her hand again, letting you walk to the pharmacy together.

When you entered the pharmacy, you were greeted by a tall, slender, and thoroughly eccentric looking man. He had long green hair that went down to his waist, which he had tied up in a long braid, and he was wearing what looked like a white dress shirt that had been cut in half. He was only wearing the top part, and he was wearing some strange flowing white pants that seemed to be the partner to the half a shirt that he was wearing. He had a dendro vision hanging from a golden belt around his waist, and a white snake was wrapped around his neck, blinking its purple eyes and flicking its pink tongue out at you.

"Enough, Changsheng. This person with Qiqi is good. She brought her home to me," the man said.

He had a strange voice, reedy and soulful. You were suspicious of him, and you didn't want Qiqi to be anywhere near him. You dragged Qiqi back and pulled her close to your chest, giving her a hug. She immediately wrapped her short arms around your waist, and didn't let go, holding as tightly as she possibly could. You knew that she somehow could sense that you disliked the man, and that was enough for her to want to protect you.

"This is Master Baizhu," she told you in a quiet voice. "He won't hurt Qiqi. Please, let go of me."

You were loath to let her go, but when the snake Changsheng hissed at you and Baizhu didn't tell her to stop, you knew that he wouldn't mind taking her from you by force. So you let go of Qiqi, and she rushed directly into Baizhu's arms. He folded his body around her and said, "Don't run off so late next time, darling. You might encounter weird people, like this person. They brought you home, but I'm afraid that wasn't their original objective for you."

"Y/N is my friend!" Qiqi protested. "We were friends before I died, and they're nice! They would never try to hurt me, or do anything mean to me! And that's true!"

Baizhu laughed out loud at Qiqi's confidence. She had never spoken out like this before. Evidently, she did trust you.

He looked you over, and came to the consensus that you weren't a danger to his little Qiqi. You looked about as weak as he was, and considering the fact that he had an incurable sickness that made him weak and skinny, that was pretty weak. You were also decently attractive, and he didn't want to do anything that would ruin your pretty face. So he simply smiled at you and said, "Thank you for bringing my precious little Qiqi home. You may come here and see her anytime you wish... Y/N."

You began to trust this man a little more, due to his kindness. You rewarded him for it with a beautiful smile, and responded, "I will come to see her again as soon as I can. Goodbye, Qiqi. Have a good night, Baizhu."

As you walked out, you heard Qiqi's soft voice saying, "Qiqi will never forget you."

Those kind words brought you to tears. You turned back to see both Qiqi and Baizhu waving goodbye, and you were filled with the compulsion to run back to your old friend, throw your arms around her, and cry about how much she mattered to you.

But you just turned around silently and continued on your way out of Liyue Harbor.