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When Kong and Ying finally regained their lost memories, they were overwhelmed with relief. For a long while, the siblings did nothing but hug each other tightly. After several lifetimes, they were at last truly reunited.
The travellers wandered around for a short while, before they resorted to joining the Abyss Order once again. The Abyss was a dimension that defied most natural principles. In that space, they would not have to worry about the flow of time, nor erosion. They also would not age, nor feel hungry, sleepy or tired.
Most importantly, while the Abyss was toxic to normal inhabitants in Teyvat, outlanders like them were immune to its effect.
On the other hand, they did not wish to become the leaders of the Order like what they used to do in the past. Since they were already reunited, they solely wanted to chill, staying on the sideline as humble members rather than stressing themselves out with responsibilities.
“Are you sure about that, Your Highnesses?” Enjou had given them a look of doubt when they shared their decision with him. “You two don’t seem like the type who can sit still.”
“We will be fine.” Ying said confidently, until she wasn't confident anymore.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
Even though the siblings assumed it would take a long time to talk things out with each other, they had a lot of time on their hands, several centuries to be exact.
Soon enough, it felt as if they were never separated in the first place. While the twins did not necessarily hold the same opinion all the time, it was no different than how it used to be.
Then, just like what Enjou predicted, they became bored.
“...Let’s become leaders again then.”
“Okay.”
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
Few months after snatching the leader position back from Enjou, the twins still found themselves bored to death.
Each of them used to single-handedly handle the leadership of the Abyss Order. Obviously, there would be less work when they had another person to share the responsibilities. Besides, dealing with the Divine was a tricky matter. Sometimes they must wait centuries before an opportunity arose.
As a result, the outlanders had no choice but to return to the same old mission of looking for things to do.
“Wanna fight Azhdaha?”
“Sure.”
“Wanna vandalise Tenshukaku?”
“Let's go.”
Looking for things to do on their own was challenging. Hence, Kong and Ying eventually came up with a brilliant idea of setting up an underground information guild. That way, people would come and give them things to do instead.
‘Remnant’ was the name they picked for their two-man organisation. It was fitting of their cause, and also incited less adverse reaction than the original idea of ‘Fu*kCelestial’.
Thanks to the knowledge the outlanders had accumulated over several lifetimes, ‘Remnant’ quickly became famous within the underground information network.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
"...One thousand mora."
The pair of adventurers, a man and a woman, wore an identical scowl upon hearing the outrageous fee from Kong. At the time, one thousand mora was worth a fortune.
"One hundred for the information alone," the man bargained. "We don’t need any transport or accommodation."
Ying adjusted her facemask as she spoke, "one thousand is only for the information fee, Sir Roland. We cannot find you accommodation on the road to the Abyss, can we?"
Roland did not seem too surprised that they knew his identity. 'Remnant' had quite a reputation for securing information nobody else could. It took him and Lady Rosalyne a lot of trouble to even get a chance to speak to two of their agents. In fact, if they could afford that sort of money, Lady Rosalyne would probably pay them without a second thought.
“Please… This is really important to us.” Rosalyne tried begging the young strangers clad in black. “Can we speak to your guild master? I’m sure we can negotiate something with them…”
She had no idea that she was already speaking to said guild masters. Kong and Ying did not correct her.
Instead, Kong advised the two Mondstadtens. “We understand your feelings, but you shouldn’t be hasty. If you wish to get the information, gather more people to chip in and join your cause. No matter how many people you bring along, we assure you the charge remains the same."
"But what if we-"
"One thousand mora, or you may try your luck somewhere else." Ying cut in and concluded the discussion, much to the disappointment of their prospect customers.
Providing the information was never an issue to the twin travellers. After all, they could open a new gate to the Abyss and close it whenever they wished. Nonetheless, they knew Roland and Rosalyne's fates, so there was no point in rushing it.
Later on, just like they expected, Roland perished shortly after he stepped foot inside the old capital of Khaenri’ah. His soul then sworn its loyalty to the Abyss upon finding out the true origin of the monsters he once sworn to erase. On the other hand, Rosalyne sacrificed her soul to the Crimson Flame.
“Pierro, there is someone we think you may want to take in.”
“Oh?”
Back then, Snezhnaya was still one of the poorer nations. Otherwise, the twins would have charged the First Harbinger so much mora for the referral.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
The Guild business was going well. Nonetheless, the travellers' life was never free of issues. One day, they came back to the Abyss to find Harold the Abyss Herald and a bunch of Abyss Mages reenacting a scene from the Khaenri'ah war, with the addition of the small mountain of empty wine bottles surrounding them.
They beat all of them to a pulp before scolding Enjou, who was watching the scene of disaster from the side. “How did you get all these wine crates?... Did you break the Treasury?!”
Enjou had the gall to act innocent. “Your Highnesses, it's a shared Treasury. I did nothing wrong, since I never use the fund for my own benefit.”
The Abyss leaders shouted back in unison. “But that’s for Emergency Use!”
Enjou shrugged. “What kind of emergency can we have here?... My Prince and Princess, the mora is just rotting in there, and they will only lose value as time passes by. Better spend it as soon as possible.”
It was Ying’s turn to look surprised. “You know what inflation is?”
Enjou sounded delightful. “Of course! I read about that in an economic book written by Rex Lapis!”
In times like this, Kong and Ying wished they still had their multidimensional inventory with them. Even though they still maintained their power, they had lost those bags after the encounter with the sustainers.
After that, although the travellers attempted many different ways to hide their ‘hard-earned’ mora, Enjou or the other members would always find it. Hence, Kong and Ying had no choice but to become the breadwinners of the entire organisation. The purpose of 'Remnant' evolved from a trivial way for the two travellers to kill time, to a crucial business for the Abyss Order.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
Occasionally when the twins were bored, they recalled debts from ages ago which they had forgotten to collect.
One other day, they remembered what Pierro owed them and decided it was time to rob the Fatui. The Snezhnayan economy had finally picked up after Pantalone was recruited under the Tsaritsa’s wings.
In order to buy themselves time to commit the act of thievery, they needed to create a distraction. Hence, after some consideration, the siblings sneaked into the Snezhnaya’s City Jail and released a bunch of political criminals.
Somehow, they ran right into Diluc Ragnvindr, the sole heir of the Mondstadt’s Dawn Winery, who was being locked up for the crime of betrayal and infiltrating the Fatui for vengeance.
“You,” Diluc said, looking at the suspicious individuals clad in black from head to toe. “Who are you?”
The twins did not sweat under the gaze of the fiery prisoner. They could knock him out if he tried to be a pain, though— shouldn’t this man just be happy with getting a free jailbreak and let them off?
Kong decided to admit truthfully, “Look. We’ve got to go… Kinda on schedule to rob the Fatui Treasury right now.”
Somehow, that did the trick. Diluc paused for a second, then quietly stepped aside to let them through. The twin outlanders thought that was that. They would steal a big bag of mora and then went on their merry way back to the Abyss. Instead, they ended up with an accomplice.
“Why do you follow us, master Ragnvindr?” Ying felt the need to point out, “You’re loaded.”
Diluc deadpanned. “I’m not stealing because I need the mora.”
The Abyss twins didn’t care as long as they got their money bag, so they let Diluc do whatever and went ahead to hoard a big sum of mora. They could have stolen everything, but they did not want the Fatui to hold too big of a grudge.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
Having an accessory turned out to be more beneficial than they expected. The Fatui put all the blame on Diluc for both the prison break and the mora heist, even declaring him a “persona non-grata”. The Dawn Winery heir was effectively banned from Snezhnaya territory while the travellers got off scot-free.
“Great. Now that he is returning to Mondstadt, we’ll no longer have to deliver your shitty letters.” Kong remarked when he delivered the good news to Kaeya.
The Cavalry Captain raised a brow. “Why are you saying that as if you aren’t charging an outrageous service fee for those ‘shitty’ letters?”
Ying mirrored his expression. “Why are you complaining like you aren’t also part of our Guild?”
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
A few months later, the twins were surprised to receive a letter from the Ninth of the Fatui Harbinger asking for a secret meeting with them. They also noted that the letter was addressed to the masters of ‘Remnant’, their underground information guild, rather than the leaders of the Abyss Order. Their first thought was that he wanted to ask for the mora they had stolen… but it was unlikely that Pierro would have snitched on them.
“You look a lot younger than what I expected,” Pantalone said. “I’ve heard quite a few things about you two. It’s a pleasure!”
“Likewise, Mister Regrator,” Kong said, taking Pantalone’s handshake while silently hoping the guy would stop smiling soon. It gave him a terrible foreboding feeling, like they were going to lose all their money.
“I suppose you are the type who prefers to get straight to the business,” Pantalone maintained his polite smile and cut to the chase. “I’m here to post a few commissions.”
Internally, the twins let out a relief sigh. It did not sound like he was aware about their actual affiliation.
“Excellent! What would you like us to do for you?”
Pantalone, still smiling, reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a few paper cards to give to the information agents. The very first card was a photo of Pierro.
“Let’s start with bounty requests. None of the targets are easy, but that’s precisely why I have sought you out.” Pantalone said calmly.
This guy wants us dead— the twins synchronously concluded.
Most of the photos were either Harbingers or members from within the Fatui. It was probably the reason why Pantalone needed an external guild to do the dirty work.
“...We understand your frustration against your colleagues,” Ying said, indirectly confirming that they knew the identity of all the targets in those pictures, “but you must have heard that we do not accept assassination requests?”
The Ninth Harbinger let out an exaggerated sigh. “So I’ve heard…”
His smile came back just as quickly, however. Pantalone placed his chin on his hand and leaned closer to whisper to the young-looking guild masters. “But assassination isn’t the only way to get rid of these targets. You just need to help me find out if they had broken any of the Fatui Code of Conduct and they would be as good as dead.”
He was speaking as if he was not the one violating the Fatui's code right then. Of course, Kong Ying would never reveal it to anyone, including Pierro, since customer confidentiality was the basis for running a long term business. They were only a little surprised that the Regrator would trust them not to sell him out.
“You will be very generously compensated.” The Regrator promised, writing a little note on his palm before showing it to the travellers. The twins’ eyes almost jumped out of their sockets upon seeing the shocking figures. “I have to make sure that you know the priority, in case someone else was foolish enough to place a reverse bounty on myself.”
The price was still not enough to make them throw Pierro under the bus, but it was definitely not the last time the twin outlanders agreed to form personal contact with a Fatui member other than their old acquaintance.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
After Pantalone, a few other Harbingers also commissioned ‘Remnant’. Sandrone put a bounty on Tartaglia without disclosing the reason, though Ying was willing to bet it had to do with him stealing some of her machines to give to his little brother. There was also Scaramouche who just wanted everyone dead.
The only person the travellers rejected outright was Dottore, because that guy was simply insane. It was quite tiring to keep rejecting all the ten of him however.
Luckily, most of the Fatui had no idea that the twins were the leaders of the Abyss Order. Other than Pierro, there was only one other Harbinger who was firmly aware of their connection with the Abyss. Thankfully, he was someone who much preferred to settle his grudges himself. Unfortunately, it did not mean that he would kindly leave Kong and Ying alone.
“Long time no see. How are my little buddies doing?”
As usual, Tartaglia found it impossible not to run his mouth during their impromptu sparring sessions. Kong should never have agreed to this, but it was therapeutic to beat his ass. The offer for free lunch after each duel was a cherry on top.
“Too bad. Your height doesn't help make your archer form less of a dog sh*t.” Kong shot back.
Childe doesn't lose his smile. “Aww... But that’s precisely why I must master it—”
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
“We need new recruits.”
Kong announced one day as he sat down on the seat opposite of Kaeya. Ying lazily strutted in after him and ordered two orange juices from the bar. Charles looked mildly insulted.
“Why?” Kaeya asked.
Kong answered in a hushed tone. “Business is booming. We need more hands on deck.”
“The backlogs are piling up. Both of us are swamped.” Ying added in as she settled on the other seat beside Kaeya. “If the requests are just for gathering information, we can leave some of them to you. But there are things that require people who are— more hands-on, and with a lower profile than a captain of the Knight of Favonius.”
She ignored Kaeya’s pointed look and scribbled a long string of codes on a piece of paper. “Here, see if you can source out anyone reliable who fits this profile.”
“Hmph.” Kaeya skimmed over the list, before a sly smirk reappeared on his face. “Stealth type… I might know just the person.”
He introduced Rosaria to them in the next meeting. The sister threw a rather sceptical look at Kong and Ying’s mummy-like get-up, though she was smart enough to never pry into their identity.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
Other than Rosaria, the twins also acquired a few other ‘contract workers’.
“Hmmm…” Shenhe looked at the twins blankly, though she sounded quite interested. “I just need to obtain this item and pass it to you in exchange for a month's supply of Qingxin flowers?”
The item was being heavily guarded by treasure hoarders so no one would be able to simply “obtain” it, but she got the point.
“Yes.” Ying confirmed before reminding the exorcist again. “You must also make sure that everything is kept a secret, because that’s the requirement from our client.”
“I got it.”
Later that day, Shenhe came to visit Cloud Retainer.
“Master, I found a job in Liyue Harbour.” She told the Adeptus. “So you needn't worry if you don’t see me roaming the mountains as often.”
Cloud Retainer replied. “One is most happy to hear that, Shenhe. It looks like you are finally able to blend in with your human kin.”
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
Despite Kong and Ying’s hard work over the centuries, their mora fund continued to leak like an uncontrollable waterfall. Enjou and the Abyss Order members’ impulse spending was one thing, but even all the small treasure chests they sowed in the wild for emergency purposes had been disappearing at an alarming rate.
“Childe, did you steal the five hundred thousand mora chest we kept at the Liyue Northland Bank?”
“A mora chest!?” Tartaglia certainly did not look like he had heard anything about that. “Why in the name of the Tsaritsa would you keep your mora at my office location?”
Meanwhile, two tiny blonde travellers let out a cute sneeze in unison, blowing away the hilichurl who was fighting them.
“Oh! Another treasure chest!!” Aether cheered, running up to the wooden box hidden in one corner of a random cave. There was no lock on these particular chests. They were also not kept behind any complicated mechanisms, nor guarded by treasure hoarders or Fatui.
“I wonder who could have put these at such obvious places.”
