Chapter Text
Your heart was pounding in your chest as you sprinted from the Courthouse through Liyue Harbour to the Bubu Pharmacy. People turned to stare, open-mouthed at the well-dressed woman who was running barefoot on the cobbles, your high-heels in your hand. Your heartbeat was rushing in your ears as much as the air as you went as fast as your legs could take you. The muscles in your thighs were starting to hurt as you raced flat-out, but the adrenaline coursing through your system carried you forward, along with your unwavering determination.
Now on the final stretch, you were filled with dread as you saw the steps of Pharmacy, looming like a mountain. But you blithely skipped up two steps at a time, hitching your skirt up so as not to obstruct your legs. Herbalist Gui looked up in surprise as you entered the shop like a whirlwind, your hair in disarray and your formal attire dishevelled.
You panted desperately, barely getting the words out. “Master Xiaodong.”
Herbalist Gui nodded and immediately folded back the wooden counter for you to go into the rear of the pharmacy. He led you down the dark wood-panelled corridors to Dr Baizhu’s consultation room, the only sound being your bare feet padding on the worn floorboards and your chaotic panting as you tried to get your breath back. The muscles in your chest felt stretched and tight as an elastic band as your lungs desperately tried to fill with as much air as possible. Your body was hot and clammy with sweat and your temples throbbed. You weren't used to bursts of exercise like this.
Herbalist Gui tentatively approached the door to Dr Baizhu’s consultation room and knocked. You could hear the sound of a chair scrape against the floor and light elegant footsteps approach the door. The door cracked open and Baizhu’s handsome face peered around it, an ashen expression on it as he looked at Herbalist Gui. As his eyes flicked up and he caught sight of you, he immediately schooled his features into a more neutral expression and cleared his throat.
Herbalist Gui introduced you. “Xiansheng, this is Master Xiaodong’s business partner.”
Baizhu silently nodded in acknowledgement, his voice almost a whisper. “Ah. I see. Thank you for coming.”
Baizhu delicately stepped out of the consultation room into the hallway, closing the door behind him. You couldn’t help but notice he was taking great pains to obscure the view into the room. At this, your heart was seized with dread and panic.
Baizhu looked at you, an earnest and sympathetic expression in his wide amber eyes. He gently grasped your elbow and spoke in a soft soothing tone. You felt the walls of your world start to crash down as you knew what would inevitably come from his mouth.
“I’m so terribly sorry. I did everything I could.”
Your blood felt like it had turned to ice and you started to shiver with shock. A high-pitched ringing filled your ears as though a bomb has just gone off. Though your knees began to shake, your balance didn’t falter. Your eyes were wide and you looked at Baizhu in disbelief. He gently rubbed your arm.
“Come, let’s find you a quiet place to sit down for a while.”
He gently placed one hand on the small of your back and the other on your arm, enveloping you in a small blanket of comfort as he guided you down the corridor into the kitchen. Herbalist Gui pulled out a chair at the table and you sat down, as though on autopilot.
Baizhu crouched down next to your seat and smiled up at you sympathetically as Herbalist Gui started to prepare a kettle of tea.
“I know it’s a lot to take in. Take your time. Gui will make you some tea while you gather your thoughts.”
You turned your dazed face towards Baizhu and finally spoke. You could barely recognise your hollow voice as it whispered.
“Did…did he suffer?”
Baizhu swallowed and his eyes momentarily darted from yours, as though carefully choosing his words. His eyes squinted a little with a mildly anxious expression.
“It was over very quickly.” he said diplomatically. “And he was unconscious for the most part.”
You nodded slowly, almost robotically. Your stunned unfocused gaze was only broken by the sound of Herbalist Gui setting down a cup of tea and a small plate of sweets on the table next to you. You looked up at him with wide eyes.
“Thank you.”
He nodded and gave a small sympathetic smile. “The tea and sugar are good for a shock.”
Baizhu softly smiled at Gui, feeling a small sense of pride at his apprentice’s considerate manner. He then turned to you.
“You’re welcome to sit here as long as you need. We’ll leave you in privacy. There’s no rush at all.”
“Thank you.” you whispered. Baizhu gingerly stood up and silently signalled to Herbalist Gui that they both leave you alone. As he reached the door, you turned to him and, suddenly finding your voice again, called out to him.
“Dr Baizhu!”
He turned, an inquisitive expression on his face. “Yes?”
“Thank you…for trying to save his life. I know you did your best. I don’t blame you in any way.”
He smiled and shook his head. “I’m just sorry that I couldn’t have done more. But these things only leave you a very small window sometimes.”
An awkward lull filled the air, which remained laden with tension.
He continued, “But if you’d like to see him and say your final farewell before the family arrive, I can accommodate that.”
You nodded slowly. “Yes. Yes please.”
Baizhu opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. “Would you…would you like to see him now?”
You paused. You weren’t truly ready to be confronted with such a sight. But then who ever was?
Sensing your hesitation, Baizhu said tactfully, “Why don’t you take a minute while I get the room ready? You can join when I’ve finished.”
He glided out of the kitchen and you heard his footsteps fading down the corridor and the sound of his door opening. You sipped your tea in a daze, the heat taking your mouth almost by surprise. While you had no doubt that Liyue’s most famous herbalist only drank very fine tea, it was tasteless in your mouth. It was as if your brain had capsized and knocked your entire sensory capacity offline.
Your train of thought was derailed at the sound of Baizhu’s voice down the corridor.
“Gui, can you send a message please to Consultant Zhongli to arrange the collection? And please make it clear that Director Hu is not to attend under any circumstances. You know how much just the sight of her spooks Qiqi.”
“Yes, Xiansheng. I’ll do that right away.”
“Thank you.”
You then heard Baizhu’s door closing, and Herbalist Gui’s footsteps as he made his way back to the shop floor to contact the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour.
The funeral parlour.
The funeral parlour?!?!
What on earth was happening? Only a few hours ago you’d casually bid your mentor farewell as you collected your files for the morning’s cases. And now… The funeral parlour.
Your arm moved almost as if it had a mind of its own as you picked up a sweet from the plate and bit into it. Then drank a mouthful of tea. The dust was finally starting to settle in your mind, as you inhaled deeply and then slowly exhaled. The warmth was starting to return to your body and you finally blinked a few times. After you’d sat in strange empty contemplation you put your shoes on again and rose from your seat. Your footsteps rang and echoed in your empty head as you made your way back to Baizhu’s consultation room. You hesitated as your balled fist hovered over the wooden door. Then you knocked with as much determination as you could muster. Baizhu answered the door and then ushered you into the room, to say your farewells to the man who had trained you in the art of law.
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The sun was setting as you slowly staggered down the steps of the Pharmacy back to city streets. You couldn’t face going home or back to the office. So you wandered aimlessly around, floating among the bustling crowds that hummed in the harbour like a petal on the wind. Everyone seemed so full of life and oblivious to the fact that it could all snap shut at a second’s notice. The scent of food was in the air and for the first time you realised that your senses had returned. Although you had no appetite to speak of, you found your feet leading you to a street food stall on the harbourfront. You took a seat on a high stool and ordered some spicy skewers, hoping that the Jueyun Chilli might kickstart your tastebuds again.
As you slid the hot seasoned meat off the skewer between your teeth, you felt the satisfaction of the flavours filling your mouth. This was immediately followed by a pang of guilt washing through you. Your friend lay dead in Baizhu’s office and you were here enjoying a meal. You shook your head as if to banish the thoughts. You would need all the strength you could get – both physical and mental – in order to face the next phase of what was to come. Not just the grief, but handling the business. Your heart sank at the thought of the paperwork and client caseload that would now have to be reassigned. His parting meant that you were all alone. And court deadlines waited for nobody, the wheels of justice turned relentlessly without sympathy. Nevertheless, you resolved to write a pile of adjournment requests. And it would have to be done tonight. As the orange sunset bathed the Harbour, you stood up and thanked the vendor and made your way to your office to begin what you knew would be a long night’s work.
You tentatively turned the key in the silent office and stepped inside, casting your eyes from left to right over the mounds of paperwork and shelves of files. Your eyes finally alighted on Master Xiaodong’s desk. It looked as though he had just left for a tea break and would be back any minute. Just like he had looked as though he was in a peaceful sleep back at the Bubu Pharmacy. You marvelled at how the heart loved to let itself be fooled so easily.
Letting out a heavy sigh, you slowly walked to the desk and saw his writing brush and seal; the tools he’d used for so many years. You sank into his chair and your hand hovered over the brush for a while before slinking back. You decided to leave it as he had last touched it for now. Inhaling deeply, you steeled yourself for what now needed to be done and picked up his diary to see which cases were listed for the week, so that you could write the adjournment applications. As you sifted through the files and prepared the letters, the moon started to rise in the sky. A single lantern illuminated the room. But that was enough to indicate to the Fatui operatives on the street that somebody was present.
Your whole body jolted as you heard the aggressive thumping on the door. Who on earth could be knocking on the door of a law office out of hours? And so late at night. You quickly ran to the door and threw the chain over. Steadying your voice in spite of your pounding heart, you cleared your throat and, as calmly as you could muster, called out.
“Who is it? How may I help you?”
“Northland Bank. Open up.”
“Northland Bank? I believe you have the wrong address. We have no business with you.”
“I do hope you’re not suggesting we’ve made a mistake.” the voice called back. Though the voice was calm, it had suddenly taken on a more menacing tone.
Your breath quickened. In spite of your better judgment, and your gut screaming at you not to open the door, you knew deep down that you had no choice. It was the only way to get rid of them. You unlocked the door and slowly opened it at far as the chain would allow. A number of masked Fatui officers stood on the cobbles outside, their uniforms and weapons glinting under the moonlight.
You peeked out of the door to face the imposing figure looming above you.
“We…we have no business with the Northland Bank. I assure you. I’m not trying to be rude, but I think you may have the wrong address.”
“We are here to collect the balance. Or the security. It makes no difference to us which it is.”
“The…security? What are you talking about? Do you have a bailiff’s warrant?”
He huffed in exasperation and turned back to face one of his subordinates, who handed him a sheaf of paper. He shoved it in your face so that you could get a closer look.
“No warrant is required. The contract stipulates that in case of default, the balance is payable in full forthwith else the security becomes forfeit. Also forthwith.”
The blood drained out of your face as you read the document he held to your eyes. A loan contract. With the Northland Bank. For a sum you could not possibly hope to repay. And it had been signed by your now deceased partner. You recognised his seal, dancing almost jubilantly – mockingly – on the parchment in bright red ink. Your body froze for the second time that day. And yet this time around, it felt so much more chilling.
“He…he had a loan with you…? Secured on the business…?”
The Fatuus sighed and nodded his head, rolling his eyes. “Now she gets it.” he sneered condescendingly.
Your mouth fell open and your balance started to waver as the room spun around you. You gripped the doorframe for balance to steady yourself and exhaled raggedly. You felt light-headed and wondered if a heart attack would claim the second partner of the firm in twenty four hours.
“I…I need a minute.”
“Take all the time you need.” he mocked. “But not too long.” There was an edge to his voice.
You slowly closed the door and then ran to the safe. You started attempting different combinations, in increasing panic and desperation, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to break. His wife’s birthday, his daughters’ birthdays, his wedding anniversary, the year he was called to the bar. None of them were working. You finally reached breaking point and fell to your knees, bursting out in heavy sobs as you curled up on the floor.
On the other side of the door, your sobs could be heard. The Fatuus mockingly raised his eyebrows at the rest of his team with a cruel smile, to some titters, though a young subordinate was clearly uncomfortable with the scene and cast his eyes down to the cobbles at his feet.
After a moment, the Fatui leader rolled his eyes and thumped his fist on the door again.
“We don’t have all night. You have the rest of your life to cry about it.”
You looked up to the door, your chest heaving and your make up streaming down your face. You slowly tried to get back on your feet, your knees wobbling as you put weight on them. Wiping your eyes on the back of your hand you opened the door once again.
“I…I can’t get the safe open.”
“That’s because we have the code.”
“What..?” you said, your voice cracking in disbelief.
“Well you didn’t think we’d let our security slip through our fingers did you?”
He brought his face down close to yours through the gap in the door.
“Now. We can do this the easy way. Or the hard way. That’s up to you. But the hard way means it takes longer for us to get back to our firewater and card games. So I don’t really think you want to upset the crew now, do you?”
Nodding your head in resignation, you closed the door just enough to undo the chain, which almost certainly would have broken had they decided to kick the door in. You opened the door and weakly gestured to them to enter. They barged past without so much as an acknowledgement and made a beeline for the safe, opening it with ease and rifling through the contents. At the sight, you ran over and grabbed the leader's elbow.
“Hey! You don’t have the right to do that! Some of that is privileged client information!”
He turned and glared down at you and you silently shrank back, immediately loosening your grip on him and taking a faltering step backwards.
He sorted through the items until he found the copy of the loan contract and the deeds to the building. He shoved the contract into your chest.
“That what you were looking for?”
You hesitatingly accepted it and nodded meekly. Having taken what he needed, he left the remaining contents in the safe and they started to make their way to the door. Then a female subordinate grabbed your arm.
“What are you doing?!” you cried, trying to wrest your arm out of her grip.
She smiled deviously at you. “Bringing the rest of the security back to the bank.”
Your mind started to short-circuit once again. “What are you talking about?!”
“You’ll see when we get there.” she laughed melodiously as she led you out of the office, closing the door behind her.
As they purposefully marched you down the streets like an armed escort, people dodged out of their path, leaving the way clear. Your mind was in turmoil as you went up the glossy winding red stairs to the Northland Bank. With every step, the subordinate's fingers dug into your arm. The night guard opened the doors of the entrance with a flourish and you stepped into the opulent atrium for the very first time in your life. The clientele looked over at you with a mixture of surprise, sympathy and a shiver of dread, as if seeing for the first time what possible future awaited their own dealings.
The female subordinate and the leader led you up a winding staircase next to the counter and down various corridors until they reached a pair of tall lacquered ebony doors. They were ornately gilded and so glossy you could see the reflection of the three of you. You almost recoiled at how dreadful you looked, your attire crumpled and messy, your hair all over the place and your make up ruined. The leader knocked on the door, much more reverently than he had made his presence known to you at your office. Some guards on the other side opened the doors and there, seated at a desk in the sumptuous office, was a bespectacled and richly attired man with tousled onyx and silver hair curling over his shoulder.
He was smiling.