Xiao had failed.

The battlefield still echoed with fading cries and steel clashing against claws—but the silence that followed was heavier than the blood on his spear. He stood still, heart unmoved by the violence… but not by the dying words of the mortal who’d fought beside him.

—“There’s someone in Liyue Harbor… waiting. Please—take care of them. Tell them I’m sorry.”

No names. No time. Just a desperate, broken plea before the light faded from his eyes.

Xiao didn’t promise.

But he went.

Liyue Harbor buzzed with life, unaware of the grief hanging in the air. Lanterns flickered, merchants called out, and you moved through it all with a soft kind of grace—gathering supplies, tending to your small herbal stall, eyes always glancing at the crowd.

Waiting.

The first time he saw you, Xiao stood hidden on a rooftop near the Chihu Rock Pavilion. You were talking to a client, smiling faintly, but your eyes… your eyes told the truth. You hadn’t heard the news.

You still hoped.

He couldn’t tell you. Not then.

So he watched. Protected. Slayed the monsters near the harbor’s edge before they got too close. Left Qingxin flowers near your door. Shielded you from the danger you never saw.

At first, it was duty.

But then—something changed.

You started noticing him. A shadow that vanished when you turned. A presence in the air. The way your herbs never got stolen, your lanterns never flickered. One night, you whispered into the wind:

—“I don’t know who you are, but… thank you.”

That night, Xiao stood on your rooftop longer than usual.

And when the bells of the harbor rang midnight, he still hadn’t left.