184 Finally Noticed

"Mother!" Bosacius greeted her. Guizhong smiled.

"Welcome home Bosacius. So, did you see anything unusual?" Guizhong asked and sat beside Indarias.

"No actually. It was pretty normal out there. I also want to tell you about—

" How about we talk while we eat, Bosacius? I imagine you're hungry. " Guizhong suggested. Bosacius grumbled and nodded.

"Okay." Bosacius replied to her and five bowls of rice were served by Indarias. Aether didn't get a bowl of his own.

Aether took the time to look at Guizhong. Her eyes are a yellow grey with gold specks. She also had eyeliner that is gold-ish more yellow than Zhongli's orange-ish highlight.

Guizhong had gold highlights on her hair and golden dust at the ends of her hair. She also had a glaze lilies tied to the side of her hair.

She was wearing a white and light blue hanfu with floral patterns on it. Aether noticed that it was gold colored glaze lilies.

"She is the perfect wife for Zhongli." Aether thought to himself. You thought he was going to say 'for me' huh?

Aether stayed silent while the Yakshas and Guizhong were eating.

Suddenly, Indarias slammed her hands on the table. That shocked them as they looked at her with a surprised face.

"Bosacius, who is he?!" Indarias pointed at Aether with an accusing finger. Bosacius put down the bowl he was holding with his hand and chuckled.

"So now you ask. I've been wanting to introduce him to all of you but you guys keep interrupting me." Bosacius told her with an annoyed tone.

"Hehe. Sorry about that." Indarias apologized. Bosacius smiled and shook his head.

"Apology accepted. This person sitting beside me is Aether. Say hi Aether." Bosacius told him. Aether smiled and waved at them.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Aether." Aether introduced himself.

"I found him while I was on the patrol mother sent me for. He is an interesting person to say the least." Bosacius told them mysteriously.

"Tell them more. You're the one with the ring." Bosacius passed the stage floor to Aether. Aether sighed.

"You know Xiao right? We're married." Aether dropped the bomb. Indarias and the hydro Yaksha's jaw dropped. Guizhong frowned.

"Mother. You don't seem to be happy about this news." Bosacius commented on Guizhong's gloomy expression.

"You all do remember where we're at right?" Guizhong reminded.

" Wait! You're dead!! " The Hydro Yaksha stood up and shouted at him.

" Bonanus! No shouting at the dining table. You'll scare our guest! " Menogias scolded her. The Hydro Yaksha whose name is revealed to be Bonanus muttered an apology.

"Well that just about confirms where i am. I'm in Celestia." Aether muttered and shook his head.

"Alatus lost someone again.... Why is it always her?" Indarias muttered while frowning.

" I have a question if you don't mind me asking. " Guizhong asked Aether. Aether nodded.

" Are you an adpetus? Because right now I sense adpetal energy in your body. " Guizhong asked Aether. Aether shook his head.

" I'm mortal. " Aether dropped another bomb in front of their faces. Bosacius fell backwards from his chair dramatically. Menogias looked at him while raising an eyebrow at him.

"Holy shi—

" Hey! No cursing! " Guizhong reminded Bonanus. Bonanus muttered another apology.

"You're mortal, but how do have adeptal energy. Only adepti have that." Bosacius argued with him. Aether scratched his head.

"To put it simply, I absorbed adeptal energy from The Sigil of Permission. " Aether answered truthfully. He could lie if he wants to get his ass whooped.

" Father was right. There are still a lot of mysteries in the world we once lived in." Menogias muttered and looked at Aether.

" Interesting. So have you met the other adepti as well? " Menogias asked him. Aether nodded.

" I met Zhongli as well. " Aether added.

" Who's Zhongli—

"Father's mortal name. I didn't even know he had a mortal name." Bosacius answered for Aether.

"Why?" Indarias asked Aether.

"He's retired now. " Aether answered while smiling. Everyone gasped.

"Morax... has finally stepped down. I never thought that would happen. Never in my life." Guizhong muttered to herself.

"Please tell us more. Why did our father retire?" Bonanus looked into Aether's eyes and asked.

" He's.... tired of being Rex Lapis now. He wants to live a normal life now but he knows that he will never live a completely normal one. Actually, he has a job at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. He's their consultant. " Aether told them.

" Wangsheng? Oh, I know them. They conducted a lot of funerals and burials for Liyue Harbor when the Archon War broke out." Guizhong added.

" Never knew they existed for that long though. " Aether thought to himself.

" You said that he can't fully live a normal life? Did something happen when he retired? Actually, how did he retire? " Indarias asked curiously.

" By faking his death in front of thousands of people including me. " Aether answered her last question. Guizhong chuckled.

" Sounds like what my husband would do alright. He prefers to act rather than to negotiate." Guizhong chuckled to herself.

" What about my first question? " Indarias asked again. Aether chuckled.

" You're very impatient aren't you? " Aether smiled and ruffled her hair. Indarias slapped his hand away.

" What do you think you're doing? " Indarias glared at him. Aether shrugged.

" I do that with every girl I meet. " Aether gave an excuse. Bosacius narrowed his eyes at him.

"He definitely did more than just head pats." Menogias whispered in his ear. Bosacius nodded.

"He's a handsome man. He's definitely got a few more girls on the side." Bosacius replied to the Geo Yaksha. Menogias nodded and stayed quiet.

" Mhm. Sure... Answer my question please before I pound your head into your body, mortal. " Indarias narrowed her eyes and glared at him. Aether chuckled and shook his head.

" Treating a Yaksha like this. No wonder Alatus took interest in this mortal. I wonder how strong he is? " Guizhong wondered to herself.

"To answer your first question, a lot of things happened after he faked his death to live a normal life. The Liyue Qixing began to quarrel with the Adepti, including Xiao. When things turned out for the worst and they were about to fight each other, Osial was released from his seal by someone from The Fatui. " Aether dropped the third bomb. Bonanus widened her eyes.

" What.... How.... " Bonanus muttered while feeling shocked to the core.

"The Fatui? I've never heard of it before." Guizhong told Aether.

"It's a military organization from Snezhnaya. At the time,I was fighting with one of its 11 leaders called the Harbingers. She released Osial from his seal at the end of our fight and retreated. "Aether told her.

" A coward. I would've burned her on the spot." Indarias snorted while crossing her arms.

"If Osial was released from his seal.... Chaos will ensue the Harbor." Guizhong muttered.

"That's when the Adepti and The Liyue Qixing decided to finally work together. " Aether told her.

" What happened during the fight? Is that how you died? " Indarias asked bluntly. Aether didn't seem to care and continued speaking.

" The adepti, The Liyue Qixing and me all fought the seven headed clown. We—i mean I managed to stun it for a few minutes during the fight before it returned again without a scratch on him." Aether said while remembering his fight with the God.

"Impressive. Please continue." Guizhong complimented him. Aether smiled.

" Wait wait.... I thought I heard that 'you' stunned him. Didn't you say that the adepti were in that fight? " Bosacius interrupted them. Aether scratched his head nervously.

" Yeah, they were pretty useless in that fight. The only one who contributed as much as me was Xiao, Keqing and Ganyu." Aether replied to him.

" What about Cloud Retainer, Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver? Are they not in that fight?" Guizhong asked him.

" That's the thing, Lady Guizhong. They didn't do anything except watch me almost ascend to Celestia.....

To be continued...