Chapter 10. Farewell

!! Special Hu Tao POV !!

I ran through the smoke, wondering why I left Yanfei and the rest out there. I just couldn't help it, watching the citizens of Mondstadt suffer like this. I ran deeper into the smoke as more thoughts streamed through my head. I suddenly heard wails and cries. Then a loud thud. I spun around, squinting to see through the thick, pitch black smoke. I noticed a group of five children. One of them was on the ground below a large plank. 

He seems to be unconscious, I thought as I sprinted towards their direction.

"Hi! I'm Hu Tao, 77th director of Liyue's Wangsheng Funeral Parlour, and I'm here to help. Follow me!" I said as I used all my strength to lift the plank. For a moment I thought that the kid underneath the plank was huge, but it turned out that I had also saved a lawachurl; an enemy; an ally of the Abyss Order; an ugly monster literally made of rock. I readied my spear as the lawachurl gained awareness of what was happening. It charged towards me faster than a boar. I charged at it and sent it on fire... into fire. I watched as the lawachurl roared and it took a second attack. I used all my strength on my spear to send it high up into the air over one of the shops on the opposite side. Just as I did, I noticed a familiar-looking figure sprint towards it. Was that... Yanfei? No no, she would be smarter than to recklessly run towards an enemy.

I shook my head to reality and turned back to the children, whose faces were now soaked in tears, their eyes and cheeks were all puffy and red. I smiled and bent down.

"If you be brave and follow me, it would be the bravest thing you can do. Whereas if you cry..." I said with a cheeky grin, and tickled their tummies,"the ghosts will come after you Raaawwwrrrr!..."

The children laughed and their tears stopped flowing. They smiled and giggled. I giggled along with them.

"Come on now."

I helped them all to their feet. It took a while because they seemed weak from the smoke that had entered their lungs. But they were strong enough, fortunately. As I lifted the unconscious child onto my shoulder, I signalled them to follow me.

We felt our way through the smoke. The heat was intense here, and we could hear the screaming, crying, and all the orders from the soldiers from the Knights of Favonius.

One of the children tugged on my sleeve,"But what about mommy and daddy? Will they make it?"

The other children's faces were drowned in worried and scared looks now.

"Don't worry, I promise you'll see them after the fire. I'm sure they're gonna be fine!" I said it the best cheerful tone I could make with the smoke in my lungs. I tried to hold my coughs. Just then I heard someone call my name. This voice seemed familiar, it was sounded so mature, so cute and sweet. Without hesitation I turned to see Yanfei running towards me. I turned and smiled in amazement to see her here.

"You followed me?" I gasped.

"Eh, well. Everyone did, basically. Come on, let me help." Yanfei grunted as she lifted one of the children, who was unconscious, from my shoulders. I felt a whole lot of weight leave me. Darn I'm glad my girlfriend is here. She signalled the remaining four children to follow me. I immediately headed towards the exit. Out of the blue, I heard a loud creak above me, but I was too late to realise where it came from and what it was. I reacted to the unconscious child being tossed to me; I reached my hands out and caught the child just in time, immediately turning in confusion, when Yanfei yelled,"Look out!"

I grunted as she pushed me hard, along with the children. I rested the unconscious child on the ground before turning around to see Yanfei, but all I saw was piles of wooden and iron planks. My eyes immediately overloaded with tears as I sprinted towards the piles, and pushed all the planks away to see Yanfei, the well-known legal expertise of Liyue Harbour, my legal expertise, my girlfriend, laying on top of a couple of wooden planks. I placed a shaking hand on her chest. Her chest wasn't moving and her heart beat was extremely shallow.

Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, please don't be dead... for the first time I'm saying this to myself for another. I couldn't help but continue thinking those thoughts as tears started to stream like a crooked river down my red cheeks when I heard a few coughs from Yanfei. She opened her eyes, and smiled.

"Hey, Tao Tao," she groaned,"you're not hurt are you?"

Why would she ask me that? Look at the state she's in!

"Yan Yan look at yourself! Wha-" I couldn't say anything more as I choked on my words. 

"Don't cry, Tao Tao... please don't..." she groaned. She seemed to be getting weaker as every second passed. 

I have to admit it, I don't want to, I feel reluctant, very very reluctant to admit it, but I have to. Yanfei was dying. 

"Yanfei please don't leave me... I can't... we still have two more years to go... I still have two more years to sneak out of school to find you looking for me. I still have two more years to hear your complaints about me sneaking out of school everyday so please Yanfei..." I sobbed. I didn't know what I was saying, but I tried to spill my heart out to her as much as I could. I just couldn't believe it at all. 

"What?" Yanfei looked up at me, her voice was so hoarse, but it still sounded so beautiful,"all this time, you sneaked out of school, just to get my attention?"

"I've liked you since we first met, Yanfei!" I continued sobbing,"You were always so hardworking, going around helping others in any way you can! You're always on the top of the class, no matter what! I never wanted to admit this, because I didn't seem like the kind who was fit for you! I never expected you to date someone like me..."

"Hu Tao..." Yanfei moaned. She exhaled an amount of air and closed her eyes slowly. "I love you."

I stared at her. She was moving, I couldn't hear anything coming from her chest, no heartbeat, nothing at all. My heart thumped hard with grief against my chest as I let out a wail. I was crying like a baby, it was embarrassing to cry like this in front of the four children, but I couldn't stop myself. I reached out to hold Yanfei for the last time. I hugged her hard. There really was nothing I could hear. 

That's it. Yanfei's dead.