NoveLight ™
Life is filled with four sufferings: Birth, old age, sickness, and death.
Birth is the beginning of life, old age represents decline, sickness entails illnesses, and death is the ultimate end.
And illness is an inevitable part of everyone’s life.
Fortunately, in Liyue, there is a marvelous place known as the Bubu Pharmacy.
No matter what kind of illness befalls the people of Liyue, they would come here, and with just a glance from Mr. Bai, most illnesses can be cured.
Even foreigners from other nations such as Mondstadt and Inazuma residents come here due to its reputation.
The Bubu Pharmacy is located in the northwest of Liyue. It is surrounded by mountains and water, making the scenery delightful.
Even on ordinary days, even if one is not suffering from any illness, a visit to the pavilion’s and terraces can bring joy to one’s body and mind.
Especially the clear spring flowing down from Mt. Tianheng, with lotus flowers blooming in the spring, and occasionally a golden carp swimming among the leaves. When night falls, the croaking of frogs and the chirping of insects fill the air, making people linger and not want to leave.
However, Herbalist Gui doesn’t share the same sentiment.
Every day, gathering and preparing medicines already gives him a headache.
And at night, he has to endure the cacophony of frogs and insects, which made him felt like his head was about to explode.
“Qiqi, you only need to pick seven lotus pods, there is no need to pick more!”
Standing by the spring, Herbalist Gui reminds her with some concern.
“Okay… Qiqi understands.”
The girl in the pond, barefooted, responded a beat slower.
In theory, someone of Qiqi’s age should not be doing such dangerous work.
In fact, what Qiqi does on regular days is even riskier.
Whether it’s the ruins of Qingxu Pool, the cliffs of Qingyun Peak, or the side of Jueyun Karst water pool…
Wherever medicinal materials can be found, Qiqi’s figure can be seen.
As the medicinal herb-collecting disciple of the Bubu Pharmacy, most of the herbs in the cabinet were personally collected by this girl.
It’s not that the Bubu Pharmacy employs child labor, if we consider her age, the little girl is older than the grandfather of Herbalist Gui’s grandfather.
Because, Qiqi is an immortal zombie, and perhaps, beside Morax himself, Qiqi is the oldest creature in the entire of Liyue.
“Herbalist Gui, you are still here despite it’s already being this late?”
“It’s because that little Miss from the Xiangxiang family can’t stand taking a medicine that’s too bitter, so I have to find a way to make it less- Ah! Lady Ningguang!”
At first, Herbalist Gui felt that the voice sounded somewhat familiar, but he didn’t think much of it.
But when he turned around and saw the person who was greeting him, he was taken aback.
“Alright, I won’t check your family’s account today. I need to find Mr. Bai for something.”
Ningguang, as the holder of great power as a Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing, even though the staff of the Bubu Pharmacy are not ordinary merchants, they still have to show some respect.
“Unfortunately, Baizhu is out at the Qingce Village for consultation. Shall I send someone to inform him of your presence?”
The Qingce Village, located behind Wuwang Hill, is often referred to as a place of leisure, but it can also be seen as a nursing home.
It’s a picturesque and gentle village where people can live comfortably without worries about food and drink.
But because it’s too peaceful, many young people have left for the livelier Liyue Harbor.
As a result, the only ones left here are the elderly and children.
To take care of them, Baizhu often comes here to provide medical care for the elderly and children.
“It’s better not to disturb Mr. Bai’s consultation. Can I speak with Qiqi alone?”
After glancing at the pond where Qiqi has already picked five lotus pods, Ningguang hesitated whether she should ask Qiqi to pick seven or nine, and then asked aloud.
“Well… okay, please follow me.”
Herbalist Gui was initially reluctant because Baizhu had told him not to let anyone get too close to Qiqi, especially Hu Tao, the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, however, Considering Ningguang’s different status and identity, Herbalist Gui decided to agree to her request.
In his memory, this Tianquan had come to see Qiqi more than once before. That was one of the reasons why he consented.
After calling Qiqi, who was still hesitating, Herbalist Gui led the two of them to the diagnosis room behind the Bubu Pharmacy.
In the evening, there were hardly any patients, making it a suitable place for conversation.
“Qiqi, how have you been lately?”
The box levitated and gently landed beside them, making a tinkling sound.
As usual, Ningguang greeted Qiqi in her usual manner.
“I’m sorry… I seem to have forgotten you.”
Qiqi carefully scrutinized Ningguang’s face and after a moment, she replied with a touch of disappointment.
She had some vague recollection of the person before her. Having any recollection meant that she recognized the person.
However, being a zombie, her memory was extremely poor, and she couldn’t recall who this person was.
Fortunately, she kept a notebook with her, where she wrote down things she couldn’t afford to forget.
“Please wait a moment, let me check my notebook.”
She took out her portable notebook and flipped to the page titled “Must Remember.”
“Very big… very white… very yellow… Ah, are you Lady Ningguang, the Tianquan?”
“…”
Ningguang really wanted to take Qiqi’s notebook and see what certain part of hers is written as ‘Very Big’ by the little girl. However, her rationality told her that this herb-collecting girl was not as harmless as she appeared.
“Yes, I am. A friend of yours asked me to bring you a gift.”
With a wave of her right hand, the lid of the wooden box opened, revealing various bottles and jars inside.
“Is this… coconut milk?”
Qiqi was very well-behaved, even though her favorite coconut milk was right in front of her, she didn’t show any signs of impatience.
After obtaining Ningguang’s consent, Qiqi took out a bottle and drank it down in one gulp.
“How does it taste?”
“I don’t know… I can’t taste anything. Although I can’t taste it, it’s indeed coconut milk, and I like it.”
“This is from Xiao Bai, he asked me to bring it to you. Do you remember him?”
Seizing the opportunity, Ningguang wiped away the milk stains from the corner of Qiqi’s mouth and softly asked.
“Xiao Bai… is it Mr. Bai?”
Like Ningguang and Beidou, when Qiqi heard “Xiao Bai,” she first thought of Baizhu
“It’s not Baizhu, it’s another Xiao Bai, the one who used to be your good friend.”
Even Ningguang didn’t know how to describe Xiao Bai’s existence to a zombie with such poor memory.
“The past? I don’t know. If it was a long time ago, I probably hadn’t started keeping a notebook, so I might… have already forgotten him.”
Upon hearing that she might forget a good friend, Qiqi looked crestfallen, much like when she had asked Baizhu to hunt coconut sheep, but he returned empty-handed.
“Is that so?”
Ningguang furrowed her brows slightly, which was something she hadn’t expected.
Qiqi started keeping her notebook at some point, and she didn’t know when exactly that was.
If Xiao Bai was someone Qiqi had known before she started keeping the notebook, then it would be difficult to find any leads.
Ningguang looked at Qiqi again.
Qiqi had already taken out a brush and was earnestly writing Xiao Bai’s name on the “Must Remember” page.
With this, Qiqi wouldn’t forget him anymore.