nycdaug Chapter 555 No News is Good News
Chapter 555 No News is Good News
Xu Ning had always believed that the Dust-Hidden Gourd was the safest place in Teyvat.
Apart from Qingyi, no one can enter or harm anyone here without her permission.
Moreover, it has been proven countless times that the Dust Concealment Gourd is extremely sturdy, and even swords and knives cannot damage it in the slightest.
But now a strange voice is ringing out here without warning. Is it some powerful person who has secretly infiltrated here, or is it a prank by the familiar people living here?
Xu Ning couldn't immediately discern the origin of the sentence, so he could only try to coax it into saying a few more words.
"You seem rather lost right now?"
Xu Ning lay there without blinking and replied, "Confused, extremely confused! Ever since I earned my first pot of gold in Liyue, my Mora has been increasing, more and more, to the point that I can easily get anything I want now, and I have lost all passion for doing anything. I feel like all this Mora has drained me dry, leaving me with only a... handsome exterior."
There was silence for a while.
Xu Ning sat up and called out softly, "Hey, who's there? Are you still there? Why aren't you saying anything?"
The unfamiliar voice rang out again, "Still here. I just forgot why I came here."
Xu Ning chuckled, got up and jumped off the bed, picked up a small jar of wine from the wine rack by the window, opened it, poured out a bowl, and sat on the windowsill looking down.
"It's my fault, I shouldn't have joked with you. It's just that when I was holding that stack of records just now, I suddenly thought that maybe people shouldn't look back."
"Oh? Why?" the unfamiliar voice asked with a hint of curiosity.
"Perhaps it's the fear of seeing one's unbearable past, or the fear of seeing oneself stray from one's original aspirations, or even the fear of seeing a completely different version of oneself, thus forgetting who one is..."
The unfamiliar voice seemed to find Xu Ning's answer somewhat laughable, and there was a slight hint of amusement in its tone.
"But in every sentence you mention 'yourself,' don't you clearly understand that no matter what you become, you're still yourself in the end? What's there to be afraid of or run away from? Just accept it bravely."
Xu Ning took a sip of wine and shook his head. "Hey, if I were to accept something different from myself so easily, even if it were myself, I would feel resistant. Like that soldier, who said he wanted to change his past self, but logically he can't erase his own existence. Even if he wipes himself clean, he'll probably still exist. If he were to look back on his past, I don't believe he would easily accept that bad version of himself."
"That's not necessarily true. While the past is hard to change, people's hearts can be easily changed. Perhaps in the future, you and he will become people you don't even recognize. But you must trust your own eyes, because that is the most authentic version of yourselves."
Xu Ning shook his head. "Who can say for sure what will happen in the future?"
In no time, he had finished a small jar of wine. As he spoke, Xu Ning stood by the window and actually examined everyone below, both human and non-human.
But they were never able to figure out who was playing a prank on them.
Shen He was meditating, but of course, even if she wasn't meditating, she would still be excluded; Shen He has no sense of humor.
Little Bluebird Master seems to be practicing the "Cobra Maneuver" flight maneuver, and he looks like he's getting bored out of his mind.
Qingyi pulled out another stack of books from somewhere and started reading. They seemed to be related to "urban layout" and "street aesthetics." In her previous life, Xu Ning thought she might have suspected that Qingyi wanted to take the postgraduate entrance exam, but here, it was really a bit inexplicable.
The dogs were lined up and sleeping, but the addition of a raccoon dog to the neat row looked rather incongruous.
So the most suspicious guy is...
Xu Ning casually tossed the empty wine jar aside and asked, "By the way, we've been chatting for so long, and I still haven't asked your name. That's really impolite of me. May I ask how I should address you?"
With a "bang," a drunkard who was fast asleep in the bushes was suddenly hit and rolled around, his back arched.
"Xu Ning, you bastard, you're definitely doing this on purpose, aren't you? I haven't done anything to you lately..."
The unfamiliar voice said helplessly, "You don't need to verify anymore. I'm not someone or a god here... But good thing! I've wanted to do this for a long time."
"Alright, I'm leaving now. I only came here to confirm some things. We'll meet again if we have the chance in the future."
After the unfamiliar voice said those words, there was no further sound.
Xu Ning muttered a couple of curses under his breath, and after listening to the silence, he realized the creature had indeed left. He then rushed downstairs, grabbed Qingyi, and unleashed a barrage of attacks, ordering her to scan the cave several times to prevent any unknown object from taking advantage of the situation.
Qingyi stood in the center of the cave, looking completely bewildered, scanning the entire space with her mind, not understanding what had gotten into Xu Ning.
Xu Ning watched as the God of Slacking Off, clutching his stomach and groaning as he crawled toward Thousand Wind Wine Spring, thought to himself, "From what that voice said just now, I feel like she knows Wendy."
Xu Ning communicated with the sapling in which the Great Tree King resided, "If it weren't for the Great Tree King, Lord Rock, Wendy, and Shadow, and me stealing quite a few things from the Ice Goddess, she would be even less likely to chat with me so gently. So who else could it be?"
Xu Ning thought about it for a long time but still couldn't figure it out, so she could only put her mind at ease and turn to go into the bedroom.
In the end, Xu Ning still didn't decide to open the small golden ball in his hand, and placed it on the cabinet in Beidou's bedroom.
In the following days, Xu Ning spent his days either sitting in the tavern listening to the Liyue briefings delivered by Da Huang's men, or drinking and chatting with his friends.
Since skirmishers are rarely active in Liyue, their disappearance should not normally have a significant impact on Liyue.
However, in the briefing for Liyue, Xu Ning still emphasized some matters related to the Fatui, to prevent changes in the situation there from having a chain reaction that would affect Liyue.
Fortunately, no unusual changes have been discovered in Liyue so far.
A few days ago, the merchant ships from Liyue also made contact with Beidou. Beidou said that apart from Wanye having some business to attend to and returning to his hometown, everything else in the fleet was normal.
Since Sora and Paimon had gone to Inazuma, they should have focused on inquiring about Manyo's situation. Since no bad news had come in the past few days, Xu Ning could finally relax and drink.
It has to be said that the market share of his wine in Sumeru is steadily increasing. In particular, the mutated "Yaoguang" paired with the Moon Lotus infused wine that Xu Ning accidentally spread can help scholars comprehend the state of "harmony between man and nature". As a result, the number of customers in the taverns run by Liyue people has steadily surpassed that of the cafes, which has forced the Faculty of Law to introduce a number of bans on drinking during work and class hours.
"Young Miss, we've only been back for three days. Don't you want to spend some quality time with Master? Why are you in such a hurry to go out?"
Xu Ning heard Dixia's voice from afar, knowing that this guy was probably going to come over and mooch a drink before leaving again. He casually picked up a clean wine glass, poured a full glass, and placed it opposite her.
Then, sure enough, I saw Dixia sitting down opposite me with a "clatter" as she carried a package, and downing her drink in one gulp.
"Dina Zede, where are you going this time?"
Xu Ning ignored Dixia's relieved expression and instead asked Dina Zede, who was beside her.
"I've wanted to go to Daocheng Forest for a long time..."
“Miss, is there any place you haven’t wanted to visit for a long time?” Dixia retorted while gesturing for Xu Ning to pour her another glass.
Looking at Dina Zedai's complexion, Xu Ning realized that she was much healthier than a normal person.
Since the World Tree's chronic disease was cured and the lesions of the Demon Scale Disease disappeared, Dina Zede, who has regained her strength, seems determined to visit all the places she has never been before.
This forced Dixia, who had originally planned to leave Sumeru and return to her mercenary life once her mistress's health improved, to extend her bodyguard career. Now she is accompanying Dina Zede on her travels.
"There's a young girl over in Daocheng Forest, I think I mentioned her to you before. She had the same Demon Scale Disease as you, but she's recovered now. She's Tina's apprentice. You can go and meet her, make friends, and I'm sure you'll have a lot to talk about. I left quite a bit of wine there, but now that the girl's recovered, Tina probably won't let her drink it anymore, so it'll be a good deal for Dixia."
These words delighted both Didi, and after saying goodbye to Xu Ning, they hurriedly set off.
As Xu Ning watched them leave, a figure wearing a blue bamboo hat suddenly flashed into his vision, and he immediately stood up.
If I'm not mistaken, this figure should be a stragglers who were supposed to disappear.
Xu Ning followed without even realizing it.
As he got closer, Xu Ning was now 100% certain that although they had changed their clothes, and the simple white and blue robes looked much better than the original arrogant purple ones, they were undoubtedly stragglers.
Based on what the Scatter Soldier did in the World Tree, he should have successfully erased his existence, since even Narcida almost forgot about him.
But now it seems he didn't completely succeed. So he probably only erased everyone's memories of him, but Xu Ning wasn't sure how much of his own memory he still retained.
"Are you following me, or do you just want to buy some fruit?"
It wasn't until a gentle, soft voice rang in his ears that Xu Ning realized he had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he had followed the soldiers directly to the fruit stand.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I wanted to buy some fruit..."
Xu Ning originally intended to buy some fruit to cover it up, but when he met the unusually clear eyes of the soldier, an extremely crazy idea suddenly surged up uncontrollably.
"...Okay, I'll tell you the truth. I didn't actually come to buy fruit. I...I've been following you all this way..."
With tears welling up in his eyes, Xu Ning suddenly reached out and hugged the stragglers tightly. "Son, your father has finally found you!"
The group of people watching the show in the Hidden Dust Cave immediately burst out laughing.
Qingyi and Wendy were just toasting when they suddenly clashed, and the two of them rolled on the ground howling while covering their eyes.
The Cobra-type Bluebird, which had just stood upright in mid-air, fell headfirst onto the table upon hearing Xu Ning's words and remained there for a long time.
Meanwhile, Aji, sitting far away, tilted his head and calculated the relationship between his Thor and Xu Ning, then nodded, confirming that their seniority was correct.
Even the uncle tending the fruit stand in front of Xu Ning was shocked, his mouth agape, and half a date slipped from the corner of his mouth.
Speaking of which, isn't this Liyue person the Xu Ning that everyone keeps mentioning?
He was supposedly a VIP who could enter the Jing Shan Palace and the high-ranking officials of the Jiao Ling Yuan at any time. He had just picked up a boy on the roadside, and it turned out to be his son.
But is his son that old?
The fruit stall owner's gaze immediately shifted downwards, wanting to determine whether this legendary Lord Xu Ning possessed any extraordinary talent.
However, although the stragglers seem to have changed their personalities, they are not so easy to fool.
The soldier used both hands to push Xu Ning away from him.
"I'm sorry, I think you may have mistaken me for someone else. Please double-check."
Although he was pushed away without hesitation, Xu Ning was overjoyed.
There's hope!
If Sanbing had even a fraction of his memory from a few days ago, he would probably stomp on his face if he were called "son" by me!
Now look at how gentle he is, this son, I'm determined to... oops, I'm determined to take him in.
Xu Ning smiled and said, "I know it's hard for you to accept the fact that you suddenly have a father. That's normal. After all, no one would accept someone they've never met suddenly standing up and claiming you as their son..."
The fruit stall vendor had just sat down, popped a date into his mouth, and was getting ready to watch the show when he heard those words and dropped the date.
So, they've never even met you, yet you've already claimed them as your son. Of course, they won't accept it.
"...But this matter still needs to start with your mother...Should we really talk about this here? Or should we find a place to sit down and discuss it slowly?"
Upon hearing that Xu Ning was going to take the boy away, the fruit stall uncle who was waiting to hear the story immediately became anxious.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't do that! I brought this boy to Sumeru City on the road. If you're going to take him away, at least explain why. Otherwise, how will I know if you're planning to kidnap him for something?"
Xu Ning smiled and tossed the gourd up, tilting it so that the Mora flowed out like water, piling up in small heaps on the fruit stand.
“Your kindness deserves this gift. Besides, I also want to prove that I don’t need to kidnap or anything to do what I want.”
The fruit stall owner was dazzled by the pile of Mora, and by the time he came to his senses, Xu Ning had already disappeared from his stall with the boy.
"Actually... I like Mora, but I also like listening to the stories..."
Xu Ning had already led his stragglers to his usual spot in the tavern.
He poured a glass of "Thousand Winds" for the soldier sitting opposite him, saying, "Try it, your mother really likes my wine."
The soldier initially wanted to decline, but was drawn in by the refreshing aroma emanating from the cup. He picked it up, took a small sip, and said, "Let's continue with our previous topic. We haven't met before, have we?"
Xu Ning nodded and said, "Yes, even though we've never met, I'm still your father."