nycdaug Chapter 496 The Eventual Festival
Chapter 496 The Eventual Festival
After witnessing the division of the various colleges within Sumeru and the academic atmosphere at the top of Sumeru, Xu Ning had to admit that he still held a very cautious attitude towards the hidden depths of Sumeru.
Moreover, Sumeru also possesses the Void, a treasure trove of knowledge and a formidable weapon.
If my wine were to fall into the hands of the Su Lun School, given their years of research on elements and ley lines, they might be able to figure out how to use other elements to counteract the elements of my signature wine.
Based on the information gathered from the port of Ormos, it seems that I am heading down a path that runs counter to the Sumeru Church.
It's best to avoid handing over your trump card to the enemy beforehand, allowing them to study it at their leisure.
While it cannot be ruled out that some people from other academies might have bought the wine and given it to the Sulun faction, the threat posed by the Sulun faction was secondary. This act of giving away wine was a good deed to win over the people, ensure their own safety as much as possible, and incidentally expand the influence of the Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival.
Xu Ning jumped down from the pile of wine jars, and Kong and Dina Zedai immediately surrounded him.
"Brother Xu, thank you for doing so much for Xumi. I should learn more from you," Dina Zedai said sincerely.
Kong also said with a smile, "I have always taken Brother Xu as my role model and learned from him."
Xu Ning pushed the two naive boys toward a quiet corner of the theater, chuckling softly, "Hearing you say that, I know you haven't learned any of your brother Xu's skills at all. If you can only learn half, it's better not to learn any at all. Alright, how's the preparation work at the Grand Bazaar going while I was away?"
At this point, Dina Zede immediately perked up.
“I spoke with Mr. Zubair this morning, and he said it couldn’t be more perfect. This year’s Flora Festival will be the grandest and most beautiful festival in recent decades.”
Sora pointed to the area above, "Tomorrow is the festival. To save Dina Zede's father the trouble of traveling back and forth, he specially rented several rooms up there. Dina Zede said she could give one to us, so we can meet up early tomorrow morning to participate in the Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival."
Looking at their excited expressions, Xu Ning couldn't help but feel nostalgic for the Lantern Festival in Liyue.
"Okay, don't get so excited, or you won't be able to sleep tonight."
Xu Ning was concerned about something else at the moment. "What I want to know is, since you've been here most of the past few days, have any people from the Order of the Order come to cause trouble?"
Kong laughed and said, "I came here, but I didn't find any trouble. That day, Pai secretly went to buy food without my knowledge. He flew along the walls the whole way and accidentally overheard a conversation between two inspectors from the Order of the Church."
Paimon punched Kong on the head and said angrily, "Don't go into such detail about the process! Those two seemed to have come here to cause trouble. It seems they originally planned to find fault with the theater and then issue an order to ban the Flower Goddess Festival. Who would have thought that not only could they not find anything wrong with the theater, but the only loophole was also plugged by Xu Ning. They had no choice but to slink back and report back."
Xu Ning nodded and praised the little white-haired boy's cleverness, "Well done, but we can't let our guard down. Although these people didn't manage to find fault this time, if they deliberately choose to cause trouble tomorrow..."
Kong's expression hardened, and he said solemnly, "It's alright, I'll take care of it then..."
"And then get wanted by the Order of the Fathers again? Those who know you know you're traveling, but those who don't might think you're playing a game of collecting wanted posters."
After teasing Kong Yi, Xu Ning laughed and said, "What I want to tell you is, don't be impulsive when the time comes. Trust me, I can easily help you sort things out."
On this day, Xu Ning finally got to properly tour the Grand Bazaar. Although he still didn't dare to try any strange food like Paimon did, he did buy a lot of interesting trinkets and put them in his space for Master Ji and Qingyi to play with.
That evening, Xu Ning arranged a meeting time with Dina Zedai and Kong for the next morning. He placed the Dust Concealment Gourd in the room next to Kong's and then went inside to rest.
Nothing happened overnight, except for a few unexpected events after waking up in the morning.
Sora and Paimon still haven't gotten up!
"That's quite rare. Were you too excited to sleep last night, but fell asleep this morning?"
Xu Ning walked to the empty door and gently knocked.
The knocking sounded particularly loud in the empty post station, and it was only then that Xu Ning realized how quiet the surroundings were.
This tranquility, so profound that it almost devoid of any sense of life or loneliness, was something Xu Ning had experienced in the very first Dust-Hidden Cave.
Kong still didn't respond, and Xu Ning's expression finally changed.
Xu Ning released his wind elemental body, opened the door from the inside, and saw Kong and Paimon lying sprawled on a large bed, both fast asleep.
"Uh, you two have the same sleeping posture, Sora and Paimon, get up, or you'll miss the Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival. Sora... um?"
The two people still did not wake up.
Seeing that the two were safe and sound, Xu Ning's heart, which had just been at ease, jumped again in an instant.
Xu Ning clearly saw the virtual terminals next to the two people's ears flashing red light.
Xu Ning had never heard the soldier in charge of distributing the supplies mention this situation, but there was one thing Xu Ning was 100% certain of: the void was now reacting automatically without being activated or questioned by its master.
"Perhaps the reason why Kong and Paimon can't wake up is because of this void terminal. Fortunately, the two of them are not in any immediate danger. Let's go and check the situation elsewhere first."
Xu Ning felt terrified from the moment he stepped out the door.
The streets of Sumeru were even cleaner and quieter than at midnight.
If Xu Ning hadn't known that many people among the Sumeru people didn't care about the Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival, he would have almost thought that the entire city had gone to the Grand Bazaar to see it.
As expected, the Grand Bazaar was also completely empty.
By this point, Xu Ning was well aware that things had gotten very serious.
"It seems it really was those guys from the Order of the Church who did it. But what's the point of them going to such lengths to confine all the believers in the city to sleep?"
Xu Ning looked around and saw that apart from the Ministry of Education and the many soldiers on guard, almost everywhere was quiet.
Instead of alerting the enemy, he retreated back into the room where Kong was.
The two little ones were sleeping soundly.
Paimon even uttered a dream, "Sunset berry flavored candy, oh, how wonderful!"
Xu Ningjing quietly found a stool and sat down beside him, silently thinking about what might happen now and how to solve these problems.
"Di..."
Suddenly, a noise reached Xu Ning's ears.
Xu Ning suddenly looked towards the bed and saw that the Void Terminals on Paimon and Kong Erduo's ears suddenly lit up brightly at almost the same time, and then dimmed again.
Then it went back to that flashing rhythm.
Xu Ning didn't understand what the "beep" and the bright light just now meant, so he could only continue to wait.
"Sunset berry flavored candy, oh, that's great!"
Paimon spoke again in his sleep, just like before. What was chilling was that his tone, intonation, and even the time intervals between his sentences were exactly the same.
Xu Ning suddenly stood up.
"Exactly the same as before. Are they trapped in a dream, and experiencing something in a loop? Is that beep a sign of a new beginning?"
This is difficult to do.
If I had also brought the Void Terminal, I would at least understand what had happened. Unfortunately, I can only stand outside helplessly now.
"I wonder if we should find someone to knock him out, steal his void terminal, and then go inside to take a look?"
As Xu Ning was lost in thought, a soft voice suddenly whispered in his ear, "Have you made up your mind? To go in and experience the Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival that is about to arrive?"
Xu Ning heard the voice clearly; it came from the fake virtual terminal next to his ear.
Xu Ning reached out and ripped the counterfeit terminal off his ear; the fake terminal turned into a leaf.
"Who is speaking? Come out and talk to me face to face."
Xu Ning stood calmly in the center of the room. "Although I don't know exactly what's going on, if you do, please show me the way. Otherwise, once my patience runs out, I'll have to solve the problem myself."
The voice paused for a moment, then spoke again, "I can't give you the details or the answer. If you want to know what happened, at least come and see for yourself. Are you willing?"
Xu Ning hesitated for a moment.
Will I also fall into that kind of sleep?
The voice said with certainty, "That's natural, just like when a soul becomes a bird and flies in the sky, the birdcage is still hanging in the house."
Xu Ning laughed at the strange analogy.
"Okay, I agree. Take me to find Kong and Paimon."
As soon as Xu Ning finished speaking, a "beep" sound came from both Kong and Paimon's void terminals at the same time.
Then Xu Ning suddenly woke up in the hotel and saw Kong and Paimon standing in front of him, stretching.
"Brother Xu, you've arrived quite early."
Kong laughed and said, "Let's go and meet up with Dina Zede together, and go to the Grand Bazaar to celebrate the Flower Goddess's Birthday!"
"Let's eat more delicious food!"
Paimon cheered loudly and crowded around the empty room.
Xu Ning smiled and shook his head, then picked up his wine gourd and followed.
I was just a little confused. I was standing in the room earlier and I thought I was going to say something to the sky.
But he forgot about it for a moment.
After meeting up with Dina Zede and Dixia, the group marched into the Grand Bazaar.
Dina Zede seemed to sense Xu Ning's absent-mindedness and turned around to greet him, "Xu Ning, did you not sleep well either? I was a little too excited last night. Thinking that today is the Flower Goddess's birthday festival, it took me a lot of effort to fall asleep."