nycdaug Is Chapter 446 futile courage?
Is Chapter 446 futile courage?
"Is that Zhiqiong? Shouldn't she be with Jinwu? And even if she ran out again, how did she suddenly get ahead of us?"
Xu Ning and Shen He exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.
"Let's just ask the person involved directly!"
Xu Ning placed Master Ji into the Dust-Hidden Cave and quickly caught up with Zhiqiong. "Zhiqiong, what are you doing here? And you're too close to that lump of black mud. Come a little closer to me."
Xu Ning waited for a moment and found that Zhiqiong did not react. He frowned, took a few steps forward, grabbed Zhiqiong's small bag, and dragged her away from the clump of black mud.
"A black space, a golden palace, what's inside...? Don't talk at the same time, it's too noisy..."
Shen Hezhiqiong turned her head and found that her pupils were unfocused, indicating that she was close to unconsciousness.
However, the words she murmured indicated that she was still conscious, but clearly out of her control.
"She must have been affected by that kind of dark karma and lost consciousness. Right now, she's like she's in a dream."
Xu Ning nodded. "You support her, I'll get her some wine."
Shen He held Zhiqiong's head, and after Xu Ning poured her a small sip of wine, her eyes finally regained some liveliness.
Still feeling a bit drowsy, Xu Ning and Shen He simply took her to the nearest octagonal hall to rest for a while.
Zhiqiong sat under the fountain, leaning against the base, and rested for a while before slowly regaining her senses.
"My head hurts so much, what happened to me just now?"
Hearing Zhiqiong's voice, Xu Ning came over and handed her another bowl of Qianfeng. "Drink this first, then tell me how you got here."
Zhiqiong took the earthenware bowl, slowly drank two sips, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "I didn't expect to trouble you again, Lord Xu Ning. After you left, I went back from there again. However, I didn't follow you back to the entrance of the main mining area. Instead, I took the small path from the west side of that cave, which is why I was able to arrive here before you."
"However, I made a mistake. It seemed like some force was attracting me to those black muds, and I couldn't help but move closer to them. I didn't expect them to be such terrifying things, cough cough."
Hearing her cough, Xu Ning said seriously, "Your body hasn't been tempered by the Eye of God, so it has no resistance to these filthy things. You should know that these things won't stop harming you just because you don't get close. When you're in this environment, every breath you take and every touch you make could bring the filth surging out of the black mud into your body, and cause the situation you just experienced to recur."
"If you're willing to take my advice, it's best to go back to Jinwu's side now. If possible, it's best to go straight up to the top of the mountain, get some sun, rest for a few days, and then come back to survey. Otherwise, the filth accumulated in your body is too much, which will cause your mind to break down and turn you into a madman. This is not an exaggeration. You must believe that you are not always so lucky to have me by your side, and that I happen to have the medicine to cure you."
Zhiqiong hadn't expected Xu Ning to assess her condition so seriously, but after thinking about it, she still declined Xu Ning's suggestion.
"Lord Xu Ning, please forgive me, but I cannot accept your proposal."
Xu Ning paused, holding the wine gourd, somewhat puzzled by Zhiqiong's refusal.
"Excuse my bluntness, but your work isn't so important that you need to sacrifice your life to complete it..."
Despite knowing that what he said was somewhat inappropriate, Xu Ning said it anyway.
After all, he couldn't just stand by and watch a young girl in the prime of her life perish in this dark underground place.
Zhiqiong stubbornly shook her head.
"On an adventure, you'll always encounter all sorts of dangers. I can't be timid and hesitant at the slightest sign of danger; otherwise, I'd miss out on so many magnificent landscapes and so many hidden secrets..."
"Excuse me for interrupting you, but judging from what just happened, you were not in a little danger, but in danger that could have taken your life. And I have been telling you all along that no matter how beautiful the scenery or how hidden the secrets, nothing is more precious than your life."
As Xu Ning spoke, he called out Master Ji from his gourd, picked up the little raccoon cat and threw it into the air. Just as it touched the upside-down hot spring, he quickly took out his camera and snapped a few pictures.
Master Ji chuckled as he descended from mid-air. Xu Ning caught the little creature and then handed it the photo he was fanning himself with.
Watching Xu Ning tease the little raccoon cat, Zhiqiong suddenly asked, "Lord Xu Ning, when did you receive the favor of the gods and gain the Eye of God?"
Xu Ning glanced at the gourd of wine in his hand, recalled the scene when he first met Beidou, and casually replied, "Many years ago..."
Zhiqiong looked down at the wine in the bowl. "So you were a child when you became a favorite of the gods. You now have an almost immortal reputation and legend in Liyue. Even hundreds of years from now, you may still be active in the books and biographies of Wanwen Collection. Meanwhile, we mortals, who are outside the sight of the gods, rush through our lives in a hurry and in mediocrity, and then we will be forgotten by this world immediately. Is our journey in this world completely meaningless?"
Zhiqiong's words left Xu Ning somewhat speechless.
In any world, mortals always make up the majority. Take Liyue Harbor, for example. Although Xu Ning was extremely familiar with the place, apart from a few people like Master Mao and Ying'er who left a deep impression, he didn't even glance at the rest of the people, let alone remember their names. But could it be said that their lives were meaningless?
Xu Ning pondered for a moment, “I can’t judge the meaning of other people’s lives, but there are many ways to realize your own life value. You don’t necessarily have to fight your way out of this place. Liyue has many ways to explore the secrets hidden here. You don’t need to bring this kind of pointless courage and make pointless sacrifices.”
"Five hundred years ago, the ancestors of Liyue and the Yaksha clan fought here with their lives. Neither we nor they want to see the people of Liyue pay the price of their lives for anything again."