nycdaug Chapter 135 Lunch with Cole
Chapter 135 Lunch with Cole
Beside the carriage of the Winter Mission.
One of the Mondstadt soldiers who was guarding nearby heard the screams from inside the carriage and immediately went to pull open the carriage door.
Unexpectedly, the black flames inside suddenly spewed out from the cracks in the doors and windows, stuck to his hands, and then burst into flames again.
The soldier frantically swung his arms, but the flames spread and burned on his arms like sticky glue, refusing to go out.
"do not move!"
Xu Ning originally intended to catch up with the arsonist first, but seeing the innocent soldiers being implicated, he had no choice but to turn back immediately and grab the soldier's elbow with one hand.
His arm was held in place to prevent it from moving, and then the Dust Concealment Gourd tilted, and a stream of pure water rained down along the soldier's arm.
With a hiss, the water and fire clashed, yet no white steam was produced.
Xu Ning clearly saw the pure water he poured out and the burning evil black fire, two completely opposite elemental forces canceling each other out.
The carriage was silent. As if fueled by the life force of the two diplomats inside, the black flames burning on the carriage seemed to take shape, transforming into a giant serpent spitting flames.
The snake emerged from the carriage and began spewing black fire at the surrounding crowd.
Kaeya, who had already reacted, had an icy expression on his face and drew the longsword from his waist.
This sword is called "Dark Alley Flash". Its shape and style are very similar to the West Wind Sword, but the color of the blade is as dark as night, and the wing-shaped guard is also blackish-purple.
As Kaiya drew his longsword, a sharp, icy sword aura shot out from the blade, landing around the carriage and quickly condensing into a ring of crystalline ice, enveloping the harmful black fire within.
Xu Ning knew at a glance that Kaeya had completely taken control of the situation. He handed the soldier, whose flames had been extinguished and who was in so much pain that he was about to faint, over to his colleagues to take care of, and then went directly into Mondstadt.
As soon as Xu Ning entered the city, he saw the boy's figure.
The boy, whose body was wrapped in bandages, didn't leave at all. Instead, he stood behind a big tree inside the city gate, biting his lip and looking out.
Like a tourist visiting Mondstadt for the first time, Xu Ning strolled leisurely to the fruit stand behind the boy, then squeezed through the gaps in the fruit stand and quietly walked up behind him.
"What? Regret it?"
The boy, who was wrapped up tightly, was startled and quickly turned around. Xu Ning saw that she looked like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, and her fur seemed to stand on end.
Xu Ning reached out and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her away.
"Apart from the two Winterborns you burned to death, everyone else is fine. Stop watching and get out of here quickly. That one-eyed man is terrifying; we need to escape fast."
The boy was still struggling, but when he heard Xu Ning's words, he let him pull him away.
Xu Ning led her along the city wall to the right, until they reached a group of houses full of wine barrels, and then they emerged from the corner of the house.
This is the back door of Diluc's property in Mondstadt, the famous tavern "Gift of the Angels".
It's clear that the tavern is doing very well, since there are plenty of tables and chairs on the side of the building.
However, it's still morning, and there's no one sitting outside.
Xu Ning pulled out a chair and smiled at the still wary kitten in front of him, "Sit down and rest for a while. It looks like you traveled here in the dark, you look exhausted."
Xu Ning took an empty cup from the table, rinsed it with some water, then poured in most of a cup of sweet liquor and pushed it over to her.
"It's still early before noon, the restaurants probably haven't even started preparing the ingredients yet. Let's have some drinks to quench our thirst first. By the way, what should I call you?"
"Colette".
Ke Lai responded to Xu Ning's question somewhat coldly, looking at the sweet-smelling drink in front of her as if she was trying her best to resist it.
"And who are you? Why are you helping me?"
Xu Ning smiled.
“My name is Xu Ning. Like you, I am also a stranger in Mondstadt, and I also just as much hate the Fools. Do these count as reasons?”
"Besides, I have many good friends in the Knights of Favonius, and I don't want you to have a conflict with them."
Cole nodded almost imperceptibly. "As long as they don't stop me from finding someone, I won't clash with them."
Xu Ning took a sip of his drink and asked casually, "Are you looking for a bad guy among the Fools?"
Cole was shocked to find that the person opposite him had revealed his secret so quickly, and he stood up in astonishment.
"You...how did you know?"
Xu Ning smiled and said, "Sit down and have a drink, then I'll tell you."
Cole slowly sat down, picked up the wine glass on the table, and gently touched it to his lips.
She only intended to make a show of it, but the moment the sweet wine touched her chapped lips, the delightful and moisturizing sensation made her unable to resist, and she gulped down a large mouthful.
The wine was smooth and refreshing, and Cole couldn't help but let out a pleasant sigh. However, he immediately realized his lapse in composure and coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment.
"I've drunk it, now you tell me!"
Xu Ning slowly said, "I was standing at the gate just now, preparing to enter the city. I saw that you were originally going to enter the city, but you were stopped. Then you saw the Fools symbol on the carriage and decided to take action, right?"
Ke Lai silently drank the sweet wine, but did not answer Xu Ning's question.
"Without a doubt, your behavior of simply venting your anger has brought great trouble to both yourself and Mondstadt."
"Winterlands is very powerful, while Mondstadt is too weak. In order to quell the murder of the diplomat, Mondstadt, under immense pressure, had no choice but to solve the case quickly, capture you, and send you to Winterlands to appease the anger of the Fools."
Cole's face paled slightly, but she remained stubbornly silent.
Seeing that her cup was almost empty, Xu Ning picked up the gourd and refilled it for her.
"But you don't need to be discouraged. Actually, this result is not unacceptable."
"The news of the diplomat's murder will likely reach some important figure soon. Perhaps it will be good news for them as well."
"The Fools are just looking for an excuse to interfere in Mondstadt's defenses and internal affairs. They will surely send an even more powerful leader here to make contact with the Knights of Favonius."
Xu Ning smiled as he looked at Cole, who was listening attentively to his analysis. "The rest of our time is to hide ourselves, avoid being implicated by the Knights of Favonius, and then just wait and see how things develop."
Ke Lai hadn't thought about what to do next. After listening to Xu Ning's analysis, he felt that what he said made a lot of sense, nodded, and said nothing more.
Xu Ning looked at the sun in the sky; it was almost noon.
"I'm going to the Deer Hunter's Restaurant over there to buy some food from Mondstadt. You stay where you are and don't move. I'll be right back."