nycdaug Chapter 134 The Evil Fire at the Main Gate of Mondstadt
Chapter 134 The Evil Fire at the Main Gate of Mondstadt
Hailey leaned close to Moco's face and whispered, "Do you think there might be something buried under those flowers..."
Xu Ning tilted his head and glanced at Hailey's expression.
He noticed that the little maid clearly had a smile in her eyes, and was deliberately trying to scare Moko.
Xu Ning coughed lightly, walked over and whispered to Hailey, "I think your guess is very likely close to the truth."
Hailey was startled, then saw that it was Xu Ning.
"You're eavesdropping on us again, and you're deliberately trying to scare us! I'm going to tell Miss Adeline!"
Xu Ning smiled wryly. This little maid really was dancing in front of the door to a terrifying truth this time.
Oh well, this is fine too. Even the innocent and carefree happiness is worth cherishing.
After apologizing to Hailey and Moco and explaining that he wanted to visit Mondstadt, Xu Ning asked them to let him know when Lord Diluc woke up before preparing to leave the winery for Mondstadt.
However, as soon as they stepped out of the vineyard, they saw Eze directing several people to load barrels of wine onto a wagon.
Upon learning that Xu Ning wanted to visit Mondstadt, Eze smiled.
“Perfect timing. With the badminton festival approaching, the pubs in town are extremely busy right now, and the drinks will soon be in short supply. I was just about to have Ernest send a truckload of drinks over ahead of time, so you can come along with him.”
"Oh, by the way, the tavern is called 'Gift of the Angels.' If you need anything in town, just ask Charles at the tavern for help. Just say you are a guest of Lord Diluc."
Xu Ning smiled and agreed.
Ernest was a chubby young man who drove the cart very skillfully, indicating that he had done a lot of delivery work on a regular basis.
The car drove very fast and soon arrived at the foot of a protruding cliff.
Ernest stopped the car and said to Xu Ning, "Let's stop here for a bit and let the horses drink some water before we continue."
Xu Ning jumped out of the car and laughed, "This is a good location. The protruding cliff is like a canopy, providing shade and shelter from the rain. There's also a small lake where we can water our livestock. It's quite nice!"
Ernest nodded and said, "Indeed, and there's a tea stall up ahead, which seems to be run by someone from Liyue. It's said that if you tell him a good story, you can get a pot of tea in return. But I can't tell stories, so I've never had that free tea. I think he went back a few days ago."
Xu Ning said "Oh," took a few steps forward, and sure enough, saw an abandoned tea stall.
Upon approaching, I noticed a small wooden sign next to it with a notice that had been wrinkled by the wind.
"Due to the off-season, the tea stall is closed. Please come to Liyue to find me if you need anything. Tea Master Liu Su"
Xu Ning was shocked. This tea stall was actually opened by Liu Su, Tian Tiezui's senior brother.
So this is how this guy gathers inspiration? Your family name isn't Liu, it's Pu, right?
That's really something!
Xu Ning sighed for a while, then tilted his head back and took two gulps of wine. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of what looked like a city in the sky.
"This is... the Jade Pavilion? No, how could the Jade Pavilion be here?"
Xu Ning is currently in a canyon called Drunken Man's Canyon.
Well, perhaps the name comes from the fact that drunkards often come out of the Dawn Winery!
Xu Ning remembered that this canyon ran due east to due west.
The Jade Pavilion is in the south, but my face is facing due west, so I can't see the Jade Pavilion no matter what.
Moreover, even from a great distance and high in the air, Xu Ning could still vaguely see that the city was quite magnificent, like a large metropolis.
"This direction seems to be directly facing Qingce Village. How could there be a city in the sky in that direction?"
"Could it be that what I'm seeing is Sky Island?"
Xu Ning chuckled self-deprecatingly. How could he possibly see Sky Island so easily? It was probably just a mirage.
After resting for a while, Ernest drove back towards Mond again.
After walking for a short while, Xu Ning had already forgotten about the city in the sky.
"Springfield is just ahead, and Mondstadt will be just past there. How lucky we were not to encounter any monsters in Drunken Gorge. We are so fortunate."
Ernest breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Xu Ning, saying, "But when we came here, Mr. Eze also said that as long as you are here, we don't need to be afraid even if we encounter monsters."
Mondstadt is a massive castle situated in Cider Lake, like an isolated island in the lake, accessible only through a single gate in the southeast.
Xu Ning and his companion arrived at the city gate quickly.
After crossing the stone bridge, just as they were about to enter the city, two soldiers at the gate stopped the carriage.
The two guards seemed to recognize Ernest as Diluc's subordinate, as they spoke to him very politely.
"The gate is currently under martial law. Could you please move the carriage to the manger on the side and rest and wait for a while? The delegation from Zhidong is preparing to leave the city. We'll wait until they leave before we go in."
Ernest nodded and readily moved the car to the side.
"The farther these nasty guys go, the better. They should never show their faces in Mondstadt again."
Xu Ning chuckled as he listened to Ernest's words.
There were several carriages waiting at the entrance. Xu Ning had just clearly seen a short man in a long robe flash past one of the carriages.
"That figure just now seemed to be..."
Xu Ning looked around but couldn't find the short man again. He turned to Ernest beside him and smiled, "It seems I might have to enter the city before you. If we meet again, I'll treat you to some of my wine. Goodbye."
Ernest nodded.
At that moment, the convoy of the diplomatic corps, which had been parked at the gate, finally began to slowly drive out of the city.
The cavalry captain in charge of the escort, Kaiya, looked utterly dejected, clearly showing his extreme reluctance to do the job.
When the car carrying the diplomat from Zhidong came out, the short man who had just disappeared suddenly reappeared at the door.
The guards at the door immediately noticed the bandages wrapped around the boy's face and arms and stepped forward to stop him.
"I'm sorry, this area is temporarily closed. Please go somewhere else..."
The young man silently stepped back a few paces, then suddenly unleashed a burst of dark purple flames at the carriage of the Winter Solstice diplomatic mission.
This eerie flame, like a living venomous snake, suddenly burrowed into the gaps of the carriage and burned directly onto the two high-ranking diplomatic officials inside.
The person inside immediately began to scream in agony.