NCCnovel Chapter 543 Liyue's Dream Interpreter
Chapter 543 Liyue's Dream Interpreter
Even after the three of them emerged from the teleportation point in front of the Sumeru City tavern, Xu Ning and Kong were still vehemently condemning Paimon's "jinxed" behavior.
Paimon knew he was in the wrong, so all he could do was scratch his head and smile foolishly while apologizing, until he was almost bald from scratching.
As soon as Paimon appeared in front of the tavern, he quickly changed the subject.
“Pete and the others have specially fenced off an area in the corner of the square as the main venue for ‘A Moment of Dreams’. Xu Ning, I’ll take you there.”
Xu Ning didn't need her to lead the way. From the moment he came out, he saw a group of people gathered together, discussing something enthusiastically. He guessed it was some kind of "Dream Moment" tea party.
Before the three of them even got there, a person immediately ran out from the crowd, waving at Paimon with a look of surprise and delight, saying, "Dream expert, you're back!"
Xu Ning chuckled, "Dream expert, what a terrible name. But Paimon, it's quite remarkable that you've made a name for yourself here."
Paimon tilted his head back smugly and snorted, "Of course, after all, I have a wealth of experience in dreaming... Pete, while we were away, did you go looking for a new expert?"
Pete smiled wryly, “We’ve only just settled things in Sumeru, and there aren’t many foreigners coming. I went to ask the wine merchants in Liyue for help as you instructed, but they’re too busy doing business with the Order of the Church to do anything else. We’ve been able to resolve the issue through meetings for the past few days.”
Pete moved closer and whispered, "Also, those guys who look fierce, and that weirdo, have been waiting here for days."
Xu Ning saw that Paimon was clearly startled when he heard this, then glanced at him sideways, stammered a few words to Pete, and Pete immediately ran over enthusiastically.
"So you're the dream interpreter from Liyue! Thank you so much for coming all this way to help us. I'll definitely have your name engraved on the Dream Interpreter's signboard..."
Xu Ning quickly pushed away the guy who was about to hug her, "Wait, wait, let me see what's going on first."
Pete grabbed Xu Ning's arm as if afraid he would run away, and pushed Xu Ning toward a large chair.
"Actually, none of us used to dream much, but now we've suddenly started dreaming, and we'd like to ask you about some special circumstances. You can just answer our questions. Um... wait a minute..."
Just as Pete had seated Xu Ning in the main seat, a burly, fat man sat down across the table.
Pete clearly didn't want the fat guy to come over, but he couldn't overcome the guy's physique, so he had no choice but to give up and stand aside to secretly watch Xu Ning's reaction.
Xu Ning clearly sensed something was wrong. This big guy looked extremely rough and tough, but when he sat there, he was as shy and timid as an unmarried young lady. For a long time, he held back his words until his face turned red, but he couldn't utter a single word.
"Ahem, what's wrong with you... uh, what do you want to ask?"
Xu Ning adopted the air of a doctor from a small clinic in his previous life and asked the fat man.
After hesitating for a long time, the fat man finally spoke up: "I just want to ask, when a dream formed purely from desire suffers continuous damage, will the habitual influence on the mind be projected onto behavior under the same conditions in the real world and produce the same results? If we want to correct it, what should we do?"
Xu Ning stared in disbelief and repeated, "What? What do we do?"
Damn it, is this the true essence of a city of scholars?
How can we compete when any random, burly, fat guy can spout such professional terminology?
I quit! I'm leaving!
Xu Ning reached out and pressed down on the table, about to leave, but Paimon and Pete quickly grabbed him from both sides to prevent him from getting up.
Paimon had already spoken with the fat man once, and with a flushed face, he described his problem to Xu Ning in the fastest and most concise language possible.
It turns out that this guy and the neighbor's daughter had been in love for a long time but never dared to confess. When he finally confessed and broke through the last obstacle, it happened in a dream during the Flower Goddess's birthday festival...
"Oh ho ho ho," Xu Ning chuckled lewdly, "Then this guy is really lucky, getting freebies countless times without having to take any responsibility..."
Paimon slapped Xu Ning on the shoulder to make him serious, then stammered, "He...he...he's really miserable. He said that whenever it gets to a crucial moment...someone knocks on the door and says something like, 'The Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival is much more fun than Big Sister'...'...Although he can't remember how many times it's happened, that voice haunts him like a nightmare. Now he's finally with that Big Sister, but that voice seems to follow him everywhere. He hears it not only in his dreams, but also in reality, whenever it gets to a crucial moment...he remembers that phrase, and then..."
Paimon ultimately lacked the courage to continue.
However, Xu Ning understood perfectly. He slammed his hand on the table and yelled at the fat man, "If you can't do it, you can't do it! You're just a pervert who's deliberately coming here to tell that little white-haired guy dirty stories for thrills, aren't you? Believe me or not, I'll beat you up! And you said 'The Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival is much more fun than Big Sister'? Isn't it fun? But I feel like I've heard that line somewhere before..."
Xu Ning was also a little confused; where had he heard this phrase before?
Just as I was thinking about it, I saw the fat man stand up tremblingly, point at me, and say, "You...you try shouting that sentence out loud again!"
The fat couple in the room next to Dina Zede's in my dream!
Xu Ning suddenly realized what had happened, looked the fat man up and down, and laughed sheepishly, "Look at this misunderstanding, I didn't even recognize you when you were dressed... Don't be impulsive, I can tell you with certainty that you can't beat me."
The fat man clenched his fists and panted for a long time before finally slumping down after Xu Ning told him that he could help him.
"You and Fatty are already a couple? Impressive! How many times have you succeeded since you got married? And you always think of me? Seriously, you're a pervert. Why do you keep thinking about me... Okay, okay, I'm a pervert, it's all my fault..."
Xu Ning calmed the fat man down again, saying, "Look, here's the thing. I really don't know you, and I don't know where you live. I might be helping everyone here all day, and I'll probably be going back to Liyue tomorrow, so we'll absolutely never cross paths again. You can rest assured about that, right? Now that I'm busy here, you can go home and find your older sister, do whatever you want, and break through this mental barrier once and for all, okay?"
The fat man suddenly stood up. "I'll go tell her the good news right now."
Xu Ning praised, "That's right, remember I'm here, not outside your house, so don't worry about me."
Seeing the fat man run away happily, Pete said that although he didn't understand, he was greatly shocked.
“Master is so powerful. I’ll go and call those guys over. They’re making us all uncomfortable. Master, please send them away too.”
Watching Pete run off to find those "fierce people" Paimon had mentioned, Xu Ning smiled at Kong and said, "It's not that difficult. Just like emotional counseling, you can comfort them."
Kong Gan chuckled twice. If you weren't the instigator, then this statement would be all the more convincing.
"But I only remember bothering them three or four times, how come this guy remembers it so clearly?"
“You had more than three or four dreams back then, more than 160 in total. The reason you only felt that there were a few is because I deleted those meaningless, repetitive dreams for you.”
A tiny voice suddenly rang in Xu Ning's heart.
Xu Ning replied in surprise in his mind, "Nasita, you're here too? Why don't you come out and play with us?"
Nasita's somewhat frustrated voice rang out again, "They became very cautious as soon as I came out, and they didn't even dare to say a word."
Xu Ning sighed inwardly, "This is also a consequence of his reputation. Why don't you go and have some fun with Catherine's body? Hopefully, the Adventurers' Guild isn't too busy lately!"
"I can't get in. It seems the Adventurers' Guild headquarters has tampered with the system and shut down the back door I found."
Xu Ning thought to himself that there was nothing he could do to help, "However, the more you go out and move around, the more familiar people will be with you, and the less distance they will feel. Of course, if you want to maintain your high authority and dignity, then staying away from people is the normal thing to do."
"I'm almost done with what I'm doing, and I'll be coming to visit you guys soon."
Nasita said one more sentence, and then her voice disappeared.
Xu Ning snapped out of his daze and saw Pete leading a group of people toward them.
"Damn, what's going on today? It's like we've run into each other on the wrong side of the road."
Upon seeing the leader, Xu Ning immediately pulled out a black mask from his pocket and covered half of his face, then stuffed the Dust Concealment Gourd under the table between his legs.
The leader was dressed in the standard attire of a gilded guild, with a naturally villainous face, a hideous appearance that could stop a child from crying, and a serious expression that always seemed to be angry.
However, in Xu Ning's view, he was clearly somewhat timid and hesitant, with a shifty gaze, as if he was constantly afraid of something.
Even the henchmen behind him looked just like him, with timid eyes and dejected expressions.
Kong looked thoughtfully at the black mask that Brother Xu had hastily put on, and then at the state of these people. Suddenly, he looked confident.
Regardless of how these things came about, Brother Xu seems to be able to fix them all. He's amazing!
The leader of the gilded guild walked over surrounded by his underlings, and the people around instinctively made way for him and kept their distance.
The first thing he asked Xu Ning after sitting down was, "Why are you wearing a mask?"
Xu Ning calmly countered, "Then why are you afraid?"
The leader of the group's face darkened. "Because I got sick, along with the brothers."
"Oh? What illness?"
"We are afraid to see stacks of pottery jars, afraid of the shadows of houses, afraid of the stove for cooking, and even afraid of the openwork city gates."