NCCnovel Chapter 532 A Scheme in the Dark
Chapter 532 A Scheme in the Dark
"Lord Xu Ning: Hello Xin'an!"
Zheping began with a very polite greeting, but after thanking Xu Ning for commissioning the Tianmu Forge to forge the spear for him, the letter gradually revealed a murderous aura.
It seems that because forging spears is much simpler than forging swords, Tianmu Fifteen directly handed over the spear blueprints that Xu Ning had given him to his apprentice, Achuang.
Tenmoku's apprentice was indeed exceptionally skilled, crafting the "Kitain Jumonji" almost exactly according to its blueprints, and then entrusting Komahoya to deliver it to Teppei early on.
In his letter, Teppei said that after he obtained the spear, he lived in Hishiki Village. Every day, he would take Nagatsugu to observe the remains of the great serpent at the head of the serpent god and practice his spear skills until he hit a bottleneck and could not make any progress. Nagatsugu also insisted on going to find his mother, so he packed his bags and started traveling with Nagatsugu.
Unexpectedly, not long after setting out, while resting in a mountain valley, they encountered a ronin testing his sword on passersby, sparing not even women and children. Enraged, Teppei killed the ronin and, while searching for his belongings, discovered that he was actually a disciple of the Iwazo-ryu school.
"...The country is engulfed in war, and those skilled in martial arts have failed to help the suffering people. Instead, they have become bandits, the source of chaos. I want to do something for this country and its people..."
After reading the letter, Xu Ning smiled at Qi Liangliang and asked, "Did you see Zheping when you received the letter? How is he doing now?"
Kira looked a little scared. "He's very famous in Inazuma now. He's known as 'The White-Haired Orochi' Teppei."
"It is said that he killed the disciples of the Iwazoryu school, publicly denounced the Iwazoryu school as full of bandits, disgraced the great achievements of his predecessors in slaying demons and eliminating evil, and then wiped out the entire Iwazoryu school in a martial arts competition. He also showed no mercy to pirates and bandits such as the Kairanki. Once he discovered them, he would kill them all and distribute their wealth to the nearby people. The government also highly praised his actions."
Xu Ning hadn't expected Zheping to be so murderous now. It seemed that his experience in Hishikura Village had indeed solidified some of his beliefs.
"And that unlucky Iwazo, his joke from back then really came true. He abandoned his roots and left nothing behind in the end."
At the end of the letter, Xu Ning saw that Zheping said he had heard that he was in Xumi, and it seemed that he had also obtained some clues about Changci's mother, which pointed to Xumi. He said that he might bring Changci to look for his mother someday.
"I'm not very good at writing letters either. If you see Zheping when you get back, please give me a message. If he goes to Sumeru, he can first look for the wine merchants in Liyue. They will naturally help him introduce suitable people, which will make finding people much easier."
Although sending a letter without paying postage is slightly against the rules, the kind-hearted Qi Liangliang took Xu Ning's action as a request between friends and agreed to it seriously.
Qi Liangliang said she still had to deliver a document to the Ministry of Education, declined Xu Ning's invitation to dinner, and ran out the door.
Xu Ning looked at the long box on the table and felt that appreciating swords in a tavern was still a bit outrageous.
After paying for the food, he took the box and went straight to the open space behind the Lambad Tavern, then slipped into the Dust-Hidden Cave.
"Qingyi, Shenhe, and Aji, come and see my new sword!"
Unpacking a package must be a ritual, and how can you open it without an audience?
Xu Ning called everyone to the dining table, slowly opened the long package, and gently pulled the long sword out of its lacquered sheath.
A long sword shimmering with purple lightning waves slowly appeared before everyone.
The blade has a slight curve, and the guard is rounded and divided into a cross shape, with the four characters "雷切天目" (Raikiri Tenmoku) engraved on it in Liyue script.
"The names were all engraved in advance, which saved me the trouble of choosing a name."
Xu Ning casually swung it a few times, then tossed it to his lightning elemental clone, saying, "Let's see how it feels."
"Raikiri Tenmoku" seems to have been specially made by Tenmoku Fifteen for his lightning attribute clone. His lightning element flows freely on the sword, and every time his lightning power washes over the blade, a lightning seal is generated. Once the four lightning seals are full, a full-power attack can be triggered.
Watching the lightning elemental wielding the longsword, Xu Ning turned to Shen He and said, "It's been tough for you coming to this place with me. We didn't get to eat or have any fun, but we're going back to Liyue soon. Aren't you happy?"
Shen He nodded, and Xu Ning could see the joy in her eyes.
"Since you're so happy, let's go now."
Xu Ning flashed out of the space and headed straight for the teleportation anchor point at the street corner.
Are you leaving?
As soon as Xu Ning reached the teleportation anchor point, he heard a small voice say, "I thought you would say goodbye to everyone before leaving."
Xu Ning didn't need to look up to know that the new Little Grass Goddess Naxida had arrived.
"That's what I was thinking too, but after thinking about it just now, I realized that it would only add to my sadness and wouldn't do me any good. It's better to be straightforward and decisive."
"Then when will you come back?"
Xu Ning looked up in surprise at Naxida, who was sitting on the railing swinging her legs.
"Is everything settled here in Sumeru? All that's left is to simmer it slowly..."
Nasita tilted her head. "I was originally planning to take you to see the real World Tree, but seeing how eager you are to leave, I was wondering when you would come..."
Xu Ning's mind stirred, and he became genuinely curious about the contents of the World Tree.
Since he couldn't find any wine element that belonged to him through the ley lines, Xu Ning was genuinely interested in entering the core of the World Tree to see what kind of record this world had of him.
"I've already promised to go home. I'll come back next time, and then I'll see the truth of this world!"
Xu Ning smiled, solemnly bid farewell to Naxida, and then vanished without a trace.
After Xu Ning left, Naxida remained sitting on the railing for a long time.
"That's good. He should be ready by then, and we'll be able to see it more clearly, both inside and inside him..."
Xu Ning was unaware that the Little Grass God had taken a liking to him. After a long journey, Xu Ning revealed himself directly from the teleportation anchor point on Tianheng Mountain.
Looking at the Jade Pavilion flying in the air in the distance, Xu Ning still controlled the Wings of Wind and flew directly up to the Jade Pavilion.
"who?"
Xu Ning had just stepped onto the bluestone steps of the Jade Pavilion when he immediately heard a sharp shout.
A figure wielding a halberd appeared from above, directing two crossbows to quickly aim at Xu Ning.
"Quick reaction, huh? I didn't expect the defenses to be strengthened again. Zhenhai, it's me!"
Xu Ning raised the copper gourd in his hand and shook it.
A joyful voice suddenly came from above, "Put everything away, Lord Xu Ning has returned, go and inform him quickly."
Zhenhai quickly appeared at the top of the steps, stood up straight, and gave Xu Ning a standard Liyue military salute.
"Very good, your body is stronger than before."
Xu Ningbang punched him twice in the chest, then walked inside with a smile.
Although it was already dark, the hall was still brightly lit.
"I knew you wouldn't go to bed so early."
When Xu Ning entered, he saw Ning Guang sitting in the study, flipping through some files.
Ningguang, her eyes filled with affection, smiled and stood up to greet Xu Ning, asking, "Is everything settled over there? Have you eaten yet?"
Xu Ning casually tossed the Dust Concealment Gourd onto the table and laughed, "Neither I nor this whole family inside have eaten yet."
Ningguang smiled and said, "We've already eaten. I'll have the cook prepare some more food for you. Go wash up first; you smell of spices all over. You'll be ready to eat after you've washed up."
Xu Ning raised his sleeve in confusion and sniffed it. "Is it that obvious? Looks like I've been marinated without even realizing it. Luckily, the others haven't come out much..."
He left the gourd there and let Ningguang call everyone out, while Xu Ning went to the bathhouse for a relaxing soak.
When they came out, everyone was already enjoying their meal.
"Fine, you didn't even wait for me..."
The woman in green didn't stop eating, and said disdainfully, "You're too slow."
Ningguang gestured for Xu Ning to sit next to her, personally served him a bowl of porridge, and then used chopsticks to pick out fish for him.
Xu Ning was indeed hungry, so he ate half a bowl of porridge as soon as he came up before starting his meal.
Ningguang watched Xu Ning eat with a smile, then suddenly turned to look at Shen He, who was calmly eating vegetarian dishes. She tapped Xu Ning's hand with her chopsticks and subtly pointed in Shen He's direction.
"With such a good opportunity, why didn't you take a bite out of Sumeru?"
Xu Ning paused, hurriedly pushing Ning Guang's chopsticks aside, "Don't order randomly."
Ningguang looked at Xu Ning and smiled mischievously. She didn't bring up the previous topic again, but carefully picked out the fish bones for him.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they all went back to rest.
Xu Ning looked at the Dust Concealment Gourd on the table, but did not reach out to take it. Instead, he turned his face to Ning Guang with a fawning smile.
Looking at Xu Ning's expression, Ningguang knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Liyue has been quite unsettled these past few days. I still have several messages to check, so I'll probably stay up late. You should go and get some rest."
Seeing that Xu Ning was determined to pester her, Ningguang said helplessly, "Go ahead, there's a surprise waiting for you later."
Hearing that there was a pleasant surprise, Xu Ning walked towards Ningguang's boudoir, turning back every few steps.
Ningguang shook her head, didn't look at him again, and went into the study to look through the files.
Ningguang's bedroom door was ajar. As soon as Xu Ning pushed the door open and stepped inside, he heard a heavy breathing sound.
"Huh? Who's there...?"
Xu Ning frowned, but before he could ask a question, he suddenly felt his hands being grabbed.
Xu Ning let out a cold laugh and turned his hands outward to grab the guy who had plotted against him.
To his shock, the other party's wrist remained unmoved, as if cast in iron. Xu Ning felt a strong force pull him up and was thrown onto the huge Yunmeng couch.