NCCnovel Chapter 127 An Unexpected Farewell
Chapter 127 An Unexpected Farewell
"Set sail, and set sail."
Beidou, leaning on his Black Rock Slayer Sword, stood at the bow of the ship, waved to Ningguang and Xu Ning on the shore, and left Liyue Harbor in a menacing manner.
"Is Yelan's information reliable?" Xu Ning asked Ningguang.
Ningguang nodded and said, "Yelan is always cautious in her actions. This time, she infiltrated the merchant's ranks for nearly a month before obtaining accurate intelligence."
Xu Ning laughed and said, "This merchant is quite something. He only had three or four years of stable life before he betrayed Liyue and became a spy for the Kingdom of Winter."
Ningguang sighed, “You once said that all the world’s hustle and bustle is for profit. Recently, the Winter Kingdom has begun to mobilize a large amount of funds into the Liyue market, suppressing poorly managed local Liyue businesses; while on the other hand, the Northern Bank has stepped forward to play the role of a benefactor, attracting these people to become their loyal customers by lending money.”
"Their over-reliance on funds from the Northern Bank will only make them sink deeper and deeper until they reach a point of no return."
Xu Ning sneered, "Even so, that's no excuse for them to become slaves to others. They dare to smuggle such an important resource as magic crystal mine out of the country. Where do they put their own country and people?"
Ningguang smiled and said, "I don't think you need to be so angry."
“The Northern Bank purchases through them, so naturally they have to pay a lot of Mora to the mine. We intercepted it halfway and sent it back, which is equivalent to getting a ship full of magic crystals for free. Then we found the seller and the buyer, issued a fine to each side, and that’s two more sources of income.”
"I'd love to fleece this kind of idiot a few more times."
Xu Ning smiled too.
Over the past few years, Ningguang has held a high position and has become increasingly adept at controlling Liyue, which has also fostered her strong self-confidence.
Since Beidou killed Hyjal four years ago, Ningguang and Beidou have become the new core figures of Liyue.
Xu Ning's teams also successfully graduated and began to train their own teams, sending talent into various fields.
Xu Ning did not accept Tian Shu's offer of employment again and resigned from his position as the head instructor of the Thousand Rock Army. Instead, he joined the newly established branch of the Adventurers' Guild in Liyue and obtained an official Adventurer's Certificate.
Every day, I accept and complete quests to earn Mora, which I then exchange for Refined Magic Ore from the Adventurers' Guild to upgrade my weapons.
Moreover, the more Xu Ning came into contact with the Adventurers' Guild, the more surprised he became by the guild's powerful and timely intelligence capabilities.
If it weren't for the fact that several missions he accepted had thwarted some of the Fools's underhanded schemes, Xu Ning would probably have been extremely wary of this association headquartered in the Winter Solstice Kingdom long ago.
What truly put Xu Ning at ease was that, since Liyue's development focus was now on Guili Plains, many of the Adventurers' Guild's quests were actually geared towards helping with the development of Guili Plains.
This could involve clearing away mutated plants, unblocking a road, or providing timely assistance to caravans in distress.
Some of these timely missions were commissioned by the pioneers of Guiliyuan, but most were released based on the powerful intelligence sources of the Adventurers' Guild.
However, the only thing that annoyed Xu Ning was that his level on the panel seemed to be locked, remaining at level 20 without any sign of breaking through.
Despite his diligent daily training, Xu Ning could feel that his strength was steadily improving.
However, most of these improvements are in familiarity with and application of one's skills, and do not significantly help one's attack power and destructiveness.
Even now, without using elemental combat skills, he is almost unable to confront Beidou head-on.
As Beidou continues to explore his own Eye of God, if he doesn't make any progress, he'll probably be left behind by Beidou very soon.
Xu Ning spent a long time using various forms of coercion and enticement to get the breakthrough method from the little snake Qingyi, and even considered getting her to modify her data.
To her relentless pursuit, the little snake had only one response: You're overthinking it.
However, after being relentlessly pestered, Qingyi finally said something.
"You've been standing still for too long!"
After hearing this, Xu Ning couldn't sleep well for two days.
He had gotten used to seeing Beidou's happy face as he drank and joked around every day when he opened his eyes, and to seeing Ningguang's serene beauty as she focused on the accounts when he stepped out of the room.
Listen to Xin Yan's rock music, taste Xiang Ling's new dishes, deliver milk when visiting Qi Qi, and feed Gan Yu when encountering her.
Xu Ning could never have too many peaceful and tranquil days like this.
However, Xu Ning still has a very clear understanding of the enemies he will face in the future.
If my abilities stop here, I fear that when misfortune strikes one day in the future, I will surely regret it for the rest of my life.
Even though Liyue is protected by that old man, who can guarantee that the flames of chaos won't spread to the Liyue continent?
Xu Ning glanced at Ning Guang standing beside her. In just a few years of pampered life, she had grown from a barefoot, thin little girl into a tall, graceful, and stunningly beautiful girl brimming with youthful energy.
Girls tend to develop earlier.
Ningguang is fifteen years old this year, but she is already almost as tall as me.
Although Xu Ning did not know his and Bei Dou's exact ages, he believed they were about the same age, perhaps both a year younger than Ning Guang.
I will eventually grow taller than her, and I will definitely shelter her from the wind and rain again, just like when I first saw her.
"I... want to leave for a while."
Xu Ning didn't dare look at Ning Guang's face, but just looked in the direction the Beidou ship had left and said softly.
But he clearly felt Ningguang's body suddenly tremble.
"Where to go?"
Ningguang's voice was ethereal, like a feather swaying in the wind, unable to land.
Xu Ning breathed a sigh of relief. "It should be Mondstadt."
Ningguang finally turned her head, took a step in front of Xu Ning, and stared into Xu Ning's somewhat evasive eyes.
"how long?"
Xu Ning had always been quite afraid of making eye contact with Ning Guang.
Those eyes are always so clear, as if they can see right into your heart and see through all your hidden thoughts.
But now, those red eyes, so much like the Big Dipper, are veiled by layers of mist, and I'm afraid they can't see the reluctance in their hearts!
"It should be about a year and a half. There should be a teleportation point in Mondstadt, so I can come back to see you anytime..."
Xu Ning was hesitant to be too certain, since traveling from Mondstadt to Liyue, even using teleportation points, would take half a month round trip.
Ningguang remained silent for a moment before asking, "When are you leaving?"
Xu Ning gritted his teeth and hardened his heart, saying, "Let's do it now!"
"Aren't you going to say goodbye to BeiDou?"
“I’m afraid if I tell her, I won’t be able to leave.”
Ningguang chuckled softly, but it sounded like she was choking back tears. "You're telling me you have no burdens? How am I supposed to explain this to Beidou?"