frightfiction Chapter 534 Let's take a step back and talk about this.
Chapter 534 Let's take a step back and talk about this.
Xu Ning gently pressed down on his shoulder, unfurled the Wings of Wind, and with a wave of his hand, the wind carried the wings straight into the sky.
According to well-informed people at the dock, the Pearl-Inlaid Boat never seemed to dock, but high-ranking officials and nobles flocked there to seek pleasure, and it was said that the boat's business was operating with the tacit approval of the Seven Stars.
It's still daytime, so there won't be too many guests there.
But when night falls, the painted boats are brightly lit and filled with laughter and songs, and that's when they truly begin to operate.
"I never knew about a place like this before."
Xu Ning wasn't particularly interested in such places of pleasure, but he was quite interested in the owner who ran the business.
Xu Ning adjusted his position in mid-air and gently landed from the top of the pleasure boat.
The top of this pleasure boat is a rotating lotus base, with two huge wooden fans intersecting in a cross shape and embedded in the base.
Xu Ning folded his Wind Wings and silently walked to the top corner of the roof, looking down.
The ship is predominantly red, accented with green drums and bright yellow lanterns—all striking colors.
There weren't many guests downstairs. A few businessmen were sipping tea and seemed to be discussing business, while many maids were carefully tidying up various places.
As Xu Ning was looking around to see if there was anyone she might recognize, the main door on the second floor suddenly opened, and a girl in a burgundy dress walked out.
"...It is truly extraordinary that you would visit our Pearl-Inlaid Boat in such a way."
The girl seemed to have known from the beginning that Xu Ning was above her. As soon as she stepped out, she turned to the eaves and said, "I wonder what brings you here uninvited?"
Hearing her speak in such a refined manner, Xu Ning couldn't help but laugh and said, "I only found out yesterday that there was a flower boat here. I was just curious, so I thought I'd come and take a look."
The girl smiled. "People who come to this ship at first just want to take a look, but once they start looking, they can't bear to leave. However, guests from afar are all guests, and although your way of being a guest is a bit special, it wouldn't be polite to just turn you away. That would be too impolite."
"How about this, as long as you follow the rules of my pleasure boat, I'll pretend I know nothing."
Xu Ning sat on the roof and took a sip of wine. "What are the rules for your pleasure boats?"
The girl pointed downwards and said, "It's simple. If you want to be a guest, you need to be invited."
"The distinguished guests here are all invited guests. According to my boss's rules, they also have the right to invite others to board the ship. So as long as you can get an invitation from them, you can come here to visit whenever you want."
Xu Ning glanced at the girl. "Couldn't you have invited me? That would have saved me so much trouble!"
"You're quite direct, but unfortunately, I can't easily send out the invitation I have. You'd better think of another way. I'll be waiting for you here."
Xu Ning noticed that although the girl was young, she was meticulous in her work and spoke with clear logic.
What's most interesting is that she clearly knew her arrival had ulterior motives, yet she didn't utter a single harsh word, but simply silently gave him a problem to solve.
"Okay, I'll give it a try. Hopefully, someone will do me a favor."
Xu Ning jumped down from the eaves and went straight to the table of the merchants.
"Please, gentlemen!"
Xu Ning clasped his hands in a fist salute without any politeness, and then casually dragged a stool over and sat down.
Several merchants seemed to have never encountered such a thing on this ship before. One of them frowned slightly, about to speak.
One of the merchants at the same table with him quickly clasped his hands in greeting: "Please, please. May I ask what brings you to our table?"
Xu Ning didn't beat around the bush and said directly with a smile, "I would like to ask you for an invitation, brother."
The merchant smiled wryly, "If it were anything else, it would be fine; as fellow Liyue natives, we should naturally lend a helping hand. But this invitation is a bit of a problem..."
"Please tell me if you're having any difficulties. Maybe I can help you in some way."
Xu Ning asked in a somewhat aggressive tone.
The merchant sighed and had no choice but to explain, "The rules on this pleasure boat are extremely strict. No one is allowed to board without an invitation. And they are very strict about managing invitations. If someone breaks the rules on the boat, then the person who invited them must also bear the same responsibility."
"Now you've boarded the ship first, and are trying to find the invitation later. Although the host family doesn't seem to be doing anything to you yet, the risk is too great..."
Xu Ning picked up the wine gourd on the table and laughed, "So you were afraid of being implicated by me. That was my fault. Alright, I'll ask someone else then."
After Xu Ning stood up and turned to leave, the merchant at the same table laughed and said, "Old Luo, it's normal for this person to not recognize things since he's new to Liyue, but don't tell me you didn't see that gourd?"
Old Luo, who had been answering Xu Ning's questions, laughed and said, "I, Old Luo, am not blind. How could I not recognize him? But you also know what kind of relationship this person has with the one above. I invited this gentleman to play here. If word gets to that person's ears, will I still be able to work in Liyue?"
"You really are a cunning and shrewd old fox..."
Xu Ning crushed the wisp of wind swirling around his fingertips, and thought to himself with a wry smile, "I didn't expect there to be this connection. This is troublesome. I can't ask the local guys in Liyue for help next."
Unexpectedly, the guys who weren't from Liyue were even more troublesome. As soon as they heard that Xu Ning had boarded the ship without an invitation, they all put on a show of watching the drama unfold.
As for an invitation, forget about it.
Xu Ning stood at the ship's railing and sighed helplessly. Was he going to make a wasted trip today?
Just as I was pondering how to end this, a long, drawn-out sigh suddenly came from the side.
The one who sighed was an extremely beautiful girl. Seeing Xu Ning looking over curiously, she curtsied slightly and said, "I'm sorry, I just thought of Mr. Chao and felt compelled to say this... Oh? You're looking for an invitation. That's probably difficult. No one would easily extend an invitation to a stranger."
"It's really strange that you can stay on the ship without an invitation. Usually, people without invitations are sent away by the bodyguards."
The girl glanced at Xu Ning, and after a long pause, as if she had made up her mind, she asked, "Um... if I help you find out who on this ship is easy to talk to, in exchange, can you do me a favor?"
Xu Ning had originally planned to give up and go home to ask Ningguang for information, but after hearing the girl's words, he became more interested and asked, "What kind of help do you need?"
The girl smiled shyly and said, "Although I work as a receptionist on this ship, I've recently fallen for someone named Tide. We promised that he would take me away from here the next time we meet, but I've been waiting for a long time and haven't heard from him. I've been working on the ship and can't go ashore to look for him... Could you please give him a letter for me?"
Xu Ning took a letter from the girl's hand, which still smelled warm and fresh.
What does he do? What should I say when I see him?
“Mr. Chao is a very skilled and famous sailor. Just tell him that this is a letter from Cui’er to him and he will know.”
Xu Ning's expression was a bit strange. Such skilled sailors. Does Liyue have a fleet and sailors stronger than the Southern Cross Fleet? How come I've never heard of them from Beidou?
However, since Chao Xi was able to get on this ship and be with Cui'er, he must have an invitation, right? It seems like it wouldn't be bad to help them get an invitation in return.
Xu Ning walked to the stern of the ship, gently tapped the side of the ship, and the Wind Wings unfolded again, slowly flying towards the Liyue dock.
"But finding people isn't my forte. If only Ye Lan were here, she would definitely know who this guy is and where he lives..."
Xu Ning only realized after entering Liyue Harbor that he didn't even know where to find this person. After thinking about it, he decided to go to Tiger Rock first to ask the locals for information, since that was where the information was most readily available.
Xu Ning ran wildly up the wooden stairs from the dock when he suddenly heard a voice in his ear, "Brother Xi, when are you finally going to marry me?"
Xu Ning suddenly stopped in his tracks.
On the boat, Cui'er calls him "Mr. Chao," and now there's another one calling him "Brother Xi." Could it be that guy?
The voice came from the girl on the pier.
She gazed longingly at the handsome young man before her, "Brother Xi, answer me!"
The young man, Xi, said with a hint of helplessness, "Sister Si, I just returned from the sea and want to rest for a while. Let's not talk about this now..."
"I saw you at the dock just a few days ago..."
"I was ordered by the captain to purchase supplies, and I had to ask for leave at the last minute to come see you. It took a lot of effort."
The girl nestled into Xi-gege's arms, moved, "Xi-gege..."
Xu Ning had begun to understand, and carrying his wine gourd, he walked over and asked, "Tide?"
The handsome Chao Xi looked up at Xu Ning with some surprise, "It's me, and who are you?"
Xu Ning grinned. "Cui'er asked me to deliver a letter to you."
The girl in Chao Xi's arms immediately raised her head, her eyes full of vigilance.
"Cui'er? Whose name is that?"
Tide quickly reassured her, "It is indeed a girl. She is a sailor on our ship. She has the best handwriting. She writes all the ship's correspondence. I know without even looking that she is here to urge me to go back."
The girl's face fell. "So fast..."
Tide snatched the letter from Xu Ning's hand and casually pulled out a letter from his pocket and stuffed it into Xu Ning's hand.
"My friend, could you please deliver this letter to the ship and tell them to grant me a few more days?"
Were you so well-prepared?
The ability to reply without even reading the message shows that this person is a language master!
Xu Ning smiled and grabbed Chao Xi's arm. "Actually, there's another secret message that's extremely important. The captain was worried I'd lose it, so he specifically asked me to dictate it to you. Shall we talk in private?"