frightfiction Chapter 254 Kill the Young Master Now
Chapter 254 Kill the Young Master Now
Xu Ning and the young master followed Tok to the camp. Besides the giant water gun toy, they also saw boxing gloves that could blow-dry their hair, a staff with lighting effects for traveling, and a purple light that could attract small insects when lit.
Seeing Tok's enthusiasm and lack of fatigue, the young master's eyes softened unconsciously.
"Although I am very grateful to you for saving Tok and for helping me conceal my identity as an executor in front of Tok, Lord Xu Ning, just how much do you want me to give in order to return Tok to me?"
The young master calmly asked Xu Ning, who was beside him.
Xu Ning chuckled, "If conditions allowed, I'd even be willing to leave Tok in Liyue! Just thinking about having you tied to this big ship of Liyue is incredibly exciting!"
The young master sneered and shook his head, saying, "After all, I swore allegiance before the Ice Queen! Don't you think Lord Xu Ning's thinking is a bit naive?"
Xu Ning pointed at Tok and smiled at the young master, "You, as the older brother, are doing everything in your power to protect your younger brother's fairytale dream. Between the two of us, who is more naive?"
The young master laughed heartily and said, "Promises made should be kept, and dreams given to someone should be cherished to the very end. Isn't that the meaning of family?"
This time, it was Xu Ning's turn to sneer.
Xu Ning turned to the young master and asked, "You are willing to do everything in your power to protect your family's dream that is destined to be shattered. But you did it without hesitation to unleash a demon that has been suppressed for a thousand years and destroy the families and dreams of countless civilians in Liyue Harbor. Should I praise the meaning of your family's existence as narrow as drawing tofu with a needle?"
The young master remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "It's just a difference in perspective."
Xu Ning chuckled, but to the young master it sounded as cold as the winter wind.
"Then please remember what I said today. My family is also in Liyue. If you dare to hurt them again, I will stand firm on a certain side and do the same thing as you."
"When that time comes, please make sure to protect your beloved family members, such as Tonya, Anton, and Tok!"
After saying that, Xu Ning called out to Tok and said loudly, "Your brother and I are going to visit the toy research institute over here. Do you still want to go?"
Tok ran over, his face flushed, and said excitedly, "Hey? You mean Brother's toy lab? The lab with lots of one-eyed toy babies? I have to go see it! I came here to see where Brother works."
The young master patted Tok's head helplessly. "This is the last place. You've been out for too long, and Sister Donya doesn't even know you're here. She must be so worried. After we've seen it, we'll obediently take the boat home, okay?"
Tok nodded vigorously, "Okay, okay!"
Just as the three were about to set off, Xu Ning suddenly coughed and said to the person behind him, "I'll go to that place. You stay here and have a good chat with these toy salespeople. Of course, if anyone is busy and wants to leave early to run some business, let them go."
The voice in the darkness chuckled softly.
"No need for you to tell me, I will take good care of them."
The young master sighed silently and glanced at Felix as he left.
Then he pointed out the direction to Xu Ning and Tok. Fortunately, the place they were going to was not far away, just inside Lingju Pass.
The three of them walked slowly toward that place.
"I know this place isn't unusual, but how did you know there was a toy research institute here?"
The young master asked Xu Ning with a hint of curiosity.
Xu Ning glanced at the young master indifferently, "This is Li Yue. Don't you think it's rude of you to ask such a question, taking the initiative from the guest? You should have said that it wouldn't be surprising if I knew."
"The patrolling Thousand Rock Army has reported this before, including multiple eyewitness reports, all of which mentioned the presence of ruins guards here. However, they have been too busy to clean up this place because they are dealing with an imminent major crisis."
Xu Ning drew a large circle around the area and said, "Didn't you notice that there's basically no one coming and going in these places? Didn't you choose this place as your base because it's so sparsely populated?"
"It's only because our Thousand Rock Army outside deliberately prevents ordinary people from entering for safety reasons that this place looks so peaceful. You're willing to lie in our encirclement to sleep and train. It's true that we're short-handed, but it's also true that we're happy to watch you monkeys."
The young master sighed and said, "In other words, even if I hadn't brought you here, you would have cleared this place out sooner or later anyway."
Xu Ning replied matter-of-factly, "That's only natural."
"However, don't think that my words have lessened your guilt for betraying your subordinates. They will die in Liyue, firstly because of the mistakes in your Winter Strategy, and secondly because you dared to use the Demon God to harm Liyue and must bear the consequences."
“Without your reckless actions, they could have lived for several more years. I know you may not care about the deaths of these weak people, just as you have never cared about the people of Liyue, but if you carry too much of this burden of sin, one day it will drag you into the abyss.”
The young master snorted, somewhat disdainful of Xu Ning's statement.
"You say such things because you don't understand our Queen's ideals, the ideals of Winter. We are not afraid of sacrifice, if it can bring victory in the end..."
Xu Ning coldly replied, "...Even if it means sacrificing your family, you'd be willing to do it?"
The young master fell silent again, gazing at the small figure ahead, lost in thought once more.
Your hesitation tells me the real answer in your heart.
Xu Ning smiled and said, "But I hope you won't hesitate at all, because I heard mechanical footsteps coming from the cave ahead, and Tok is about to run in."
Helpless, the young master dodged and hugged Tok.
"Tok, open the door and you'll find the reception room. But it wasn't tidied up when the last client left. Brother, go in and tidy it up first. Just count to sixty."
"Of course, as compensation for making Tok wait, I'll give him a surprise, how about that?"
Driven by the prospect of a surprise, Tok suppressed the urge to burst in right now, and said somewhat reluctantly, "Sixty numbers is a long way, but, alright, I'll start counting now... sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight..."
Xu Ning stood outside listening to the sounds inside, silently counting in his mind, "...Seven, eight, nine, good heavens, are so many relic guardians still operational? Even the young master will have to fight desperately now!"
After Tok finished counting, Xu Ning listened to the sounds inside and then led him to push open the door.
"Wow, this is amazing! It's exactly like my dream, a world full of one-eyed babies."
The young master sat on the severed arm of a ruin guardian, smiling as he pulled a small iron ruin guardian from his robes.
"Hey, Tok, here's a surprise for you!"
Tok cheered, took the tiny one-eyed baby, and ran off to look at and play with it.
Xu Ning walked up to the young master and asked with a smile, "Can you still stand up?"
The young master gave a wry smile and shook his head slightly, saying, "If you want to get rid of me, you'll have to do it now."
Xu Ning stroked his chin, raised the gourd, and took a sip of wine.
"I think so too."