Chapter 637: You aren’t expecting to mooch off me, are you?
My arrival stirred up the entire Ninglan New City.
Some people might not know why, some might simply know that I can solve the predicament of Ninglan New City, but only a very few understand what this truly represents.
But naturally, the one most delighted by this news was Ninglan Township Fort’s city lord, Ninglan Qiuyue.
The moment my figure appeared in Ninglan New City, this message promptly reached the office desk of Ninglan Township Fort.
At this moment, I brought everyone to their resting place, as there were several teaching assistants here, so accommodations were directly arranged for everyone at no cost.
“How is it? Are you getting used to it?”
I came to Yi Rui’s side; she was just at the door, explaining something to a few other girls who were also teaching assistants.
“Of course, I’ve never felt this good! It’s as if I can hear the spellcasting materials I stored in my card stirring!” Yi Rui expressed her fondness for this place without holding back.
What’s stirring are not just those spellcasting materials; perhaps it’s their hearts and their uncontrollable hands?
For those who usually dislike wandering around and would probably not want to leave once they experience some benefits, this place indeed brought them a different experience.
“Well, I think you should keep your storage card safe.” I responded with a smile, “Do you have any plans for what to do here?”
“What to do… Honestly, we didn’t make any plans in advance, but once we arrived here, I knew what we would do.”
“Starting with business? Aren’t you thinking about taking a break, relaxing a bit, and exploring the culture of this city that has stood for over a thousand years atop ruins?”
“Well, that’s true, but I still think we should finish the most important things first, then go enjoy. Otherwise, even if we play, we won’t have fun. Xiao Han, you know this place well; do you have any recommended spots? I mean, for us to conduct our experiments.”
“If you just want to try things out, you might consider the Extraordinary Research Association in the city. The president is called Wumali. Just mention my name when you get there; I believe he should be able to accommodate some of your not overly excessive requests.” I pondered for a moment and said.
“However, if you’re looking for something exciting to try, you can go outside the city, but the condition is not to trigger a major fire; after all, there’s a vast area outside with lots of plants. If you really want to try… there’s a refuge closest to Ninglan New City. I will be stationed there for some time; I can arrange a spot for you.”
“Is that so… it feels like we’re troubling you, but thank you in advance. We will probably stay in the city for a while to adapt; that’s what most of us think.”
“No worries, Ninglan New City is quite free. As long as you don’t do anything excessive or provoke public anger, basically, nothing will happen. By the way! Maybe you can check out some temporary market stalls in the city; there are quite a few extraordinary materials there.”
“Sure, then I won’t disturb you anymore, Xiao Han～ Also… the person behind you has been watching you for a while, does she want something?” Yi Rui didn’t chat with me for too long and then pointed behind me.
After all, she just wanted to understand some things, and for more detailed inquiries, she could directly ask the service staff here.
Moreover, they simply don’t like to go out much; they aren’t helpless, and they have their own ideas without needing others to interfere.
Rather than hear others talk in detail, it’s better to experience it personally.
“Oh, she? She is indeed looking for me.” I turned to glance at the girl behind me, and she responded with the most natural smile.
“Then we won’t bother you. It seems like you’re about to deal with something important?”
“Yeah, there might be some curfews in the city shortly. It’s actually no big deal; just go about your usual activities.”
After briefly explaining the situation, I turned and walked towards the girl.
Her name is Lanke, the secretary following Ninglan Qiuyue, and it’s obvious why she came here.
At this moment, the inn was under a curfew enforced by the City Guard; they had to take such formal actions to express the importance of this matter to Ninglan New City.
“Teacher Xiao Han…”
“I know.” I raised my hand to signal, sparing her from saying those polite words.
“Yes.” Lanke, seeing my gesture, didn’t say much else. Since I was cooperating, she naturally felt relieved.
Before coming, she had already learned quite a bit, such as that someone had previously invited me here but was driven away.
So… they had to consider the worst-case scenario.
As Ninglan Qiuyue’s secretary and the person she trusts most, she was also the first to bring the City Guard here.
To ensure this Teacher Xiao Han could be invited over, Ninglan Qiuyue even prepared to come personally—not as the city lord, but in her capacity as the lord of Ninglan!
Such a large-scale mobilization of the City Guard inevitably attracted numerous onlookers. However, most of the residents here are academy students, so the City Guard didn’t dare act against them. Essentially, it turned out to be nothing more than a grand display.
Even so, it was quite a show, wasn’t it?
At this moment, those who came with Yi Rui were also behind watching the excitement. After all, they just arrived, and they weren’t familiar with the situation here.
“Is Xiao Han so amazing? Such a big deal just to invite her alone?”
“I heard the lord of this city is also a student from our Witch Academy.”
“It’s nice to have connections… I’m really envious. Why isn’t anyone here to greet us?”
“You just arrived, right? I saw you earlier talking to Teacher Xiao Han, I am really envious of you.”
“Is that all you’re envious about?”
“We are indeed newcomers. Excuse me, what position are you? I’m a teaching assistant at the academy; could you tell me what Teacher Xiao Han has done here?” At this moment, Yi Rui stepped forward and asked the girl who initiated the conversation.
“Teaching… assistant? You’re actually a teaching assistant! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know; I should have thought I could talk to Teacher Xiao Han…”
“No worries, no worries, don’t be like that. Just treat me as a senior. I’m just curious, could you tell us?” Yi Rui continued to lower her stance in inquiry.
“Okay, okay! I’ll tell you right away… but if we’re going to talk about Teacher Xiao Han’s deeds, we have to trace back to last semester when the Sleeping Curse incident broke out…”
While the hotel was still abuzz with discussion, I had already followed the directions to Ninglan New City’s roads.
I must say, being escorted by a large number of trained City Guards behind me and having them lead the way ahead was really nice; but I hope this will be just a one-time experience.
Just enough to feel a bit fresh because such a flashy entrance did indeed bring quite a bit of trouble to the city and attracted a large crowd to watch.
“Tell me about the situation of Ninglan New City.” I looked up at the sky above Ninglan New City, peering through those towering buildings and the unusual sight in the distance.
A large number of amorphous “monsters,” resembling a mass of smoke, were constantly attempting to hover in the distance.
Those are dream creatures; even for me, this was the first time I had seen so many dream creatures. Even when I was at the Seed Vault, when that huge dream creature summoned its kind, I hadn’t seen this many before.
However, based on what I learned from that oversized dream creature, these dream creatures enjoy playing in the real world.
Thus, it’s no surprise that Ninglan New City has many permanent residents, significantly attracting batches of dream creatures congregating here.
“As of now, just three hours ago, there was a monitoring report indicating that the dream area surrounding Ninglan New City has already covered 30% of the city area, and large numbers of dream creatures are severely disrupting the normal lives of ordinary people in the covered area…”
While I listened to Lanke explain the situation, I continued towards Ninglan Township Fort, meanwhile using the Earth Vein Identification Technique to gather more detailed data.
Before I arrived at Ninglan Township Fort, I encountered Ninglan Qiuyue, dressed formally, along with numerous important officials who were rushing to welcome me.
This was something they had to do.
Originally, they thought it was just an overlap of dreams; they had already experienced that once, so why be afraid of it?
But when the Dream Overlapping Phenomenon truly covered the city, they realized just how terrifying those dream creatures were!
Although those dream creatures couldn’t compare to the nightmares from before, the sheer number of dream creatures was overwhelming!
They could only rely on hiring students who mastered dream magic to enter the dream world to cast spells to dispel those beings.
Even in the dreams, they could use magic, but those spells were all products of the dream rules and could not affect reality; however, they could disperse the dream creatures.
Although those students who cast spells to disperse dream creatures had a lot of fun, they couldn’t do it constantly.
These dream creatures were like fish schools underwater; presence of one would create a blank space, but the bulk would still linger, as if playing hide and seek with them.
After some toiling, I was warmly invited to the highest-standard conference room in Ninglan Township Fort.
However, since my arrival was sudden, many preparations were rather hasty, leading to a dramatic scene—a situation where I faced Ninglan Qiuyue, the city lord, and numerous officials behind her.
To avoid creating such an extreme scenario, they removed many officials to listen from the sidelines while a number of City Guards remained on my side to balance out the awkwardness of the numbers.
“I must say, you all made this a bit too grand. With this effort, perhaps we could’ve reached a mutual goal in the reception room.” In the somewhat awkward atmosphere, I broke the tension first.
However, my tone didn’t carry a sense of cooperation; it even had a hint of disdain.
“Respected Teacher Xiao Han, we deeply apologize; our reception has indeed been somewhat rushed, but please don’t doubt our Ninglan New City’s high regard. We sincerely wish to receive you with the utmost hospitality to showcase our serious attitude towards the current predicament we are facing.”
“Well, if that’s the case, then you should address me as Teaching Assistant Yang Yuelan. The title Teacher Xiao Han is what students from our Witch Academy call me. Since you represent Ninglan New City, it would seem more formal for you to address me this way, don’t you think?” I toyed with a cluster of crystals formed by my crystallization technique, making my stance clear—only one person here had the qualification to talk to me, “Of course, City Lord Qiuyue shares a close relationship with me; I don’t mind her addressing me this way, including during this conference.”
Since the initiative for the conversation was in my hands, the rhythm naturally followed my lead. Granting certain individuals privileges also gave the other party value.
Ninglan Qiuyue has now reached the level of a formal meeting but was unable to hold the presiding position for our first conversation, which is indeed a bit pathetic.
However… considering her status as city lord, yet she hadn’t fully assumed all duties and powers, I think… this isn’t entirely about Ninglan Qiuyue’s capability, and with the interference from those teaching assistants, Ninglan Qiuyue’s situation is indeed somewhat difficult…
Moreover, it is important to note that Ninglan New City still maintains sovereign independence; thus, the Witch Academy also wouldn’t interfere over who holds power, just as the Witch Academy doesn’t concern itself with who governs societal functions in the outside world. Therefore, if Ninglan Qiuyue wants to fully grasp control of Ninglan New City, she must rely on her own means.
Those people dared to act this way, likely because they had conducted a long-term inquiry into the academy’s stance.
There might also be traces of the All-purpose Association behind this; they certainly wouldn’t want another person to emerge who could stand on equal footing with them, diluting the power of the city lord, thereby making it impossible for Ninglan Qiuyue to “talk on equal terms” with them as an absolute city lord.
In plain terms, it’s all about interests; I couldn’t be bothered to talk about them.
“Alright… okay, Teaching Assistant Yang Yuelan…”
I cast a glance at the one who continued to speak, appearing to be over fifty years old, with an air of holding a certain identity, it was easy to mistake him for the city lord.
“Let’s cut to the chase; I don’t want to waste time talking nonsense. I can resolve the Dream Overlapping Phenomenon in Ninglan New City, so… what’s the price? What can you offer me?”
“This…” Seeing me not following the script, these officials were taken aback, beginning to whisper among themselves.
“You aren’t expecting to mooch off me, are you? What face do you have to think I would help you?”
“Teaching Assistant Yang Yuelan, you’ve misunderstood. As a teaching assistant from the Witch Academy, I believe you would naturally consider the academy’s promise to help us through this crisis…”
“There’s no need for such confusing tactics. I can’t represent the entire Witch Academy. My sole purpose for coming here is to help those outside the city rebuild civilization, and you seek me out because I’m the only one who can help you resolve your predicament. You claim the academy made promises… then present the signed Witch Contract! If not, then don’t mention it! If you delusionally wish for the academy’s protection, go find a proper instructor; Instructor Elena is in the city, and if she agrees, then she’ll help.”
My words were quite confrontational, making it so none of them dared to retort.
A Witch Contract?
What is that?
They don’t qualify to sign that.
Go find Instructor Elena?
They’ve tried; she didn’t give them a word!
Just a few exchanges made them realize I wasn’t someone to be trifled with, nor was I like the teaching assistants they had encountered previously.
They used the wrong methods!
But with the arrow already on the string, they had to stick to their guns; changing the conversation strategy on the fly would only throw them into chaos and give the other side a greater opportunity to exploit their vulnerabilities.
