Chapter 313: The “Main Characters” Arriving Fashionably Late
“Xiao Han, are you okay?”
After the busy moments ended, Sister Bai quietly asked me from behind.
“What do you mean okay? Is it because of those guys’ interference? If something like that could shake my decision, that would be quite embarrassing.”
“Actually, you don’t need to be so…”
“Do you also think my actions are completely futile?” I looked at Sister Bai, who didn’t respond, but from the results of these days, it really didn’t seem different from a futile effort.
However, if you ask me what I’ve learned over these days, it seems there’s quite a bit. Besides reinforcing my knowledge of runes, I’ve also gained many other experiences, such as teaching, writing books, and giving speeches.
If you were to ask if there’s anything else, I’d just want to say that I’ve witnessed biodiversity. The creature I encountered before was already quite manageable and straightforward.
“I’m not trying to deny your efforts, Xiao Han, but the people here don’t deserve your dedication,” Sister Bai eventually said earnestly to me.
“Miss Bai Yu, the contributions of Teacher Xiao Han are completely valuable to me,” at this moment, Ninglan Qiuyue’s voice interrupted Bai Yu’s attempt to persuade.
“Ninglan Qiuyue, you’re still here?” I turned my head. I had quite a lot of interactions with this girl these days, her eagerness to learn matched my initial expectations.
At first, I wondered if this girl would be just a pretty face, but it turned out she was the one who could actually fight now.
“Yes, Teacher Xiao Han, thank you for your contributions these days. I’ve indeed learned a lot. You don’t need to mind those people’s slanders. Ninglan New City might be completely different from your world. Their pursuit and yearning for extraordinary powers might deviate from your understanding.”
“Thank you, I understand this very well, and I don’t need you to deliberately comfort me. By the way, did you come to find me because you encountered some difficulties?”
“Indeed, there are some discrepancies regarding the interpretation of the Fireball Spell’s chant ritual that you mentioned earlier.”
“Discrepancies? That’s normal.” I nodded, organizing the things in my hands, preparing to explain a bit to Ninglan Qiuyue. After all, even though she had just started learning runes, she already showed remarkable talent, and her questions were quite valuable, at least to me.
I wished there were more people like Ninglan Qiuyue in Ninglan New City.
After some explanations, I barely made Ninglan Qiuyue’s questions clear. I couldn’t help but think of Tan Han when facing Ninglan Qiuyue.
Facing problems, Tan Han was similar, always full of questions and keen angles, perhaps that’s a common trait of geniuses—they can easily identify issues that ordinary people wouldn’t notice.
“Hmm? Ninglan Qiuyue, do you have any more questions?” After the explanation, I noticed Ninglan Qiuyue still lingering here, showing no signs of wanting to leave, so I asked instinctively.
“Yes… there are indeed some matters, but… it’s not related to runes.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“It’s about what you are currently doing at the Extraordinary Skill Research Association—you might encounter some resistance.”
“Is someone unhappy again? I’m just imparting knowledge; whose interests have I touched upon now?” I frowned. After all, for Ninglan Qiuyue to specifically remind me, it must be a serious issue.
“While I don’t know if Teacher Xiao Han is truly unaware or pretending not to know, the knowledge you imparted is more like… a weapon. There are too many interest groups in Ninglan New City that do not wish for ordinary people to touch the realm of weapons, as it would greatly disrupt the stable order within the city.”
“Is it just because of this?”
“Of course, it involves more than this, but discussing deeper matters is no longer suitable for a public setting. I understand your actions are noble, but perhaps you should consider another approach.” Ninglan Qiuyue shook her head and didn’t delve deeper but instead shifted the conversation in another direction.
“Oh? Another approach? Do you mean…”
“The Extraordinary Skill Research Association is no longer a suitable platform for you. Just as Miss Bai Yu said, everything you do here is very inefficient. I understand that the knowledge you impart is not purely selfless but has its own motives. However, there is a place that would suit you perfectly and welcomes you warmly.”
“Oh… you mean the department in Ninglan New City that specializes in the development of extraordinary skills?” I asked.
After all, Ninglan New City must have a department dedicated to researching extraordinary powers. The previous III-type extraordinary weapon was the best proof.
“Yes, Extraordinary Research Group.”
“Oh, so you are essentially selecting talents for that group from this research association?”
“That’s a joke. I just have the right to recommend.”
“So is this your idea or your father’s?” I continued to ask.
“It’s my idea. I don’t wish for people like Teacher Xiao Han to be forced to stop their contributions due to conflicts in Ninglan New City. The knowledge you provide has immense value for Ninglan New City. If you continue like this, I can already foresee what will happen in the coming days.”
“I’m curious, what will happen?”
“Perhaps someone will use your spells to commit severe attacks or even murders on the busiest streets in Ninglan New City, and then the public opinion will lead to it. While this might pose no threat to you, completing your ideas here will have no possibility. Even the Extraordinary Skill Research Association will be investigated, shut down for rectification, etc., which will lead the association members to target you. I’ve seen these tactics many times, and they can be even more underhanded.”
“I see… it seems there’s no good intention behind this, but I also need to wrap things up with the association. I can’t just suddenly disappear, right?”
“Indeed, Teacher Xiao Han. Leave the trivial matters to us. After everything is settled, I will personally find you.”
“Thank you, sorry for the trouble.” I nodded, agreeing to this plan.
“It’s no trouble.” Ninglan Qiuyue smiled, as if it really wasn’t a bother.
After Ninglan Qiuyue left, Sister Bai finally came over to me.
“What’s wrong, Sister Bai?”
“Nothing. I also ran into some trouble regarding spellbook rune reconstruction.”
“Eh?” Seeing Sister Bai’s serious expression inexplicably made me want to laugh. “Are you jealous, Sister Bai?”
“No.”
“Alright, then you are.” I smiled and said, “Come on, let me see which spellbook gave such an impressive Sister Bai a hard time~”
I pushed Sister Bai’s back, ready to leave the place, completely shedding the indifference I had while talking with Ninglan Qiuyue.
No matter how Ninglan New City operates, so what? If I don’t care, then everything loses its meaning.
It seems that after acquiring the Dream Rewriting Spell, my attitude towards some matters in Ninglan New City has somewhat changed, perhaps becoming a bit more resolute. However, more importantly, I still have an indifferent attitude, and although I’ve been busy these days, I still have time to study this rewriting spell.
I’ve said that this spell is useful; I just haven’t utilized it properly yet.
“Sister Bai… you have quite a few spellbooks here. Are you planning to simplify them into pure spells for barehanded casting?”
“Yes, didn’t you say that? Understanding the essence of spells is indeed very important.”
“Indeed.” I nodded in agreement.
Looking at these various spellbooks, I couldn’t help but marvel at Sister Bai’s wealth; it’s terrifying. When can I also have such wealth?
But on second thought, my wealth seems considerable too. This is after all Sister Bai’s accumulation over many years. It feels like it won’t be long before my wealth exceeds Sister Bai’s.
My gaze swept over the spells, although filled with envy, there was no hint of greed.
“What’s wrong? Have you set your eyes on something? Should I take it back and give it to you?”
“No, no, Sister Bai should keep it for herself. I’ve already passed the phase of lacking spellbooks. More spellbooks are merely additional means, and deepening my foundation can be done gradually. No rush on this.” I quickly declined, saying that even if I wanted a spellbook, I didn’t want to take one from Sister Bai at this moment.
However, while I was looking at these spells, I noticed one spell that I cared about—Teleportation Spell. This reminded me of what Teacher Ji said when she teleported me before, that space is a fragile existence. Looking back now, there are indeed many spells that can manipulate space at will.
Although it’s not entirely accurate to say so, the properties of space indeed have a very low lower limit and a very high upper limit.
But while accompanying Sister Bai to deconstruct the spells in the spellbooks, I found this approach is also a great way to learn runes.
And just as Sister Bai and I were continuously deconstructing the spellbooks, the door was suddenly pushed open, and a figure hurriedly entered.
“Teacher Xiao Han, someone is looking for you.”
“Hmm?” I looked up at the person who spoke to me, somewhat recalling them as someone who had attended my class, but I couldn’t recall their name since I never remember the names of students in my classes.
“Who?” I asked curiously.
“It’s me, Xiao Han. Long time no see.” At this moment, a figure stepped past this person’s form and appeared before me.
“Oh… Tan Han, indeed it’s been a while,” I said, my eyes flashing with surprise before realizing that Tan Han had found this place so quickly.
“Yes, I just arrived in Ninglan New City not long ago. I heard that someone here is teaching knowledge related to runes, and I guessed it was probably you. I asked around, and it turned out to be true.”
“Oh? How are you so sure? You guessed quite accurately?” I shrugged and asked.
“Among the people I know, you are the most likely one to do something outrageous like this. Xiao Han, why are you teaching them about runes here?”
“Funny enough, just not long ago, due to some special circumstances, I’ve already decided not to teach anymore.”
“Ah? Wait, why not, Teacher Xiao Han? You’ve been teaching so well, why the sudden change…?” The boy beside us asked in shock upon hearing my words.
“I’m sorry, due to some special reasons, I have to terminate my classes. However, all the materials I’ve compiled will be offered to the association free of charge. If you’re really interested in runes, you can study them on your own.” I reassured him, as this matter hadn’t been announced yet, so it was completely normal for him to be surprised.
Although he wanted to say something else, it was too late to change my decision.
“So, Xiao Han, do you have anything going on now?”
“No, I have a lot of things to do. So many that you might not quite understand. If you’re looking to have me join you in fighting against the Sleeping Curse, I can only apologize. I probably can’t meet your expectations.” I directly cut off anything Tan Han might have been about to say.
“You…” Tan Han was momentarily at a loss for words from my long response, staring at me for a while before speaking again, “Can I ask why? You chose to come in voluntarily.”
“Coming in was my choice. If you came to find me with the notion of having me join you, I can only say you’re being naive.”
“Naive…” Tan Han was taken aback by my words. “Alright, I won’t interfere in your actions. Actually, I never held out much hope for inviting you to investigate together, but I hope to understand some things from you. Is that okay? I’ll only take a bit of your time.”
“Of course, go ahead.”
“Do you know how to lift the Sleeping Curse?”
“Eliminate all Nightmares.”
“How to eliminate them?”
“Haven’t you encountered any?” I frowned and asked.
“Nightmares will actively seek us out?”
“Well, it seems you haven’t encountered them. They can be eliminated using spells. It’s very simple.”
“They can be eliminated with spells? So simple? Then you… sorry, are Nightmares hard to find?”
“Normally, they are indeed quite hard to locate.” I nodded, though I recalled that the Nightmares I’d encountered before tended to instinctively search for people.
So, given time, those Nightmares will eventually find the densely populated area of Ninglan New City atop the ruins.
Nightmares are a part of Fool Dreams, but they are called Nightmares for a reason. After all, their predecessors are Dream Creatures, and their existence is a collective of memories, perceptions, and various unknown information, emotions, and energies.
I had previously speculated that Nightmares need emotions like fear to feed off, which is why the densely populated Ninglan New City would be their prime target.
Before I came here, the City Lord had already mentioned to me that Ninglan New City was plagued by Nightmares.
I just didn’t pay it much mind.
“Do you have any methods?”
“I don’t have any; I’m not omnipotent. Perhaps… you could ask the City Lord of Ninglan New City. He should be very eager to cooperate with you. I heard him say that city residents have also experienced incidents involving Nightmares.”
“Thank you.” After simply gathering this information, Tan Han had a clear next goal.
“Are you preparing to leave?”
“Yes, I won’t disturb you any longer. Isn’t this what you wanted?” Tan Han turned to look at me.
“Right. Thank you for understanding. Also… here’s a piece of advice: be careful of Dream Demons; they are the real culprits behind the deaths caused by the Sleeping Curse.”
“Dream Demons?”
“Don’t ask me. The City Lord should know more about them than I do. It’s up to you to work on it.” After all, I had discussed quite a few pieces of information with the City Lord, and they had also obtained a lot of intelligence from the Dream Demons. It just depended on whether Tan Han and the others could extract anything from the City Lord.
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. I haven’t really been of much help.”
“No… I don’t believe you would do anything meaningless, just like last time with that Witch Secret Realm.”
“Think what you want.”
