"Your junior brother, Xingqiu… Hmm, thank you," Nolan expressed his gratitude before explaining further.
"It's not that we need any specific benefits, it's just that we have our own matters to attend to. Joining the 'Guhua Clan' might divide our focus and time. If we're just going to join in name only without contributing, it doesn't seem necessary, right?"
"I see. It seems I was a bit presumptuous," Sun Yu scratched the back of his head, understandingly.
It became clear to him that reviving the 'Guhua Clan' needed to rely on his own efforts. Depending on others for the clan's revival seemed rather unrealistic—a shaky foundation, so to speak.
"Hmph, Senior Brother, you're always talking about reviving the sect. Can't you… focus on yourself more?" Little Que'er raised an eyebrow.
She wanted to say "spend more time with me," but thought better of it at the last moment.
"You don't understand, Junior Sister. As disciples of Guhua clan, it's our duty," Sun Yu shook his head.
Then, he took out a pen and some snow-white paper from his bag, using a flat stone on the ground to write a brief letter, which he handed to Nolan.
"Well then, we have some business to attend to at the Stone Gate. Until we meet again!" He cupped his hands and smiled.
"Uh, until we meet again," Paimon mimicked his gesture. Nolan and Lumine also cupped their hands in farewell.
With Sun Yu and Little Que'er, the two disciples of the 'Guhua Clan,' departed, Nolan and his companions decided to continue their journey while it was still early.
According to Sun Yu, it would take two days to reach Wangshu Inn from here.
If they didn't want to spend another night outdoors, they needed to set off quickly. If they hurried, they could arrive by tomorrow night.
Having just eaten, Nolan and Lumine couldn't immediately start running.
They walked leisurely for half an hour before picking up the pace. When they encountered hills, they ran up and used their wind gliders to slide down, saving both time and energy.
"This way of traveling is a bit too slow. It would be great if we had bicycles," Nolan remarked as they walked along the road.
With bicycles, given their physical strength, they might travel as fast as motor vehicles, provided the bicycles were sturdy enough.
"What's a bicycle?" Paimon asked, rubbing her chin in curiosity.
"This is a type of transportation from my world that you can pedal to move quickly," Nolan explained in detail, seeing Lumine and Paimon curious about it. Since they had some time to spare, he treated it as a casual conversation.
"Oh, so that's what it is. It reminds me of something similar I saw with my brother on another planet," Lumine patted the hem of her skirt, revealing her snow-white thigh, and lightly tapped her head with her arms crossed. Nolan's words brought back memories from her mind.
It was a world where industrialization was just beginning, and slow travel was a common frustration.
Suddenly one day.
Then one day, a small company producing wooden carts introduced a new product—a two-wheeled vehicle connected by an iron frame in the middle.
It seemed similar to what Nolan described, just with a slightly different name—they called it the "Human-Powered Two-Wheeled Iron Frame Vehicle."
That company seemed to have made its fortune because of this product.
"Wait a minute!" Lumine seemed to realize something, suddenly raising her left hand to stop Nolan who was swaying his arm next to him.
Nolan looked at the fair palm resting on his right hand, stopping in his tracks and asked in confusion, "Huh? Did you think of something?"
Lumine glanced at him with amber eyes, a smile appearing on her fair face, "Do you think we could research and develop the 'Human-Powered Two-Wheeled Iron Frame Vehicle,' start a production factory, and if we sell it well in Teyvat, we won't have to worry about Mora anymore?"
Hmm?!
Her words took Nolan by surprise, but he found himself intrigued. The principles behind a bicycle weren't complex.
With a bit of curiosity and experimentation, one could figure it out. Recreating it would take some time but was definitely possible.
The main components of a bicycle were the gears and the frame, which Teyvat's blacksmiths could certainly handle. The real challenge would be the rubber tires.
In Mondstadt, he had seen carriages with wooden wheels, so he wasn't sure if rubber even existed in this world. After all, if rubber were available, people would have thought to use it for carriage wheels.
Nolan voiced his concerns.
"That's a minor issue. If it doesn't work out, we can use wooden wheels like those on carriages. Even if it's a bit bumpy, it's still an excellent means of transportation!" Lumine said confidently.
"Hey, hey, hey! Weren't you supposed to be looking for your brother? Why are you talking about starting a business?" Paimon interjected from the sidelines, utterly confused by the conversation between these two from different worlds. To join in, she tried to steer Lumine back on track.
"Uh…"
Lumine, who had been excited, suddenly looked disheartened. She released Nolan's hand that she had been holding and let her shoulders slump.
Although this project seemed profitable, establishing a factory capable of mass-producing the 'Human-Powered Two-Wheel Iron Frame Vehicle' was not something that could be achieved overnight. Pursuing this could delay finding her brother, which was unacceptable!
She looked somewhat dejectedly at Nolan. "If you're interested in this, you can take care of it. I still need to find my brother."
Lumine felt a tinge of regret, having come up with such a brilliant business idea.
Seeing her reaction, Nolan couldn't help but smile.
"Haha, that's not a big deal either. We don't necessarily need to build a factory. We could just make a prototype and ride it around the bustling port city of Liyue. Those savvy merchants will probably be knocking down our door by tomorrow morning to collaborate with us. We could sell the design at a high price and make a fortune without worrying about startup capital or the risk of not selling!"
"Is it really that amazing?" Paimon asked skeptically.
"It should be. And once Lumine becomes filthy rich from this, Paimon, you'll be able to have a different fancy meal every day!" Nolan teased enticingly.
"What?! Eating different delicious foods every day?!"
Upon hearing Nolan's words, Paimon's eyes lit up, shining brighter than the sun.
She immediately turned to Lumine and urged, "How about we take it slow with finding your brother? Since we don't have many leads right now, and it's related to the Abyss Order, why don't we become the richest in Teyvat first, eat our way through all seven nations, and then continue our search? Hehe!"
"..."
Lumine rolled her eyes at Paimon's waist-bent suggestion. Whenever food was mentioned, Paimon threw everything else out the window.
After a brief consideration, Lumine also found Nolan's plan feasible. Making a prototype wouldn't take much time. Plus, with Mora in hand, she could enhance the still-initial state of her artifacts and weapons.
This would make future adventures and the search for her brother much easier.
(End of Chapter)
❇❇❇
Support me on Patreon - Read Up to 20+ Advanced Chapters There!
patreon.com/RedX43
❇❇❇