The deep blue moonlight gently caressed the two figures beside the bed.
Lumine's amber eyes widened slightly; she never expected to be kissed so suddenly! This jerk… does he sleep like this with Fischl every night? Her mind raced with these unfamiliar thoughts.
After being kissed for more than ten seconds.
She felt something part her lips and touch her teeth.
Realizing what was happening, Lumine quickly lowered her head, breaking the kiss with Nolan.
For some reason, after experiencing this unexpected event, Lumine's emotions calmed down.
She realized she didn't entirely dislike being kissed by Nolan.
Could it be that I like him…? No, that can't be it. How could I like this guy! Lumine thought to herself, still uncertain.
Suddenly, she felt something soft and moist touch her forehead, something she had just felt with her lips.
—Nolan was kissing her forehead.
Lumine gently wriggled her body but couldn't break free from his embrace. She sighed helplessly and decided to let it be.
She didn't believe this guy would hold her so tightly all night. Once he fell into a deep sleep, he'd eventually loosen his grip, and then she could quietly return to bed.
That way, he wouldn't find out.
Lumine thought to herself, feeling the warmth of Nolan's embrace.
Tomorrow, I'll just act like nothing happened.
She wasn't ready to deal with Nolan knowing about what happened tonight.
*[Lumine Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 600 Affection Points. Current Affection Level Lv.7 (505/700)]*
A notification popped up on Nolan's character panel, but he was asleep and unaware of it.
Morning arrived, with the sky just beginning to lighten.
A voice, as if from a distance, echoed in his ears.
"Wake up, wake up, it's already morning!" Paimon shouted loudly, hovering over Nolan's head.
She felt like she had been shouting forever.
Nolan rubbed the corners of his eyes, yawned, and slowly opened them.
For some reason, he had slept exceptionally well last night, almost like he was at home.
It seemed he even dreamt of sleeping with Fischl, suggesting he missed her a bit after being away for two days.
"Thank you, Paimon. I heard you; no need to shout anymore."
He said as he propped himself up, noticing Lumine, who was already awake and dressed, sitting by the bed. He asked with slight confusion:
"You don't seem well-rested. Did I snore last night? I shouldn't have."
He didn't recall having a habit of snoring.
Lumine tugged at her white sleeves, glanced at Nolan, and said calmly:
"No, the moonlight was too bright, and I had trouble sleeping. I guess I'm just not used to this place."
This jerk, he held her for at least an hour before finally letting go and changing positions, giving her a chance to crawl back into bed.
But after that, Lumine couldn't stop thinking about him kissing her, which kept her from falling asleep.
Open eyes, it's him. Closed eyes, it's still him.
Her restless mind kept her awake, leading to her fatigue.
"I see."
You could have just closed the curtains, Nolan thought silently while nodding in agreement.
"Get up quickly. It's already 5:30, and the caravan is about to leave."
Lumine took out a golden pocket watch, glanced at the time, then snapped it shut and put it away.
"You're right."
Nolan nodded slightly and began to help Lumine and Paimon pack up their things in the guest room.
A few minutes passed.
Nolan and his companions took their keys and went to the reception hall of the Wangshu Inn to check out with Verr Goldet. They retrieved their 10,000 Mora deposit and headed towards the plaza below.
There were many early risers, densely packed like black ants scurrying back and forth with their food.
It was easy for Nolan and his friends to spot the Feiyun Commerce Guild caravan on the dirt road outside the plaza of the Wangshu Inn. This was because the carriages had flags with the words "Feiyun" written on them.
There were at least seven or eight four-wheeled carriages with such flags. They had no idea what was being transported—likely crafts, regional spices, or perhaps even food, as these were the common goods suitable for long-distance transport that also yielded profits.
As they approached, they saw a young man with dark blue hair waving to them from the last carriage of the convoy.
"Good morning, Xingqiu."
Paimon, having forgotten about yesterday's intense bidding scene between Lumine and Xingqiu, greeted him with a smile.
It was obvious why she was so cheerful.
She was definitely pleased because Xingqiu had offered them a free ride, saving them from the exhausting journey. Typical Paimon, always practical.
Nolan found this slightly amusing.
"Good morning, everyone. Our guild members are not all here yet, so please wait a moment," Xingqiu said, smiling and leaning against the side of the carriage.
It didn't take long, about five or six minutes later, everyone had arrived, and it was around 6 a.m. The convoy's workers fed the horses some more hay, and then they set off.
The wooden wheels creaked softly on the uneven road.
Each carriage was not fully loaded, leaving some space at the very back of the carriage, just enough for a few people to sit.
This way, the entire team, including the carriage drivers, numbering over twenty, wouldn't all have to walk outside.
Most of them were guards for the caravan, protecting against potential threats from monsters or treasure hoarding gangs. If there was no place to sit and they had to walk, they might get tired. What if danger struck when they were exhausted?
Thus, even though it meant transporting fewer goods, they had to leave some space for people to sit.
Earning a bit less and losing everything due to a heist—no need to guess which was the better option.
"By the way, Xingqiu, aren't you the second young master of the guild? Why do you need to personally escort the caravan?" Paimon asked, sitting on the goods inside the carriage, puzzled.
In her understanding, a young master of a guild should just stay at home and count money.
Due to the limited space, Nolan and Lumine, who were sitting closely together on the wooden plank, also looked curiously at Xingqiu opposite them.
"It's because this shipment contains top-quality fabrics from Mondstadt, each bolt worth tens of thousands of Mora. If we get robbed, the loss would be huge. The guild can't rest easy, so they sent me, the second young master with some combat skills, to join the escort team. Ugh, I haven't even had time to buy the new novels at the bookstore," Xingqiu said, looking bored.
"Hey, does that mean this journey might be dangerous?" Paimon asked, her starry eyes wide open.
"Not necessarily. Most treasure hoarders wouldn't dare mess with us when they see the 'Feiyun flag.' As for monsters, we might not encounter them at all." Xingqiu shook his head, arms crossed.
"If we encounter danger, we'll help out too," Lumine said, her legs together, left hand resting on her knee wrapped in white boots, and nudged Nolan's arm with her right hand.
"Yeah, consider us temporary guards," Nolan said, leaning against the carriage and resting his hand on his leg.
Since the journey to Liyue Harbor would take more than ten days, he felt it was only right to contribute since Xingqiu was willing to bring them along.
"Thank you very much," Xingqiu smiled and nodded. "By the way, it looks like this is your first time going to Liyue Harbor. You might be unfamiliar with the place. How about I tell you about it?"
"Hehe, we'd love that, especially if you talk about all the good food!" Paimon said excitedly, clenching her tiny fists.
During their journey with the Feiyun Commerce Guild to Liyue Harbor, Nolan and his friends didn't stay on the carriage all the time. They would get down to walk and practice swordsmanship.
Xingqiu found this quite interesting and joined them, sharing his "Guhua Swordsmanship."
Nolan, already skilled in advanced swordsmanship, easily grasped the basics of "Guhua Swordsmanship" and Lumine's self-taught ordinary-level swordsmanship, "Recollection of the Past."
Lumine and Xingqiu also learned a lot, especially Xingqiu, who had reached a state of "one method leads to all methods."
His understanding of swordsmanship wasn't much inferior to Nolan's. Maybe this is what they call a genius.
Nolan, being an ordinary person, needed a "cheat" to barely surpass such a genius. This diversity in people's abilities was simply how things were.
At night, when the caravan camped for rest, Nolan and Lumine continued discussing the "bicycle design blueprint."
After a week, they managed to design the frame and wheels.
During this time, Nolan found some moments to upgrade the "Guhua Swordsmanship" to the maximum level.
He gained an extraordinary trait called "Guhua," which allowed his attacks to be imbued with a sharp dark sword glow, capable of easily cutting through steel.
After integrating it into the "Royal One-Handed Sword Technique," it became "Royal Swordsmanship: Guhua" with just the additional extraordinary trait.
It didn't transform into a secret-level swordsmanship.
It seemed he also needed to integrate Lumine's "Recollection of the Past" to achieve that. Unfortunately, he only had about two thousand Adventure EXP left, not enough to max it out for now.
Another week passed.
The caravan of the Feiyun Commerce Guild crossed the Guili Plains and was about to reach Liyue Harbor.
Along the way, they encountered some Treasure Hoarders, but they kept their distance and did not dare approach. Even in Liyue, Feiyun Commerce Guild was a very famous organization, and it had a considerable deterrent effect.
Although the Treasure Hoarders were a vast organization spread across the entire Teyvat continent and included some powerful individuals, their internal chaos and lack of organization made them a true rabble. No other term would describe them better.
Apart from this, the large size of the caravan also attracted some monsters, mainly Hilichurls. However, when they were few in number, they didn't dare attack.
Despite their limited intelligence, Hilichurls could instinctively judge their chances, much like a mouse recognizing it couldn't win against a cat and sensibly retreating.
These Hilichurls, seeing they were outnumbered by the caravan, made the rational choice not to attack.
They were rational, but Nolan had no intention of letting them off. If they didn't rob this caravan now, they would still rob others in the future. Since he saw them, he wouldn't let them go and risk harm to others. Plus, it was an opportunity to earn some Adventure EXP.
The monsters they encountered were not just Hilichurls. They also faced Ruin Guards wandering from some ancient ruins. Unsurprisingly, Nolan took them all down with a single arrow.
By the time they were nearing Liyue Harbor, he had accumulated over six thousand Adventure EXP, enough to upgrade "Recollection of the Past" to the maximum level.
Adventure EXP: -4499
*Recollection of the Past Lv.1 (1/100) > Recollection of the Past Lv.10 (Memory/Fissionable)*
After reaching the maximum level, Lumine's sword technique, "Recollection of the Past," gained an extraordinary trait called "Memory."
The effect of this trait was that hitting an enemy with this sword technique would evoke a significant memory for the enemy, causing mental interference—a form of psychological attack.
If the enemy's willpower was not strong enough, they would get trapped in their memories, making them vulnerable.
As Nolan sat in the carriage, he continued to look at the "can be integrated" note that appeared with the skill, a slight smile forming on his lips.
Integrating this with "Royal Swordsmanship: Guhua" would naturally result in it evolving into a secret-level sword technique, given it would be the fifth extraordinary trait!
It was like getting a guaranteed rare drop after enough draws, reaching the threshold where quantity changes into quality. There was a high probability of it working!
Without hesitation, Nolan chose the two sword techniques and began the integration.
The next second, the two skills on his character panel twisted and entwined as if they were being drawn into an invisible vortex.
Soon, a new skill appeared on the character panel:
*[Lumine's Sword Intent: Secret Lv.1 (1/1000)]*
Huh? This seems a bit odd… Why is the skill named after Lumine? Could it be related to the "Recollection of the Past" learned from her?
Before Nolan could ponder further, knowledge about "Lumine's Sword Intent" appeared in his mind.
This sword technique was quite different from typical fixed-form techniques. As its name suggested, it was a sword intent comprehended from long-term practice and use of the sword.
Even without a sword in hand, as long as there was a sword in the heart, it could be easily activated.
Of course, such a "Lumine's Sword Intent" wouldn't have the weapon's enhancement, reducing its power significantly.
When activated, a large golden outline of Lumine would appear behind Nolan, completely formed by sword intent, holding a golden longsword and slashing out golden sword energy. This energy inherited the original extraordinary traits, easily cutting through steel and triggering the enemy's memories.
However, since the skill was currently only at level one, the golden sword energy could only travel about ten meters.
After absorbing all this new knowledge, Nolan was delighted. This skill was incredibly powerful, possibly even stronger than Captain Jean's Wind Blade.
But using it might be a bit awkward, especially in front of Lumine. Activating "Lumine's Sword Intent" would summon a large golden sword intent shadow of Lumine, giving the impression of a "devoted swordsman whose sword intent takes the form of his beloved girl."
(End of Chapter)
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