SFS Chapter 416 The Voice of Xiao in the Secret Realm
Chapter 416 The Voice of Xiao in the Secret Realm
The green area left for Xu Ning, according to the seven-element theory of the Teyvat continent, should represent the grass element.
The green characters are also very easy to recognize; they look very much like the ancient script of Liyue.
Xu Ning's character looks like it starts with the character for "sun" (日), has two legs on the left and right, and holds the character for "fire" (火) below. Overall, it looks like the character for "cauldron" (鼎).
"I like the character '鼎' (ding)."
As Xu Ning walked, he talked to A Chou. “In my hometown, the character ‘鼎’ represents a very auspicious hexagram. It is composed of wood below and fire above, meaning ‘fire above wood, ding, the superior man uses his position to solidify his destiny.’ It means that a superior man should find his proper place and concentrate his strength to fulfill his mission.”
"I've gradually found my place on this continent of Teyvat, and now it seems I can also begin to understand my mission. It feels just like you; didn't you also find your place before you joined that Red Oni?"
Ah Chou let out a long moo, his voice full of approval, and his two big bull eyes narrowed.
Xu Ning smiled, "Although I can't communicate with you like Ichidou, I understood this sentence."
Walking up to a "鼎" (ding, a type of ancient Chinese cooking vessel) character, Xu Ning looked at the dim green character and sighed, "It's a pity I don't have much grass element, but when it comes to the vigorous vitality of grass element, my wine is not to be outdone. I hope you're not that picky!"
Xu Ning was about to pour some of the Thousand Rocks from the Dust Concealment Gourd when he suddenly realized that the wine spring actually contained some rock elemental power, including Thousand Wind and Thousand Bird, so they probably couldn't use it.
So he simply switched to "nectar" which he hadn't tasted in a long time, and poured a whole stream of it over the characters.
Then Xu Ning watched as the characters suddenly lit up, releasing a bright green light.
Despite thinking that if something was manipulating or watching everything they were going through, whatever they fell down would probably activate the runes, since that thing might want them to keep exploring, keep being disappointed, and keep being worn down.
However, seeing this green glow that represents vibrant life still brought Xu Ning great joy.
"Ah Chou, help us look for it. We can't fall behind."
As the characters on the four walls were continuously lit up, it seemed as if four different colored threads began to emerge from the walls and flow into the four large characters below.
When the four large characters lit up completely, the four beams of light—yellow, blue, purple, and green—converged into a pillar of dazzling light that stretched straight to the sky.
The sixth wall, the ceiling of this box, finally took shape, revealing a large square hole in it.
Then, four new portals appeared at the edges of the four walls.
"It looks like they've teleported us to the sixth wall. I wonder what's in that hole."
Xu Ning led Ah Chou slowly toward the teleportation portal, but just then, a voice suddenly came from beside him.
"I cannot... attack you!"
Xu Ning suddenly turned his head, but there was nothing around him. The voice was like a ghost, appearing and disappearing suddenly.
"Was that a Xiao? He's in a fight; he can't attack anyone?"
Xu Ning stood quietly for a while, and when he found that no more sound came out, he started walking into the portal with a lot of doubt.
When Xu Ning appeared on the sixth platform, he discovered that he was actually the first one to arrive.
The second to arrive were two members of the Araki faction.
"Oh dear, you beat me to it, brother? I thought you'd be the last one to arrive. But if it weren't for that strange noise at the end, I would definitely be in first place."
Xu Ning's heart skipped a beat. "You heard the voice too? What did he say?"
Araki Ichito scratched his head sheepishly, "I was so focused on getting first place that I didn't listen carefully..."
Hisaki Shinobu came out from behind and said, "The voice was very muffled. I only heard three words, '...Is...it...?' It sounded like the voice of the guy I saw earlier."
Xu Ning nodded, "I heard it too, it was definitely his voice."
"So you all heard it."
Ye Lan led Yan Fei over from another direction. "What we heard from here was '...no...shouldn't...wake up! Look clearly...'. If I'm not mistaken, this sentence should be advising the person in front of him to wake up and see clearly who the person in front of him is."
Sora and Paimon were the last to arrive, and Yanfei immediately went over to ask them what they had heard.
Paimon tapped his hand, thinking, "It should be 'If...is still alive...why...how...'."
"If you're still alive, why did things turn out this way?"
Yan Fei summarized what everyone had heard, "It roughly means, '...She, is that you? No, you shouldn't have become like this. Wake up, look clearly who I am. If you're still alive, why have you become like this? I won't attack you.'"
As Xu Ning and Ye Lan listened to Yan Fei's summary, a name simultaneously came to mind.
Perhaps only that person, whose name contains the character "舍" (she), can prevent Xiao from making a move.
"It looks like Xiao has run into trouble. We should hurry up and help him."
It was Paimon who spoke.
Xu Ning glanced at the somewhat anxious Xiao Bai Mao and Kong. The two had traveled in Liyue and had probably come into contact with Xiao many times, otherwise they wouldn't be so nervous when they heard about Xiao.
"Don't be anxious yet."
Xu Ning comforted the two, saying, "Judging from what he just said, Xiao just encountered this person. With his skills, even if he doesn't fight back, he won't be defeated immediately or be in any danger."
"The timing of this sound is quite intriguing."
Paimon frowned, his face practically screaming, "I don't understand!"
Ye Lan explained, "The space we're in is rather peculiar. Ever since the first secret realm, this place seems designed to keep us constantly on the move. Xu Ning deliberately brought up the idea of an illusionary portal, and sure enough, a portal appeared. Now, the fact that we're hearing sounds for no apparent reason is probably also to get us into that cave faster."
"This place keeps urging us to move quickly, I'm afraid there are some traps or mechanisms waiting for us below."
Paimon asked in confusion, "So you're not planning to go any further? We'll just sit here and rest for a while?"
Xu Ning took a sip of wine, pondered for a moment, and said, "If everyone isn't in such a hurry, I'd really like to just squat here at the cave entrance and rest for half a day or a day."
I wonder what kind of effort it takes for that hidden being to reveal this cave. If it does, can we force it to reveal the correct exit by staying inside and wearing it down?