Chapter 237: Noras Confession

Chapter 237: Nora's Confession

When Ni Man looked toward Nora, Shui Yuetian keenly caught the fighting spirit in her eyes. Not good. Has the shopkeeper taken a liking to Fish God? Then what about Nora?

Shui Yuetian was a die-hard pure-romance fan and, more importantly, a devoted shipper of Yu Xian and Nora. If Ni Man managed to swoop in and steal Yu Xian away, Shui Yuetian would be devastated.

She hurriedly stood up. "All right, everyone's had enough rest, right? How about we continue checking out the other shops?"

Little Nora immediately perked up and jumped to his feet. "I want meat!"

Fortunately, the Garuda Race possessed inherited knowledge. Otherwise, this little guy's head would probably contain nothing besides thoughts of food.

Shui Yuetian hurriedly bid farewell to Ni Man. "Shopkeeper, we'll be taking our leave then."

Ni Man stood up with a smile. Sensing Shui Yuetian's wariness toward her, she nodded. "Just follow the stream downstream, and you'll be able to leave the shop. I hope you'll visit again."

Everyone bid goodbye to Ni Man and followed the stream forward. After passing through a cloud of mist, they found themselves standing outside Mushroom Paradise once again.

Shui Yuetian breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew, we're finally out."

Fortunately, I was smart and quick-witted enough to interrupt Ni Man's advance in time. Otherwise, if my favorite ship got broken up, then rounding things off, wouldn't that practically mean I had been cheated on?

Zhang Shou turned to her. "Should we keep heading upward next?"

It was obviously unrealistic to explore all of Heracles' Treasure Trove in a single day. Shui Yuetian couldn't spend several days accompanying them, and they didn't have that much time to wander around either.

At present, Yu Xian was the only one among them who was truly free. Everyone else had their own duties and jobs, and in another few hours at most, they would have to return to the Blue Planet.

They discussed the plan for a while. In the end, everyone agreed to return to the Blue Planet once they had finished their tour of the third floor.

Shui Yuetian turned to one of her two bodyguards. "Zhi Er, go buy five Star Rings. Off you go."

The bodyguard acknowledged the order, turned around, and quickly left.

Shui Yuetian faced the others. "Since everyone will be heading back soon, I'll give each of you a Star Ring. That way, we'll be able to chat anytime, anywhere in the future."

Zhang Shou and the others glanced at Yu Xian. Only after seeing him nod did they thank Shui Yuetian one after another.

While they were all friends, some of them were clearly closer than others. Shui Yuetian had approached them because of Yu Xian, and they were only included in her group because they happened to be his friends.

Little Nora got curious. "Sister Shuishui, can I ask you something? Why do you always call for Zhi Er whenever you need something done?"

Shui Yuetian rubbed Little Nora's round head and smiled. "Because Tang Yi is stronger than Zhi Er, so Tang Yi has to stay behind and protect me."

Little Nora nodded. "Oh, so that's how it is."

Yu Xian had nothing else to do. When he heard Shui Yuetian's explanation, he realized that Zhi Er was actually the weaker of the two bodyguards.

Many supernatural beings in Crescent Bay wore equipment that prevented others from prying into their attributes. Although Eternal Purity had modified Yu Xian's Appraisal, the ability was not particularly invasive, so in Crescent Bay, Yu Xian was unable to use Appraisal to learn the attributes of most supernatural beings.

Shui Yuetian was one example. Although he knew for certain that she was weaker than him, he genuinely had no idea what rank she was at or what abilities she possessed.

A moment later, Zhi Er returned carrying five boxes. Shui Yuetian handed them to Zhang Shou and the others while explaining how to use them.

Once everyone had equipped their Star Rings, they immediately added one another as friends. After confirming that everything worked properly, they explored the remaining shops together.

When Little Nora saw the name of one of the shops, he immediately became excited. "This shop has tasty food!"

Shui Yuetian laughed. "It's a restaurant, but everything it sells is made of gold. I imagine only metal elementals and members of the Mechanical Race would enjoy it."

Little Nora immediately lost interest in the shop. "Gold... that stuff doesn't taste good."

Shui Yuetian consoled him. "Don't worry. There's a really good restaurant here on the third floor. Once we get there, we'll give it a try."

Little Nora immediately cheered. "Yay!"

Everyone couldn't help laughing. Even though Little Nora could spend all day thinking about food, his optimistic personality was incredibly infectious. When he was around, it was almost impossible to stay in a bad mood.

The little guy was probably just naturally, mindlessly optimistic. The only thing that could make him a little dejected was discovering that more of his inherited knowledge had become outdated.

While everyone took a cursory tour of the various shops, an undercurrent was quietly stirring. Shui Yuetian had been secretly observing Yu Xian and Nora the entire time. When she noticed Yu Xian glance at Nora and his gaze becoming slightly unfocused, she practically shouted, "Yay!" in her heart.

The real reason she had bought Star Rings for everyone was actually that she wanted to give one to Nora. Distance could breed misunderstandings, and misunderstandings could create even greater distance. The Star Ring could directly bridge the gap between two people. No matter where Yu Xian went in the future, as long as he wasn't in the Abyss, he could stay in contact with Nora. Only this way would their relationship have a chance to blossom and bear fruit.

As a devoted shipper of the two, Shui Yuetian naturally had to give them a strong push. At this point, she was one hundred percent certain that they were definitely chatting! In fact, she had guessed correctly. On the Star Ring's chat interface, Nora made the first move.

I'm Not a Silly Goose: Yu Xian, I chose a Future Mushroom just now. Guess what I dreamed about?

Shining Salted Fish: What did you dream about? Don't tell me you dreamed about our future...

I'm Not a Silly Goose: I dreamed that you left the Blue Planet one day and never came back. I waited and waited, and waited some more, but I never saw you again.

The moment Yu Xian read Nora's message, he felt as though someone had clenched his heart. He took a deep breath before replying.

Shining Salted Fish: Don't overthink it. That was only one possible future. I would never abandon the Blue Planet or... you.

He looked at Nora with seriousness, hoping she could see the determination in his eyes.

I'm Not a Silly Goose: But what if you die? There are too many reasons why you might never come back. What if...

Before Yu Xian could comfort her, he received a new message.

I'm Not a Silly Goose: Can I go with you? Just like Little Nora and Little Huang Quan. If they can, I can too, right?

Yu Xian sighed before typing his reply.

Shining Salted Fish: Staying by my side would be too dangerous.

I'm Not a Silly Goose: I'd rather face danger with you, even die with you, than end up as I did in that prophetic dream, waiting and waiting and waiting, while despair slowly devours me bit by bit.

In the dream, she didn't know where Yu Xian had gone or whether he was even still alive. As time passed, her longing had slowly fermented into a chronic poison, corroding her soul and pushing her step by step into the abyss of despair.

Nora absolutely refused to repeat the same mistake. So, she made a bold and passionate advance, completely unlike the person she had been before.