socalfunplaces Chapter 1211 Seeking Refuge in Nata
Chapter 1211 Seeking Refuge in Nata
……
Seeing Beidou pacing anxiously, Baishu recalled the rumors he'd overheard from patients chatting at the Bubu Clinic and suggested:
“I’ve heard that Captain Beidou frequently travels between Liyue and Inazuma and has quite a few connections in Inazuma. Perhaps… you could consider taking Ningguang to Inazuma to recuperate for the time being?”
He paused, then added, "Perfect timing. The medicine I left behind this time, when taken at the daily dose, should be enough to keep Ningguang going for two or three days. With the speed of the Death Star, that should be enough time for you to reach Inazuma smoothly."
When Beidou heard the name "Inazuma," his heart skipped a beat.
Indeed, the connections I've built up in Inazuma are definitely coming in handy now.
Going to Inazuma is indeed the only good solution at the moment.
"At this point, this is the only way..."
After saying that, Beidou seemed to suddenly remember something; he had almost forgotten about the consultation fee.
Then she took a heavy Mora bag from a box beside her, handed it to Bai Shu, and said sincerely:
"Oh, by the way, Dr. Bai, this is your consultation fee. I've already helped Ningguang before, and this time I've troubled you to make another trip and put in the effort to prepare the medicine. Mora, you must accept this."
Bai Zhu reached out and took the Mora bag, weighed it in his hand, and found it to be quite heavy.
There must be hundreds of thousands of Mora here.
But Bai Zhu only counted out 70,000 Mora from it, put the rest back into the bag, and handed it back to Bei Dou.
"That's too much, Captain Beidou. The consultation fee for this trip is 1,000 Mora. The cost of the medicine, acupuncture, and the special treatment for longevity, plus the two days' worth of medicine I left behind, will be 70,000 Mora in total. You can take the rest back."
Seeing this, Beidou quickly waved his hand and made an excuse, saying, "Dr. Bai, you can keep the rest!"
"You risked your life to provide free medical care in the General Affairs Department prison in order to save Ningguang, and you also exhausted your own life force. Consider these Mora as your nutritional expenses. It's good to replenish your body!"
In fact, Beidou knew very well that the remaining Mora, which was called "nutrition fee", was actually "hush money".
She was still afraid that Bai Shu might accidentally reveal Ning Guang's whereabouts after leaving, but she couldn't say it outright for fear of displeasing the doctor, so she could only make up an excuse.
Bai Shu naturally understood Bei Dou's thoughts, but did not point them out.
He simply took 70,000 Mora from the Mora bag, returned the rest to Beidou, and left a message.
"A doctor should have a benevolent heart and not seek profit at the expense of his conscience. If I wanted to make money, why would I have risked everything to treat Ningguang in the General Affairs Department's prison?"
"Why bother taking the risk of treating Ningguang now?"
……
After seeing Bai off, Beidou turned around and pulled Yelan back to the captain's cabin, eagerly discussing the follow-up arrangements.
Since we've decided to go to Inazuma, we need to figure out in advance where Ningguang can recuperate.
Thomas, a member of the Shakai clan, had a good relationship with Hokuto; he was also acquainted with Goro, the general of the Sangokiya army.
The outlying islands are an important area for trade between Liyue and Inazuma, and the Kamisato family's Toma can also take care of things nearby.
Umijima Island is quiet with few people, making it more suitable for patients to recuperate. Moreover, since Coral Palace took control of the Inazuma regime, there has been no shortage of food and clothing.
However, there's no one I know well who can take care of Ningguang... I can't let Goro take care of her himself.
This situation presented BeiDou with a difficult decision.
Yelan, however, was much calmer than her. Seeing that Beidou had already begun to ponder the details of Daozuma, she spoke up to remind him:
"Don't think that far ahead. The most important thing right now is to get out of Liyue. Can your Death Star leave now? Are all the supplies ready?"
Reminded by Ye Lan, Bei Dou suddenly remembered the situation on the ship. She scratched her head, a hint of embarrassment on her face.
"There's plenty of food on the ship. It was all bought before we went to Inazuma last time. It's a bit monotonous, but it'll last us until we get to Inazuma."
"The problem is that we're running low on fresh water. We haven't had time to replenish it yet. Right now, the fresh water on the ship is probably only enough for the crew to drink for one day. We need to replenish the fresh water."
Just as Yelan and Beidou began researching how to replenish fresh water as quickly as possible before leaving Liyue for Inazuma.
Ningguang, who had been poisoned, slowly awoke, opened her eyes, and weakly made a sound.
"what……"
Ye Lan's ears twitched. If it weren't for the fact that Ye Lan had been carrying out intelligence missions for many years and had hearing far beyond that of ordinary people, she probably wouldn't have noticed it at all.
"Ningguang is awake?"
Atractylodes macrocephala is truly a gynecological master... ugh, a miracle doctor!
(Fu Jin and Ling Yuan: Lord Medicine is mighty! Lord Medicine has miraculous healing powers!)
……
Ningguang's awakening is undoubtedly great news for Yelan and Beidou; everything is getting better!
"Ningguang, it's so good that you're awake!" Beidou leaned close to the bedside, her eyes brimming with tears of excitement.
“We’ve discussed it with Yelan. Right now, there are arrest warrants for you everywhere in Liyue Harbor, so it’s not safe. We plan to take you to Inazuma for refuge.”
"I know Thomas and Goro over there. I can find a quiet place for you to recover properly. It's about Liyue."
When Ningguang, who had just woken up, heard the words "go to Inazuma," she immediately shook her head. Clearly, she did not want to go to Inazuma.
Yelan and Beidou exchanged a glance. Inazuma was clearly the safest option at the moment, so why did Ningguang refuse?
Before the two could ask anything, Ningguang raised her hand with difficulty and gestured towards Beidou, her fingers drawing vague lines in the air.
Ye Lan was the first to realize: "You want paper and pen?"
Ningguang nodded, letting out a soft "hmm" sound.
Beidou quickly turned around, rummaged through a drawer in the captain's cabin, took out paper and pen, and handed them to Ningguang.
Ningguang used all her strength to grip the pen and slowly wrote two characters on the paper: "Shao Yun".
Beidou looked at the words on the paper and instantly understood Ningguang's meaning.
"Ningguang, do you mean we should go find Mr. Shao Yun?"
Ningguang nodded weakly, her lips moved as if she wanted to explain, but she could only utter indistinct breaths.
Beidou is really in a bind now. Shao Yun lives in Nata. Going there to take refuge would be going the long way around.
Isn't Inazuma good? Aside from the small portion size, the rest of the food seemed alright.
"But Mr. Shao Yun is in Nata right now! That place is a hundred and eight thousand miles away from Liyue, much farther than Inazuma!"
She counted on her fingers and said, "Even if our Death Star has smooth sailing and travels day and night, it will still take more than a week to reach Nata."
"You've just woken up and your body is so weak. How can you withstand such a long voyage? What if the bumpy ride worsens your condition?"
Yelan also chimed in, "Lord Ningguang, Beidou is right. Nata is a long way off, and we're not familiar with the situation there. What if we encounter danger?"
"Inazuma is closer to Liyue, and you have acquaintances there to help you, so it's more suitable for you to recuperate right now. How about we go to Inazuma first, and then consider going to see Mr. Shao Yun once you're feeling better?"
Ningguang shook her head again. She picked up her pen once more and drew a simple shield pattern below the words "Shao Yun," her eyes full of pleading.
She knew the journey to Nata was long, but only with Shao Yun by her side could she truly feel safe.
In her confused yet clear mind, the only place in Teyvat where she could truly feel safe seemed to be beside Shao Yun.
Although the two didn't get along well, her subconscious told her that only there was safety; it was a life instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm.
She subconsciously regarded Shao Yun as her last refuge; it was an intuition that required little thought.
Shao Yun possesses absolute martial prowess; only by his side can one escape Ke Qing's (Barbara's) manhunt and truly catch one's breath.
Looking at Ningguang's seemingly tantrum-like yet fragile appearance, Beidou felt his mind buzzing.
She rubbed her temples and sighed helplessly.
The once decisive and strategic Tianquan Star now resembles a child who, once she has chosen a direction, refuses to turn back. But what can she do when she is now a patient who needs to be accommodated?
"Okay, okay, I understand, I understand!" Beidou quickly stepped forward and stopped Ningguang, who was about to gesture again, his tone full of compromise.
"Stop straining your voice! The toxins have already damaged your throat. If you keep straining to speak, you'll really lose your voice!"
She softened her tone, coaxing him like a child, "You should lie down and rest in my room first. We'll listen to you and go to Nata to find Shao Yun."
"But we don't have enough fresh water on board right now, and we need to replenish our food supplies. We can't keep you traveling on an empty stomach, can we? Let's go to Guyun Pavilion to replenish our supplies first, and then set sail at nightfall, okay?"
Ningguang looked at Beidou's resigned expression, then glanced at Yelan who was nodding in agreement. Her tense body finally relaxed, and she slowly closed her eyes, lying back on the bed with peace of mind.
She knew that Beidou and Yelan wouldn't lie to her; as long as she could leave Liyue and head towards Nata, she would be completely safe.
Ningguang's insistence on choosing Nata was not solely due to Shao Yun's military protection.
She knew better than anyone that although Inazuma had connections with Beidou, he was too close to Liyue.
Keqing (Barbara, Zhongli) was able to orchestrate a coup and disrupt Liyue, so it's not impossible for her to influence the Inazuma government through diplomatic means.
If the Inazuma official team agrees to repatriate her in order to appease the new forces in Liyue, wouldn't that be like walking into a trap?
If you're going to run, run to the farthest place. Nata is far southwest of Tewat, which is geographically safe enough.
In contrast, Inazuma's "safety" ultimately carries too many uncertain risks.
With this inexplicable sense of security, Ningguang fell asleep again.
Looking at Ningguang sleeping peacefully, Yelan leaned close to Beidou and whispered, "Since Ningguang has made up her mind, let's prepare according to Nata's route."
Beidou nodded, his gaze falling on Ningguang's face, feeling quite puzzled.
"I never expected that she would trust Mr. Shao Yun so much."
……