0p0 Chapter 214 A Symphony of Wine and Water
Chapter 214 A Symphony of Wine and Water
In D'Artagnan's hands, a pair of water blades quickly condensed.
With a spinning slash, the neatly severed wooden sticks flew up along with their master's head.
Chu Yi cried out in fear, then collapsed to the ground, limp and unconscious.
The teahouse owner, his face filled with horror, saw that the newcomer was incredibly powerful. He gripped the "Talisman of No Taboos" tightly and turned to flee.
However, after running only two steps, his cheeks suddenly flushed red, and he became as if he were drunk. He staggered for only one step before collapsing to the ground and falling into a deep sleep.
"Ok?"
D'Artagnan frowned, about to step forward to take a look, when suddenly he was greeted by a wonderful fragrance.
Tadalia reacted quickly, immediately blocking his breathing, taking two steps back, and waving his hand to summon a water sphere to envelop himself.
"Someone used poison? No, the faint smell I just caught was more like... alcohol?"
As soon as D'Artagnan thought of wine, he immediately knew what to expect.
"Is that Xu Ning, the drunkard? This kind of underhanded tactic is not how Liyue treats its guests. Why don't you come out and meet him?"
Xu Ning casually opened the window, slipped into the room, and then closed the window tightly again.
Looking at the young master in front of him who was shielded from the smell of alcohol by a water curtain, Xu Ning laughed and said, "I have brought out my best wine to entertain you. It is a wine that can make them drunk just by smelling it. How is that not the way to treat guests?"
"Oh, yes."
Xu Ning casually summoned a wisp of amber-colored alcoholic aroma and watched it spread from his fingertip.
"This is a design I just came up with. It's perfect for indoor use. I call it 'Gentle Haven,' a gentle haven that can soothe one's sorrows and make one linger, forgetting to go home. What do you think of this name?"
D'Artagnan actually held Xu Ning in contempt from the bottom of his heart.
Although in the last encounter at Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain, the entire team was caught off guard by Xu Ning, who stole the birthday gift that the rich man had prepared to give to Her Majesty the Empress, causing both himself and the rich man to lose face a little.
However, in the ensuing battle, the young master realized that Xu Ning was not actually that strong, and that as long as he was willing to fight seriously, Xu Ning would definitely not be his match.
But when he met Xu Ning again today, he discovered that this person's strength did not lie in his fighting ability.
Rather, this person always appears at key junctures in the Fatui's intelligence and in the current situation, making many plans very difficult to implement.
Just like now, with me personally taking charge, what should have been a simple matter of collecting a debt has become complicated.
"We who have come from the freezing cold of winter will not linger for your gentle embrace, you..."
Just as Tartaglia was about to manipulate the water element around him to launch a water-based mimicry attack called "Whale Walk" against Xu Ning.
But suddenly he found that the water element around him was extremely difficult to manipulate.
That heavy feeling was like being swimming freely in the ocean, only to suddenly sink into a murky sandstorm.
"This is……"
At the same time, D'Artagnan was surprised to find that the azure water shield he had raised was now as if it had been dyed, gradually turning into a bright amber color.
Xu Ning shook the gourd in his hand and laughed at D'Artagnan, "I've long wanted to try mixing wine into water myself. If it weren't for that little snake that threatened me, saying that as a follower of Dionysus, mixing wine with water would incur Dionysus's wrath and bring punishment..."
Before Xu Ning could finish speaking, a cold, mature female voice suddenly rang in his ears.
"Violating the Dionysian code of ethics will result in all participants having their defense and resistance halved, and taking double damage when attacked."
Xu Ning was stunned. There really was a punishment?
All participants, meaning they each contributed wine and the young master contributed water, simultaneously accomplished the feat of diluting the wine with water, resulting in everyone's defense being halved and them enduring double the attack.
D'Artagnan clearly felt his body's defenses weaken significantly. He removed the water sphere shield, which was almost turning into liquid, and asked, struggling to hold his breath, "What did you do?"
Xu Ning put the negative status he had just received out of his mind, thinking to himself that everyone was in the same boat anyway, so who was afraid of who?
"Imbuement—a symphony of wine and water. My wine is perfect for imbuing your water element, to dye you into my likeness, to transform you into my wine. Isn't that wonderful?"
D'Artagnan looked at the water blade in his hand, which had developed amber spots when it came into contact with the wine floating in the air. He sneered and dispelled the water blade.
"I don't only have one element..."
Xu Ning immediately stretched out a hand and shouted, "Hey, don't switch to lightning element yet!"
Xu Ning spoke first to stop Tartaglia from changing his attributes, then pretended to be nervous and wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead, shushing him, "Let me give you a little tidbit. This room has been permeated with my liquor, so with just a tiny spark, it will explode into flames in this small room."
"Leaving aside whether the 'Unfettered Talisman' on this boss's body will be burned by the impact of the flames, just the power that is enough to blow off the entire roof will probably attract the attention of the Seven Stars of Liyue and that old man in an instant."
"The Fatui Enforcers destroyed houses and killed people. At that time, even for the sake of Liyue's reputation, we would have to fight you to the death. Of course, the most likely outcome would be that we would join forces to kill you... Hmm, thinking about that possibility, why don't you switch to lightning? No, I might as well just start the fire!"
As Tartaglia listened to Xu Ning's long-winded speech, she sneered, "The owner of this teahouse borrowed countless Mora from my Northern Bank to open this casino, which is exclusively for the entertainment of Liyue's dignitaries. I'm here today simply to collect the debt. In your Liyue, this is called, let me think, 'perfectly natural,' isn't it? As for your accusations of destroying the house and killing people, did I not have to open my mouth and let you fabricate stories?"
Xu Ning pouted, "Hey, don't forget where this is? Liyue! With my reputation here, tell me, whose testimony is more credible? Even the kids here know what the 'annoying Fools' are."
D'Artagnan's vision blurred, and he realized that he had been standing in the presence of this guy's alcoholic aura for far too long, and that things were really going to get out of hand if this continued.
He glanced at the teahouse owner lying on the ground.
"I actually... messed up, tch, I was careless!"