Chapter 1661: Returning to Nan Jing, Fulfilling the Agreement

Early the next morning.

Xia Duo called for Aiwa and asked him face-to-face if any Adventurers had confirmed orders; upon receiving a negative answer, Xia Duo could not help but feel a bit disappointed, but this disappointment did not last long.

After last night's banquet, he had already received four new orders from the Mages of Jilan Tower, and there would likely be more in the future; he was starting to look down on those from the Adventurers.

After thinking for a moment, he said to Aiwa: "Put the Adventurer side aside for now; today you will return to Nan Jing with me, rest for a while, and then come back."

"Yes."

Following this, Xia Duo did not delay any longer and took Aiwa back to the Tower of Time from the Arcane Union; as for the four new orders obtained at Jilan Tower, they could just be brought over when Aiwa returned to Seventon.

……

The Tower of Time.

Xia Duo's return had not been notified to Niya in advance, but how could such a large disturbance from teleportation be hidden from her? When Xia Duo experienced the shift in space and stepped out of the Teleportation Room, the first thing he saw was Niya standing at the entrance.

At this moment, there was a trace of anxiety and worry in Niya's eyes, yet she still feigned composure; only her slightly pursed lips and her fingers twisted together betrayed her.

"Niya, I'm back!"

Not caring that Aiwa was still present, Xia Duo stepped forward and embraced Niya, pulling her tightly into his arms, while whispering in her ear:

"Sorry, I was delayed for a few days and made you worry."

"It's good that you're back!" Niya responded emotionally.

But immediately, she noticed that there was an outsider present; she struggled to pull away from Xia Duo's embrace and asked in a low voice: "Who is that?"

"It's Aiwa, my follower. You should have an impression of him; he was sent to Seventon before and hasn't returned for over a year. This time, I'm letting him come back to rest for a few days."

As he spoke, Xia Duo turned to Aiwa and said to him: "You go back first and pick a few sharp-witted young men; I will notify you when it's time to set off."

"Yes."

Aiwa acknowledged the order, bowed to Niya, and then walked quickly toward the Elevator.

……

After Aiwa left, Xia Duo and Niya moved to the top-floor Study. Niya watched as Xia Duo brewed a pot of tea before asking: "Just now, you asked him to pick a few people—what is that for?"

"The Seventon office. Although Aiwa is capable, I have more important arrangements for him."

"Oh."

Whether it was Aiwa or the Seventon office, Xia Duo had always been the one handling it. Niya had only asked casually and did not delve further, instead returning to the main topic and asking Xia Duo:

"Was the trip to Evereska smooth? Did you trade for the 【Inspiration Potion】?"

"Although there were twists and turns on this trip, generally speaking, it went quite smoothly, and I did trade for the 【Inspiration Potion】."

Following Niya's inquiry, Xia Duo thought about the situation when he was peeking at and probing the Mythallar in Evereska; from his current perspective, it was somewhat reckless at the time.

However, the result was good; at least he had figured out the key elements of that distributed Mythallar in Evereska. Although it was still some distance from what he expected, it could be considered an important reference.

Thinking this way, Xia Duo began to take things out of his Personal Space one by one, first his notes on organizing and analyzing the Evereska Mythallar, and then some books and magazines he had purchased from an Evereska bookstore.

They filled all the empty space on the tea table in front of the two of them. In the end, Xia Duo did not stop and took out a small, exquisite wooden box, placing it on top of a stack of magazines.

He opened it in front of Niya and introduced: "This is the 【Inspiration Potion】!"

"Is this it?"

Niya curiously examined the small porcelain bottle lying quietly on the velvet lining inside the wooden box. The bottle was shaped like a naked Elf holding a water bottle with both hands. Was this worth 150,000 Gold Coins?

"Yes, this is it." Xia Duo took the porcelain bottle out of the wooden box, but he did not pull out the stopper; he just took it out, turned it twice to show Niya, and then put it back.

"This potion is from the Elves after all. Without confirming its specific effects, it's better not to open it casually."

"Unsure of the effects? Could it be that this isn't an Inspiration Potion and the Elves lied to you?" Niya immediately thought of "deception."

"It's not quite that, but I'm not sure if there are hidden dangers in it. It's just a pity that Xierdalanna is the only purchasing channel right now; otherwise, I could have used money to trade for progress."

With just this one bottle of potion, whether it could be obtained continuously in the future was also a problem. Without absolute certainty, Xia Duo would definitely not consume it easily; this consumption included both direct ingestion and experimental use.

Previously, when he was in Evereska, he wanted to introduce their Magic armor and even more equipment. He was prepared to let Depake be responsible for this matter, and incidentally, he could also inquire about the situation of the 【Inspiration Potion】 there.

If possible, having one more purchasing channel would prevent him from being manipulated by Xierdalanna. Xia Duo was certain that the other party had some ulterior motive in bringing out this kind of potion.

The most superficial one, of course, was to provoke a conflict between him and the Yierlan Moonshadow Family and even the forces behind them; there might be many deeper ones as well.

Therefore, even knowing that the effect of this potion was likely as Xierdalanna said—capable of stimulating inspiration—Xia Duo was unwilling to test the potion himself.

Besides worrying about the potion itself, not wanting to be manipulated by Xierdalanna was also a very important factor, because Xia Duo did not trust himself either, fearing that he would be attracted by the medicinal effect and fall into the other party's trap.

Fortunately, he would just act as if he didn't know; that way, there would be no temptation.

As for the lobbying of the Seven Towers that he promised Xierdalanna, Xia Duo had already done it.

At the Jilan Tower banquet, someone happened to mention that the Northland Alliance might be brewing further trade liberalization, and Xia Duo was also asked for his opinion on this matter, so he casually offered some persuasion.

With Huo En present, it could be considered that he had fulfilled his agreement with Xierdalanna.

……

Regarding the 【Inspiration Potion】, Xia Duo did not tell Niya too much. On one hand, the situation was uncertain, and he was afraid she would worry; on the other hand, it was to avoid being detected by Xierdalanna.

Any secret, once spoken, had the risk of being leaked; Xia Duo had to be careful.

"Then are you going to Seventon next?" Niya asked again.

"No, I won't be going to Seventon for a short time."

After finishing, Xia Duo seemed to remember something and added, "Of course, that is on the condition that Aiboke is willing to help maintain the Blazing Sun Array of the Watchtower every month."

"Uh—" Niya was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously, "I will persuade Uncle Aiboke."

"No need to persuade; he knows. If you persuade him like that, he will instead think that I am the one instigating you!"

This was, of course, just a joke. After laughing, neither of them mentioned this matter again; Aiboke was a capable person who did more work!

……