Chapter 269: Successfully Shifting the Blame

"Father, what should we do now?" Although she had taken over the Territory for some time, faced with such a major event, Niya was momentarily at a loss. "No rush!"

Lord Aipusi appeared quite calm at this moment; after all, they had managed for so many years without a Plane Exploration Array, hadn't they? Compared to the benefits brought by a Plane Crystal, he could see the crisis just as clearly.

"Niya, go and have Xia Duo return to the Territory as usual."

"Father, this—" Niya did not understand her father's plan; shouldn't they be sending people to search the ruins now? Lord Aipusi suddenly smiled, "The Mythallar appeared within Xia Duo's Territory. That kid knows he's caused trouble and only came to you because he couldn't handle it himself. Scare him a little first, but don't truly frighten him, lest he go out and blabber about it."

For the sake of a Plane Crystal that might not even exist, Lord Aipusi could not bring himself to kill to silence someone. Of course, more importantly, the Mythallar was on the verge of collapse; killing him would be of no use and would only add unnecessary variables.

Niya knew her father must have other ideas, but she still believed they should send people to search the ruins now, to seize the Plane Crystal before the Elves and other potential rivals could.

"Father, I think this matter—"

Aipusi interrupted his daughter; he knew what Niya wanted to say, but—

"I don't care what you think. You don't need to worry about this matter. The aftereffects of a failed advancement are no small thing; what you need now is more rest!"

Mentioning the failed advancement caused Niya's face to fall. She had been full of confidence when she wanted to advance to Advanced Arcanist, but she hadn't expected to fail. This had left her dejected for a long time, and she had even been criticized by her father and Uncle Aiboke.

"Understood!"

Leaving behind a few mumbles, Niya departed.

Inside the Lord's Study.

Long after Niya had left, Xia Duo was initially able to read peacefully, but as time dragged on, he gradually grew nervous and began to let his imagination run wild.

Did the Lord and his daughter want to silence him? Or did they not want to take the blame at all? Such things often became more terrifying the more one thought about them. Scaring himself, Xia Duo could no longer sit still in his chair and began pacing in front of the window.

Suddenly, a change in the light and shadow on the window startled him. Only then did Xia Duo realize that this window was actually like a computer desktop, automatically switching scenes.

He hadn't noticed this during his previous visits. Subconsciously, he asked for the time, and the Tower Spirit replied that it was already evening.

He had arrived in the afternoon; without realizing it, he had been here for several hours. Just as he was preparing to do something, Niya's voice suddenly came—

"Xia Duo!"

Hearing the voice, Xia Duo turned around hurriedly and asked anxiously: "Mentor, do you have any instructions?"

"I already know about the matter. I will handle it. You go back first."

"What?" Xia Duo was stunned. This was a bit different from what he had expected!

They should at least send a representative to go back with him to see the situation inside the Mythallar, or at the very least, ask for detailed information about the ruins!

With just a perfunctory "I will handle it," Xia Duo felt that the attempt to shift the burden was likely a failure.

"Right, take these things with you." Niya pointed to the Account Book on the desk and tossed the map she had taken earlier onto it.

"Yes!"

Xia Duo blankly collected these items and then left, looking somewhat dejected.

Behind him, seeing this scene, Niya couldn't help but reveal a sly smile. Her Apprentice was usually the most composed, and the serious way he stared at her during her lectures and Q&A sessions made it seem as if he were the mentor and she the Apprentice.

It formed a sharp contrast with her other Apprentice, Jianaer. Now, seeing Xia Duo in this state, Niya suddenly quite agreed with her father's decision.

However, fearing she might have scared Xia Duo too much, she summoned the Tower Spirit again to project a scene, which was exactly where Xia Duo was located.

On the other side, Xia Duo, unaware of Lord Aipusi's dark sense of humor, was indeed panicked. Shifting the burden was fine, but if no one took it, he would have to carry it himself.

As for whether he could carry it, Xia Duo felt it was unlikely. What could an Intermediate Mage like him do? Why should he be the one standing at the center of the storm?

If even one Senior Mage who wanted to study the Mythallar came, he wouldn't be able to fend them off. His only backing was the Tower of Time, but now, looking at the situation, his backing seemed somewhat unwilling to get involved.

Returning to his residence, Xia Duo grew angrier the more he thought about it. Why didn't you take the burden when I tried to shift it! Of course, this was just a joke; he was pondering Niya's words from just a moment ago.

If he didn't overthink it and took it literally, it seemed the Tower of Time had already taken the burden! It was just that Xia Duo couldn't figure out if Niya was being perfunctory, if she would really handle it, or if she had already sent someone to investigate?

He took out "Levitation: From Beginner to Master," but as soon as Xia Duo opened the book, he closed it again. He flipped it open and closed it again, completely unable to calm his mind.

Just as Xia Duo was tormenting himself, he felt something hit his calf. Looking down, he saw it was a paper ball. Xia Duo seemed to think of something and hurriedly picked it up.

Opening it, there was only one line of text—"I will handle it!"

There was no signature, but it was obviously sent by Niya. Although the content was exactly the same as Niya's words from earlier, in Xia Duo's eyes, it carried a completely different mood.

The first time she said it, he thought it might be perfunctory, but the second time, sending a paper ball, Xia Duo could be almost certain that "I will handle it" meant she really would!

It wasn't perfunctory!

Otherwise, there would be no need to go to such lengths! With his heart settled, Xia Duo also knew that Niya might be watching him from somewhere at this moment, unable to bear seeing him suffer. This greatly increased his favorable impression of Niya, while also making him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Even on Earth, people accustomed to cameras would not want cameras in their own rooms!

Although Xia Duo had known before that the Tower Spirit could monitor any situation within the Mage Tower, there hadn't been a concrete and vivid monitor at that time.

Now, thinking that Niya could see his every move, he felt completely uneasy.

"Oh my, I'm too tired today, I'll go take a bath!"

Xia Duo didn't just say it; he did it.

Whether it was an illusion or not, after the bath, he no longer felt uncomfortable about being watched. Perhaps it was just psychological comfort, but in any case, he felt refreshed.

It wasn't just physical relief; he felt very relaxed mentally as well.

At this time, picking up the Spellbook to read again, he felt much more focused.

The next morning, Xia Duo took Dongzhi and a dozen local hunting dogs that Lao Ouwen had helped gather, and boarded the "Lucky Owen."

Since he already knew Niya would handle it, he prepared to wait in the Territory for Niya to send someone to deal with it, and then, depending on the collapse of the Mythallar, consider whether to take refuge in the Tower of Time.

After boarding the ship, Lao Ouwen handed him a piece of Parchment: "My Lord, these local hunting dogs cost a total of 150 Gold Coins. The Liyadun Chamber of Commerce paid for them, and this is the bill."

"150 Gold Coins?" Xia Duo took the bill and glanced at it. Each dog had its purchase time, location, and cost noted.

The most expensive one was over 30 Gold Coins, and the cheapest was only two or three; the difference was vast! "My Lord, these dogs were all collected from villages near the Green Pearl Forest. They were selected by the barbarian, and they have all received simple training and will soon be useful!" Lao Ouwen explained.

"Hmm, don't call Dongzhi a barbarian in the future. Go sail the ship!"

At this moment, Lao Ouwen didn't know that Xia Duo was already preparing to introduce the Langasi, but letting him continue to call him "barbarian," "barbarian" was indeed not conducive to internal unity.

(End of chapter)