Chapter 50: The Incarnation of the Dragon King
"Do all the food you humans eat smell so good?"
When it was time for dinner, Ajiu looked at the large table full of sumptuous food that had been packed back from Wanmin Hall. Ajiu swallowed subconsciously and spoke.
Although Liu Bai said last time that he wanted to buy ingredients and cook for himself, it seems that he has not been able to buy them successfully...
"Well, this is also a manifestation of human wisdom. Try it."
Nashida nodded and explained, then handed the bowl and chopsticks to Ajiu.
"..."
Although she was also a native of Liyue, she really didn't know how to use chopsticks. She didn't know if she didn't need to use them when eating before or if she had forgotten it. She could only hold a pair of chopsticks in each hand and felt a little at a loss.
After seeing Liu Bai and Nashida's actions, she tried to put the two chopsticks together, and then clenched the chopsticks in one fist.
But it still felt wrong, so she had to stare at Liu Bai's hands carefully and learn how he held the chopsticks. Only then did she pick up the chopsticks in a slightly correct posture.
"Humph, it doesn't taste much better than amber."
After taking a bite of the tender and fragrant pepper chicken, Ajiu turned his head away and made this comment, but he couldn't help but pick up another piece.
"I can see you like human food."
Nashida said this with a chuckle, and then picked up a piece of chicken leg for Liu Bai.
"Humph, I'm just a little hungry because I haven't eaten for a thousand years."
After hearing what Nashida said, Ajiu defended himself unwillingly.
"...?"
"Oh my god, one of you hasn't taken a bath for 500 years, and the other hasn't eaten for 1,000 years. It's hard for a baby like me who is only a few hundred months old to imagine that scene."
Hearing this, Liu Bai, who was concentrating on eating, raised his head and looked at the two girls with some shock.
"I told you not to think about this anymore!"
When Nashida heard Liu Bai mention that he hadn't taken a bath for 500 years, her face turned slightly red and she spoke with dissatisfaction.
Don’t you have a bad memory? How come you remember something like this so clearly?
"I haven't taken a bath for hundreds of years..."
Ajiu couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Since I was born, I have never taken a bath except walking into the sea...
No... hundreds of years? How can an ant live that long? Who is she?
Could it be those damn immortals?
Soon Ajiu thought of something and immediately frowned and looked at Nashida.
Noticing Ajiu's gaze, Nashida gave her a gentle smile, picked up the dish that was out of her reach and put it in her bowl.
"..."
"Forget it, let's eat first."
……
"So, did you go to Jueyunjian this afternoon?"
After dinner, after hearing where Liu Bai brought Ajiu back from, Nashida sat next to him and asked.
"Yes, I also met a little zombie and a goddess, it was awesome."
Liu Bai nodded in response.
"Is that so? Then why did you go to Jueyunjian?"
Nashida was not quite sure who the goddess Liu Bai was talking about, so she continued to ask about the things that concerned her most.
"I want to release the Ruota Dragon King."
In response to Nashida's questions, Liu Bai continued to answer honestly.
"...?"
Ajiu, who was sitting at the table and staring at the thrush in the cage, suddenly turned his head and seemed to prick up his ears to eavesdrop.
"I knew it……"
Hearing Liu Bai's answer, Nashida said helplessly.
"But if it is released, it will cause great harm to Liyue."
"It doesn't matter. It's so far from Liyue Harbor, it can't get there."
In the face of Nashida's worries, Liu Bai was not too worried, and he also had the confidence that he could make King Rudra obedient.
"Haha, ridiculous, you can't come over? When I kill Morax with my butt, the first place I'll attack is Liyue Harbor!"
Eavesdropping on Liu Bai's confident words, Ajiu sneered in his heart.
"Oh, really, what are you going to do? You can't open the seal of Guyun Pavilion."
Nashida sighed and asked Liu Bai helplessly.
"Oh, I have asked my men to transport all the explosives I bought recently to the South Heaven Gate, and then blow up the Fulong tree directly. This way the seal should be broken."
Liu Bai explained to Nashida.
From what he saw when he came back, the explosives would almost be delivered, so perhaps Liu Bai could go over to direct the blasting tomorrow.
"No! That's my tail!"
Ajiu was startled and rushed over to interrupt their conversation.
"…your tail?"
Liu Bai looked at Ajiu in confusion and glanced behind her butt.
"Humph, that's right. Besides, even if you blow up the Fulong Tree, the seal won't be lifted!"
Ajiu folded his arms across his chest and snorted, then nodded in acknowledgment and continued.
"Well, you are indeed part of the consciousness of the Dragon King Rudra."
Seeing Ajiu admit it, Nashida finally confirmed her guess.
From the moment she saw Ajiu, she vaguely felt that she was the consciousness split from some powerful being.
"Are you the Rādhāraṇa?"
Liu Bai looked at Ajiu in astonishment.
"Hehe, that's right. I am the oldest and most majestic being in Liyue."
After being recognized, Ajiu no longer concealed his identity and continued to speak proudly with his arms folded across his chest.
"That feeling is good!"
Liu Bai was a little surprised by Ajiu's admission, and he quickly raised his hand to the side.
“I picked this up.”
Afterwards, the wooden stick that knocked Shen He unconscious earlier appeared in Liu Bai's hand again. Liu Bai held the wooden stick with both hands and raised it up, wanting to hit Ajiu.
"You, you are presumptuous!"
Ajiu was startled. She had seen how Liu Bai knocked Shen He unconscious. She quickly covered her head and hid behind Nashida.
"Alright, calm down first. She is only a part of the consciousness of the Ruotu Dragon King. It will be useless even if you knock her out."
Nashida raised her hand to comfort Liu Bai, and then asked the two to sit down and calm down.
After the two of them sat down, Nashida took the wooden stick from Liu Bai's hand and put it aside.
"Okay, then, King Ruotu, you just said that the tree is your tail, but it stands to reason that with the defense of a rock dragon, you shouldn't have to worry about human explosives, right?"
Seeing that both of them sat down, Nashida took the lead in asking Ajiu.
"Because it wasn't my tail at first, but it merged with me later. Since it is outside the seal, I can use it to absorb the elemental power of the earth veins."
"If I blow it up, I won't be able to get out of the seal."
Since his identity was already known, Ajiu did not hide it and explained the situation of the Fulong Tree to the two of them.
It was also with the help of the Fulong Tree that she was able to split her current consciousness and come out.
"I see. The tree used to suppress the rock dragon has become its last hope..."
Nashida nodded in understanding.
She had read a lot of books these days, including some books that were so boring that most people couldn't read them at all, so she knew a lot about Liyue's history, and also knew about the situation of the sealing of the Dragon King Ruota.
"Oh... If you can't blow up the tree, how about digging a hole underneath and see if you can't blow up a big hole? Then maybe you can get out?"
Liu Bai was listening to the conversation between Nashida and Ajiu. At this time, he recalled the pit that Shen He had dug with brute force, so he made this suggestion.
"As long as it doesn't hurt the trees, I don't care."
Ajiu crossed her arms and said that she would not pin her hopes on others. As long as Liu Bai did not blow up the Fulong Tree, she would find a way to get herself out of trouble.
"But before that, answer me a question, why did you release Ruotu?"
……