Chapter 50: Chapter 49: The Journey to Home
Early the next morning, Wang Daoyi and Xiangling appeared at the gates of Mondstadt.
Without needing Wang Dao to fleece a certain red-haired man, the Knights of Favonius had considerately prepared a carriage for them, originally intended for storing the ingredients for Xiangling, but now it conveniently held the two of them with their pile of luggage and gifts.
It was just an ordinary cargo carriage, typically used by small merchants for transporting goods, but now it was loaded with the belongings of two people - Xiangling's ingredients, books purchased by Wang Daoyi in Mondstadt, gifts for friends and family, and a large pile of meat products sent from Qingce Village.
They had arrived with only two packages, but were leaving with a full carriage of luggage. Wang Daoyi couldn't help but marvel at how fulfilling this journey had been.
Setting off in the morning, as the sun rose overhead and then descended back down after three days and nights of travel, the two once again arrived at Dawn Winery.
Perhaps because Wang Dao and Xiangling were already known, as soon as they arrived at the winery, two unnamed maids warmly welcomed them inside.
Upon reaching the central courtyard of the winery, the steward Esa was already waiting for them.
"Welcome, both of you. Thank you for helping to save Mondstadt. I've prepared the best gifts for you both, please accept them."
Esa was not only Diluc's steward but also the chairman of the Mondstadt Wine Industry Association, so he had prepared quite a few unique Mondstadt wines for the two.
"This is the 30-year-old Dandelion Wine, as well as special Apple Cider and Sunsettia Ale. These are all ordinary Mondstadt wines, but they are all stored in the oldest cellars, so please accept them and bring them back to Liyue for your friends to taste."
Esa had prepared a whole carriage of wine for the two, leaving them stunned.
Despite their attempts to decline, the two couldn't resist Esa's enthusiasm. In the end, in addition to their luggage, they ended up with another carriage full of Mondstadt wines.
With the burden of two carriages of goods, the two's speed was not as fast as when they came. What was supposed to be a journey of three or four days back to Liyue Harbor now took several days longer, greatly slowing down their progress.
As the dragon crisis in Mondstadt had ended, there were many more caravans on the road now. With two carriages of goods, the young man and woman naturally joined a caravan heading to Liyue.
The caravan traveled day and night, trying to avoid the monsters that could appear on the road at any time. Even though they were extremely cautious, they encountered slimes attacks several times.
It had to be said that slimes really liked to attack caravans. These small creatures, led by slime Thugs, often came in groups of a dozen or more, charging at caravans whenever they saw them.
But the caravans were not defenseless. The hired adventurers would form a circle, using the carriages as cover to protect those in the middle who were not skilled in combat, while coordinating seamlessly to fend off the slime attacks.
These experienced adventurers easily repelled the slime's attacks without Wang Daoyi and Xiangling needing to lift a finger.
With the guidance of the caravan, the two didn't need to worry about the road ahead, simply following the caravan forward.
Wang Daoyi lay in the carriage reading a book, while Xiangling hummed an unknown tune beside him.
It had taken only three days to come, but now it had taken a whole week to return. The caravan finally arrived at the Stone Gate.
"Solid as a rock, steadfast as a mountain! Welcome back to the Stone Gate Camp, it looks like your journey went smoothly!"
The soldiers of the Qixing at Stone Gate still remembered Wang Daoyi and Xiangling, warmly greeting them.
"Yes, thanks to the blessings of the Archons, the journey went smoothly. We have gained a lot from this trip!"
"That's good to hear. Please come in. If you need anything, just let us know. After the attack last time, Lady Ningguang has strengthened the garrison at Stone Gate, so you can rest assured this time!"
"Thank you, we appreciate it."
After bidding farewell to the enthusiastic guards, the two entered the familiar camp with their carriage.
The damage caused by the previous attack had not only been repaired but there was also a large pile of building materials piled up on the side, likely for further construction of the camp.
As they walked further in, the Stone Gate camp was still as bustling as ever, with many caravans stopping here to exchange information.
Between Mondstadt and Liyue, Stone Gate was probably the gathering point for information from both sides.
It hadn't even been ten minutes since they entered Stone Gate, but Wang Dao had already heard at least ten people discussing the two Liyueans who had helped save Mondstadt.
Although the news announced by Acting Grand Master Mona was that two Liyueans had helped, in this Stone Gate camp belonging to Liyue, the news had already spread as two Liyueans had saved Mondstadt.
Rumors really were unreliable.
Wang Daoyi and Xiangling exchanged a glance, both seeing the speechlessness in each other's eyes, then they smiled at each other, feeling a small joy of sharing the same little secret.
It was the same inn, and the innkeeper still remembered them, welcoming them warmly.
"I wonder if Xingqiu and Chongyun have found the ruins they were looking for. We should ask when we pass by the Wanshu Inn."
After packing up their belongings and entrusting the two carriages to the innkeeper, the two had a meal in the inn's hall.
Eating leads to chatting, chatting leads to remembering their original purpose of going out together, and then they thought of the duo who had set out together to find the ancient hero ruins.
"It's been over a month. Even if they haven't found it, they should have returned to Liyue by now."
Although Xiangling was a great chef, she wasn't picky about the inn's food and ate heartily. She was never a picky eater, and she never complained about food unless she was comparing culinary skills.
Putting a piece of braised pork into Wang Daoyi's bowl, Xiangling felt that Xingqiu and Chongyun should have arrived at Liyue Harbor by now.
"That's not necessarily true. If they did find the ruins, exploring them would take at least a few months, even for a small-scale ruin!"
Wang Daoyi had experience with treasure hoarders. Even they, with their destructive approach, took a long time to explore a ruin. The duo was obviously not the type to destroy ruins, so if they did find one, it would definitely take a lot of time to explore.
However, Xiangling felt that the chances of the duo finding the ruins were very slim. "The rumors of ruins in Dihua Marsh have been circulating for many years, and there are many people exploring Dihua Marsh every year. Relying on just an unknown treasure map, the chances of finding the ruins are too small!"
The two chatted idly, from the adventures of Xingqiu and Chongyun to how they would deal with Uncle Mao's nagging when they returned to Liyue, and then talked about the interesting things that happened during this trip.
Time flew by, and the table full of dishes was slowly finished by the two.
After eating and drinking their fill, the sky had already darkened, and the two went back to their rooms to rest.
This time, there shouldn't be any monsters bothering them.
(End of chapter)
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