Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 122 Zhongli and the Dragon King Ruotu

"Yes! It's been a long time!" King Ruoduo stood up and said with satisfaction, "But it doesn't seem like it's been that long."

"Haha, after all, if you take into account that the good and evil thoughts hadn't yet merged last time, then it really hasn't been that long."

On one side, Zhongli and Ruotu Dragon King were chatting happily through a light barrier, while on the other side, Kiana and Bella were embracing each other.

Okay, actually, Bella ran to Kiana as soon as she saw her coming and gave her a big bear hug.

Fortunately, Kiana is no ordinary person; otherwise, given Bella's physical abilities, Kiana would probably have been turned into mincemeat in the next second.

Kiana felt the warmth of the embrace, and a huge weight was finally lifted from her heart. All she had to do now was find the Captain and the Herrscher of Knowledge, and everything would be perfect.

After a brief moment of tenderness, Kiana pushed Bella away and said, "Bella, I'm so glad you're alright!"

Feeling Kiana's heartfelt care, Bella closed her eyes and gently rested her head against Kiana, nuzzling her affectionately. Kiana also placed her hand on Bella's head and stroked it.

Finally, under the watchful eyes of Zhongli and the Dragon King Ruotu, Kiana, feeling increasingly embarrassed, touched her nose and pushed Bella away completely.

"Zhongli, you've spoken with the Dragon King Ruotu, haven't you? Do you... regret it?"

Zhongli closed his eyes and remained silent. After talking with Zhongli, Ruotu Dragon King understood why he wanted to break the seal and knew that Zhongli had not come here today to release him.

But he also knew that it was a miracle that he had regained his senses. No one knew if he would revert to that confused state in the next second.

Zhongli's decision not to release himself was correct, as he didn't want his desire for freedom to cause serious damage to the future of Liyue. Moreover, before breaking the seal, Zhongli made a contract with the girl named Kiana, and based on his understanding of Zhongli, the Dragon King Ruotu knew that Zhongli would never break the contract.

Sure enough, Zhongli opened his eyes not long after. Although there was great reluctance in his eyes, he still made his decision.

"Now that Miss Kiana has found her companions, according to the terms of the contract, we should go out and re-seal the seal."

After saying that, Zhongli left without looking back. Kiana followed him, leaving Bella standing there puzzled.

“Miss Bella, perhaps you don’t yet understand human emotions and therefore don’t understand why Morax did what he did, but one day when you understand human emotions, you will understand.”

"That Zhongli is your close friend, right?" Bella finally confirmed.

“That’s right. It’s precisely because he’s a close friend that I understand his choice. Just like I told you before, I voluntarily allowed myself to be sealed away. Now, to ensure the safety of Liyue, I understand Morax’s decision. So, Miss Bella, you should go.”

With that, King Rota turned away, refusing to look at Bella again. After spending these past few months together, it was impossible for him not to have feelings for Bella. Whether it was chatting with Bella or teaching her how to use her powers, after so many days together, Bella and King Rota had long since developed a relationship that was both teacher and friend.

Now that his friend was also leaving him, King Rota was naturally somewhat reluctant. However, life is always about parting, and Bella's master had already come to find her, so he naturally wouldn't try to stop him too much.

Seeing that King Rota was no longer paying attention to her, Bella took one last reluctant look at King Rota before following Kiana away.

Once Bella emerged from the seal, Zhongli began to perform the sealing as well. As the seal beneath the Dragon Tree gradually perfected, Zhongli lowered his hand.

"The seal is now complete..."

Kiana suggested, "Zhongli, would you like to come with me? Just the two of us."

"Oh? That's fine too."

Bella wanted to say something to stop Kiana and Zhongli from being alone, but looking at Zhongli's expression, she thought of the Dragon King Ruoduo, and ultimately didn't say the words.

And so, under Bella's watchful eye, Kiana and Zhongli left the hollow beneath the Dragon Tree.

Arriving at the stone tablet beneath the Fulong Tree, Zhongli gently stroked the characters on it. Feeling the weight of time on the tablet, Zhongli spoke.

“I once made a pact with him, promising to suppress him and send him back to the underworld if he ever harmed Liyue. Ms. Kiana, as an outsider, do you think this was the right thing to do?”

"But shouldn't Mr. Zhongli already have the answer in his heart?"

"Hehe, that's true, but everyone has a different opinion on this matter. For example, the immortals of Liuyun unanimously believe that Ruoduo deserved his fate; some craftsmen in the countryside believe that the miners' unrestrained mining of ore angered Ruoduo, causing Liyue to suffer calamity, and that the Emperor had no choice but to suppress him... What's your opinion?"

"To be honest, I don't know either..." Kiana said after thinking for a moment. "After all, I wasn't a witness and I know nothing about the deeds of the Dragon King Ruoduo. In my opinion, this is both fate and the cycle of cause and effect. Perhaps the Dragon King Ruoduo's recovery of consciousness this time is not an accident. Perhaps I can study how to stabilize the Dragon King Ruoduo's consciousness and prevent it from being worn down. Then you won't have to worry about him going berserk."

“Very well then. I’ll leave it to you for now. I can make another contract with you here. If you can help Ruoduo stabilize his consciousness and prevent it from being worn down, I can do something for you within my power, as long as it doesn’t violate my principles.”

"No, no need." Kiana shook her head. "Although it's impolite to say this, there might not be anyone you can help me with within your capabilities, or rather, there might be things I need help with that you can't help me with given your strength."

"However, I don't want to owe someone a favor like this. If I do, the contract won't be valid. Miss Kiana, please forgive me for not being able to agree to your request."

"Zhongli, you actually don't want me to help you stabilize the consciousness of the Dragon King Ruotu, right?"

Kiana looked at Zhongli, trying to read something from his face, but Zhongli was someone who had lived for thousands of years. No matter how hard Kiana tried, even using her powers of consciousness, she still couldn't read Zhongli's true thoughts.

Perhaps Zhongli felt that continuing this standoff was not a solution, so he finally relented.

“Indeed, I don’t want you to do this favor,” Zhongli said.

"As you said, the way things have turned out between me and Roda is both a trick of fate and a cycle of cause and effect. There are too many causes and effects involved. As an outsider, you are not a predetermined arrival. I don't want you to get too involved with the fate of Teyvat because of me. In that case, even you may not be able to escape fate and be drawn into the grand destiny that concerns the survival of Teyvat."

As Zhongli said, Kiana also mentioned this matter from the limited information she obtained from the Imaginary Tree, but who is Kiana?

For her, it's simply a matter of whether she wants to do it or not. So, she's determined to help!