Blue Sword

"I don't think it's appropriate to use the word 'stupid'." Ask said lightly, "You just have no experience in this area."

"Then why do you have experience?" Nora moved closer to him, slowly closed her legs with her hands, put her cheek on her knees, and looked at him faintly.

"Ask, you never said anything about yourself."

"Do you want to hear it?" Asik glanced at her.

"Yeah." Nora snorted softly.

"I'm actually not a native of Constantinople." Asik looked into the distance, "I come from a very far away plane. You can understand that it is a bit like the Kingdom of Dragons, but it's very far away and it's almost impossible to get through transportation. The tools arrive—that’s another world.”

"Oh." Nora smiled, "I often see such a plot in novels. The protagonist travels to another world for no reason, and then starts to live in prosperity. It seems a bit like you..."

She suddenly stopped talking, because there was no smile on Ask's face, he just looked at her calmly.

"Where did I say it?" Asik was silent for a moment and continued, "Well, my family. My father died when I was very young, and I was raised by my mother alone."

"I'm sorry." Nora said, "I don't know..."

"Don't be sorry, this has nothing to do with you." Asik shook his head, "My father... he lives a secluded life that is completely disconnected from society, and makes a living by drawing and submitting submissions to comic websites."

"My mother is a traditional rural woman, and the two of them seemed to know each other on a blind date. I'm still not sure whether there was love between them."

"Speaking of feelings, my father really has feelings for the second dimension. It is a weird and strong emotion that I still can't understand."

"He is obsessed with the virtual singer in a certain music game. I still remember its name is Orange."

"My father often pointed to the orange on the screen and said that this was his real wife."

"Every time he said this, his mother would smile helplessly and dotingly. She probably took care of his father as a child who had not grown up."

Ask picked up a stone and threw it into the river in front of him, causing ripples: "Later, when I was six years old, the music game was shut down."

"My father couldn't accept the disappearance of Tachibana, so he tried to redraw Tachibana on paper. However, Tachibana is a 3D model, not a paper man."

"So he started learning to make MMD again and asked netizens everywhere for character models. However, the copyright of Tachibana is still in the hands of the game company, and casual posting on the Internet will result in a lawyer's letter, so no one responded to his request..."

"Later he couldn't bear it anymore and committed suicide."

"You mean, your father committed suicide because of a fictional animated character?" Nora said in surprise.

"Yes, this makes people speechless, right?" Asker picked up another stone and weighed it in his hand, "This is just a cowardly man who is unwilling to shoulder family responsibilities, immersed in his own false world, and finally A story about choosing to end one’s life because the world collapsed.”

"He passed away peacefully, but he never thought about the impact it would have on my mother and me."

"Since then, our family's situation has taken a turn for the worse. This dishonorable suicide has caused a lot of mental pressure on us in the neighborhood, so my mother chose to move."

"Because someone died there, our original house could not be sold, and no one was willing to rent it. Later, my mother took me to rent a house on the other side of the city."

"She sacrificed so much to raise me. When the financial pressure was at its worst, she even worked three jobs a day. She went out at 6 o'clock every morning and didn't come back until 2 o'clock in the night. Sometimes she went in She couldn't control her fatigue when we got home, and fell asleep leaning against the door frame, and it was me who helped her back to bed."

Ask took a long breath and said, "She has really fulfilled all the responsibilities that a mother should have."

Nora didn't speak, but her eyes were a little red, and she lowered her eyes.

"So it's impossible for me to be like the protagonists in those novels, and stay in that plane completely after crossing over, and have a peaceful separation from my family in the original world, do you understand?" Ask looked at the mountains across the river, seriously Said, "If I do that, what's the difference between me and my father?"

"A mother worked hard to raise her son to adulthood, and then his son never came back, leaving her alone in the world without anyone around her... This should not be the ending she deserved."

"I have to go back," he said decisively, "back to that world."

"Ask." Nora's voice trembled, "What do you mean..."

"100 kilometers away from here in the south, there is a coastal city called Kavala." Ask said calmly, "There is a fortune teller from the Kingdom of Dragons there. You can understand it as a prophet. He is the one who can break the fourth People facing the wall may know how I can return to my original plane.”

"Nora, we are not from the same world." He finally sighed seriously and said seriously.

"Then if I also go to your plane..." Nora blurted out excitedly, but her voice stopped abruptly in her throat.

She thought of her father and mother, and her brothers and sisters. Just as Ask couldn't give up her mother in that world, how could she give up her family in this world?

"What if... I mean what if." Nora was silent for a long time, and then asked with her last hope, "What if the prophet doesn't know how to let you go back? Or what if he tells you that there is no way to go back? "

"I will try hard to find it for a while." Asik was silent for a long time and replied, "5 years. If I haven't found a way to go back within 5 years, then I will temporarily settle down in this world, and Think about…what you’re thinking about right now.”

Nora looked at him blankly.

After a while, she showed a somewhat sad expression and laughed sadly:

"You are really awesome, Aske. You have already guessed it before I even said it..."

She twisted her clothes nervously with her hands, her voice trembling and crying: "So you want me to wait for you for five years?"

"No." Asik said, "I'm not asking you to wait for me. I'm just telling you my plans for the future so as not to affect your own choices."

"Five years is enough time to change everything beyond recognition."

"Yes, I understand." Nora lowered her head and said, "It's good to talk things out. I'm glad you can tell me this."

Her slender shoulders trembled, as if she was suppressing the urge to cry: "I actually... surprised you, right? I don't know why, but I fell in love with you..."

"Maybe it was that time on Hearth Island, when I saw you drawing your sword and charging at so many enemies alone, I couldn't help but be a little tempted... When I was a child, I loved reading novels about knights and princesses, and I also dreamed of having a knight. Being able to draw your sword and charge at the enemy without hesitation for me may be the image I have always dreamed of, and it overlaps with you..."

Ask looked at her quietly.

As she talked, Nora gradually couldn't talk any more, and finally she couldn't help but choked up and asked: "Asker, can we still be friends in the future?"

"Of course." Asik replied seriously, "We have always been friends."

"Well, okay." Nora stood up slowly, patted the hem of her skirt in the moonlight, bit her lower lip and said, "I'm going back. Then...goodbye."

She turned around and left alone in silence. Ask looked at her back with a heavy heart.

To be honest, it would be very embarrassing for him to reject such a girl's confession.

But from a moral point of view, this way of handling it is the most basic respect for her.

Huh? Asker touched "Absurd Dreams" in his hip pocket, and some absurd thoughts immediately arose in his mind:

Isn't the entrance to Hearth Island on my side? Where is she going back to?

Nora walked beside the river in despair, kicking stones on the roadside into the water.

In front, Eleanor was squatting by the river in the night, boringly poking at the fish in the river with her spear.

"How's it going, Nora?" Seeing Nora coming over, Eleanor stood up and said hello, only to notice the almost irreversible sad expression on her face, "Rejected?"

Nora shook her head.

"Then he agreed?" Eleanor looked at her puzzled, "That's not right. How did he respond?"

"Can you turn around?" Nora asked quietly.

"Oh." Eleanor turned around, and Nora hugged her from behind. After a long time, the sound of sobbing came.

"Ellie..." Her uncontrollable crying gradually began to sound, slowly flowing along the river into the distance, "What should I do?"

"What should I do..."

………………

Kavala, located on the northern shore of the Aegean Sea, was originally a seaside city in the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia.

By the Fourth Age, the Macedonians, Cyreans and Thracians were almost all mixed. The outside world collectively called them the Cyres nation, so Kavala became a Cyres nation. city-state.

There are about a hundred similar city-states, large and small, in the empire west of Constantinople.

It stands to reason that this kind of city would not attract much attention among players. However, in fact, Kavala's reputation is much higher than that of other city-states, and it can even be as famous as Constantinople.

Because there is an NPC from the Kingdom of Dragon here.

For many Western fantasy fundamentalist players, in a medieval fantasy world of swords and magic, the appearance of a Chinese name like "Zhang Daniu" or "Nicholas Zhao Si" is really disturbing.

Although the design team of "Iron and Fire" always likes to claim "I am your father", they cannot do such things that ruin the style of the product.

However, there will always be changes in the general environment that make people helpless. In the year when "Iron and Fire" officially launched its public beta, due to the further decline of the world economic environment, the authorities finally turned their attention to the game industry to stimulate economic growth.

At that time, most of the games that were selling well in China were produced by foreign countries and distributed by domestic major companies, while small companies directly copied them and made inferior versions of junk web games to make money.

In response to this phenomenon of worshiping foreigners and favoring foreigners, a policy was issued to support domestic games, proposing to "carry forward our country's traditional culture and adhere to the core of independent creation."

Then I don’t know what happened when it was implemented below, and finally came up with a one-size-fits-all policy, announcing that "all games must have a point that can represent our country's traditional culture."

If you don't have this point, I will think that you do not have the core of independent creation, and I will not issue you a version number. Without a version number, your game cannot be released.

For those classical fairy tale games such as "Love in Shushan" and "Sword Immortal", it has no impact at all.

However, for a Western-style sword and magic game like "Iron and Fire", it is nothing more than a huge shackles. How can Western-style games promote our country’s traditional culture?

We have no choice but to create a Dragon Kingdom setting, and then put an NPC in Kavala. This NPC can also recite the "Tao Te Ching", which can be regarded as promoting our country's traditional culture.

As a result, the comrades who came down to review me were very discerning and said, "Don't bully me because I don't understand the game."

During the public beta stage, player traffic is basically in Constantinople. What's the point of having a Chinese NPC in a corner in the countryside? Get me Constantinople.

The design team explained that Constantinople will fall in our main storyline.

Except for the two queens, almost all other citizen NPCs are dead. What will you, a Chinese NPC, do then?

We can't let him summon a fairy sword and fly away directly when the Seljuks capture the city wall, right?

The review comrade said I don’t care, anyway, you have to make players pay attention to this Chinese NPC, and you have to create selling points and hot spots, preferably ones that can be featured in the news media.

Can't you give him some kind of mission, or some fun setting, or something like that?

So the design team had no choice but to add a "fortune-telling" setting to this NPC after consulting senior leaders.

In theory, this NPC knows all the game settings and often says things that "break the fourth wall".

(The fourth wall means that the characters in the drama know that they are in the drama and can even talk directly to the audience)

The price of each fortune telling by this NPC is 1 pound, and each player account can only ask one question.

The more advanced the question, the more vague his answer.

For example, if a player asks "Where can I get the potion formula for Fire IV?", the NPC will reply "Your destiny is in the fire elemental plane", which means that you have to go to the fire elemental plane to get it.

As for where to do it specifically, I have no comment.

Of course, there are also some more playful players who will ask him some weird questions, such as "How can I marry little Princess Theodora home?"

At this time, the NPC will reply, "Play moderately and stay away from addiction" and so on. In short, it does not look like an NPC, but rather like a customer service person is controlling the speech behind the scenes.

If the settings of the game are followed, then there should be a similar, omniscient Dragon Kingdom NPC in this world.

A few days later, Ask brought people to the outskirts of Kavala, and soon found this magical NPC in the Gusiris pavilion on the seaside.

He is an old Chinese man with a celestial spirit. He looks a bit like Zhang Sanfeng in the 2003 Su Youpeng version of "The Legend of Heaven and Sword of the Dragon". At this time, he is shaking his head and chanting in Chinese:

"The Tao can be Tao, but it is very Tao. The name can be named, but it is very famous."

Next to him, there was a handsome little boy from Siris, who translated in fluent Siris and said:

"If a secret can be discovered, it is no longer a secret."

"It makes sense, it makes sense." The people listening around were all Siris people. Some were wearing white robes of philosophers, and some were gorgeously dressed. They looked like nobles or wealthy businessmen, and they all nodded in agreement.

A certain philosopher in a white robe stood up and spoke endlessly as if debating:

"The ideas of this master from the East are similar to Kant's agnosticism."

"This is because this shore is the phenomenon of things that we recognize, while the other shore is a 'thing-in-itself' that exists independently of our cognition."

"Between this shore and the other shore, there is a gap that cannot be crossed by human cognition. Human beings can only understand the phenomena of things, but cannot understand the things themselves through phenomena."

A priest named Siris also stood up, crossed himself devoutly on his chest, and recited the classics as if praying:

"There is an abyss between you and me. If I can't get through it, you can't get through it either."

Ask looked at the bustling scene over there with a confused expression on his face.

How can you, an ancient Chinese who recites the Tao Te Ching, communicate with these philosophers and priests of Cyrus without any minimal cultural barriers?

"Well, that guy is the prophet I'm talking about." He pointed to the old Chinese man in the pavilion ahead who was surrounded and praised by the Siris people, and explained to the girls, "He can answer any questions you have. But each person can only ask one question and the fee is one pound.”

"Prophet? Real or fake?" The girls frowned and said doubtfully, "Can you answer any questions?"

"Yes." Ask said, "If you don't believe it, I'll try it first."

"Master!" Asik swaggered into the pavilion. Under the eyes of everyone's repulsion and disgust, Asker roughly pushed away Father Siris and the philosopher who were blocking the way. He bowed his hands to this Chinese NPC and said, "I have a question. , please ask the master to clarify my doubts."

"Coin plate fortune telling, one pound at a time." The old fortune teller who looked like Zhang Sanfeng said with his hands behind his back.

One pound... The price you quoted is really smooth. Asik silently took out a banknote and handed it over.

"The secret must not be leaked. You come with me." Zhang Sanfeng said this, and pulled Asker to the uninhabited space next to him. He clasped his hands behind his back and said proudly, "Ask."

"How can I return to the original world?" Ask asked respectfully.

"Let me do the math." Zhang Sanfeng took out six copper coins from his sleeves and threw them on the ground. The copper plates rolled around on the ground for several times, and finally stabilized. All six of them turned out to be heads.

"Well, the six Yang Yao, Qian is the sky." Zhang Sanfeng stroked his beard and said, "The trapped dragon will have good luck with the water. I can't help but feel happy. All my plans will go as I wish, and my fortune will gradually increase."

"Since you are asking about travel, this hexagram is the Shang Shang hexagram, which means that you can successfully find your way back. It is best to travel together."

"Being a god, and obeying the sky, you should go to the place closest to the sky. What is the highest mountain in the northern continent?" Zhang Sanfeng thought thoughtfully.

"The Alps, Mont Blanc," Asker replied. As for Mount Everest...it's not in the world of Iron and Fire.

"Yes. The Qian hexagram also refers to the dragon." Zhang Sanfeng shook his head and said, "The movement of heaven is strong, and a gentleman strives for self-improvement, which indicates that you should challenge a dragon, make it surrender and recognize it, and it will help you go where you want to go. Anywhere.”

"Dragon?" Ask thought for a moment, horrified, "The Dragon's Lair on Mont Blanc, the demigod BOSS Bronze Dragon! And its extraordinary characteristics happen to be an extremely rare sequence of time and space! In other words, as long as you can defeat that Bronze Dragon BOSS, will it help me return to my original world?"

"I understand, thank you, Master." Asik said sincerely.

"Don't worry, young man, do you know the truth about the prosperity of the world?" Zhang Sanfeng chuckled and said meaningfully, "Everything that flourishes will inevitably decline. After Yang Qi reaches its peak, Yin Qi will inevitably grow. This is the law of all things."

"You have always wanted to return to your original world, but you don't know that when you finally get your wish, you will be eager to come back?"

Asik wanted to ask again, but Zhang Sanfeng flicked his sleeves impatiently and urged: "Don't leak the secret. Go! Go!"

So Ask came back inexplicably. When the girls saw this, they swarmed him and asked him:

"How is it? Is that prophet really trustworthy? What did he answer you?"

Looking at the excited expressions of the girls, it was as if they were white-collar women discussing horoscope magazines, full of unreasonable enthusiasm.

"You will know after you try it." Ask said helplessly.

The girls looked at each other, a little uneasy but also eager to try. In the end, Nora was the first to stand up bravely and said:

"I'll go."

Under the expectant eyes of everyone, Nora came to Zhang Sanfeng, clasped her hands together and whispered:

"Master, I want to ask about love."

"You want to ask about marriage, right?" Zhang Sanfeng put his hands behind his back and said leisurely, "Just ask."

"What I want to ask is: Can the person I admire and love and I finally get together?" Nora said slowly, suddenly feeling the urge to cry again, she silently wiped the corners of her eyes.

"1 pound." Zhang Sanfeng said.

After receiving the banknotes handed over by Nora, Zhang Sanfeng took out six more copper coins and threw them away. Then he stared at the results on the ground for a long time and said:

"Leize returns to my sister, this is a hexagram."

"Is there any hope?" Nora said numbly.

"Don't worry, it's good that you're asking about marriage." Zhang Sanfeng thought for a moment and said, "If you ask for a fish, you should look into the water. If you ask for a fish in a tree, it will not go well with you. It will be difficult for you to climb up and down, and your luck will be mediocre."

"Under this hexagram, Zhen is the eldest boy, Zhen is the eldest boy, Dui is the girl, and the girl is the eldest boy. The person you admire should be a man older than you, and his abilities are far better than yours in all aspects. This is why You are heartbroken."

"Yes." Nora crossed her fingers uneasily, already convinced in her heart, "Then what should I do?"

"Marriage between a man and a woman is the right of heaven and earth and cannot be violated. Although there are twists and turns at the beginning and in the middle, it should be happy in the end, but don't force it." Zhang Sanfeng touched his beard and counted with his fingers for a moment, "What you need to do now , just let nature take its course and wait for things to fall into place.”

"How long do we have to wait?" Nora's eyes lit up and she asked quickly.

"Ten years." Zhang Sanfeng said, "If you can wait ten years, there will be good results. Judging from this hexagram, you must not rush your marriage. It is better to marry late than to marry in vain. Do you understand?"

ten years? ! Nora was stunned there as if she had been struck by lightning, and her thoughts were all confused.

In 10 years, I will be approaching 30 years old. Do I have to wait that long?

She came back in a daze, not even hearing what Zhang Sanfeng said to her in the end.

After returning to the team, everyone asked her various questions, but she just shook her head blankly.

"Nora, what's wrong with you?" After everyone dispersed in dismay, Eleanor hurriedly approached her and asked with concern, "Did you ask about you and Aske? How did the other party answer?"

"It's nothing." Nora shook her head and tried her best to smile, "He said that there will be good results in the end."

"It's just that we have to wait for a while." She whispered, and gradually fell silent.

The author of Pujie drank half a bowl of wine, and his flushed face gradually returned to normal. Others asked again: "Pujie, have you written the Wen Qingqiao section again?" Pujie looked at the person who asked him, showing his expression. An air of disdain. They then asked, "How come you can't even sign the contract?" Poujie immediately looked depressed and uneasy, with a layer of gray covering his face, and he spoke incomprehensible words, such as "How can you abuse a heroine?" "Wenqing" "Refuse to express love is a necessary condition for opening a harem". Everyone also burst into laughter: the atmosphere inside and outside the store was full of joy.