reincarnation npc, but tomorrow's ark

This feeling doesn't seem so bad...

Bai Ye stood in front of the bookshelf.

This place is filled with Xi's various paintings.

Bai Ye admired the painting with great interest. It was a rare opportunity; Xi was one of the few truly great painters he had ever seen. And what was most precious was that this artist was still alive… Yes, there were paintings that could be called treasures of civilization, but their creators were mostly long gone.

While paintings can certainly be considered an eternal continuation of the artist's spirit, it would certainly be a wonderful thing if the artist were still alive, because you could ask questions at any time.

It must be said that Xi's paintings are truly amazing.

Painting is to the evening what casting is to the year; this ability transcends the level of mere "skill".

Everything has its root and branch, and every matter has its beginning and end. Knowing what comes first and what comes last is to be close to the Way.

Of course, the difference is that Nian rarely cast objects herself, and her works are few, so each piece is a unique treasure.

Xi's attitude was different. Painting was her hobby, and it was also her life.

I'm happy, so I'll draw one.

I was in a bad mood, so I drew one too.

Take one on a sunny day, take one on a rainy day.

In short, she will create whenever she feels like it.

Therefore, her paintings are now piled up like mountains.

Perhaps, this casual attitude towards the artwork makes it difficult to judge how much effort was actually put into it; but then again, it is precisely because of this casual and easygoing attitude that the artwork appears so natural.

Laurentina, of course, wouldn't let this opportunity pass. She walked to Bai Ye's side and took his hand. In some ways, her artistic cultivation was even better than Bai Ye's; at least her theoretical foundation in appreciation was stronger.

After all, Bai Ye hadn't put much effort into this course, which he considered "not very meaningful."

The two seemed to have stepped into an endless gallery, admiring Xi's paintings.

It felt like the two of them were visiting an art museum together.

……

"Hey, I prefer the two you brought over to you, you loudmouth." Xi looked at Bai Ye and Laurentina as they gradually disappeared from her sight, and suddenly reached out and poked Nian.

“That’s really impressive…” Nian nodded in agreement.

"So, who exactly is that man?" Xi was still thinking about the scene she had seen in Laurentina's dream.

Nian shook his head:

"I do not know."

"Don't joke around... You're the one who brought this person here, and you're saying you didn't know anything about it." Xi frowned.

“No, I’m not kidding,” Nian said sincerely. “I really don’t know.”

She sighed and slowly explained:

"Actually, I was originally planning to go to Rhodes Island. There's an old woman there."

She scratched her head and continued:

"But unexpectedly, I met Bai Ye there."

At this point, Nian couldn't help but laugh:

“Xi, you would never guess what happened when we first met—he recognized me at a glance. I almost mistook him for someone from the Si Sui Tai. At the time, I was thinking, what bad luck, I just escaped and I ran into the Candle Bearer.”

"Pfft—that should have startled you," Xi chuckled, then pressed, "And then?"

“Then we had hot pot together—but I did most of the eating, he said he wasn’t good at eating spicy food,” Nian continued.

"Only someone as tasteless as you, who only knows how to talk big, would like strong flavors," Xi Rui commented.

Compared to Nian, she admired and supported Bai Ye more, so she was willing to speak up for him.

The year continued:

"Well, anyway, I realized he wasn't an ordinary person, so I wanted to ask him for help. It just so happened that his sword broke and he was looking for a new weapon, so I was prepared to make a deal with him. And then... do you know what he said?"

"Hurry up and tell me, stop being so mysterious!" Xi urged, frowning.

"'If it's a problem that even years can't solve, then it must be something truly terrifying, and probably not many people in the world could solve it.' 'Tell me, how many gods and how many behemoths will we be facing?'"

Nian directly imitated Bai Ye's tone and repeated what he had said before.

"He didn't care at all what problems I was facing, he didn't even ask. He only cared about whether he could find a suitable weapon."

"Moreover, I could clearly hear the eagerness in his tone. This guy is really not afraid."

As he spoke, he stuck out his tongue.

Even someone as lawless as her would be afraid of this kind of guy.

In this world, how many people have this attitude when they hear about giant beasts and gods? They probably even want to go up and slash them with their swords.

“You don’t know, when we forged the sword for him, it caused quite a commotion! We almost alerted the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and the Imperial Observatory.” Nian continued, “Then he drew the sword and swung it, and suddenly the wind and waves subsided, and everything returned to normal.”

"She does have some of the eldest sister's demeanor." Xi nodded.

“It’s different. I feel that this guy’s true nature might be even more terrifying than ours… no, even more terrifying than that ‘it’.” Nian shook his head.

This time, it was Xi's turn to be incredulous:

"You mean he's stronger than all twelve of us combined? How is that possible?!"

Chapter Eight: The Big Darling of the Year

Xi was surprised by Nian's judgment of Bai Ye.

Nian couldn't explain it either. After all, she genuinely didn't know what Bai Ye was. He looked human, yet possessed abilities similar to a giant beast, and was entangled with things in the sea.

The ultimate Frankenstein's monster.

This gave Xi a bit of a headache:

"Sister, my dear sister, how can you still be like this... You cooperated with him without even understanding his motives for helping us. What if he is also someone with ulterior motives?"

As Xi spoke, she pressed her temples.

Unlike her younger self, she was more thoughtful and immediately thought of many things.

But this time, she really was overthinking it.

“There’s no need to worry about that,” Nian said with a smile, “If someone with ill intentions gets their hands on a weapon I forged, they will be the one who gets hurt by the blade.”

"Moreover, Bai Ye possesses a righteous spirit. Although his swordsmanship contains elements of scheming, he remains upright and honest, and is definitely not a villain."

As he spoke, Nian smiled:

"People, like objects, have different qualities. Since I can recognize objects, I can naturally recognize people. So you don't need to worry."

“I only trust my own eyes… However, if someone can hold your weapon and use it safely, then they are certainly not a bad person.” Xi nodded.

Years ago, a dagger was forged. If the person who wielded this weapon had evil intentions and wanted to use it for murder or similar activities, the dagger's blade would automatically disappear.

It sounds incredible, but it really is incredible. Even Xi doesn't understand the underlying principles. Just like Nian can't figure out why Xi's paintings can evolve into a small world.

After thinking for a moment, Nian looked at Xi and decided to say something that she found somewhat difficult to say:

"As for the true nature of White Night, I haven't exaggerated... Speaking of which, you should know that the weapons I forge have all sorts of amazing abilities, right?"

Xi nodded.

In fact, Nian can also create things out of thin air. She can also create bizarre objects that exist in theory or paradox, such as "using one's own spear to attack one's own shield".

"But I didn't add any attributes to Bai Ye's sword. All its extraordinary qualities are because the person wielding it is Bai Ye..."

For this weapon, which was specially crafted for Bai Ye, the only additional concept was to add a new element—to fully embody Bai Ye's power.

Because she had asked Bai Ye what kind of weapon she wanted back then.

Bai Ye's answer was this: "I don't need any fancy abilities, I just want this sword to be able to bear my power."

At first, she thought the conditions were too simple, but in the actual forging process, she almost couldn't continue.

She could not forge a weapon capable of bearing the power of the White Night; it was a concept she could not attach herself to.

Just when her forging process was about to reach a breaking point, the sword was suddenly completed inexplicably.

Then Bai Ye grasped the sword, and then the wind rose and the clouds gathered, almost directly generating a cataclysmic natural storm.

"Although that sword was indeed made by me... I have a feeling that whether the sword was successfully forged or not was no longer something I could control. That thing was actually beyond my capabilities."

"If I had to try again, I definitely wouldn't be able to forge a second one..."

Xi was also surprised after hearing this, and she blinked:

Have you talked to him about this?

"No... How could I possibly say that? After all, I still have to maintain the image of a master. Anyway, this sword is indeed made by me, and he seems quite satisfied with it." Nian said, sticking out his tongue.

Xi was somewhat speechless:

"What kind of superior image do you still have? You've completely ruined it."

"How can this be?!"

"If you don't believe me, go ask them later which of us looks more like the master. Do you dare to bet?" It seemed that because she had lost a bet, Xi was thinking of winning it back in another way.

"Then forget it..." Nian couldn't muster any more courage after hearing this.

"Speaking of which, since it's so difficult to say, you actually told me? Aren't you afraid I'll laugh at you?" Xi suddenly thought of something.

"Hehe, after all, you just lost to me, and I even saw how easily an ordinary person broke through the boundaries of imagination. Now we're even, so let's not make fun of each other about this anymore," Nian explained with a smile.

"And then you brought this up again..." Xi was speechless; she always suspected that this guy was doing it on purpose.

After thinking for a moment, she asked again:

"Now that I'm suddenly leaving Gray Mountain, it'll probably alert the Timekeeping Platform... There must be candle-bearers guarding this area. Oh right... how did those two get here? If they've come up here openly to investigate, our plans will definitely be exposed by now."

Nian shook his head:

"Bai Ye deliberately concealed his tracks while climbing the mountain, so he probably won't be discovered. As for you, you were already hiding inside the painting, so leaving directly won't immediately reveal any flaws. Unless we make a big commotion here, we won't attract their attention."

"A big commotion?" Xi looked at Nian with some confusion.

"Oops, I let it slip!" Nian quickly covered her mouth.

"Wait, what were you originally planning to do here?!" Xi frowned.

"I was originally going to show you something amazing!" Nian decided to drop the pretense and held out her hand, taking out what she had prepared. "Haha! A giant firecracker. Eight feet long and three feet wide, detonated using technology never before seen in Terra!"

"I've also prepared for the worst. If you don't come out, then I'll have no choice but to blow it in..."

Damn it, I'm done for.jpg

"Good heavens, if you really do that, I'll fight you to the death!" Xi was furious; she never expected this guy to almost do such a thing.

I treated you like an older sister, and you actually tried to blow up my painting!

“I didn’t do it…thought crimes aren’t crimes!” Nian argued vehemently.

"Stay away from me, don't sit next to me with such a dangerous thing!" Xi said disdainfully, then moved her body to the side.

That's terrifying, they actually made this thing.

"Actually, its power is just so-so. It doesn't feel as big as the commotion that Bai Ye caused. Compared to his plasma cannon and solar wind, I'm nothing."

“But he didn’t use it here.” Xi crossed her arms. “If he had used that method to solve the problem in the scroll world, I would never have accepted the bet.”

"After all, that's cheating..."

It seems that Xi still has her own stubbornness.

Chapter Nine Time

"Wow, you two seem to get along well. You've already started chatting?"

While Xi and Bai Ye were whispering to each other back then, Bai Ye and Laurentina eventually returned to where they all started.

It wasn't because they had finished looking at the painting, but because they discovered that this place actually extended infinitely. In other words, they were still inside the painting, but this painting was the place where Xi usually stayed.

Bai Ye had no idea how many years it had been since Xi had slept, but the sheer number of paintings she possessed was truly immense. Realizing they couldn't possibly see them all in a short time, Bai Ye and Laurentina immediately returned.