I'm Already the Richest Man, Why Did My System Just Arrive?

Chapter 351: Chapter 199: A Grand Wedding

Zheng Xiu thought for a moment and agreed.

Xie Luohe’s smile widened. She bent one finger toward her palm. ”First, paint a portrait for me.”

Zheng Xiu opened his mouth, but he was speechless.

He had wanted to say he’d already painted one for her at the oasis.

But as the words reached his lips and his eyes met hers, he somehow couldn’t bring himself to refuse what might be Xie Luohe’s ”final” request. He nodded. ”Alright.”

With that, Zheng Xiu reached for the Luohe Brush at his waist, ready to go inside, find some paper, and grant Xie Luohe’s wish immediately.

”No rush.”

Xie Luohe grabbed his clothes, pulled him to a stop, and pushed him back down into his seat.

”Let’s handle the second matter first.” Xie Luohe’s eyes darted about, a playful smile on her face. ”Though, this second thing doesn’t have much to do with you.”

”Then do you want to pick a different one?”

Zheng Xiu asked tentatively.

Xie Luohe shook her head. ”But it’s what I want.”

Zheng Xiu sighed softly. ”Stop being mysterious. Just tell me.”

Xie Luohe smiled. ”I want to take on an apprentice.”

Zheng Xiu froze.

Xie Luohe closed her eyes, seemingly oblivious to the astonishment on Zheng Xiu’s face, and continued speaking as if to herself. ”You once said that to be Human is to experience three ’deaths.’ The third is when you are completely forgotten by the world. So, I want to pass down my Xie’s Archery Skill. Even if only one person remembers it, that will be proof that I, Xie Luohe, once lived in this world.”

An inexplicable sense of strangeness washed over Zheng Xiu.

As Zheng Xiu listened to Xie Luohe, he recalled that in the future, someone did indeed use the Xie’s Archery Skill—and he was the one who had killed them.

Zheng Xiu didn’t know if the skill had flourished, but it had most certainly been passed down.

Zheng Xiu just never expected it to happen this way.

However, the reason Zheng Xiu found it all so strange wasn’t because Xie Luohe had decided to take an apprentice, nor because he had killed Kui Lang in the future. It was because Zheng Xiu knew full well that his current experiences in the Ghostly Realm were illusory.

Ever since the influence of Gongsun Mo’s memory had faded, everything Zheng Xiu experienced in the World in the Painting was born from his own choices and experiences, not from Gongsun Mo’s memories.

It was a startling realization. Without him even noticing, he and Xie Luohe had still made their way to the Great Desert and stopped here. Xie Luohe had been moved to take an apprentice, passing on her archery skills right here in the desert.

Everything was aligning with the history he knew.

It was as if everything was fated to be.

But this... this should have been impossible.

’Why?’

That strange sense of dissonance grew ever stronger within him.

As expected of Xie Luohe, after stating the first two matters, she kept the third one to herself, simply saying with a grin, ”It’s a secret.”

「The next day.」

Xie Luohe informed the Grand Elder of the Sun Tribe of her intentions.

The Grand Elder couldn’t believe his luck and readily agreed.

In his excitement, the Grand Elder even gave an empty, unused building to Xie Luohe and Zheng Xiu to manage, suggesting they could start a small business, put down roots in Richan Town, and settle there.

The local culture of Richan Town was vastly different from Daqian’s, and merchants from the various nations of the Western Regions would occasionally stop by.

When the Grand Elder brought the pair to the vacant building, they had just stepped over the threshold when the sign on the crossbeam came crashing down, snapping in two.

The lettering on the plaque was weathered and faded. Only the words at the beginning and the end were still legible: ”Dragon” and ”Inn.”

”Dragon... Gate Inn?” Zheng Xiu said in astonishment.

Xie Luohe was delighted to hear that. Stroking her chin, she was ready to make a decision. ”Then let’s open an inn. I’ll be the proprietress, you be the proprietor. When I’m off training my apprentice, you can stay here and watch the shop.”

Xie Luohe murmured contentedly to herself, already envisioning their cozy little life.

”Wait!”

The more Zheng Xiu thought about Xie Luohe taking an apprentice, the more unsettling it became. He suddenly felt an urge to stop going along with her plans.

Xie Luohe glanced over at him, her expression questioning.

”I don’t mind the inn, but let’s not call it the ’Dragon Gate Inn.’”

”Why not?” Xie Luohe asked, tilting her head.

”It’s bad luck.”

”How is it bad luck?” Xie Luohe couldn’t understand.

”I’m good with names,” Zheng Xiu said after a moment’s thought, cautiously offering his own idea. ”How about we open a Painted Boat instead?”

”A Painted Boat?”

Zheng Xiu nodded. ”Teaching your apprentice will take a lot of time. I can use that time to continue painting, to practice... and improve my Danqing skills. Richan Town has few visitors these days. If we just open an inn, we’ll starve.”

The Grand Elder, who had been listening to their discussion, generously announced that the Sun Tribe would cover all their living expenses within Richan Valley, so they needn’t worry.

Every day, the young men of the Sun Tribe went out to hunt and fetch water, while the women planted grains and hemp in the oasis. Food, clothing, and shelter were not a problem.

”See?”

Xie Luohe pointed at the Grand Elder, indicating that Zheng Xiu’s worries were unfounded.

With her prestige in Richan Valley, they wouldn’t starve.

Zheng Xiu gritted his teeth and decided to play to her preferences. ”How about... we call it ’Mohe Pavilion’?”

Upon hearing the name, Xie Luohe’s expression faltered for a moment. Then, her eyes curved into a smile, and her lips parted. She didn’t refuse.

”Alright. You decide.”

「The third day.」

The Grand Elder gathered the young men and boys of the Tribe. In a great procession, they went to the nearest oasis to Richan Valley, where they put up fences and set up numerous straw and wooden dummies to serve as targets.

Many hands make light work; a simple archery range was built in just two days.

Xie Luohe wasn’t just making empty promises; it seemed she truly wanted to pass down her Xie’s Archery Skill.

In truth, both Xie Luohe and Zheng Xiu knew very well that she could only pass down the barest surface of her skills. Without the support of a Miracle Technique, her Xie’s Archery Skill could never unleash its true power.