Their lips met.
A captivating fragrance filled his senses.
But before Su Han could savor the taste, Ningguang quickly pulled away.
She forced herself to remain calm and said, "That was for the previous bet. Since I lost, you can have that kiss. Don't get the wrong idea."
Su Han was stunned for a moment. He looked at her tightly clenched fists and her slightly trembling body, and couldn't help but smile.
This woman was not nearly as calm as she pretended to be.
It seemed she was jealous.
From his understanding of Ningguang, she would never normally make such a move.
He recalled the game, where she was willing to smash her own Jade Chamber without a second thought. It was a testament to how strong her will was.
For her to lose her composure now because of him was proof enough of her feelings.
Su Han took a step forward, wrapped his arms around Ningguang, and said softly, "From now on, even if I drink, how about I only do it when you're present?"
Her body, which had been rigid, instantly relaxed.
"Really?"
"Mm. I don't actually like alcohol that much. It's just that yesterday, Beidou said she was leaving, and that toasting with tea wasn't sincere enough. I was tricked into drinking by her."
"Hmph! I knew it was her!" Ningguang was annoyed. If that woman hadn't tempted him, today's incident wouldn't have happened. It seemed she would have to find an opportunity to warn her, lest she cause some other trouble.
Su Han stayed in Ningguang's room for a full half an hour before coming out.
By this time, Baixiao and the others had already left to attend to their work.
Keqing, however, was waiting for his return.
"What's wrong? Are you still not feeling well?"
"No. I was thinking that if I had mastered Haki yesterday, I wouldn't have been forced into such a dangerous situation. So, I want you to teach me how to cultivate Haki today."
Her pale violet eyes were filled with seriousness.
After returning yesterday, she had been thinking constantly about whether she had been too stubborn.
If she had been like Beidou and accepted Su Han's special training earlier, would she have been able to master the power of Haki?
Would she have avoided the situation she had found herself in?
Although her body would be seen through, she believed Su Han was not that kind of person. If he wanted to look, he could do so anytime, anywhere. He didn't have to wait until she was training.
Having thought it all through, she had come to him now.
"Alright. You're injured right now, so you have some free time. It's a good time to teach you."
"Mhm."
The two of them went outside.
With Su Han's continuous guidance, Keqing finally understood where the problem with her Haki was.
Half an hour later, as Keqing focused her power, her fair arm slowly became coated in a layer of pitch black.
"It's actually this simple? I never thought this power needed to be guided this way."
Looking at her blackened arm, Keqing's face was full of curiosity.
She tried to strike her arm with her own sword and, sure enough, only felt a slight tingling sensation. Her defensive power had increased immensely!
"This is just the most basic level of Haki. When you learn how to make Haki flow, you can injure people from a distance, and you won't even have to be afraid of that Sand Crocodile's attacks while standing still."
"Why?"
"Because Haki circulating outside your body can form a transparent shield. You know Beidou's lightning shield, right? It's probably something similar to that."
"I see!" Keqing nodded and continued her training, considering how to apply the newly learned Armament Haki Hardening to her actual combat style.
Su Han, meanwhile, sat to the side and opened the group's message system.
Yesterday's situation had been so urgent that he hadn't even had a chance to claim his reward.
[Ding! Congratulations to member Keqing for completing the 3-star mission. As the Group Leader, you have received an additional reward: 5,000 Points.]
[Ding! Congratulations to member Keqing for completing the 3-star mission. As the Group Leader, you have received the primary mission reward: The Flower-Flower Fruit.]
"What? A Devil Fruit!"
Su Han was astonished by the system's message.
He never thought that the first Devil Fruit he would obtain would be a mission reward.
However, this also proved that the "mission issuer" was Nico Robin.
She had two valuable assets: her linguistic ability and the Flower-Flower Fruit.
Luckily, it wasn't the useless "language proficiency." Otherwise, it would have been a waste of a mission reward.
Looking at the Devil Fruit in his possession, Su Han hesitated. This thing didn't have any side effects, but it wasn't really suitable for him.
[Item Name]: Flower-Flower Fruit
[Description]: After consumption, allows the user to sprout any of their body parts from any surface within a 300-meter range.
[Note]: As a product of the system, it has no side effects.
In the end, he chose not to eat it. After all, his fighting style did not match the Flower-Flower Fruit.
Although, it had to be said, he remembered people in his past life joking that if a man ate the Flower-Flower Fruit, wouldn't that mean he could have a thousand "second brothers"?
"So, who should I give it to?" Su Han pondered.
Ningguang would be a good choice, but she didn't fight at all. Giving her the Flower-Flower Fruit would be a complete waste.
Ganyu? Even if she could sprout countless arms, she wouldn't have that many arrows to shoot.
As for Hu Tao, forget it. That child was too chaotic. If he gave it to her, Liyue Harbor would never know peace again. There would probably be stories of hauntings every single day.
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