Chapter 87: Scholar

In Snezhnaya

The Doctor's expression twitched slightly as he felt a slice of his consciousness dissipate. Immediately, he accessed the memory of the clones and heard the words, "This won't happen again!"

Seated across from the Doctor, the ninth seat of the Fatui, Signora, noticed the Doctor's distraction.

"What's wrong, Doctor? You seem a bit distracted," Signora's voice was very gentle, not at all like that of a ruthless capitalist.

Feeling the memory of the clone, the Doctor smiled, "Nothing much, just one of my clone was destroyed!"

"Oh, that's interesting. Someone actually dared to destroy one of your clones. Who was it?" Signora's expression showed genuine interest.

As the second executive of the Fatui, the Doctor possessed power comparable to that of a deity, and Signora was eager to know who could destroy one of his slices.

Seeing Signora's interested expression, the Doctor also wore a strange expression and slowly said, "Perhaps you, Pantalone, will be really interested. It was Morakes!"

"Morakes!" Signora's eyes narrowed, and he crushed the cup in his hand.

"Hehe hahaha~"

Seeing Signora's reaction, the Doctor showed a happy smile, completely unconcerned about the destruction of a clone.

---

Time passed, and a month went by quickly. Wang Daoyi not only recovered his spirits, but also benefited greatly from his battle with the giant serpent. Although his life level did not have any breakthroughs, his control over his strength became stronger.

Moreover, the tear shed by the giant serpent increased Wang Daoyi's mastery of the divine form.

As this year's Summoning Ritual approached, the atmosphere in Liyue Port became lively. Many people from distant lands also came to Liyue, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Geo Archon.

Watching the bustling dock, Wang Daoyi looked interestedly at Sisi, who was conversing with Brother Qing in a teahouse not far away.

After returning from the sea, Sisi had been absent-minded, so Wang Daoyi gave her a break and took over the shop himself.

Unexpectedly, they actually came to the dock for a date.

However, Sisi, this "Brother Qing," seemed to have a bit of a scoundrel vibe no matter how you looked at him.

Just as he was getting into it, a scholarly-looking man walked into the teahouse.

"This is a teahouse, not a bookstore. These books are all mine and not for sale!" Wang Daoyi thought this person had entered the wrong place, as the teahouse was now filled with books collected by him.

The scholar was stunned for a moment, then quickly shook his head, indicating that he wasn't here to buy books.

"Hello, I am a scholar from the Academy of Spantamad. You can call me Abattouy!" 

The scholar wore a pair of mechanical glasses and seemed to be a person who wasn't good at expressing himself, as his speech was trembling.

Wang Daoyi nodded slightly, feeling that the scholar seemed a bit nervous, and asked in as relaxed a tone as possible, "Alright, so Scholar Abattouy, what brings you to my little shop?"

Taking a deep breath, Abattouy slowly stated his purpose, "Well, I saw many alchemy books in your shop, and I was wondering if you have studied alchemy. That's why I came to visit!"

Wang Daoyi nodded and looked at the red academy badge on the scholar's hat. "Alchemyl?"

Upon hearing Wang Daoyi's question, Abattouy nodded, somewhat surprised to see Wang Daoyi. After traveling for so long, many people could tell that he was a scholar from the Academy of Spantamad but there were not many who could directly recognize his faction.

"Yes, do you also know about our factions?"

"Uh, I know a graduate from the Spantamad Academy, who is also an alchemist, so I have a little understanding!"

"Spantamad Academy graduate!" The young scholar exclaimed in surprise. A graduate was a goal he found difficult to achieve now. Due to certain reasons, all his papers had been rejected, so he was still a traveling scholar. To graduate, he would need to pass four assessments.

"Yes, her name is Lisa, and she is currently working as a librarian for the Mondstadt Knights!"

"Ah, it's Sister Lisa!" Abattouy exclaimed.

"You know her?"

Wang Daoyi didn't expect this scholar to know Lisa.

Wang Daoyi's question made the young scholar blush.

"Sister Lisa is a once-in-a-century super genius. Mentor Lelouch always praises her in front of us."

"So, although Sister Lisa doesn't know us, as her junior siblings, we all know Sister Lisa!"

Wang Daoyi nodded slightly, not expecting that the witch was actually a high-achieving student of the Academy of Spantamad. He had thought before that Lisa was just making excuses to tease him.

"Well then, since you're Sister Lisa's junior, tell me, what brings you to my shop?" Wang Daoyi glanced at the young scholar and saw the word "down-and-out" written all over him.

Blushing, Abattouy said, "I came to watch the Summoning Ritual, but as soon as I arrived in Liyue Port, I lost my money. I happened to see the alchemy books in your shop, so I came in to ask if you need an alchemist."

"Oh, you want to work and earn money? Why not go to the Academy of Spantamad's branch? Wang Dao wasyi puzzled. Although this guy lost his money, there was still a branch of the Academy of Spantamad in Liyue. Previously, it was the people from the General Affairs Division who reported the Treasure Hoarders's purchase of dangerous equipment that was stationed at the branch of the Academy of Stantamad.

Facing Wang Daoyi's question, Abatui stammered, not knowing how to speak.

Wang Daoyi frowned slightly, sensing that this guy had a problem.

Then, a flash of inspiration came to Wang Daoyi's mind, and he blurted out, "Are you researching some taboo field and escaped being wanted by the Academy of Spantamad?"

Abatui's face instantly turned pale, but he still shook his head repeatedly, "No, no, I'm not wanted!"

Wang Daoyi's gaze carried a hint of suspicion.

Seeing that Wang Dao didn't believe him, Abattouy had no choice but to tell the truth.

The subject he was researching was a very peculiar field, studying how to turn mechanical monsters into real living beings.

Originally, this was a very popular topic, but as the research progressed, some scholars believed that they needed to observe the structures of other living beings to gain inspiration. They dissected a large number of species, causing a very serious chaos. Subsequently, the Academy of Spantamad prohibited research on mechanical life.

Although he also didn't approve of dissecting other life forms, Abattouy was very passionate about this field. Unable to do anything else, he had no choice but to leave Spantamad and find a place that would accept him.

So, he didn't want to go to the branch of the Academy of Spantamad. Once he went there, he would immediately be sent back to Spantamad. Only when he agreed to change his research topic would he have the chance to be allowed to travel again.

After listening to Abattouy's words, Wang Daoyi nodded slightly, feeling that he could reluctantly accept this reason.

"In that case, stay with me for now, and I'll see if I can find you a job later!"

"Thank you so much, I'm really grateful!" Abattouy was overjoyed, feeling like he had encountered a great person.

The good-hearted Wang Daoyi accepted Abattouy's gratitude, but he wasn't really a good person. It was just that Abattouy's research on mechanical life was very attractive to Wang Daoyi, so he was willing to help.

(End of this chapter)