In Greenleaf Village, under that withered elf divine tree, Ye Chui and his group along with the divine woman old lady Viya were sitting solemnly around a small square table in strict formation. Each person’s expression was indescribably serious, their eyes unblinking as they stared at the thing on the table.
“Green, are you certain? If you fail again, you will have nothing left.” Ye Chui’s voice was indescribably earnest.
“Guild leader, I have no way out.” Green said in a slightly hoarse voice.
Viya’s aged voice laughed, “Rest assured, I will not leave you with nothing… at least I will leave you with your underpants.”
“Old lady, who wins and who loses is not yet certain.” Green said in a suppressed voice. He forcefully patted the table, “Open it.”
“Then open it?” Debbie responded with a smile.
“Open!”
“Then I am opening it.” Debbie thus lifted the small bowl on the table. Under the bowl was clearly a… die!
However, this was not the same as the dice Ye Chui had seen before. It was not six-sided, but four-sided. Each face was triangular. This triangular die was the most popular gambling tool on the Castro continent. The gambling method was also very simple. The triangular die had numbers on it respectively. Each corner of the square table corresponded to one. When playing, everyone placed bets on the four corners. Bets could be all sorts of things. When opening, the side that hit would receive the items bet by the others.
Ye Chui and his group had dug this big pit waiting for others to come knocking. Initially, they were all excitedly posing waiting for others to arrive. But as time slowly passed, Ye Chui also realised that having those few mountain stronghold wolf bandits spread the news was not something that could be done in a short time. So, when Green took out the die and suggested playing a round, everyone readily agreed.
However… at that time, the slight smile at the corner of Viya old lady’s mouth and her profoundly inscrutable expression on her full face were ignored by everyone. Although since boarding Ye Chui and Debbie’s pirate ship, Green, who considered himself a gambler, had not gambled with anyone for a long time, he still believed his gambling skills were superb… So over this one day, Ye Chui, Debbie, and the others could still maintain a balance of wins and losses, but Green was completely fired up.
He had clashed thoroughly with Viya old lady. The result was: not only did he lose all his gold coins, now even the clothes on his body had to be lost together… This was completely losing his head in red-eyed frenzy.
“Three points!” When Debbie lifted the small bowl and saw the bright red number 3 on the triangular die, she called out loudly.
In comparison was Green’s mournful howl towards the sky… He lost again!
Viya old lady chuckled and pointed at Green’s clothes, “No need for the underpants. Take off the other clothes.”
“Spare me, it is such cold weather…” Green had a face full of embarrassment, hugging his arms.
But Debbie and Ye Chui were already standing one on each side of him. “Honour the bet, young man.” Debbie called out. Ye Chui also nodded, “Our Whatever Name Magic Guild values credibility the most.”
“Guild leader, you cannot do this…” Seeing the two about to rush up and strip his clothes, Green hurriedly shouted, “Wait a moment, I, I can still turn it around… Guild leader, can you advance this month’s salary first?”
“Sorry, our guild prohibits advancing salaries.” Ye Chui directly refused.
Green hurriedly looked towards Jacob again, “Jacob, lend me two gold coins first…”
“Mr Green, very sorry, my gold coins are my savings for a wife, prohibited from lending out…” Jacob said with his head lowered.
“Green, just accept your fate. Blame yourself if you must. We adventurers value judging the situation the most. Viya is an existence that has idled for five thousand years. Do you think how she idled away those five thousand years?” Debbie continued in her long-lost tone of an old adventurer bird to console. Regarding the time loop and elf nirvana matters, Ye Chui and Debbie had already told everyone.
“I, I…” Green was on the verge of tears with no place to cry.
Fortunately, at this moment, old Harley suddenly ran over, breaking the deadlock, “There is a big bird flying over from the sky outside!”
Ye Chui and his group were playing dice under the elf divine tree, but he had not relaxed his vigilance. He had the villagers of Greenleaf Village watch the surroundings. Hearing old Harley’s words, everyone immediately stopped fooling around. Ye Chui ran to the stone platform on one side and looked towards the sky. Sure enough, he saw a strange big bird flying rapidly towards here.
Debbie hurriedly summoned Jillga. Gunny also picked up her giant sword. Green took out his brick. In the just-concluded gambling, he had not lost his enchanted brick. Of course, it was not because he still retained any底线, but simply because Viya old lady did not fancy this thing at all…
“Awroo-”
Accompanied by a strange cry, that big bird circled once above Greenleaf Village, then landed on the wide street in the village.
It was called a bird, but in fact this was a flying magic beast. Its whole body was covered in white feathers, with a head like a hawk or falcon, as well as limbs and tail like a lion. The wings were also feathered. It looked noble and beautiful.
“Fifth-rank magic beast, snow shadow beast.” Debbie had after all been a noble young lady, well-informed. She said softly to Ye Chui, “This thing is not cheap and extremely rare. Back then on my thirteenth birthday, I asked the old man to get me one. He spent a fortune but only managed a snow cry beast. It looked so ugly, just like a crow. Its cry was like a child crying, and it was disobedient too. In anger, I roasted and ate it.”
Ye Chui, “…”
On this snow shadow beast’s body were sitting two people: Miss Xueyi and the beggar prince. One noble, one looking utterly dishevelled and filthy. This combination was truly somewhat strange. Yet the beggar prince had an excited, enjoying expression. His face was full of flush, as if sharing a ride with his admired beauty meant that even dying right after would leave no regrets.
The villagers of Greenleaf Village looked at the snow shadow beast in panic, watching from afar.
Ye Chui and the others watched these two vigilantly.
Xueyi’s beautiful eyes scanned the surroundings once, then her gaze fell on Ye Chui.
“You are the president of the four-star magic guild Whatever Name Magic Guild, Mr Ye Chui?” She jumped down from the snow shadow beast and asked.
Hearing Xueyi’s words, Ye Chui’s body trembled at once, “You, what did you say?”
Xueyi furrowed her brows, “Are you Mr Ye Chui?”
“Not that sentence. The one before it.” Ye Chui said somewhat excitedly.
“Four-star magic guild, Whatever Name Magic Guild…”
“Oh wow, our guild has become four-star!?” Ye Chui said with a face full of delight. He turned his head happily to look at Debbie. Not bad, not bad. The star rating had indeed gone up!
They had been in seclusion on the plains for this period. What they had been most concerned about was precisely this matter.
Xueyi, “…”
The sixth prince stood out somewhat impatiently, “Miss Xueyi is asking you a question. Did you not hear? You are the old emperor’s illegitimate son, that little royal uncle?”
“Little royal uncle?” Ye Chui trembled slightly upon hearing this address.
Lessa sidled over at this moment and said in a low voice, “When I was in the monastery, I heard quite a few royal secrets of the Star Empire… This woman is called Xueyi. Her body also bears the crest of a blue moon. If I am not mistaken, she should be the second daughter of the Moon Gem family. As for that beggar… I hear the sixth prince is madly infatuated with Miss Xueyi. His nickname is the Beggar Prince. This person… is probably the sixth prince.”
“Prince…”
Ye Chui and his group sized up the sixth prince up and down. Debbie blurted out, “How did you end up in such a miserable state? Do you not even have a clean set of clothes?”
The sixth prince snorted coldly and put on a cold and arrogant expression. My style is something you ordinary people would not understand!
Xueyi was clearly somewhat impatient with Ye Chui and his group’s banter. She stepped forward, her eyes fixed on Ye Chui, “Old emperor’s illegitimate son. Your identity is now known to all. Everyone wants to kill you.”
“You came for this, right? But just the two of you?” Ye Chui also said seriously.
“I alone am enough!” The sixth prince said full of arrogance.
But Xueyi waved her hand to stop the sixth prince from continuing. She said to Ye Chui, “I am not here to kill you, but to make you a proposal.”
Ye Chui immediately showed a curious expression. The sixth prince showed a surprised expression. He had come here with Xueyi, always thinking that Xueyi wanted him to take action and kill Ye Chui.
Only to hear Xueyi continue, “Marry me.”
Ye Chui and the others, “!!!”
The sixth prince, “???”
Xueyi continued, “You have no chance of inheriting the throne. I know your past. You are very capable, but you still cannot return to the royal capital alive. You probably do not know yet. Many people want to stop you. These people come from various forces. During this time, they have all gathered north of the Warmwater River and formed an alliance. At least there are over a hundred people. Their goal is to kill you!”
“Over a hundred people!?” Ye Chui exclaimed in his mouth. His tone shifted, “How is that only so few people?”
Xueyi’s expression froze. What did he mean by only so few people? Over a hundred was not enough?
She interpreted Ye Chui’s reaction as ignorance, so she said, “That is not ordinary over a hundred people, but experts from various guilds and mercenaries. There are even people from the church. Gathered together, their power is probably no less than Prince Geller’s black armoured guards!”
Ye Chui shook his head, continuing with a face full of disappointment.
“…” Xueyi bit her lip, thinking inwardly that this fellow was really good at putting on airs… She paused, then continued, “Now most of these people are gathered in Qu尔斯 City. As soon as they learn your location, they will mobilise en masse. No one can protect you, except me. Form a marriage contract with me and join the Moon Gem family. You can seek my family’s protection. But at the same time, you must voluntarily renounce the throne and publicly support the twelfth prince.”
The struggle for the throne was not merely a contest of military power and strength in various aspects. Reputation was also a very important aspect. Ye Chui’s illegitimate son identity being publicised, and publicly supporting the twelfth prince, would undoubtedly greatly elevate the twelfth prince’s prestige. At the same time, Ye Chui and the Whatever Name Magic Guild’s strength were also points that Xueyi valued highly.
It was just that her train of thought still shocked Ye Chui, Debbie, and the others thoroughly.
Ye Chui quickly came back to his senses. With a face full of rejection, he said, “Sorry, actually I really do want to contend for the throne…”
The sixth prince also hurriedly said, “Xueyi, how can you marry him? What does he have that is good… I will kill them right now!”
The sixth prince said this in his mouth and prepared to draw his long sword.
But Xueyi shook her head faintly, “I investigated them. In Stan Town, a fallen nun summoned an apostle, yet they beat it back. You are not their match. Fighting them, you have only a path to death.”
“For Xueyi, even if it is death, I am willing!” The sixth prince said in the manner of an ultimate obsessed fan. Whoosh, he drew his long sword. Unlike the sword’s exterior which looked tattered and dirty, the blade was pristine and sharp. Clearly not an ordinary item.
“Is that so?” Xueyi looked at the sixth prince and suddenly smiled slightly. Then she continued looking at Ye Chui, a sly smile hooking at the corner of her mouth.
“Now the sixth prince wants to kill you. I am very certain he is not your match. So you can only kill him… Killing an empire prince. Even if you kill me along with him, this matter will spread across the entire empire within half a day. Because many people in Qu尔斯 City know that the prince and I came to find you. At that time, you this illegitimate son bearing the infamy of killing a prince will have no day of being legitimised. How then can you contend for the throne?”
Ye Chui and his group were immediately stunned by Xueyi’s logic.
In other words, now before Ye Chui there were two paths. One was to agree to the marriage contract with Xueyi and join the Moon Gem family. Or reject her marriage. But in that case, the sixth prince would fight for love. Kill Ye Chui or be killed by Ye Chui. The former possibility was almost zero. In that case, Ye Chui bearing the evil name of killing a prince would also lose the identity to contend for the throne.
Xueyi bringing the sixth prince to Greenleaf Village was with the resolve to sacrifice herself (marry Ye Chui or be killed by Ye Chui), to completely invalidate Ye Chui illegitimate son’s identity? And the sixth prince seemed at first not to understand what Xueyi intended to do. But now even having understood, he did not appear prepared to refuse Xueyi’s scheme…
Thus, after understanding the logic here, Ye Chui could not help but ask the sixth prince, “Do you know she is using you?”
“My love for Miss Xueyi is steadfast. Even if she wants to use me, I am willing.” The sixth prince said full of tenderness. Then he said viciously again, “But if you dare agree to the marriage contract with Miss Xueyi, I will definitely skin you and draw your tendons!”
“I refuse. I do not want to marry her.” Ye Chui hurriedly stated his position.
However, upon hearing Ye Chui say this, the sixth prince showed an extremely shocked expression. He shouted in anger, “You dare reject Miss Xueyi? This is her shame, and also the shame to me this person who has proposed to her three hundred and ninety-four times and still been rejected. I must kill you with the most painful methods!”
Hearing the sixth prince’s words, Ye Chui and his group, “…”
Bloody hell, these two are both oddballs, are they not?
