Inside of Baichuan's house was fully lit with natural light which sipped in.
Yun Che sat on a chair with Cang Yue sitting opposite to him.
Silence was present between them, none of them said anything.
Yun Che remained silent and waited for Cang Yue to speak, since, technically, he was the victim here. While Cang Yue was too embarrassed from her prior behavior which made it super awkward for her to even face Yun Che right now.
This resulted in the current scenario where no one said anything and just remained silent.
Finally, after dozens of minutes, Yun Che couldn't take the silence so he questioned.
"So… Should we start with an introduction? I'm Yun Che, a traveling cultivator."
Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves down, Cang Yue replied.
"I'm… Cang Yue."
Yun Che raised a brow at her telling her true name, but he was surprised at what she said further.
"... Princess of Blue WInd Empire."
'She isn't hiding it?' After thinking for a while, Yun Che thought it made sense. Unlike in the original where she could interact with the main character with her fake persona, here she was actively seeked him. In such a case, she would never get what she wants with her fake persona. The best case indeed was to reveal her identity and then pursue him after.
Adjusting her position, Yun Che placed elbow on the arm rest and his face on his fist before questioning.
"Then, Princess Cang Yue, can you tell me the reason why you…" Looking for words but not finding anything suitable, Yun Che decided to be blunt. "Dropped yourself on me out of nowhere? Two times at that."
Cang Yue had a surprised expression seeing Yun Che remaining calm even after knowing her identity but it soon turned embarrassing when Yun Che brought her shameful display. She wanted to find a hole to jump into right now!
'... She sure is cute.' Yun Che smiled seeing her embarrassed expression, how she tried her best to divert her gaze from him and tried to hide her expression. Yun Che thought she looked cute.
"Does Brother Yun Che know about the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament?"
Yun Che tried to remember as much as he could from the original and explained.
"A tournament that happens after every three years to decide the ranking of sects all over the Blue Wind Empire, right?"
Cnag Yue nodded.
"Fifteen hundred top talents of the Blue Wind Empire gather together on that day. Five hundred sects are invited with each bringing three contestants. The tournament does not only allow a sect to showcase their talented youths but also determines the ranking of sects within the empire for the next three years."
"I see." Yun Che nodded, changing his position to a more comfortable one. "And what does it have anything to do with my question?"
Cang Yue bit her lips and a sad expression appeared over her face.
"I… I want Brother Yun Che to fight for the Imprecial Family in this tournament!"
A silence ensued between the two which increased nervousness over Cang Yue's expression. She patiently waited for Yun Che's reply, her bosom going up and down due to an increase in heartbeat. It attracted Yun Che's attention, making Cang Yue blush.
"Ahem."
Yun Che coughed to hide his little shenanigan before looking towards Cang Yue and smiling.
"I understand what you are trying to say, Princess Cang Yue. But, again, you haven't answered my question. I'll rephrase it for you, why me? I'm pretty sure my strength can't be compared to the top disciples of Blue Wind Imprecial Palace. Then why go to such lengths for me, a complete stranger?"
"Can I not answer that?" Cang Yue wryly smiled. This contained the secret of the Royal Family, something she wasn't willing to share. But then seeing Yun Che shake his head, she sighed.
"There's a special profound art that belongs to the royal family. Only those of royal bloodline can use it." Cang Yue took a deep breath and explained. "Monarch Heart Secret Art. I'm the only person who can use it. This art allows me to peak into the fate and luck of a person. I used it on Brother Yun Che when you had appeared before New Moon Profound Palace and saw that you had great fate and luck. That's why…"
She didn't need to say further as she was sure Yun Che understood what she was trying to say.
Of course Yun Che knew all of this, but he had his reasons for asking all of this. First, he wanted to make sure nothing changed from the original. Which it seemed it didn't. Second, it would be too weird if he agreed to her quest right now.
"Then, can I ask you another question?"
Cang Yue nodded with a smile. The chat with Yun Che finally calmed her down. She thought it has been a while since she could sit together with someone and have a talk with them.
"Why in such a hurry? From what I can tell, the royal family never showed such urgency to win the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament. From what I can tell, you seemed to be in urgent need of talent. It is as if you are staking everything on next year's Blue Wind Ranking Tournament."
Cang Yue's eyes widened. She wondered if she came out that obvious.
His question stumped her.
Illness of the king was a secret that only a selective few knew. Telling an outsider, she was hesitating from doing so. If the news about the king was made public, she knew it would cause an uproar within the empire. Their enemies won't let such a chance miss and might attack them.
"Forget it." Seeing her reluctance, Yun Che also didn't push her. Anyways, he already was planning to enter Blue Wind Imperial Palace and get himself selected as one of the participants for the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament. He needed an entry for the secret realm so he could get his hand on the Water Seed!
"Then is Brother Yun Che willing to fight for the royal family?"
Yun Che nodded with a smile.
"I'll be in your care then Princess Cang Yue."
"Sister Cang Yue."
"Hm?" Yun Che looked at the bashful black-haired woman before a teasing smirk appeared over his face. "Sister Cang Yue then."
Cang Yue suddenly felt her heartbeat increasing. She wondered what was wrong with her. Since meeting Yun Che, her body has been showing abnormal reactions one after another. She wondered if she was alright.