"Huh?" Adrian Drake was stunned. "Th-th-then... am I going to die?"
Lucy Luan's expression grew grave. "It's not you who's going to die... it's your future children who will."
"Children? I haven't even gotten married yet—where would I have kids?"
Lucy said, "If the poison isn't cured... you'll never be able to have any!"
Adrian stood there blankly for a long time, then rolled his eyes and fainted.
...
Xuanchen Clan.
After a long wait, Gideon Xuanchen—the elder brother of Marcus Xuanchen—finally rushed in.
He looked flustered and apologetic, explaining that he’d been thousands of miles away and had hurried back as fast as he could.
Ryan Lu, who’d been left hanging for half a day, wanted to explode, but Sean Shaw stopped him and exchanged a few polite greetings instead.
Then he asked why they'd launched a sneak attack.
Gideon Xuanchen gave a half-smile. "Fifth Highness, what kind of question is that? In war between two countries, surprise attacks are par for the course. When they fought the Southern Xuan Kingdom, who knows how many dirty tricks they used!"
Ryan Lu retorted, "Doesn't matter if it was a sneak attack or whatever! Wasn't it a bit much to use us? We're here on His Majesty the Celestial Emperor's orders to resolve this! We finally sent someone to negotiate, and you just tracked us and ambushed them? Where does that leave us?"
"What do you mean by that?" Gideon Xuanchen feigned confusion. "We barely managed to find their camp entrance! We had no idea you were inside beforehand! How does that count as tracking you?"
Gideon's tone turned a bit sharp. "But Fifth Highness, since His Majesty the Celestial Emperor sent you as commander to resolve this, why haven't you come to coordinate with us? Plus, your three Divine Generals fought us head-on! Scared us half to death!"
Ryan Lu was livid. "Now you're turning it around on us! After all that time you couldn't find their camp, but the moment we went to meet them, you suddenly did?"
"Just a coincidence," Gideon replied coolly.
Ryan ground his teeth, but couldn't argue, so he shot a look at Sean Shaw.
Sean Shaw asked calmly, "Then... how did my mother's Thunder-Heaven Void-Breaking Chain end up in your hands?"
"The Thunder-Heaven Void-Breaking Chain... wasn't it cut apart by Fifth Highness? We're repairing it here!" said Gideon. "Turns out we need it to open the Void Cave entrance, so we asked Her Majesty the Celestial Empress to lend it to us, and she agreed."
Sean Shaw said, "So that's how it is! Looks like we misunderstood."
"Exactly, exactly—a big misunderstanding," Gideon Xuanchen chuckled.
"To avoid any more misunderstandings, I'll make myself perfectly clear today," Sean said, meeting his gaze. "From now on, stay out of the dispute between the Southern Xuan Kingdom and the Heavenly Moon Empire."
"Well..." Gideon looked troubled. "Fifth Highness, you may not know—the Southern Xuan Queen is my granddaughter! They're on the verge of being wiped out. How could I just stand by and do nothing?"
"You don't trust us to handle this?"
"No, no, not at all. I'm just worried about my granddaughter—can't help but get anxious!"
"I understand," Sean said. "But I hope you understand us, too. We're here on orders to mediate. To keep things from getting even more chaotic, from now on, if you plan any action, please coordinate with us in advance. Is that acceptable?"
Gideon countered, "So, what does Fifth Highness intend to do about all this?"
"That's a military secret—I'm not at liberty to say."
"Heh!" Gideon Xuanchen snorted.
Ryan Lu said coldly, "Any future actions require a formal report. That's an order, not a suggestion!"
Gideon's smile faltered, but he forced a reply: "Fine! With all of you stationed in Southern Xuan, I'm sure their safety is guaranteed."