At this moment, Ink River, who had sensed something from the crow's perspective, looked up and met Ronnie's gaze as she looked down.
"Big Sister... you wouldn't..."
"It's you! Young Master!"
Just as Harvey VIII finished his speech, he handed the embroidered ball, which a nearby maid had been dragging, to Ronnie. He said, "Ronnie, hurry and throw it. I wish you a good husband."
Ronnie took the embroidered ball, directly invoking the royal bloodline of the Loulan Kingdom. Red patterns appeared on her hands. She spread her limbs, exerted force, and threw it.
The embroidered ball transformed into a red afterimage, rapidly flying towards Ink River. This stark contrast almost made his eyeballs pop out. Without thinking, he turned and ran.
But...
"Why is this a dead end!!!"
As the embroidered ball drew closer, Ink River even began to contemplate the feasibility of using his special abilities.
However, at this critical moment, a bald, burly man leaped six feet high and managed to brush the edge of the embroidered ball with his hand.
The embroidered ball rolled upwards, while the man let out a cry of pain and fell into the crowd.
"Go for it!!"
Someone shouted, and a large group of people rushed towards the slowly descending embroidered ball.
They chased and caught, trampled and pushed, hit and pounded each other.
In short, they used all their skills, striving to get their hands on that embroidered ball.
On the stands, Ronnie's heart rose and fell like the embroidered ball, rising and falling...
As for Ink River, he wished he could kowtow to the big brother who played ball—if he got married and couldn't leave the illusion, it would be too damn costly.
Finally, the scramble for the embroidered ball evolved into a brawl.
The ancient martial artists of Loulan directly clashed with their battle qi, causing the embroidered ball to fly up, fall, fly up again, and fall again...
It seemed no one remembered to snatch the embroidered ball. The most important thing now was to kill the person in front of them!
In the end, everyone lay on the ground, groaning and screaming.
A muscular man, covered in wounds, wiped the blood from his face, spat out a broken tooth, and shakily raised a hand, saying, "I won!!!!—"
*Boom~*
The embroidered ball fell from the sky, hitting the man's head. Like the last straw that broke the camel's back, the man's eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
The embroidered ball bounced and, by sheer bad luck, landed at Ink River's feet. He had been standing against the wall, trying to find a way out of the crowd.
"Damn..."
Harvey VIII, seeing all the valiant warriors of his nation lying on the ground unable to get up, his face immediately darkened. Then he started looking for the embroidered ball.
Finally, Harvey VIII's gaze fell upon Ink River, who was trying to slip away.
A Da Teng person?
Although he's a Da Teng person... he must have some strength to have survived the battle of hundreds of my Loulan warriors.
"Alright, the bride-choosing ceremony is over," Harvey VIII waved his hand, announcing the end of the ceremony. He then turned to Ronnie and said, "My dear daughter, hurry and bring your驸马 back. We need to have a chat with him."
"Yes!" Ronnie was so excited she almost jumped up. Although the other party seemed unwilling to be with her, fate had already decided. As long as she treated him well, he would surely treat her well too.
Saying that, Ronnie led a squad of soldiers to catch... well, to invite Ink River.
Ink River was still planning to leave when he found himself surrounded by the onlookers who had come to watch the spectacle.
"Young man, you're not thinking of running away, are you?" The old gentleman from before walked over, his face full of unsettling sincerity. "You are already our princess's consort. If you leave, where will Loulan's face be?"
"No..." Ink River wished he were dead at this moment, not for any other reason but because he discovered that most of his skills couldn't be used! And his status panel had reverted to normal human values.
In other words, Ink River now might not even be able to defeat the ordinary men and women in front of him, let alone the Loulan royalty and warriors who possessed strange powers.
...
Finally, Ink River was brought back to the Loulan Palace by Ronnie.
Since Ink River's passive skills were still usable, his appearance was still affected by "Demon Phantom," causing Ronnie to lower her head shyly after a single glance, and then continue to look for opportunities to steal glances.
"Warrior, no, my dear son-in-law," Harvey VIII said with a smile. "According to our custom, I need to ask you a few questions, starting with your wife."
"That... dear... can you introduce yourself?"
Ink River looked at the blushing Ronnie with a face devoid of any hope, thinking that she wasn't like this when she threw the embroidered ball earlier.
Seeing the shining knives and axes around him, Ink River responded submissively, "Ink River, Da Teng person, twenty years old, unmarried so far..."
"That's enough!" Ronnie seemed completely satisfied and said to Harvey VIII, "Father, I'm done asking! I'm very pleased with him!"
Big Sister, are you really this casual? You finished after asking just these things?
"Alright..." Harvey VIII nodded and looked at the Empress beside him. "My dear, it's your turn."
The Empress was a woman with a gentle appearance. Ronnie's outstanding looks were partly due to her. She looked at Ink River and asked in a gentle yet serious voice, "I want you to answer me honestly and sincerely, will you take good care of Ronnie? Through sickness and health, through life and death, through the cycles of the world?"
This is the first time I've met her... why would I do this... Ink River was about to refuse and state that he had only accidentally obtained the embroidered ball when he met Harvey VIII's gaze.
His eyes seemed to say, "Kid, if you dare refuse this marriage, I'll order your head cut off, understand?"
"Uh... I swear, through sickness and health, through life and death, through the cycles of the world, I will accompany Ronnie, take good care of her, and protect her."
I'm sorry! My conscience! His axe is too big! I can't help it!
Seeing Harvey VIII and the Empress nod in satisfaction, Ink River let out a sigh of relief. Just as he wiped his sweat, he suddenly felt a burning gaze fixed upon him.
Ink River cautiously glanced over—as expected, Ronnie was staring at him blankly, but the love in her eyes was about to turn into a pool of spring water, ready to overflow.
"One last question," Harvey VIII said, "I hope you can lead my troops to defend against foreign enemies. Are you willing?"
"As expected, the true purpose has been revealed..." Ink River looked helplessly as Ronnie's face began to turn pale, as if she were afraid of losing him because of this question.
Since it has come to this, let's take it one step at a time.
"I am willing."
Ronnie's previously dimming expression suddenly turned to surprise as she looked at Ink River, blinking her eyes in disbelief.