"What? Do you care to explain that further?" This time, Gilbert could not read Rocky's mind. He had no
clue what the young man was planning.
"Well, let it be a secret in the meantime. I'm sure you will realize it soon," Rocky said, deliberately kept
Gilbert guessing.
Although Gilbert still had some misgivings about it, he had no choice but to go with it since Princess
Layla already agreed to Rocky's plans.
Then, as the two returned to the Ghost Fief, Gilbert began preparing for the wedding ceremony. At the
same time, Rocky also started collecting more information about Zain and Enoch, Layla's biggest rivals
in the selection for the next leader of the royal family.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
At this time, the date of Rocky and Valeria's wedding was finally set, and it would be held a week later.
Then, another two days passed. There were only five days before the wedding.
Rocky had just gotten out of the Ghost Palace when a delicate figure suddenly appeared in front of
him. In a flash, a snow-white dagger was pressed against his neck, rendering him motionless.
"Gloria, what do you think you're doing? Put that dagger away from me! What if someone sees you?"
Although the figure was hiding her face, Rocky could easily tell from her aura that it was none other
than Gloria.
"Why should I do that? You are going to marry that woman behind my back! How dare you?! Do you
think I'll just let this slide?" Gloria scolded angrily.
"We've already talked about this. You know that we are engaged, and we're bound to get married
sooner or later," Rocky reminded her.
"Then, what about me? You're just going to toss me away?" Gloria's enchanting eyes widened as if she
had already lost all logic.
"Have you forgotten? This marriage is just necessary for the alliance of our fiefs. It is not real. It's not
like I will sleep with her afterward!" Rocky reasoned strongly, knowing that this was what Gloria was
thinking.
"Ha! You're just saying that!" Indeed, Gloria was not actually worried about the marriage per se, but she
was afraid that Rocky might have already fallen in love with Valeria.
"Fine! If you don't believe me, you can hide inside the bridal chamber after the ceremony. If you see
that I will do something to Valeria, then you can go out and stop me at any time." At this point, Rocky
said whatever Gloria wanted to hear just so she would calm down.
"I will do that even if you do not tell me!" Gloria gritted her teeth, still unsatisfied with Rocky's answers.
"What else do you want me to say? Just put away the dagger, and we will talk somewhere else," Rocky
almost pleaded.
Eventually, Gloria put the dagger away, but she still glared at Rocky. After that, he took her hand and
led her somewhere private.
Soon enough, the two of them arrived at the lakeside where Rocky usually did his cultivation.
"By the way, why did you leave all of a sudden after the Spiritual Emperor Contest? I searched for you
everywhere, but I could not find you." Rocky was finally able to ask this.
"I had no choice. I got sudden news that someone tried to assassinate my father, so I had to come
back in a hurry. I actually wanted to tell you first, but I also could not find you." Since Rocky was using
Basil's identity at that time, there was really no way for her to find him.
"There was also an attempt to assassinate your father?" Of course, this news came as a surprise to
Rocky. After all, he had been staying in the Ghost Fief for quite a while now, but no one told him about
this.
"I heard that someone also tried to kill Leader Gilbert recently, right?" Gloria asked.
"Yes. Does that mean that your father is a supporter of Prince Enoch?" Based on the series of events,
Rocky came to this conclusion.
"What makes you think so?" Gloria was actually surprised, but she did not directly admit it.
"Well, I just guessed it." It was actually a simple process of deduction for Rocky. Gilbert was targeted
because he was a supporter of Layla. Since it did not seem that Adrian was on Zain's side, then he
must be Enoch's supporter.
"Yes. My father and Prince Enoch are actually the best of friends. Of course, he is going to support the
prince," Gloria finally revealed.
"So, it is highly possible that Prince Zain is the one who tried to eliminate your father and Leader
Gilbert."
"That is also my theory, and that is why I'm here. I wanted to confirm if the one who tried to assassinate
Leader Gilbert was sent by the same person who tried to kill my father." Gloria was indeed smart to
have put up this speculation quickly.
"Anyway, have you still kept in touch with Quentin after the Spiritual Emperor Contest?" Rocky asked
out of nowhere.
"Well, yes. I've contacted him once. It seems that his injuries were so severe that they have not healed
yet. Since he is disabled now, it appears that he won't be of any use to us anymore."
"No, you're wrong. We can still use him. He is in a desperate situation right now, so he will do whatever
he can to save himself, even if he has to become my pawn," Rocky declared with a cunning smile on
his face.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Not realizing what Rocky was thinking, Gloria looked at him in confusion.
"I'll tell you the details later. Right now, I need you to give this pill to Quentin. Tell him that you stole this
from me. He will surely figure things out and then come to me," Rocky said as he took out the pill that
he had prepared in advance.
"Are you sure?" Gloria took the pill but was still a little doubtful of Rocky's plan.
"Yes, I am certain. Just make sure that he takes that pill."
"All right then. I will deliver this to him." Gloria knew that every plan that Rocky made was carefully
thought of. Although she was willful at most times, she knew that she could trust his wisdom when it
counted.
Then, after Gloria left, Rocky also went back to the Ghost Palace.
Eventually, the day of the wedding approached. Obviously, the preparations were even grander than
the engagement ceremony.
Since it was the wedding of her adopted daughter, Flora, the leader of the Flower Fief, had arrived at
the Ghost Fief two days before the appointed event.
As soon as she arrived, Flora made sure to meet Rocky, her future son-in-law.
At this moment, all seats were already occupied in the conference hall. All important figures were there,
including Gilbert, Flora, and the elders of the Ghost Fief. Of course, the soon-to-be wedded couple
were also there.
It was Flora's first time meeting Rocky in person. She was actually impressed when she heard his
performances as of late, so she was excited to see him. However, the moment she saw him, she was a
little surprised because she did not expect that he looked mediocre. He did not have any imposing
manner, but she could see that he carried himself with confidence.
Flora had already met a lot of people in the Shura Race all these years, so she was sure that Rocky did
not look very eye-catching. But based on what she heard, she knew that he was just hiding his real
strength. Therefore, overall, she was still satisfied with her future son-in-law.
Since it was their wedding, she had to give Rocky a gift.
Hence, Flora approached Rocky and took out a shining dragon-shaped pendant. "Odin, take this
Dragon Jade. This pendant and the Phoenix Jade that Valeria possesses are a pair. They are made
from the holy jade on the top of the snow mountain. They promote masculine and feminine qualities
that will be helpful in your dual cultivation. Use their power as you and Valeria engage in dual
cultivation. With these, you will get twice the result with just half the effort. Use them wisely!" she
explained after she handed the pendant to Rocky.
"Thank you, Leader Flora. This will be a huge help for us," Rocky politely answered and gratefully took
the jade pendant.
"I hope that you can take good care of Valeria in the future. Although she is not my biological daughter,
I have always treated her as such. I will not allow her to suffer any kind of grievance," Flora gently
warned.
"Don't worry, Leader Flora. I will always be good to her," Rocky promised with a faint smile.
"And Valeria, you have to be a good wife once you are already married. Don't be so willful, and don't
give Odin a hard time," Flora reminded, looking at Valeria dotingly.
"Yes, I know." Valeria seemed to be a bit shy upon hearing Flora's remarks.
"You two can leave now to have a good rest. Your big day is already coming up. As for the others,
please leave too. I will have a talk with Leader Flora in private," Gilbert said.
Rocky and Valeria glanced at each other and eventually left.
"I guess they are going to talk about supporting Princess Layla," Valeria told Rocky while they walked
out of the meeting hall.
"Maybe. But do you think Leader Flora will agree to it?" Rocky asked. He had not heard whom Flora
actually wanted to support, so he did not know if Gilbert could convince her.
"Well, I know that she is cautious in these matters, so she won't take a stand easily. I think she might
only give her answer after we are officially married," Valeria answered, taking Flora's nature into
consideration.
Hearing that, Rocky just nodded and eventually bid goodbye to her.
Then, on his way back to the Ghost Palace, Rocky instantly sensed that someone was following him.
Upon knowing who it was, he let out a grin and deliberately walked towards a remote forest nearby.
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