But Vivian did not back away. She lifted her head and met Jared’s eyes. “Young Master Chance, my family may not be as vast as the Palace, yet after a thousand years in Cloudhaven City we are no pushover. If they dare enter the House of Chance for you, we will block them with everything we have.”
She paused, her tone firm. “As long as you help me enter the Dragonmere, our family will stand behind you. Should the Palace come, we will meet them for you.”
Jared studied her, a faint flash of surprise sliding across his eyes.
This woman truly has backbone…
He stayed quiet for a moment, then a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Miss Chance, do you know why I claimed the tournament was only for celestial elixir?”
Vivian blinked, unsure why he had switched topics. Jared went on, “That was just a pretext. My real goal was to find shelter.”
Leaning into the chair back, he spoke evenly. “Because of the Palace’s bounty, people everywhere want to trade me for the reward. Cloudhaven City may be under Palace jurisdiction, but its factions are tangled, and a wandering cultivator like me can scarcely walk out alive.”
He glanced at her. “So when I saw the tournament, I thought: if I become the House of Chance’s son-in-law, won’t I gain a place to stay? Won’t I dodge the Palace’s pursuit, at least for a while?”
Jared never lacked for words; had the Dragonmere failed to interest him, he would likely be weaving a different tale this very moment.
Hearing this, Vivian froze. She had never imagined he entered the tournament with such calculations in mind. Jared continued, “Now that you offer to protect me, how could I refuse? As for the Dragonmere…”
He paused. “Frankly, I do want to know where the Draconians went and how my Golden Dragon Bloodline came to be.”
He rose and extended a hand toward Vivian. “Miss Chance, may our cooperation be a pleasant one.”
Vivian stared at his hand, blinked, then let a bright smile break across her face and clasped it. “A pleasant one indeed…”
Jared withdrew his hand, then seemed to recall something. “By the way, Miss Chance, since we’re partners now, may I make a request?”
Vivian gave a slight nod. “Young Master Chance, please speak.”
Jared studied her face for a heartbeat, the look on his face perfectly solemn. “Since we’re partners now, shouldn’t we settle the soul-share right away?”
The curve on her lips halted halfway, as if someone had pressed a pause talisman on it.
“Y-You… What did you just say?!”
Jared spread his hands. “Didn’t you say it yourself? I’m your Soulshare Consort. The test is done, so the next step is the soul-share. No time like the present, tonight works for me.”
Color rushed up Vivian’s cheeks. She shot him a fierce glare. “Young Master Chance, have some propriety!”
Jared put on an utterly innocent expression. “How am I being improper? You called me your Soulshare Consort. If a Soulshare Consort doesn’t soul-share, what’s the point?”
The words jammed in Vivian’s throat, nothing came out.
She drew a long breath, forced down the urge to blast him through the wall, and ground out each word, “Young Master Chance, I’ll say it again. Soulshare Consort is only a title that lets you stay in our family openly. Aside from that one thing, you may ask for anything.”
Jared lifted a brow. “Anything?”
Vivian nodded. “Anything!”
Jared thought for a moment, then spoke with utter sincerity. “Very well, I want 1 million bottles of celestial elixir.”
Hearing that, Vivian’s knees almost buckled. “O-One million?!”
She stared at him, eyes rounded far past their usual size.
Jared nodded, as though the figure were perfectly reasonable. “Exactly, 1 million. Miss Chance, didn’t you say anything but that? For the House of Chance a million bottles shouldn’t be difficult.”
Vivian drew in one breath, then another, barely stopping her palm from flying across his face.
“Young Master Chance,” she spoke through clenched teeth. “Even if we sold the entire family, we couldn’t raise 1 million bottles of celestial elixir.”
Jared watched the tension bunching along her jaw, then suddenly laughed. “Miss Chance, I was joking.”
Vivian blinked, caught off guard.
Jared let the Smile fade and spoke plainly. “Since we’re partners, I have only one real request 360 bottles of celestial elixir to buy passage on the Teleportation Array to the Luminous Sanctuary. Once Dragonmere is handled, you’ll help me leave Cloudhaven City.”
Vivian stared at him for several breaths before the meaning clicked. “You… You were teasing me just now?”
Jared spread his hands. “What else? I can’t really soul-share with you I already have a partner, in fact dozens of partners.”
Vivian’s cheeks flared again, this time from sheer ire. She leveled one last dagger-sharp glare at Jared and strode toward the door.
At the threshold she paused and looked back at him. “Young Master Chance, if you already have dozens of partners, why did you enter a martial marriage contest?”
Leaning against the chair back, Jared answered in an unhurried voice, “Huh? I told you… Elixir and a safe harbor.”
Vivian stood silent for a moment, then let a small smile appear. The smile held relief, a hint of appreciation, and a trace of something hollow she could not name.
“Young Master Chance seemed straightforward, yet who would have thought you’d be so… So liberal, keeping dozens of partners!”
She pushed the door open and said softly, “I’ll have someone arrange quarters for you. At first light, I’ll take you to Dragonmere.”
With that, she walked away. Jared watched her retreating figure, the corner of his mouth lifting.
This woman is amusing…
