CHAPTER 648: CHAPTER 105: BEING A PRETTY BOY IS A SICKNESS THAT NEEDS TO BE CURED

The day of departure for the campaign arrived, unheralded.

Before the departure, Princess Long Xue herself would preside over the ceremony at the school grounds outside the Imperial City, officiating for both groups.

Beizhan led by the head Zhan BeiAo and the Southern Expedition Army led by Long Jiuzun were both fully equipped and ready to set out.

Early in the morning, since Lie Rou was not fit to enter the school grounds, she could only personally escort the two to the outside of the Imperial City.

After Yue Minzhi became a Double Dragon Knight, Duke Mansion’s status within the Imperial City also rose with the tide.

Ever since it became known that the Duke Mansion and the National Guardian General Residence had cancelled their marriage arrangement, some wealthy and reputable families in the Imperial City began to send marriage proposals to Duke Mansion, seeking to ally with them.

However, Yue Minzhi rejected them all, simply stating that he was too young and would consider it after achieving some distinction in the Dragon Rider Team.

Yue Jinghua knew that the issue with Long Rui was always a thorn in Yue Minzhi’s heart; she secretly resolved to seize any chance during the Southern Expedition to clear up their misunderstanding.

Since the injured Sky Weasel Dragon was still in the healing stage, Yue Minzhi rode the Five-Colored Jiao Dragon Ji Xuechen to Fandi Port this time.

The colorful Jiao Dragon, alongside a carriage pulled by Golden and Silver Qilin, joined by Yue Jinghua’s golden unicorn following behind, made the Duke Mansion’s procession a distinctive scene on the Empire’s streets.

As the carriage procession reached the outskirts of the Imperial City, they saw a gathering of carriages ahead, and upon careful inspection, Yue Jinghua could see the family crests of various Imperial City families hanging on them.

Among them were princes, dukes, ministers, and various viscounts and barons, as well as carriages of some large and small chambers of commerce, almost all the well-known families in the Imperial City had arrived.

What was this all about?

Upon inquiring, Yue Jinghua learned that these were all relatives of the expeditionary army members, all of whom had come to see them off.

A sense of foreboding began to rise in the pit of Yue Jinghua’s stomach.

Unlike the Yue siblings who were conscripted by force, half of the people here had volunteered for the Southern Expedition, and the other half were admirers of Cheng Ying.

Having experienced peace for hundreds of years, the Imperial City’s indulgent youth were clueless about battlefields, let alone the word war.

According to the Empire’s ceremony of military achievement, military merits were the primary way to acquire offices and titles. Especially for those who wanted to seek fame and rank for their children, they were convinced that this Southern Expedition offered opportunities to accumulate military merits.

This Southern Expedition, proclaimed to quell a rebellion, but with Long Jiuzun leading and the Empire’s best Pill Master Miss Cheng Ying accompanying, had high safety and promotion probabilities. There was also a chance to enjoy the sea breeze at Fandi Port with the beautiful Miss Cheng Ying; such a glorious opportunity was rare indeed.

So, as soon as the news of the Southern Expedition was released, every wealthy second-generation and official’s son in the Imperial City nearly broke the threshold of the National Guardian General Residence.

The Southern Expedition Army, which initially planned to recruit only fifty, suddenly expanded to eighty. Together with the new dragon knights, there were precisely one hundred and ten.

Among them, eighty percent had Dark Earth Cultivation, and their Dark Beasts were mostly fifth-sixth rank. The remaining twenty percent were about ten percent Dark Heavenly, and the rest... were of Qing Zizhu’s sort.

"Why would even someone as incompetent as Qing Zizhu manage to get mixed in? Don’t tell me he’s also here to gain military merits or to pursue Cheng Ying," Yue Jinghua felt the urge to facepalm, wondering how Long Jiuzun managed things. Dark Practitioners with Dark Earth Cultivation could barely adapt to long-distance travel, but Qing Zizhu, who was even struggling with Dark Jade Cultivation and always accompanied by three or four guards, should definitely not be part of the Southern Expedition Army.

"Yanyue Chamber of Commerce is the provision supplier for the Southern Expedition Army, and Qing Zizhu is in charge of escorting the supply train. The Qing Family owns some of the Empire’s largest and fastest airships for supplies," Yue Minzhi pointed towards several large supply ships outside the Imperial City, covered in Dark Arrays, resembling armored vessels.

Despite the fierce competition from Yue Jinghua and the significant loss of vigor, the Yanyue Chamber of Commerce’s status as an Imperial Merchant is not easily shaken, given its centuries of foundation.

As such, together with Long Rui and Ji Yun who were Dragon Knights, and the accompanying Pill Master Cheng Ying, it seemed as if all the "official second generations" of the Imperial City had inadvertently gathered.

"Yue Jinghua, you’ve finally arrived," a whining voice was heard coming from behind.

The surrounding playboys of the Imperial City praised in chorus, and without looking back, Yue Jinghua knew it was Cheng Ying who had come.

Indeed, a graceful figure appeared in front of Yue Jinghua.

Cheng Ying was dressed in a Pill Master’s robe, her jet-black hair coiled up with only a Purple Jade Hairpin as adornment.

Under the brilliant sunlight, her skin seemed translucent and flawlessly fair, and her eyes - dark as ink - fixated on Yue Jinghua without blinking, making the bystanders feel she was like a delicate flower, radiant but not vulgar.

What a deceiving demon, here to cheat and delude people again.

Yue Jinghua couldn’t help rubbing his temples.

With such looks and stature, Cheng Ying in modern times would absolutely be a transvestite empress from Thailand, yet deep down he’s a genuine man, which Yue Jinghua found embarrassing to point out, so he could only awkwardly chuckle twice.

During the awkward laughter, Yue Jinghua also noticed that Cheng Ying did not come alone; she had brought her Dark Beast today.

Cheng Ying’s Dark Beast was a Cloud-piercing Ape Cat.

Like Qing Zizhu, Cheng Ying was not skilled in Dark Skills, and Yue Jinghua had never seen her with a Dark Beast before. He had thought that she would travel to Fandi Port by an empty ship, but now it seemed she planned to undertake her journey mounted on a Dark Beast instead.

The Cloud-piercing Ape Cat is also a very rare kind of Eight Profound Beasts, with a cat-like appearance but a body as robust as Tarzan the Ape Man. This type of Dark Beast can freely navigate through the sky, using the clouds to shuttle around, making it a very special flying beast.

For many years on the continent, no one had captured a Cloud-piercing Ape Cat until now, unexpectedly, Cheng Ying had one.

"This big guy here is my companion and guardian. Back when I first started learning as a Pill Master, I was physically weak. Whenever I went herb collecting, it was this creature that carried me up and down the cliffs," Cheng Ying said with a beaming smile, affectionately introducing the Cloud-piercing Ape Cat by her side.

Noticing Cheng Ying’s different attitude towards Yue Jinghua, her pursuers who were nearby turned red with rage, glaring at Yue Jinghua with covetous eyes.

However, because Yue Minzhi was always by Yue Jinghua’s side, and with a Golden and Silver Qilin accompanying Lie Rou, the playboys did not dare to take any rash actions.

Lie Rou gave her earnest reminders before finally parting from the two siblings.

"Huahua, I’ll go report to the Dragon Rider Team first, and we’ll meet up later," after receiving a signal from ahead, Yue Minzhi gave a few instructions before leaving.

Not long after Yue Minzhi had left, a few playboys surrounded Cheng Ying and led her aside, leaving Yue Jinghua utterly bored, and he began to look around to see if he could find Little Jinuo.

Unexpectedly, a Hanging-eyed Eagle-spotted Tiger leapt in front of her, glaring fiercely at her and the Unicorn.

"I was wondering why I could smell poverty from so far away. It turns out to be Young Master Yue of the bankrupt Duke Mansion," after a round of loud laughter, several well-dressed officials’ sons, not much better looking than toads, converged around her.

One of them took out a treasure dagger that radiated cold light and sneered at Yue Jinghua.