Chapter 156: Knight and Knight

“Tsk, what’s this? They just got into a relationship right under my nose?”

Chen Xiyi curled his lip, feeling a bit annoyed.

Over the past month, Yue Yu and Charles had come to visit him occasionally. Chen Xiyi suspected that Charles was probably the one who encouraged it.

Although Yue Yu knew that the noble cabins were special, unlike Charles who grew up under the noble system, he didn’t have much feeling for nobles himself.

Over time, he just ended up getting close with Princess Rosa, who lived behind him. Anyway, Chen Xiyi didn’t understand Yue Yu’s moves, and by the time he realized it, the two were already very clingy.

This whole thing made Chen Xiyi feel frustrated, and he didn’t know what to say.

Were things always this easy? How come he had never encountered one himself.

Fortunately, the cruise ship had arrived at the Holy Purple Iris Empire, so he wouldn’t have to see these two showing off their affection anymore.

Of course, it wasn’t just Chen Xiyi who was annoyed; Charles was too. In just a month, Yue Yu and Rosa were no longer in the same social class as him.

At that point, Charles even considered gritting his teeth and trying to hook up with Prince Roskin. Sadly, in the end, he couldn’t talk himself into it and gave up with regret.

“Brother Chen, do you have any plans?” After getting off the ship, Yue Yu asked Chen Xiyi while holding Rosa’s hand.

Chen Xiyi rolled his eyes. “No, why? Are you planning to show me around?”

“That’s not impossible. Rosa and I are heading to Purple Iris City – I’m going to study at the Imperial University, and Rosa’s going home. It’s the capital of the Holy Purple Iris Empire, so it’ll be a great chance to see the local life.” Yue Yu invited him.

“Okay, you lead the way. I don’t know my way around,” Chen Xiyi said after thinking it over. He had a good reason to tag along now; otherwise, arranging a ‘chance meeting’ later would be tricky.

“No need for you to guide us, Mister Chen. We’re taking the noble express train – it goes straight there,” Rosa said with a playful tone.

Chen Xiyi didn’t react at all. “Fine, that saves me a lot of trouble.”

Don’t let Rosa’s innocent look fool you; she was definitely not someone to mess with.

After all, she was a royal princess. Without some tricks up her sleeve, how could she dare travel to the chaotic lands across the sea?

Chen Xiyi even suspected that Yue Yu inviting him to Purple Iris City was probably encouraged by Rosa.

For starters, just from Chen Xiyi staying in a noble cabin ahead of two royal heirs, one could tell he wasn’t ordinary. Neither Rosa nor Roskin thought his ticket was fake or that he was unworthy and they could step all over him to climb the ladder.

That was a fool’s thinking – would someone really offend a mysterious and unpredictable person over something like that?

After getting off the ship, cars were already waiting, likely for the two royal heirs. It made sense; you wouldn’t expect royal heirs to hail a taxi themselves.

“Is that a knight? Are there really people willing to become knights now?” After getting in the car, Chen Xiyi asked as he watched the occasional armored figures pass by on the street.

“Yes, Mister Chen. I didn’t expect you to know so much about our Holy Purple Iris Empire,” Roskin replied, sitting beside Chen Xiyi.

Chen Xiyi and Roskin were in one car, while Yue Yu and Rosa were in the other.

As for Charles, Chen Xiyi hadn’t noticed him.

“I heard some rumors before coming. It’s said your knights have great power – they can easily crush mountains and kill monsters,” Chen Xiyi asked casually.

Roskin paused for a moment before forcing a cheerful tone. “Those are just countryside tales. No one can really do such things.”

“You seem nervous. Relax – it’s just that your knight stories remind me of the Qi Refiners rumors back home,” Chen Xiyi seemed to spot a clue and said casually.

“Oh? What a coincidence. But Mister Chen might not know that our knights here are actually just followers of the nobles,” Roskin explained further.

“I see. The person I chatted with earlier was probably just a bragging storyteller then,” Chen Xiyi went along without pressing harder.

But in his heart, he understood one thing: the knights of the Holy Purple Iris Empire might truly be Supernatural Beings too.

They were likely almost wiped out by the Qi Refiners, to the point where even Prince Roskin didn’t dare admit it.

This showed that knights with supernatural abilities weren’t completely extinct.

And Yue Yu was probably being used to clean up these surviving supernatural knights.

Realizing this, Chen Xiyi suddenly saw that things between Yue Yu and Rosa weren’t so simple after all.

‘Damn, was I tricked again?’

Chen Xiyi felt another wave of annoyance. These Qi Refiners were making him paranoid.

After setting foot in the Holy Purple Iris Empire, Chen Xiyi had sensed how thin the Qi Mechanism was around him. His own power couldn’t fully manifest now. If before, using Qi Mechanism as a guide, he could spread the clouds of his Innate Gang Qi across a whole city, but without external support, it only reached about a hundred meters out.

And that was only because of the faint Qi Mechanism present. Without any Qi Mechanism at all, it would probably shrink to just ten meters.

Still, it was okay. The cloud and shadow effects were weaker now, but his other abilities didn’t fade because they relied less on the environment.

It was like he was thrown back into his original state without any outside help.

Chen Xiyi was affected because his own power was too weak. Other Qi Refiners shouldn’t have this problem, as seen from their Primordial Spirit size and form. Squashing a person with a finger or a palm might differ in strength used, but the result was the same.

After the knight talk, Roskin desperately steered the conversation to other things, like scenery, culture, and even joked that if Chen Xiyi wanted to meet a knight, he could arrange one loyal to him to chat with.

In short, it was to discourage Chen Xiyi’s fascination with knights.

Sadly, Chen Xiyi felt Roskin was hiding something, clearly trying to cover it up.

Chen Xiyi naturally didn’t show any interest in knights and instead guided attention to the noble class and Purple Iris Seventeenth – Roskin’s father.

This helped Roskin relax. Knights, especially the supernatural ones Chen Xiyi mentioned, were a taboo in the Holy Purple Iris Empire, one that seemed to date back before he was born.

After about half an hour of chat, the car arrived at the train station, which had already been cleared out entirely. Everyone was waiting for the two royal heirs to board the noble express train.

The noble express train would probably take about three days, picking up many nobles and noble students along the way to Purple Iris City. The Imperial University was starting soon, so holiday students naturally had to return.

As for commoners, most didn’t go back. The ticket fares were too expensive and not worth it; better to stay in Purple Iris City and work for next semester’s fees.

If not for Chen Xiyi, Yue Yu himself would likely have taken a commoner train right after getting off the ship – those dirty, crowded, messy, India-style trains.

Along the way, Chen Xiyi also saw the gap between nobles and commoners – it was practically a copy of a caste system.

“Mister Chen, this way. You must be taking a train for the first time? I…” After getting out of the car, Roskin eagerly introduced things to Chen Xiyi, his words full of obvious pride and showing off.

Chen Xiyi didn’t contradict him. How could he have never ridden a train before?

The train’s interior and exterior looked quite good, probably modified for the nobles’ image. As for performance, he wouldn’t judge, but it was surely worse than his past life’s trains – likely below those green trains.

“Brother Chen, what do you think? First time on a train, right?”

After getting on the train, Yue Yu approached him again to ask in a secretive tone.

“…”

Chen Xiyi thought, why were they all acting like this, assuming he was some country bumpkin?

“Yes, it’s my first time. Prince Roskin already introduced it to me. No need for you to explain again,” Chen Xiyi answered firmly.

No doubt, after talking with Rosa, Yue Yu thought he could bluff Chen Xiyi here.

Too bad Roskin beat him to it.

“I see, I see,” Yue Yu looked cheerful, but missing this chance to show off left him a bit down.

Then they sat and chatted about all sorts of things.

The train slowly moved off, heading towards Purple Iris City.

Chen Xiyi noticed one other thing: Charles was missing.

“Brother Yue, where did Charles go?” Chen Xiyi couldn’t help asking. Didn’t he remember Charles getting off the ship with them?

As for whether he got in a car or not, he hadn’t paid attention.

“Oh, he stayed behind at the port for something and didn’t come with us,” Yue Yu answered casually while cuddling with Rosa.

Chen Xiyi wondered if Charles really stayed by choice or got abandoned.

And wasn’t Yue Yu supposed to be a killer? Why was he cuddling with a woman all the time? Women could slow you down when pulling out a sword.

Wait, what? Yue Yu didn’t use a sword? Never mind then.

If Chen Xiyi hadn’t seen from Yue Yu and Rosa’s history that they were truly drawn to each other, he’d suspect Yue Yu was befriending her as a cover to target some noble in the Holy Purple Iris Empire.

A top killer was acting like this? Shouldn’t killers be cold, ruthless, and avoid women?

‘He’s ruined, ruined.’

Chen Xiyi sighed inside, amazed at how time flies and how anything could change.

“Mister Chen, if you have time, could you visit the palace to meet my father, the seventeenth emperor? You and he might have some things in common,” Rosa suddenly spoke up.

The plan was simple: just to test what kind of person Chen Xiyi was.

After all, he had managed to get a better noble cabin than even royalty.

“Is he going?” Chen Xiyi didn’t answer directly but asked about Yue Yu instead.

Yue Yu looked a little nervous – this was like meeting his future father-in-law.

“Of course he is. I have to personally introduce him to my father,” Rosa said with a smile.

“Then let’s stop by for a visit. It’s not a big detour,” Chen Xiyi didn’t refuse because he had a hunch that meeting the Holy Purple Iris Seventeenth might cause trouble.

All this planning over years couldn’t just stay hidden forever.

And heading straight to the empire’s highest ruler seemed way too fast.

‘Everything links together.’

Chen Xiyi suddenly saw it as a huge trap. If Ji Shan hadn’t given him the noble cabin ticket, his interactions with Yue Yu wouldn’t lead to Rosa. Yue Yu wouldn’t be seeing the Holy Purple Iris Seventeenth due to Chen Xiyi’s mysterious nature.

“That’s fantastic! My father will be thrilled to meet you,” Rosa teased, as if probing to see what Chen Xiyi was really like.

“Really? Well, it’s an honor for me. After all, he’s the emperor of the Holy Purple Iris Empire, ruling this great kingdom,” Chen Xiyi grinned and laughed.

But Prince Roskin sitting beside him felt oddly uneasy for no reason, sensing that Chen Xiyi’s smile might hide something dark.