And yet, nothing he'd anticipated came to pass.
Gu Yue simply looked at him quietly, her gaze as cool and composed as ever, as though everything that had just happened had nothing to do with her.
She reached out and pulled Arthur up from the ground, brushed the dust off his clothes, and said flatly, "Get up. The floor's dirty."
Arthur froze. "Huh?"
He was completely at a loss. What exactly did Gu Yue mean by that?
Gu Yue turned away, seemingly entirely unaffected by what had just happened, her tone as calm as if she were discussing the weather. "The dance just now, were you satisfied with it?"
Her light, breezy attitude only made Arthur's skin crawl more. "Satisfied."
Gu Yue nodded, as though she were merely confirming some trivial, unimportant matter.
She took a couple of steps away, then paused, turning her face slightly to add flatly, "As long as you liked it, that's all that matters."
For the rest of the banquet, Gu Yue behaved completely normally.
She sat quietly in her seat, occasionally exchanging nods with those beside her, her gaze calm and her manner proper, as though nothing had happened in the middle of the dance floor at all.
Arthur, on the other hand, couldn't settle down at all. Even the banquet food had lost all its flavor to him.
"Aren't you going to hurry up and eat?" A girl (was she even a girl?) with a bewitching face and a figure to be proud of walked over.
Yuanen Yehui said, gloating, "Better hurry up and enjoy your last meal while you still can."
"What do you mean by that?" Arthur immediately started shoveling food into his mouth faster.
Yuanen Yehui raised an eyebrow and sat down in the empty seat across from him, her posture languid. "You're actually eating?"
She pointed toward Gu Yue not far off. "You don't actually think she's fine, do you? If you don't go work hard to coax her now, it'll be too late once the banquet's over."
Arthur turned his head reflexively and, sure enough, his eyes met Gu Yue's gaze.
Her expression was as composed as ever, but her eyes lingered on him for a moment before drifting away as though nothing were the matter.
Arthur hesitated. "It's probably not that serious."
He was certain of Na'er's feelings for him. As for Gu Yue's, he had no idea at all.
Over the years, Gu Yue's attitude toward him had always been ambiguous, distant one moment and close the next, often making him think she liked him.
But every time he came back to his senses, he'd realize he probably wasn't all that important to her after all.
After all, she was the Silver Dragon King, no less.
And besides,
"I don't know how to coax people."
At that, Yuanen Yehui was struck dumb.
This guy was hopeless.
"You've got so many women fawning over you all the time, and you're telling me you don't know how to coax a woman?"
"Who are you trying to fool?"
Arthur scratched his head. "They've always been the ones going along with whatever I want, ever since I was little."
Yuanen Yehui fell silent for three seconds, then slowly forced out two words. "...Unbelievable."
"Just wait to die, then. There's no saving you." She turned and walked off.
After the banquet ended, everything seemed normal.
Arthur went to find the ship's head chef, none other than Mu Ye.
His instincts were still sounding a warning.
Maybe it wasn't about Gu Yue at all. Maybe there was an evil soul master aboard the ship.
Arthur made his way to the galley, and even from a distance he could smell the rich aroma of food.
Mu Ye was tied into an apron, standing busy at the stove, his movements practiced and steady. Seeing Arthur come in, he greeted him with a grin. "Oh, Arthur, how'd you know I was making you a little something special?"
"Master, you should probably be more careful these days. I'm worried some evil soul master might have slipped aboard."
"Evil soul master?" Mu Ye set a plate of freshly grilled meat, straight off the stove, in front of him. "There's definitely one on this ship."
"With the two nations meeting like this, you don't even need to think twice, the Holy Spirit Cult would definitely send someone to slip in."
Mu Ye sprinkled spices over the meat with practiced ease, speaking casually as he did. "You don't need to worry about the evil soul master business. There are plenty of powerful people secretly tagging along on this trip."
"Is that so." Arthur looked thoughtful.
"Damn evil soul masters, they don't matter." He pushed the plate toward Arthur. "Since you're here, it's a good chance to remind you of something."
Arthur ate the grilled meat. Even though he'd just filled his stomach at the banquet, if he wanted to, he could digest it all in the span of a single breath.
"Get ready. Starting tomorrow, you're beginning cultivation of the Body Sect's secret arts."
"This ocean happens to be an ideal place for Body cultivation, too."
"The Body Sect's secret arts?" Arthur blinked. "Starting now?"
Mu Ye glanced at him. "What, is there a problem?"
"No, not really." Arthur scratched his head. "It's just that there's been a lot going on lately."
"A lot going on?" Mu Ye gave him a look that was almost a smile, gazing at him meaningfully. "Take it easy. You're still young, and right now is the golden period for cultivating the Body Sect's secret arts."
Even though Mu Ye had been busy cooking in the galley, his Spiritual Power had been keeping tabs on Arthur ever since they'd boarded the ship.
"With so many pretty girls on this ship keeping an eye on you, don't you go and accidentally lose your innocence."
Arthur looked puzzled.
"You shameless old man." Arthur burst out laughing despite himself.
Still, after chatting with his teacher for a while, he felt a lot more at ease. He turned to leave. "Master, I'll head off first then. See you on deck tomorrow."
Mu Ye waved a hand without even turning around, continuing to busy himself with his cooking. "Go on then. Remember what I said, don't lose control of yourself during your time on this ship!"
Arthur's steps stumbled beneath him.
He pushed the door open and walked out of the galley. The night had grown deep, the corridor lit by soft lighting, his footsteps echoing through the quiet space.
Back in his room, he washed up quickly.
The night deepened further. The sea lay calm and still, with only fine ripples of waves lightly slapping against the hull.
Arthur lay in bed, his breathing steady, sleeping deeply.
Ever since he'd gained the ability to cultivate automatically, he'd completely let himself go.
He no longer meditated at night, and instead slept with an easy conscience.
To him, this was an obsession carried over from his past life as an overworked wage slave.
Being able to sleep until he woke up naturally was, to him, the greatest happiness in life.
That was the thing he'd wanted most in his previous life.
And now, he'd finally achieved it.
...
Time passed, little by little.
He didn't know how long had gone by when a thin veil of cloud drifted across the moonlight outside the window, and the lights in the corridor dimmed slightly.
The room was silent, with only the steady sound of Arthur's breathing audible.
Suddenly, the space trembled faintly.
An extremely subtle ripple surfaced over Arthur's bed, as though someone had lightly tapped the surface of water.
The next instant, a slender figure appeared soundlessly in the room.
Hovering above Arthur.
"Hmph!"
Arthur's eyes snapped open.
"I've been on guard against you all along, you bold evil sou... huh?"
"Gu Yue?"
In the instant of his stunned confusion, Gu Yue had already come down, settling herself on his waist.
Her slender, graceful legs clamped down, and she sat pinned to him as though nailed in place, perfectly steady.
She looked down at him from above, her eyes cool and detached.
Not good!
The moment Arthur got a clear look at Gu Yue's eyes, so completely different from usual, his heart gave a sudden jolt.
What kind of eyes were those?
A silver radiance swirled slowly in the depths of her pupils, carrying an indifference that looked down upon all living things and a divine sense of being far above them.
That wasn't the Gu Yue who quietly accompanied him day after day.
That was, the Silver Dragon King.
Arthur felt a chill run down his back, and in an instant he was fully, sharply awake, even his breathing growing lighter without him meaning it to.
"Gu Yue?" he called out tentatively.
The girl sitting on his waist didn't answer right away. She merely looked down at him, her silver eyes narrowing slightly, as though examining him.
The room fell into silence.
After a long moment, Gu Yue tilted her head slightly. "Don't call me Gu Yue."
"Call me Your Majesty!"
Arthur looked puzzled.
Not a chance.
What on earth has gotten into you?