‘All three chilongs are strange because they all appear to have bonded with the princess. A concealment spell must be involved in this and there must be fakes as well. If the other Rank 4 appraisers couldn’t tell, how could that Lin Jin tell? He must be giving random suggestions instead,’ Feng Zishan decided.
Just like Feng Ziyong, he had quickly received a report on the dragons’ situation from his appraisers. Feng Zishan who always had a sharp mind knew this must be a puzzle for them, set by Princess Ruo Li.
‘The purpose of faking a blood contract energy is to confuse. We’ll only be able to make a decision relying on other aspects. These three chilongs are practically the same in size. Their differences would be a few details and color. Right, Princess Ruo Li’s dragon must be the one that has her favorite color. That must be the way to pass this trial!’ thought Feng Zishan.
Looking at the princess’s choice of outfit and accessories for today, his eyes lit up and he too got up to declare, “Princess Ruo Li, I know which chilong is your blood contracted pet beast.”
Both Rank 4 beast appraisers sitting behind him were stunned. They mused, ‘Second Prince, just what are you doing? Even we don’t know anything so how could you know?’
They wanted to stop him but Feng Zishan had already stepped forward in hopes of winning the battle before Feng Ziqian.
First Prince, Feng Ziyong was clearly in a state of despair. Seeing how his younger brothers had both arrived at their answer, beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.
“Appraiser Yan, you have to give me a firm answer quickly. I can’t wait anymore,” Feng Ziyong rushed.
Marrying Princess Ruo Li was important to him. After all, not only would he stand to gain the support of Thousand Island Country and his father’s respect, Princess Ruo Li was a flawless woman, be it her voice or her figure. In other words, he saw her as a perfect spouse.
That’s why Feng Ziyong didn’t want to lose. He couldn’t lose.
Appraiser Yan looked troubled. “Your Majesty, I really can’t come up with an answer in such a short period. Not only me, but the other appraisers shouldn’t be able to tell either.”
“Then why do they already have results?” Feng Ziyong looked incredulous.
“Uh…”
‘How should I know?’ mused Appraiser Yan.
After a thought, he said, “Perhaps they’re trying to score a direct hit on the first try.”
“What do you mean?” Feng Ziyong was stunned.
“You’ve seen it too, Your Majesty. Second Prince only spoke up after seeing Third Prince’s announcement. It was clear that he couldn’t restrain himself any longer. I think that he just doesn’t want to lose, so he’s willing to make that gamble. After all, you have a one in three chance of winning even if you were to pick a dragon at random. However, to refrain from making a move means that you’ll have zero chances of winning.”
Admittedly, Appraiser Yan’s analysis made sense. Feng Ziyong started digesting the idea.
“Right, right, that must be it! Second Brother has always been a smart one so that must be his approach too! No, I can’t lose to them.” After thinking it through, Feng Ziyong got up in a flurry of panic and hurried forward too.
All three princes arrived one after the other before Princess Ruo Li. It was quite a rare sight and very interesting to watch.
Princess Ruo Li smiled gently at the three princes.
Feng Ziyong spoke up first. With his booming voice, he pointed at a random chilong and declared, “Princess Ruo Li, this is your blood contract pet beast and the other two are not.”
His answer was decisive, and there wasn’t an ounce of hesitation in his voice. What he wanted to seize was the opportunity of striking first. Feng Ziyong knew that in such a scenario, speaking first would grant him the greatest chance of winning, so he had to act fast.
Truth be told, more than thirty percent chance was good enough for him.
Feng Zishan was stunned. He likely did not anticipate his elder brother to smarten up at the last moment. Feng Zishan’s expression had faltered slightly, but after seeing which chilong Feng Ziyong had pointed to, the creases on his face faded away. This chilong’s color was different from the princess’s robes, so according to Feng Zishan’s theory, that wasn’t the right one.
Sure enough, Princess Ruo Li shook her head. “First Prince has gotten it wrong.”
“Wrong?” Feng Ziyong’s heart sank. He thought, ‘I’m too unlucky. A thirty percent chance is still too low after all.’
Fearing that his little brother might take his answer first, Feng Zishan pointed to the chilong in the middle and said, “Princess Ruo Li, it’s this one, not the others.”
The confident smile on Feng Zishan’s face turned stiff when he saw Princess Ruo Li shake her head.
“Wrong too!”
After Princess Ruo Li said that, Feng Ziyong and Feng Zishan both looked grim. Only one chilong remained, and even an idiot could easily guess which one was her pet beast.
‘Third Brother is too lucky. D*mn it! Why was I so hasty?’
Both of them thought the same thing.
It was evident that they were reluctant to accept their defeat.
Just when they expected to see Feng Ziqian point to the last chilong, the third prince answered, “Princess Ruo Li, if I’m not mistaken, all three chilongs are your pet beasts.”
What?
Feng Ziyong and Feng Zishan were initially stunned by his answer before they were overwhelmed with glee.
Was there a loose screw in their third brother’s head?
To think he could even lose in such a sure-win situation. Anyone who had the slightest bit of common sense would know that while second blood contract methods exist, third blood contracts were out of the question.
It was common sense, just like how a fish couldn’t live on land, or how one had to prepare an umbrella on a rainy day.
Although they had no idea why Feng Ziqian would deliberately ruin his chance at winning, this still came as good news for Feng Ziyong and Feng Zishan. It meant that they still had a chance to win this battle.
Yet, after Feng Ziqian gave his answer, a look of delight appeared in Princess Ruo Li’s eyes. Then, she said something that baffled everyone.
“Third Prince, how did you tell?”
Something was off.
Why did it sound like Feng Ziqian got the right answer?
Without taking credit, Feng Ziqian answered honestly, “Princess Ruo Li, I wasn’t the one who found out. It was my good friend, Appraiser Lin, who noticed it so it’s not my credit to take.”
Feng Ziqian spoke humbly, and unlike his brothers, he did not act as if he was the one who arrived at the answer.
Princess Ruo Li studied Feng Ziqian’s demeanor and found him most pleasing among the three princes. Despite being the first to step up, he allowed his two older brothers to answer first. Even after giving his answer, he didn’t take credit for what wasn’t his effort. People of his character were really hard to come by these days.
“Third Prince has answered correctly,” Princess Ruo Li announced.
She said nothing else.
There was simply no need to; she had already said what was necessary. As a princess, she had accepted her fate and the fact that marriage wasn’t something she had a say in. Even so, she was a brilliant young woman. Since she was to marry one of the three princes, she still had the power of choice. Feng Ziqian was right. All three chilongs were the blood-contracted pet beasts. In her opinion, only a handful of beast appraisers could tell and these princes would probably pick one each as their answer. When that happened, she only had to pick the prince that she preferred most.
In this aspect, Princess Ruo Li felt quite lucky. She had found the third prince to be slightly more desirable, and he was the only one who provided the correct answer.
This proved that he had the support of highly competent experts so his future should be rather bright.
