Chapter 517: with translation of chapter title

After a while.

The forces of True Yellow Island and the Sinking Dragon Association entered the venue, seeing the guests present, they together cupped their hands and said: "Thank you, fellow Daoists, for coming today to attend the engagement ceremony."

Huang Feng True Lord cupped his hands and said: "Fellow Daoists, I am Huang Feng. I hope that, under the witness of many fellow cultivators, True Yellow Island and the Sinking Dragon Association will become affianced families. My son Huang Xuanming and the daughter of Fellow Daoist Wang of the Sinking Dragon Association, Wang Caiqing, are mutually attracted, a heaven‑ordained match; the auspicious fruit has now come to fruition, and today we jointly witness the engagement ceremony of these two juniors."

After the opening remarks were finished, Huang Xuanming and Wang Cai, both wearing unwilling expressions, walked out and stood at the center of the plaza.

Huang Feng True Lord and Wang Pinghua jointly presented the colorful ball, which the two newcomers grasped together, step by step walking before the crowd, then slowly bowed.

"First bow to heaven and earth: all things have spirits, yin and yang in harmony!"

Afterwards, the newcomers turned together to face north.

"Second bow to the sages: they invented the myriad things and opened the way of cultivation!"

Immediately afterwards, the newcomers turned toward Huang Feng True Lord and the others.

"Third bow to parents: their nurturing kindness cannot be repaid!"

Finally, the newcomers faced each other and bowed.

"Husband and wife bow to each other: flowers beautiful, moon full, united for ten thousand years!"

"The rite is complete!!!"

Yan Buji was also seeing an engagement ceremony in the Dongxing Sea Region for the first time; not understanding why, he followed the crowd in applause, and the two newcomers also forced out smiles, raising their wine cups to toast each guest one by one.

Yuan Shui True Lord raised his eyebrows, looked toward Huang Xuanming's side, gave a strange smile, and said: "Hehe, there's a good show to watch."

Yan Buji looked over and saw only Huang Xuanming raising his wine cup, with a look of sorrow, toasting Wei Zixu who sat in front.

"Fairy Wei, I... I simply cannot forget you!"

Wei Zixu's face twitched; he quickly drank a cup of wine, coughed, and said: "Young master, don't say such things—you are already married; remember to treat your wife well!"

"But we!"

Huang Feng True Lord hurried over, slapped Huang Xuanming's head with a palm, and at the same time gave an embarrassed smile: "Let Fairy Wei see the joke... Xuanming, go toast the other guests; how far must I lose face?!"

Huang Xuanming covered the back of his head, looking at his own father with both hatred and fear, and reluctantly left.

"Hahaha!"

Those nearby couldn't help snickering; Yuan Shui True Lord sitting on the other side couldn't hold back either, clutching his belly as he laughed.

Because they laughed too loudly, the people around looked over; especially Huang Feng True Lord and Fairy Yunchang's faces darkened.

Yan Buji coughed once, jabbed Yuan Shui True Lord with his elbow, and said: "True Lord, stop laughing; save some face for the host."

"Pu pu... cough cough cough!!!"

Yuan Shui True Lord tried to hold it in but couldn't; he coughed violently a few times, nearly choking to tears.

"Daoist Yuejin, did you come together with Yuan Shui True Lord?" Wang Cai walked over holding her wine cup and said with a smile.

"Yes, this humble Daoist congratulates the young master on your blessed union." Yan Buji laughed and took the wine cup.

Wang Cai's face twitched; she wanted to say something but held it back, only able to gulp down the wine in her cup in silence.

"Yuan Shui True Lord, I offer you a cup." Wang Cai composed herself, raised her wine cup, and said.

"Good." Yuan Shui True Lord wiped his tears and drank the wine.

During the toasting segment, Yan Buji also noticed that the two newcomers' target audiences were different.

The people Huang Xuanming toasted did not include Wang Cai, and likewise, the people Wang Cai toasted did not include Huang Xuanming.

If this were merely etiquette, it would be normal enough, but placed before the two powers, it actually amounts to each side courting the people they favor.

The unconventional one was instead the island lord of Jiao Yue; after accepting the toasts from both newcomers, he also said nothing more.

The surrounding guests glanced and also felt a bit envious.

What they envied was not that the Lord of Jiao Yue Island accepted drinks from both powers, but that she could remain neutral before these two forces.

Similarly, speaking of the situation, if Treasure Flood Island were to enter the fray, the situation would likely spiral out of control; therefore True Yellow Island and the Sinking Dragon Association, to avoid bidding wars when each tried to court Treasure Flood Island, had probably already agreed beforehand to ignore the matter of staying neutral toward Treasure Flood Island, proposing compensations that neither side could accept.

This also acknowledges the other side's strength!

On the other hand, Yuan Shui True Lord, as a market town master, cannot be said to be high or low in strength, but after all he does have some property.

Unless they completely abandon their interests and go off to play elsewhere, the struggle between True Yellow Island and the Sinking Dragon Association will inevitably drag them in.

Seeing that the engagement ceremony was about to end, many cultivators, too, sat uneasily with heavy hearts.

True Yellow Island and the Sinking Dragon Association naturally would not bring these matters up openly; just as before, when Wu Qian of the Sinking Dragon Association went to see Yuan Shui True Lord, they would only tell them in private.

Now, at the engagement ceremony the two sides did not come to blows, but peacefully concluded the ceremony; in fact, for all the guests present, this is not good news.

After the engagement ceremony.

Yan Buji and Yuan Shui True Lord did not leave; Yuan Shui True Lord received an invitation from the Sinking Dragon Association to go discuss matters.

Yan Buji, meanwhile, wandered around the city; anyway, it had nothing to do with him.

"But I suppose the Sinking Dragon Association and True Yellow Island, using the occasion of the engagement ceremony, conveyed to everyone that even if the two houses went to war, they would not fight to the death..." Yan Buji pondered.

Essentially, any struggle arises from an unreasonable, unbalanced distribution of interests, which causes contradictions to evolve into conflict.

Although Yan Buji does not know what kind of struggles True Yellow Island and the Sinking Dragon Association have had in the past, he supposes both sides want to keep this matter within certain limits to ensure their own safety.

The Boundless Sea is no longer a situation where the two powers dominated alone; whether it is the three major forces or market towns like Gold Ox Island, each occupies a portion of resources, leading to a gradual shortage of resources in the Boundless Sea.

Precisely because the situation is complex, one must act in advance to determine the future state of the Boundless Sea.

Although the Dongxing Sea Region is wealthy, who would despise having too little money?

"But if it involves a redistribution of interests, the scale of the conflict between True Yellow Island and the Sinking Dragon Association could not be small, and might even engulf everyone. In that case, can these two houses truly guarantee they can control the situation?"

Yan Buji harbors some doubts; True Yellow Island and the Sinking Dragon Association have occupied the Boundless Sea for many years, yet the matter of the Raging Current Sea is known to all cultivators of the Dongxing Sea Region.

They cannot stop the increasing number of cultivators fleeing to the Boundless Sea as refugees; otherwise the Boundless Sea would not have become the current situation of many powers coexisting.

But if they want to control the situation, they have already done well beforehand; why then go to war?

What, then, is the true nature of this engagement ceremony?

If the distribution of interests is not the primary cause, but rather they are going with the flow given the overarching circumstances, then what is their purpose?

Yan Buji felt that True Yellow Island and the Sinking Dragon Society must have reached some consensus, for only under a certain premise would they voluntarily take such action.

But why they did so remains unknown.

Lost in thought, Yan Buji sat by the fountain and looked up.

Huh?