Chapter 23: A Sacred Prelude to a Car Crash

Chapter 23: A Sacred Prelude to a Trainwreck

Capital Star, Third Port.

People were coming and going in a constant stream. A man stood in the waiting area of the arrivals terminal, hands in his pockets.

He wore a short jacket, a peaked cap, and a mask, his figure towering above the crowd. People crowded around, yet instinctively steered clear of him.

Suddenly, someone burst out from the arrival gate, shouting, "Little Shuer, you came to pick me up!!"

He stopped in front of the man.

With waist-length hair and a face of exquisite androgynous beauty, he was beaming, his eyes sparkling with joy.

The man—of course, Qin Shu—kicked him.

"Shouting like that? Damn crossdresser." Scornful but affectionate.

"Ah, that feels good!" the crossdresser giggled. "But I still like it when you call me A'Chou."

Five minutes later, they got into the car.

Qin Shu took off his cap and mask, letting out a relieved sigh.

This crossdresser beside him was Zuo Chou, the commander of the Second Legion, and his closest friend in the Imperial Army—other than Wuya.

Despite looking like this, he was indeed a Sentinel, and a sentinel who only liked the same sex, at that.

Due to some childhood issues, Zuo Chou kept his distance from Guides; he liked Sentinels, and only female Sentinels at that.

That made him basically straight in Qin Shu's eyes, right?

So back then, whenever war meetings were held, Qin Shu would unconsciously drift closer to him. Over time, they got close.

The thing is, Zuo Chou was always a tease, so Qin Shu always acted annoyed with him.

Like right now.

The pretty young man looked around excitedly: "Hey Little Shuer, is this your car?"

"Nah, Wuya bought it."

A few seconds of silence, then Zuo Chou wailed, "Let me the hell out!"

Qin Shu popped open the sunroof: "You can leave now."

Zuo Chou whined again, "How can Little Shuer have such a cruel heart? Do you seriously have the heart to make me jump out of the car?"

"Then shut up."

Silence.

-

They chatted about everything under the sun all the way, quickly arriving at the Duke's Mansion, which today felt even more solemn.

Just as they were about to step into the reception room, Zuo Chou said, "By the way, Little Shuer, congratulations on your marriage."

Qin Shu was surprised: "You're the first person today to say that to me."

Zuo Chou was also surprised: "The first? I thought Yu Huaicheng and the others had already arrived—"

The door opened, and a dark figure rushed out.

After a few swift exchanges, Qin Shu pinned the person to the ground.

He leisurely grabbed the person's neck.

"You want to beat me? You're not even close."

Zuo Chou walked over and sneered, "Yu Huaicheng, you useless piece of trash!"

Yu Huaicheng, looking wild and unyielding, seemed to be smiling: "Right, anyone who can't beat Qin Shu is trash, so Li Wuya is even more of a piece of trash. Qin Shu, are you really going to marry a piece of trash?"

Qin Shu pointed out the problem: "Wuya is also a man, how can you say I'm marrying him?"

"If he were marrying you, I'd kill him today. I mean what I say, and you can't stop me."

This bunch always loved to shout about fighting and killing. Qin Shu was unimpressed: "Beat me first, then we'll talk."

He stood up, brushed the dust off his hands, and looked around the reception room.

The room was full of familiar faces from the military, from the Second Corps to the Eleventh Corps. Almost all the Corps Commanders had come, and those who really couldn't make it had sent their Deputy Corps Commanders.

By the way, the First Corps Commander was actually Li Wuya.

So, if anyone wanted to catch all the high-ranking officers of the Imperial Army in one fell swoop, now was the perfect opportunity.

Yu Huaicheng sneered: "Where is Li Wuya? I have some business with him."

Zuo Chou said casually: "He's busy entertaining important guests from the capital. He doesn't have time for us border star Starbucks rednecks."

"What Starbucks?" Qin Shu walked over. "I'm going backstage to prepare now. When I'm not here, Goldie, keep an eye on them for me."

He punched Yu Huaicheng. "Don't you dare cause any trouble. Especially you, keep your nose clean!"

Yu Huaicheng snapped: "In your eyes, I'm just a troublemaker?"

"What else would you be?"

They exchanged a few more barbs, and then Qin Shu strode away.

The room went silent. The group of high-ranking Sentinels no longer hid their expressions; their faces darkened, and the atmosphere grew even more oppressive.

Yu Huaicheng gritted his teeth: "Zuo Chou, are you just going to let Qin Shu walk into a trap?"

Zuo Chou drawled: "Since Li Wuya let us come, he must not be afraid of anything we might do, right?"

"That damn bastard..."

The Seventh Corps' Deputy Commander looked up: "Zuo Chou, what do you plan to do?"

Zuo Chou glanced at the surveillance camera aimed at him and smiled: "Of course, I'm going to be Little Shu'er's good friend."

-

Qin Shu was very busy today. He had come to the Duke's mansion that morning with his team and volunteered to go pick up the comrades from the border—mainly because he was afraid those troublemakers would blow up the capital.

Now that he had finished greeting (and beating up) each of them, it was almost time for the wedding feast to start. He went to get changed.

A jet-black military dress uniform.

This was the standard uniform of the Imperial Army, a style that he and Li Wuya had decided on together.

Every inch has been redesigned and tailored, with clean, sharp shoulder lines and the narrow waist perfectly accentuated. The fabric catches the light, revealing a faint, dark silver sheen.

The right shoulder strap features a golden tassel chain, while only two military medals are pinned to the left chest: one is the "Blood Moon Star" from the Battle of Bordeaux, and the other is the Empire's highest honor, the "Glorious Day."

Knee-high military boots, top-quality leather, cold gleaming buckles, and silver alloy heels that click with each step.

Qin Shu stared at himself in the mirror for a long while.

Li Wuya, dressed in a magnificent white formal suit, walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What are you looking at?"

"At my natural-born beauty that could shatter the sky."

Li Wuya adjusted his cap brim. "Mm, the Empire's handsomest man."

"You're not bad either—I'll let you be number two!"

Li Wuya smiled. "Let's get to the banquet."

Qin Shu took a deep breath. "Yeah!"

Come on! One more time faking being gay—you got this!

-

The banquet's main hall in the Duke's mansion was used for coronation ceremonies in the old aristocratic era. After Li Wuya took over, it had been nearly sealed off—he hated socializing and couldn't stand outsiders on his turf.

Today, he made an exception.

The dome soared over sixty feet high, with crystal chandeliers cascading like starlight. Along the corridor from the entrance to the main stage, rows of silver-black pillars lined both sides, wrapped in ouroboros carvings, with serpent eyes gleaming cold, dotted with anemone patterns.

The ouroboros had been the Li family's main symbol since the Empire's founding—the first Li followed the first Empress and was called the "Serpent Duke" by outsiders.

Yet today, anemone carvings were added to the ouroboros—the reason was obvious.

The main stage was at the far end of the banquet hall, grand and cold, with seats for guests on both sides.

On the left were political officials—almost everyone who mattered showed up, except the Marshal, who begged off sick, and the Empress, who was too busy and hadn't shown up yet.

On the right were military guys from the border. Their faces were grim, with an unconscious murderous vibe hanging around them. Even though weapons were supposed to be taken at the door, one sentinel was still casually polishing his pistol.

Other guests included the media, Military Affairs Bureau people, and Qin Shu's coworkers from the Star Union Agency.

The blond guy led a group of his men, unusually serious in their security uniforms, standing guard at attention along the wall.

This wedding banquet was kind of special—Qin Shu hated fussy procedures, so they cut a lot, leaving just the essentials.

"Like what?" Zuo Chou asked in a low voice.

"First part is the vows on stage and putting on a show; second, we come down to mingle and eat cake... Wuya handles the socializing, and I handle the cake." Qin Shu whispered next to him.

Li Wuya was over there, talking to his adjutant.

"What kind of act?"

"..."

Zuo Chou sensed something was off. "Why aren't you talking?"

"It's, uh, a kiss." Qin Shu said awkwardly. "You'll definitely think Li Wuya pulled one over on me."

Zuo Chou's face went pale with rage. "Dammit, Qin Shu, you actually have some self-awareness?!"

"It's all for a good reason! I'm telling you, it's just a fake kiss—we've rehearsed it tons of times, no problem at all!" Qin Shu covered Zuo Chou's mouth.

"Bottom line, Wuya and I are totally innocent." He said it with such confidence.

Zuo Chou looked like he was about to faint.

It took him a while to catch his breath before he gritted out, "Innocent where? Qin Shu, he's fooling you!"

"See, I told you so." Qin Shu muttered.

"Qin Shu, listen to me. I don't know the real situation, but there's no way he has a crisis that can only be solved by marrying you!" Zuo Chou whispered to him. "In the whole universe, the whole Empire, who else but you thinks he could get hurt... because of humans?"

"He's a notorious political schemer—he's far more skilled at dealing with humans than with Star Beasts!"

Qin Shu stayed silent.

Zuo Chou could no longer keep up his smile; his handsome face was frosty. "Qin Shu, why do you think he brought you back to the capital? Besides the capital, where else could he claim territory... where else could he trap you?!"

The black-haired man was silent for a long moment, then rose from his seat. A cold, starlike gleam shone in his eyes, and his magnificent formal attire made him look sharp and distant.

"Some things aren't what you think. As for matters concerning him, I'll hear them from his own mouth." Qin Shu replied.

Zuo Chou said softly, "Qin Shu, I'm begging you—stop indulging him, alright?"

Qin Shu patted his shoulder. "Say any more and we're not friends anymore, A Chou."

So Zuo Chou fell silent.

Over there, Li Wuya made a gesture—it was time to go on stage. Qin Shu nodded.

Before leaving, he patted Zuo Chou's shoulder again, softening his tone. "Alright, after I'm done, let's grab a drink. Haven't seen you in ages—I've missed you too."

The crisp air was ruthlessly pulled away. Zuo Chou said nothing, only turning his head to hide the slight redness at the corners of his eyes.

Hateful little Shuer... "Say any more and we're not friends anymore"—had he said that to Li Wuya too?

Absolutely not. Qin Shu tolerated every single thing Li Wuya did. What's different between him and me?

Is he not as cunning, or not as shameless?

Zuo Chou nervously pulled out a mirror.

Well, I'm this beautiful—I absolutely can't be shameless!

-

The faint sound of imperial wedding ceremonial music played as Qin Shu strode boldly onto the stage.

Many below looked up, the atmosphere solemn and sacred. Qin Shu had never imagined he could be the protagonist of a wedding... even if it was a fake marriage.

The Marshal hadn't come, and Qin Shu planned to visit him in a few days... hoping he wouldn't chase him around with a beating.

Li Wuya seemed to know what he was thinking and whispered, "Her Majesty the Empress will arrive shortly. Let's proceed normally for now—no need to mind her."

Qin Shu nodded seriously.

He was actually nervous to death, but with Li Wuya this calm, he couldn't lose either!

Qin Shu, Qin Shu—today you have to nail this performance!