Chapter 101
“Wu Jiang is your birth name, isn’t it?” Reflexively, Bai Chen asked a question as Wu Jinhai straightened his body again.
Bai Chen expected the man in red to just say: “Yes, that’s my birth name,” but then he noticed how the man’s body stiffened after hearing his simple question.
Yes, he could only see how the man’s body stiffened without being able to see the man’s expression, but Bai Chen was sure that Wu Jinhai was taken aback by his question.
Bai Chen did think that the question was simple, but now he was nervous as he waited for the person to answer his question.
“How did you know about my birth name?” Wu Jinhai asked grimly.
Now, it was Bai Chen’s turn to be speechless after the man gave him a response. Bai Chen carelessly voiced the question because he thought that birth names were common for others to mention, but from Wu Jinhai’s tone of voice, he knew that the man did not expect him to know anything about his birth name.
And Bai Chen suddenly remembered how Wu Jinhai suddenly leaned forward only to whisper in his ear. He thought the man was just a flirt, and he failed to notice that the man was very secretive about his birth name.
He also remembered how the man said that the name of the sword was Wu Jiang, so perhaps that name was indeed a big secret that Wu Jinhai was keeping.
.....
Perhaps only those closest to him knew about his birth name, so it was indeed suspicious that Bai Chen suddenly asked such a question.
‘Now, can I blame the system for giving me too detailed information? The system should have only given me information about the name he is currently using,’ Bai Chen blamed himself for being reckless, but he also partially blamed the system.
It had only been ten minutes since he had been saved by Wu Jinhai, but he had continued to make unnecessary mistakes in front of the red-robed man, and Bai Chen was forced to use his lazy brain to come up with another excuse.
“I...” Bai Chen trailed as he tried to find the best answer for the man. “I found out about your birth name in a book! Yes! I read about it in a book about the Wu Li Empire not too long ago, and that’s why I know your birth name!”
Bai Chen was indeed at a disadvantage as he couldn’t see Wu Jinhai’s face. He couldn’t see if the taller man was frowning or smiling, so he couldn’t guess whether he had managed to trick the man or not.
He was indeed at a disadvantage because he wasn’t wearing a mask, and the other man might be able to read his expression easily. Bai Chen wasn’t a very good liar, so the man would probably be suspicious of him.
Bai Chen was waiting for the man’s response and also waiting for the system alert, but he didn’t get anything. Wu Jinhai remained silent, and the system did not give him any warning either.
‘Hey, sys. You don’t want to warn me about how Wu Jinhai might feel suspicious of me because of my recklessness just now?’ Bai Chen asked the system.
Even if the system didn’t like being called ‘sys,’ Bai Chen continued to use it because he didn’t know the system name, and maybe the system didn’t even have a name because Bai Lang was too lazy to name it.
{DOES THE HOST WANT THE SYSTEM TO GIVE A WARNING? DOES THE HOST WANT THE SYSTEM TO DEDUCT THE HOST’S CURRENT POINTS?}
The system responded to his question, and Bai Chen expected such an answer. ‘It’s not like that,’ he denied. ‘I thought I had said something that could blow up my disguise, so this Wu Jinhai might be suspicious of me. I was just curious, so you don’t have to waste your precious time deducting my points.’
Of course, Bai Chen would go to great lengths to protect his precious points, and he didn’t mean to trigger the system with his questions. He was just being realistic, but the system ended up sighing heavily after hearing his answer.
{THE HOST DOESN’T NEED TO WORRY BECAUSE THE CHARACTER ‘WU JINHAI’ DOESN’T FEEL SUSPICIOUS OF THE HOST}
The answer from the system was quite surprising, but Bai Chen was happy that he didn’t stupidly reveal his disguise. Hence, he chose to focus on the masked man again.
“Hey, are you mad at me because I know your birth name?” Bai Chen asked the black-haired man as he decided to stop interfering with the system. “I have no ill intentions even if I know your birth name, and if you wish, I can return your sword so I won’t take advantage of your birth name by using this sword.”
Bai Chen stretched out his hand intending to return the sword to its owner, but the owner sighed as he gently pushed the sword into Bai Chen’s chest.
“The sword is yours now,” Wu Jinhai replied. “It’s fine even if you know my birth name. I’ve told you about that, so it’s no big deal if you know it.”
The weight on Bai Chen’s shoulders lifted slightly after hearing Wu Jinhai’s answer. He thought that his disguise would be exposed today because of his carelessness, but perhaps the system was right about Wu Jinhai not having any suspicions against him.
“You can try calling the sword now,” Wu Jinhai spoke again, and Bai Chen blinked innocently at the man. “Why are you looking at me like that? You said that the sword was too heavy, right? Now you can try calling its name so it will recognize you as its master. You can also try to pull it out of the sheath after it acknowledges you as its master.”
‘This world is very complicated,’ Bai Chen grumbled inwardly as he stared at the sword in his hand.
The sword did have a hilt made of gold, and even the scabbard was a combination of silver and gold. However, he had seen the sword when it was outside its scabbard, and he could see that the blade was white. It was a kind of unique combination for Bai Chen, but he still thought it was wonderful.
Bai Chen was a man, and when he was young, his parents bought him a toy sword for him to play with at home. The toy was light and very simple, and it was definitely different from what he had in his hands. The sword in his hand had a name, and he also needed to call out that name just to pull it out of its scabbard.
It was ridiculous, but Bai Chen still took a deep breath before using his voice to gently call the sword, “Wu Jiang...”
The sound that came out of his lips was even softer than he intended to, but Bai Chen could suddenly feel how the sword became lighter in his hand. His blue eyes immediately bulged when he felt the difference.
A wide smile spread across Bai Chen’s face as he looked at the person who had just given him the sword. “This sword is now very light in my hand, Your Highness! Does that mean, it recognizes me as its master now?” He excitedly asked the question, and he didn’t realize that the man called Wu Jinhai had been holding his breath ever since he said the name ‘Wu Jiang’ with his thin lips.
Wu Jinhai only sighed when he heard Bai Chen’s question, and he nodded his head in response. “It does recognize you as its master, so you can try pulling it out of its sheath now,” he said.
It was like Bai Chen had just accepted another challenge, and his eyes once again lit up as he took them to look at the sword in his hand. Using his left hand to grasp the scabbard, he then placed his right hand on the hilt before pulling it out of the scabbard.
The spark in Bai Chen’s eyes was even more apparent when he saw how easily he drew the sword from its scabbard. It seemed like the sword was glaring at him as its surface reflected light, but Bai Chen looked extremely happy as he continued to stare at the sword.
“I can draw this sword! It’s so amazing, and this sword looks amazing too!” Just like a child who had just gotten a new toy, Bai Chen shrieked with joy without taking his eyes off the sword.
Behind the golden mask, Wu Jinhai’s lips formed a small smile as he continued to stare at the shorter man. “That sword is now yours, and you must use it to protect yourself during this event in the forest. Promise me that you will get out of this forest alive, Bai Chen.”