Although Bofeng Yu knew Mili had persuaded Liu Qing, he still felt uneasy. He allowed Liu Qing to look after his Pokémon, but only with Mili accompanying him, and had dozens of the family's security staff keep a close watch on him, both openly and covertly. Fortunately, he did not restrict Liu Qing's freedom. Otherwise, even with his growing anticipation of meeting his fiancée-to-be, Liu Qing would have found it hard to contain his anger. The days passed like this. Family members returned one after another from all over, while countless servants decorated the family hall with lavish splendor and festive cheer. Tailors and seamstresses also brought Liu Qing a new outfit to try on every day, with Mili judging each one...
The day before the engagement banquet, the preparations were finally complete. Mili had also settled on Liu Qing's outfit, freeing him from being fussed over every day. Now, led by Bofeng Yu, Mili, Liu Qing, Liu Yuan, and the other principal members of the family arrived at the estate's airfield to welcome the Temple delegation from Sinnoh.
Not long after they reached the airfield, a tiny black dot appeared among the clouds high overhead and rapidly approached. Only then did Liu Qing realize that it was an enormous airship. After a powerful gust of air swept past, the airship landed at the airfield. Nearly a hundred people emerged one after another and followed an elderly woman toward Bofeng Yu.
"Wave Wind Clan Leader, I trust you've been well!" The woman at the front had a seemingly gentle gaze, but the moment she spoke, Liu Qing sensed her authority—the presence naturally cultivated by someone who had long held a position of power.
"Matriarch Kalasina, you must be tired after your journey. I've prepared a banquet to welcome you all," Bofeng Yu said, reaching out to shake her hand.
"Oh, there's no hurry. Who is the young man who will be engaged to my granddaughter?" Kalasina's gaze swept over the people behind Bofeng Yu before settling on Liu Qing, a glimmer of satisfaction flashing in her eyes.
"Haha, you certainly seem eager, Matriarch." Bofeng Yu smiled and gestured toward Mili, Liu Qing, and Liu Yuan. "This is my wife, Sato Milly. This is my eldest son, Namikaze Liu Qing, the young man at the center of this occasion, and this is my second son, Liu Yuan. Liu Qing, this is your fiancée-to-be's grandmother, Matriarch Kalasina of the Temple."
"My respects, Matriarch," Liu Qing said, offering the formal bow expected of a younger member of an illustrious family.
"Mm, a very handsome young man." Kalasina nodded. "I hear you won this year's Kanto League championship after traveling for only a year?"
"That's right." Liu Qing nodded earnestly.
"What talent!" Kalasina clapped her hands in praise, but then her tone shifted. "Still, no matter how talented you are, this marriage cannot go ahead unless you defeat my granddaughter. We will return home immediately." At once, the expressions of every member of the Uzumaki family, including Bofeng Yu, darkened.
"My mother has already informed me." Liu Qing studied Kalasina's face. The longer he looked, the more familiar she seemed, as though he had seen her before. But this was no time to dwell on that. Protecting the family's honor mattered most. With spirited resolve, he declared, "I've long looked forward to battling your granddaughter. But if she cannot put up a fight, the Temple will be no more than guests of our Uzumaki family!"
At those words, Bofeng Yu immediately looked pleased, while Kalasina's expression stiffened. Liu Qing had not merely countered her words; he had made his own position clear. If her granddaughter's strength proved inadequate, the engagement would fall through, and the entire Temple would likely suffer disgrace.
"My sister won't lose! You're the one who's going to lose!" Just then, a clear child's voice rang out from behind Kalasina. An exquisitely pretty little blonde girl emerged, her face red with anger as she pointed at Liu Qing.
"I take it this is your younger granddaughter, Lusana?" Bofeng Yu asked with a smile, looking at the girl clutching the hem of Kalasina's clothes.
"You have a keen eye, Patriarch Wave Wind. Since your eldest son has accepted the challenge, there is no reason to keep my granddaughter hidden." Kalasina nodded and gestured toward the blonde girl who stepped out of the crowd to stand beside her. "This is my granddaughter, Cynthia. Nana, this is the patriarch of the Uzumaki family, and beside him are his wife and sons."
"My respects, Patriarch Wave Wind, Madam Wave Wind!" Cynthia offered Bofeng Yu and Mili a junior's formal bow, her gaze briefly sweeping over Liu Qing.
Liu Qing finally understood why Kalasina had looked so familiar. In the anime he had watched in his previous life, when Ash traveled through Sinnoh, she had been the grandmother of Cynthia, the Elite Four Champion! Though the girl before him did not yet possess the bearing she would have as Champion, and her face still looked youthful, her knee-length golden hair and concealed left eye told Liu Qing that Sinnoh's future Elite Four Champion, Cynthia, was standing right in front of him. More than that, she would become his fiancée! He had loved Cynthia, the only female Elite Four Champion, when he watched the anime in his previous life. In an instant, his resentment at being forced into an engagement by his family and his thoughts of finding a chance to escape vanished. All he wanted now was to defeat Cynthia and have her attend tomorrow's engagement banquet with him.
"Wave Wind Clan Leader, could we watch these two children battle first? This old woman is very eager to see the outcome!" Kalasina glanced at Liu Qing and Cynthia before addressing Bofeng Yu.
"Of course!" Bofeng Yu knew Liu Qing had already advanced to Silver Feather, so he had no reason to fear a battle. He nodded. "The cars are ready. Please get in, everyone. We'll head to our Uzumaki family's Trial Grounds right away."
"It seems you have great confidence in your son's abilities, Patriarch Wave Wind." As the heads of their respective families, Kalasina and Bofeng Yu rode in the same car, where she probed him with this remark.
"Don't you have just as much confidence yourself, Matriarch Kalasina?" Bofeng Yu replied, and the two burst into laughter.
"Liu Qing, it looks as though you're very pleased with that girl?" In their car, Mili pointed at the corners of his mouth. "You can't even hide your smile!"
"You chose her so carefully, Mom. How could your son possibly be dissatisfied?" Liu Qing blushed a little, then clenched his fist and said confidently, "So, to make sure all your efforts don't go to waste, I have to win this battle!"
"Hehe, you smooth talker." Mili laughed. "All right, then. Beat Cynthia and make your mother happy."
The estate where Liu Qing lived was the Uzumaki family's ancestral grounds. Every year, the strength of the young family members eligible for their coming-of-age ceremony was assessed here, so it had an open-air battle arena no smaller than the main stadium of the Indigo League tournament. The convoy stopped outside its entrance, and Bofeng Yu led everyone inside.
"A very fine arena!" Once inside, Kalasina nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Liu Qing. "Young man, we'll use the rules for a full six-on-six battle. Do you need time to prepare?"
"We can begin as soon as my Poké Balls are transferred here." Though Kalasina seemed to be kindly offering him time to prepare, she was already putting pressure on him. Liu Qing answered with an easy smile.
"Matriarch Kalasina, please join me in the stands to watch the two children battle. This way, please!" Kalasina nodded at the invitation and led her many family members toward the stairs to one side.
"Go get her, big brother!" Liu Yuan called loudly as he passed Liu Qing.
"Don't worry. Just sit beside Mom and watch your big brother show what he can do..." Smiling, Liu Qing ruffled Liu Yuan's hair, then met Cynthia's gaze a short distance away and continued, "And make her your future sister-in-law!" All he received in return was a restrained smile from Cynthia, as though his words had not bothered her in the slightest. Liu Qing silently admired her composure. He understood that even if she did not yet have the strength of her future Champion self, she was not someone to underestimate.
The arena had its own transfer device, so Liu Qing soon received the Poké Balls sent over from the Pokémon Day Care. He and Cynthia took their positions, and their photographs appeared on the arena's large screen alongside six Poké Ball slots each. Uncle Fu, the family butler, served as referee and announced the start of the match.
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