Twin Cities: I am the man of many myths

Chapter 248 Jinx: I have to go now, let's have dinner together again next time.

The dark alley is centered around a platform suspended in mid-air. Behind that platform hangs a strange, enormous mirror that appears to stand in the air like glass.

The mirror emitted a blue light. Outsiders didn't know what it was, but Piltover locals and Zaunite locals knew at a glance what it was made of.

Of course it's a Hextech Gem! Can't you see that thing emitting a faint magical glow?

Then, the people from both cities were the first to enter the dark alley and head towards the seats at the very back.

Countless round tables of all sizes were set up in the dark alley, and the stalls on the streets and alleys were cleared out. This was all thanks to Aunt Marna. At her command, the residents of the dark alley community responded to the call.

Then, you can see the Demacian delegation. They are seated in the fourth row at round tables. At the head of the group is a beautiful, mature woman with gorgeous burgundy hair. She is squinting and looking around, seemingly searching for something.

The Noxian delegation was represented by Katarina, who also had red hair, but Katarina's hair was longer and a lighter shade of red. She sat in her seat, smiling and twirling a dagger, her gaze meeting that of the Demacian soldiers. Katarina's eyes were bright.

Soon, the venue was almost half full.

Today, as long as you're willing to come in, no one will stop you.

Therefore, anyone can attend this wedding.

A dense crowd surged into the dark alley. In the flow of people, a young man with black hair patted the shoulder of the person next to him and said, "Wait for me, I'll go find you some clothes to wear."

His two companions were startled at the sound, then looked down at their own clothes. One was wearing only a dirty cloak, while the other was wearing a tight-fitting robe, which also looked dirty and had many holes.

"By the way, Jax, Yi, why don't you two be my best men?" This person was of course Rick. After a long journey, Rick sent a message to Janna as soon as he returned to Zaun, and Janna immediately told Hielco.

Hilko also used Janna to relay a message to Rick, telling him what to do now.

Even with luggage, this isn't considered late?
Although the bride-fetching ceremony didn't happen, Hilco said that Jinx had disappeared somewhere and was now hiding in a corner of the Twin Cities.

Li Ke did try to use his divine sense to perceive Jinx, but he was blocked by a force—Janna.

Just as Hilko thought, Janna was helping Jinx.

However, Li Ke was not worried about this at all; on the contrary, he found it very funny.

Because Rick believed Jinx wouldn't run away from the wedding, and since she's hiding now, she's probably out having fun again.

Xiao Jin is so carefree; it was supposed to be her wedding, but she was running around everywhere, which made Li Ke sigh.

If Jinx really has children in the future, they'll probably be born to be her toys.
Therefore, what Rick needs to do now is go to the back to change into his groom's clothes, and then go find his Jinx.

"Best man, Li Ke, do you mean the bridal party?" Jax asked curiously. He was an old-fashioned guy and didn't really understand the new term "best man." After all, in the entire Valoran, only the Twin Cities had a ceremony with a best man and bridesmaids.

In places like Demacia and Noxus, aristocratic customs prevail, with traditional and solemn weddings.

The wedding in the two cities, Li Ke's wedding, was something that Jax found very novel.

Imagine if a noble archmage in Icathia got married and invited commoners to his wedding; all he would face would be an attack from other mages and nobles.

Because those in positions of power are too proud to lower themselves to do that.

But Li Ke was different; he was really down-to-earth, which made Jax's impression of him even better.

Yi, standing to the side, recognized the term. After all, there were Ionians in Zaun in the past, so naturally there would be Zaunians living in Ionia as well. Under Ionia's strong tolerance, the Zaunians' culture naturally blended in.

Therefore, wedding customs in some parts of Ionia are very similar to those in the Twin Cities.

"Be a groomsman? Li Ke, do you really think we can do it?" Yi asked hesitantly.

It wasn't that he wanted to refuse, but rather that this would allow him to build a good relationship with Li Ke, even though their relationship was already quite good.

That's how it is between men sometimes. They might have a fight, exchange some skills, and suddenly they can become good buddies.

"What's wrong with that? It's just for fun," Li Ke said with a smile, patting Yi on the shoulder as he did so.

Well, this can also help me achieve something.

The strongest groomsmen group in history or something.

Look, in Li Ke's groomsmen, there are now confirmed Jess, Victor, Ike, and Marson. Although there is a slacker in there, the first three are scientists who will definitely go down in history in the future.

Now, with the addition of Yi and Jax, two of the pinnacles of human combat power, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them the strongest groomsmen group in history, would it?

Anyway, Li Ke didn't think it was excessive.

Li Ke walked to the back and pointed to where Yi and Jax were, instructing the Enforcer to take Yi and Jax to find Jess and the others. The Enforcer quickly obeyed and excitedly ran towards Jax and the others.

Li Ke finally met the makeup artist and also saw the girl touching up her makeup.

Li Kele glanced at her and laughed.

"What are you doing here?" Li Ke asked.

The girl turned her head, revealing an oval face with exquisite makeup. Her blonde bangs were curled up, some of her hair was tied back into braids, and the rest fell naturally. Her beautiful blonde hair, combined with her lovely face and bright eyes, along with her white knee-length princess dress, made her look exactly like a Disney princess who had escaped from the world.

"You've finally shown up!" Lux exclaimed when she saw Rick. She blinked and said, "This wasn't my request. Jinx said she wanted me to be her bridesmaid. She said she really likes me."

"Does Fiona know about this?" Rick asked curiously.

Lux shook her head. "I haven't met her yet."

"..." Rick looked at Lux with a strange expression and nodded.

Okay, no wonder Jinx likes you. With your thought process, you and Jinx are a perfect match.

The little princess of Demacia's most powerful noble family ran away to be a bridesmaid in another city-state. When this news reached Demacia, guess how the nobles of Demacia would view the Crownguard family?
Does Lux have no idea what the title "Crown Guardian" represents?

What she is doing now is like a signal, telling the nobles of Xiongdu that the Mianwei family wants to befriend Shuangcheng, and for this reason, they have all sent their eldest daughters to be bridesmaids.

Another point is that Marshal Tiana is deeply trusted by King Jarvan III. Do you think that Jarvan III might be behind this?

But Li Ke didn't say much. Let the misunderstanding be, anyway, Shuangcheng isn't afraid of misunderstandings now.

Li Ke sat down, closed his eyes, and waited.

Soon, two makeup artists came up and began to do Li Ke's makeup from the front and back.

"Did you spot Jinx among the guests who registered their names upon entry?"

"No, there are too many people. Just the number of outsiders entering the alley right now, excluding our own people, has exceeded 70,000. With this flow of people and the time involved, the law enforcement officers can't conduct detailed questioning. They just ask people to sign their names and come in."

In response to Hilko's question, Renata immediately replied.

Upon hearing this, Hilko rubbed his messy hair. Unlike in the morning, Hilko now had makeup on, covering his scars and revealing a face that wasn't particularly handsome, but was still quite good-looking.

At least Hilco felt that his image was pretty good, because it was much better than that dead dog Vander, right?

As for why, even though the Twin Cities have advanced to such a level of technology that it wouldn't be difficult to change someone's skin or even their head, why does Hilko still have this disfigured face?
Only Hilko himself knows the reason. Perhaps he wanted to remember the mistakes he had made and was repenting. Or perhaps he wanted to use the story on his face to remind himself that he must never go astray.
In short, Hilko had his reasons. "Well, now that Rick is back, let's keep things the same." After thinking it over, Hilko waved his hand and said calmly.

Looking at Hilko like this, Lena suddenly felt like teasing him, but as for why...
It's not about feelings. Although there are rumors in both cities that they are a couple, both Lenata and Hilco know very well that there is no such feeling between them.

Or rather, for people like them, love is a luxury.

Perhaps, after more than ten years, they might get together, but not because of feelings, but because of interests?

Lenata wanted to tease Hilko simply because she was annoyed.

After all, given her abilities, her professional skills have long surpassed those of Hilco, yet she is still being suppressed by Hilco as his secretary.

Of course Lena was unhappy. What was her dream? It wasn't to become the secretary of some second-in-command, okay?
She wants to be the top leader! From the very beginning, Lenata has always wanted to be the Queen of Zaun, okay?

Of course, Lenata also knew that after Hilkor stepped down, his position would be hers, and Lenata didn't even need to fight for it. Every councilor knew this, and Lenata was acting in Zaun as Hilkor's successor.

Therefore, she wouldn't run away just because she had a small complaint, but thinking about it, damn it, this is probably Hilko's method.

"Are you so sure Jinx isn't leaving? Maybe she suddenly called off the engagement?" Hilko felt that things were under his control, but Lenata insisted on creating a problem for him.

Hilco glanced at Lenata and said calmly, "I've already said it before, that's impossible. I know Jinx better than you do; I raised her myself."

"Furthermore, even if she really wants to break off the engagement and doesn't want to get married anymore, then we won't get married."

"Don't you care about the reputation of Twin Cities now? Don't you care about what the outside world thinks of Zaun now?" Lena rolled her eyes, her scarlet eyes full of displeasure.

Tsk, no emotional fluctuation, which means that Hilko really thinks that way and will do it.

“Nothing is more important than her happiness.” Hilko spun around in his chair, turning several times before stopping with one foot out. He picked up an old, graffiti-covered cup from the table and took a sip of water.

Then, Hilco issued an order to leave:
"You can go now. Remember to take care of all the things I asked you to do."

“Yes,” Renata replied.

Playing around is fine, and being annoying is acceptable, but when it comes to serious matters, you can't go against Hilko's wishes, and Lenata knows this better than anyone.

Besides Jinx, oh no, now maybe we can add Isaac too?
As for the rest, Hilco didn't care at all. In fact, if one day the destruction of the two cities and Vander's life and death were tied together, Hilco would choose the former without hesitation.

If Hilcko himself is tied to Vander's position, then Hilcko's choice will be the same.

However, if the topic were changed to—the destruction of two cities versus Jinx—then Hilcone would choose the latter without hesitation.
Tsk, what an inhuman, doting father!

In a corner of the dark alley, behind which was a house belonging to a local family, and in front of her was a table. A girl with messy hair, as disheveled as a puppy, and freckles on her face was looking at the food on the table and making a swallowing motion.

"Eat if you're hungry, what are you afraid of?" A voice rang out from the side. The girl looked to the side and saw a person wearing a cloak that covered their face sitting down.

The girl looked at him for a moment, then immediately turned her head away. She wasn't used to looking people in the eye; the feeling of being stared at and scrutinized was awful.

"Eat, don't be shy," the girl said again, shaking her body as she spoke, revealing a tuft of blue hair beneath her cloak.

"But, but not everyone has arrived yet," the girl said after a moment's hesitation.

She was indeed hungry. She drifted to Zu'an yesterday evening. You heard right, she drifted here.

She boarded the wrong ship and became a slave to the Noxians for a period of time. After the Noxian War ended, the general on the ship did not surrender or choose to return to Noxus. Instead, he stubbornly resisted, which made things difficult for her. Although she was not on the front line, as a "slave," she had to work as a shipwright on the ship in the rear.

She was only granted a brief moment of freedom when a man named Draven boarded the ship and beheaded the general in front of all the crew.

However, the ship had already sailed far from Ionia by then, so in order to avoid being taken back to Noxus by those guys, she resolutely jumped off the ship and then... drifted to Zaun.

And after hearing that they could get a free feast, they ended up here in a daze, for what seemed like a wedding?

"It's alright, eat up, I'm hungry too." Hearing her words, the cloaked girl smiled and stretched out her hand, revealing a clean and beautiful hand with long, slender fingers and well-proportioned knuckles. Her skin was so white it seemed to glow, and her skin was as smooth as silk.

She was stunned for a moment, then looked at her hands. The environment of Shurima had made her skin rough, and the scorching sun had given her a wheatish complexion.

It's really incomparable to the other side's.
“Eat, I said you can eat, so you can eat.” Seeing that she didn’t understand, the cloaked girl said again, and then picked up the exquisite pastries on the table and placed them in front of her.

After hesitating for a moment, she reached out and picked up the pastry, then quickly swallowed it, and began chewing with her head down.

"Hehe, you're so funny."

"Your hair is just like my sister's. She has naturally curly hair, which isn't long and looks like a messy bird's nest."

Hearing what the other person said, she felt even more inferior.

But then she heard the other person's cheerful voice.

"But I really like it. Your hair is beautiful. By the way, what's your name?"

She looked up, cake crumbs still clinging to the corner of her mouth, hesitated for a moment, and whispered, "Taliyah."

"Taliyah? Nice name. My name is Jinbaobao."

"Just call me Baobao," she said with a grin.

Taliyah nodded, and just then, the main character of the wedding finally made her appearance.

Looking up, Taliyah saw the crowd ahead gasp in surprise, and then Mr. Rick from Zaun appeared on the stage above.

A woman with an incredibly friendly demeanor appeared on stage with a microphone, seemingly acting as a witness at a wedding.

Then, Taliya witnessed a scene she would never forget, and she believed that most people, like her, would never forget this sight.

Suddenly, a magnificent bluebird appeared in the sky above Zaun. It was enormous, and its outstretched wings blotted out the sun. The blue light it cast formed a curtain and then blue steps that descended from the stage.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the steps stopped at the feet of a middle-aged, thin man. He was dressed in a neat suit, his hair was neatly combed, and he stood there calmly.

Someone recognized him and called out his name.

It's Hilko; he's here because of his daughter.

But here's the problem: the groom has appeared, and the bride's father has appeared, so where is the bride?
The middle-aged woman on the stage coughed and said, "Please welcome the bride," but no one answered; only Hilco remained standing there.

It wasn't until things started to get a little strange, and many of the tourists were wondering where the bride had gone, that Taliyah began searching for her.

A hand patted Taliyah's shoulder, and when Taliyah turned around, she saw the very outgoing cloaked girl.

She said with a smile, "It's my turn to go on stage. Well then, Taliyah, let's have dinner together again next time."

Taliya stared at her blankly as she watched as Taliya removed her cloak.

Then Taliyah's eyes widened.

Because the girl in front of me was wearing a very beautiful wedding dress.

(End of this chapter)