Before Dawn 4

Nan Zhi couldn't help but take a few more glances at the two sticky people in front of her. She asked, "Has the wedding ceremony been held yet?"

Xuan Ye said, "The grand ceremony has not yet been held, but the small ceremony has been completed. It cannot be denied that she is my wife."

Hearing Xuan Ye say this, Huai Wen blushed again.

That day, Xuan Ye brought her back to Luo Fu from Yong'an City and then secluded himself at home. To the outside world, Xuan Ye appeared to be heartbroken and grief-stricken over the loss of his lover. But in reality, he cherished her dearly, wanting to be inseparable from her on his bed.

Qingye and Qingcheng were the only ones who knew Huaiwen was at Zuimenglou. They were the ones who arranged the wedding. Fortunately, they were the two in the know, otherwise it would have been a great pity if they had seen the city lord's clingy behavior alone.

Huaiwen had anticipated that Xuanye brought her back to Luofu to protect her, but she hadn't expected that the first thing he would do upon her return would be to get married. If Huaiwen hadn't already been declared dead outside, this joyous occasion would have taken at least a year and a half to plan and announce.

Before the wedding, Huaiwen asked Xuanye, "Isn't it... a bit too fast?"

Xuan Ye asked, slightly aggrieved, "Don't you want me anymore?"

Huaiwen hurriedly shook his head and explained, "How could that be? I just feel that..."

Xuan Ye took Huai Wen's hand and said regretfully, "I know we really can't have a big celebration, and you also think it's a bit too simple. It's alright, A-Jun, once everything settles down, we'll definitely have a big celebration again."

"In that case, why don't we do it then?"

"No, it's not legitimate, I'm not comfortable with it."

Huaiwen was speechless for a moment; that was indeed a reason.

On their wedding day, Huaiwen was unexpectedly nervous, while Xuanye was much calmer than her. Huaiwen didn't know much about marriage, only that she had to lift the veil and drink the nuptial wine. Xuanye guided her through everything else.

Although many steps were simplified.

The two sat on the edge of the bed, Xuan Ye's voice trembling slightly: "A-Jun, we have finally completed the ceremony."

Huaiwen also sighed, "Yes, I didn't realize there were actually quite a few steps. Qingye and I said we simplified it a lot."

Xuan Ye smiled and reached out to touch Huai Wen's cheek: "Are you tired?"

Huaiwen shook her head, and Xuanye's eyes began to deepen. He gently removed the hair ornament from Huaiwen's head, and his voice became sweet and gentle: "In our demon realm, there is a way for couples to confirm their lifelong partnership, which is to mark each other. After marking, the couples are tied together by a red thread. The appearance of this red thread means that their hearts belong to someone, and their bodies belong to someone. So... A-Jun, are you willing?"

The temptation was as sweet as honey, and Huaiwen willingly succumbed. Her eyes shone with a longing like spring water, a feeling different from that in Pengxi, where she had been led astray by Xuan Ye, gradually falling into his trap.

This time, she fully expressed her inner desires, saying tenderly, "I'm willing, as long as it's you..."

A sweet kiss, intimate skin-to-skin contact, surged forth in this moment of giving one's heart.

The bed curtains fell, and behind the sheer fabric, two figures entwined. Their breaths and moans, under the night sky, were alluring and enchanting between them.

As the night deepened, their love grew stronger, and a red thread slowly appeared between them, binding them together.

A single thread binds us, a lifetime is tied together.

That's why, when Huaiwen came to Fengqin Mountain to investigate the truth, Xuan Ye deliberately made her wear red and intentionally revealed the red thread on their bodies.

Huaiwen, who was lost in thought, was brought back to reality by Xuan Ye's words: "A-Jun, Nan Zhi is also considered one of your master's people, and she is our elder. We should still give her some wedding candy."

Nan Zhi: "..."

Huaiwen chuckled twice and quickly said, "Hahaha, he's just funny."

Xuan Ye looked completely innocent: "Everyone says you two are a perfect couple, and I'm not wrong."

Huaiwen had no choice but to cover his face with his right hand, thinking that Xuan Ye's appearance was too cute. He said, "I'm sorry, Lord Nanzhi."

Nan Zhi couldn't bear to watch and snorted twice. She wasn't stupid; just because she spent all her time in the God Realm didn't mean she knew nothing. Fu Lin had always treated Huai Wen differently from everyone else. Back when Pei Suqin fell into the tomb, Fu Lin didn't say she would save him, but Huai Wen saved him without hesitation.

People outside say they're a perfect couple, but in reality...

Nan Zhi rubbed her temples: "Even the most dramatic things in life are so cheesy. Let's get down to business. What are you all doing here?"

Huaiwen suppressed her shyness and said, "I think Lord Nanzhi, you should know that there is a tomb under the clear water pond on Fengqin Mountain."

Nan Zhi trembled slightly, her expression deeply moved. This was not something that could be known to others. Those who knew would already be doomed—only death.

It seems that Huaiwen is truly different.

Huaiwen then said to Nanzhi, "A god's destiny does not die easily. Those who steal another's life will eventually be punished. Lord Nanzhi, if you also know about the wronged souls beneath this Clear Water Pool, and if you also wish to find my master's remains and spirit, then please open the hidden door beneath this Clear Water Pool and come in with us."

When did you find out there was something underground?

Huaiwen said softly, "Three hundred years ago."

“Three hundred years ago!” Nan Zhi’s eyes widened in shock as she pressed for an answer. “Your master told you that?”

Huaiwen shook his head: "No, it's myself."

Three hundred years ago, when Huaiwen accidentally entered the bottom of the Clear Water Pool, she wanted to find out the truth about it. However, at that time, Fulin sent her down the mountain, so she didn't investigate further.

Three hundred years later, she returned to Fengqin Mountain. In the brief moment when her primordial spirit merged with her body, she could clearly feel the words she had heard in front of the stone tablet three hundred years ago echoing in her mind once again.

They called to Huaiwen to come down quickly, they called for Huaiwen to join them as ghosts in the tombstone, but among these voices, there was a strange voice calling out, it called on Huaiwen to avenge it, it said it was a person from two thousand years ago.

Later, in the Pengxi Stone Forest, she heard a ghost again from within a tombstone-like rock, demanding that Huaiwen avenge it. The ghost claimed to be a disciple of Fengqin Mountain, saying that Fengqin Mountain was the biggest scam in the world of cultivation. The voices of the ghosts grew louder and louder.

So Huaiwen must come back alive; she must find out the truth.

After hearing this, Nan Zhi fell silent. She said that Fengqin Mountain was indeed the biggest scam.

Those who cultivate immortality all yearn for Fengqin Mountain, because there are no disciples on Fengqin Mountain who cannot become immortals.

They say that Fengqin Mountain is the most suitable place in the world for cultivating immortality.

But Fengqin Mountain is also the most powerful place in the world for stripping away ascended officials.

Otherwise, why would Huaiwen, as a disciple of Fengqin Mountain, encounter so many troubles without any of his senior brothers or sisters from Fengqin Mountain coming to his aid, let alone any divine officials who ascended from Fengqin Mountain?

The answer to all of this lies in the tomb beneath the clear water pool.

Because the clear water pool in Fengqin Mountain seems to have the power to heal the body, but it doesn't heal at all; it takes away what's in it.

Whenever the disciples of Fengqin Mountain soak in this clear pool, their physical pain is healed. This is not because the water possesses any spiritual energy, but because they have made an exchange with the tombstones below. After a certain amount of this exchange, these disciples become offerings to the tombstones.

After reflecting on all this, Nan Zhi sighed, "Ah Jun, you really are... different from them in terms of destiny."

“Lord Nanzhi, now that you’ve come here, you must not want them to die in vain, nor do you want more people to suffer because of this,” Huaiwen said. “Lord Nanzhi, please tell me what you know.”

Nan Zhi looked up at the darkness, but she couldn't see anything.

Nan Zhi sighed, "I understand, A-Jun. I'm tired too. I don't want to hide these things anymore. Let's go to the Clear Water Pool."

The three arrived at the Clear Water Pool. Nan Zhi, using her divine power, stilled the ever-flowing water. Slowly, the still water turned into sand and stones, and a huge archway rose from the sand and stones. The patterns carved on it were very peculiar, resembling birds, lions, and oxen.

Huaiwen asked in confusion, "What kind of pattern is this?"

Nan Zhi replied, "Two thousand years ago, the Yin state had unique patterns."

Xuan Ye frowned and said, "The Yin Kingdom."

"You know?" Nan Zhi asked.

Xuan Ye said, "When I first took human form, I heard some things. It was said that the Yin Kingdom was destroyed not because of war with an enemy country, but because of some hidden reasons. At that time, the Yin Kingdom was at its peak and its momentum was strong. It was impossible for it to be easily slaughtered by another country, whether in terms of military strength or financial resources."

Nan Zhi became cautious and asked, "How did you know? Who told you?"

Xuan Ye raised his chin and coldly replied, "Beneath the Void Realm Tomb, Taoist Lu Yuan."

Upon hearing this, Nan Zhi fell silent. A secret that had been hidden for thousands of years had been exposed, and it could no longer be kept secret. A truth known throughout history is that you can't hide fire with paper.

Nan Zhi wasn't the only one shocked; Huai Wen was too. She suddenly remembered that back in the Void Realm, she had asked Xuan Ye if he had killed the Taoist priest. Xuan Ye had said that the priest was in pain and asked her to end his life. At that time, she was on the verge of death and didn't have time to find out more details, but now it was time to ask.

Huaiwen's expression was serious, and he asked sharply, "Lord Nanzhi, you priests want to exterminate all the demons in the world, but why do you never kill A-Ling? If you are worried that you can't defeat A-Ling now, or you are giving each other a chance to live and turning a blind eye, then why didn't you kill A-Ling a thousand years ago, before he became the Demon King?"

Nan Zhi looked troubled. She dared not meet Huai Wen and Xuan Ye's gaze easily. After struggling with her inner thoughts, she sighed and said, "Because the Taoist priest that Xuan Ye killed was from an insignificant branch of the Yin royal family. So he knew the secrets of the Yin Kingdom and the truth behind its destruction."

"So you know what the truth is?" Waiwen pressed.

“I don’t know,” Nan Zhi replied. “Lu Yuan was a descendant of the royal family of Yin. I only learned about this after he had already died. As for the truth behind the fall of Yin, besides your master, only the tomb below can tell you.”

Huaiwen asked calmly, "Lord Nanzhi, how do you know so much?"

Nan Zhi chuckled self-deprecatingly, half-jokingly saying, "Because I'm particularly gossipy."

Huaiwen was stunned: "..."

Xuan Ye said, "I think it's because you are Fu Lin's senior sister."

"Senior sister!?" Huaiwen was shocked once again.

Nan Zhi stiffened: "How did you know!"

Xuan Ye rolled his eyes and then smiled wickedly: "I've lived for over a thousand years, so it's not surprising that I know these things. Besides, you're either living a life of debauchery or on your way to one. If you just ask a few more questions when you're drunk, that'll solve everything. Of course, most people can't outdrink you."

"You, you, you—" Nan Zhi was speechless for a moment.

The fact that she was Senior Sister Fulin was known to no one in the world except the Heavenly Emperor! This forced her to look at this Demon King in a different light. Who knows what schemes he used to find out!

"What else do you know?" Nan Zhi asked Xuan Ye tentatively.

Xuan Ye said, "I know you did this to explore Fengqin Mountain..."

"Enough, shut up!" Nan Zhi quickly shouted at Xuan Ye, "Go in quickly. I found it strange that Fu Lin wanted to come to Fengqin Mountain to be a carefree Taoist priest back then. If I hadn't been smart and kept a few things in mind, none of you would have known how to get in. You should thank me."

As Nan Zhi muttered to herself, they walked past the archway and headed towards the underground tomb.