Chapter 66: Bond Ceremony
Year so and so in the world of cultivation.
South China Sea territory, Aoki Forest.
The moon was high in the sky, and a sound came from the quiet woods.
The rustling sound turned into the crackling sound of large trees being crushed, and the birds and animals in the forest were startled and ran away, and the sounds of flapping wings and breaking tree trunks were heard together.
A group of disciples in blue and white school uniforms ran quickly across the ground, accompanied by the shouts of those who were holding the Jade Token tightly: "Senior Brother, save us!"
Behind them, a huge snake shadow that towered several feet above the forest was chasing them quickly. The sharp edges of its scales cut through the tree trunks, and its huge body pressed the gravel on the ground deeply into the ground. Large areas of the forest collapsed as it swung its tail.
As the ground shook, the disciple's hand also trembled, and the jade token in his hand fell and was quickly buried by the thick leaves.
There was no time to bend down to pick it up. Everyone could only continue running forward screaming, "It's over! The jade token is gone!"
"Isn't this the outskirts? Why is there something like this?!"
New inner sect disciples undergo trials every year, either going to secret realms or coming to uninhabited forests like this one, which are fraught with dangers. Their strength is not high, they only need to move around in the periphery and collect a certain number of monster crystal cores to complete the trial.
The periphery was relatively safe, and the collection mission was almost completed. They had some time in the evening, and they had originally planned to take this opportunity to look for monsters again, but they were found by monsters instead.
It was obvious that this spiritual pressure was not something they could handle. There was no possibility of defeating it, so they could only run away.
There are special restrictions in Qingmu Forest, and flying is prohibited. They had no idea how far they had run. They ran until their legs became weak, but the snake demon was still chasing them.
The disciples ran until their feet were exhausted and their pace slowed down significantly. The distance between them and the snake demon was rapidly shortened. They could already see the dust raised by the approaching giant snake from the corner of their eyes.
When I turned around, I saw that the snake's tail, which was taller than the tree, was sweeping towards this side with a force that could destroy everything in its path. All the ancient trees along the way fell down, and some were swept into the air, with broken branches flying.
There was no way to dodge, so he just looked back and it seemed as if his heels were frozen. He could only turn around and raise his hands to protect his head.
“Wow——”
The expected impact did not come, and their vision brightened. When they turned around, a golden and red formation appeared out of thin air.
The complex patterns flowed, illuminating half of the sky and trapping the giant snake monster within. The snake's tail that was originally sweeping towards this side hit the edge of the formation and was blocked by the invisible barrier. It brought out a red light when it hit, and could not move forward at all.
Someone is coming.
Running out from the woods on one side, holding a talisman in his hand to reinforce the formation, Zhang Jing said, "The formation can't be maintained for too long."
A figure flashed by and said "OK".
A cold light flashed as the long sword was unsheathed, and a blue figure flew into the air. The cold and sharp sword in his hand emitted a pool of snow-white light, and the sword made a ringing sound as it turned slightly.
The figure leaped to the center of the formation, his clothes fluttering as the snake demon suddenly moved, revealing its dirty yellow and red fangs. The snake's tail slapped the man's back, and the spiritual pressure was surging, and the ground was shaking.
A sword flashes with cold light.
The shaking space suddenly became quiet, the raised snake tail fell down, the snake monster opened its mouth wide, its fangs exposed to the air, but it could no longer move forward.
After the silence, there was the sound of a huge body falling to the ground. The man in the air also fell down, his sword was sheathed, his white hair fluttered past his eyebrows and eyes, slowly drooping down, in sharp contrast with his blue robe.
The light of the formation disappeared, and the complex patterns turned into light spots that hovered in the air, then slowly disappeared.
The surrounding area was razed to the ground, and the moonlight shone overhead, clearly reflecting several human figures and the huge beast on the ground.
Lin Zhusheng jumped off the snake demon, landed safely, and walked back. He bent down to pick up the white jade token buried in the leaves, turned around and threw it casually, saying, "Did you drop this?"
He threw it so suddenly that the disciples were unable to react in time and almost failed to catch it. Several people hurried forward and managed to catch it with their hands and feet. Then they bent down to thank him and called out "Senior Brother Lin" and "Senior Brother Zhang".
Saving people is just his job. After confirming that none of the disciples were missing, Lin Zhusheng waved his hand and said, "It's good that everyone is okay."
Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west. In the past, he would sneak away to find fun things without telling his team-leading senior brother. He had only been playing for a few years in the inner sect. Now it was his turn to be the team-leading disciple, and there were other junior brothers and sisters who also sneaked away without telling him, and there was more than one. Fortunately, these junior brothers and sisters still cried for help, and nothing irreversible happened.
"Let's go back first," Zhang Jing clapped his hands as the talisman in his hand turned to ashes. He looked at the campfire light that was so far away that it was almost invisible and said, "We have walked too far."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at the strange yet familiar white hair of the person next to him, twitched his brows, and asked, "Why are you like this again?"
When he first brought this group of new disciples out for training, he remembered that this person's hair color was still normal. However, after being separated for a few days during the training, his hair turned white when he looked back, very quickly.
"I accidentally ate some Snow Silver Grass. I thought it wouldn't have the same effect after it was cooked."
The last time, the snow silver grass was an excuse. This time, I really ate the snow silver grass. As Lin Zhusheng spoke, he took out a newly developed snack with snow silver grass as a supplement and recommended it, "It's actually quite delicious. Would you like one?"
A group of disciples who had sneaked away were taken back. On the way back, they passed by the pile of snake demon bodies on the side. They felt the spiritual pressure that had not yet dissipated and were so scared that their bodies trembled. When they noticed that the cross-sections were so neat as if they had always been like that, their hearts trembled even more. They couldn't help but look at the person walking in the front who was trying hard to sell snacks and the person who was refusing with all his strength.
A formation and a simple sword strike were enough to deal with a long-bellied snake demon of this level. The absolute sense of oppression was even more terrifying than the snake demon's spiritual pressure. It was hard to imagine that this was just someone who entered the inner gate a few years earlier than them.
He is indeed the genius as rumored. No wonder he won first place for his sect in last year's sect competition.
The high-level snake demon that was supposed to roam in the heart of the forest unexpectedly appeared on the outskirts of the forest. The low-level monsters were frightened and fled away. They did not encounter any monsters or ordinary beasts along the way, and returned very smoothly to the camp where several teams of disciples had gathered.
Lin Zhusheng originally wanted to continue recommending new snacks to his friend, but when he passed by his disciple, he happened to notice the wound on the person's back, so he stopped temporarily and kindly helped to deal with it.
The disciple had not yet recovered from the fright from the snake demon and did not pay any attention to the wound on his back. He was frightened again by his sudden approach. After hearing that he was going to treat the wound, he let out a breath, thanked him quietly, and said thank you, senior brother.
The wound on the back is difficult for the injured person to deal with by himself, but it is much easier with help from others. Ever since he started teaching other disciples how to practice sword, Lin Zhusheng had already gotten used to being called "senior brother" by others, so he just nodded slightly when he heard that.
Having been to many places and seen many monsters, his technique for treating wounds has made a qualitative leap. He can handle it in just a few moves without wasting much effort.
The flickering firelight illuminated a face that was staring intently at the wound with its eyes downcast. The disciple's eyebrows were as indifferent as distant mountains, and his white hair hung down beside his ears, swaying gently in the night breeze. The disciple turned his head carefully, his heart skipped a beat when he saw this, and he quickly turned his head back.
It seemed that he could still smell a light scent similar to the fragrance of plants. The disciple quietly used his hands to cool his hot face, trying to cool it down physically.
Zhang Jing sat down on the side, glanced at the red-faced disciple, and said with eyes that were used to seeing this: "It's best not to have any thoughts about him."
The words were very direct without any beating around the bush. The disciples who were listening quietly around looked over.
Changing his sitting position, Zhang Jing said, "He has already chosen a Taoist partner. It will be a short time before he returns home for the ceremony of forming the Taoist bond."
Although the Great Elder did not want the matter to be made public, it had come to this point and neither party had any intention of going back on their agreement. It would probably be officially announced soon; it was just a matter of time.
A short sentence, a lot of information, and a bunch of people.
The other disciples opened their eyes and said, "Huh?"
Baimao, who had just treated the wound, was also shocked, "Huh?"
"?"
Not understanding what the person who had made the contract was so surprised about, Zhang Jing slapped him on the back of the head with one hand, "What are you so surprised about?"
All of a sudden, Baimao finally remembered. Facing the gazes of others, he rubbed his head and nodded honestly, saying, "That's right."
Some time ago, the eldest senior brother mentioned this matter to him and they discussed it briefly, but it has been a while since then and he has forgotten about it.
On an ordinary day, they suddenly heard some explosive news, which was confirmed by the person himself, and all the disciples gasped.
Before asking who the other party was, the person himself was taken away by a friend who knew the situation, and the disciples could only watch the two of them go to a corner together.
The news that night was true. After completing their training and returning to the sect a few days later, the disciples had just received the news, but before it could be spread, the two parties involved in the news had already informed everyone.
At some point, the reputation of their sect was taken over by the said to be dignified and humble Ling Xujun, and as soon as he reached the age to form a Taoist partner, the date for the contract ceremony was set.
The covenant ceremony was scheduled for early spring, when peach blossoms were in full bloom all over the mountains.
Both parties to the contract were people whose names were known throughout all sects. On the day of the ceremony, people from all sects gathered from all corners of the country to congratulate them. Gifts were delivered one after another like a continuous stream. Zhang Jing, who was conscripted to help record the gifts, wrote so many times that the tip of his pen split and his hands were almost sparking from the grinding.
The little friend was busy as hell, and Lin Zhusheng himself was not much better.
Originally he was quite happy because he could skip two mornings of sword practice on the day of becoming a Taoist partner and the day after. Plus, the next day was the sect's fixed rest day, so he could have three consecutive days off. But he didn't expect that he would have to get up earlier than usual because of becoming a Taoist partner.
He got up earlier than the sun and spent almost the entire morning in a drowsy state, doing whatever he was told to do. The Great Elder seemed to come by halfway through, as if he was afraid that he would starve to death, so he gave him some snacks and some tea, and then went on with his business.
Cranes were flying through the clouds outside the window, and the sounds of bustle could be vaguely heard in the distance. Before the appointed time, the maids who helped with dressing and tying hair had taken care of everything. The only problem was that the most important person present, who was to make the contract, had not woken up yet and was sleeping just as soundly as he was sitting on the chair or lying on the bed.
The maid shouted several times, gently, as if she wanted to wake the person up, but also as if she was afraid of waking the person up. In the end, it was the kitten on the side who stepped in and kicked the person without mercy.
The person sitting there was kicked awake instantly. The kitten fell back onto the table, hiding its achievements and fame.
The man opened his eyes blankly, and the maid's eyes lit up instantly.
Being woken up at the right moment, Lin Zhusheng didn't even have time to see what he looked like in the mirror. He stood up as soon as he opened his eyes. Someone outside said it was almost time, and the maid led him out of the room and over the threshold.
The sound of golden bells rang out in the clouds, clear and sharp, echoing in the world and getting closer and closer.
He lowered his head and lifted up the hem of his crimson dress embroidered with auspicious clouds and flying cranes in flowing gold thread. His long white hair hung down. He slowly crossed the threshold with his eyes lowered and stepped onto the golden-red satin that covered the ground.
When he raised his eyes again, he saw a red figure standing under a lush peach tree not far away. Wearing a similar red robe, with a slender figure and a smile at the corners of her eyes and lips, she looked at him intently, her gaze not moved by the wind and not shifted in the slightest, waiting for him quietly.
It was a quiet wait that didn’t seem long to him, but it lasted more than ten years to the other party.
To the surprise of everyone present, the person who was slowly crossing the threshold suddenly started running. The white hair and the red headband with thin gold tassels were lifted up, and the crimson hem of the dress bloomed like layers of flowers, fluttering in the air, creating continuous red shadows.
It was like a still and exquisite painting suddenly moved, and the warm and fresh breath of life rushed towards me, scorching and dazzling. Wen Baizhou, who was standing at the end, was startled, then quickly stretched out his hand and took a few steps forward.
He steadily caught the incoming red cannonball, and out of inertia, he turned half a circle holding it, his long hair tangled and his eyebrows touching.
After a bear hug, Lin Zhusheng jumped back to the ground, and the person in front of him bent down and stretched out his hand to him.
He raised his hand and touched the outstretched hand, and as soon as it touched, it was held tightly, with fingers passing through the gaps between their fingers and palms touching.
The sound of golden bells rang, and they got on the carriage pulled by the Ruyi Blue Bird.
The covenant ceremony was held in the ancestral hall, and when they arrived the place was already packed with people.
The ancient trees are covered with red silk, the whole mountain is pink, white and red, auspicious clouds are floating, and flying cranes are circling.
The covenant ceremony was solemn and did not allow for noise or disturbance. When Wen Baizhou and the people around him landed on the ground, they heard small exclamations coming from the crowd that were being suppressed with great effort.
Among the crowd were people from other sects and families, as well as disciples of our own sect. Ling Xujun rarely sees her, but he has many opportunities to see the other person on weekdays. In the past, they knew that she was good-looking, but they didn't expect that she could look like this after careful grooming.
The color red suits her very well. The contrast between her cold white skin and the fiery red robe is obvious. The red headband in her white hair is also very eye-catching, clear and warm.
The two people who came over held hands. Ling Xujun, who was usually said to be taciturn, smiled, with his brows lowered, his eyes fixed on the person walking beside him, his joy completely unconcealed.
The two people, who seemed to be a perfect match no matter how you looked at them, moved forward steadily amid thousands of congratulations.
The kitten, who had taken a ride with the other person, separated from the two people after landing and dived into the crowd, intending to stay with someone he knew.
Instead of finding a familiar person, it saw a familiar face.
People from the Weapon Sect were present. The young sect leader, who had been said to have made a fuss and said he would not come at all, came after all. And because he was not the one to form a Taoist partner today, it was not appropriate for him to wear the usual red color, and he also did not want to attract attention and let others know he was here, so he simply wore blue.
He looked at the white-haired man in red clothes walking slowly towards him from a distance, then slowly leaving after getting closer. Finally, he couldn't help but shed a tear.
He had worked very hard in the past few years, refining various equipment and giving gifts, but in the end he still failed to defeat Ling Xujun. The group of senior sisters from the Hehuan Sect who were sitting next to her could only comfort her. They originally wanted to say that she would find someone better in the future, but after realizing that it seemed difficult to find one, they changed their words and said that time would dilute everything and she would be able to let it go slowly in the future.
Young Master Chen agreed, but he had his own unique understanding of this sentence, saying: "When his feelings for Wen Baizhou fade over time and he lets go, I will have a chance."
Senior sisters: “?”
kitten:"……"
As if it had heard some extraordinary speech, the kitten finally chose to pretend not to hear it and slipped away from the crowd.
Chouzhu's usual friends were in the front among the disciples. It knew these people and they would hug it. It turned a corner and was about to go over there, but it saw a few people patting Song Ming's shoulders.
“…”
The atmosphere here doesn't seem right.
The kitten walked away, and walked a little further, before being found by Wuqi who unexpectedly appeared here. Because he was standing together with leaders like the library manager, his position was quite close to the front and he could see the situation ahead clearly.
"My strength has basically recovered. I will leave after the ceremony." Wuqi gave it a white knot and said, "This is woven with my hair. Give it to him. No matter what happens, just untie the knot and I will appear."
The kitten looked at him twice with the knot in his hand, not understanding what it was for.
"My duty is to protect him," Wu Qi said, looking at the two figures walking side by side. "No one here can hurt him now. I can leave with peace of mind."
Ferocious beasts are destined to roam around the world, and will not stay in this small place unless they have something to worry about.
Two figures had already walked to the front of the ancestral hall. Under the gaze of everyone, they bowed to their teacher, heaven and earth, and then bowed to each other.
The Great Elder tried hard to put on a smile, but after paying homage to his master, the Sect Master next to him glanced at him with a smile, as if he had said nothing, and yet as if he had said everything. His beard trembled, and the smile on his face almost fell off.
The last item of the ceremony was to swear an oath of unity. After the oath was taken, a golden formation arose, shining brightly, and the Taoist couple was officially formed.
The Zongmen and Jianmen entertained the guests on behalf of the ceremony. The two parties involved in the ceremony only needed to simply greet the guests and then leave.
This just happened to be what Lin wanted.
After leaving the contract-making site, he took the big sword to a house where only two people were. The first thing he did when he entered the house was to eat as if he had been hungry for hundreds of years. While eating, he invited his senior brother to eat with him. He didn't notice at all that the room was filled with red silk and red bedding, which was different from the usual ones.
The eldest brother was not hungry and did not eat, so I went to make him some tea.
After eating snacks and drinking tea, he felt warm and full and wanted to sleep. He got up too early in the morning and it was time for a nap. After eating, he climbed onto the bed for a nap. After lying down, he patted the place next to him and asked his senior brother if he wanted to sleep with him.
This time, the eldest brother did not refuse. He got on the bed with his clothes on and lay down on one side.
Smelling a familiar scent, Lin Qianqian, who was so sleepy that she fell asleep in three seconds as soon as she touched the pillow, moved over, buried her head in her clothes, and her breathing gradually became even.
“…”
In the quiet space, apart from the sound of even breathing, a light sigh was heard after a long time.
He was extremely sleepy and slept soundly. When Lin woke up from his nap, the light outside the room had gone out and the room was dim. Only the lamp on the table was emitting a warm yellow light.
After waking up, he finally noticed what was happening.
On the day of the contract, at night, two people, one bed.
……wrong.
Alarm bells rang in his mind, and he carefully turned his head and quietly looked at the person lying next to him.
His eyes were closed, as if he was asleep.
Very good, just fall asleep.
Some things were not ready yet, so he had to go out and practice some boxing to think about it.
“…Pah.”
He slowly stood up, slowly opened the quilt, and slowly lifted the bed curtain. When he was about to get out of bed, someone firmly grasped his hand under the quilt.
He was caught off guard and nearly jumped up in fright. He turned his head sharply and met a pair of clear eyes looking at him without any sleepiness. The eldest brother still held his wrist tightly and asked him where he was going.
This person wasn't sleeping at all!
The villain in his heart was yelling, but Lin Zhusheng remained calm on the surface and said calmly: "I'll go out and get some sun."
Wen Baizhou turned his head along the lifted bed curtain to look out the dark window, his eyebrows slightly raised.
“…”
Realizing what nonsense he had just said a beat late, Lin Zhusheng urgently said: "No, actually I have the habit of going out to practice boxing at night..."
Someone grabbed the back of his neck, and the rest of his words were swallowed by the person who suddenly stood up.
The hand that lifted the bed curtain was still suspended in mid-air. The fingertips were tense at first, and then fell down weakly, and the curtain followed suit.
Okay, now there’s no need to prepare or think.
The air in his mouth was robbed, his white hair spread out, and he half-opened his eyes, watching with blurry vision as a hand squeezed between his fingers.
Unlike the previous kiss that had some reserve and restraint, this time he threw away his weapons before he could even take a few breaths.
The black and white hair mixed together, overlapping and winding on the red sheets.
After being here for several years, he believed that his endurance and ability to control tears had improved qualitatively, but it seemed that nothing had changed.
His temples were wet with sweat, and his hands on the person's back unconsciously clenched, and then quickly dropped before hurting the skin, then grabbed the bed sheet on one side and shouted "Wen Baizhou".
His mind was almost blank, and he didn't know what he wanted to say when he called out someone's name. The next moment his attention was distracted, and tears instantly wet his eyelashes.
The person on top of him took his hand that was tightly grasping the bed sheet and put it back on his back, and said in the same humble voice as always: "I'm here."
A humble voice, but with a strength and movements that have nothing to do with humility.
His mind was blank, and Lin Zhusheng didn't know whether he fell asleep due to exhaustion or fainted from crying that night. He only knew that his afternoon sleep was in vain.
And because of the pathetic habits of Tianzong disciples, even if his voice was hoarse from crying at night, he still opened his eyes on time when it was time to practice sword the next morning.
The morning light was dim, with occasional bird calls, but no urging to practice swordplay.
He thought slowly for a while with his eyes open, and then realized that he didn't have to practice sword skills today. He closed his heavy eyelids again and leaned towards the warm human-shaped heat pad next to him.
Reaching out his hand, he completely embraced the person in his arms, his eyes fell on her snow-white hair, and he felt her breathing become steady in his arms. Wen Baizhou lowered his head, and lightly touched the corners of her closed eyes with his lips, and whispered, "Thank you for coming into this world."
A thank you that is destined not to be received and that I don't want to respond to.
But the gratitude did get through. He opened his closed eyes and met a pair of clear pupils that were full of sleepiness yet awake.
Lin Zhusheng curved his eyes and then closed them again, then smiled and said in a hoarse voice: "Thank you for this world with you."
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