Chapter 109 - The Wedding Day
In a private room on the second floor of the teahouse, Hua Deng, Su Yiqing, and Pei Jianming sat around a table.
In the very center of the table, there was a beautiful wooden board, about the size of a palm, with elegant dragon and phoenix patterns carved on its surface. Inside, when opened, was a wedding invitation with neat ink.
Pei Jianming reached out to take it, but Su Yiqing slapped it away. The latter carefully took it in her hand, looked at it for a long time, and said, "Did you write this? It doesn't look like it."
Hua Deng rested his chin on his hand and curled the corners of his mouth up: "Written by Chen Zhou."
Su Yiqing was surprised for a moment: "How many copies did he write?"
Hua Deng counted on his fingers: "A few dozen copies, I guess?... I don't know, he's in charge of all these things."
Su Yiqing carefully kept the invitation: "Why did you suddenly decide to get married?"
"It's a long story."
They hadn't even considered these things before.
But soon, Hua Deng realized that things were not going well. During the years she was the leader, she had no interest in love. Even if her subordinates wanted to please her, they would only give her precious treasures and magical artifacts. Only a few fools would send her beautiful women.
But ever since Shen Zhou returned, perhaps they felt that she was dissatisfied with the previous ones because she liked this type of woman. Before long, a group of homeless beauties appeared in Ziyang Palace.
Logically, Shen Zhou's puppetry skills should have stopped this behavior, but at the time he merely glanced at those people and said with a half-smile, "One comes, one is killed. What is the leader afraid of?"
Hua Deng: "..."
That very evening, Hua Deng made a decision: they must get married! The wedding had to be the biggest ever!
When she pressed Shen Zhou down to tell him, she thought he would find it troublesome, but he nodded without thinking and readily agreed.
He designed the wedding attire himself, making several revisions according to Hua Deng's preferences. Later, when Hua Deng got too lazy to write invitations, he simply followed the list prepared by the Left Protector and made the wedding attire from beginning to end. It seemed that during that time, nothing interested him more than swordsmanship.
"Xiao Su's is done, what about mine?" Pei Jianming asked expectantly.
Hua Deng then took out his share as well.
Pei Jianming: "Not bad."
Although it's clearly not as exquisite as Su Yiqing's, it still looks like it's been polished with effort.
In short, the marriage was settled.
Until the day before the wedding, the city lights were no different from usual; the day's activities consisted of eating, drinking, having fun, and sending out invitations.
On the eve of the wedding, Mo Xiao, the wife of the Left Protector, came to the palace to accompany Hua Deng. She said that according to custom, the two newlyweds should separate before the wedding.
As the city lights faded into the night, he raised an eyebrow and said, "If it's a custom, then so be it."
He used to disregard all so-called customs; all the rules of the world had to give way to him. Hua Deng had to be convinced that he probably, really did like the idea of "getting married."
That night, Hua Deng suffered from insomnia for the first time in a long time. Although it didn't matter to her whether she slept or not, given her cultivation level, she hadn't felt restless and tossing and turning in a long time.
Why are you nervous when it's not your first time being a Daoist couple?
Is it because the person you most want to see isn't by your side, or because you're too excited about tomorrow to fall asleep?
As she got up and looked at the starlight, she recalled some long-forgotten memories.
That was a long time ago, in her previous life, when she was about five or six years old, she served as a flower girl at her aunt's wedding.
The adults then teased her, asking her what kind of person she wanted to marry and what kind of wedding she preferred.
She said that even if she doesn't get married, she will still have a wedding, a very big wedding, and she will wear a wedding dress and be the most beautiful person.
The adults all burst into laughter.
Later, she naturally didn't take this small matter to heart, and her expectations for love and wedding gradually faded along with her physical ailments. After transmigrating, she cared even less; cultivators are least concerned with formalities, and she had always disliked them anyway.
Perhaps it's only because of that person that I have this expectation.
After all, he never let her wishes go unfulfilled.
Just as Hua Deng was about to close the window, a dark figure suddenly darted out, and the bloated body of the pillow jumped onto the windowsill and shook its hair at her.
Hua Deng first looked at its protruding belly, reached out and poked it, muttering, "Shouldn't you lose some weight?"
The pillow couldn't understand, but it sensed danger from her eyes and quickly turned to the side, gesturing for her to look at the thing hanging around her neck.
It was a bamboo tube. The lantern was taken down, and inside was a note in Shen Zhou's handwriting:
"You're looking at the moon."
Hua Deng laughed, found a pen and paper, and replied, "How did you know?"
After writing, I put the writing in a bamboo tube, tied it to the pillow, patted its body, and the pillow obediently jumped into the night and ran away quickly.
After a while, Pillow returned, and inside the bamboo tube was Shen Zhou's reply, which contained only two words: "Guess."
Hua Deng continued writing: "How did you guess?"
He said, "Because I am just like you."
Hua Deng wrote a new note and put it into the bamboo tube, but the pillow suddenly tilted its head back and fell to the ground, kicking its hind legs twice in protest. She had no choice but to laugh and give up.
Perhaps it was because of this conversation, Hua Deng felt sleepy and fell asleep peacefully in the latter half of the night.
She was awakened by Madam Mo early the next morning.
After washing up, she put on her wedding dress, adorned her head with a floral crown, and opened the door to greet the morning light.
And so, following their predetermined route, they headed to the wedding venue. By conventional standards, Hua Deng seemed more like the groom on his way to fetch his bride, only lacking a handsome, tall horse.
Lie Tian was also released by Hua Deng, with a red silk ribbon hanging from the hilt of his sword. Hua Deng sat on Lie Tian and was led by it towards Chen Zhou's direction.
The journey was not lonely; demonic cultivators formed ranks, and black birds cleared the way. The sky was filled with ever-changing winds and clouds, and the light was dazzling. Once again, countless camellias bloomed across the Nine Provinces.
Thus, all living beings learned at that moment that the leader of the Ziyang Palace was getting married.
In the distance, the streetlights revealed a large number of figures.
They also saw a tall figure with black hair and red clothes in front of the crowd.
He smiled, his handsome features radiant; the city lights, once they saw him, could not look away.
At the same time, a gentle breeze suddenly arose, swirling camellia petals into the air, gathering them before the lanterns, paving a smooth path for them.
She jumped off the blazing sky, stepping on the path of petals, moving forward step by step. He walked towards her at the same time, and walked faster and more than her.
When the two were only a few feet apart, Hua Deng couldn't wait to quicken her pace. Ignoring Mo Xiao's voice, she almost ran up to him, lifted her skirt, twirled around, and asked with a smile, "Do I look pretty?"
He took her hand, a smile playing on his lips as well: "Without a doubt."
Hua Deng leaned close to his ear and whispered, "You're very handsome too."
As the two walked hand in hand, cheers erupted from the banquet hall.
Most of those who come here are cultivators, and quite powerful ones at that. The way cultivators express blessings is naturally different from that of ordinary people; the lanterns are already dazzling even before they reach the area.
Everyone displayed their unique abilities, like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea. Some artificially rained down flower petals, some set off fireworks in the sky, and others controlled the wind, flowers, plants, and talismans...
Before long, the wedding banquet was filled with noise.
"Wait, who threw a fireball at me?!"
"Who the hell set off these fireworks? Couldn't you have set them a little higher?!"
"A pill for having many children and grandchildren? Ugh! Who put it in my cup?!"
Hua Deng couldn't help but laugh and loudly told everyone not to be reserved and to enjoy the banquet to their heart's content.
She didn't intend for this wedding to be too grand; the kneeling ceremony with heaven and earth and the parents were omitted, and the venue was divided into several areas for everyone to have fun.
First, we went to the dance and entertainment area, which is where Hua Deng's parents live.
My parents were in excellent spirits. After receiving their tea, I gave each of them a red envelope.
Shen Zhou seemed not to have received any red envelopes before. He glanced at them a few more times before putting them away and thanking the two parents.
Hua Deng sensed that he was quite curious about what was in the red envelope, so she whispered to him that he should save it for later that night. Upon hearing this, Shen Zhou calmly closed his Heavenly Eye and indicated that he would.
The second place we went was the drinking area.
Halfway there, they heard the drunken voice of the Left Protector: "I'm not bragging, but when I drink, I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk! If you don't believe me, come and try!"
Immediately following was a loud "bang," the sound of Mo Xiao striking him on the head.
"Drink my ass! With your two bowls of liquor gone in no time, you still have the nerve to embarrass yourself?"
Everyone chuckled and agreed with Mo Xiao's words.
The next second, Mo Xiao picked up the bowl and said boldly, "If he can't do it, I will!"
The laughter stopped abruptly, and everyone's expressions turned serious.
The Left Protector said he had a high alcohol tolerance, but everyone knew it was just boasting. However, when Mo Xiao picked up the wine bowl, no one dared to disbelieve her; she truly could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.
Even when Shen Zhou passed by, he couldn't escape being dragged by Mo Xiao to drink. Because of the bright lights, she was no longer so afraid of Shen Zhou, and now she was taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to test his drinking capacity.
Seeing this, Hua Deng let go of her hand and blinked innocently: "Weddings should involve drinking, go ahead."
Everyone looked at him curiously, wondering if anyone could beat Mo Xiao.
Hua Deng specifically instructed, "You are not allowed to use magic to cure a hangover."
Shen Zhou toyed with his wine glass, lowered his eyes and smiled, "You should have prepared the prizes I won in advance."
Hua Deng laughed and said, "We'll talk about it after you win!"
After saying that, he turned and ran away.
As she ran over to Su Yiqing, she heard Hua Yuan call out from behind, "Sister, look! Isn't the pillow amazing!"
Looking back, several rings of fire had been lit there sometime earlier. Pillow's plump body was exceptionally agile, nimbly leaping and weaving through the rings of fire, drawing cheers from the crowd.
Hua Deng sighed, "You set the house on fire the other day, saying you were lighting a fire for a barbecue, but it turns out you were just training a pillow to perform this?"
"It's the pillow that likes it; look how happy it is playing with it!" Hua Yuan said, waving his baton.
The pillow was having a great time, leaving Hua Deng both amused and exasperated.
Suddenly, Hua Yuan cried out in alarm, "Ah, there's a fire again!"
Flames climbed up Pillow's short tail, and Pillow let out a howl and thrashed about. Fortunately, Yun Mingyu, who had been watching, reacted quickly, grabbed its head, and cast an earth-based spell to extinguish the fire.
After the fire was extinguished, the pillow lay on the ground covered in ash. Su Yi used a cleaning spell to clean it and picked it up from the ground.
She hugged the pillow, feeling the pressure on her arm, and couldn't help but sigh at the streetlight, "You should really give it a weight loss."
Hua Deng also said, "We'll start tomorrow, and this time we absolutely have to cut back. By the way, where's Pei Jianming?"
Su Yi nodded slightly in another direction, her expression suggesting she was trying not to laugh.
Hua Deng squinted at him, then fell silent for a moment: "He's...performing magic for the cultivators?"
Su Yiqing: "Yes, he said it was his dream before."
Hua Deng: "Never mind, as long as he's happy."
After walking around the streetlights and returning to the drinking area, they found Mo Xiao slumped over the table, crying bitterly.
"Master, Master... I'm so useless, I actually lost, sob sob..."
Hua Deng silently sent her a red envelope as a consolation prize. Mo Xiao lowered her head, counted the spirit stones, and smiled broadly. She smiled and then fell asleep.
Hua Deng turned to look at Chen Zhou, whose expression remained almost unchanged. He smiled at her while holding his wine glass.
Hua Deng pulled his wrist and took a sip from his glass. It was indeed extremely strong liquor, so strong that she almost bit her tongue.
“You actually outdrank Mrs. Mo.” She poked his cheek.
He didn't dodge, and Hua Deng guessed he was still a little drunk, so she pressed down harder on his lips to make dimples.
Shen Zhou grabbed her hand: "You want me to lose?"
Hua Deng murmured, then looked him over: "A little bit."
Shen Zhou chuckled lazily, "You can try. I only lose to you."
Since he had said that, Hua Deng certainly wouldn't back down: "Okay, then let's do it together next time... Ah, Jin Ze is back."
She pointed behind Chen Zhou and said.
Jinze went out on an urgent mission a few days ago and was delayed halfway. He rushed back today.
After presenting the congratulatory gift to Hua Deng, he sat down to the side, picked up the wine pot, took two sips, and his face immediately scrunched up, looking as if he was having great difficulty swallowing it.
Hua Deng thoughtfully handed him a drink and casually asked, "How did things go?"
Not wanting to spoil the wedding, Jinze concisely replied, focusing on the key points: "It's not bad, everything in Youzhou has been handled. But I'm still undecided about the things I reported earlier, and I need the Master's help..."
Hua Deng interrupted in time: "Left Protector, I'll help you."
Jinze said, "Oh, the Left Protector can certainly do it, but if the Sect Leader were to intervene, that place would definitely be..."
Hua Deng and Shen Zhou exchanged a glance.
The two immediately smiled and turned around and ran away at the same time.
"Hey!" Jinze shouted, "Where are you guys going!"
"Of course..."
"On our honeymoon!"
[Author's Note]
The bonus chapters won't be updated daily, so please don't wait. They'll be updated roughly every two or three days.
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