Marriage contract
She heard Lord Liyang say, word by word, "I have lived here for many years and am quite lonely. I know you have a mission to fulfill, so I will not make things difficult for you. But after you have completed the mission entrusted to you by your master, you will return to this place and marry me, and stay by my side forever. Is that alright?"
His words, though seemingly devoid of emotion, were filled with an undeniable sense of forcefulness.
Ah Qiu never dreamed that the jokes Zhang Exu and Cui Luzhu had made would actually come true. Could it be that immortals marry like mortals? And even if immortals were to marry, how could it be a mortal like her?
In her haste, her mind went blank, and she couldn't answer a single question.
Seeing that she didn't answer, the deity pressed on, "How is it?"
This time, his voice carried a hint of aggressiveness.
After hesitating for a long time, A Qiu finally mustered up the courage to answer, "This... I'm afraid it won't work."
The deity's voice turned cold as he asked, "Why not?"
Ah Qiu stammered, "I... once pledged myself to someone, vowing to never leave them, even in death. And... and we had already secretly pledged our lives to each other."
It took her a lot of effort to finish the sentence. After she finished speaking, she felt her face burning with embarrassment.
This is probably the first time since she met Gu Yi that she has frankly admitted how clear and distinct Gu Yi's position is in her heart.
Even if... what Gu Yi wanted might not be this kind of position.
But she couldn't change her mind.
Lord Liyang remained unusually silent for a moment.
A man and a woman sitting in a room late at night, separated by a gauze curtain, is a scene that is both awkward and strange.
Ah Qiu continued to try to smooth things over: "Thank you for your kindness, Divine Lord. May I ask if you may propose any other conditions?"
Lord Liyang spoke, but his tone was stiff: "Did the person you mentioned ever promise to marry you?"
A-Qiu paused for a moment, then had no choice but to answer truthfully, "No."
Even in her wildest dreams, she couldn't imagine that Gu Yi would ask to marry her—that was impossible.
Lord Liyang continued, "In that case, it does not contradict my request. Since he has not agreed to marry you, you can marry me."
A-Qiu was taken aback: the god meant that he didn't mind that she had someone else in her heart, and that they were already husband and wife, yet he still insisted on marrying her.
Her mind was a complete mess; she couldn't understand what charm she possessed that made this deity so determined to marry her at first sight.
She had quite a lot of life experience, but when she was wandering the world as Jing Ke, no one dared to think about this. After she entered the palace as a musician, none of the men who interacted with her, whether they coveted her beauty like Huang Chao'an or had feelings for her like Xiao Chang'an and Xie Tiao, dared to break the ice and propose to her so directly.
Therefore, she really had no experience in dealing with marriage proposals and didn't know how to properly refuse.
She racked her brains for a long time before stammering, "I believe that marriage requires mutual affection and love, whether for mortals or gods. I have never met the God, and I already have someone I love. The God has lived for a long time and has seen countless people. He doesn't need me. Why should he be so insistent?"
Lord Liyang said in a deep voice, "Do you think I'm too old and have seen too many people?"
A-Qiu stammered, and after a long pause, said, "That's not what I meant." Thinking to herself how sensitive and petty this deity was, she racked her brains, "I just felt..."
Lord Liyang replied, "You just feel that you don't like me, so you don't want to marry me."
A Qiu was speechless, but had to admit that this deity was actually very clever.
Lord Liyang remained silent for a moment, then said, "Stretch out your hand."
A Qiu was puzzled. Looking at the man sitting silently outside the tent, exuding an arrogant aura, she was about to lift the curtain and reach out when she instinctively stopped.
If one were to rashly extend one's hand, one's wrist might be severed, one's pulse might be broken, or one's joints might be dislocated; such a situation would be no laughing matter.
Who would have thought that her hesitation would allow all the movements to be observed by Lord Liyang?
The next instant, her outstretched hand was captured in someone's palm through the gauze curtain.
Startled, A Qiu tried to pull her hand back, but no matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't budge.
Even through the gauze curtain, I could feel the warmth and strength of the hand that held hers; the palm was burning hot, and I could feel the strong, steady pulse beating through it.
Before A Qiu could figure out the difference between the hands of gods and humans, he heard Lord Liyang say, "Answer me, how do you feel?"
Just as A-Qiu was about to answer that she felt nothing, she suddenly realized something was wrong.
An extremely intense and strange burning sensation came from between his eyebrows, and his heart pounded incessantly.
The hand held in the palm of Lord Liyang felt as if it had been burned, making her want to pull it back, but she was no match for him in terms of brute force.
The imposing figure opposite her had completely enveloped her. At the same time, she felt an indescribable, strange sensation coursing through her body.
The entire atmosphere suddenly became incredibly strange.
Just as she was about to look up, she heard the deity whisper in her ear through the gauze curtain, "It seems you have no reason not to like me."
After saying that, he immediately let go of her hand and sat back down in his original seat as if nothing had happened.
A-Qiu was stunned, his hand hanging in mid-air, and for a moment he forgot to take it back.
The warmth of his hand still lingered, and the hot breath he had breathed on her ear as he whispered in it just moments before stirred her heart, leaving her feeling restless and unable to calm down.
What unsettled her even more was his earlier statement:
"It seems you have no reason not to like me."
But to her ears, it was like being struck by lightning.
Because the truth seemed to be as he said. Although she didn't particularly like him, like him as much as she liked Gu Yi, the problem was, she didn't dislike him either.
The figure opposite calmly stood up and said, "Come find me again when you've figured it out."
He then walked out the door with a nonchalant air, not forgetting to leave behind the words, "I'll be waiting for you."
A Qiu struggled to her feet, her body barely able to move, and lifted the bed curtains to carefully survey every piece of furniture in the side hall once more.
Like the main hall, it was empty and bare, with no other things except for a bed, a small table, tattered bedding, and patched bed curtains. There was no trace of anyone living there.
The only unusual thing about it was its exceptional cleanliness. Although the items were old and worn, they had all been carefully maintained and wiped clean.
I really don't know how this deity lived there. Perhaps he neither drank nor ate, but drank the wind and dew.
Ah Qiu wondered if she would have to live here forever if she married him, but she immediately dismissed the thought from her mind.
With the nation's affairs unfinished and half of the country still ravaged by war, she could hardly imagine having the thought of getting married.
Being alone in this place naturally evokes a sense of remoteness, far removed from the world. It's as if everything outside Liyang Palace has become an unreal dream.
She stepped out of the side hall, and just as she closed the door behind her and was about to leave along the corridor, a strange feeling suddenly arose in her heart.
In her memory, today should be the first time she has come to this abandoned palace in Liyang. How come she seems to know the layout of the palace as well as she walks out of the side hall?
Logically, this place, being an abandoned site long abandoned, should exude an aura of "keep away, strangers."
But from the moment she stepped into this place, she didn't feel uncomfortable staying here. And now, after meeting Lord Liyang, she even feels a sense of familiarity and closeness to everything here.
This place is clearly unsuitable for human habitation.
After taking a couple more steps, as if sensing something, she suddenly turned around.
What comes into view are several deep and winding corridors, with dead rocks and artificial mountains stacked on both sides to block the view, winding endlessly.
A gentle night breeze rustled through the air, starlight shone brightly upon it, and lush green grass grew abundantly.
She felt as if her feet had taken root, and she could no longer move.
"Master! Master!" A clear, crisp voice called out from afar. The jingling of bells hanging from her ankles mingled with her light, quick steps.
It's a series of corridors leading to corridors, waterways to waterways, mountains upon mountains, and willows and flowers in the darkness, yet I can never find the person I long to see.
She ran a few more steps and almost fell, but a pair of strong hands helped her up.
Looking up, before the fluttering embroidered curtains, stood the tall figure of a man in a black cloak draped in gold feathers.
His silver hair was like snow, and his features were as handsome and deep as if carved by a knife.
That is...?
A-Qiu's vision was suddenly filled with tears.
She thought that perhaps she missed him so much that even in her hallucinations, she would always mistake anyone she saw for him.
The illusion vanished in an instant.
The corridor, just as it was when we arrived, was deserted, with only starlight and creeping vines remaining, stretching endlessly into the depths.
But by this moment, A-Qiu was already certain of one thing.
She had visited the ruined palace in Liyang.
This was not the first time she had seen Zhulong, nor was it the first time she had come to this secluded corridor.
Since arriving here, she has been repeatedly triggered by mental illusions. But one cannot conjure up people and things one has never seen before in a dream. She was very perceptive, and this principle became clear to her in no time.
But when exactly did that happen? Why can't I recall it at all when I search my memory now?
There was also the dream I experienced when I was startled and fainted due to the strange movements of the Candle Dragon. In that dream, there was Chu Yuanyi, Su Jinlan, and—Emperor Xie Lang.
Looking back now, the way Zhulong swept across the ground when he attacked was probably not because he wanted to attack her, but because he was agitated by the name "A-Qiu".
The Zhulong was clearly very intelligent and would not attack humans so easily, otherwise Lord Liyang would not have kept it in the palace.
Therefore, there is only one explanation: Zhulong was also very familiar with the name "Aqiu".
A Qiuji had an urge to immediately summon Lord Liyang and have him explain the reason behind all of this.
He was a long-time resident of this place and must be well aware of all the causes and consequences that had occurred here.
But in the end, the fist that had been clenched tightly in his sleeve slowly loosened.
A voice inside her said: She didn't want to know any of this.
These things have nothing to do with what she's doing, and she doesn't need to know them.
Master Wanqiqing's warning still rings in my ears.
“If your past was happy, you wouldn’t be in Lanling Hall now.”
No other identity in the world is more noble than that of the Divine Weapon Master of Lanling Hall, the sole successor of Junior Master Gu Yi. Why should she cling to or be curious about the past?
People only know her as the "Jing Ke" of Lanling, the successor of Gu Yi, and the only Grand Musician Shi Wanqiu of the Dayan Dynasty. For her, living with this identity is enough.
A Qiu made up her mind and left the abandoned Liyang Palace without looking back.
In the ruined palace of Liyang, at the end of the corridor, behind the artificial hill, the person standing watched her push open the door and leave decisively.
Her eyes, as cold as snow, held no emotion.
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