Combined niche
Jiu Che returned from the border, carrying with him a lingering sense of unease and a heavy heart. Instead of returning to his meditation room to treat his injuries, he went straight to the side hall.
Pushing open the door, Qi Yuan was standing by the window. Hearing the noise, she turned around. Seeing him return safely, the unease that had been suppressed for half a month in her eyes finally dissipated, turning into a barely perceptible relaxation. But she was immediately taken aback by the unusually solemn aura surrounding him.
"You..." She had just started to speak when he interrupted her.
“Come with me.” Jiu Che’s voice was deep, carrying an undeniable resolve. He stepped forward and grabbed her wrist without a word, the force not strong, but with an unyielding determination.
Qi Yuan was puzzled, but she did not resist. She let him pull her through the silent corridors of Tingxue Garden, bypassed several hidden formations, and finally arrived at the deepest part of the garden, a secret pavilion that she had never set foot in before.
Pushing open the door, one finds not a magnificent palace, but a simply furnished yet thoughtfully decorated quiet room. Red candles burn quietly, illuminating the only decoration in the room—two neatly folded formal dresses hanging on the wall.
One set was a snow-white fairy wedding robe, embroidered with silver thread with flowing cloud patterns, exuding a cool and noble air.
The other outfit was a dazzling red wedding gown, not the style commonly seen among immortals. Instead, it carried a hint of the untamed spirit she favored when she was known as "Seven Kite." The hem of the skirt was outlined with a black bird with outstretched wings in gold thread, subtly echoing her true form as the Demon Lord.
Qi Yuan stared at the two dresses, her pupils suddenly contracting, her heart feeling as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand, her breath catching in her throat for a moment. She abruptly looked up at Jiu Che, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Jiu Che didn't look at her. His gaze fell on the two dresses, one red and one white. His icy eyes were filled with extremely complex emotions, including pain, reminiscence, and a kind of almost desperate madness, which finally settled into a bottomless tenderness and determination.
“A hundred years ago,” he began, his voice hoarse, as if carrying a thousand-pound weight, “I owed you a wedding.”
Qi Yuan's throat felt like it was blocked by something, and she couldn't utter a single word. That bloody wedding a hundred years ago was a lie she had torn apart with her own hands, a scar that could never heal.
“Today,” Jiu Che finally turned his head to look at her, his gaze like the deepest night, locking her soul, “there are no guests from the Three Realms, no elders of the Fox Clan, no distinction between immortals and demons.”
"Only me, and you."
He picked up the red wedding dress and handed it to her, his movements almost reverent: "Qi Yuan, would you... marry me again?"
There were no flowery words, no moving vows. Only this simplest, most direct, and most weighty question.
Qi Yuan gazed at the dazzling wedding dress before her, then at Jiu Che's eyes, now warmed by candlelight and filled with unwavering courage and sincerity. Tears welled up unexpectedly. A century of grudges and passions melted away like ice and snow in that moment.
She reached out her hand, her fingertips trembling slightly, but she resolutely accepted the wedding dress.
Without words, actions speak louder than words.
As the couple changed into their wedding attire and stood side by side before the red candles, the moonlight outside the window was perfect, casting a pure and holy glow upon this private ceremony.
There was no emcee to announce the greetings, and no guests to offer their blessings.
Jiu Che took her hand and gently slipped a smooth white jade ring onto her ring finger. On the inside of the ring were two tiny characters—Che and Yuan.
Then, he placed another black jade ring in her palm, gesturing for her to put it on him.
Qi Yuan picked up the black jade ring; it was slightly cool to the touch, and inside were engraved the two intertwined names. She lifted his hand, her movements slow and deliberate, and pushed the ring to the base of his finger.
We exchanged rings as betrothal gifts, and my name as the bond.
Then, he picked up the nuptial cups that had been prepared on the table, filled with amber-colored celestial wine, and handed one of them to her.
Arms crossed, eyes met.
There were no vows, only the unique reflection of each other in their eyes.
He drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.
The wine is spicy yet has a sweet aftertaste, just like their entangled past, a mixture of pain and sweetness, which ultimately settles into the perfect ending of this moment.
Set the wine glass down.
Jiu Che reached out and gently pulled her into his arms. Unlike his previous forceful or desperate gestures, this embrace carried a gentle and peaceful feeling of having settled down.
“From now on,” he whispered in her ear, his voice deep and clear, “throughout heaven and earth, through the netherworld, my wife will only have Qi Yuan.”
Qi Yuan closed her eyes, hugged him back, buried her face in his warm chest, felt his steady heartbeat, and her tears soaked his snow-white wedding dress.
This wedding, which was a century overdue,
There were no guests filling the hall, and no heaven and earth to bear witness.
Only a pair of red candles and a single bright moon remain.
With each other,
A desperate gamble.
Outside the window, the night breeze swept through Tingxue Garden, and the stream winding along the mountainside murmured softly, as if playing a unique melody for this silent wedding ceremony.
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