Plan A
Furnace 15
Wedding Ceremony
[Refresher: Qi Refining stage → Foundation Establishment stage → Golden Core stage → Nascent Soul stage → Divine Transformation stage → Void Refining stage → Body Integration stage → Great Accomplishment stage]
Su Xin listened as Fourteen analyzed her current descent speed, the water pressure, and her remaining time in her mind.
Although it was very useful, the feeling was truly not good.
As soon as she entered the spring water, Su Xin’s mind was filled with only one thought: Damn, it hurts so much.
Her whole body ached as if it were being torn apart, with countless needles pricking her veins.
This was a good thing for cleansing muscles and refining marrow1, and also a good item for reconstructing meridians. But behind such benefits, there was bound to be extreme pain.
Su Xin had originally calculated how long she could hold her breath underwater, but now all those estimations had turned to dust.
【Host, dive deeper.】
Fourteen wasn’t sure if Su Xin could withstand the intense pain and water pressure to dive to the destination. Fortunately, although this spring was deeper than average, it wasn’t exaggeratedly so. If not for the added pain, the Host would definitely be able to dive successfully. But in this current situation, there was a probability of danger.
The spring water was a dense black, and a large snake was coiled within it. But that wasn’t Su Xin’s main threat. She had high hopes for this water to bring her hope, but not under such wretched circumstances; she could easily drown like this.
The pain grew increasingly fierce, the air in her lungs dwindled, and the crushing sensation was maddening.
Lord Fourteen, what’s down there?
【There’s a transparent barrier. If it can be broken…】
Then I’m not going down.
If it were broken, she would be saved, true. But this water… wouldn’t her trip have been for nothing?
It was so hard to get here; there was no way she would let all her previous efforts go to waste.
Su Xin started swimming upwards, broke through the surface, and greedily breathed in the air.
Being without air was simply an indescribable agony.
The large snake noticed the movement beside it, but its attention was still on Jing Yueru.
Su Xin swam to the bank. She couldn’t get out; the bank was covered with coiled snakes flicking their tongues. Going up there meant she was done for.
Su Xin hesitated for a moment, glanced at Jing Yueru over there, and decided to carefully just… sprawl out in the spring water for a bit.
Jing Yueru was covered in snakes, almost obscuring her human form.
The large snake was initially very pleased, but gradually it noticed something was wrong.
Its little snakes had not only failed to eat the cultivator’s flesh, but they had all died!
How could this be? All its snakes were capable of regeneration.
The large snake grew agitated in the spring water, its body beginning to move towards the bank. All the other snakes cleared a path for it.
Su Xin struggled to maintain consciousness, not letting herself faint from the pain.
Jing Yueru opened her eyes; gray was replaced by red.
You failed to protect her again. She fell right in front of you.
The intense pain in her head made Jing Yueru want to scream, but she couldn’t make a sound.
Jing Yueru stood up irritably, pushing aside the things around her.
She couldn’t quite see the scene in front of her; it was all blurry, shrouded in a bloody mist.
Faintly, she could see a figure in the water in the distance.
That must be the person I’m looking for, Jing Yueru thought. I should go over and see her.
But something was blocking the way, how obstructive.
“Get lost.”
Jing Yueru casually crushed a snake’s head and tossed it aside.
Many annoying things swarmed up. Jing Yueru waved her hand impatiently, slicing out a swath of corpses. But strangely, the snake corpses didn’t split in two as before; they just died.
The large snake’s pupils emitted a cold light. It sensed a familiar aura from this person, which made it very agitated.
The large snake hissed, coiling towards Jing Yueru and spitting its venom.
Su Xin thought to herself, This is bad. This kind of world that defies science is really troublesome.
The bloody mist before her eyes grew thicker, making it impossible to see what was in front of her anymore.
Jing Yueru’s beautiful face was stained with specks of blood—the snakes’ blood. Her eyes were a vast expanse of red, unfocused.
Can’t see her anymore.
Can’t see her anymore.
This single thought echoed in Jing Yueru’s mind. She felt her head throb even more intensely, and at the same time, her body ached with spasms, as if it might explode at any moment.
A white, transparent liquid sprayed out, landing on the ground with a sizzling, corrosive sound.
A magical artifact on Jing Yueru shattered, blocking an attack.
Jing Yueru stood there, then her body fell to the ground.
Su Xin had already bitten her tongue; her mind was growing increasingly fuzzy.
Seeing Jing Yueru, who had just stood up, faint again, she almost wanted to spit out a mouthful of blood. She wanted to crawl over there and desperately shake Jing Yueru’s shoulders. Sis, can you be a bit more reliable, please! I’m begging you!
The snakes swarmed, wanting to rush up, but just as they got close, they were frozen into ice.
A chilling aura permeated the entire space. Frost gradually formed everywhere, freezing all things.
This was the last scene Su Xin saw. She just found it incredibly spectacular. An ice age, ah.
Except for the black spring water and the large snake, everything else was frozen solid.
Su Xin fainted, collapsing on the bank.
The large snake looked warily at the person emitting the chilling aura, remembering something.
Jing Yueru floated in mid-air. Her eyes had returned to gray, but her expression was completely different from before, exuding an air of indifference.
The corners of her lips curled up with a hint of amusement, a snowflake condensing on her fingertip.
“Long time no see.”
Jing Yueru spoke, offering a greeting.
“How have you gotten stupider with your cultivation? Compared to a few decades ago, you haven’t made much progress, huh.”
Jing Yueru’s body floated naturally in mid-air, unaffected by other forces. The powerful majesty she exuded reminded the black snake of the fear of being dominated in the past.
“Hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss.”
How is it you again! What are you here for this time!
Although the black snake was only level seven, it had gained some intelligence.
“Just borrowing something of yours for a bit.”
“Hiss hiss.”
In your dreams.
The black snake twisted its body and coiled around Su Xin on the bank.
“Hiss hiss.”
“Are you provoking me?”
Jing Yueru chuckled, but her expression was icy to the extreme.
That woman… should be the one ‘I’ like, right?
Jing Yueru’s mind was stirred; her emotions strongly compelled her to save that person.
“How troublesome.”
Jing Yueru said impatiently, flicking the snowflake from her hand.
If she didn’t know how long she could be out, she would have gone back long ago to see what had become of that place.
That snowflake gently landed on the black snake. The snake’s body stiffened, its tail suddenly releasing Su Xin, who fell into the water with a splash.
Su Xin choked on some water and managed to open her eyes.
The person she saw before her was very unfamiliar, not that little fool.
The black snake’s body shrank bit by bit, returning to the size Su Xin and the others had originally seen.
“As expected of a demonic beast with little intelligence. It doesn’t even know how to read the situation or compare strengths.”
The black snake lay on the bank, surrounded by a horde of frozen snakes. The scene looked utterly disgusting, yet also strangely shocking.
Jing Yueru came before Su Xin. Su Xin squinted and noticed a red dot floating between Jing Yueru’s eyebrows, adding a touch of demonic allure to her originally cold face.
“She’s easy to fool, but I’m not. Speak, who are you? Why do you know about this place?”
Su Xin felt that she didn’t quite like this person in front of her. Although she knew this current attitude was probably normal, she just felt uncomfortable. Perhaps the impression the previous Jing Yueru had left on her was too deep.
Su Xin didn’t speak and closed her eyes.
Jing Yueru wanted to ask more, but then she fell silent.
“Reconstruct your meridians. I’ll stand guard for you.”
Jing Yueru pressed her glabella, calming the agitation.
Something was wrong with her body; her consciousness had split in two.
She had suppressed herself within the body, along with past memories. The shrunken body began a new growth process, forming another self.
She had awakened because the restriction had loosened. Soon, she would likely fall asleep again. This was unavoidable because her current body’s strength couldn’t yet bear her full power, let alone return to that place to do certain things.
Rationally, Jing Yueru felt she should ask clearly, but the suppression from ‘her’ emotions made it impossible.
That other self seemed to unconditionally trust the person before her, acting purely on feeling. Jing Yueru looked at the pained face of the person in the water, then glanced thoughtfully at her own wrist.
The young woman’s face before her was stunningly beautiful, like a dazzling red rose, yet not thorny, but exuding a languid, quiet aura.
Jing Yueru set up a formation, sat cross-legged on the bank holding her sword, and watched Su Xin without blinking.
Su Xin wanted to vomit but couldn’t.
She felt as if her internal organs2 were being twisted together. Cold sweat seeped from her forehead, and the metallic taste in her mouth grew stronger.
This was simply not something a human could endure. Although success always came at a price, this price was a bit too physically torturous.
If Su Xin had her previous memories, she would realize she seemed to be constantly repeating this kind of life.
Constantly getting injured.
Because the clients in every world were in a disadvantaged state, always in the position of the weak. To transform from weak to strong, it required not only a change in mentality but also the ability to withstand all trials.
Su Xin’s black hair was disheveled. She desperately clawed at the stones on the bank, her ten fair fingers stained with blood.
The previously calm spring water began to boil strangely again, bubbling with black foam.
But the smell wasn’t foul or fishy; instead, it exuded a peculiar medicinal fragrance.
Something was surging into her body. Su Xin spat out a mouthful of blood and felt a little less uncomfortable.
Su Xin had her eyes closed, so she didn’t notice the changes in her surroundings.
The originally black spring water had turned milky white and was still boiling.
Su Xin felt the pain in her body completely dissipate, as if she had merged with this pool of spring water, feeling very comfortable.
In Jing Yueru’s eyes, the beautiful, churning colors of the spring water couldn’t compare even slightly to the young woman in the water with her eyes closed.
Why do you like her?
Jing Yueru asked herself this in her heart. As usual, she received no response.
When she temporarily awakened and took control of this body, her other personality would naturally fall into a deep sleep. There was no communication between them, only a shared emotional connection.
When the restriction was restored, she would fall asleep until ‘she’ encountered danger again.
She possessed ‘her’ memories, but ‘she’ did not possess hers. When the restriction was completely lifted, that other self would naturally possess all of her own memories. At that time, ‘she’ (the current awakened personality) would cease to exist.
To be precise, they would merge into one.
Sharing and exchanging each other’s memories, they would become one person, although they were originally one person to begin with.
The process of reconstructing meridians was initially painful, making one wish they could dismantle their own body, leaving only an empty skeleton, to no longer bear that agonizing feeling.
But after everything was completed, the sensation was exceptionally pleasant, a warm feeling spreading throughout the body.
Jing Yueru saw that it was done, dismantled the formation, and replaced it with a Spirit Gathering Array.
Su Xin felt a continuous stream of warmth flowing into her body, so comfortable that she didn’t even want to move a finger.
A moment later, Su Xin awakened from that state, feeling as if she had been reborn.
Finally, it wasn’t that weak, flimsy body from before. Even fighting wasn’t satisfying.
Physical weakness made Su Xin very irritable because she especially hated feeling powerless. If her body became very weak, many things would be impossible to do, and she might even become a burden or a drag.
That was unacceptable to her. She would rather die than become a burden.
Barely surviving didn’t suit her. Either live greatly or die heroically. If she had to just drag on, just linger, it wouldn’t be good for anyone.
And the feeling of strength returning to her body was wonderful. Su Xin didn’t ask to be incredibly anything; it was enough if her physical fitness could reach three-quarters of her previous level. But clearly, a cultivator’s body was even better than her original constitution.
Su Xin estimated her strength; it was around the third layer of Qi Refining.
This truly surprised her. Although the original owner initially had the strength of the eighth layer of Qi Refining, it had been completely crippled. Why, when everything started anew, could she still possess such high initial strength?
Perhaps it was because of this pool of spring water and this formation.
Su Xin had already noticed the black spring water had turned milky white and found it a bit baffling.
“Is this useless now?”
“This thing is an extremely rare Marrow-Cleansing Spring. However, it can only be used once each time it forms. It can regenerate, but the regeneration time is very long. It can be used again, but only after many years.”
“I see.”
Because this black snake was hidden too well, and others simply didn’t know the wonders of this spring.
Once, a mighty expert who could venture into this secret realm had swept through here, but he didn’t know what this spring water was for and thought it was something bad.
After all, the pool water was black; one look and it didn’t seem like anything good.
“Thank you.”
Su Xin expressed her thanks. Whether it was to the previous personality or the current one, in any case, Jing Yueru had helped her a great deal.
“You don’t need to worry about who I am. In short, I mean you no harm. I’m very grateful for your help. If you think I’m strange, you can just leave me here and ignore me.”
“I won’t.”
Jing Yueru stood up from the ground and patted off the non-existent dust from her clothes.
“What should we do about this place?”
Su Xin looked at the ice-age-like scene—the snakes crowded together, frozen under the ice, unsure if they were alive or dead. It looked terrifying, enough to make someone with trypophobia3 faint immediately.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Jing Yueru looked at the small, stiff black snake on the ground. Actually, this fellow wasn’t easy to defeat. When she came here before, she fought this snake for several days before scaring it off, severely damaging its foundation, causing it to shrink to this state. Its recent transformation back to its original form was merely a bluff. That’s why she could defeat it so easily again—because she had left something inside its body.
Only after Su Xin got out of the pool did she notice something was off.
Lord Fourteen, do you feel like my body has changed a bit?
【Mm, it’s fairer.】
Su Xin looked at the milky white spring water with a strange expression, then at her own body. It seemed not only had her skin become fairer and better, but her chest also seemed a bit bigger?
There’s even this kind of slick move4?
Anyway, these things weren’t important, so Su Xin just skipped over them.
Before Su Xin could ask Jing Yueru for clothes, she found clothes already handed to her.
Jing Yueru tilted her head, trying hard to convey the idea of “look not upon what is improper5.”
“Give me the egg.”
Jing Yueru took the black egg out of her storage ring and placed it in Su Xin’s hand.
Su Xin channeled the meager spiritual energy in her body into the egg, somewhat anticipating what changes would happen next.
Lord Fourteen had said that as long as spiritual energy was injected into it, this egg would be completely hatched.
The eggshell was cracking bit by bit, adding a touch of magnificent color to this ordinary-looking egg.
The merchant who sold this egg before had said there was a snake inside.
A small, silver creature slowly crawled out from inside, not black like its eggshell.
This contrast was quite interesting. This silver-white snake seemed a bit dazed, not having realized it had already crawled out.
The eggshell turned into fragments and was entirely absorbed into the silver-white snake’s body.
It looked listless and lacking energy, but after seeing the black snake on the ground, it suddenly seemed to gain strength.
Su Xin felt a slippery sensation in her hand, and the snake vanished from her palm, appearing before the frozen black snake.
The creature that had just emerged from the eggshell was much smaller than the black snake, but an incredible thing happened.
Su Xin watched as that not-so-large snake swallowed something three times its own volume into its body.
Truly swallowed it into its body.
Su Xin had a look on her face as if she couldn’t bear to watch. So it’s this ferocious, huh.
To actually not burst its stomach doing that was truly a miracle.
And even if that thing was defeated, it was still a level-seven demonic beast, right? It just… just swallowed it like that?
“This is a Heaven-Swallowing Serpent. It’s a bloodline that disappeared long ago. For it to appear in your hands… how did you know it was in that black egg?”
Jing Yueru was somewhat surprised. If that merchant knew what he had missed out on, he’d probably be regretting it until his intestines turned green6.
“How I knew isn’t important. What’s important is that it’s mine now.”
Su Xin squatted down with a smile, opening her palm.
Even after swallowing such a large thing, the snake’s belly still looked very flat, no different from before.
Its size hadn’t changed; it could coil around Su Xin’s wrist exactly three times.
“Let’s give you a name. What would be a good one?”
Only then did Su Xin feel a bit like a protagonist. Such a cool, domineering, and awesome pet had to belong to the protagonist.
Su Xin was terrible at naming things. She thought for a good while but still couldn’t come up with a name for her little snake.
A Heaven-Swallowing Serpent, sigh. Just thinking about it is so badass.
Right, snakes are also male or female. So, is this one in my hand a boy or a girl?
【Female.】
Oh, a little girl, huh? Then I need to pick an even nicer name.
“From now on, you’ll be called…”
F#ck, I can’t think of anything.
Choosing a name was truly agonizing. Su Xin now had the urge to go back and flip through a 《Xinhua Dictionary》7.
“Call her Xilou. Xi as in ‘west,’ Lou as in ‘tower.'”
Jing Yueru said, gently touching the small silver-white snake coiled on Su Xin’s hand.
“Xilou?”
“Mm. The Heaven-Swallowing Serpent was a dominant demonic beast in ancient times. Later, it gradually disappeared, and now its traces can no longer be seen. To actually find one now is already a very rare thing. Ancient texts record that the first Heaven-Swallowing Serpent was named Xilou. Details about others after that are vague. I think this name should suit it very well.”
Jing Yueru spoke for a long time. She thought she was giving a cool explanation while holding her sword, but she didn’t realize the corners of her eyes and brows were overflowing with tenderness.
“Okay, let’s go with this name then, Xilou.”
Xilou flicked its tongue, seeming quite satisfied with this name.
Whether it’s Wei Xilou or Jing Xilou, the name sounds very nice, Jing Yueru thought to herself.
Then she was stunned by her own thoughts. How could she think like that? This wasn’t her way of thinking; she must have been influenced by the other self.
Jing Yueru waved her hand, and all the ice melted. The swarm of snakes began to stir restlessly.
Xilou poked its head out from Su Xin’s hand and released the pressure of its bloodline. The swarm of snakes scattered just as they had come, disappearing to who knows where.
“Where are you going now?”
Su Xin asked Jing Yueru. This wasn’t the obedient little cutie from before. The atmosphere between them could be described as very polite.
“I’ve decided to just wander around. There should be many good things in this secret realm that are more suitable for ‘her.’ I estimate I won’t be awake for long and should be falling asleep soon.”
“Is that so… Then let’s just wander around.”
“I hope she isn’t stimulated again within three years. Otherwise, this body won’t be able to take it, and we might have to perform a sealing again, which would be very troublesome.”
“I understand.”
Jing Yueru nodded. She didn’t need to look to know what state this body was in now.
Su Xin thought Jing Yueru could hold on a bit longer, but unexpectedly, after just two steps, Jing Yueru fainted again.
So willful, fainting just like that.
Su Xin put away Jing Yueru’s sword and, with an explosion of “boyfriend power8,” carried her in a princess carry.
Lord Fourteen, which way should we go now?
【Host, I’ve already marked the location of the thing you want, but it seems there are some twists and turns in between that aren’t displayed. In short, you need to be careful.】
That rapid cultivation method?
【You could say that, yes.】
That thing wasn’t in the deep zone, but in the shallow zone.
Su Xin hadn’t learned how to fly on a sword yet. She barely managed to form a hand seal and staggered away with Jing Yueru.
Fortunately, with Xilou’s bloodline pressure escorting them along the way, the high-level demonic beasts hidden in the dark didn’t pounce out and tear them apart.
When they reached the meeting point, Su Xin breathed a sigh of relief.
The spiritual energy in Su Xin’s body was completely depleted. She had just started, after all, and wasn’t very familiar with how to control it yet.
Su Xin first found a relatively safe place to stop, placed Jing Yueru inside a small, empty cave, and snuggled close to her.
Jing Yueru’s storage ring should have many good things inside, but there was no way to get them out now. Only the owner’s spiritual sense could access it, unless the owner had given permission. Su Xin had no spiritual energy before and couldn’t do it, and now Jing Yueru was unconscious, so it was also impossible.
All Su Xin could do now was wait for Jing Yueru to wake up while slowly recovering her own spiritual energy.
Su Xin set up a Spirit Gathering Array for herself and meditated for a whole night, but Jing Yueru still hadn’t woken up.
“This situation doesn’t seem right either.”
Su Xin muttered to herself. The person who was fine last night now had a scorching forehead and looked to be in very bad condition.
Can cultivators also get fevers?
Su Xin had no knowledge of pathology, and moreover, she had no medicine on hand.
Lord Fourteen, what’s wrong with her? Is it a side effect of breaking the restriction?
【Mm.】
Su Xin leaned Jing Yueru’s upper body against her chest and touched her forehead to check her temperature.
It really is like that. Then it’s still because of me. If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have had to come this deep, let alone break through something in her own body.
Su Xin had cultivated for a night, and it had some effect. Although her cultivation level remained steadfastly at the third layer of Qi Refining, her spiritual energy was at least full, even if that bit of spiritual energy wasn’t particularly useful.
Su Xin had Wood and Fire dual spiritual roots. The Wood spiritual root had healing properties. Specks of green light emanated from her fingertips and disappeared into Jing Yueru’s body.
But even after exhausting all the power in her body, Su Xin could only make Jing Yueru’s forehead slightly less hot.
“Knowing me, you’re really terribly unlucky.”
Su Xin poked Jing Yueru’s cheek and touched her dry lips.
Unexpectedly, her finger felt a bit moist. Su Xin heard Jing Yueru’s hoarse voice.
“Knowing you, I’m truly incredibly lucky.”
“You’re awake?”
Su Xin was pleasantly surprised.
“Mm, but I still can’t quite use my strength right now. It’s nothing serious.”
Jing Yueru took out medicine from her storage ring, fed herself one pill, and also fed one to Su Xin.
This was medicine to replenish spiritual energy. Su Xin’s cultivation was relatively shallow, and the spiritual energy she could store was limited, so one medicinal pill basically refilled her “mana bar.”
“Do you remember how I got you out? I don’t seem to have much impression. My last memory is of you falling into the spring water.”
“I don’t really remember either. When I woke up, you had already settled everything. I can cultivate again now. This is the egg; you named her Xilou.”
Su Xin rolled up her sleeve. The small silver-white snake was coiled there, looking rather listless.
Su Xin thought it was very likely full from overeating and was currently suffering from indigestion.
This feeling was still very subtle. You clearly remembered nothing, yet someone was telling you about things you had experienced with her.
Jing Yueru felt a subtle displeasure in her mood. She knew that person was ‘her,’ but it also felt like it wasn’t ‘her,’ because she didn’t have those memories.
“Within three years, it’s best you don’t receive any more stimulation. It’s bad for your body. You told me this yourself.”
“Okay.”
“I’m sorry about this time. And, thank you.”
“If you keep talking to me like this, I’ll be unhappy.”
Jing Yueru put on a stern face. Her exhaled breath was still hot, and the fever on her forehead hadn’t completely subsided.
“Okay, are you looking for something in here? I plan to look for something.”
“Let’s find what you want first. Mine doesn’t matter.”
There probably isn’t anything particularly good in here. ‘She’ should have come to this place before. If there were good things, ‘she’ should have already taken them, right?
“Okay.”
The shallow zone wasn’t a problem for the recovered Jing Yueru, so they just took a slightly troublesome detour and still reached their destination.
“Are you sure the thing you want is in here?”
This place looked like an inheritance site9, because there was an aura left by a “previous woman.” But who would set up an inheritance site like this?
“I’m sure.”
Su Xin was also surprised that this place would be like this. But when she thought about what she wanted, she felt that it was very normal for this place to be like this.
The place before them was like a wedding hall.
Although there was no one around, a large “喜” (xi – happiness/wedding)10 character was imprinted there, and one could still sense an atmosphere of festivity11.
“How do we get in?”
Jing Yueru asked Su Xin. She had searched this place several times but couldn’t find an entrance. If they directly entered this wedding hall and walked towards the corridor on one side, it simply wouldn’t work.
The formation arranged in this place was very mysterious. If one walked in from one end of the wedding hall, they would come out from the other end, still returning to the center of this wedding hall.
“Of course… by performing the wedding ceremony.”
Jing Yueru was carefully observing the tables, chairs, and benches, looking for any hidden mechanisms, when she suddenly heard this and started coughing.
“Wedding ceremony!”
Jing Yueru definitely shouted these two words with a mix of surprise and joy, her mind completely filled with this idea.
Wedding ceremony, wedding ceremony, wedding ceremony!
Her and Su Xin!
This was truly a good place! Regardless of what Su Xin wanted, this was really a good place! This senior was probably a matchmaker, oh! Anyway, thank you so much!
No wonder it was a cultivation method for dual cultivation. If one could really enter by performing the wedding ceremony, then if someone came here alone, wouldn’t they be unable to get in even if they died trying?
“I’m not entirely sure either. Anyway, let’s try it first.”
First step to solving the problem: wedding attire.
“Can we use an illusion technique?”
“I don’t think so.”
Jing Yueru usually wore white or blue clothes, almost never bright red.
The original owner, Wei Shuangling, quite liked red, but when Su Xin arrived, there was nothing around, let alone clothes.
“Then what do we do? I don’t have this kind of fabric.”
Without this fabric, there’s no way to make such clothes.
The two stood in the center of the wedding hall, pondering countermeasures, when they suddenly heard the sound of gongs and drums.
The two exchanged a glance, knowing they had been drawn into an illusion formation.
Su Xin felt her body swaying. The clothes she was wearing were no longer the white robes from before, but a vibrant, bright red bridal gown. She should be sitting in a sedan chair12.
Why was she the bride, and Jing Yueru the groom!
What on earth was the basis for this judgment? She was clearly very gong13 too!
Jing Yueru looked at the vibrant red surroundings. Originally, it was empty, but now it was filled with people—guests chatting and laughing merrily.
This illusion was quite realistic.
The high seats for the parents14 were empty. Jing Yueru frowned, then relaxed her expression.
She didn’t know what this illusion was based on. If it was based on their memories, then this illusion shouldn’t be able to see her past memories. She had sealed her past away; she herself didn’t even know what her parents looked like, so how could there be anyone in the high seats? As for Su Xin, she probably didn’t even consider her parents as parents at all.
It could only be said that Jing Yueru guessed half right. The reality was that Su Xin simply didn’t know what her parents looked like. They had passed away when she was too young, and due to their special status, the two of them hadn’t left any photos or recordings. Su Xin had nothing to reminisce about; there were no traces of them in her memory at all.
Su Xin felt a bit dizzy from the swaying of the sedan chair, surrounded by the sound of gongs and drums.
Stepping over the brazier15, stepping on sesame seeds16, surrounded by the matchmaker’s voice.
This scene could be described as extremely realistic. Su Xin felt the thing on her head was a bit too heavy.
Su Xin was wearing a red bridal veil17 and couldn’t see what was happening inside. She was simply led to the front of the wedding hall.
She heard a low voice calling her name, coming from the groom, Jing Yueru.
Jing Yueru couldn’t describe the feeling in her heart the moment Su Xin walked in—a clamorous, throbbing feeling, making her wish she could immediately take this person back and hide her away.
All of this was too beautiful, this illusion too real, making her believe that Su Xin had truly become her bride, to be cherished in her palm, led home by her, henceforth to be called ‘Madam,’ telling the whole world this girl was hers, so no one else could ever get close, ever covet her in the slightest.
“First bow to Heaven and Earth.”
“Second bow to the parents.”
“Couple bows to each other.”
Su Xin and Jing Yueru bowed at the same time, their foreheads bumping—real and solid.
“Escort to the bridal chamber.”
Jing Yueru carefully led Su Xin towards the corridor. This time, they didn’t go in circles as before, didn’t walk back to the wedding hall, but continued straight down the corridor.
This wasn’t originally something she should do, or rather, not something a groom should do, but at this moment, no one stopped her.
The clamorous sounds of gongs and drums seemed to have receded, and the congratulatory laughter of the guests also faded away.
Everything around them had quieted down. Between heaven and earth, it seemed only the two of them remained.
This place was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, full of festive cheer.
One room was decorated very specially; a single glance told it was the bridal room.
Jing Yueru pushed open the door and held the soft hand of the person beside her.
“What should we do next?”
Su Xin sat on the bed, resisting the urge to lift her veil.
She didn’t know if this was part of the process here. Anyway, see things through to the end; don’t mess it up at this point.
“Of course, you lift my veil.”
Jing Yueru closed the door and saw the small rod for lifting the veil placed on a tray on the table.
At this moment, she seemed to hear the sound of her own heartbeat.
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