Pingyan Land, Nangzhe's residence.
"White as snow upon the mountain, bright as the moon among the clouds. Since you know I care for you, then there should be no delay in marriage."
Ou Shinan looked at Hua Ruoying lying on the bed behind him in the bronze mirror. His fingertips lightly traced the reflection of her figure in the mirror. His voice was cold, yet gentle, and a faint sadness flashed through his eyes before turning into the teasing satisfaction of getting what he wanted.
"My lord, the flower-soft brocade you ordered people to find has arrived. Would you like to inspect it in person?" a ghost attendant asked from outside the door.
"Send it to the study," Ou Shinan said.
He put on his mask, returning to the identity of Lord Nangzhe. He walked slowly to the door. After opening it, he paused for a moment to look at Hua Ruoying on the bed, then ordered,
"In three days, I will marry Miss Ruoying. Let all beings in Pingyan Land wear red and green. Anyone who comes to offer congratulations will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver. Let the drinking continue through the long night, with no limit on fine wine."
When Mie Xingzhe returned early that morning carrying water, he saw the door standing open. He immediately put down the bucket and hurried inside.
"Master, are you awake?"
But when he entered, he only saw a middle-aged man in plain robes, perhaps in his thirties or forties, sitting by the bed with one hand resting on his master's wrist, his eyes closed and his face unreadable.
"Who are you?"
Mie Xingzhe asked nervously. Seeing that the man had no intention of answering, he grabbed the broom by the door and pointed it at him, asking again, "Who are you? If you do not answer, I really will attack!" He waved the broom in his hand and edged forward a little.
"Shh."Jiagu Qing raised one finger to his lips, signaling for him to be quiet.
"Let go of my master right now, or I really will not be polite with you!" Mie Xingzhe moved a little closer again as he spoke.
Jiagu Qing merely waved one hand, and a gust of wind sent the broom flying out through the door.
"Bring some water," Jiagu Qing said, withdrawing his hand from Li Luoning's pulse and taking a medicine bottle from his robe.
"Ah?"
"Ah what? Do you not want to save him?"
"Oh!"
The moment he heard that this man meant to save his master, Mie Xingzhe immediately ran out, scooped up a ladle of water, hurried back in, poured it into a bowl, and brought it over in a fluster.
Jiagu Qing fed the pill from the bottle into Li Luoning's mouth, took the bowl from Mie Xingzhe, helped him drink a little water, and gently laid him back down on the bed.
"S-senior, what did you give my master to eat?"
"What else could it be? Medicine that saves lives. Did you think I was trying to harm him?" Jiagu Qing said in a tone that plainly asked a question he already knew the answer to. He glanced at Mie Xingzhe, seemed to notice something, then turned to face him directly and looked him up and down for a long while.
Mie Xingzhe was so uncomfortable under that gaze that for a moment he did not know where to put his hands.
"S-senior..."
"So you are that little immortal herb?"
"Ah?"
"Oh good, very good. A tiny little immortal herb, and yet such a precious thing was grown inside your body." As though he had suddenly discovered some treasure, Jiagu Qing began circling around Mie Xingzhe again and again as he spoke.
"S-senior..."
Startled by Jiagu Qing's behavior, Mie Xingzhe quickly covered his chest with both hands, thinking he meant to lay hands on his inner core.
"Do not be nervous, do not be nervous. I was only taking a look. I am not going to do anything to you. Look how frightened you are."
"May I ask who are you?"
"Jiagu Qing. That immortal herb inside your body was originally the one I gave to that little medicine fool."
"Then I really must thank Senior Jiagu for your generosity. But how did senior find this place?"
"There." Jiagu Qing pointed at the jade pendant on Li Luoning's body, then shook the matching one in his own hand. He brought the two pendants close, and in the next moment, a beam of light linked them together.
"Just now I saw senior taking Master's pulse. Does senior have a way to heal him?"
Jiagu Qing had not meant to answer that question at all. He had just lifted a cup of tea and was about to drink when his eyes landed on the Clear Heart Dust-Washing Cauldron placed nearby. His eyes lit up at once, and he rushed over.
"Oh my, oh my, oh my, this is a marvelous thing! Where did it come from?"
He picked up the Clear Heart Dust-Washing Cauldron like a man who had found a treasure and admired it in his hands.
The moment Mie Xingzhe saw Jiagu Qing pick up the cauldron, he hurried over and carefully took it back from him, then returned it to where it had been.
"This is a life-saving treasure Grand Master gave me, but I still have not found out how to use it."
"A thing that belongs to Liaoyin?"
Mie Xingzhe nodded. "A few days ago, Grand Master gave it to me and said that if I used it to help Master cleanse his marrow, purify his heart, and rebuild his life force, it could save him. But Grand Master never told me how to use it. I have tried several times already, and nothing happened."
"You do not know how to use it? I do." Jiagu Qing's voice brightened with excitement.
"Senior knows how to use it? Then can senior teach me? If I can use it, then I can save Master!"
"Hey, no pulling and tugging. "
"If you want to use this Clear Heart Dust-Washing Cauldron, you still need several medicinal catalysts. These are not common things, so naturally you would not have them."
As he spoke, Jiagu Qing wrote down the needed ingredients and handed the list to Mie Xingzhe.
"I have never even heard the names of these medicines before. Where am I supposed to find them?"
"Have you ever been to Pingyan Land?"
"The market in Pingyan! Right, they have everything there. I will go right now!"
Mie Xingzhe brightened in excitement and lifted one leg to run off.
"Hey, come back, come back. I am not finished talking yet." Jiagu Qing caught him by the collar and dragged him back.
"What else does senior wish to tell me?" Mie Xingzhe asked.
"You are a wanted criminal throughout the whole Liaoyin Immortal Realm right now, and you plan to go out just like this?" Jiagu Qing asked after looking him up and down.
"Ah? But this is the only set of clothes I have. Then what should I do?" Mie Xingzhe asked.
"Oh, you really are... That little medicine fool is such a clever man, so how did he end up taking in such a foolish disciple?" Jiagu Qing shook his head helplessly. He tapped a finger lightly between Mie Xingzhe's brows, and in an instant Mie Xingzhe's appearance changed completely, leaving not the slightest trace of what he had looked like before.
"Wow, senior is amazing."
"Listen carefully. This disguise technique will only last for twelve hours, and while you are in Pingyan Land, you must not use magic carelessly, or you may expose yourself. Go and return quickly, understand?"
"Yes, thank you, senior. Then I am going."
Mie Xingzhe nodded hard. Just as he reached the door, he stepped back again. "Senior, I do not have any money..."
" Here, take this. Hurry, hurry. And hey, do not spend it recklessly!"
In the instant after Mie Xingzhe left, the fingers at Li Luoning's side twitched almost imperceptibly.
In Pingyan Land, the streets were draped in lanterns and bright decorations. Nearly everyone walking outside was dressed in red and green.
"Why does Pingyan Land look so different from before?" Mie Xingzhe looked around at the people on the road, puzzled.
Dressed in his plain dark blue robe, Mie Xingzhe stood out terribly in the market of Pingyan Land. While he was still wondering what was going on, the owner of a cloth shop nearby called out to him.
"Sir, please wait, please wait. Heh, come in and sit for a moment."
The owner raised a hand and gestured for Mie Xingzhe to step into the shop.
"Me?" Mie Xingzhe pointed at himself. Seeing the owner nod, he walked into the cloth shop.
"Sir must be a refugee who has only just arrived in Pingyan, right?"
"A refugee... me?"
"Sir does not know, I suppose. Today is the wedding day of Lord Nangzhe here in Pingyan Land. The whole of Pingyan Land must wear red and green to celebrate together. The moment I saw your outfit, I knew you must have only arrived here today. Why not choose a festive set of clothes too and go attend Lord Nangzhe's wedding feast?"
"I do not want to. I do not even know him," Mie Xingzhe refused and turned to leave, only for the owner to grab him at once.
"Please wait, sir, please wait. You do not understand. A set of clothes from this shop costs only a few taels. Today, every guest who enters the residence to offer congratulations will be rewarded by Lord Nangzhe with fifty taels of silver, and good wine besides. I can see at a glance that you carry yourself with uncommon spirit, sir. If you go to offer congratulations, you will surely be able to get through the gates. This is a deal where you can only profit and never lose."
The shop owner smiled so broadly his whole face crinkled.
[Nangzhe really is generous, giving out silver and wine just like that. Since I am already here, maybe I should go take a look. If what he says is true, I can bring the silver back and ease our expenses a little.]
"All right then. Give me this set."
At Nangzhe's residence, the monstrous carvings flanking the main gate had rare jewels blazing red atop their heads.
The path from the entrance all the way to the great hall was paved with powdered jade, and throughout the courtyard, dozens of bone-carved banquet tables were covered in red silk. Even the bowls and chopsticks gleamed with gold.
"Wow, Nangzhe really is extravagant. No wonder fifty taels a person means nothing to him."
Mie Xingzhe was stunned by the sight before him. He had never seen so many valuable things in his life.
Out of curiosity, he wandered around the courtyard of Nangzhe's estate.
"Lord Nangzhe."
Hearing ghost attendants paying their respects not far away, Mie Xingzhe turned to look. He saw a figure walk into a room.
In the very instant before the door closed, a gust of wind lifted Hua Ruoying's wedding veil.
Mie Xingzhe's pupils contracted sharply. He could hardly believe what he had seen, and before he could react, the door had already shut.
"That just now was... Miss Ruoying? Why would she be here? Wait, the clothes she was wearing were..."
Mie Xingzhe stared at the closed door, unable to believe his own eyes. Why would Miss Ruoying be here? And more than that, why was she wearing wedding clothes?
While Mie Xingzhe stood frozen there, replaying his suspicion over and over in his mind, the sound of gongs and drums rose from inside Nangzhe's residence.
"The auspicious hour has arrived!"
With that shout, Nangzhe led the bride out of the room by the hand.
In order to make sure he had not been mistaken, Mie Xingzhe fixed his eyes on them and followed them all the way to the ceremonial hall.
"One life, one age, one pair of hearts. First bow to heaven and earth."
"Two souls as one, their hearts bound together. Second bow to gods and spirits."
"In the third watch of night, shared dreams and shared delight. Third bow to the blessed pair."
Hidden among the crowd, Mie Xingzhe stared without blinking at the bride, hoping to find some flaw in what he was seeing.
"Have you heard? Madam Nangzhe seems to have come from Wuming Demon Mountain," someone in the crowd whispered.
"Yes, I heard she was sent to our lord by that Demon Lord. They say she is a woman who likes making poisons. She even bought quite a lot of things from my shop before, and she spent generously too. Looks like Lord Nangzhe truly dotes on his new lady,"
"She must be some astonishing beauty, to catch Lord Nangzhe's eye. To marry Lord Nangzhe, that is a blessing she must have cultivated for eight lifetimes."
Just as the two newlyweds raised their cups to drink, Mie Xingzhe heard a sound.
It was a faint ringing of bells, but to him it was startlingly clear. He knew that sound all too well.
Looking at the vague silhouette beneath the wedding veil, Mie Xingzhe could not bear it any longer. His palm moved in secret, and a gust of wind swept through, blowing the bride's veil from her head to the floor.
"Why does the bride not look happy at all?" a young little demon said after seeing Hua Ruoying's face.
The moment Mie Xingzhe saw that the person in the wedding robes was truly Hua Ruoying, he was so shocked he could not speak. His mind went completely blank.
And now, looking at Hua Ruoying, her face was blank, her eyes empty, as though her soul had drifted out of her body. She stood there motionless, showing no reaction at all to the murmurs around her.
"What nerve, to cause trouble at my wedding feast?" Nangzhe sensed that strange gust of wind and immediately followed its trail.
The instant he saw Hua Ruoying's face, Mie Xingzhe lost all reason and tried to rush forward to ask what was happening.
But the moment he reached out a hand, Nangzhe knocked it away with force, and the two of them began fighting at once.
"To dare make trouble in my residence. It seems you want to die now." Nangzhe raised a hand and struck toward Mie Xingzhe.
Mie Xingzhe dodged the attack with a flash of movement, slipped past Nangzhe's side, and rushed straight toward Hua Ruoying, who still stood there in a daze.
"Miss Ruoying, why are you here?"
Taking hold of Hua Ruoying's hand, Mie Xingzhe stared at her with a look full of concern, confusion, and disbelief.
Nangzhe turned around and saw Mie Xingzhe holding Hua Ruoying's hand. His fury instantly exploded.
"Let go of her!"
Sensing Nangzhe's magic, Mie Xingzhe drew Hua Ruoying into his arms and spun aside to evade the blow. Still, he kept calling to her,
"Miss Ruoying, it is me. What is wrong with you? Answer me!"
Nangzhe's gaze fixed coldly on the man who had pulled his bride into his arms. The veins at his forehead began to bulge. Then he summoned an even more powerful strike and hurled it at Mie Xingzhe.
Seeing the danger, Mie Xingzhe immediately wrapped Hua Ruoying tightly in his arms to shield her. The powerful magic slammed solidly into his back.
Mie Xingzhe felt a sudden cold pain burst through his back, the force colliding with the Floating Light Golden Seal inside his body. A gush of hot blood rose uncontrollably and burst from his mouth, and the disguise Jiagu Qing had placed on him broke apart at once.
Though Mie Xingzhe turned his head away as quickly as he could, a few drops of warm blood still splashed onto Hua Ruoying's lightly painted face.
The instant she felt that spray on her skin, Hua Ruoying, who had been lost in darkness and without any awareness, suddenly felt a blur of light returning to her vision. She could just make out the figure before her.
Her fine lashes trembled softly, her red lips parted, and with a dry throat she called out in a faint voice,
"Young Master Yun?"