He looked down at the wedding venue, then at the message the Hermit Emperor had sent.
It was as if the man could see the future, as if all of this was in that old fossil of the God Realm’s plan.
“You’re right. I am indeed hovering in the air above the son of Violet City city lord’s wedding.” Ye Zichen sent this message, then a moment later, followed it up with: “It seems what you said earlier was in reference to this wedding, right? But how did you know for sure we’d wind up here?”
The chat box showed that the other party was typing out a message. Before long, the Hermit Emperor’s next message arrived.
“Don’t overthink things. I didn’t know you’d reached Violet City already. It’s just a coincidence.”
Ye Zichen didn’t respond. He knew that the Hermit Emperor would send more messages soon. As expected, just a few breaths of time later, a few new messages appeared.
“If you hadn’t arrived in Violet City, I would have told you to go. Now, since it seems you’re already there, you’ve saved us quite a bit of trouble.”
Ding!
As soon as the message arrived, a red packet appeared. Ye Zichen clicked and accepted it.
Transmission Talisman x1.
“This is a transmission talisman I made. Crush it at a critical moment, and I might very well appear to save your lives. However, if it all possible, please refrain from using it. I’ve gotten old, and cutting through space is hard on the body. These old bones can’t take all the upset.”
After reading this message, Ye Zichen’s expression was dark.
The man sent a red packet, but then immediately told its recipient not to use it. In that case, why send it in the first place?
“Will there be danger?” Ye Zichen subtly spread out his divine awareness and examined his surroundings. There weren’t actually all that many experts in the city lord’s manor, and practically none of them could threaten him and the Great Sage.
The others were all guests. They were just here to watch the ceremony, so they were unlikely to recklessly intervene.
But Ye Zichen was certain that, behind the scenes, this wedding was rife with danger. Odds were, it really was dangerous enough to threaten them.
Otherwise, why would the Hermit Emperor have wasted his time creating a talisman and sending it through a red packet?
“I’m not quite accustomed to these new toys of yours, so let’s end this conversation here.” With one final message, the Hermit Emperor’s avatar went dark. It seemed he’d gone offline.
Before, the app didn’t have this functionality. There had been no way to tell if someone was online or not. It seemed the group of IT experts he’d brought from the Heavenly Court had completed yet another round of improvements.
The Hermit Emperor had left without fully explaining himself. Ye Zichen couldn’t help but rub his chin in thought.
It was just a simple conversation, but it was enough for him to get a sense of what was happening. Also, if he weren’t mistaken, that undulation just now….
The object he’d come to the Northern Kingdom in search of was somewhere in the wedding venue.
He wasn’t just keeping an eye on the venue itself; he was on alert for anything going on anywhere in Violet City.
“You’re back.” Upon Ye Zichen’s return, the Great Sage c_o_c_ked his head at him. Ye Zichen nodded, and the Great Sage asked, “What happened?”
“It’s nothing. How are things with the wedding?” Ye Zichen chose not to discuss his conversation with the Hermit Emperor. This was in part because he wasn’t quite certain of the situation, but it was also because he didn’t want to distract the Great Sage.
As expected, the Great Sage didn’t ask any follow-up questions. Instead, he cast his gaze back down at the venue. The guests had already taken their seats. Colorful flowers drifted down from the skies, covering the long red target in petals.
Zi Xia appeared in red robes and a red veil. She held the matchmaker’s hand, and took lotus steps as she gradually approached the center of the venue.
The city lord’s eldest son and heir was already standing there waiting for her. He held a ribbon in the shape of a flower, and he had a happy, excited smile on his face. His gaze never left Zi Xia, not even a little.
“It’s truly grand.” The Great Sage pursed his lips and sighed. He was smiling. That was him wishing Fairy Zi Xia well. And yet, his gaze was desolate. He couldn’t help but regret… that this wedding’s groom wasn’t him.
He’d come to the Yao Realm before, and it was then that he’d decided not to seek out any more news of Zi Xia.
They’d just go their separate ways and pursue their separate paths without interference.
Little did he know, the more he watched, the more it hurt.
Ye Zichen could hear the pain in his voice and patted his friend’s shoulder, then sat beside him to watch the rest.
Zi Xia and the matchmaker had already reached the platform. The groom passed the ribbon flower over, and each of them took one end, then slowly walked to the front of the platform, side by side. The lord of Violet City was a tall, broad-shouldered man, Hui Liu. The name seemed awfully casual. “Liu” meant six, and his parents chose it simply because he was their sixth child.
His bulky form was related to his true form, a grizzly bear. In the Northern Kingdom, he was one of the few still capable of taking the forms of their ancestors.
He was here representing his son’s side of the family. Naturally, Zi Xia’s brother was here representing her extended family. Even now, he still wore his trademark silver armor, and although he tried to seem as warm and gentle as possible, he still gave off a murderous air.
The wedding proceeded. They said the usual lines about staying together even after their hair turned white, and some other unchanging platitudes.
The crowd congratulated them, and bride and groom paid their respects to heaven and earth, to their ancestors, and then…. It came time for them to pay their respects to each other.
The city lord’s son lowered his head in preparation, only for Zi Xia to come to a sudden stop.
The crowd watched with bated breath, waiting for her to make her final bow, but they waited and waited, and she just stood there.
“Zi Xia?” the city lord’s son asked tentatively. “Are you feeling alright? If you’re unwell, we can proceed as quickly as possible so you can go back and rest.”
Fairy Zi Xia said nothing. The City Lord frowned even deeper, then turned to her older brother.
“Zi Xia!” Her brother glowered and shouted straight into her mental sea. “Don’t try any nonsense! Hurry up and finish the wedding. Then, you can do whatever you want. Don’t cause a fuss at the venue. All the big names of the Northern Kingdom are here. If you cause trouble, you’ll disgrace the city lord and bring nothing but harm to your family. Didn’t you agree to obediently go through with the wedding?”
“I’ve changed my mind!” Suddenly, Zi Xia ripped off her red veil and tossed it to the ground. Her eyes overflowed with tears mixed with her ruined make-up as she said, “I don’t want to marry him! I can’t lie to myself any longer. I don’t want to! I just don’t want to. This wedding… I can’t go through with it!”
