Deep within the women’s quarters.
Lin Xihe sat before her dressing table, face veiled in red, hands tugging at the hem of her gown. Clearly, by now she was extremely nervous.”
“Xiyue, can you go look and see if they’ve arrived yet?”
Lin Xiyue stood by her side, beautiful face complimented by her white skirt. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but gently tease Lin Xihe.
“Big Sister, even if you’re about to get married, there’s no need to be so anxious. In the past hour, you’ve asked me that question at least ten times.”
“Big Sister Lin, you really are a little overly tense,” chimed in Zuo Mo. The moment she arrived, Lin Xihe had asked her to be her bridesmaid. Now, she and the other bridesmaid, Lin Xiyue, waited with the bride in her quarters.
“You darn brats! You even dare tease me, your big sister?”
Below her veil, Lin Xihe flushed with indignation, and the other two women burst into laughter. However, beneath Zuo Mo’s laughter, she too was anxious.
…..
At noon on the day of the wedding, Zuo Mo and Ye Zichen sat in their room. Ye Zichen, unable to bear Zuo Mo’s constant prodding and needling any longer, and had just told her about his “perfect plan.”
“That’s your so-called ‘perfect plan?’”
After hearing his plan, she frowned despite herself. In response, Ye Zichen hurriedly covered her mouth, then looked around on high alert.
“Quiet down a little,” he said. “What, are you afraid others won’t hear you?”
“Mm...mmm,” grunted Zuo Mo, pus.h.i.+ng his hand away. Then she said under her breath, “can you really blame me? When you said you had a ‘perfect plan,’ I a.s.sumed you had something ingenious in mind, but now you’re telling me that your ‘perfect plan’ is just to go be Zhao Zizhao’s groomsman?”
“Is there a problem with that?”
Ye Zichen raised an eyebrow at her, then grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl resting on the table and took a bite.
“Let me tell you,” he said through a mouthful of apple, “this is absolutely a perfect plan. If I’m one of his groomsmen, I’ll be by his side the whole time, and will be able to sense his each and every move.”
“But that’s too dangerous,” frowned Zuo Mo.
“You can’t catch tiger cubs without venturing into a tiger’s den. Besides, given my strength, what could possible threaten me?” said Ye Zichen carelessly.
“But I’m still worried. Can’t you just use that move from before and watch them from here?”
“No way, that won’t work,” said Ye Zichen, directly vetoing her suggestion. “I’ve already decided that I’m going to be his groomsman; no need to try and talk me out of it. You just sit tight and stay here with City Lord Lin like a good girl. I’ll be fine, trust me.”
…...
“Ye Zichen, why aren’t you here yet?”
Zuo Mo gently nibbled her lower lip, heart wracked with anxiety.
It was then that the faint sound of distant gongs drifted into the room.
“Big Sister, no need to be nervous anymore! It looks like that future husband of yours has arrived,” teased Lin Xiyue gleefully. Meanwhile, Zuo Mo was more nervous than ever.
“You have to be safe!
“You have to be safe!”
In her heart, she prayed over and over, until
Creak.
The door opened.
“Xihe, I’ve arrived.”
Zhao Zizhao stood in front, dressed in red robes, chest adorned by a red flower corsage. A man dressed in black stood half a step behind him….
Ye Zichen.
Zhao Zizhao smiled warmly at Lin Xihe and walked over to her, but while he did so, her two bridesmaids gazed at Ye Zichen in fascination.
Eyes bright as stars and chiseled features, combined with dark clothing and his grave demeanor…. This image was enough to drive young women stark-raving mad!
“Greetings, bridesmaids,” said Ye Zichen with a wave, and the pair came to their senses.
“Zichen, long time no see,” said Lin Xiyue, her tone somewhat coy.
Ye Zichen pursed his lips, shrugged, and said roguishly, “Officer Lin, that’s not right. We met earlier today, during the daytime. Or could it be that your longing for me has reached the point that a day without seeing me feels like three years? In that case, that half-day since we last met can be considered a year, in which case it really has been a while.”
“You rascal,” frowned Lin Xiyue.
Ye Zichen hurriedly backed away and said, “What, are you trying to arrest me? Let me tell you, this isn’t the Modern Realm. It’s no use bringing up ‘the law.’”
“I don’t have the energy for this,” replied Lin Xiyue, then stepped behind Lin Xihe. Even so, she still watched Ye Zichen out of the corner of her eye.
Standing off to the side, Zhao Ziming’s expression was terrifyingly sinister. Lin Xiyue was his fiancée, but she and Ye Zichen still acted like this right in front of him?
Clench.
Hidden within his sleeves, his hands tightened into fists.
He couldn’t take it.
“Ziming.”
Just then, a roar echoed through Zhao Ziming’s consciousness. Zhao Ziming had been overwhelmed with fury, but came suddenly to his senses, only to see Zhao Zizhao glowering ferociously at him.
Zhao Ziming relaxed his fists indignantly and walked over to Zhao Zizhao’s side.
As he did so, another transmission popped into his head. “Do you have any idea what you just did?”
“I was so angry, I couldn’t take it,” he replied through gritted teeth. “That wh.o.r.e Lin Xiyue was making eyes at Ye Zichen. Just looking at it p.i.s.sed me off.”
“This is why you have no promise,” said Zhao Zizhao, looking askance at him. “She’s just a woman, yet you got this upset over her? How will you ever accomplish anything like this? Let me tell you, even if you’re angry, you’d better endure it. If you ruin this, we’re both dead.”
The roaring within his consciousness left Zhao Ziming trembling involuntarily as he replied, “I understand.”
Actually, Ye Zichen had witnessed all of this. In particular, when Zhao Ziming was about to attack, he’d clearly sensed his murderous aura.
It was strong.
So strong, Ye Zichen felt a hint of shock.
On the surface, Zhao Ziming only had human immortal level strength, but the murderous aura he’d just released was something no mere human immortal could possibly possess.
Furthermore, a murderous aura wasn’t like spiritual power: you needed to slaughter people on a regular basis for it to grow denser.
It was normal for generals on the battlefield to have strong murderous auras, but for the life of him, Ye Zichen couldn’t figure out why someone like Zhao Ziming would have such powerful killing intent.
Could it be that this was Zhao Zizhao’s plan?
But this sort of plan was nowhere near enough to deal with the demons.
After scolding his brother, Zhao Zizhao’s expression returned to normal, and he took Lin Xihe’s hand.
“Emperor Ye, do you think it’s okay for us to start the ceremony now?”
“General Zhao,” said Ye Zichen helplessly, “on the way here, I already told you: this is your wedding. Neither party has a matchmaker, nor are your parents involved, so when we start is entirely up to you. Why need is there to ask my permission before each and every step?”
Then he glanced back at Zhao Ziming, but he wasn’t looking back.
“Given Emperor Ye’s esteemed status, I dare not be negligent,” said Zhao Zizhao with a warm laugh. “If you have no objections, then let’s go ahead and start the ceremony.”
The group left the room, but Ye Zichen lagged behind. Just as he was about to leave….
Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz.
At this totally inopportune moment, his phone buzzed, and he fished it out of his pocket.
“The Struggle for the Three Realms is about to begin. Would you like to teleport there in advance?”