Chapter 381: The Wedding Night
Dragon Qilin carried them to a small town ahead. Blind immediately began making arrangements, buying a phoenix coronet and a cape of rosy clouds, along with some clothes and a big red flower for Qin Mu. He also hired several old women to help Qin Mu, Ling Yuxiu, Si Yunxiang, and Fox Ling’er change into their new attire.
“Emperor Yanfeng has lost his daughter and might track us down. To avoid complications, we should hold the wedding immediately!”
Blind took some Da Feng coins from the little fox’s pouch, purchased a large courtyard, and bought a few maidservants. He bustled about, arranging everything, and declared that the wedding would take place that very day.
Qin Mu was tied up securely, but his cultivation was still intact. He quietly blew on his golden flute, intending to command a few flood dragons to ambush Blind and tie him up instead.
However, the moment the flute sounded, before he could even establish a connection with the flood dragons, Blind sensed it immediately. His bamboo staff tapped Qin Mu’s brow. Qin Mu heard a series of muffled thuds from within his body—the Six Harmonies, Five Luminaries, and Spirit Embryo divine repositories were all forcibly sealed and shut down by Blind.
Fearing that Qin Mu might try some other trick, Blind also sealed the divine repositories of Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang.
Fox Ling’er saw him approaching her and bounced excitedly, “Grandpa Blind, don’t worry! Ling’er won’t run away!”
Blind untied the golden rope from Fox Ling’er and said, “I’ll set you free. You keep an eye on them for me. I’m going to order a few tables of banquet food and hire a theater troupe.”
“Sure thing!” the little fox agreed cheerfully.
“Traitor!” Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang glared at her together.
Fox Ling’er smugly jumped into a chair, swinging her braids.
“Grandpa Blind is truly an old hand at this…”
Qin Mu sighed inwardly, filled with admiration. Blind’s technique for sealing cultivation was executed with such ease, locking all three of them down so that no matter what tricks they had, they couldn’t use them.
“Fatty Dragon, come here.”
Qin Mu’s eyes flickered as he called Dragon Qilin over. “Carry us and run!”
Dragon Qilin shook his head. “Can’t outrun him. Better not to run at all.” With that, he swished his tail and went to guard the door.
Qin Mu was stunned for a moment, then felt that Dragon Qilin really needed to go on a strict diet.
By nightfall, Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu were held by several old women and forced to perform the wedding ceremony. Blind had invited nearly everyone in the town, accepting no gifts, to witness the event. The theater troupe was a simple one, with trumpets and suonas, giving the whole affair a rustic feel.
The wedding was naturally very lively. In the end, Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu were escorted by the boisterous townsfolk into the bridal chamber.
Fox Ling’er, unhappy that she wasn’t the bride, got thoroughly drunk at the banquet, babbling nonsense.
Blind waved his hand and said, “Come back tomorrow! We’ll hold another ceremony tomorrow! The groom will be the same, but the bride will be different!”
“This groom is truly lucky!” everyone exclaimed in admiration as they dispersed.
Fox Ling’er jumped onto the banquet table, lugging a wine jar bigger than herself, and slurred drunkenly, “Grandpa Blind, tomorrow I want to be the bride!”
“Alright, alright,” Blind nodded repeatedly.
Inside the bridal chamber, Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu sat on the edge of the bed, listening to the noise outside gradually fade. Both felt a mix of fear and nervousness. After a moment, Ling Yuxiu lifted a corner of her cape and stole a glance at Qin Mu, who was sitting beside her with a big red flower, nervously fidgeting with it. She suddenly burst out laughing.
Qin Mu glared at her. “You can still laugh? If your father finds out, he’ll definitely have my head!”
Ling Yuxiu wanted to lift off her cape, but her eyes twinkled as she said playfully, “They say it’s bad luck for the bride to lift her own cape in the bridal chamber. The groom has to do it.”
“There’s a rule like that?”
Qin Mu was surprised. He lifted the cape from her head and froze. Under the candlelight, her powdered face and rosy cheeks were indescribably alluring. Ling Yuxiu, shy and bashful, lowered her head and shot him a glance. “What are you staring at?”
“You’re really beautiful.”
Qin Mu stood up and pushed at the door, but it wouldn’t open. “Grandpa Blind locked it. Let me check the window.”
He opened the window and was about to jump out when a bamboo staff tapped in from below. Blind’s voice came through: “Go to sleep. Don’t try to run.”
Qin Mu jumped, then said angrily, “Grandpa Blind, are you squatting by the wall?”
“It’s the custom,” Blind said. “Don’t worry, I’m blind. I can’t see anything.”
“Like hell you can’t!”
Qin Mu slammed the window shut with a bang and went back to sit on the bed, muttering, “Grandpa Blind is guarding us. We probably can’t escape.”
The two sat on the bed. Ling Yuxiu twisted the hem of her clothes, while Qin Mu twisted the big red flower on his chest. After a long silence, Blind’s cough came from outside the window. “There’s a nuptial wine on the table. Drink it quickly and go to sleep!”
Qin Mu grabbed the wine jug and threw it at the window. Blind got angry, tapped his bamboo staff, and walked away. Soon, the sound of Blind beating a chicken came from outside: “A little rooster that doesn’t crow is useless! If it doesn’t crow again, I’ll break one of its legs!”
“Is Grandpa Blind scolding the rooster or me?”
Qin Mu was puzzled. After a moment, the window opened, and a bamboo staff appeared, holding a chicken with a broken leg.
Qin Mu closed the window and went back to sit on the bed, stammering, “We haven’t seen each other in a long time.”
Ling Yuxiu chuckled. “You’re still bad at talking. I’m a bit sleepy. I’ll sleep first.”
“Oh.”
Qin Mu watched her slip into the blanket, only her little head poking out from under the big red quilt. Ling Yuxiu blinked. “I’m sleeping.”
“Oh.”
Ling Yuxiu snorted and turned over.
Qin Mu also lay down, pulling the blanket over himself. They shared a pillow, their faces turned toward each other. Qin Mu hardly dared to breathe. Ling Yuxiu giggled, her breath brushing his face. Qin Mu’s face turned red. The girl under the blanket quickly pecked him on the lips.
“It’s pretty fragrant.”
Qin Mu blinked. “Kiss me again.”
She kissed him again, then giggled softly.
“Kissing is useless!”
Blind’s irritable voice came from outside the window, fading as he walked away: “A little rooster that doesn’t crow—better to stew it and eat it… Huh? Has Emperor Yanfeng caught up? Well, the emperor is my in-law now; I can’t neglect him. I should invite him to the wedding feast. I’ll kill this non-crowing rooster to treat him!”
Qin Mu heard him walk away and quietly slipped out of bed. He crept to the window, opened it carefully, and peeked out. He waved at Ling Yuxiu, but she didn’t follow.
Qin Mu looked back and saw that the girl seemed to have fallen asleep.
Qin Mu clumsily climbed out and whispered, “Stop pretending to sleep. Get up quickly.”
Ling Yuxiu’s face flushed bright red. She quickly crawled out of the blanket, put on her shoes, and went to the window to climb out. Qin Mu caught her on the other side and helped her down. They crept along the wall toward Si Yunxiang’s room. When they reached her window, Qin Mu whispered, “Sister Xiang, are you asleep?”
“Not yet.”
Si Yunxiang’s voice came from behind him. Qin Mu jumped and quickly turned around to see Si Yunxiang tiptoeing behind them.
“When did you come out?” Qin Mu asked in surprise.
Si Yunxiang gave a knowing smile. “I came out a while ago. I was going to eavesdrop on the bridal chamber, but all I heard was a little female cat meowing and meowing. Too bad she couldn’t attract a tomcat.”
Ling Yuxiu sneered. “Some little female cats aren’t even qualified to call for a tomcat. Cowherd, should we go find the little fox?”
“Ling’er has betrayed us!”
Qin Mu shook his head. “Let’s go now. Don’t make a sound.”
“Where is the sect master going?” Dragon Qilin suddenly appeared behind them, startling all three.
“Traitor!”
Qin Mu gritted his teeth. “If you still want to eat in the future, don’t make a peep. Otherwise, we’ll have a whole dragon feast for New Year’s!”
Dragon Qilin shuddered and obediently followed them as they sneaked out. “Master Blind has gone out, said he was going to invite Emperor Yanfeng to the wedding feast. We can slip out now.”
Qin Mu looked behind Dragon Qilin and saw a dozen flood dragons also tiptoeing along. He couldn’t help but laugh and cry. “Leaving Ling’er alone might be unsafe. Where is she?”
Dragon Qilin looked down. A snow-white fox was sprawled on his forehead, fast asleep.
“Hurry! Hurry! If the emperor gets here, it really will be a beheading!”
Qin Mu grabbed the two girls and jumped onto Dragon Qilin’s back. “Don’t use fire clouds—Grandpa Blind will see them. His eyesight is too good! Let’s sneak out of town without alerting anyone.”
Dragon Qilin carried them out of town, heading south. After running a hundred miles, Qin Mu relaxed and said, “Now you can run at full speed!”
Dragon Qilin sped up. They ran all night, covering three or four thousand miles. Qin Mu laughed. “Grandpa Blind’s eyes shouldn’t be able to see this far. Fatty Dragon, we can stop and rest… Ahead is the Yong River. Let’s go to the riverbank, follow it to the Eastern Sea, and then circle around to the capital. Has Ling’er woken up? Tie up the little traitor!”
“Still drunk.”
They reached the Yong River and were about to look for a boat when they saw a vessel drifting toward them from the middle of the river. On the bow stood an old blind man leaning on a staff.
Qin Mu’s face turned ashen.
“I tricked Emperor Yanfeng and sent him chasing after the Great Thunderclap Monastery,” Blind said calmly. “Mu’er, I waited for you for an hour before you got here. I’m disappointed.”
Qin Mu slumped in defeat. Dragon Qilin quickly called out, “Master Blind, I knew you’d be here, so I did my best to come this way!”
Everyone had no choice but to board the boat. It immediately turned and headed toward the Great Ruins.
“Once we’re back in the village, we can hold the other two weddings without any rush,” Blind said with a smile. “Last night, I treated Emperor Yanfeng to chicken. He’s probably agreed to the marriage by now.”
Qin Mu could already picture himself being taken to the execution ground to have his head chopped off.
Suddenly, the river water surged and became turbulent. Qin Mu was startled and quickly leaned over the side of the boat. The water, which had been rough, suddenly calmed again, but the section of the river where their boat was began to rise higher and higher, eventually towering above the trees and hilltops on both banks.
Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang ran to the stern and bow respectively, looking upstream and downstream. They were stunned to see the Yong River lifting out of its channel, like a long jade ribbon.
More and more river water floated into the air, forming a water dragon.
Everyone on the boat stared in awe at the sight. The small boat sailed along this river in the sky, looking utterly insignificant.