Chapter 2196: Grace Bestowed Upon the Lord
Inside the inner chamber of the bedchamber, the jingling of pendants and the rustling of robes could be heard, accompanied by Hua Lianzhi's occasional exclamations of wonder.
Time seemed to have quietly slowed its pace, and even Yun Che's chaotic thoughts were unconsciously drawn into it.
Before long, the curtains of the inner chamber were gently lifted by Hua Lianzhi, and Hua Caili walked out slowly. In an instant, the radiance of the entire courtyard was eclipsed, and even the sword light that filled the sky of the Zhe Tian Divine Kingdom, resembling the brilliance of stars, faded into a dull backdrop.
A dress of mysterious white silk entered his view. The material seemed to be woven from some kind of jade thread, lustrous like congealed fat, thin as a cicada's wings. As it brushed lightly, it seemed to shimmer with a flowing light. A breeze passed through the sleeves, making them flutter like fireflies dancing under the moonlight, exuding a dense immortal aura.
The dress was adorned with jade ornaments like scattered stars, and it still bore the imprints of sword patterns, but there was no heavy, cold sword intent. Instead, it gently rippled with a soft and gorgeous sword glow, like a river of stars cascading... It retained some of the ethereal purity befitting a Zhe Tian Divine Maiden, but more than that, it had the delicate liveliness of a young girl, because this dress was not for sword practice—it was for the one who delighted her heart.
Hua Caili walked slowly, supported lightly by Hua Lianzhi. Her black hair was loosely tied up, and a white jade hairpin was placed in it. The head of the hairpin was carved into a small sword shape, adorned with fine jade beads. As she walked, the beads swayed gently, producing a pleasant, ethereal sound like a sword's hum.
Her steps were slow and light, as if afraid to spoil the appearance she had prepared for her beloved. Her moon-like cheeks were tinged with a faint crimson, a sign of a woman's shyness when adorning herself to please her beloved. Her brows and eyes also held a hint of cautious anticipation and worry. Her beautiful eyes gazed tenderly at Yun Che, her gaze filled with his image, as if she wanted to imprint every detail of him at this moment deep into her heart.
Yun Che stared blankly, his sea of soul long since lost amidst the thoughts that had been so chaotic just moments ago. He felt as though something deep within his soul had been gently tugged.
His dazed expression instantly melted the anxiety in the young girl's heart. Her lips curled up with joy, and when her smile blossomed, it seemed like an infinitely beautiful soft light gently crashing into his heart, spreading endless ripples.
She let go of Hua Lianzhi's hand and walked slowly toward Yun Che. With every step, her skirt gently swayed, and with each sway, a dense and dazzling array of stars and sword patterns silently appeared, only to disappear quietly in the afterwaves of the movement, as if a supremely beautiful, eternally flowing river of stars was unfolding beneath her dress and grace.
Until she had drawn closer step by step in the world, so close that his breath was filled with her maidenly fragrance, he still remained motionless, silently stunned.
It was like a dream too beautiful—too beautiful to be real. The slightest touch would shatter it into eternal fragments.
"Husband, is it beautiful?"
She lifted her head slightly, her brows curved, her gaze shimmering with anticipation and tenderness. Yun Che's expression at that moment had already given her the happiest, most satisfying answer.
And her form of address made Hua Lianzhi behind her freeze momentarily, then quickly raise her hand to cover her mouth.
Yun Che opened his mouth, and it took a long while before he finally found his voice: "Beautiful..."
In the eyes of the common world, these two words might be considered praise, but in the presence of Hua Caili at this moment, they were only feeble and pale.
She was, after all, the world-renowned number one divine maiden of the Abyss, the legendary miracle girl who had gathered all the enchanting light of the Abyss. And when she actively revealed all her splendor, it presented a celestial dream so beautiful that it simply should not exist in this dark Abyss.
But it was precisely these two dry words that made the smile on Hua Caili's lips even brighter. She took half a step forward, almost pressing against his chest, raised her hands, and her jade-white fingertips gently brushed across the sash at his waist. Then she softly cupped his cheeks, her upturned eyes gazing at him fixedly with infatuation:
"Before, I never felt happy because others praised my appearance. But now, I am so grateful. Because my husband is the most handsome, the most fragrant... in every way, the best man. Only by being good enough myself can I be worthy of my husband."
The young girl's sweet words were gentle and straightforward, carrying a kind of near-devout infatuation. Every word seemed to originate from the depths of her soul, merging into this life.
Yun Che almost unconsciously raised his hand and gently covered the hand that was cupping his cheek. Her eyes were very close, allowing him to clearly see every star-like glimmer in them, as if the Milky Way had been shattered and poured into them, rippling with a rainbow-like brilliance. The corners of her eyes were slightly upturned, tinged with a faint crimson, like smoke-trapped sunset clouds, rendering a tender, lingering, soul-stirring charm that only he was fortunate enough to glimpse.
"Caili..."
He murmured softly, his fingers slipping through hers, gently pressing them so that her palm clung more tightly to his cheek. "To meet you in this life... I am so fortunate..."
Hua Caili's fingers turned, lightly pressing on his lips to stop his words. Half shyly, half seriously, she said, "I told you, it is I who am more fortunate."
Yun Che smiled slightly, his hand sliding down to naturally wrap around her slender waist. His movements were as light as if he were receiving a petal falling from the Milky Way. He pulled her close until their foreheads touched, and then gave her an extremely light kiss on the lips.
So light, as if afraid to awaken something. Or perhaps, with this moment's devotion, he was stamping a seal that would be eternally engraved in the depths of his soul onto this luxurious dream that was too beautiful to be real.
"Mmm..." The young girl moaned softly, then quietly leaned her head against his chest, making a sound like a kitten: "Lianzhi is still here..."
Suddenly called out, Hua Lianzhi seemed to wake from a dream. She instinctively stammered in confusion: "I... I didn't see anything... Ah!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she shouldn't have spoken. She hurriedly covered her lips with both hands, not knowing whether to retreat or stay.
Yun Che said nothing more but gradually tightened his arms... No one knew that the hand pressed against Hua Caili's back had quietly clenched, its nails digging into the flesh until bloody droplets appeared.
Just now, what had arisen in his heart was clearly the dread of loss.
So clear, so piercing to the soul.
As if fearing the shattering of a beautiful dream.
But...
In the end, it was just a beautiful dream... It could only be a dream!
And he was Yun Che... No, he was the Yun Emperor carrying the fate of his homeland.
Therefore, his only choice was to spare no effort, to personally tear this beautiful dream apart... No matter how painful, he must never truly sink into it.
Abso... lute... ly... not!
"Elder sister, it's time for today's sword practice... Ah!"
A clear, young girl's voice rang out somewhat abruptly. Yun Che turned his gaze and saw a girl dressed in white holding a sword case, her face full of shock and disbelief. When she met Yun Che's gaze, she quickly lowered her head in panic, at a loss for what to do.
Hua Caili rose from Yun Che's arms and said with a light smile, "Biyi, Aunt said that for the next three years, I can indulge in leisure and happiness without practicing the sword."
"Ah... yes." Hua Biyi looked up in surprise, then quickly lowered her head again. "I... I understand, elder sister."
"But," Hua Caili added, "I told Aunt that I only need three months, because I have to practice the sword even harder than before to protect my husband."
At the Eden Cloud Summit, with tears staining her cheeks, she had shouted her oath in front of everyone. It was not merely an empty promise, but deeply engraved into her convictions.
And in front of others, she always called out the name "husband" without restraint, completely disregarding how violent an impact those simple words had on others' hearts and souls.
Without a doubt, Hua Biyi's eyes widened almost instantly, her pink lips gaping. It took several seconds of being stunned before she could respond.
"Husband," she took Yun Che's hand, "When you first arrived back then, you faced Father God's fiercest and most terrifying appearance. I never had the chance to show you around the Zhe Tian Divine Kingdom properly. Let's make up for it starting today."
"I want every place I have ever been in my life to have my husband's shadow... Hehe!"
She led Yun Che, laughing and playing as they left, leaving Hua Lianzhi and Hua Biyi staring at each other, long at a loss for how to react.
---
**Zhe Tian Divine Kingdom, Sword Intent Corridor.**
A sword formation hung in the sky, like a river of stars hanging upside down, casting sword light that was sometimes bright, sometimes dappled. Yun Che and Hua Caili walked side by side along the corridor, bathed in the sword light, listening as she told story after story of the Zhe Tian ancestors.
The Sword Intent Corridor was engraved with the sword traces of countless generations of Sword Ancestors, Sword Venerables, and Divine Venerables. Each sword trace contained a profound truth of the sword path, accumulated over a long, long time. Thus, countless Zhe Tian cultivators came daily to gaze upon them and gain insights.
"Look, that's Aunt's sword trace! As expected of Aunt, even her sword trace is so beautiful!"
Although it was just a long, simple sword mark, one could almost clearly see Hua Qingying's cold and sharp demeanor when she swung her sword. Every trace of sword intent released from the mark seemed like ice condensed from the deepest moonlight.
"When will I become as strong as Aunt? I'm always being protected by my husband. I wish I could protect him just once someday."
She yearned, imagined, and longed... seemingly completely unaware of the countless and varied gazes cast at them from all around.
This Sword Intent Corridor was one of the places Hua Caili frequented most in her spare time while practicing. Thus, it was common for Zhe Tian cultivators who came to comprehend sword intent to have the fortune of seeing her. None dared to offend her, none dared to approach, but some of the more senior figures could pay their respects from afar, and she would always respond gently.
But today, the Sword Intent Corridor was eerily silent. One by one, group by group, the Zhe Tian cultivators either stared blankly or were dumbfounded... Even those high-ranking Sword Venerable disciples, and even imperial princes and princesses, none stepped forward to greet her, and some even forgot to make a sound.
In the past, they often privately called the Zhe Tian Divine Maiden the Little Sword Immortal, because not only did she surpass the Sword Immortal of yesteryear in peerless elegance, she also gradually possessed the Sword Immortal's cold and aloof solitude.
But now, the Zhe Tian Divine Maiden in their sight was not wearing the familiar, simple and elegant divine maiden's sword robe. Instead, she was clad in a magnificently dreamlike, celestial garment, as if an immortal had descended to the mortal world. With every step she took, she was accompanied by a faint glow like moonlit fragments.
And her jade-like face, her expression, was completely suffused with a layer of soft, tender charm. Where was the usual cold, noble bearing of a divine maiden? The corners of her lips held a constant, faint, tender smile. Those eyes, which were usually like the cold moon, were now curved into two pools of crescent moons melted by autumn water, blinking unblinkingly at the man beside her.
When he spoke, she watched his lips; when he listened, she watched his eyes. Her gaze, under the sword light, shimmered with a tenderness so soft it was almost sticky, something no one present had ever seen before.
Her posture, too, was always pressed close, leaning towards him, not straying half a step away. No matter how many gazes from all around fell upon her, she was completely oblivious, completely unafraid.
It seemed deliberate, a wholehearted proclamation to the world: all her grace, all her heart and mind, were given to the person by her side.
*Clang!*
A Sword Venerable disciple's sword slipped from his hands and fell to the ground, producing a rather piercing clang. But he was completely oblivious, and no one around cast a sideways glance at the noise, still staring straight at the two figures walking side by side, until they slowly disappeared into the gradually fading sword light.
It was like a dream. In the dream, the Zhe Tian Divine Maiden was so beautiful she seemed unreal... Even a silent admiration felt like a sacrilege.
"In the past, when the Life Wound flared up, it hurt so, so much, every part of my body ached. Aunt would hold me tightly, and Father God's pain would twist his features as if they had changed places."
"I often thought, living is really so painful. I hurt myself, and I bring pain to Aunt and Father God. Father God, to save me, had to harm himself again and again and endure heart-agonizing torment... At that time, I held on very hard, fought very hard to live. The biggest reason was that I couldn't let Aunt regret, and even more, I couldn't waste Father God's painstaking efforts."
At the end of the Sword Intent Corridor, Hua Caili stopped, wrapped her arms around Yun Che's waist, and her beautiful eyes seemed to be tinged with a faint mist of tears. "Looking back now, I was really so foolish back then. Because living... is really, really wonderful."
"I want to live very hard, live with my husband for a very, very, very long time... long enough that every corner of this world will bear our shadow."
Yun Che raised his hand, gently stroking her black hair bathed in the sword light, and softly replied, "Okay."
He had used his life, his body, his soul... and every means to obtain her perfect, flawless, and even desperate heart that would give up everything.
The more deeply she loved him, the more successful it was for him.
But...
No! There is no but!
"Husband..."
Her soft call came again, for who knows how many times today. But this time, it was more intimate and cloying than ever before.
She leaned forward, her lips nearly touching his ear. A few strands of unruly hair slipped from behind her ear, sticking to her long, fair neck, all the way down to her collarbone, tracing faint, elusive lines on that skin as white as jade that made it impossible to look away.
"I want to go back to the bedchamber... Today... should be our wedding night, so... my husband can do... whatever he wants..."
Her voice grew softer and softer, until it was barely a whisper. Her cheeks, blushing like rosy clouds, were buried deep in his shoulder, and for a long time, she did not dare to meet his eyes...
... ... *(Two hundred ninety-seven thousand words omitted here)* ...
---
**The Next Day, Morning.**
Yun Che sat upright on the bed, his posture neat. Hua Caili knelt behind him, holding a delicate jade comb in her hand, earnestly gathering a somewhat disordered lock of his long hair.
Clearly, this was the first time in her life she had dressed someone's hair. Her cautious, clumsy movements carried a kind of devotion, as if she were performing a ritual that a new wife must fulfill. With each stroke, she would pause for a moment, carefully examine it, and only then dare to make the next stroke.
Yun Che did not urge her, just closed his eyes, letting the warmth of her fingertips brush through his hair again and again.
A full quarter of an hour later, Hua Caili finally put down the jade comb. Then she leaned over from behind, resting her jade-white chin on his shoulder, secretly glancing at her "masterpiece." Her eyes then curved like a sated kitten. "As expected of my husband. No matter where you look, you are the most handsome in the world. Other men might be 'a gentleman like jade,' but only my husband is truly peerless in the Abyss."
Yun Che smiled and shook his head. "You've almost praised me into being something rare in the heavens and nonexistent on earth."
"That's just how it is." Hua Caili tilted her head, trying to make her tone sound more serious. "From now on, only I can comb and tie my husband's hair. No other woman is allowed to touch it—not even your three close maids!"
"Alright, alright, I remember." Yun Che obediently agreed.
"Hehe, it's time for us to pay our respects to Father God."
---
**Heart-Remembering Sword Pavilion.** Hua Fuchen and Meng Kongchan were both there, as if waiting for them.
"Junior Yun Che pays respects to the two Divine Venerable seniors."
Just as Yun Che finished his bow, Hua Fuchen spoke leisurely: "Oh? Divine Venerable seniors?"
Yun Che paused briefly, then bowed again and respectfully shouted, "Father-in-law."
"Mmm." Hua Fuchen nodded slightly, and then finally showed a faint smile. But immediately, Meng Kongchan's very unfriendly gaze stabbed straight into his face.
I haven't even been able to get him to call me "Father God" for so long, but you've already gotten "Father-in-law"!
At Yun Che's side, Hua Caili took a step forward and said with a beaming smile, "Greetings, Father. Greetings, Father-in-law."
Meng Kongchan was instantly elated, his face flushing red. The gloom of a moment ago was swept clean away. "Good child, good child. Caili, from now on, you are half my daughter. If anyone dares to bully you, just come and tell your father-in-law. No matter who it is, if they dare bully my daughter, I'll tear the heavens down!"
Hua Caili said with a bright smile, "I have the two best fathers in the world. No one would dare to bully me."
"Hahaha!" Meng Kongchan laughed heartily, then patted Hua Fuchen on the shoulder. "Old brother Fuchen, I told you that the most remarkable thing you've done in your life..."
"Alright, alright, spare me that nonsense." Hua Fuchen slapped his hand away. Then he turned his gaze and said solemnly, "Though there has been no wedding ceremony, nor a grand invitation to the world, they are, after all, newlyweds. Are you really not going to stay a little longer?"
"Ah?" Yun Che looked up, surprised. "Senior, you're leaving already? Has something major happened in the Weaving Dream Realm?"
Meng Kongchan shook his head and showed a comforting smile. "It's not about the Weaving Dream Realm."
His gaze slowly swept over the two of them, and he sighed softly. "Previously, the greatest obstacle and the most difficult part between you two was the Abyss Emperor on top of the Pure Land. But that was endured by the Abyss Son with his body and will, breaking through the barrier. Even the eyes of the world have changed because of it."
"And Caili, her heart is pure and determined, unwavering and without regret... In comparison, we two old fools have been hesitating and wavering all along."
Hua Fuchen glanced sideways at him. "Finally admitting you're an old fool too?"
Meng Kongchan stood up, walked over to Yun Che, and looked at him with a smile. "Now, it should be our turn—us fathers—to put in some effort and clear away the final obstacles for you."
He turned his head slightly, meeting Hua Fuchen's gaze. "It's also to make up for something we once... no, have always cherished the most."
———
**Chapter 2196: Grace Bestowed Upon the Lord**