Hua Yan thought with mixed feelings that her bath had been essentially wasted.
The night was wild and indulgent, with warm candlelight and red curtains. Fortunately, Lu Chengsha’s courtyard was secluded enough that not even a footstep could be heard. The two indulged in their intimacy without a care, hardly wanting to leave the room.
Being close to someone you love is truly an irresistible thing, especially since they had been separated for so long.
Even lying together without doing anything, just touching each other, brought a deep sense of satisfaction.
Time passed unnoticed, and the sky outside the window darkened again. Indeed, they had succumbed to indulgence, but besides waiting for their wedding, they had nothing else to do.
Thin moonlight fell on the ground, and the quilt covered their still slightly sweaty bodies, hiding them from view.
Hua Yan, exhausted, had fallen asleep earlier. When she woke up, the first thing she saw was the sharp, lean profile of the young man beside her. Their hair, tangled together on the pillow, could no longer be distinguished as hers or his. This experience of waking up to see Lu Chengsha’s face so close was quite novel.
His eyes were closed, and his brows, sharp and slightly slanted, still gave an impression of being unapproachable or aloof.
But the more Hua Yan looked, the more she felt he was gentle.
She couldn’t help but reach out to touch his eyebrows and then tried to pinch his nose. Lu Chengsha woke up immediately, his cold eyes opened, the chill dissipating. He instinctively reached out to grab Hua Yan’s playful hand but stopped halfway, leaving his hand suspended in the air, allowing Hua Yan to do as she pleased with his face.
She even grabbed the end of his hair and twirled it between her fingers, leaning over, almost lying on top of him.
Lu Chengsha turned his head slightly and saw her interested expression, her eyes wide open, playing beside him happily. Not long ago, she had been curling up, saying she was too tired and wanted to sleep. Now that she had recovered a bit, she started teasing him again.
He sighed softly in his heart, feeling somewhat helpless.
But also a bit willing to indulge her.
Hua Yan didn’t know what Lu Chengsha was thinking, only that it was fun. Their time to be close was too short, so being able to touch him openly and without hesitation now made everything feel fresh and exciting.
Lu Chengsha wouldn’t hide, wouldn’t run away, and wouldn’t even stop her now.
Hua Yan always took things further. After playing for a while, she grabbed Lu Chengsha’s hair tie from the side. With a thought, she used it to blindfold Lu Chengsha’s eyes, skillfully tying a knot at the back of his head. She admired her work, feeling very satisfied.
Lu Chengsha didn’t know what she was going to do but let her cover his sight anyway.
He then felt her gently pressing down, her soft lips brushing against the corners of his mouth, playing lightly from the left to the right, lingering a while before moving to his jaw.
Unable to see, his other senses became more acute, and Lu Chengsha found his breath catching.
He could hear her muttering, “Why should you be the only one who can kiss me? I want to too…”
Struggling to focus, it took Lu Chengsha a moment to understand what she was saying, and he was unsure how to respond.
She even sat on top of him, leaving him even more at a loss.
Yet, even without seeing her, he could tell how cute she was as she mumbled.
Just as he raised his hand, he heard her voice again, “Don’t move! I said let me!”
Influenced by her parents, Hua Yan always felt she should be more assertive, like her mother.
No matter what, she was a proper demoness of the sect! She couldn’t just melt every time he kissed her!
With this in mind, Hua Yan tried to recall her mother’s teachings on how to take the initiative. She even considered whether she should tie up Lu Chengsha’s hands…
But after a while, Hua Yan felt exhausted.
She hadn’t rested enough, and after expending her energy for a bit, she couldn’t go on and collapsed onto Lu Chengsha again…
“What are we going to do tomorrow?”
Lu Chengsha, now sweating again from her antics, was trying his best to endure. Listening to her lazy voice, he held back, and then held back again, until he couldn’t anymore. He grabbed her shoulders and pressed her down once more.
His voice was muffled, “Nothing much, let’s just… continue.”
Hua Yan couldn’t help but sigh again!
They were really too indulgent! How could it be like this?
So after their second bath, Hua Yan, determined to make a change, asked Lu Chengsha to get her a clean set of female disciple clothes. Whenever she wore his clothes, he just wanted to help her take them off.
Later, Hua Yan found a copper mirror and saw for herself that wearing such oversized clothes, especially Lu Chengsha’s, did indeed look… a bit inappropriate!
After eating, they finally thought about going out, and Hua Yan noticed a black box that Lu Chengsha had brought back and placed on the table.
Curious, she asked, “What’s this?”
Lu Chengsha replied, “It’s from my grandfather. I don’t know either.”
Hua Yan asked, “Can I open it?”
Lu Chengsha handed it over without hesitation.
The box was wooden, completely black, and engraved with sword patterns. Hua Yan unlocked it and found a black iron-like token, an old piece of cloth, and a complete set of gold and jade jewelry.
Hua Yan was stunned.
“Did your grandfather really give you this?” She blinked, “Why would he give you jewelry?”
This time, before Hua Yan could process, Lu Chengsha reacted first, “It’s for you.” He paused, hesitating, “He wants to meet you.”
Hua Yan found it a bit hard to adapt.
Since the Sword-seeking Tournament, she hadn’t seen Lu Zhenxing again. She knew he didn’t like her and had no intention of bothering him, thinking she was marrying Lu Chengsha, not Lu Zhenxing. But she hadn’t expected Lu Zhenxing to reach out so proactively!
It felt both awkward and strange.
And a bit funny.
Hua Yan put down the jewelry and picked up the token, “What’s this?”
Tingjian Manor had identification tokens. Lu Chengsha had once wanted to give her one to seek refuge at Tingjian Manor, but none felt as unusual as this one.
Lu Chengsha took it, looked at it for a while, and then showed a hint of surprise.
“It’s the Lu family’s ancestral token.”
Hua Yan was curious, “Why did he give it to you?”
Lu Chengsha honestly replied, “I don’t know.”
Hua Yan said, “Okay, let’s ask him later… What’s this last thing?”
The cloth looked ordinary, bundled together, smelling old, and felt slightly rough. Hua Yan felt she had seen it somewhere before. She unwrapped the cloth, and a letter fell out, making her pause.
The envelope read, “To Manor Lord Lu Zhenxing, Open Personally.”
The beautiful handwriting was familiar, it was Lu Huaixian’s handwriting.
Ah… so this was Lu Chengsha’s swaddling cloth.
Looking at the cloth again now felt different. Hua Yan was a bit nervous but still unfolded the letter to read it with Lu Chengsha.
The letter was simple. Lu Huaixian mentioned she likely wouldn’t survive and was deeply worried about the child she was leaving behind. She didn’t seek Lu Zhenxing’s forgiveness, only hoped he would consider the child’s innocence and ensure his safe upbringing.
It was just a few lines. She didn’t even dare to call Lu Zhenxing “father.”
Hua Yan thought that at the end of her rope, the safest place Lu Huaixian could think of was Tingjian Manor.
But Lu Zhenxing…
Never mind, better not to mention it. After all, Lu Chengsha was fine now!
Just as Hua Yan was about to put the letter back, she noticed two characters embroidered on the edge of the swaddling cloth with silk thread—”Wuyou” (literally “no worries”). It seemed odd for a blessing; usually, these words…
She hesitated, “Is this… the name your mother originally wanted to give you?”
Lu Chengsha wasn’t sure, “Maybe?”
Hua Yan ran her fingertips over the raised characters, suddenly reminded of her own mother. Her mother always thought learning poetry, etiquette, and such from her father was useless, as they couldn’t make her a demoness or protect herself. So her mother always forced her to practice martial arts and study poison and gu techniques.
But later, when her mother got drunk, she still told her that it didn’t matter if she became a demoness or not; she just hoped Hua Yan could protect herself.
Perhaps Lu Huaixian also hoped that Lu Chengsha could grow up without worries.
Hua Yan shared her guess with Lu Chengsha.
After thinking for a while, Lu Chengsha tentatively said, “Was my upbringing worry-free?”
Hua Yan was stunned, “Do you have a misunderstanding of ‘worry-free’?”
Lu Chengsha said, “All I had to do back then was practice swordsmanship and kill.”
It was only after meeting her that he began to have other emotions, other thoughts, and other ideas.
Hua Yan crossed her arms, her tone carrying a hint of “Are you trying to die?” “So you’re saying all your worries are because of me?”
Seeing this, Lu Chengsha quickly shook his head and explained, “I think…” He pondered, “It’s very good. Being with you, I feel… like I’m truly living.”
Before, he had no worries, but he also didn’t know what he was living for.
Day after day was very dull, even killing the people from the Demon Sect was just because Lu Zhenxing told him they deserved to die. He felt neither satisfaction nor worry.
Hua Yan reluctantly accepted his explanation.
However, she quickly forgot about it and took a gold hairpin from the box, inserting it into her hair. She blinked at Lu Chengsha, “Does it look good? Should I wear this to meet your grandfather?”
Lu Chengsha said, “It looks good.”
Hua Yan then tried on a gold bracelet.
Lu Chengsha said it looked good too.
After trying on several items, all of which Lu Chengsha said looked good, Hua Yan couldn’t help but say, “You’re just trying to brush me off!”
Lu Chengsha felt wronged, “It’s the truth.”
“Is there anything that doesn’t look good?” Hua Yan asked, hands on her hips.
Lu Chengsha found this question difficult to answer.
He thought for a while, and seeing her cute, puffed-up face, he leaned in and kissed her cheek, then said seriously, “Really… everything looks good.”
Hua Yan was stunned and said, “Oh, okay then!”
After a while, she wondered if Lu Chengsha was becoming a bit cheeky!
Originally, Hua Yan wasn’t nervous about meeting Lu Zhenxing, but thinking about the identity she was meeting him with, she felt a bit anxious.
She went down the mountain to buy a more conservative dress, redoing her hair into a more dignified style and applying light makeup, then went with Lu Chengsha to see him.
However, Hua Yan soon realized she was overthinking it.
Lu Zhenxing sat in the main seat of the Jingxin Hall, coughed once, and asked when and how they would handle the wedding, not even looking at them.
Lu Chengsha answered everything.
Hua Yan had no idea why he asked her to come!
When Lu Zhenxing learned they hadn’t decided yet, he frowned and said, “You should naturally have the wedding at Tingjian Manor. The new room is already being prepared, and you will be given a new courtyard.”
Hearing that he had apparently decided everything, Hua Yan couldn’t help but say, “But in our sect, holy maidens get married within the sect…”
Lu Zhenxing coughed again and said, “Since you are marrying into the Lu family, you should follow the Lu family customs.”
Hua Yan had never heard of such a thing and couldn’t help but say, “But… his father is from our sect, so theoretically, he should also be considered part of our sect. It’s more appropriate to follow our sect’s customs!”
Lu Zhenxing had never encountered such a confrontational junior and felt a surge of anger. He was about to slam the table, but seeing Lu Chengsha beside him, a wave of guilt came over him. He suppressed his anger and said, “We can’t have him stay in your… sect after getting married.”
Hua Yan curiously asked, “Why not?”
Lu Zhenxing, having suppressed his anger several times, finally asked Lu Chengsha, “What do you intend to do?”
Lu Chengsha answered quickly, “As long as I’m with her… anything is fine.”
Hua Yan felt a surge of joy in her heart and quickly grabbed Lu Chengsha’s hand.
Lu Zhenxing: “…”
What is wrong with his grandson? Does he have no presence as the head of the family?
He wasn’t even married yet and already behaving like this. What would happen after marriage?
Lu Zhenxing immediately felt a bit regretful. He realized that he had focused too much on making him abandon distractions and not enough on proper education, which led him to fall under the spell of this demoness, obeying her every word and losing his authority as a husband.
However, seeing Lu Chengsha look so happy when his hand was held made Lu Zhenxing even more conflicted.
Could he really handle this?
But now, it seemed too late to start educating him.
He waved his hand weakly, telling them both to leave quickly.
Hua Yan confirmed that he didn’t like her much, and she didn’t like him either.
They stayed at Tingjian Manor for a while longer, visiting Granny Xu’s grave, teasing Lu Chengzhao a few times, revisiting the Meditative Cave, and soaking in the hot springs they had discovered years ago. Naturally, some things inevitably happened. After having enough fun, they left Tingjian Manor, traveling leisurely, eating, sightseeing, and solving any injustices they heard of along the way, enjoying a relaxed life in the martial world.
By chance, they caught the release of the latest volume of “The Heroic Chronicles.” It was said that the author, the Master of Chengfeng Hall, would also be there. Hua Yan immediately bought a complete set of the books and queued up for his autograph and seal.
Hua Yan’s enthusiasm left Lu Chengsha feeling sour for quite a while, especially since the author was a handsome young man.
Although no one recognized them, Hua Yan’s beauty drew attention wherever they went. The Master of Chengfeng Hall, seeing Hua Yan, smiled brightly and said, “I didn’t expect to have a reader as lovely as you. It is truly an honor. How about…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a wave of killing intent.
The man beside her was glaring at him with a hostile expression.
The Master of Chengfeng Hall immediately dropped his flirtatious smile and obediently signed his name and stamped his seal.
Hua Yan was delighted, repeatedly saying, “I will treasure this forever.” However, when she turned, she saw Lu Chengsha looking away nonchalantly, his lips pressed tightly together, clearly unhappy.
Lu Chengsha felt that being so petty was a bit childish.
But he suddenly remembered that the first time he met her, she chased after him, repeatedly saying she admired heroes because she had read books. She had also recommended “The Heroic Chronicles” to him several times…
It just made him unhappy.
His sulky mood was so obvious that Hua Yan, who had been engrossed in her new book, noticed. She couldn’t help but laugh and coax him, “Books are just books! Whether it’s the author or the heroes in the stories, none of them can compare to you!” She grabbed Lu Chengsha’s lapel and pecked him on the lips, “Alright, let me get back to my book!”
Feeling the peaceful atmosphere return, Hua Yan thought to herself while reading, Lu Chengsha is really easy to cheer up!
Days passed leisurely, and time flew by. Two months slipped away in the blink of an eye, and before they knew it, their wedding day was approaching.
Although the wedding was drawing near, they didn’t have to worry much about it. There were too many people involved. Hua Yan found out about the arrangements herself and went back to the Zhengyi Sect to see how things were progressing.
The result of several parties’ negotiations was to choose a middle-ground city. They discussed with local officials and decided that both sides would set up their own events and invite guests separately. The rituals and customs from both sides would be combined, making it extremely complicated.
Hua Yan was dumbfounded just looking at the schedule.
In the Zhengyi Sect, weddings were originally simple, but to compete with Tingjian Manor, the elders stayed up all night digging out ancient texts from a hundred years ago to create an even more elaborate ceremony.
Xie Yingxian was beside her, making sarcastic comments, “You wanted this wedding, so don’t complain about the hassle.”
Hua Yan couldn’t help but mutter, “Who was the one who suggested a fake wedding in the first place!”
Lu Chengsha, who was listening to the tedious details, suddenly turned his head.
Hua Yan quickly clarified, “Nothing, nothing, it’s his issue, not mine!”
One of the troublesome tasks was finalizing the guest list. Besides the definite invites, Hua Yan sent special invitations to some people she had met before, like Senior Sister Tao from Qingcheng Sect, Ming Qi from Cixin Valley, and even the disciple Qing Yuan she met briefly…
Oh, and Zhao You from Qingcheng Sect. She had once cast a gu spell on him but later remembered to send the antidote, avoiding any dire consequences.
After all this, Hua Yan rummaged through her things and found the red wedding dress her mother had prepared for her, complete with a phoenix coronet and all the matching jewelry.
She had once thought she would never have the chance to wear it.
Holding the dress in front of the mirror, she admired herself for a while, then couldn’t help but hug it tightly, as if holding onto her long-held dream.
She felt both happy and shy.
She was really going to get married, and to someone she truly loved.
How could such a wonderful thing happen in this world?
On the eve of the wedding, they adhered strictly to the traditions and did not meet beforehand.
Hua Yan obediently stayed indoors, but just by listening to the bustling noises outside, she could tell that the number of guests and onlookers was immense.
After all, this event was even grander and more exciting than Ling Aoxue’s wedding.
This was a marriage alliance between Tingjian Manor and the Demon Sect!
Ning Yin returned from watching the festivities outside and excitedly described everything to Hua Yan. The weddings in the Zhengyi Sect were usually simple, and Ning Yin had never seen such a grand scene. The entire city seemed to be dyed red, with Dongfeng Buye Tower distributing money to every household. The common people were happy to hang up red banners and share in the joy. Even the dishes sold in the restaurants were all festive dishes, and storytellers set up stalls to recount the couple’s past entanglements, drawing a large audience.
Listening to her description, Hua Yan longed to go out and see for herself.
But as soon as the thought arose, Jiang Lan stopped her, gently but firmly saying, “The bride should not show her face in public.”
Alright then.
She tossed and turned, unable to sleep, while the noise outside continued into the night, with some households even setting off firecrackers.
Early the next morning, Ning Yin and Jiang Lan came to help her get ready, along with a few hired matronly assistants. Just drawing her eyebrows, applying makeup, and styling her hair took a lot of time. When it was time to put on the wedding dress, Hua Yan realized it was even more cumbersome than she had imagined, especially with the phoenix coronet and all the ornate jewelry. Though the weight didn’t bother her much, she felt completely restrained.
She was uncomfortable and a bit anxious, spreading her arms, “Do I look… good?”
Jiang Lan smiled and nodded, “The holy maiden is truly beautiful today.”
Ning Yin was more straightforward, “I always thought you were already very pretty, but today you’re stunning… It’s really a loss for Tingjian Manor!”
This was no exaggeration. Her natural beauty was already striking, but she usually kept her look simple for her travels in the martial world. Now, with the elaborate and opulent wedding attire, the gold, red, and jewels only highlighted her beauty. Her radiant face looked otherworldly, making one wonder if such beauty could truly exist in this world.
Hua Yan, unaware of her stunning appearance, felt a bit sad when she realized she couldn’t eat with the veil on.
But the complicated rituals soon left her no time to dwell on it.
She followed every instruction from the matrons, going through the lengthy ceremonies for two or three hours before finally seeing Lu Chengsha. However, with the veil covering her face, she couldn’t see his face, only that he was also dressed in red, even his boots were red — how annoying, she really wanted to see him!
Thinking about it, she realized she had never seen Lu Chengsha wear anything but black. What a pity!
Lu Chengsha bent down, cupping his hands in respect, holding one end of the red flower cord. Hua Yan, seeing those swordsman’s hands she had held countless times, felt a stir in her heart and picked up the other end.
It was as if their fates were now tied by a single thread.
Hua Yan wanted to laugh but was also truly exhausted. Her head was spinning with random thoughts as they proceeded to the ceremony to bow to heaven and earth.
Last time, they had hastily bowed in Migu Town, never imagining today would come. They had been so close that they even bumped heads.
Now, with the red flower cord between them, bumping heads was impossible, and Hua Yan found herself strangely regretful.
What Hua Yan didn’t know was that Lu Chengsha was also thinking about that day.
Last time, he could still see her face through the thin veil, but this time, it was completely covered, leaving him feeling regretful too.
After talking about getting married so many times, Lu Chengsha realized for the first time how complicated it actually was. No wonder she always said their previous attempts didn’t count. This was his first time doing something so elaborate, and he meticulously followed each step, afraid that missing anything would make the ceremony incomplete.
He wanted to marry her properly, formally.
As the words “Ceremony complete” were spoken, the sound of firecrackers erupted outside, and the hall was filled with congratulations and blessings.
Hua Yan felt a mix of emotions.
A few years ago, they were attacked, Lu Chengsha was denounced, and it seemed the world was against them being together. Who could have imagined that with time, they would finally see the light at the end of the tunnel?
They had thought about giving up, knowing that either of them could live a much easier life alone, but they still wanted to be together.
Amidst the firecracker noise, they were led to the bridal chamber.
Hua Yan sat on the bed, extremely nervous. She worried that after a long day, her makeup might be smudged or her hair disheveled and unattractive. But at this point, there was no way to fix it, so she could only sit tensely, holding her breath, waiting for Lu Chengsha to lift her veil.
Unbeknownst to her, Lu Chengsha was equally nervous.
The more formal the ceremony, the more solemn it felt. When he lifted the veil before, he wasn’t nearly this nervous. But now, he was certain that once he lifted the veil, their bond would be sealed, and they would be together for life.
A lifetime of willing commitment.
Lu Chengsha used a balance rod to gently lift the corner of the veil.
Hua Yan instinctively clenched her fingers, then heard his voice.
His voice was tense, “Hua Yan.”
She instinctively responded, “Hmm?” Then paused, “You actually called my name!”
Lu Chengsha had wanted to call her name for a long time but never found the right moment. Finally, he had the chance to say it seriously and formally. He felt a bit embarrassed and uncertain, but he earnestly conveyed a phrase he had learned a long time ago.
“——I am fond of you.”
~ End of main text ~
Translator’s Note: There’s like 30 extras. The extras are some parallel worlds, What if scenarios, and their marriage life.