Chapter 097: The Grand Wedding at Prince Xiang’s Residence

“I remember that year. It was here that I drank with you.”

As she spoke, Li Xiuling gestured toward a silk shop in the Eastern Market.

The shopkeeper could never have imagined that beneath his store lay the ashes of more than twenty deserters from the Kingdom of Yan.

“At the time, I never would have thought you’d make such… progress,” Li Xiuling said with a smile to Song Ye.

Although Li Xiuling felt that this kind of advancement—rising by clinging to a woman—was hardly admirable, Song Ye had once been nothing more than a wretched commoner at the very bottom of society. Without any immortal fate, he had no way to cultivate, and without relying on others he would never have had a chance to rise in life.

At the very least, he had tried to better himself. He was still far better than her own unpromising brother, who spent his days wallowing in wine, women, and frivolity.

Just thinking of her brother, Li Qianshi, filled Li Xiuling with anger.

She knew perfectly well that Li Qianshi had sent her to Yancheng to offer congratulations on Prince Xiang’s marriage because he wanted to get her out of the way, so he could indulge in pleasure at court all the more recklessly.

Yet imperial orders could not be defied, and Li Xiuling could only carry them out.

By now, she had already grown somewhat disheartened. The court was, after all, nowhere near as free and unrestrained as the martial world.

She had once wanted to emulate the immortal Venerable Jiuli of old—leaving the halls of power without hesitation and devoting herself to cultivation—but in the end she could not abandon her brother to his own devices, and so she had remained in the court all these years.

Of course, Li Xiuling did not yet know that her dear brother had already decided to send her to guard the northern frontier, so that she would be unable to return to the capital, Luocheng, for a very long time.

And the imperial decree sending her to the frontier was already on its way.

“Song Ye, in three days I shall personally go to Prince Xiang’s residence again to congratulate you on your wedding!”

With that, Li Xiuling left.

After wandering outside for a while, Song Ye returned alone to the courtyard where he lived, only to find that a small parcel had been left there.

Inside were some gold and silver ornaments, along with a hand-painted sheet of paper.

On the paper was a painting of him embracing Qin Xuanxi, lifelike in every detail. The artist’s skill was clearly exceptional, and at the bottom was the signature: Liu Qingyi, offering this painting in celebration of my benefactor’s joyous marriage.

It was likely that Liu Qingyi had no intention of coming to Prince Xiang’s residence to drink his wedding wine on the day itself, which was why she had secretly sent her gift in advance.

For all he knew, she had her own unspeakable reasons for not daring to show herself that day.

Three months ago, a murder had occurred in a residence in Xuanyang Ward. All twenty-seven people inside had been killed, and among the bodies was a disciple of the Murong clan named Murong Jingtian.

To this day, the culprit had not been caught. Song Ye suspected that the case might have something to do with Liu Qingyi, but it was only suspicion. He was not interested in discovering the truth of it.

…

Three days later.

Today was the day of Prince Xiang’s wedding, in the seventy-eighth year of the Chonghuang era, on the day of Xinwei in the fifth month.

The whole of Yancheng was draped in lanterns and festive decorations, all bright and joyous.

After all, Prince Xiang was the city’s only prince. With his household celebrating a wedding, it felt as though everyone in the city was helping to prepare for it.

The city’s garrison had even dispatched troops directly to maintain order, so that no one would dare cause trouble at Prince Xiang’s wedding.

Inside and outside the residence, many Purple Jade Guards stood watch and patrolled.

Carriages bearing congratulations jammed the streets of the city in an unbroken stream, making the scene especially grand.

The five sects of Seven Stars Gate, Mystical Clear Palace, Moon-Embracing Sect, Divine Wind Gate, and Heavenly Radiance Sect had all sent representatives to offer their blessings.

Those immortal cultivators simply flew in on swords, sparing themselves the trouble of being blocked in the streets.

Prince Xiang’s chief steward had even arranged for an empty estate to temporarily store the gifts sent by all sides.

At this moment, Song Ye, the groom at the center of the celebration, was already dressed in a blazing red wedding robe and sitting alone in a room inside the residence.

A quarter of an hour earlier, the steward had come to fetch him, asking him to go out in the prince’s stead and receive the guests. Since the prince was unwell, the task of entertaining the visitors naturally fell to him, the future son-in-law.

Sitting alone in the room, Song Ye poured himself a cup of wine. Then he raised it and gazed into the empty air with a distant look, saying softly, “Song Yao, your brother is getting married today. I know you can’t come, and I won’t blame you.”

Song Yao was Song Ye’s younger sister in his original world, only two years his junior.

Song Ye’s parents had died early, and for all these years in the real world, he had depended on this sister as the only family he had.

Song Yao, back in the real world, naturally could not know that her own brother—who had never even had a girlfriend—was actually marrying someone in the world of the game, Xuanying Continent.

Even if she did know, she would not be able to log in to this world now.

“Tan Yongjian, Zhu Biao, we said we’d stay single until thirty and guard the honor of bachelors together, but… I’m really sorry. Your brother is getting married today, so let this cup be my apology!”

Tan Yongjian and Zhu Biao were Song Ye’s good friends in the real world.

As he spoke, Song Ye lifted the cup and drank it dry. “If this world ever opens its login again to the real world, and you can come in, then I’ll hold another wedding with my little wife and make sure you can all drink my wedding wine.”

Of course, this was only an empty promise. In any case, these words would never make it back to the real world.

Even this wedding today, he did not know whether it would be able to proceed smoothly.

He had not seen Qin Xuanxi for an entire month, and he had no idea what kind of mischief she was plotting now.

…

The real world.

The flow of time in Xuanying Continent and the real world was not the same. Song Ye had spent more than two years in Xuanying Continent, but in the real world only two and a half days had actually passed.

Although the world of Xuanying Continent had already closed its login channel in the real world, the official game website that the world had set up in the real world had not been shut down.

Players in the real world could continue to learn and explore more information and stories about Xuanying Continent on the official site, so as to prepare for another login in the future.

They could also browse the website for basic information on the many famous immortal venerables and demon lords of Xuanying Continent.

The page even displayed high-definition portraits of each immortal venerable and demon lord.

These portraits were updated in real time. For example, when the Blood Sword Demon Lord had been gravely injured some days earlier and instantly aged into a white-haired old man, the high-definition image on the real-world website had likewise changed into that of a white-haired elder.

And now, the Blood Sword Demon Lord’s profile page had turned gray-white, indicating that this character had died completely within Xuanying Continent.

Many media outlets in the real world also invited players to vote on who was the most popular character in Xuanying Continent.

Very soon, the results came out. The top-ranked, most popular character was the Profound Abyss Demon Lord, Qin Xuanxi.

Although Qin Xuanxi was the great villain of Xuanying Continent, a notorious female demon whose crimes were beyond counting, this did not affect the players’ fondness for her in the least.

The main reason was that on the official website, Qin Xuanxi’s high-definition portrait did not show her wearing the Purple Fiend Mask. Her peerless beauty was thus laid bare before all the players.

Her beauty, impossible to put into words, captivated men and women alike, and naturally sent her to the very top of the popularity rankings.