"Before that, however…" Master Lan spread his hands. "The both of you should get married! Let's hold the wedding ceremony tomorrow! Best for you both to get married before the poor guy gets sent off to one of the major sects."
"You're assuming he'll make it in," Jian Shen growled, seething.
"Even if Hei Ye doesn't make it in, it doesn't matter," Master Lan replied good-naturedly. "It's still good for young people to get married early. I hope to see my grandchildren soon!"
I think it was still too early to talk about having children. There were quite a few things I wanted to do before settling down and raising a family.
"I won't allow this!" Jian Shen roared, rising from his seat and slamming his fist against the table so hard that it shattered, spilling broken cutlery, plates and cups, as well as unfinished food and drinks to the floor. "I'm against this marriage! Junior Bei Er only deserves to marry me!"
"And who are you to allow or disallow the marriage matters of my Lan family?" Master Lan glared at him. Jian Shen turned pale and gulped, backing away with a shudder. "And who are you to decide who is worth or unworthy to marry my daughter? You think too highly of yourself."
"I'm a disciple of the Ten Thousand Sword Pavilion!"
"So what?" Master Lan stormed. "Do you think I don't know what happened why I was ill and injured? Even though Bei Er begged you for help, you didn't. In the end, it was my son-in-law here who brought the blood of the Red Python back and saved my life! Who are you compared to the benefactor to whom I owe my life?"
"He's…he's a fraud! There's no way trash like him can bring back the blood of a Red Python…I know! He must have conspired with the person who assaulted you! They must have planned this in advance so that he can infiltrate into your Lan family! Don't believe him, it's a trap…"
He never finished his accusation. Hong Yao Yao appeared behind him and struck the back of his neck. The idiot went out like a light, slumped over the broken edge of his table. The pink haired specially appointed instructor looked up at Master Lan.
"Forgive me for taking the liberty of shutting him up, but his nonsense was really getting on my nerves."
"No need to apologize. In fact, I should thank you. Staff!" Master Lan called for his guards. "Throw this imbecile out of the manor. He has overstayed his welcome."
A couple of guards gleefully seized Jian Shen under his armpits and dragged him from the dining hall. Following their lord's command to the letter, they literally flung him out of the gates and then shut them on him. Jian Shen landed face first on the ground, slumped over like some bug, with his ass sticking out to the sky. He was unconscious and thus unable to right his ridiculous posture.
Passers-by snickered and laughed when they saw him. News about his disgrace would spread throughout Azure Cloud City thereafter. If social media existed here, they would have taken photographs and shared them online, but alas, no such thing had been invented in the cultivator world.
"Excellent." Master Lan beamed at me. "From tomorrow onward, you will now be part of the Lan family."
Basically he meant I would marry into the Lan family and become a son-in-law. Given that I didn't have a family of my own ever since I was transmigrated here, I didn't complain. I didn't really care about this name or family politics nonsense anyway.
"Let us celebrate this joyous occasion! Tonight, we shall feast! A toast!" Master Lan raised a cup and downed the wine in a single gulp. He gestured toward me. "Son-in-law! You should too! Don't be so reserved!"
"Um, I don't drink…"
"Don't be a wet blanket!"
Fortunately, I found a way to avoid drinking wine or I would end up with a hangover the next day. I did enjoy the food, but ended up being bloated thanks to all the eating. Whoops. In any event, I was able to wake up the next day, only to see all the servants running around and preparing for the wedding.
"That was…fast."
"It's a private wedding, not meant for outside eyes," Master Lan explained to me. He looked like he had a hangover after drinking so much last night, but he was mitigating it with tea. Now tea I liked, and I drank some with him. "Also, we're trying to get this done and registered before the White Herb Sect finds out about this. Otherwise there will be trouble."
"Trouble?"
"Bei Er's master will come and stop this wedding."
I wondered what kind of person Lan Bei Er's master was. Since she was from the White Herb Sect, she must be a gifted and prestigious alchemist or healer. No, Lan Bei Er was a priestess, so she was probably a priestess.
"Well, get changed," Master Lan told me. I nodded.
"Yes, Master Lan."
"What Master Lan, you should be addressing me as father-in-law now!" He slapped me in the back, almost sending me sprawling on the ground. Then he leaned in close. "But if you ever make Bei Er unhappy, I'll never forgive you. So don't betray her or hurt her. Understand?"
"Yes, Master…father-in-law."
"Excellent!" he guffawed and pushed me back toward my chambers. "Your attire is waiting for you in there!"
As I expected, it was the fancy red attire that I so often saw in dongman. I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I didn't have much of a choice. So I put it on, feeling grumpy and uncomfortable. Then again, this was my big day, so I shouldn't complain.
Stepping out, I found myself escorted to the place where the bride awaited. Lan Bei Er, in contrast to her usual blue and white gown, was now dressed all in red. Her face was currently hidden by a crimson veil, and flower patterns were sewn across her dress. Standing around her was the Lan family and their retinue, all applauding.
I followed the path of the red carpet and finally stood beside her. Even with the veil, I could see her smiling underneath.
"Thank you for going along with this," she said.
"I told you, didn't I?" I shrugged. "I'm in love with you. of course I'm happy to marry you. Even if you're just using me as a shield to escape marriage with Jian Shen or other people."
Lan Bei Er hesitated, and then she shook her head. She took my arm and leaned in close.
"That's not the case anymore. Ever since you saved my father, I…I think I'll rather marry you than anything."
"I'll happily accept your gratitude. I'll just take my time making you fall for me."
"You don't have to." Lan Bei Er sounded frustrated. "I already like you."
Then she spun away shyly, grabbing her flushing cheeks. Her embarrassment was visible even underneath the veil. "Gosh, what are you making me say?"
I couldn't help but chuckle. My wife can't be this cute!
"All right, let's get on with the ceremony!" Father-in-law shouted from below, his hands cupped around his mouth. "Don't go disappearing into your own world now."
"There will be plenty of time later," Mother-in-law added with a mischievous smile. Lan Bei Er shuffled uncomfortably, then the both of us turned toward the altar.
"Bow to heaven!"
"Bow to earth!"
"Then finally bow to your parents!"
With the three bows completed, there was the exchange of vows and the tea ceremony. We linked our arms and drank tea in unison, to symbolize our union or whatever. Once that was done, we held a feast for the guests, family and staff. Most of Lan Bei Er's friends had chosen not to attend. Mostly because they were all friends of Jian Shen, and so they sided with him.
There was an unexpected guest, though.
"Huang Qian Jin? What are you doing here?"
"Come on, Brother Hei! How can you not let me know you're getting married? I thought we were bros! If old Master Lan Tian Kong didn't tell me about this…"
"I didn't know you were friends with young master Huang Qian Jin," father-in-law said, chuckling. "He was the one who came to see what the fuss was about, and then I found out about your friendship. When did you befriend such a powerful character?"
"Come on, Uncle Lan Tian Kong, I'm not some powerful character. You're overestimating me."
"But with your Huang family…"
Huang Qian Jin brought a finger to his lips, silencing father-in-law. Then he grinned. "To answer your question, Uncle Tian Kong, we met in the Crimson Forest. Brother Hei Ye helped me and Hui Ying get the True Fire. We owe him our lives."
"You paid me handsomely for it," I pointed out, but everyone ignored me. Father-in-law guffawed heartily.
"Seems like everyone owes my son-in-law one thing or another!" He turned to me. "You really have a habit of saving people's lives!"
And I was supposed to be a villain. Well, I guess this made me unique as a villain, so it was all right?
"Anyway, let's drink until dawn!" Father-in-law dragged me to the front where bottles of wine awaited. "We won't let you go until you get drunk tonight!"
"No." Mother-in-law smacked his head. "If you do that, then how is son-in-law going to perform his duties on his first night?"
I think you guys were jumping way ahead of yourselves here…
Fortunately, I pretended to go along with mother-in-law and declined drinking. Instead, I ate more food, enjoying myself with all the chicken drumsticks, soup, seafood and rice that they brought to the tables. Beside me, Lan Bei Er giggled.
"You really like the food, don't you?"
"Yeah, well…where I come from, we never get to eat such delicacies."
"Oh, right…" Lan Bei Er recalled that she first met me in Heaven and Earth Sect. She was the only one who knew my secret. You know what they say – never keep secrets from your spouse. It was fitting that she ended up being my wife. She smiled and placed a hand on my arm. "From now on, you'll have plenty of chances."
"I hope so," I said, wondering what was going to happen in future. Would I really be allowed to leave Heaven and Earth Sect and live a normal life here? Sooner or later, Master would call for me, and I would have to return and do whatever it was that demonic cultivators did. Either that or I refused and rebelled against him. But I didn't have the power to challenge him yet.
What should I do?
Well, that was a bridge to cross when it came to it. Like I said, demonic cultivators could disappear for years, and nobody cared…because we were demonic cultivators. We did whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted.
After the heavy dinner, we retreated to our rooms. I was supposed to spend the first night of my marriage in the bridal chamber or whatever it was called. The bed and everything was prepared in the room, but neither Lan Bei Er nor I was in the mood for anything more intimate than lying next to each other.
"Whatever happens in the future, we'll face it together," Lan Bei Er said suddenly. I sat up, nodding. Somehow I was glad that my wife could read my mind. At least that was what I thought, until Lan Bei Er continued. "When my master learns of this, there will be trouble. But I won't give up. We'll confront her together. She has no right to dictate my marriage or choose my husband."
Of course. My new wife would have worries of her own. As her husband, it was my job to help her overcome them. So I took her hand in mine and squeezed it.
"Yeah. If they don't think I'm worthy enough to marry you, then I'll prove to them that I'm worthier than every single one of their candidates."
Lan Bei Er looked up at me forlornly, her fingers entwining around mine. There was concern in her clear sky blue eyes.
"So you'll be competing to join the major sects, then?"
"Yeah." I grinned. "I'll do my best to make them regret looking down on me."