Su Yi Shui stood in front of the mountain gate, watching as Gao Cang and Bai Baishan hung red lanterns on the gate of Xishan. He gave a wave of his hand, indicating that the lanterns were slightly crooked and needed to be straightened before saying slowly, "She is not a disciple of Xishan, why have you come looking here?"
When disciples of the Crimson Gate Sect join the sect, they were given a poisonous bug. Usually, it's fine, but should they betray the sect, as the sect master, Wei Jiu can naturally activate the spell and track down their whereabouts.
When Wei Jiu discovered that Tu Jiuyuan had quietly run away, he was livid. Considering her pregnancy and physically weak, he didn't immediately activate the poisonous bug, hoping that Tu Jiuyuan would calm down and return on her own to admit her mistake.
However, after waiting for two days without any sign of her return, Wei Jiu was completely enraged. He couldn't wait any longer and immediately activated the poisonous bug. However, to his surprise, when he activated it, there was no response at all.
At that moment, Wei Jiu suspected that Tu Jiuyuan had returned to seek help from those from Xishan and that they had hidden her using some clever method.
So he came to Xishan in a rage to search for her, not knowing what was going on when he saw Xishan being decorated with lanterns and decorations.
When he understood that Su Yi Shui was getting married, Wei Jiu's heart felt even more sour than ever.
After hearing Su Yi Shui's denial, he sneered, "You sure denied it so completely, hiding my woman, are you preparing to become an instant father?"
Ranran, who was coming down the mountain, happened to hear Wei Jiu's sarcastic words and spoke up, "Rest assured, the child you don't want will have someone to love and care for him. You don't need to worry about who his godfather will be."
Wei Jiu had been suppressing his anger, but now, hearing the implied meaning in Ranran's words that Tu Jiuyuan had found a new father for her unborn child, his anger soared. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Su Yi Shui, do you think you, a half damaged demon immortal, can intimidate me? If you don't hand over Tu Jiuyuan, after your heavenly punishment, I'll bring people to slaughter Xishan and torture your disciples to the bone!"
Although he had no intentions to become a father, let alone have Tu Jiuyuan give birth to a child, the thought of Tu Jiuyuan carrying his child and being with another man made him seethe with jealousy.
Su Yishui did not want to deal with Wei Jiu, but now, hearing his blatant threat, Su Yi Shui's eyes also turned fierce as he slowly turned towards Wei Jiu.
After Wei Jiu finished speaking, he realized that Su Yi Shui's gaze was full of killing intent, and he realized that he had said something stupid.
By saying that, wasn't he forcing Su Yi Shui to kill him before the Heavenly punishment?
Thinking of this, he quickly retreated, but it was already too late. Su Yi Shui's attack had arrived, each move ruthless and without holding back.
Since the battle at Kongshan, Su Yi Shui no longer deliberately sealed off his half of the demonic immortal's nascent soul. When he made a move, even though it was just one arm attacking, his movements were as swift as a thousand-armed Guanyin.
In just a moment, Wei Jiu had already been hit several times, spitting out several mouthfuls of blood.
"Su Yi Shui! Damn you! We had fought side by side against enemies, and yet you disregard our past friendship like this!"
Wei Jiu struggled to withstand his blows, immediately backing away while cursing and clinging to their past alliance.
But Su Yi Shui turned a deaf ear, showing no intention of stopping; he was intent on killing Wei Jiu.
Wei Jiu now fully understood the huge gap in power between him and Su Yi Shui.
Su Yi Shui wasn't in a hurry to kill him; he seemed to be playing with his prey like a cat with a mouse, and he was almost about to shatter Wei Jiu's internal organs!
Helpless, while coughing up blood, Wei Jiu shouted "I was just kidding earlier! How could you take it seriously! I can even make a Soul oath, even if you're struck by divine punishment, I will never harm your disciples at Xishan even by a hair!"
At this moment, Ranran spoke up, "Yi Shui, we are about to be married, it's not suitable to have bloodshed. If he's willing to make an oath, let's hear what he has to say!"
With their divine punishment looming, Ranran didn't want Su Yi Shui to commit more killings.
Finally, after Wei Jiu failed miserably to get what he wanted, after he made a perfect Soul Oath as a wedding gift, he could finally get lost.
As he was leaving, he still wouldn't give up, and turned to Xue Ranran to say "Where is Tu Jiuyuan really at? I could swear another Soul Oath and I guarantee that I will not harm her and her unborn child!"
But this time, Xue Ranran shook her head, "She just wants to raise her child well; the poisonous atmosphere at the Crimson Gate is not suitable for a child to grow up in. She has never schemed against you, and she was your thankless caretaker, doing so much dirty work for so many years without any pay. You have already taken all the advantage you possibly could. If you had an ounce of compassion, you shouldn't have forced her to the wall like this. You never cared about her life or death. Letting go of an insignificant woman, what loss is that to you?"
Wei Jiu was stumped by Xue Ranran's words. He admitted to himself that he didn't love Tu Jiuyuan. It's just that over the long years, he had already gotten used to her care, and only she knew all of his preferences.
But to grovel like this for an insignificant woman, really touched his bottom line.
Unable to gain any advantage here, Wei Jiu finally left with a snort.
Su Yi Shui hugged Ranran, as they watched Wei Jiu disappear into the distance, and their West Mountain's gate was finally peaceful again.
Tu Jiuyuan was on Dragon Island, shielded by the Dragon Shield, which cut off all trace of her presence in the mortal realm. Wei Jiu probably would never find Tu Jiuyuan and her child in his lifetime.
But Wei Jiu, who such an arrogant person, had just volunteered to swear a Soul oath for a woman he considered unimportant.
Moreover, after hearing that she was about to marry Su Yi Shui, he didn't even care about being jealous, he just wanted to know Tu Jiuyuan's whereabouts, which was quite intriguing.
Thinking of Wei Jiu and Su Yi Shui, both of whom had entered the Tianmai Mountain's Black Pool, Xue Ranran couldn't help but lament. The curse of the Black Pool, which severed love and affection, would make people experience the pain of losing their loved ones.
Perhaps the curse of that pool was to make people lose their loved ones when they realized their affection?
Thinking of this, she sighed and said, "Elder Wen of Kongshan sent a messenger pigeon, saying that they have found the illusion in the ruins of Tianmai Mountain and left Duntian's ashes in the illusion, which kind of reunites their family…"
After the trial, Tianmai Mountain had collapsed, making it difficult to find the illusion. Elder Wen volunteered for this task, allowing Su Yi Shui and Ranran to make good use of the precious ten days.
After all, the Divine punishment was uncertain, and every single hour for this couple who had been through so much was precious.
Su Yi Shui reached out and adjusted the necklace hanging around Ranran's neck. The pendant was a transparent glass bead, inside was the Rebirth tree nurtured on the precious xiran soil.
Upon closer look, the rebirth tree has grown twice as big, its crown spreading out, and its branches filling up most of the glass bead.
Ranran's inherent defiency had been mostly healed thanks to the protection of the rebirth tree. Her features now carried more charm from her past life, and her once petite figure had not only grown taller but also become more womanly…
Su Yi Shui looked at Ranran, feeling a tightness in his throat. He held her in his arms and whispered in her ear, "Don't think about unrelated people anymore. We're getting married tonight. Are you ready?"
Although Ranran was once known as a seductive demoness who flirted with three thousand handsome youths, she knew that she was only all talk no action, just for show twenty years ago, bearing the reputation of a demoness for nothing.
In fact, Su Yi Shui who appeared so proper and overflowing with a sense of abstinence, seemed very experienced when he teased and was frivolous with her!
Especially when they were fooling around in the Kongshan guest room, even though he stopped in time, he still took alot of advantage… Those savvy moves didn't seem like those of an inexperienced novice!
Thinking of his past romantic encounters, she couldn't help suspecting that he had some untold stories with Wen Hongshan and others, so she also felt a little jealous, saying, "How should I prepare? Don't you already know everything? You said you never had feelings for any other women… Could it be that you don't have feelings, but just did things?"
Su Yi Shui looked at Ranran's rare jealous expression and chuckled softly, whispering in her ear, "What have I done with anyone else? It's just that for the past twenty years, there's always been a foxy woman in my dreams, calling me 'Shui'er' and seducing me. Perhaps after so many dreams, many things became self-taught…"
Ranran heard this and quickly looked around, afraid that Gao Cang and others might hear it. Fortunately, Gao Cang and Bai Baishan were perceptive; Seeing the new sect master getting lovey-dovey with the former sect master, they had ran off long ago.
Ranran laughed and hit his chest, saying, "I've never heard of anyone learning that in their dreams. Was the one in your dream a fox spirit?"
Su Yi Shui smiled, his thin lips curling. "Tonight, I must take a good look to see how many fox tails she really has!"
Ranran's face turned completely red this time. She was just a newly turned nineteen-year-old girl who hadn't had many messy dreams yet. Just thinking about what he said made her feel like her face was red to the point of dripping blood.
But no matter how shy she felt, it was time for the ceremony in the evening. Su Yi Shui refused to delay even for a day, he insisted on holding the ceremony at night.
Fortunately, Qiao Lian was eager to marry off her daughter and had been saving up the dowry for a long while. So, although the wedding only had people from West Mountain and the ceremony was simple, it was still lively.
However, the wedding dress Ranran wore was not prepared by Qiaolian. Su Yi Shui opened the West Mountain's storage room and took out a sandalwood box from inside.
When he opened the wooden box, Su Yi Shui took out a fiery red dress from inside.
The fabric of this dress was made of an unknown material, with golden threads running through the red, and the chest and hem were adorned with sparkling gems. The long skirt trailed on the ground like the tail of a fire phoenix.
Such a luxurious and beautiful dress, both in fabric and craftsmanship, couldn't have been completed in just a month.
Ranran asked Su Yi Shui, "This… couldn't be something you prepared twenty years ago?"
Su Yi Shui nodded, quite willing to open up about his past awkward feelings. "You liked red clothes back then, so Su Yu wanted to appeal to your taste and bought a lot of fabric to gift to you. What he picked out with his coarse taste was so really so tacky. So, I specially sought out the Crimson rainbow weave fabric, and had a skilled embroiderer spend a whole year making it…"
*not Su Yi Shui thinking his uncle's taste is bad and then ordering what could only be haute couture for his master for everyday wear
Looking at the dress that was completely new, with no signs of being worn, Ranran asked, "Then why didn't I wear it?"
Su Yi Shui didn't speak, but his brows furrowed again.
Ranran suddenly understood. On the day the dress was finished, she was probably no longer in the world. Su Yi Shui, filled with remorse, locked away the dress which had arrived too late in the sandalwood box and sealed it.
But based on his difficult personality, twenty years ago, he only enjoyed drowning himself in vinegar and never confessed to her. If there had been a chance to give her the dress, it wouldn't have been a pleasant message.
It would probably be something like: "I got this dress by chance, and this kind of vulgar flashy gems suits you well, so I'll give it to you since its a waste to throw away…"
Ranran thought this and said it out loud with a smile.
But Su Yi Shui reached out, playing with her loose strands of hair, and said mildly, "When a man gives a woman clothes, pay no heed to what he says, deep down, he hopes to see how she would gently remove the garment."
Ranran felt a bit embarrassed hearing his improper words. She hugged the dress to her chest, turned and ran out of the storage room. But soon after, she peeked back in, and said to him "So, when I wear it, will you personally help me take it off?"
As she said this, her cheeks were flushed, she bit her red lips softly, and her eyes were shining shyly.
Su Yi Shui's eyes filled with something at her words, and he swallowed involuntarily. The mark of the demonic immortal between his brows even appeared.
He reached out to grab the seductive little demoness, but Ranran slipped away like a fish in water, and ran away laughing.
On their wedding day, Ranran wore the dress that had been locked in the box for twenty years. Her hair was styled high, secured with a magnificent crown adorned with gold threads and jade, set with large pearls from the East sea, just enough to suppress the extravagance of the dress.
She wore a thin layer of red veil on her head, her delicate hands decorated with red nail polish, gently holding the hand of her second uncle master Yu Tong, she walked gracefully towards the hall.
Qiu Xier stared at her fixedly, whispering in awe, "Wow, isn't this a fairy descending to earth? Ranran, you look so beautiful!"
And Ranran slowly raised her head, unable to help herself from looking at the man who had waited for her for two lifetimes.
Su Yi Shui was also wearing a red robe, with a golden crown and tied hair. Although the festive color was easy to make people appear frivolous, Su Yi Shui's naturally aloof temperament added a hint of gravity to the red clothing.
He walked slowly towards her, reaching out to gently hold her hand. Although there were constant laughter and chatter around them, he still felt like he was in a dream, as if he might suddenly wake up and find that this was only a dream…
But the hand he held tightly grasped back, the unmistakable strength indicating that all of this was real.
The day he had been waiting for has finally arrived, he was to marry his little master in red!
Qiao Lian watched her daughter finally get married in good health, crying uncontrollable tears of joy. At the same time, she prepared a jar of medicinal wine for her son-in-law filled with dog kidneys, deer pen*s, with plenty of red ginseng, placing it on the bedside of the newly weds room.
As a mother-in-law, she was still worried about Su Yi Shui's age and needed to add some kindling to feel more reassured.
She also hoped to hold her grandchildren in her lifetime. She didn't want the couple to focus only on cultivating immortality and leave no descendants in the mortal realm.
Elder Jiu enjoyed such occasions with a full table of dishes to accompany his drinking. While drinking, he did not forget to hand a small brocade box to Su Yi Shui. "Here, this is what you asked me to draw… Remember to use it with control!"
Ranran, with the red veil covering her head, couldn't help but half lift the veil slightly, her big eyes staring at the box. The jar of medicinal wine her mother prepared was definitely enough for one person to drink, so why did Elder Jiu bring another talisman as a wedding gift?
Forgive her for her temporary lack of seriousness but she couldn't think of any legitimate use for that talisman.
Su Yi Shui seemed to see her full of questions, smiled slightly, pulled down her veil properly with his hand, and at the same time, his lips moved slightly, as if channeling some message to her.
This time, Ranran abruptly lifted the veil again, staring at Su Yi Shui with wide eyes, and then slowly covered her veil again…
Although this wedding was not as grand as those of worldly officials, almost everyone close to Ranran attended. Even after the ceremony, Zhu Que, who had left for a long time to seek a mate, appeared with two fiery little vermilion babies in the sky above West Mountain.
Accompanied by a long chirping sound, the adult and two babies flew in the night sky, their scattered red feathers shimmering with golden light, like fireworks filling the sky, dazzling yet impossible to look away from.
That night, the wedding wine that the newlyweds drank together was the Ten-Ingredient Tonic brewed by Su Yi Shui's mother-in-law. Qiao Lian's son-in-law did not let down such a potent good wine .
Under-aged readers, pls jump to the next Chapter
By the time night fell, Ranran felt that Su Yi Shui was surprisingly serious and diligent in examining for fox tails.
She even felt that she hadn't exerted this much effort even in the life-and-death battle with Duntian!
Exhausted, she had to surrender in the end, preparing to get out of bed, as she warned Xishan's exiled disciple in her capacity as the Sect master "You're being so unrestrained… never satisfied, isn't this wilfully being overcome by thoughts of greed? It's greatly detrimental to cultivation! A~h~!"
Before she could finish her words, he pulled her back onto the bed.
He also replied with righteous indignation. He had been starved for twenty years and if he was not allowed to eat his fill, this would be too much of a grievous injustice!
Su Yi Shui now felt as if he had taken the appetizing version of the Qingxin pill made by Ranan. His appetite has been greatly increased, and it was only halfway through the feast, so the main course was not to be taken off the table!
And so the newlyweds' bridal chamber remained closed for three days.
Ranran could only be thankful that she had practiced cultivation seriously before; fasting for three days was not a problem, or else she would have starved to death on the rumpled red sheets.
On the fourth day, she looked weakly at the handsome man with long hair falling loosely beside her. At this moment, he was half-dressed, looking dangerous yet charming.
But in this *honeymoon phase, clearly, he was the one exerting the most effort, so why did he now still look so alert and energetic, without a trace of fatigue?
*形容新婚时的欢乐
Su Yi Shui lay on his side, supporting his head with one hand, looking at the sleepy woman, and took out Elder Jiu's gift box from under the pillow, and took out a golden talisman about the width of a finger.
Ranran opened her eyes and looked at the talisman, somewhat skeptical. She asked, "Are you sure you want to use it now?"
This question clearly offended the man greatly. He narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice "Are you doubting my ability?"
Ranran was now all too familiar with this look. She quickly pulled the covers closer and buried her face in the quilt, laughing softly.
"Anyway, Elder Jiu only drew just this one; it all depends on whether you have the ability or not… A~h, I'm sorry, I won't tease you anymore!"
For a while, there was only playful laughter in the newlyweds' room.
Meanwhile, outside the window, the delicate flowers were vibrant, refreshed by the recent rain, tapping against the window. Two little vermilion birds fluffed their feathers, jumping around the branches like two red velvet balls…
When the newlyweds finally stepped out of the room, there were only two days left until the ten day deadline.
After serving a cup of delayed tea to her parents as a newlywed bride, Ranran couldn't even think about being shy. She asked in a hurry, "Quick, I'm so hungry. Mother, is there any leftover Five-Spice Braised Pork Elbow from the wedding day? Just give me some to fill my stomach."
Qiao Lian looked at her son-in-law Su Yi Shui who was also present and couldn't say too much, so she could only say with amused exasperation, "How many days has it been now? Even if it's hanging in the well to keep cool, it must already be full of maggots! I'll make you two some braised meat noodles!"
However, while she was cooking, she took the opportunity to sneak into the newly weds' room and took away the jar of tonic wine.
This health tonic was too potent! Her daughter was delicate and fragile; she couldn't let her body be harmed by too much nourishment!
The two newlyweds were inseparable and spent each day blissfully. Unfortunately, the happy times were too short; the ten-day deadline arrived in the blink of an eye, and today was the day the heaven's gate would open and they have to meet the Celestial Sovereign.
According to the heavenly rules, mortals were not allowed to enter the heavenly realm.
Although Su Yi Shui had ascended to become an immortal with a demonic body, he had shattered his nascent soul and lost the qualification to open the heavenly gate by himself. Only when the heavenly realm actively opened the gate and led them could they pass through the gate into the heavenly realm for their trial.
When they woke up in the morning, they saw the clouds in the sky changing, first like fish scales, then quickly gathering together, layer by layer stacking up. It seemed as if an invisible giant hand was grabbing the white clouds, piling them up like mud, and quickly forming a platform. On the platform appeared a tall gate, with the sun embedded in it, radiating light so dazzling that people couldn't look directly at it, and the end of the gate could not be seen from outside.
As the white cloud-formed gate took shape, stairs appeared descending from the platform, extending into the sky above West Mountain.
Gao Cang and the others looked up at the white cloud steps above their heads, full of astonishment and awe.
Ranran ignored the obvious steps prepared for them and whistled. With the whistle, a fiery figure flew to Ranran's side, was Zhu Que who had just returned.
Ranran pulled Su Yi Shui onto Zhu Que. Zhu Que seemed a little intimidated by the wide-open heavenly gate, and seemed uneasy. It fluttered its body in resistance. It wasn't until Ranran calmed it down that it relaxed, carrying the two towards the towering heavenly gate in the distance.
After flying for a while, they saw a beam of light, and the Purple Light Immortal appeared from the radiance, frowning at the two and saying, "You two have no etiquette. The Celestial Sovereign has decreed to lay down the guiding heavenly steps for you, yet you insist on flying over yourselves. Isn't that being disrespectful to the Celestial Sovereign?"
Ranran smiled and said, "Greetings, Immortal! While these heavenly steps seem convenient, they are haphazardly laid out and may have tens of thousands of steps. Walking on them would be time-consuming and exhausting, not to mention that by doing so, it would be our admission of guilt. I may have some minor faults, but it's nothing major. This audience with the Celestial Sovereign is to present our case, not to admit wrongdoing. Flying over ourselves not only saves the Celestial Sovereign from waiting long, but it also makes us more comfortable."
Her meaning was simple, the heavenly steps were for convicted criminals to ascend. But she and her husband were going to the heavens to investigate the hidden secrets of why the Heavenly Book was leaked, which was an honorable and legitimate action.
Even if the heavenly steps were provided, they wouldn't take them!