Chapter 126: How Does It Feel After Attending the Wedding?

Chapter 126: How Does It Feel to Attend a Wedding?

The sixth day of the twelfth lunar month. An auspicious day for breaking ground, weddings, forming alliances, consecrations, and setting up incense burners. It was an inauspicious day for prayers, temple construction, sacrifices, setting up bridal beds, and offering thanks to the soil.

Beneath Cuiyun Peak and before Green Water Lake, the Divine Sword Villa was already adorned with festive lanterns and colorful ribbons. Before the sun had even risen, the servants of the villa were bustling about, welcoming guests and preparing the feast.

Xie Wangsun, the current master of the Divine Sword Villa, had frost at his temples. Though his features were plain, he wore a silk robe today and stood by the main gate, craning his neck in anticipation. Judging by the time, the wedding procession should have arrived. Today was the day his son, Xie Xiaofeng, was to be married, and Xie Wangsun’s smile was both joyful and natural.

Every generation of the Xie family produced extraordinary individuals with glorious histories and earth-shattering deeds. Xie Wangsun, however, was the exception; he was remarkably ordinary. In Xie Xiaofeng’s generation, his eldest and second daughters had passed away young, his eldest son was mentally challenged, and his second son had died in battle at Yin Mountain while avenging his sisters.

Only his third son, Xie Xiaofeng, carried the weight of the family’s legacy. Xie Wangsun knew that his son had long grown weary of strife. Thus, when Xie Xiaofeng faked his death and left, he, as a father, could only consent and wait—wait for his son’s return.

Now, Xie Xiaofeng had returned. Although he had been defeated, Xie Wangsun felt no disappointment. On the contrary, he was overjoyed, for he knew that a defeated Xie Xiaofeng would continue to grow. Once he stepped out from the shadow of failure, he would shine once more with a brilliance unparalleled in the world.

By the afternoon, the villa was filled with guests, and the wedding procession finally arrived. In ancient times, the wedding ceremony took place at dusk, followed by the escorting of the couple to the bridal chamber.

At this moment, Xie Xiaofeng wore his wedding attire; though he was thirty-two, he remained handsome and dashing. Murong Qiudi, adorned in a phoenix coronet and robes, stood beside him like a perfect match.

Zheng Jian stood beside Xue Ke’ren. The young woman was watching the ceremony with tears streaming down her face.

"Hey, hey, hey, Ke’ren," Zheng Jian whispered, "it’s not like you’ve never been married before. Is this necessary?"

Xue Ke’ren stiffened, crying even harder. "Are... are you refusing me because I’ve been married before?"

Zheng Jian pondered for a moment and replied, "No."

Xue Ke’ren’s sobbing stopped instantly.

Zheng Jian continued, "I would refuse you just the same even if you hadn't!"

Xue Ke’ren: "..."
(Resentment points from Xue Ke’ren +999.)

Xue Ke’ren was torn between crying and laughing; this guy truly had no bottom line!

Zheng Jian looked at the stunned Xue Ke’ren and chuckled, "I admit you are charming and your beauty is no less than Murong Qiudi’s, but let me put it this way: I am afraid of water, so I must never fall into the river of love. I would drown..."

Did you hear that? Is that even something a human would say?
(Resentment points from Xue Ke’ren +999.)

...

The Xie family was wealthy and powerful. For Xie Xiaofeng’s wedding, the banquet tables stretched as far as the eye could see. Anyone who arrived was welcome to eat and drink their fill. Zheng Jian and Xue Ke’ren, as friends of the couple, were seated in the front row.

"Brother Zheng, Qiudi and I have come to toast you!" Xie Xiaofeng and Murong Qiudi approached.

Xie Wangsun followed. Upon seeing Zheng Jian, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "So, this is the Mr. Zheng who defeated Xiaofeng. Indeed, as the old saying goes, the youth are to be feared!"

Zheng Jian glanced at Xie Wangsun and replied unhurriedly, "But the old saying also goes, 'He who has no hair on his chin has no steadiness in his deeds.'"

Trying to argue with the King of Debates using proverbs? Tsk, the last person who said that to me is already dead! He passed away quite peacefully...

Xie Wangsun’s expression stiffened instantly.
(Resentment points from Xie Wangsun +500.)

Xie Wangsun thought, *Damn, this young man is arrogant.* He pondered for a moment and added, "Young Hero Zheng, if you don't listen to the words of the elderly, you will suffer before your eyes..."

Zheng Jian and Xie Wangsun locked eyes, confirming they were true rivals. Zheng Jian thought for a moment before replying, "But that’s not the version of the proverb I heard. I heard that if you don't listen to the words of the elderly, you'll be happy for years!"

Xie Wangsun: "..."
(Resentment points from Xie Wangsun +999.)

Seeing that another argument was brewing, Xie Xiaofeng quickly pulled his father away, smoothing things over. "Father, go toast the other tables. Leave this to Qiudi and me."

Xie Wangsun glared at Zheng Jian, but Zheng Jian stared right back, undeterred. Helpless, Xie Wangsun turned to walk away.

Xie Xiaofeng sighed bitterly, "Brother Zheng, you really have no filter, not giving an inch at all..."

Zheng Jian felt a bit sheepish. It was a reflex; he had been farming resentment points so diligently he’d forgotten this was someone else’s wedding. However, he was satisfied. He took a jar of wine from behind him and tossed it to Xie Xiaofeng. "Here, this is the last jar of Imperial Jade Liquid. A gift for you!"

Xie Xiaofeng: "..."
*Internal thought: Damn it, that’s it! That’s the very thing that has left me traumatized for life!*

Murong Qiudi: "..."
*Internal thought: Didn't you say there was only one jar? Didn't we finish it already? One hundred and eighty taels of gold per cup, and you’re pulling out another jar now?*

(Resentment points from Xie Xiaofeng +999, Murong Qiudi +999.)

Seeing the faces of the newlyweds, Zheng Jian felt a bit embarrassed. "Really, this is the absolute last jar..."

Xie Xiaofeng took it and quickly passed it to a servant behind him. He dared not open this wine to toast; it was lethal!

...

Late at night, Zheng Jian and Xue Ke’ren prepared to leave the Divine Sword Villa. Xue Ke’ren had been hesitating to speak the entire way, which made Zheng Jian feel quite uncomfortable.

"Ke’ren, if you have something to say, just say it. Isn't it painful to hold it in?"

Xue Ke’ren pouted her red lips and hesitated before saying, "Boss... how do you feel after attending the wedding?"

Zheng Jian replied, "How do I feel? The food was quite good, the taste was excellent."

Xue Ke’ren was left speechless. "I mean, after attending the wedding, don't you have any desire to get married yourself?"

Zheng Jian looked at her strangely. "What are you talking about? Let me ask you, after you attend a funeral, do you have the desire to die?"

Xue Ke’ren was instantly petrified. She had no idea how to respond.
(Resentment points from Xue Ke’ren +999.)

...

Xie Xiaofeng was tipsy, stumbling toward the bridal chamber. As he walked, he used his internal energy to force the alcohol out of his system; after all, once bitten by a snake, one fears the rope for ten years.

Just as he reached the door, the sound of air being pierced rang out. Suddenly, Xie Xiaofeng found a man standing before him—dressed in black, holding a sword inlaid with thirteen bright pearls.

"Yan Shisan?" Xie Xiaofeng’s sobriety returned instantly, and he watched the man with caution.

The man was indeed Yan Shisan. He stared at Xie Xiaofeng for a moment before saying, "You deceived me so cruelly."

Xie Xiaofeng: "..." That was a fair point.

"Why did you lose?" Yan Shisan asked again.

Xie Xiaofeng replied, "Because I was not strong enough."

"Is it as simple as that?"

"It is as simple as that!"

Yan Shisan fell silent for a moment, then waved his hand, tossing over a brocade box. "A wedding gift. Congratulations."

With that, he turned and vanished into the night sky.