A Farce Becomes Reality

The Hai family arrived, their expressions peculiar. The neighboring courtyards around Xiao Chen's lodgings had long been purchased by the great families, and the dragon roars from earlier that day had alarmed them. Though they had not heard every detail, they had pieced together the gist of what had transpired.

Long Teng had dealt these great families a stinging slap across the face. Thirty years ago, he had done the same; thirty years later, nothing had changed. Long Teng acted as he pleased, utterly unrestrained.

That such a thing could happen… The Hai family messenger hurried away, needing to report to the patriarch at once.

"What?" Hai Fanyun's face changed abruptly upon hearing this. With a single palm strike, he shattered the entire hall. He stood rooted amidst the rubble, his expression ashen. Finally, grinding his teeth, he said, "Long Teng, you dare toy with us like this… You are nothing but a bastard, neither human nor dragon. If not for that old dragon backing you, you would have died ten thousand times over!"

The other great families had also received the news, and their fury and shame were no less. Long Teng filled them with abhorrence. He had blown up a grand bubble and let them all puff it up, only to have it burst, leaving everyone exposed like clowns stripped bare in the sunlight—utterly and completely.

"This Long Teng deserves to die!"

"The dragon race truly should be wiped out completely; they are far too arrogant!"

"Insufferable!"

Similar curses came from many families.

This business left them with mud on their faces. They had lost all face, every last one of them duped by Long Teng.

The Hai family in particular was caught between a rock and a hard place. Should they marry off their daughter, or not? The wedding invitations had already been distributed throughout Heavenly Emperor City; every man of consequence had received word.

Some gloated, others sneered. Now Heavenly Emperor City was in the quiet before the storm. The emotions of the various families could erupt at any moment.

Of course, the Hai family suffered the worst. Was this not mockery? They now wished they could hang Long Teng up and flay him inch by inch.

Hai Fanyun stood silently on the ruins for a long time, his knuckles white from clenching. Finally, he gave a hateful, long sigh. "Long Teng, when I break into Deathless Longevity, I will settle accounts with you. I don't believe you will hide in the deepest Southern Wastes for the rest of your life!"

"Patriarch… what do we do now?" A servant beside him asked fearfully, carefully.

At that moment, other important members of the Hai family arrived after receiving the news. Juniors were not qualified to stand here; there were several dozen middle-aged members.

"Too humiliating!"

"This slap was too loud. It has probably become the biggest joke in the Southern Wastes."

"Brother, cancel this wedding immediately!"

"Yes, Yunxue absolutely cannot be married off like this. That would be giving her away cheaply to that boy with no background. I will go kill him right now!"

"Shut up!" Hai Fanyun barked coldly. The authority of the patriarch silenced them at once. "If we call off the wedding like this, how will the people of Heavenly Emperor City see us?"

"But… this boy with no background is not worth such a marriage alliance. What real benefit can he bring our family?"

Of course, not everyone opposed the union. Someone spoke up: "Even if the dragon tribe is a wash, is the Demon Sect Founder not still there? Besides, there are also three sacred beasts. And Xiao Chen is presentable, with extraordinary talent. He will surely make a name for himself in the future. That is enough."

But the vast majority sneered.

"Needless to say, the Demon Sect Founder is surely as much a blown-up bubble as the dragons. Those three sacred beasts have been taken deep into the Southern Wastes by Long Teng; they no longer belong to Xiao Chen. Even if his talent is supreme, what of it? He has offended the wrong people now. Can he still keep living? Our family has no need to make a great enemy for his sake."

They were nearly unanimous in wanting to call off the wedding. Hai Fanyun grew more and more irritated by the clamor. Finally, he shouted, "Enough! Stop arguing. The wedding will go on!"

"Brother… you have lost your mind! How can you do this?"

"Patriarch…"

Hai Fanyun swept his gaze coldly over them. "Yunxue is my daughter. Do you think I care about her less than you do? If we call off the wedding immediately after this incident, everyone in the Southern Wastes will mock and despise us. It would make us look too calculating."

"But patriarch… what if those two fiends outside the city come to kill him?"

Hai Fanyun was very decisive. "The wedding will proceed—just a formality. We cannot let the rest of the Southern Wastes look down on us. Yunxue can be remarried later."

"Brother, you mean… we go through the ceremony, then throw Xiao Chen out?"

Although Hai Fanyun was past fifty, the demonic arts his family cultivated were truly miraculous. He showed no signs of age and appeared quite handsome, like a man in his thirties. However, he had too much yin softness and lacked masculine vigor.

A cold light flashed in Hai Fanyun's eyes. "That would be too obvious. There is no need to give them ammunition. Now, immediately contact Tiger Slave and Tiger Lord outside the city. Explain everything to them. After they communicate, they will know what to do. Our reputation will be preserved. Whether Xiao Chen lives or dies will depend on his own fate."

In fact, many major powers were waiting to see the Hai family make fools of themselves. Families that wanted to strike immediately at Xiao Chen were now exercising extreme restraint. If the Hai family threw Xiao Chen out, their name would be ruined throughout the Southern Wastes, and then the others could act.

The Hai family's decision to continue the wedding left many great families baffled. They had never expected the Hai family to be so 'generous.' Were they really willing to swallow this bitter loss? Weren't they afraid of incurring the hatred of the central Tiger family?

In the rear garden of the Hai family, the incomparably beautiful Hai Yunxue wore a frosty expression. With a wave of her jade hand, divine light burst forth, and a large patch of flowers and trees was slashed to pieces, scattering and swirling through the air.

"I am actually going to marry him!"

Her younger brother Hai Yuntian came up behind her, saying, "Sister, do not be angry. You must understand Father's helplessness…"

Hai Yunxue gave a cold laugh, ethereal as a banished immortal, and walked over the blooming flowers toward her private chambers.

Xiao Chen watched the people around him silently. He remained very quiet. He had no desire to enter the Hai residence, but an old man of seventy or eighty sticked to him like a shadow—a senior expert of the Hai family, who had him completely locked down, forcing him to attend this absurd wedding.

The congratulatory guests all wore meaningful smiles, chuckling as they watched the proceedings. They knew the real show had only just begun; they were waiting to see how the Hai family would flounder.

Xiao Chen was calm. He knew the Hai family were no kind folk, and the great powers in the city were even less so. They had not moved against him yet only because the time was not right. The Hai family's way of doing things was even more suspicious; he did not believe for a moment that this was a simple wedding.

Perhaps right in the middle of the ceremony, Tiger Slave would burst in, cut him down with a sword, and put an end to this wedding. At that thought, a chill ran through Xiao Chen's heart. Had the Hai family already anticipated this? They must have! If they wanted to save face, they had probably already sent men out of the city to contact Tiger Slave. In that instant, Xiao Chen saw through the entire scheme.

The Hai family had indeed played a clever hand. They preserved the family's honor completely, defusing the crisis with natural skill. Yes, if he, Xiao Chen, died during the wedding, everyone would know that the killer was Tiger Slave and the others, while the Hai family—who had not acted like petty social climbers by calling off the wedding—might even earn a good name. The fault would be Xiao Chen's own short life, his lack of fortune to marry Hai Yunxue.

"What a terrifying scheme! The Hai family's calculations are exquisite!" Xiao Chen sighed inwardly.

What did he have to fear now? Even if he died, he would first make the Hai family sorry. Just as he was about to act, the old man behind him lightly patted his shoulder. "Save your strength for running later. Our family won't go to extremes. Life and death are fated. It all depends on your own fortune."

Xiao Chen gave him a cold glance, then fell silent again. He did not need much time to make the Hai family regret; even if the old man was lying to stall him, he should still have plenty of opportunities ahead.

In the gilded hall, goblets clinked. Rare delicacies and century-old wines were brought forth without cease. The atmosphere was warm, the joy of the occasion rendered as if there was no falsehood at all.

Host and guests were all jovial. From time to time, someone joked with the family head, saying he had found a fine son-in-law, that perhaps in a few decades the foremost talent of the Southern Wastes would belong to the Hai family.

The crowd toasted Hai Fanyun round after round, offering congratulations. Hai Fanyun smiled mechanically, wishing he could crush the wine cup in his hand and smash it into the faces of these old scoundrels.

Of course, Xiao Chen also had many people around him. Many clinked glasses with him, their words so warm and enthusiastic that he truly understood the meaning of shameless hypocrisy. The expressions of many made him nauseous.

But he had to put on a smile and perform like an actor.

Xiao Chen's heart was oppressed, full of bitter suffering. Since childhood, he had almost never wept, but now he felt a surge of heartache, a kind of desolate sorrow. A man—a real man—was being pushed to such a state.

Like an actor, now joyful, now sorrowful, standing alone on the stage. In truth, a pitiable figure.

Ordinarily, he gave the impression of decisiveness and ruthlessness, cold and merciless toward his enemies. But who knew that beneath that hard exterior, he too had the same grief and longing as any ordinary person?

What a bitterly ironic wedding. Everyone waited to see the show, yet they themselves had to act with all their might.

But as evening drew on, the men the Hai family had sent out of the city had yet to return, let alone Tiger Slave or Tiger Lord making an appearance to kill Xiao Chen.

Hai Fanyun's face grew even darker. Was the wedding going to continue? If it went any further, the farce would truly become real. Would that not be like lifting a rock to drop on their own feet? His intuition told him something had gone wrong. Seizing an opportunity, he quickly left the hall and gave secret orders, dispatching an expert to leave the city immediately to investigate.

The sky was full of stars, and crystal lamps illuminated the gilded hall. The crowd exchanged toasts, the atmosphere lively.

Someone called out, "It's time for the bridal chamber! We mustn't delay this most precious night in the world!"

"Right! An hour in the bridal chamber is worth a thousand gold."

"Let the groom and bride enter the bridal chamber!"

Many people began to whoop and clamor to crash the bridal chamber.

The great families had already seen that the Hai family was deliberately stalling for time, probably hoping some accident would end this wedding. Since that was the case, why let the Hai family have their way? They should give them a push. So they all urged the couple to enter the bridal chamber.

The Hai family finally changed color. They had woven the net and caught themselves! How had it come to this? Why had those experts not returned? Why had Tiger Slave not come to kill Xiao Chen?

This was truly an agonizing moment.

There was no way to stall any longer. After the couple had already bowed to Heaven and Earth, to not let them enter the bridal chamber was truly unreasonable.

Finally, Hai Fanyun gritted his teeth and flicked his sleeves, leaving the proceedings to his younger brother.

The guests were a pile of old foxes, every single one of them a master of craft, with hollow eye sockets to match. They all spoke up to needle the Hai family, while the younger ones added their jeers. The Hai family had no choice; they had to let the couple enter the bridal chamber.

"We want to crash the bridal chamber!"

The atmosphere was quite festive, everyone in high spirits.

Xiao Chen watched it all calmly, his expression very quiet.

At that moment, a tall figure carrying an iron sword walked up to him, rudely pushing aside the several young men who were whooping around Xiao Chen.

"I drink to you. May you not die!" Dugu Jianmo said, draining his cup. Watching Xiao Chen drink as well, then he strode away.

Xiao Chen said nothing. That might be the only sincere cup of wine in this entire wedding.

No one wanted to provoke Dugu Jianmo. Though the Dugu clan kept a low profile, they might as well be the foremost family in the Southern Wastes. Even when Long Teng had rampaged through Heavenly Emperor City thirty years ago, he had not troubled Dugu Jianmo's father.

Truly provoke the Dugu clan, and judging by that family's character down through the generations, perhaps several dozen men carrying great iron swords would march wordlessly into the deepest Southern Wastes. Even if an ancient dragon sat entrenched there, what of it? That was how that family operated. The Dugu clan's first ancestor undeniably had the strength to clash with the strongest in the depths of the Southern Wastes.

Amid the crowd's pushing and shoving, Xiao Chen was escorted toward the rear courtyard, to enter the bridal chamber.

The fragrance of flowers was everywhere. The garden-style layout made the rear courtyard warm and beautiful. Passing by a clear small lake, crossing a white marble arched bridge, walking through a rose corridor thick with scent, Xiao Chen finally arrived before the delicate bridal pavilion.

"Hahaha…" He suddenly burst into loud laughter, with a touch of grief, but more cold determination. "Very well. If you want to play, I will play along with you. Into the bridal chamber it is!"