On the day of the ceremony, Yue Jinshu was already waiting outside the sleeping quarters before dawn. The drowsy little merfolk had not even opened its eyes yet when a familiar floral fragrance drifted over.
Well… there was no need to look to know who it was. Rubbing their eyes, it murmured softly, “Daddy…”
As expected, Feng Qingyun’s gentle voice sounded beside their ear.
“Good Baby, time to get up. Daddy and Father need to prepare for something. Let Sister Yue take you to play for a little while.”
Before Little Beichen could fully understand what was happening, it was deposited directly into Yue Jinshu’s arms. The little merfolk rubbed their eyes. Looking up and realizing someone else was holding them, it yawned and greeted politely: “Good morning, Sister Yue…”
“Good morning, Dandan.” Yue Jinshu smiled while wiping the little face. “Your Daddy and Father are getting married today. Don’t forget the part you practiced before.”
“Oh… right,” little Beichen yawned again. “Dandan remembers. Can I sleep a little longer?”
Yue Jinshu could not help laughing. After helping the child into the little red vest embroidered with golden ingots, she cradled it gently.
“Go ahead and sleep. I’ll wake you when it’s time.”
Meanwhile, inside Feng Qingyun’s sleeping quarters…
During the ceremony in his previous life, Feng Qingyun had put on his wedding robes alone. Bai Ruolin had helped arrange his hair, but even the hairpin had been fastened by his own hand.
Throughout all the preparations, the other protagonist of the wedding had never participated in a single step.
In fact, it was not until he stepped out of the sedan chair that Feng Qingyun finally saw Mu Hanyang for the first time, just like every other guest present.
But now things were completely different.
Before the ceremony had even begun, Feng Qingyun stood before the bronze mirror, watching Long Yin personally dress him. From the inner garments to the wedding robe itself, and finally the elaborate outer layers, piece by piece.
Every detail.
Every fold.
Long Yin handled each one personally.
The sight of him lowering his head in complete concentration stirred something in Feng Qingyun’s heart. When the rose-jade hairpin was finally placed carefully into his hair, Feng Qingyun gazed at his reflection and suddenly said: “Besides owing me a peach blossom hairpin, you actually still owe me a lotus hairpin as well.”
“The peach blossom hairpin was clearly broken by the Little Palace Master himself. How has that somehow become my fault now…” Long Yin was crouched down, straightening the hem of his robes.
Still smiling, he lifted his head, yet before he could finish speaking, he froze.
Completely froze.
The beauty dressed in wedding red slowly turned around before the mirror. A smile lingered upon his lips as he looked at him. The sight was like an impossible dream made real, so dazzling that it bordered on unreal.
Peerlessly beautiful.
Feng Qingyun rarely wore red, yet the brilliant scarlet wedding robes only made his skin appear even whiter, like fresh snow. He was as beautiful as the moon hanging high in the heavens, and Long Yin stared at him without blinking, looking as though he had lost his soul.
Seeing this, Feng Qingyun suddenly laughed. Wrapping an arm around his neck, he leaned closer. The jade ornaments dangling from his attire chimed softly together, and combined with his appearance, he truly deserved the title of a blossom of wealth and splendor.
“What was it you were saying just now, Husband?” He smiled deliberately. “I didn’t quite catch it.”
Long Yin’s throat tightened. Immediately surrendering, he amended his words: “…Nothing. Once the ceremony is over, I’ll carve both hairpins for you myself.” Even as he spoke, he lowered his head again to adjust Feng Qingyun’s sash.
For a moment he did not even dare look up, for he was genuinely afraid that if he looked any longer, he would forget all about the ceremony.
Feng Qingyun nearly laughed himself breathless. Deliberately, he looped both arms around Long Yin’s neck and leaned close enough for his floral scent to wash over him.
Long Yin’s ears immediately turned red. Ordinarily, he would have kissed him without hesitation, and he would not have stopped until Feng Qingyun was breathlessly pushing him away.
But today he did not dare do anything.
He was afraid of wrinkling the wedding robes.
Resting against his shoulder, Feng Qingyun studied Long Yin’s handsome profile. Only then did he fully understand the reason for his concentration.
Long Yin truly cared about this ceremony.
And more than anything, he cared about Feng Qingyun’s happiness during it.
In their previous life, he had been exactly the same.
Rather than publicly interrupt the wedding, he had chosen to stand alone in the crowd and suffer heartbreak in silence. He had not even attempted to steal the bride, not because he lacked courage, but because he was afraid of embarrassing Feng Qingyun in front of everyone.
And now, despite this being his own wedding…
He did not even dare steal a kiss beforehand, afraid it might somehow interfere with the ceremony.
Feng Qingyun’s chest tightened, and a flood of indescribable tenderness and sorrow welled up inside him. Unable to stop himself, he softly called:
“Long Yin.”
Outside of moments when he was embarrassed or angry in bed, he rarely addressed him by name like this, so Long Yin immediately looked up.
“What is it?”
“Look at me.” Feng Qingyun simply said.
Long Yin obediently raised his head. The next moment, a kiss as light as a feather landed upon his lips, and his eyes widened instantly. Morning sunlight streamed through the window, bathing the room in warm golden light.
The kiss lasted only a moment before ending.
Standing amidst the sunlight, dressed in the wedding robes Long Yin had dreamed of seeing for countless years, Feng Qingyun reached up and lightly tapped his lips. Then he laughed.
“Hopeless.”
Only then did Long Yin recover from his daze. Careful not to crush the wedding robes in his embrace, he lowered his head and cautiously stole another kiss.
Their lips brushed together, and against his mouth, Long Yin whispered: “In front of the Little Palace Master, I’ve always been hopeless.”
Afterward, Feng Qingyun originally wanted to help Long Yin get dressed as well, but Long Yin’s ceremonial attire was considerably heavier than his own. It looked magnificent, but it was also extremely cumbersome, so in the end, Feng Qingyun abandoned the idea.
He even considered using spiritual Qi instead, but Long Yin refused.
He wanted to put on every piece himself, and Feng Qingyun could only indulge him. So he stood nearby, watching as Long Yin carefully dressed himself layer by layer. And when the final sash had been straightened, and Long Yin finally looked up…
Feng Qingyun suddenly understood.
He finally understood how Long Yin had felt when making clothes for him. There was a special kind of happiness in dressing the person you loved, in seeing them standing safely before you. In carefully adorning them, piece by piece, into the image most precious to your heart.
It was a happiness difficult to describe with words, so Feng Qingyun only smiled softly. Under the increasingly brilliant morning sunlight, he reached up and straightened Long Yin’s collar. Then he looked at the man whose every feature filled him with affection and repeated the words he had spoken before: “Come, Husband,” his eyes curved with warmth. “It’s time for us to get married.”
…………………..
On the day of the ceremony, sects and factions from every corner of the cultivation world arrived one after another, taking their assigned seats. Not a single sect dared decline the invitation, and aside from those old acquaintances who had already ascended, there were many familiar faces present.
Yue Jinshu, Qiān Lóu Míng, and the rest of the demonic cultivators went without saying. They were, after all, Long Yin’s “family” on his side of the wedding. Not only had they come, but they also occupied prominent seats openly and without shame.
The righteous cultivators present dared not object, and even the disciples of the Xiān Gōng Sect could only grit their teeth and endure it.
As for the ancestral demonic clans, of their three Golden Core Patriarchs, two had already ascended. Qing Luo, who had only recently cultivated his ninth tail back, had yet to ascend. Or rather, he had deliberately delayed his ascension in order to attend this wedding. In doing so, he was also expressing the respect of the other two ascended Patriarchs, Su Yunzhou and Mi Zhiyun, toward the couple.
The Huangquan Clan, by comparison, appeared somewhat lacking in successors. The Mistress of the Underworld had only cared about ascending herself and paid little attention to what happened afterward. Once she departed, the Underworld was left leaderless.
So now, the one leading the Yellow Springs delegation to the wedding was unexpectedly Nan Anyu, the reanimated corpse courtesan whom Feng Qingyun had once sent to cultivate under the former Fox Patriarch down in the Underworld.
For a half-trained corpse who had once worked as a male prostitute, he had indeed advanced considerably in cultivation over the past two years. Yet he was still far from reaching the rank of Corpse Ancestor. Having him command an entire race was clearly asking a bit much.
Though he had shed much of his former glamour and now looked reasonably respectable both in appearance and cultivation, no one knew exactly what kind of training the Heavenly Fox Patriarch and Tong Tian had subjected him to. His cultivation had skyrocketed over the past two years, but somehow… he had become even more timid than before.
Sitting amidst the ceremony under the scrutiny of countless righteous cultivators, he looked as though he wished the ground would open up and swallow him back to the Underworld whole.
Fortunately, his younger sister Nan Anxue, the Chief Disciple of Lingyuan Sect, saw his predicament. To everyone’s shock, she stood up from the Lingyuan Sect seating area, descended from her place, and marched straight into the territory reserved for the Yellow Springs cultivators. With a cold expression, she dropped down beside Nan Anyu.
The guests were stunned.
After Feng Qingyun’s ascension, the leadership of the Righteous Path would most likely fall either to Bai Ruolin or to this Chief Disciple Nan Anxue. And yet here she was, openly backing a pale-faced corpse.
“…”
The spectators immediately withdrew their gazes. Only then was the crumbling dignity of the Huangquan Clan barely preserved. Putting that little episode aside, all ten major sects and eight great schools of the Righteous Path had arrived. The Underworld, Demon Palace, and the ancestral demonic clans were all present as well.
Looking across the gathering, this Dao companion ceremony was actually even grander than the previous Heavenly Gate Ceremony. But while many guests secretly marveled at the scale of the event, they soon noticed something else:
The ceremony was being officiated by Bai Ruolin and Yue Jinshu!
One was the likely future leader of the Righteous Path after Feng Qingyun’s ascension. The other was the likely future Demon Empress of the Demon World after Long Yin’s ascension.
At that moment, the grandeur of the ceremony reached its absolute peak.
…………………
The midday sun hung high above. All the guests had taken their seats and were chatting among themselves. Though everyone tactfully avoided mentioning the other ceremony that had once taken place here, comparisons inevitably arose in their minds.
And they all arrived at the same conclusion:
The difference was like heaven and earth.
Even setting aside Feng Qingyun’s affection, the scale of the event and the quality of the spiritual fruits and wines already made the previous ceremony pale in comparison. If one added Feng Qingyun’s obvious favor toward Long Yin, then the two ceremonies became utterly incomparable.
Yet the guests soon realized that the greatest difference did not lie in the banquet, the guests, or any external display. It lay within the ceremony itself.
After three gongs of the ceremonial bell, everyone looked up.
They saw azure birds leading the way while luan birds circled overhead. Surrounded by countless immortal birds, a jade sedan carved with dragons and phoenixes descended slowly through the rainbow clouds.
Many people froze in surprise and immediately looked in the opposite direction.
There was no second sedan.
Well… that was unexpected.
Every Dao companion ceremony anyone had ever witnessed featured two sedans traveling side by side. No one had ever heard of a couple sharing the same sedan before they were officially married, so now, all eyes turned back to the descending jade carriage.
The next moment, two figures dressed in wedding robes stepped out hand in hand.
Sunlight struck the brilliant red garments, causing the gold embroidery to shine dazzlingly. Yet no amount of ornamentation could overshadow the natural grace of either person. For every guest who saw them clearly, only one thought arose:
A perfect match.
No one could be more perfectly suited to one another, to the point where even heaven and earth seemed to pale beside them. The entire Xiān Gōng Sect fell so silent that not a single sound could be heard.
Then, after exchanging a smile, the two did not walk toward the Heavenly Gate. Instead, they stepped onto the staircase before the Main Hall and began ascending the steps together.
The crowd followed their movement with their eyes.
Only then did they notice the two kneeling cushions placed before the entrance of the hall. At once, countless eyes widened in disbelief.
Could it be that the Dao companion ceremony of the Sect Leader of the Xiān Gōng Sect and the Demon Emperor of the Demon World was actually going to follow mortal wedding rites?!
Their shock was quickly confirmed.
There was no Heavenly Cauldron, and no incense altar for worshiping heaven.
Only two kneeling cushions.
And a solitary memorial tablet belonging to Sword Master Zhong Yulan.
They sought neither heaven nor earth. Neither Gods nor Buddhas.
Only each other.
An indescribable emotion stirred within the hearts of the guests. After ascending all eighty-one steps, the couple finally arrived before the entrance of the Main Hall. At that moment, little Beichen, bundled up into a round red dumpling, struggled forward carrying a gilded basin used for ceremonial handwashing.
Holding it up with all their might, it tilted their tiny face upward and declared loudly:
“May Father and Daddy have a joyous marriage! May you walk the immortal path together and ascend to eternal bliss forever!”
The little mermaid’s bright, childish voice echoed throughout the entire Xiān Gōng Sect, and most of the guests below were instantly stunned.
What was going on?!
But Feng Qingyun and Long Yin merely smiled. Quickly taking the wobbling golden basin from the child’s hands, they passed it to a nearby disciple.
Feng Qingyun gently rubbed little Beichen’s head, saying, “Thank you, Baby.” Then, the two of them washed their hands in the gilded basin decorated with colorful patterns.
Meanwhile, the rest of the guests remained utterly dumbfounded. Among those present, aside from the high-level cultivators who knew the truth and the disciples of the Xiān Gōng Sect, almost nobody was aware that the two had a child!
Even among those who had attended the Heavenly Gate Ceremony two years ago, most had no idea.
Everyone stared in disbelief, then they immediately looked toward the little round child in the red embroidered vest. Shock filled their eyes as they exchanged glances.
Wasn’t Sword Master Linshuang a man?
How could he possibly have the ability to bear children?!
Naturally, none of them could figure it out, and in the end, they could only attribute everything to Long Yin.
The power of the Heavenly Dao was indeed unfathomable, ah! It could even cause a man to conceive! Truly beyond comprehension!
But soon, the guests no longer had the leisure to be shocked by such trivial matters, because Feng Qingyun and Long Yin had finally arrived before the Main Hall and stood steady on the two cushions placed there.
Just as everyone expected some grand ritual of worshiping heaven and earth, or at least a few formal ceremonial words, Bai Ruolin finally spoke. But what echoed out was something no one had anticipated at all.
“First bow toward Heaven and Earth!”
The crowd looked up in stunned confusion.
…This was clearly the procedure of a mortal wedding. Why was it happening here?!
“Second bow toward the honored elders!”
Outside the Main Hall, the two knelt upon the cushions and bowed toward Zhong Yulan’s memorial tablet. They rose slowly, then the final announcement rang out immediately:
“Couple exchange bows!”
The two turned to face each other. After exchanging a smile, they knelt on the cushions once more, and truly bowed to one another in earnest. The cultivators seated at the martial grounds could no longer even describe their feelings as mere “shock.”
Most cultivators prided themselves on being unlike mortals. Apart from heaven and earth, they did not bow to parents, nor to ghosts or Gods.
And as for Dao companions, even more so.
In their eyes, only concubines or favored attendants would kneel and bow to a master. For tens of thousands of years, no one had ever used such a ritual. This was a mortal ceremony, but it required not only love taken to its extreme, but also respect taken to its absolute peak. Only then could one willingly bow to another.
The two slowly rose again. There were no passionate vows, no soul-shaking immortal artifacts as betrothal gifts, yet the shock in everyone’s hearts had, at this moment, transformed entirely into emotion.
A feeling of admiration and envy that even outsiders could not help but feel.
But for the guests, the ceremony ended there.
The two walked hand in hand into the Main Hall. The doors slowly closed behind them, and Bai Ruolin’s duties came to an end. Yet as the banquet outside began, the ritual inside the hall was not over.
The “consecration wine” was originally meant to be drunk in the bridal chamber. But since five days later there would be another ceremony held in the Demon Palace, and the bridal chamber would be there instead, Feng Qingyun, worried Long Yin might lose control, moved this step forward to here.
So while outside, guests were clinking cups and pouring wine, inside the hall, the sound of pouring liquor echoed just as softly. In a quiet exchange of glances, neither of them spoke. They drank from crossed cups in silent understanding, then each cut a strand of hair, tying them together before burning them with demonic Qi.
When the hair was fully reduced to ash and dispersed into the air, Feng Qingyun finally smiled and said, lightly: “So it’s said, when hair is bound, husband and wife…”
“Bound in love, without doubt,” Long Yin finished softly.
He set down his cup and pulled the person before him into his arms, already closing the distance between them.
“We have just completed the bowing,” Feng Qingyun laughed softly against his breath, “and the bridal chamber hasn’t even begun. Who said you could kiss already?”
His eyelashes trembled slightly, but he did not avoid it. In the end, he still allowed the kiss to land on his lips, as Long Yin murmured against him:
“Consider it… interest for the bridal chamber.”
………………….
The ceremony was solemn and dignified, attended by countless guests.
In contrast, the ceremony five days later in the Demon Palace was far more unrestrained.
Feng Qingyun originally designed many arrangements, but in the end, he discarded all of them. While he was still hesitating, Yue Jinshu offered a suggestion: “If Your Highness cannot decide, why not follow the rites from the illusion back then? It would also fulfill both of your wishes.”
At those words, Feng Qingyun’s heart stirred. Thus, the ceremony originally planned for midday was moved to the evening. Because in the illusion, it had been under the cover of night that Miss Yu married the dragon God.
At the border between the righteous and demonic realms, Feng Qingyun, dressed in brilliant wedding robes, stepped into the ornate bridal sedan. After sitting down, he smiled and lowered the veil, allowing the attendants from the Demon Palace to carry him forward, swaying gently toward the palace.
Along the way, he couldn’t resist lifting the veil to look out.
And he saw it: the red spider lilies transplanted along the mountain slopes had bloomed. Under the starlight, the sea of crimson flowers made him pause. He suddenly recalled the first time he had returned to the Demon Palace with Long Yin.
Back then, he did not know how long the other had waited for him. And Long Yin, in turn, did not remember what had happened in the previous life. They had spoken warmly through a lifetime of missed chances and regret.
At that time, they had not even understood what “regret” meant.
Perhaps that itself had been the greatest regret. But now, all of that had become passing smoke. Feng Qingyun’s heart tightened with a bittersweet ache. Yet before he could dwell on it too long, festive suona music rang out outside the sedan, lively, chaotic, even a little absurd.
He quietly lifted the veil again through the swaying curtain and saw the person waiting at the gates of the Demon Palace.
Everything was exactly as in the illusion, when Miss Yu had been carried up the mountain. The only difference was that his dragon no longer had to be chained and suffer in the mountains.
He could stand safely in the mortal world and welcome him home.
When the sedan stopped, Feng Qingyun lowered his veil again and was about to step out on his own, when Yue Jinshu’s teasing voice came from outside: “No, no! Your Highness can’t step down yourself! Today you’re the bride, you must have His Majesty carry you into the bridal chamber!”
Even Kū Xuè, usually so silent she could hardly be coaxed into speaking, nodded solemnly: “Sister Yue is right.”
Bai Ruolin and her fox sister, as the “family” from the bride’s side, stood among the demons looking slightly outnumbered, only smiling helplessly while holding little Beichen.
After a pause, a hand reached in beneath the veil, and a familiar voice followed, smiling: “They say this Lord should carry my bride in.”
“May I have the honor?”
Anyone could hear the pride in that voice, and Feng Qingyun couldn’t help but smile. The next moment, everyone saw a pale hand emerge from the curtain. Before they could even see the bride’s face, he was already pulled forward, his waist supported as he was lifted onto a broad back.
A faint fragrance drifted past.
Before anyone could get a clear look, Long Yin had already started walking toward the palace. Yue Jinshu called out from behind, enjoying the spectacle: “The bride’s feet must not touch the ground!”
Long Yin didn’t answer; he simply adjusted the weight on his back, lifting him slightly higher. Feng Qingyun buried his face against his shoulder and laughed softly.
“What are you laughing at?” Long Yin tilted his head slightly.
Feng Qingyun wrapped his arms around his neck and whispered into his ear: “Laughing at you. Like Zhu Bajie1 carrying his bride.”
“If I can carry you,” Long Yin laughed along, “I don’t care if I’m Zhu Bajie or even a mindless stone.”
Feng Qingyun didn’t respond. He just leaned against his back, letting him carry him all the way to the gates of the Demon Palace. However, once they reached the Demon Palace, as Long Yin carried him forward and was about to enter, another interruption arose.
Yue Jinshu stopped them at the gate with a smile. “No, no, you can’t go in yet! According to tradition, the groom must carry the bride around the entrance three times.”
No one knew what tradition this was supposed to be, but Long Yin didn’t question it. Without a single word, he really did carry Feng Qingyun around the gate three times.
The fiery wedding robe fluttered through the air like blazing flames, breathtakingly beautiful. Long Yin looked like a young man who had finally married the person of his dreams, so overjoyed that he would do anything he was told. It made Feng Qingyun laugh uncontrollably on his back.
Even shamelessly so, he relied on the fact that no one could see his face beneath the veil and made no effort to restrain himself at all. His laughter shook his shoulders, his breath spilling across Long Yin’s neck, making Long Yin’s own breath hitch.
After completing the three circles, he turned and headed straight toward the inner hall with Feng Qingyun still on his back.
Yue Jinshu hurriedly called out, “Hey, hey! You haven’t even done the wedding vows yet! Where are you taking the bride?”
“We already did that in the last life,” Long Yin replied with a laugh. “No need to do it again. Straight to the bridal chamber!”
He said it so casually that Feng Qingyun froze slightly in response. The words “last life” struck deep into his heart, making his nose sting and an indescribable wave of emotion rise up in his chest.
He quickly lowered his head, hiding the redness at the corner of his eyes beneath the veil.
Naturally, the guests could not let Long Yin do whatever he pleased. The two were escorted all the way to the hall and forced to redo the ceremony properly in front of the ancestral tablet before it was finally considered complete.
Normally, there would still be a “wedding chamber teasing” afterward, but everyone knew when to stop. Since the couple clearly had much to say to each other, they happily left after sending them into the inner palace and went off to enjoy the banquet instead.
As for the Demon Palace’s inner chambers, Feng Qingyun was no stranger to them, for he had once been here alone, even dreaming of Long Yin coming to him in a dream.
But for Long Yin, who had not returned for two years, seeing the person in a red veil sitting on his bed felt unreal, like a dream.
Feng Qingyun sat for a long while without anyone lifting his veil. Finally, he teased, “What is it, my Majesty? Both ceremonies went exactly as you wished. Still dissatisfied?”
Long Yin snapped back to reality and immediately knelt before him, carefully lifting the veil. Meeting those gentle, affectionate eyes, his heart softened completely.
“There is nothing I am dissatisfied with.”
“If that’s the case,” Feng Qingyun said with a light smile, brushing his cheek, “then don’t cause trouble anymore in the future.”
Long Yin did not answer immediately. Instead, he took Feng Qingyun’s hand and kissed the back of it.
“Didn’t you say earlier you had a surprise for me? What is it?”
Feng Qingyun smiled, glanced at the night outside, then said, “Come with me.”
He took Long Yin’s hand and, avoiding the banquet where their friends were celebrating, slipped quietly out of the Demon Palace. Under the bright moonlight, Long Yin could barely pay attention to anything else; his heart was pounding wildly, his entire focus fixed only on the person before him.
Finally, Feng Qingyun stopped at a place where the red spider lilies burned like fire under the night wind, rippling across the mountains like waves of flame. He released Long Yin’s hand and stood beneath the moonlight, dressed in a blood-red wedding robe, turning back with a smile.
“You said you wanted to see me dance with the sword, didn’t you?”
The words had barely fallen when he drew out the Linshuang Sword with a reverse grip. The red veil in his other hand unfolded like a blooming fan, tossed upward into the air like a rising moon.
Then the sword moved.
Moonlight poured over his face like flowing water, and Long Yin froze completely. He would never forget this scene for the rest of his life.
Beneath a sky full of stars, countless red spider lilies were stirred into motion by the sword Qi. A beautiful figure in wedding robes danced with a sword among them, his sleeves and hem whipping through the air, his form like a fleeting immortal shadow, his sword Qi like a vast ocean of light.
For a moment, all sound vanished.
Only wind and moonlight moved with the sword, as if even heaven and earth had fallen silent in awe.
When the dance ended, Feng Qingyun caught the falling red veil and looked toward him.
Long Yin was still frozen in place.
Smiling, Feng Qingyun tossed the veil across the sea of flowers toward him, and Long Yin instinctively caught it as though it were a bridal gift. Then Feng Qingyun walked up to him under the moonlight, sword in hand, and said with a smile: “There. You’ve seen the sword dance you wanted. Don’t cause trouble anymore, my Majesty.”
It was the very same line Long Yin had once said two years ago on the brink of his return, yet Feng Qingyun had remembered it, across time and distance.
Long Yin could no longer hold himself back, as he pulled him into his arms without a word. Feng Qingyun sheathed his sword and let himself be held, burying his face in his shoulder. After a long moment, he murmured, “From now on… let’s not leave any regrets.”
Overwhelmed with emotion, Long Yin could only answer:
“…Alright.”
They kissed beneath the moonlight, tender, lingering, without any trace of desire, only joy for a hard-won union, and gratitude for a love that had found its way back across time.
When the kiss ended, Long Yin lay down with him beneath the moon.
Feng Qingyun rested against his shoulder and the sea of red flowers, holding the veil in his hand as he looked up at the moon.
After a long silence, he said softly, “During those two years, I often liked to sit alone somewhere like this and look at the moon.”
“I kept wondering… when would the moon ever truly fall into the human world?” He turned to Long Yin and smiled.
“Now, the moon belongs to me.”
“And I belong to you,” Long Yin said, unable to hold back anymore, kissing him again under the starlight. “Happy wedding, my Little Rose.”
Feng Qingyun wrapped his arms around him.
“Happy wedding… my dragon God.”
- Zhu Bajie, also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three disciples of Tang Sanzang, along with Sun Wukong and Sha Heshang, and a major character of the 16th-century novel Journey to the West. Zhu Bajie is a complex and developed character in the novel. He looks like a terrible humanoid monster that’s part-human and part-pig, who often gets himself and his companions into trouble through his laziness, gluttony, and propensity for lusting after pretty women. In the original Chinese novel, he is often called dāizi (呆子), meaning “idiot”. Sun Wukong, Tang Sanzang, and even the author consistently refer to him as “the idiot” over the course of the story. In modern times, Zhu Bajie is seen as a patron deity of masseuses, hostesses, and prostitutes within Taiwan and other parts of East Asia. ↩︎
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