Chapter 107: Unexpected Wedding

Chapter 107: Chapter 107: Unexpected Wedding

Summer had come, and as the weather grew hotter, people’s hearts began to grow restless.

Chu Fan and Yun Xi had lived in this city for over two months. Though both their Cultivation levels had risen, Chu Fan had also solidified his newly comprehended Sword Dao, practicing both the Dream-Breaking Meteor Sword and the Fifth Technique of the Yifeng Sword Technique to Minor Success and beyond. Yet despite this, his heart had grown restless.

The reason was simple: in a few days, it would be the anniversary of the deaths of his master and five senior brothers.

On the eighth day of the twelfth month, he had managed to reclaim the heads of his five senior brothers, a victory steeped in humiliation. But he still lacked the power to demand the return of their bodies.

As for avenging his master and senior brothers, that goal seemed impossibly distant.

Beyond his hatred for his enemies, what filled his heart most was guilt toward his master and senior brothers.

In this world, the person who understood Chu Fan best was, naturally, Yun Xi, his childhood sweetheart. They had braved life and death together, fled as fugitives together, and though they were not yet husband and wife in deed, they were in name.

So, seeing Chu Fan’s state these past few days, Yun Xi understood the crux of the matter.

"The city seems so lively today. You know, in all the years we’ve known each other, you’ve never properly taken me to stroll through the market! Why don’t you come out with me today? Set aside all the turmoil in your heart. For today, you are all mine, body and soul. How about it?"

How could Chu Fan possibly refuse such a request from Yun Xi?

Having received Chu Fan’s consent, Yun Xi slightly altered her appearance before dressing up with great care.

She wore a sky-blue long dress, milky-white pearl earrings, and a white, swaying hairpin in her hair.

Although her altered features were a touch less stunning than her true face, her attire was still breathtakingly elegant. She was like a narcissus blooming at the cusp of spring and summer; when her flower bloomed, all others withered in comparison.

Not only that, Yun Xi also personally helped groom Chu Fan, urging him to change into a long white robe.

"Chu Fan, for the next few days, you should wear this."

Looking down at the plain white robes he wore, Chu Fan immediately realized his mood these past few days had affected her.

The most wonderful part of their bond was that they didn’t need words; a single glance or a small gesture was enough to know what the other was thinking.

Chu Fan squeezed Yun Xi’s hand tighter.

Like Yun Xi, he too had slightly altered his appearance, making the bridge of his nose a little higher and his eyes a bit more deep-set.

Just as the two of them stepped out of their courtyard, they heard the sound of gongs, drums, and ceremonial cannons coming from the direction of the Shuoyue Kingdom palace.

On the streets, many people were hurrying toward the palace.

Spreading his senses slightly, Chu Fan listened to the noisy chatter and quickly figured out why the city was so lively today.

It turned out to be a day of national celebration for the Shuoyue Kingdom.

What was a national celebration? The King’s wedding.

When he first arrived in this city, Chu Fan had already learned that the Sovereign of this kingdom was a woman, and that she was over thirty and still unmarried.

He hadn’t expected her to be getting married today.

As for who this Sovereign was marrying, Chu Fan wasn’t interested in the slightest.

However, the matter of a Sovereign getting married did pique his interest. And since the Sovereign was a woman, what status would her husband have in the kingdom? What would the people call him? If they had children, whose surname would they take?

Following the flow of people towards the Palace City, they found the crowds growing denser with every street they passed. Looking ahead, all they could see was a sea of heads.

There were many Imperial Guards in the city, but they made no move to stop the onlookers.

From this point alone, it was clear that this Sovereign was well-loved by the people of her small kingdom.

"Should we get closer for a better look?" Chu Fan asked for Yun Xi’s opinion.

"Mhm!" Yun Xi nodded excitedly. After all, when it came to things like watching someone else’s wedding, women were generally more enthusiastic.

At the weddings they witnessed, they would imagine themselves in that position.

Chu Fan took Yun Xi’s hand and walked straight forward. Despite the crowd, it was as if they were in their own empty space. The throng of people parted to let them through without even realizing why they had done so.

They walked all the way to the main street before the Palace City’s main gate, where wooden barricades had already been set up to hold back the crowd.

Outside the palace gate, besides the Imperial Guards with red silk tied around their arms, there were also several hundred young people dressed in long, dark-blue robes.

On the left side of their chests, each of them had the character for "Heaven" embroidered in a uniform style.

With one look, Chu Fan could tell they were all Cultivators, though their Cultivation levels were generally not high, the strongest being only at Fusion. It was clear they all belonged to the same Sect. However, Chu Fan had seen the robes of disciples from the Six Sects and Eight Gates, and these Cultivators were definitely not among them.

’Could it be that the Shuoyue Kingdom has a good relationship with some Minor Sect?’ Chu Fan wondered.

"The Sovereign is proceeding to Min’an Gate! Let the ceremonial music play! The people shall pay their respects with their gaze! No clamor is permitted!"

At the palace gate, an old eunuch with silver-white hair, holding a Duster, made the loud pronouncement.

Two troupes of musicians in auspicious attire emerged from the smaller side gates, formed two rows outside, and began to play.

Following them, dozens of Civil and Military Officials also walked out and stood before the musicians.

After them came a crimson imperial carriage, emerging from the main gate, escorted by an entourage of Guards and female officials. The carriage came to a stop on the Jinshui Bridge, right in the center.

The Queen lifted the curtain and stepped out. She wore a Golden Crown and a red Four-Clawed Python Dragon Robe. Standing about 1.68 meters tall, she had red lips, white teeth, a beautiful, stately face, and a graceful, dignified bearing.

Although she was over thirty, Chu Fan thought she was like a rose in full bloom.

She stood on the carriage, her gaze fixed on the eastern end of the long street.

In the direction she was looking, a procession of horsemen was galloping toward them. The group numbered about a hundred, all of them mounted on tall, powerful steeds—and every single horse was white.

At the very front were twenty-eight Imperial Guards, followed by the Cultivators in their dark-blue robes.

But when Chu Fan saw the person sitting on the steed in the very center, surrounded by the others like the moon is by stars, he nearly stumbled.

"Holy shit!" Chu Fan blurted out.

The people standing nearby heard his curse and glared at him angrily. From the looks in their eyes, if it weren’t the Queen’s wedding day, they probably would have eaten Chu Fan alive.

Chu Fan quickly waved his hands at them apologetically, then turned back to stare at the man on the horse, still in disbelief.

"Do you know that man?" Yun Xi whispered in Chu Fan’s ear.

Chu Fan nodded. "His name is Jing’an. I’ve told you about him."

That’s right, the man was Jing’an, one of the eight people he had met at Dingfeng Slope. When they parted ways there, Jing’an was supposed to create a Sect at Chu Fan’s request.

’I never would have thought that this old guy, who wasn’t much to look at, could actually marry a Queen, even if the kingdom isn’t that large.’

’That old guy has to be in his mid-forties, right?’

Chu Fan glanced back at the Queen on her imperial carriage on the Jinshui Bridge and couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a classic case of a beautiful flower stuck in a pile of cow dung.

Jing’an’s procession reached the edge of the Jinshui Bridge. Everyone dismounted in unison, and Jing’an walked briskly onto the bridge.

"I have troubled the Sovereign to come out of the palace to welcome me."

"From this day forward, you are my husband. It is only natural for a wife to welcome her husband. Why should it be otherwise?" The Queen stepped down from the imperial carriage, and Jing’an hurried forward to support her.

But at that very moment, an arrow imbued with the force of Thunder shot toward the Queen.

Chu Fan, stunned by Jing’an’s appearance, hadn’t even perceived who had shot the arrow.

He only noticed it when the arrow was nearly upon the Queen, but by then it was too late for him to intervene.

Jing’an’s reaction, however, was not slow. He immediately moved to shield the Queen.

But at that exact moment, eight masked figures holding long sabers flew in from the horizon at extreme speed, lunging toward the Queen. To his shock, they all possessed the Cultivation of the Nascent Soul Realm...