Chapter 368: The Long-Awaited Day of the Bridal Escort

Chapter 368: Chapter 368: The Long-Awaited Day of the Bridal Escort

Li Haiqin, a mere fifteen-year-old girl, was fiendishly clever.

After hearing Li Haiqin’s words, Chu Fan racked his brain for a long time.

’Did I really give myself away?’

Aside from some inconsistencies with his cultivation, Chu Fan felt he hadn’t made any other slip-ups.

’But regardless, I’ll have to be even more cautious around this girl from now on.’

For the days that followed, Chu Fan kept a low profile and rarely left his residence.

After all, he now knew where the Lindi Clan’s Profound Iron Order was. There was no need to stir up any more trouble.

Yi Qing was dead. Li Dang had been stripped of his status as heir to the Patriarch and moved from the main residence to the commoners’ district. Consequently, Dai Yelin’s wedding was also canceled.

Furthermore, no one was targeting Chu Fan anymore.

Over the next few days, Chu Fan cultivated peacefully in his courtyard. At night, he would meditate on the Yin Yang Diagram from the Meditation Scroll. During the day, he either practiced his sword or focused on comprehending the changes to his Primordial Spirit after consuming the Qi God Pill.

Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye.

As the day she was to leave her home drew near, Li Haiqin grew much quieter and more melancholic.

The day before Li Haiqin was to be married, her wedding gown, Phoenix Crown, and various pieces of jewelry were delivered to her residence.

Furthermore, they were delivered by Patriarch Yilode himself. He personally placed the Phoenix Crown into Li Haiqin’s hands.

"My dear girl, in the blink of an eye, you’re about to be married. Grandfather still remembers you in my arms, begging for candy figurines. But you are a woman, and this day was always going to come. The Hanmo Clan may be far from our Moon Sea, but among the Eight Golden Clans, they are the most like our Lindi Clan. There isn’t as much scheming and infighting, and they aren’t barbaric like the Cage Race. As for this Jisierk, he might be a bit of a womanizer, but it’s hardly a major flaw for a hot-blooded young man to be fond of beautiful women. Fortunately, his character is quite decent in other respects..."

"...Marrying a man like him, you may still feel some reluctance in your heart. But for Grassland Tribes like us, this is the nature of marriage. You are the apple of my eye, Yilode’s most precious jewel. Grandfather crafted the Phoenix Crown you will wear for your wedding with my own hands."

Yilode, also finding it hard to part with her, spoke earnestly for a long time before finally picking up the Phoenix Crown.

"I had the most skilled Artifact Refiner of our Lindi Clan forge the main body of this Phoenix Crown from the finest materials. Every gemstone inlaid upon it is priceless. It also contains a small Defense Array. This crown can withstand three full-power attacks, even from a Half-Saint."

"Your name and date of birth are engraved upon it as well. After the wedding, you must treasure it and keep it as a family heirloom. On no account should you give it to anyone else."

Li Haiqin accepted the Phoenix Crown, treating it as a precious treasure. By now, her vision was blurred with tears.

"Grandfather, I can’t bear to leave you."

"Silly girl, you’re all grown up. You must eventually marry, become a wife, and then a mother. This is the way of the Celestial Dao. If you miss your grandfather, just come back for a visit."

Yilode stayed with Li Haiqin for a long time. Grandfather and granddaughter chatted for hours, reminiscing about her childhood and discussing how she should conduct herself after marrying into the Hanmo Clan.

Yilode did not leave Li Haiqin’s courtyard until 9 p.m.

Chu Fan, in truth, could no longer wait.

It wasn’t that he was impatient to steal the Phoenix Crown, but that he was impatient to confirm whether the Profound Iron Order was truly hidden within it.

If it wasn’t in the crown, he still had three days left to figure out another way to get the Profound Iron Order.

If he only discovered that the Profound Iron Order wasn’t in the crown after leaving Moon Sea, it would be another matter entirely. Not only would time be an issue, but it would also introduce countless new complications and troubles.

It was not until 3:45 AM that Chu Fan executed the Inner Binding Seal Divine Technique and entered Li Haiqin’s bedroom.

There, on a tray on her vanity, lay the neatly folded wedding gown, with the Phoenix Crown resting on top.

Chu Fan approached. He didn’t pick up the Phoenix Crown, but merely leaned in for a closer look.

Admittedly, the Phoenix Crown was truly exquisite. A dazzling, multi-colored phoenix stood atop it. Its crest, its feathers, and especially its tail were all brought to life by an inlay of countless colorful gemstones.

Of course, just by looking, it was impossible to find the Profound Iron Order. If it were that easy, why would Yilode have hidden it inside the Phoenix Crown in the first place?

Chu Fan reached out a hand and touched it.

He immediately felt something made of a different material encased within the phoenix’s belly.

He gently infused a bit of True Qi into the Phoenix Crown and instantly felt a profound aura emanate from that spot.

It was an aura tinged with a hint of desolation, and a sense of ancient, profound weight.

Having confirmed that the Profound Iron Order was indeed inside the Phoenix Crown, Chu Fan couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement. He immediately withdrew from Li Haiqin’s chambers.

He returned to his own bedroom.

The twenty-eighth day of the eighth month. It was deep autumn, and the winds on the Grassland had begun to turn biting cold.

Cultivators were not bothered by the severe cold, but the common folk had already donned thick, padded jackets.

Especially in the morning, when one’s breath formed a faint white cloud.

The main residence of the Lindi Clan was bustling with activity that day.

Although a daughter was being married off, the affair was even more boisterous than the wedding of a son from the Direct Lineage.

From early in the morning, an eighty-eight-piece band played by the main gate of the residence.

From 6:10 AM onward, the sound of firecrackers was incessant.

As the captain of the Princess’s Personal Guard, Chu Fan also received a new set of clothes, custom-made for those in the wedding escort.

It was a creamy-white fur Great Cloak with a collar of red fur.

Chu Fan was jolted awake early that morning by the explosions of firecrackers. After washing up and changing into his new attire, he led his Guard to escort Li Haiqin to the main residence.

After a series of complex ceremonies, the procession set off punctually at 7:30 AM.

Li Haiqin’s father, the Third Young Master, would lead two thousand soldiers of the Cyan Wolf Army to escort them all the way to the Vast Sea.

Only as they set off did Chu Fan realize the true scale of the wedding procession.

Including the two thousand Cyan Wolf Army soldiers led by the Third Young Master, the entire procession numbered at least five or six thousand people.

The dowry alone took up one hundred carriages.

They were called horse-drawn carriages, but in reality, they were pulled by Wind Chasing Beasts.

Even the grand carriage that Li Haiqin rode in was drawn by four Wind Chasing Beasts.

Otherwise, with the Vast Sea being a hundred thousand li away, the journey would take four or five months on horseback.

But with Wind Chasing Beasts, even traveling at a leisurely pace, they could arrive in a month at the latest.

Because Chu Fan and his twenty-three companions were the Personal Guards who would accompany Li Haiqin to her new home in the Hanmo Clan, they naturally walked beside her carriage as part of the escort.

Ahead of them, a thousand soldiers of the Cyan Wolf Army cleared the path, followed by ceremonial banners and the hundred carriages of the dowry. Behind the grand carriage were the band and the Cyan Wolf Army’s rear guard.

In Moon City, crowds of onlookers packed the streets, stretching from the Lindi Clan’s main residence all the way to the city gates.

It seemed as though the entire population of Moon City had come out to watch the procession.

Li Dang, who had lost everything, was also squeezed among the spectators. His eyes filled with hatred, he watched the procession recede into the distance.

After the escort party departed, Yilode remained standing at the main gate of the residence, unmoving for a long, long time.

His gaze remained fixed in the direction the procession had disappeared.

"Patriarch, you should head back inside. It is cold out," a steward urged in a low voice from his side.

Without turning his head, Yilode replied, "Let me watch a little longer. After we part today, who knows how long it will be until I see that girl, Haiqin, again. She’s getting married so suddenly... this old man truly can’t bear to see her go."