Chapter 88: A Walk Through the Sect (1)

While Gu Yuan was having his first meeting with his father-in-law, the two sisters were having an important conversation of their own.

"Sister," Ji Yue began affectionately, "I’ve been thinking. Gu Yuan has only one body."

"Yes?" said Ji Yan.

"Since he has only one body, we’ll need to decide an order for the wedding night."

"From the way you say it, you don’t sound very eager to go first." Ji Yan thought for a moment. "Are you nervous? Then don’t worry. I’ll go first."

The shameless suggestion clearly touched a nerve. Ji Yue’s smile grew sweeter... and distinctly colder.

"Yan, please be serious."

"I’m completely serious, though..." Ji Yan tilted her head innocently.

Ji Yue’s smile remained, but the temperature in the room plummeted.

Rather than feeling intimidated, Ji Yan only grinned. "Oh? You want to fight? Are you sure? You’ve never defeated me before. Want to try again?"

Ji Yue slowly exhaled. "Yan, my dear sister. Even if it’s only by a few minutes, I’m still your older sister. So, out of my duty as the elder, I should go first."

Ji Yan nodded, perfectly agreeing with her older sister’s logic. "Well, an older sister should indulge her younger sister, right? Which means I should go first."

"Are you really not going to back down?"

"Never." Ji Yan shook her head without hesitation.

Ji Yue sighed, seemingly deciding to concede. "Fine. I’ll take the first night, and you can have the following seven nights entirely to yourself."

"Still no." Ji Yan’s answer didn’t change.

"Then the first child. You can bear the first child."

Ji Yan hesitated. This offer was tempting, but she still shook her head. "No. We aren’t ready to have children yet, so who knows how long it’ll be before that happens?"

"Then," Ji Yue said, "in addition to the previous two conditions, you may also have one favor. If we argue about something in the future, your word will take precedence."

As she spoke, Ji Yue’s aura changed completely. The power of this life, the power of her previous life: if Ji Yan refused again, she would fight it out with her sister, no matter how devastating the consequences.

"Forget it. I’ll concede this time. Just don’t forget your promise." Ji Yan finally relented, though a gleam still burned in her golden eyes.

As if everything that had happened moments ago had been an illusion, the oppressive atmosphere vanished, and the surroundings returned to normal.

Ji Yue smiled sweetly, like a flower blooming for the first time in years.

"Don’t worry. I never forget my promises."

-----

Back at his residence, which had grown far too large to be called a simple house, Gu Yuan was finally alone.

With nothing else demanding his attention, he began thinking about what he should do.

He wanted to cultivate and let the next two weeks pass as quickly as possible, but for some reason, he couldn’t sit still.

His thoughts kept drifting back to the twins.

More specifically, to the wedding night that awaited him.

It wasn’t his first marriage, yet everything felt different. He hadn’t even been this nervous the previous time, when he had been the one to prepare everything.

Gu Yuan didn’t bother searching for the reason.

No, he already knew.

It was probably because he was looking forward to this wedding far more than he had the last one.

In his previous life, he had placed his faith in the wrong person. Afraid of making the same mistake in this life, he had spent years telling himself that he would live for himself alone, avoid trouble, and never become entangled in relationships again. Yet deep down, he had never truly wanted to live alone. He wanted this relationship with the twins too.

That was the truth, and now that he had finally admitted it, Gu Yuan strangely felt more at peace with himself.

Perhaps because he had finally come to terms with his own feelings, his mind began to turn toward more practical matters.

Who should he invite to his wedding?

The sect was already advertising the wedding of the Heavenly Twin Stars, but the groom’s identity had not been explicitly revealed. According to his mother-in-law, the announcement had only described him as Luo Yunjin’s disciple.

Thinking about this, Gu Yuan suddenly realized something: his social circle was extremely small.

He could only think of three people: Deacon Zhao, Lin Hao, and his Senior Sister Bai Yuning. No, considering that he should also visit his Master, Luo Yunjin, that made four.

Gu Yuan knew there was something unusual between his master and Ji Yue, and that she might have taken him as her disciple because of it. Even so, he set out to see her at once.

Before he could reach her, however, he ran into Bai Yuning.

She didn’t appear to have much free time, but considering that the reason for her busy schedule had finally arrived, she naturally made time to meet him.

Looking him up and down, Bai Yuning remarked lightly, "I heard you’re actually the groom."

"Apparently."

"For some reason, I thought the groom would be someone more..."

She trailed off.

Gu Yuan looked at her. "More what?"

"Forget it."

"No. Now I’m curious."

After his insistence, she said, "More troublesome."

"Then you clearly don’t know me very well."

Bai Yuning laughed. She had worried it would be awkward dealing with a junior brother who had always seemed to be in seclusion, then suddenly emerged with a higher cultivation than hers and a marriage to the sect master.

Fortunately, that didn’t appear to be the case.

"Let me take you to Master," she said, her tone noticeably lighter than before.

Gu Yuan silently followed her.

Bai Yuning left him at the entrance, leaving Gu Yuan to face his master alone. He greeted Luo Yunjin as usual, but her response was noticeably different. She treated him far more formally than before.

"Do you still wish to call me your master?" she suddenly asked. "If you have no objections, I would like to dissolve our master-disciple relationship."

"Why?" Gu Yuan asked calmly.

"Because I am the disciple of the Sect Master."

After a brief silence, Gu Yuan asked, "Did Ji Yue ask you to dissolve our relationship?"

"No." Luo Yunjin shook her head.

"Then please allow me to continue calling you Master."

Luo Yunjin was momentarily at a loss for words. However, she didn’t press the matter further. After exchanging a few more words with her, Gu Yuan took his leave.

Rather than return to his residence, he continued wandering around the Inner Sect.

The place was filled with decorations and red lanterns. Numerous cultivators who didn’t belong to the sect had arrived, while the Inner Sect disciples were busy rushing from one place to another.

The Inner Sect looked nothing like the place he had first seen. Gu Yuan couldn’t help but sigh at how much had changed.

Or perhaps not everything had changed?

The thought suddenly occurred to him as his gaze fell upon the training ground.

A crowd had gathered around it, watching Ye Chen, the genius disciple who had entered the Inner Sect alongside him, fight an opponent.

The sight wasn’t new to him; he had seen it before, but the circumstances were different this time. Ye Chen had already reached the Golden Core Realm, and his opponent was a cultivator from another sect.

The two were around the same age and had the same cultivation level. Gu Yuan had expected Ye Chen to defeat his opponent without much difficulty.

Yet, to his surprise, Ye Chen was losing.

Curious, Gu Yuan appraised the other cultivator.

[Threads of Providence]

Name: Jian Wushuang

Age: 47

Cultivation: Golden Core Realm, First Stage

Spiritual Root: Metal Root (Earth Grade)

Physique: Innate Sword Bone

Providence: Medium (Low)

Special Note: Jian Wushuang, an Inner Sect disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Having grasped Sword Intent at the Foundation Establishment Realm, he is hailed as one of the sect’s greatest young talents. Proud of his rapid rise, he considers the Heavenly Twin Stars his rivals. Surprised by their marriage and doubting that women bound by worldly ties could rival him, he came to the wedding to judge them himself.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

How arrogant!

Reading Jian Wushuang’s special note, Gu Yuan couldn’t help but scoff inwardly.

Even he could defeat this man with ease without relying on Crimson Fire, yet Jian Wushuang actually dared to compare himself to the twins. Really, how arrogant!

Still, the Heavenly Sword Sect was the strongest sect in the Azure Plains Region. With Jian Wushuang having been carefully nurtured by such a force, it was hardly surprising that he could suppress Ye Chen despite their equal cultivation.

But how long would that last?

Ye Chen might lose today, but he would probably win the next time they met. In both talent and temperament, Ye Chen had the advantage. He simply needed time to grow.

Gu Yuan watched their fight for a little longer before losing interest and leaving.

The only person he still needed to meet was Deacon Zhao, so he headed toward the Outer Sect.