Once everything had been explained, Xu Ziqing felt deeply reassured. He was a little shy while choosing spiritual fruits, but happiness far outweighed his embarrassment.
He soon selected forty first-grade fruit trees. Yun Lie made his selections just as decisively. Together they chose a tree bearing both Metal and Wood attributes, representing the paths the two cultivated. It would serve a further purpose at the ceremony.
When they had finished, they called the elder back and went on to choose eighty-one kinds of demonic beasts corresponding to the five elements, along with eighty-one varieties of five-element spiritual grains and foodstuffs.
Most important of all were three sticks of purple-gold incense.
These incense sticks would be used to make their vow before heaven at the marriage ceremony. Both partners had to refine them together, incorporating their respective Daos, for the oath to possess binding force.
The spiritual materials used to prepare the incense had to be chosen with extreme care. The rarer and more precious they were, the better they demonstrated the depth and sincerity of the partners’ feelings.
As Xu Ziqing made these selections, he could not help looking at his senior brother.
Yun Lie sensed his gaze and looked down at him.
One still wore a cool expression and the other a habitual gentleness. Yet when their eyes met, there was an unmistakable intimacy between them.
Xu Ziqing smiled. “These should do.”
Yun Lie nodded. “Very well.”
The elder’s smile grew broader as he watched.
When Yun Lie had first entered the wider world, Liu Xingyuan had already been a manager here. He had often exchanged demonic artifacts with the young sword cultivator, so they had become fairly familiar. Although Liu Xingyuan was a Golden Core cultivator himself, he had treated that inexperienced youth with courtesy because he saw Yun Lie’s aptitude and character.
After so many years, Liu Xingyuan had thought Yun Lie might fail to form his Golden Core or die pursuing the Sword Dao. He had certainly never imagined the man would marry.
On reflection, though, it was not so surprising. If Yun Lie’s Golden Core breakthrough had been tied to the awakening of his one emotion, and that emotion was bound to the person who made the breakthrough possible, deeper affection could naturally grow with time.
Now Liu Xingyuan found the way Yun Lie and his junior brother interacted quite interesting.
Seeing that they had finished discussing their choices, he asked, “Is there anything else the two of you need?”
Only then did Xu Ziqing realize they had kept the elder waiting. Blushing slightly, he said, “That should be everything. Would you please calculate the total, Senior?”
Liu Xingyuan calculated swiftly. “Everything you’ve selected is of the finest quality. I’ll give you a favorable price and round it off: six million low-grade spirit stones.”
Xu Ziqing searched his storage bracelet with spiritual sense. He did not have enough spirit stones.
After thinking a moment, he set aside five hundred mid-grade stones and transferred the rest to a storage ring. He also took out demonic artifacts once obtained from the bat demon, along with various treasures acquired in the white-jade palace, and exchanged them all with Liu Xingyuan for spirit stones. Eventually he gathered three million low-grade spirit stones and handed the entire sum to Yun Lie.
Yun Lie did not prevent him. Since they were marrying, it was proper for both to contribute. He understood Xu Ziqing’s intentions and respected them.
Seeing Yun Lie produce a storage ring of his own, Xu Ziqing smiled, warmth filling his heart.
It was precisely because his senior brother understood and respected him so thoroughly that affection had first grown between them and deepened over the years.
They gave both storage rings to Liu Xingyuan. After checking the contents, he found the amount correct and readily said, “Please wait a moment. I’ll have everything prepared.”
Xu Ziqing smiled. “Thank you for your trouble, Senior.”
Dragon Travel Trading Company was exceedingly efficient. In about an hour, all the items were ready, separated by category and packed into different storage rings.
At Yun Lie’s indication, Xu Ziqing accepted and stored them. The two did not remain any longer. They opened the formation and departed.
After returning to the inn, Xu Ziqing naturally checked on the Jin brothers first.
Both were curious to see him again.
Previously, although Xu Ziqing had seemed cheerful, there had been a lingering gloom about him from his unspoken feelings. Now he had been away roughly two hours, yet all that heaviness had vanished, leaving his eyes and face radiant with happiness. How could the twins not wonder what had happened?
Jin Cheng tested him. “Senior seems to be in an especially good mood today?”
Xu Ziqing paused. He realized his happiness must be obvious even to these two boys. For a moment he did not know how to explain.
Jin Shi, however, noticed someone else standing in the doorway and gently tugged his brother’s sleeve. “Brother, don’t ask.”
Xu Ziqing did not have to look back to know his senior brother was waiting outside.
In the past, that fact would not have affected him. Today he understood their relationship differently. He left Jin Cheng’s question unanswered, confirmed the twins were well, and told them to rest. Then he went outside and returned to his room with Yun Lie.
After he left, Jin Cheng and Jin Shi exchanged glances.
“If I haven’t misunderstood,” Jin Cheng said, “those two have finally figured things out?”
Jin Shi looked torn between amusement and disbelief. “I smelled Calming Fragrance Leaves just now. That’s one of the materials used to refine purple-gold incense. Could they have become engaged?”
Jin Cheng sighed. “They were a pair of blockheads this morning. Now look how happy they are. I can’t make sense of it.”
Their bewilderment was hardly surprising. The two martial brothers’ behavior was far from ordinary.
Two hours earlier they had misunderstood each other completely. Now they had already purchased all the materials for a wedding ceremony! Of all the couples who had ever pledged themselves to one another, how many could have proceeded so strangely? The twins had never anticipated it.
They exchanged looks and laughed.
Xu Ziqing, meanwhile, followed Yun Lie back to their room in an entirely different state of mind from the day before.
Yesterday he had thought of Yun Lie simply as his senior brother. Now Yun Lie was still his senior brother, but their lives felt inseparably connected.
The formation outside closed and the door sealed. Suddenly Xu Ziqing felt awkward again.
How were people who were about to marry supposed to behave toward each other?
Seeing Yun Lie sit on one of the couches, he thought a moment and sat on the other.
His senior brother had always cultivated diligently. Surely now was a time for serious practice.
With that thought, Xu Ziqing prepared to contemplate the insight he had gained in the medicinal spring.
But before he closed his eyes, Yun Lie spoke. “Ziqing.”
Xu Ziqing’s heart skipped a beat. “…Senior Brother?”
“On our wedding day, we should invite our fellow Daoists. If you have close friends, prepare their names so invitations can be sent.”
Xu Ziqing steadied himself and thought seriously. Yet after much consideration, he could name only Su Xin, Nan Zhengya, Luo Yao, and a few others, fewer than ten in all. He told Yun Lie and added, “Then there’s Master and our eight junior sisters. Beyond them, I can’t think of anyone.”
Yun Lie nodded. “Xuan Ze, Xi Lin, and the others have shared an experience with us, so they should receive invitations. Otherwise, I have no more names. Master has many acquaintances; we can ask him to provide a list.”
“Yes, Senior Brother,” Xu Ziqing replied.
Having settled that matter, both fell silent.
Xu Ziqing had spent years with Yun Lie. Because Yun Lie spoke so little, they usually meditated separately even when together, and their occasional conversations concerned practical matters. Now that the practical discussion was over, Xu Ziqing could think of nothing else to say.
His nervousness made him less natural around Yun Lie than before.
Yun Lie, however, did not begin meditating. Instead he asked directly, “Ziqing, why did you treat me so differently before and after I fell under demonic influence?”
Xu Ziqing stared at him.
Yun Lie continued, “Now that I possess an immortal-demonic body, my original disposition has returned. I cannot behave as I did then.”
Xu Ziqing looked even more confused.
Yun Lie’s gaze grew colder.
After mastering his demonic thoughts, Yun Lie had retained every memory of that period. He understood Xu Ziqing’s affection, and the unrestrained actions prompted by his own demonic obsession had revealed his feelings as well.
Since they loved one another, they were mutually devoted. Having been intimate with Xu Ziqing, Yun Lie believed they ought to marry promptly. Although his seven emotions were frozen again, that did not mean he would refuse a Dao companion. He therefore proposed before entering seclusion, and Xu Ziqing’s acceptance had seemed entirely natural.
Afterward, Yun Lie treated his junior brother with the consideration he believed appropriate. Yet Xu Ziqing seemed faintly dissatisfied.
Yun Lie began to wonder whether his feelings had changed. Their conversation earlier that day had seemed to resolve the matter, and Xu Ziqing had accepted his proposal again.
Yet now, when they were alone, his junior brother had become stiff and uneasy. Yun Lie was displeased.
While under demonic influence, he remembered Xu Ziqing showing him extraordinary affection. After he recovered, however, Xu Ziqing had withdrawn. Could it be that Xu Ziqing loved only the version of him controlled by demonic thoughts?
That version had behaved forwardly and improperly, yet Xu Ziqing had seemed drawn to him.
The possibility made Yun Lie frown.
To Yun Lie, his demonic thoughts and his ordinary self were two aspects of the same heart. Now that his immortal-demonic body had formed, those thoughts had merged with his true self and could no longer manifest separately.
If Xu Ziqing loved only the demonic aspect and felt no affection for the man Yun Lie was now, Yun Lie could not bind him through marriage, however reluctant he might be to let him go.
And so he had asked the question.
After years together as Yun Lie’s true self, was he somehow less beloved than the demonic aspect that had appeared for only a few dozen days? Even with his heart as firm as stone, Yun Lie found it difficult to dismiss.
His expression grew colder still.
Xu Ziqing knew Yun Lie cared for him, but did not realize his feelings ran so deep. How could he have imagined his senior brother worrying about such a thing?
Puzzled, Xu Ziqing recalled what had happened during the period of demonic influence and blushed. “Senior Brother, you had lost your memories then. I fear I behaved improperly toward you. I hope you don’t blame me for it.” Not fully grasping the rest, he continued, “I’m genuinely happy you’ve obtained an immortal-demonic body. It will benefit your cultivation greatly. And now that you can control it, that’s even better.”
Yun Lie’s brows relaxed slightly.
What Xu Ziqing said pleased him, but it did not answer the question.
Yun Lie was never indecisive. He asked directly, “My demonic thoughts can no longer emerge. Are you still willing to marry me?”
Xu Ziqing froze, then found himself caught between laughter and disbelief.
Taken together with what Yun Lie had said earlier, the meaning was obvious. His senior brother actually thought he loved only the demonic aspect!
What an enormous misunderstanding.
Xu Ziqing curled his fingers, his heartbeat quickening.
If his senior brother cared enough to ask this seriously, perhaps Xu Ziqing could be a little bolder too.
He rose and stepped closer.
Then he placed his hands gently upon Yun Lie’s shoulders.
Yun Lie watched without stopping him.
Growing still more nervous, Xu Ziqing closed his eyes briefly, tilted his head, and kissed his senior brother.
Then, quietly but with unmistakable clarity, he said, “Whether Senior Brother is immortal or demon, you are the one my heart loves and my soul is bound to.”