Besides, judging from the novel, Zirong could resist even the male protagonist’s irresistible appeal and remain untouched by his charms. That surely proved he liked women. There was even less reason for him to flirt with his own elder brother!
On those two grounds, Xu Ziyan ruled out any suspicious intentions on Zirong’s part and attributed his own embarrassment to an overreaction.
Really, when he thought about it carefully, Zirong hadn’t done anything at all. He must have been reading far too much into it… right?
Xu Ziyan touched his chest, still shaken. He had to admit that Xu Zirong’s looks were dangerously effective. Seen up close, that face was as smooth as a peeled egg, without a single blemish.
Skin like that was almost wasted on a man. But with Zirong looking so beautiful, how much pressure would his future wife be under whenever she faced him…?
After offering silent condolences to Zirong’s future wife, Xu Ziyan successfully distracted himself from his recent panic with a whole assortment of ridiculous thoughts.
He spent some time settling his mood. When he finally emerged from hiding, he had regained his composure completely and was once again the loving elder brother who doted on his sibling.
As for how long he could keep up this ostrich-like denial… that was no longer entirely within his control. →。→
Two days later, Jiang Ying’s wedding day arrived.
The entire city of Wuti was bustling with excitement for the occasion.
Both the Fang and Jiang families ranked among the foremost clans in Wuti City. Outsiders might consider them small, but to ordinary people living in this city, they were powers to be looked up to.
Together, the two families provided materials to decorate every street. Over those two days, countless low-level cultivators worked under the direction of mid-level cultivators, carrying out decorative tasks that seemed utterly pointless to them.
What they did not know was that after they finished, several cultivators at Meridian Condensation or above quietly placed key nodes beneath the supposed decorations, then arranged formations of every size around those points.
“Father, I’m off to fetch my bride.” Wearing a bright-red robe, Fang Tianyun cheerfully addressed his father and uncle.
“Mm, go on. Be careful on the way,” Fang Qin said with a chuckle. “Bring my daughter-in-law back quickly! I always said you were a lucky boy. Jiang Ying is a fine girl. Your uncle once even wanted her betrothed to your elder brother, but you moved faster. Hahaha…”
Fang Tianyun’s expression went blank. Dad, could you stop making it sound as if I stole my elder brother’s wife?
Fang Mian remained stern-faced and gave no reaction to Fang Qin’s teasing. Fortunately, Fang Tianyun knew his uncle always looked like that and was not genuinely angry about the matter.
“Go on,” Fang Mian said gravely. Then he added, “Put on the Qilin Jade Armor.”
Fang Tianyun froze at the words, while Fang Qin frowned. “Is that really necessary?”
“Safety first.”
“Fair enough.” Fang Qin nodded. He doubted the demon cultivators would infiltrate the city and carry out an assassination today, but it was his own son’s wedding. Extra protection could only help.
“Go on, Yun’er, and take two sets of Qilin Jade Armor…” He paused, then smiled. “That old fellow Jiang Tianxing will certainly have prepared armor for his precious daughter. Still, our gift represents the Fang family’s sincerity. When you arrive, hand the armor to your father-in-law.”
Fang Tianyun looked between his father and uncle, thoroughly bewildered.
Word of the impending attack by demon cultivators was restricted to the patriarchs of Wuti City’s four great families and their most trusted confidants.
Patriarch Jiang had secretly inspected all four city gates and found signs of tampering at nearly every one. The western gate had suffered the worst damage. According to Jiang Tianxing’s analysis, the other three had been sabotaged by one group, probably demon cultivators who had slipped into the city. But two distinct groups had tampered with the west gate. That realization left him both furious and heartsick.
An insider in the Jiang family was now an established fact, and nobody could guarantee the other families were free of traitors. The patriarchs had no choice but to keep the information within a very small circle, which severely restricted their defensive preparations.
Fortunately, the Fang-Jiang wedding supplied the perfect excuse. Under cover of decorating the streets, they had quietly set up several formations. As long as someone operated them from inside, those formations would give the besieging demon cultivators a very substantial ‘surprise.’
“Yun’er.”
“Yes, Uncle?”
“Be careful on the road.”
“I understand.” Fang Tianyun’s heart was churning, but not a trace of it showed on his face.
He took leave of his father and uncle and went off happily to fetch his bride.
“Tianyun is a fine young man,” Fang Mian said approvingly.
“Ha! Of course he is. Just look at who his father is!” Fang Qin puffed up with pride.
“Mm.” Fang Mian nodded. “My sister-in-law certainly gave birth to a fine son.”
Fang Qin: “…”
When no one was looking, the corners of Fang Mian’s mouth curved ever so slightly.
Wuti City was especially lively today, its streets and alleys crowded with people coming and going.
Several cultivators from small sects who had arrived to offer congratulations could not help marveling at the freshly decorated streets. The Fang and Jiang families had spared no expense: not a single decoration seemed to be made of ordinary material.
Take the metal flower hanging from a nearby eave. Ordinary iron would have produced the same appearance, yet this flower had been fashioned from refined iron.
Refined iron was worth at least a thousand times as much as ordinary iron. More than a few low-level cultivators privately wondered whether they could quietly steal the flower.
Of course, none went beyond thinking about it. Guards from the Fang or Jiang families stood beneath every decoration containing especially valuable materials. They directed visiting cultivators toward the Fang residence, and whenever a guard left his assigned post, another immediately took his place.
At a window-side table on the second floor of an inn sat a man and a woman. He was handsome, and she was captivating. The pair drew more than a few stares simply by sitting there.
“Brother, don’t you think something is wrong?” The alluring woman wore a lake-green dress. Sitting beside the man, she watched the bustling street below with an impassive face.
“Mm. The people of Wuti City seem to have noticed something.” The man tapped a finger against the table and gazed toward the distant city gate, his eyes unusually deep.
The woman lifted an eyebrow. “Do you think they know about Iron Rhino’s plan?”
He shook his head. “Perhaps not all of it. But too many high-level cultivators have left the city over the past few days.”
“Aren’t they going to the nearby towns to deliver wedding invitations?” she asked, puzzled.
The man chuckled and patted her head. “Humans are cunning. They might look as if they’re delivering invitations, but I’ve noticed they deliberately pass through the forest whenever they leave.”
“So what? Isn’t the way through the forest shorter?” The woman still did not understand.
He flicked her forehead. “Little fool. The route may be shorter, but the woods are full of demonic beasts. If beasts stop you, you’ll waste more time fighting your way free.”
The woman pouted. “Brother, you’re so silly. Didn’t Iron Rhino and the others summon all those beasts away?”
At a loss, the man rolled his eyes and flicked her forehead again. “You really are a little fool. You just said the beasts were summoned away. Think! If every demonic beast suddenly vanished from the forests around Wuti City, wouldn’t the city lord find that suspicious?”
“Oh, now I get it.” Enlightenment finally dawned on the woman.
The man looked helplessly toward the heavens. Individually, flood dragons were enormously powerful. Every flood dragon was born with the strength of an early Meridian Condensation cultivator, and once grown, they could attain Golden Core strength outright. The infuriating part was that alongside their tremendous power, flood dragons seemed to have almost no brains at all…
All brawn and no brains described them perfectly. Fortunately, the flood dragons spent most of their lives in the deep waters of the North Sea and rarely involved themselves in conflicts on land. Otherwise, against those scheming human cultivators, who knew what fate might await their race?
“Brother, should we help those demon cultivators?” the woman asked, rubbing her hands in anticipation.
The man’s face turned stern at once. “What did I tell you before we came here? We’re only here to watch the excitement. We won’t help either the humans or the demon cultivators!”
“But… those demon cultivators are sort of our own kind.” She stuck out her tongue.
His gaze sharpened. “Are you trying to fail your coming-of-age trial? We’re sea folk! What do those demon cultivators have to do with us? And don’t imagine they’re decent people. Haven’t they devoured enough of our kind already?”
Startled by his severe tone, the woman fell silent. Her brother belonged to the Spine Dragon clan, a race almost the complete opposite of the flood dragons.
Flood dragons were powerful but simpleminded, whereas the Spine Dragons produced many wise individuals despite their rather feeble personal strength.
That was precisely why the chiefs of the two races had long ago agreed to develop together. The flood dragons protected the Spine Dragons, while the Spine Dragons used their intelligence to secure greater benefits for the flood dragons.
Every flood dragon approaching adulthood was accompanied by an adult Spine Dragon when setting out to gain experience on the mainland. Though the green-dressed woman could easily overwhelm the man in sheer strength, she had no choice but to listen obediently when he reprimanded her.
“I’m warning you. If you dare intervene in this city, I’ll report to the elders that you failed your coming-of-age trial. Then you can wait another hundred years before they’ll let you out to travel again.” The man was evidently worried she might act rashly, so he brought out his ultimate threat.
The woman shrank back. She had been cooped up in the North Sea for three hundred years since childhood. She had finally earned a chance to come out. Being shut away again would be unbearable.