Wedding Night

No sooner had the pair stepped into the bridal chamber than Yan Yun tore off her red veil.

“Ah, a blemish on my very existence, a stain! Should my name ever echo across the lands, this blight would surely become the grandest jest in all of history,” Yan Yun lamented, her face a mask of despair, though no tears would come.

Gazing at Yan Yun’s utterly distraught expression, Jiang Yao felt an overwhelming urge to laugh, yet she managed to stifle it with considerable effort, only to utter a remark that inflamed Yan Yun’s temper even further.

“Perhaps we could exchange garments?” Jiang Yao proposed with a perfectly straight face. “After all, you are a woman now. Just imagine you’ve truly married me; surely that would ease your mind somewhat.”

Yan Yun’s glare was a resounding, unspoken demand for her to scram.

“Hmph, how petty,” Jiang Yao chided. “Do you truly believe this identity can remain concealed forever? The day it’s revealed will inevitably arrive.”

Indeed, this was the truth of it. Once Yan Yun’s body fully matured, it was easy to envision the breathtaking beauty she would become.

“This… ah, well! Let’s address future concerns when they arrive,” Yan Yun quickly interjected. “But tell me, my esteemed wife, given your knowledge from the Yunhua Sect, is there any sect within the cultivation world that might take in a practitioner such as myself?”

Jiang Yao, of course, could not remain confined to the household indefinitely. Once she departed, Yan Yun, too, would likely seek an opportune moment to leave Qifeng City and embark on her own journey, for she could not endure being trapped in such a small corner of the world, like a frog gazing from the bottom of a well.

Recognizing the gravity of the query, Jiang Yao immediately plunged into thought.

“Your cultivation method, I need not even ponder it to know it undeniably falls under heterodox practices,” Jiang Yao stated gravely. “Let me warn you, such techniques are fundamentally proscribed throughout the cultivation world. Should the Immortal Dao Alliance ever uncover your secret, it would surely spell death.”

Yan Yun was acutely aware of this truth, for her ancestor, Yan Lingyun, had firsthand experienced the relentless pursuit of the entire Immortal Dao.

The Immortal Dao Alliance upheld an unyielding decree: any cultivator who dared to practice forbidden techniques, regardless of their moral alignment, was to be branded a demonic fiend and summarily executed.

“I understand,” Yan Yun conceded, “but might there be any cultivation faction willing to accept such a practitioner?” She pressed for an answer once more.

Jiang Yao found herself compelled to deliberate the matter further.

“There are, yes,” Jiang Yao began, her expression turning exceedingly grave as a particular faction came to mind. “However, truthfully, I earnestly hope you avoid any involvement with them. Once entangled, your name would be mud, no matter how you tried to clear it.”

She harbored a stronger desire for Yan Yun to cultivate this technique covertly and with utmost discretion, or better yet, to cease practicing the poison cultivation altogether. Instead, she wished Yan Yun would bide her time until Jiang Yao herself grew powerful enough to seek out heavenly treasures capable of bestowing cultivation aptitude upon ordinary individuals.

Though this path would undoubtedly require a measure of time, Jiang Yao firmly believed it represented the safest and most dependable course of action.

As former lovers in a past life, they possessed an uncanny understanding of each other’s thoughts, often intuiting the true meaning behind a mere half-spoken sentence.

“If only I had met you sooner, perhaps I might have considered it,” Yan Yun retorted, posing a question to Jiang Yao in return. “But given the current plight of the Yan family, I ask you: Do you truly believe the Lin family will cease their oppression of us simply because of my mother, Su Muyu?”

The moment the question left Yan Yun’s lips, Jiang Yao was struck into immediate silence.

Her lack of a response spoke volumes, betraying her own uncertainty and lack of absolute assurance.

“I can only say that the Lin family is unlikely to act overtly,” Jiang Yao finally responded after a thoughtful silence, “but what they might do in secret is another matter entirely. The Immortal Dao Alliance and the Royal Family have long maintained an accord: cultivation sects are forbidden from directly intervening in the conflicts of secular powers. This means that even if our Yunhua Sect wished to aid the Yan family, we could not do so openly.”

This answer, in essence, stripped Yan Yun of any remaining options.

“You see?” Yan Yun uttered a bitter laugh. “Considering the dire circumstances of the Yan family right now, do you honestly believe I have the luxury of waiting for both you and my mother to cultivate to full strength? I fear that as soon as this wedding concludes, the conflict will reignite. Therefore, isn’t poison cultivation truly the most pragmatic choice at this moment?”

Jiang Yao bit her lip, clearly on the verge of speaking further, but as her gaze locked with Yan Yun’s, she ultimately refrained from voicing her thoughts.

“This… ah, fine,” Jiang Yao conceded, her tone now earnestly serious. “But you must exercise extreme caution. Otherwise, even if I wished to help you in that moment, I fear I would be utterly powerless. Do you comprehend?”

Yan Yun offered a playful chuckle.

“Rest assured, I shall be exceedingly careful,” Yan Yun declared, then abruptly extended a hand towards Jiang Yao. “Oh, and speaking of which, my esteemed wife, where is my betrothal gift?”

A flurry of questions instantly clouded Jiang Yao’s mind.

“Betrothal gift? Was it not already delivered to your family’s doorstep? Why are you asking me?”

Yan Yun chuckled mischievously once more.

“Consider this,” Yan Yun explained with a sly grin, “I am marrying you now. Is it not perfectly reasonable for me to request a personal dowry? Furthermore, when you eventually return to the Yunhua Sect and my mother departs as well, I shall be left alone in the Jiang family, my coffers rather bare, hehe.”

Upon careful consideration, Jiang Yao inwardly conceded the point.

“Very well, how much do you require?”

“As much as you possess!” Yan Yun declared. “You surely aren’t wanting for spirit stones, and I require a great many medicinal ingredients for my poison cultivation.”

Pondering for a moment, Jiang Yao raised her hand and, from a ring adorning her finger, produced an exquisitely crafted pouch.

“Here,” she offered, extending the pouch. “This holds all my savings from over the years, approximately two hundred thousand, I believe.”

Yan Yun, without the slightest hesitation, snatched the spirit stones.

“Excellent, excellent! My profound gratitude, esteemed wife!”

Just then, Yan Lingyun’s voice abruptly resonated.

‘Eek… how disgustingly saccharine,’ Yan Lingyun drawled. ‘Is this truly how you two conducted yourselves in your past lives?’

Upon hearing the voice, Yan Yun instantly shot back a reply.

‘Ancestor,’ Yan Yun declared, ‘it’s clear at a glance that you’ve never known true affection, nor understood the joys of love between a man and woman. And please, do not simply appear and interrupt us, alright? Tonight, I am to consummate my marriage with my wife; kindly refrain from peeking.’

These words immediately left Yan Lingyun utterly speechless.

‘Pah! A pair of despicable wretches!’ Yan Lingyun spat. ‘No, wait, you no longer possess that appendage, yet you speak of consummating a marriage? I see it as nothing more than the ‘grinding of mirrors’! And furthermore, who in their right mind would want to watch you consummate anything? Utterly shameless!’

As time gradually ebbed away, the guests began to depart from the Jiang family manor in a steady trickle, and before long, dusk descended.

Jiang Yao and Yan Yun watched as the twilight deepened, and the emotions they had meticulously suppressed finally began to stir, a nascent restlessness blossoming between them.

Jiang Yao’s delicate hand drifted gently towards Yan Yun, who reciprocated the gesture, and their hands soon intertwined.

“Wife,” Yan Yun murmured, a faint blush dusting her cheeks, “the night has deepened. Is it not time for us to seek our repose?”

Jiang Yao’s delicate face was similarly flushed crimson. The ritual left unfulfilled in their previous lives had now been completed in this one, and despite its minor imperfections, she herself felt an immense joy.

“But… later,” Jiang Yao asked with a soft, uncertain voice, “what exactly are we to do?”

The question plunged Yan Yun into an even deeper state of mortification, for she, too, was now a woman.

“Well, I… I shall do my utmost to cooperate,” Yan Yun stammered, her embarrassment reaching its peak. “Though perhaps this is for the best, as we are both still quite young, particularly you.”

This particular point had been forewarned by the elders of both their families.

However, with both of them now being young women, there was no longer any need for such circumspection.

“Then let us proceed,” Jiang Yao declared, and with a sudden sweep of her hand, she extinguished every candle in the room.

The chamber was instantly plunged into profound darkness.

After exchanging a soft glance, Yan Yun and Jiang Yao offered each other a tender smile, then melted into a warm embrace.

One of them was akin to gentle, yielding water, while the other resembled a fish, swimming with unrestrained joy within its depths.

Initially, Yan Yun undoubtedly found herself unaccustomed to the sensations, but under Jiang Yao’s gentle guidance and soothing reassurances, she gradually acclimated to the physiological responses of her new form.

Though the experience was fraught with profound embarrassment, what choice did she have when the person beside her was her most cherished love? Thus, she could only strive to adapt.

This night, for both of them, was destined to be an utterly unprecedented venture, much like the opening of Pandora’s Box.