Chapter 624
“... Dad, do you think there’s a chance you’re hiding something from me?”
“What’s that?”
“Like, when I was little, you mixed me up with a kid from the Ying family. Actually, Bing Tuozi is your biological child.”
“?”
Seeing his father momentarily stunned, then instinctively reaching for his belt, Li Mo cleared his throat and shifted to the main topic.
Li Mo didn’t want to ruin the beautiful moment, but he knew this engagement banquet was bound to be anything but peaceful.
Although Qingyuan Sect had made detailed preparations, no one could guarantee that there wouldn’t be any surprises.
With a serious expression, Li Mo said, “Dad, when the time comes, you and Mom should avoid using the excuse of going to the bathroom to pass by the bridal chamber.”
“Who the hell dares to ruin my Li family’s good fortune?”
Hearing that someone was causing trouble, Li Dalong flew into a rage.
Li Mo sighed, “It’s the Huanmo Sect and Lingxi Sect. I estimate at least two from the Seventh Realm, and I didn’t count the Sixth Realm, but it shouldn’t be less than ten.”
“...”
After a moment of silence, Li Dalong, still fuming, muttered, “Hmph, I get it. I’ll take your mother to a safe place. If I ever catch those cunning scoundrels...”
“Dad, let’s talk inside.” Li Mo gestured for him to lower his voice.
“No way! Can’t you see I’m standing at the door? Your mother is helping little Bing try on her engagement dress.”
“Ugh...”
Li Mo, who had intended to go inside, now felt he had no choice but to enter.
---
Chapter 727: It’s Not Like We’re Missing This Time
Hearing that Bing Tuozi was changing clothes, images flooded Li Mo’s mind.
Just a door away, she was shedding her plain attire for a stunning red gown, blooming like a fiery flower under the sunlight...
What if he wanted to sneak a peek?
Unfortunately, his father, Old Li, was guarding the entrance like an unyielding father-in-law, leaving no room for opportunity.
“Good things take time, you know? It’s not that easy to see her.”
“Dad, I was just joking about being swapped at birth, but now I’m starting to have my doubts,” Li Mo lamented.
Li Dalong waved him off, “Go on, go on. You’ll see her tomorrow. Can’t you wait just one more day?”
After shooing Li Mo away, Li Dalong huffed, muttering about how he hadn’t seen anything back in the day either.
---
The autumn breeze was refreshing, and the engagement banquet officially began.
For this occasion, the vast Qingyuan Sect felt a bit cramped. The guests from the promotion ceremony hadn’t left yet, and now more had arrived for the wedding feast. In the end, they had to set up an outdoor buffet that stretched from the main hall all the way to the mountain gate.
Li Mo rode his horse out of the mountain gate.
To be honest, the outfit his father had worn for the wedding looked quite fitting on him, paired with the demeanor of the top contender on the Qianlong List, giving off a youthful charm that was both confident and spirited.
“Today, Qingyuan Sect feels even livelier than during the promotion ceremony,” Elder Xu remarked with a hint of nostalgia.
“Of course! The Prince of Southern Town is here in person, and he even brought gifts from the Emperor,” Qian Bufan said, sitting at the entrance to collect gifts, then extended his hand.
“Isn’t this an engagement? Do you really need to bring gifts for that?” An elder from the Sword Manor was taken aback but still reached into his pocket for the cash.
“I heard it’s actually a wedding, and I also heard that Fairy Han has started calling Li Shaoxia’s mother ‘Mom’,” someone chimed in.
“This atmosphere doesn’t seem like just an engagement,” another added.
“Right? I saw the bridal chamber was already decorated. Who has a bridal chamber for an engagement??”
As they walked, the martial artists discussed among themselves, some saying it was an engagement, others insisting it was a wedding.
Shang Qinqing’s lips twitched in the crowd, as if she wanted to burst out laughing.
But when she caught sight of a group arriving at the mountain gate, she held back.
“So only weddings require a bridal chamber?” a newcomer suddenly asked.
The person being questioned looked at him as if he were crazy, but upon realizing it was the renowned leader of Lingxi Sect, Mo Chaozong, he awkwardly nodded.
“Exactly. Engagements don’t require a bridal chamber.”
“Then today must definitely be a wedding.”
The members of the Huanmo Sect hidden among the Lingxi Sect nodded in relief, feeling a weight lift off their shoulders.
Phew, they had just feared their plan had gone awry.
“Leader Mo, your Lingxi Sect is thriving. Surely you didn’t come empty-handed...” Qian Bufan rubbed his short, stubby fingers together.
“...”
Mo Chaozong fell silent for a moment. He had come to stir up trouble, never expecting he’d have to pay to get in.
So, he reluctantly pulled out a silver ingot and handed it over.
“Lingxi Sect’s gift is eight taels. Stay outside the mountain gate!” Elder Qian’s voice boomed.
“Only eight taels? Leader Mo, you’re not here to cause trouble, are you?”
“After all, Lingxi Sect was once the most likely to become the sect of Zhenzhou. You wouldn’t be harboring resentment for not being chosen, would you?”
“Is it possible that Lingxi Sect is just poor, which is why you’re so stingy?”
Hearing this, Mo Chaozong clenched his fists. When had he ever been subjected to such remarks?
“Patience is a virtue; don’t ruin the big picture,” Si Tu Ding transmitted a message to him.
Staying outside the mountain gate would make it inconvenient to act.
“Hmph.”
Mo Chaozong snorted coldly and pulled out two stacks of banknotes. “Is this enough?”
After paying, he walked inside, only to find that his followers hadn’t followed him.
He was stopped again by Qian Bufan.
“Didn’t the leader just pay the gift money?”
Dressed in disguise, Si Tu Ding spoke in a low voice.
“He only paid for himself.”
“You little...”
“Hmm?”
“Little cutie.”
Thus, one by one, the members of the Huanmo Sect lined up to pay, further straining their already meager wallets.
Of course, they didn’t leave empty-handed; at least they received a pair of couple dolls of Li Shaoxia and Fairy Han as a return gift.
Little Li, completely unaware that Elder Qian was even milking the Huanmo Sect for all it was worth, rode into Ziyang City. The gazes of the people were filled with awe and admiration, yet he suddenly felt as if the little tyrant who brought good fortune to his wife had lost his ability to think.
The road felt both long and short.
He felt heavy all over, yet it was as if he were walking on clouds.
---
Meanwhile.
The bride-to-be sat in front of the vanity, letting Gu Xueqin style her hair. She stared blankly at her reflection, her eyes shimmering with a hint of emotion.
She never imagined that the scenes from her dreams would one day appear so vividly in reality.
She remembered at first, she thought the Li family had done her a favor, so she stepped into the world of martial arts, planning to take care of that immature boy.
After all, she was his older sister and had lived two lives.
But as she took care of him, she found herself increasingly indebted.
It seemed that perhaps...
She could only give herself to him.
At that moment.
“It seems this is filled with banknotes...”
Lan Tian entered, holding a red envelope.
“Hmm? Is that kid giving out red envelopes?” Shang Wu, who had come with Lan Tian to be a bridesmaid, was surprised. Li Mo had initially refused.
As everyone knew, before taking the bride away, the groom had to pass a test to enter, and the bridesmaids had to make things difficult for him.
Shang Wu was supposed to be the obstacle, but that wouldn’t do.
However, Bing Tuozi had no friends; counting Lan Tian, the only ones left in Ziyang City were the fighters from Qingyuan Sect.
“Yeah, do you need to give red envelopes for an engagement?” Lan Tian nodded.
“Should... be required,” Shang Wu crossed her arms, surprisingly not rushing out to take advantage of her precious disciple, squinting her eyes in a rare moment of seriousness.
“...”
Ying Bing pursed her lips, thinking that only weddings required that.
But since she had already been tricked by the immature boy so many times, what was one more? She decided to pretend she didn’t know.
“Bing Jie, you look so beautiful.”
Lan Tian forgot about the red envelope, staring at Ying Bing, who had her hair styled and was dressed in a phoenix-patterned red gown, unable to resist wiping the corner of her mouth.
Gu Xueqin wanted to compliment her, but when she looked up at the mirror, she felt that any praise would be superfluous.
She opened her mouth, but the words caught in her throat, making her eyes slightly red.
After all, she had raised her since childhood; there was no difference from her own daughter.
“That little brat is getting a good deal.”
“Mom, what time is it?”
“Not urgent, but we can’t let him take you away so easily.”
Li Mo’s mother, Gu Fu-ren, spoke protectively as she approached the door of the room.
After searching for a while, she finally found the door latch.
Strange, didn’t little Bing usually leave the door unlocked?
---
Chapter 728: Passing Three Tests, the Boomerang
“Master, you’re also here for Li Shaoxia’s engagement banquet?”
“Poor monk Cang Ai, I’m here to be his best man.”
“?”
Murong Xiao received the red envelopes that had been tossed his way and, along with Xiao Qin and Ouyang, stepped forward amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd.
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