Passing Three Trials, The Boomerang

Hearing the sound of the ice block changing clothes, an image involuntarily surfaced in Li Mo's mind.

Separated by just a door, she had shed her plain garments and donned crimson robes, blossoming in the sunlight with a captivating, fiery red splendor...

He wanted even more to go in and see.

But it was hopeless. Security Comrade Old Li was guarding her like an immovable fortress, as stubborn and unyielding as a future father-in-law, not giving him the slightest opportunity.

"Good things come to those who wait, understand? It's not supposed to be this easy for you to see."

"Dad, I was joking earlier when I said I might have been switched at birth, but now I'm starting to have my doubts."

Li Mo sighed, gazing longingly at the ice.

Li Dalong waved him off. "Go on, get out of here. You'll see her tomorrow, won't you? Can't you wait one more day?"

Only after shooing Li Mo away did Li Dalong snort to himself, chuckling and muttering that he hadn't gotten to see back in his day either.

...

A refreshing autumn breeze carried the festivities as the engagement banquet officially began.

For this particular feast, even the vast Qingyuan Sect seemed a bit cramped. The guests who had come for the Promotion Ceremony hadn't yet left, while those arriving for the wedding celebration were already pouring in. In the end, they had no choice but to set up an open-air, flowing banquet, with tables stretching all the way from the main hall down to the mountain gate.

Li Mo rode out through the mountain gate on horseback.

One had to admit, the outfit Old Li had worn to fetch his own bride years ago suited him perfectly. Paired with the bearing of the top-ranked talent on the Hidden Dragon List, he truly cut the figure of a dashing young man, his heart soaring with pride and his horse's hooves flying.

"Today, Qingyuan Sect feels even livelier than during the Promotion Ceremony,"

Elder Xu remarked with some emotion.

"Of course. The Prince of Zhennan has come in person, and he even brought gifts from His Majesty."

Qian Bufan was sitting at the entrance collecting gifts and now stretched out his hand towards him.

"Isn't this an engagement? Do we give gifts for engagements too?"

The elder from the Sword Manor was taken aback but still reached into his pocket for a red envelope.

"I heard it's actually a wedding. I even heard that Fairy Han has already started calling Young Master Li's mother 'mother'."

"This setup really doesn't look like an engagement."

"Right? When I passed by, I saw the bridal chamber was already prepared. Since when do engagements require a bridal chamber??"

All along the way, martial artists gossiped amongst themselves, some saying it was an engagement, others insisting it was a wedding.

In the crowd, Shang Qinqing's mouth twitched, as if she desperately wanted to burst into uproarious laughter.

But a glance from the corner of her eye at a newly arrived group of people and horses at the mountain gate made her hold back.

"So, a bridal chamber is only needed for a wedding, not an engagement?"

A voice suddenly asked from among the newly arrived guests.

The person being questioned looked over with an expression reserved for fools, only to realize it was the renowned Lingxi Sect Master, Mo Chaozong. He then awkwardly nodded.

"That's correct. For an engagement, a bridal chamber is not required."

"Then today must definitely be a wedding."

The disguised members of the Demon Sect hidden within the Lingxi Sect contingent nodded inwardly, relieved.

Scared us to death. For a moment there, we thought our plan had a flaw.

"Sect Master Mo, your Lingxi Sect is at the peak of its power. Surely you haven't come empty-handed..."

Qian Bufan extended his hand again, rubbing his short, thick fingers together.

"......"

Mo Chaozong fell silent for a moment. He was here to cause trouble; it had never crossed his mind he'd have to pay to get in.

So, he perfunctorily pulled out a silver ingot and handed it over.

"Lingxi Sect gift: eight taels of silver! Seating outside the mountain gate!" Elder Qian's voice boomed.

"Only eight taels? Could Sect Master Mo be here to make trouble?"

"After all, the Lingxi Sect was previously the most likely candidate to become the Provincial Sect. Could they be holding a grudge for not being chosen?"

"Or perhaps, is it simply because the Lingxi Sect is poor, hence the stinginess?"

Hearing this, Mo Chaozong clenched his fist. As a dignified sect master, when had he ever been subjected to such talk?

"Patience is key to great plans. Do not ruin this," Situ Ding's voice transmission came from behind him.

Sitting outside the mountain gate would make it inconvenient to act later.

"Hmph."

Mo Chaozong snorted coldly and pulled out two stacks of silver notes. "Will this suffice now?"

He paid the money and walked in, only to turn and find the people he brought hadn't followed.

They were stopped by Qian Bufan again.

"Didn't the Sect Master already pay the gift money just now?"

The disguised Situ Ding asked in a low voice.

"He only paid for himself."

"You little...."

"Hmm?"

"...cutie."

And so, the Demon Sect members lined up to pay, their already strained wallets suffering further.

Of course, it wasn't a complete loss. At least they received a return gift—a pair of Young Master Li and Fairy Han couple dolls.

Young Li Mo, riding on his horse, remained completely unaware of Elder Qian's feat of shearing even the Demon Sect's wool.

Li Mo rode his horse into Ziyang Prefecture City. The people looking at him held reverence and admiration in their eyes, unaware that the 'Little Overlord of Wife-Prospering' had basically lost all capacity for rational thought.

The journey felt interminably long, yet also fleeting.

His body felt heavy, yet also as if he were treading on clouds.

...

Meanwhile.

The bride-to-be sat before the dressing table, letting Gu Xueqin arrange her hair. She stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror, her gaze rippling with faint waves.

She had never imagined the scenes from her dreams would one day appear so vividly in reality.

She remembered how it all began: the Li family had shown her kindness, so she entered the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths intending to look after that immature kid.

After all, she was originally the older sister, and had lived two lifetimes.

But as she looked after him, this 'older sister' found herself owing more and more.

It seemed, perhaps, probably...

The only thing left to give him was herself.

At that moment.

"This red envelope seems to be filled with silver notes..."

Lan Tian came in holding a red envelope.

"Hmm? Is that kid handing out red envelopes?"

Shang Wu had come with Lan Tian to be a bridesmaid. Initially, Li Mo had refused.

As everyone knows, before taking the bride away, the groom must pass tests to enter the room, with the bridesmaids 'making things difficult' in between.

Having Shang Wu act as a roadblock would be disastrous.

But the ice block didn't have many friends. Besides Lan Tian, the only one left in Ziyang Prefecture was the Qingyuan Sect's 'Fighting Queen'.

"Mhm, do you give red envelopes for engagements too?" Lan Tian nodded.

"Probably... you should."

Shang Wu crossed her arms. Surprisingly, she didn't rush out to fleece her precious disciple, instead squinting her eyes with an uncharacteristically steady demeanor.

"......"

Ying Bing pressed her lips together, thinking to herself that red envelopes were only for weddings.

But since she'd already been tricked by that immature kid so many times, one more wouldn't make a difference. She'd just pretend not to know.

"Sister Bing is so beautiful."

Lan Tian also forgot about the red envelope, staring at Ying Bing with her hair pinned up and wearing phoenix-patterned red robes, unable to help but wipe a bit of drool from the corner of her mouth.

Gu Xueqin initially wanted to offer praise, but when she looked up at the reflection in the mirror, she felt any words would be superfluous.

She opened her mouth, the words in her heart choking her up and making her eyes rim red.

After all, she had raised this girl from childhood; she was no different from her own daughter.

"That brat is getting her far too cheaply."

"Mother, what time is it?"

"Don't rush. We can't let him take you away so easily."

Madam Gu, Young Li's birth mother, spoke with the tone of someone protecting their own prized cabbage, walking over to the chamber door.

She searched for a while before finally finding the door bolt.

Strange, doesn't Little Bing'er usually lock her door?