Chapter 176
Upon reaching the main hall, Wang Jin was surrounded by congratulations and teasing cheers, making him too shy to lift his head. Even Yuan Heng's face was somewhat flushed.
Wang Jin had asked Uncle Shan ahead of time to officiate the ceremony.
Now, the two of them stood side by side in the middle of the room, waiting as Uncle Shan started the ceremony.
"The auspicious hour has arrived. The two newlyweds shall now bow."
"First bow to heaven and earth."
Wang Jin and Yuan Heng bowed towards the doorway.
"Second bow to the parents."
Wang Jin and Yuan Heng glanced at each other, then looked towards Xi Ning, preparing to bow. However, they saw a man sitting beside him.
The two paused, hesitant in their bow. Xi Ning smiled and said, "Go ahead and bow. This man will soon be your elder brother's fulang."
Elder brother's fulang?!
Startled, they looked at the man. The man turned his peculiar vertical pupils towards them and glanced at Wang Jin.
That man was slender and handsome. Each of his facial features seemed ordinary on its own, but combined they were strikingly stunning.
Yet, the moment Wang Jin saw him, his heart began to pound wildly. He felt there was something exceptionally unusual about the man.
He blinked, trying to see the man more clearly. With that blink, he found the noisy surroundings had vanished, replaced by a vast sea of mist.
At one end of the misty sea sat an old man with white hair. He was leisurely sipping a cup of tea when, catching sight of Wang Jin from the corner of his eye, he spat out his tea in shock.
Wang Jin felt the old man looked somewhat familiar. As the old man hurriedly approached, Wang Jin suddenly remembered.
This was the old man from his dream when he first arrived in this world—the one who gave him the ability to know endless formulas.
"You... you... how did you get here?!" The old man pointed a trembling finger at Wang Jin and asked.
The corner of Wang Jin's eye twitched. "How should I know?"
He was in the middle of his wedding when he suddenly ended up here.
Thinking of the wedding, Wang Jin's heart sank. Brother Heng was still waiting for him to complete the bows.
They had waited so long, only needing one or two more bows... How could something go wrong now?
"No... wait." Wang Jin reached out and grabbed the old man's sleeve. "You... send me back quickly. I'm getting married."
"Getting married?" The old man raised his eyebrows.
His current world is one of beastmen and ger... but he originally came from a world with women. In this marriage, is he the bride or the groom?
Interest flickered in the old man's eyes. "No hurry. Let me see who you're marrying."
The old man blinked, as if already seeing the scene. He showed a surprised expression. "It's actually an ancient beastman. You're doing pretty well, kid."
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man seemed to have seen something he shouldn't have. He suddenly retreated several steps, pointing a trembling finger at the void. The empty air rippled for a moment, then materialized into a figure.
That person was clad in black, tall and slender. His facial features were ordinary individually, but combined they were stunningly beautiful. He stood with his hands behind his back, his vertical pupils sweeping the area, exuding an aura of coldness.
"Du... Du... Du..." The old man stammered for a moment before finally getting it out: "Fellow Immortal Du Jie!"
"?" Wang Jin looked strangely at the man, then at the old man.
The old man signaled to Wang Jin with his eyes. "Well, this is the one originally responsible for messing up your timeline."
"?" Wang Jin was confused.
Seeing Wang Jin's bewilderment, the old man stamped his foot anxiously. "Originally, you were destined for a life of wealth and nobility. Even if you went to the beastman world, you were supposed to be the young master of Ning'an City, living a prosperous life. But you happened to run into this snake demon who was undergoing a tribulation to ascend..."
Snake demon? This person isn't a snake tribe beastman? He's actually a demon...
Wang Jin felt shocked. He stared blankly at the old man.
The old man, glared at by the man, trembled and corrected himself: "...this fellow daoist... The tribulation lightning went wrong, splitting space-time. When your soul descended, it was delayed. By the time it reached the young master's body, he was long gone from Ning'an City and was in a poor tribe. So because of him... your originally destined fortune in Ning'an City turned into poverty in a tribe."
The man snorted coldly. "You said it yourself, the tribulation lightning went wrong. I'm also a victim of that. Yet you push the blame onto me?"
The man's tone carried a hint of anger. The old man felt increasingly guilty and said quietly, "Didn't I already compensate you?"
"..." Wang Jin was dazed for a moment, finally sorting out his thoughts. He said in surprise, "So, actually, I'm also a victim?"
The old man staggered. Wang Jin said, "Then you compensated him, why haven't you compensated me?"
"Compensate you? Didn't I give you an ability before?" The old man said.
Wang Jin said, "Wasn't that exchanged for merit? And, you have the nerve to mention that ability. Could I fully utilize that ability alone?"
The old man guiltily rubbed his nose and muttered quietly, "I never heard you mention this before, so I thought you didn't care."
"Ha." Wang Jin laughed coldly. "I was just in a hurry to go back and get married."
The old man quickly said, "Then I'll send you back."
The black-clad man beside them, who had been watching with interest, now interjected, "Shouldn't you show some consideration before sending him back?"
"..." The old man's eyebrow twitched. "Fellow immortal, why make things difficult for another fellow immortal?"
The man acted as if he hadn't heard. He took Wang Jin's hand, felt his pulse, then looked at his abdomen. Wang Jin followed his gaze to his slightly protruding belly. The old man also looked over.
Two people, a man and an old man, staring unblinkingly at his belly made Wang Jin feel somewhat creeped out.
Suddenly, the man let go. He raised an eyebrow at the old man. The old man seemed to receive some message. His eyes instantly lit up. "I know how to compensate you. You're sure to like this compensation."
"?" Wang Jin was puzzled. He saw the old man point a finger at his belly. He then felt a warm, extremely comfortable sensation in his abdomen. He stared at his belly but saw no visible change.
Then he heard many noisy sounds around him. Looking up, he found he had somehow returned to the wedding venue, and everyone was looking at him.
"Little ger, what's wrong?" Yuan Heng asked.
Wang Jin turned to look at him and found Yuan Heng had already knelt on the ground, bowing to his brother...
Wang Jin hurriedly knelt down as well and said, "It's nothing, nothing."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Uncle Shan quickly called out again, "Second bow to the parents."
This time, the two bowed properly. Xi Ning was happy. He stood up, helped Wang Jin to his feet, and solemnly introduced his beloved—Qian Sheng, also the mysterious elder of Ning'an City—to Wang Jin and Yuan Heng.
Wang Jin smiled at Xi Ning and glanced at the black-clad man beside him. The man noticed the glance and nodded back with a smile.
Wang Jin felt there was a hint of familiarity and something unusual in his eyes.
Remembering this man was a snake demon, Wang Jin didn't dare look too long. They proceeded to the final bow between husband and wife.
After the bows were completed, they were now legally wedded husbands, blessed by everyone in the beastman world.
From now on, any ger or beastman wanting to get close to them would have no chance.
This world was ultimately not Wang Jin's previous world. Men and women were different. So, although Wang Jin used the form of marriage from his old world, he didn't strictly follow its customs, like having one party wait in the bridal chamber first.
Instead, he and Yuan Heng toasted guests together. However, because Wang Jin was pregnant, he used plain water instead of wine.
The wedding guests were all acquaintances, so everyone was relaxed. Shi Yu and his father had also rushed back. Originally, they could have returned a few months earlier, but they took a detour to Donghai tribe to select many night pearls and pearls for Wang Jin...
Wang Jin took this opportunity to thank the father and son properly.
But after all, he was pregnant. Wang Jin grew tired midway. Yuan Heng still had Wang Jin go back first to rest.
When Wang Jin reached the door of the room, he found a tall, slender man standing there.
It was Qian Sheng...
Wang Jin paused, somewhat afraid to get too close. That person, however, seemed to sense Wang Jin's arrival and walked over first.
"You... are you afraid of me?" Qian Sheng asked, hands behind his back.
"..." Wang Jin shook his head. "Not exactly... I'm just not quite used to it."
After a pause, Wang Jin licked his lips and asked, "That... are you really a snake demon?"
Qian Sheng didn't deny it. Wang Jin said, "Then do you harm people?"
Qian Sheng raised an eyebrow. "That depends on the person."
Wang Jin said awkwardly, "Right, if it's a bad person..."
"Bad people I don't harm either. I'm like you. I only retaliate against those who harm me or those close to me," Qian Sheng interrupted Wang Jin, meaningfully adding, "You count as someone close to me, but not because this body belongs to Xi Ning's brother."
"..." Wang Jin was stunned. Qian Sheng said, "I came to this world alongside you. Your life changed somewhat due to my appearance. We can be considered fated. I came here to tell you that from now on, you can come to me for anything, including things Yuan Heng and Xi Ning cannot solve."
A warmth spread in Wang Jin's heart, and the strange feeling gradually faded. Although this person was a snake demon, Wang Jin sensed his sincerity.
He was silent for a long time before asking softly, "Then... does my brother know you're a snake demon?"
Qian Sheng nodded. Wang Jin was surprised. Xi Ning actually knew this person was a snake demon and still introduced him so solemnly to himself and Brother Heng.
"Brother truly likes you," Wang Jin said softly. Qian Sheng's expression softened considerably. "I know."
The man's eyes held deep attachment. Wang Jin was very familiar with this kind of attachment. He knew this person must also care for Xi Ning in his heart.
He said quietly, "I wish you both happiness."
Qian Sheng responded, "Thank you."
Wang Jin took two steps forward. "Then... I'll go in now."
Qian Sheng nodded. As if remembering something, he spoke again. "Your brother doesn't know you are not Xi Yao. You also don't need to tell him everything about yourself. The real Xi Yao is now serving as a little immortal attendant by that old man's side. He's living well, so no need to worry about him."
Wang Jin paused, his expression brightening considerably. "Thank you."
With that, he pushed the door open and entered.
Inside the room, however, sat an unexpected person.
That person wore a familiar pink outfit and seemed to have had some wine, his face slightly flushed.
Wang Jin was startled and frowned. "Cheng Bai, what are you doing here?"
Three months had passed, and this person seemed even thinner.
Cheng Bai seemed to realize only then that someone had entered. He looked up, saw it was Wang Jin, and chuckled foolishly. "Came to see the bridal chamber you decorated."
As he spoke, Cheng Bai really looked around, his face showing yearning. "It's decorated so beautifully."
The bridal chamber was decked in bright red. The bedsheets and pillowcases were changed to red, embroidered with mandarin ducks. Red dates, peanuts, longans, and melon seeds were scattered on top...
Every detail contained Wang Jin's careful thought.
"..." Wang Jin felt as if something was stuck in his heart, uncomfortable. This bridal chamber was prepared for Yuan Heng. The man hadn't even seen it yet, but this person had.
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