Ever since hearing that someone was going to be married, Mo Xuanli’s plan had changed. He now intended to go straight to the couple and find a way to blend into their entourage.
But inquiries at the wedding shop revealed the couple had only left silver and then departed on errands.
So they could only wait and see on the third day.
That night they stayed temporarily at an inn. The following day, they decided to spend the time inquiring into other families in the city who had encountered misfortune.
But the process was extremely difficult. Not only was information scarce, but more often than not, when they did manage to inquire, they would hear that someone else had already come to investigate, so by the time they arrived, people were completely impatient with them.
On this point, Qi Yi had no solution either. At that time, he was filled with emotions, so he had gone to many so-called “masters,” not even knowing who had been there before them.
In the end, they found a household from seven or eight years ago—the most distant one they could trace.
When they knocked on the door, sure enough, the answer was the same:
“How come you’re here asking again? Our young master has been dead for a long time.”
Mo Xuanli and Qi Yi were dumbfounded. What, this family’s groom was dead too?
Qi Yi’s expression instantly shifted, as if he had been triggered.
Seeing this, Gu Baiqing could only step forward to guide the scene along. Mo Xuanli was still too honest. The servant before them clearly knew a great deal. Since he wasn’t the master of the house, the best method was… slip him silver.
Sure enough, once the servant saw the money, he acted as if it were routine and spilled everything in one go: “Our young master was also a pitiful soul. Seven years ago, he happily married the woman he loved, but who could have thought she would kill herself halfway, inside the bridal sedan? Blood all over her dress, it was terrifying. Later, we heard the woman was forced by her family—she hadn’t wanted to marry at all. Our young master believed it was his fault, that because he had wanted to wed her and given a rich betrothal gift, her family forced her hand. In the end, it drove her to her death. Burdened with unbearable guilt, and with her family heartbroken and moving away, not to mention the neighbors pointing fingers, our young master later hung a length of white silk and ended his life. Truly, both were pitiful.”
Hearing the whole story, Qi Yi sighed deeply.
Mo Xuanli frowned slightly and asked, “Are you certain it was suicide?”
“That Taoist before you asked the same thing. How should I know? Anyway, her throat was slit. I heard there’s been another one recently—someone else trying to get married. It’s simply courting death.”
Qi Yi couldn’t help asking, “Is there really a bride’s curse here? Has it been around since seven years ago? Have there been many deaths the same way over the years? And your City Lord does nothing?”
The servant’s face changed slightly. “What curse? I don’t know about any curse. Just girls not wanting to marry, that’s all. It’s not like there aren’t successful marriages. Let the dead rest, stop tormenting us. Anyway, I’ve said what I know. You should leave.”
With that, he drove them off.
Back at the inn, Mo Xuanli stayed silent, frowning as if something wouldn’t sit right with him.
Gu Baiqing knew it was no use forcing the matter. Only when they caught the culprit could they get the truth out of them. So he said, “Don’t dwell on it. Tomorrow we can find that pair of newlyweds, and then catch the killer directly.”
“It’s not that…” Mo Xuanli hesitated, then asked, “Master, don’t you feel this whole thing is full of oddities?”
Gu Baiqing didn’t see anything strange. The original text explained clearly enough: resentful spirits unwilling to pass on turned into demons, went mad, and began indiscriminate vengeance. After tracing so many households, Mo Xuanli ought to have realized that. What else could be off?
“Master… this disciple doesn’t know how to put it. It’s just… the people of Star-Stepping City seem to all be hiding something. They seem to know about the bride’s curse, but don’t want outsiders meddling. When we ask about their deceased family members, they’re willing to cooperate, but their accounts always lean toward accidents or fate. Only that boy, Little Yan’s younger brother, said something out of the ordinary. But once it comes to the bride’s curse, then…”
Gu Baiqing thought it over and said, “Not hard to understand. Some places are just insular, and they fear any talk of curses might taint the city’s reputation, making it impossible for their girls to marry. With the City Lord as their leader—and him being rumored to be a cultivator—they’ll naturally trust him over outsiders.”
“But… we’ve visited so many families. Haven’t you noticed? When their daughters died, not one family ever blamed the groom’s side—not even suspicion. Except for seven years ago, that Xue Bin who killed himself, all the other grooms are still alive, just never remarried. It’s as if…”
At that, Gu Baiqing suddenly felt a chill in his mind. He realized what Mo Xuanli was implying.
Normally, with such tragedies, both families would quarrel. But here, the brides’ families never did, as if they already knew the cause wasn’t on the groom’s side. They accepted their children’s deaths in silence.
Over seven years, the same thing happened again and again. Even if no one noticed the first or second time—afterward? Why wasn’t it completely banned? Even if the City Lord couldn’t solve it himself, would he really gamble the lives of the city’s daughters just for face, refusing to seek outside help?
Unfortunately, the original text had little description of the City Lord. In the protagonist’s memories there was even less, since they’d only had one encounter—not even acquaintance. But from the few words written, this City Lord was not the sort to sacrifice his people for pride.
When reading the story, Gu Baiqing hadn’t thought so deeply. But now, truly investigating, the more he pondered, the more something felt wrong.
Still, the ending of the original story stopped here. Could it be they were simply overthinking?
Gu Baiqing didn’t dare be certain, so he only said, “For now, think about tomorrow. Do we replace the bride and groom directly, or watch from the side?”
Mo Xuanli lifted his head, frowned, and said, “I think that so-called couple’s purpose might be the same as ours. Perhaps it’s just another trap laid by those Taoists who came before.”
Mo Xuanli’s guess wasn’t unreasonable. Otherwise, choosing this place for a wedding banquet really was rather brainless.
The next morning, they arrived early at the wedding shop. The full bridal procession was already prepared. When they asked where the newlyweds were, the shophand pointed to a nearby inn, saying they were getting dressed there.
Such a perfunctory arrangement only made it clearer—the whole point was that one scene of fetching the bride.
Leaving Qi Yi to guard the procession just in case, master and disciple hurried off to the inn to find them.
At last, when they found the room, before they could even knock, noises came from inside.
A woman’s crisp voice cried out: “I don’t want to!”
“No. Take off your clothes. If you won’t, don’t blame me for doing it myself.”
“Ah! Help! Lecher!”
The two outside immediately changed expression and pounded on the door, bang bang bang. But inside, the woman’s cries of fleeing panic continued, as if she had no intention of paying any attention to those outside—or perhaps she didn’t believe anyone outside could hear her. After all, unless one was a cultivator, who could hear sounds from the inner chamber around the bend past the main door?
In the end, the two outside naturally acted as the heroes. With one kick they smashed the door open and rushed inside.
“Who goes there!” A man in black reacted instantly. As he turned, a sword glowing with holy radiance was already leveled straight at the intruders.
But Mo Xuanli was a step faster, darting ahead of Gu Baiqing. The Divine Nine Transformations in his hand sensed the aura of the spirit sword, resonated with its master, and transformed into a sword, clashing head-on.
Two immortal-grade weapons struck with a resounding clang. Spiritual light rippled outward in waves through the air.
The woman inside and Gu Baiqing both staggered.
At the same time, both swordsmen felt the oppressive pressure of Star-Stepping City’s formation pressing down upon them.
But of course, at this moment, that was not the point.
“Mo Xuanli?”
“Li Xiuran?”
Gu Baiqing: …Why is this guy appearing in this part of the plot? Wasn’t he supposed to show up later? Aren’t there way too many bugs in this storyline?
And just now—what was that—was Li Xiuran actually forcing…
Gu Baiqing turned to look at the woman in the red bridal gown at the side, and was startled. He dared say that, of all the women he had truly seen since entering the cultivation world, the most dazzling had been Si Chun of Chuixue Pavilion, ranked number one on the Illusory Beauty List, well deserved.
But today, the woman before his eyes could shatter all standards of beauty in an instant.
Mist-browed, peach-blossom eyes, a smile more brilliant than the stars, jade-like skin, ice-fine bones, lively and captivating, as if all light was drawn to her at once.
Gu Baiqing could think of no words sufficient, only that even standing between Mo Xuanli and Li Xiuran she lost not the slightest in presence. She emanated an involuntary aura of holiness and goodness that made others long to draw near.
Even Gu Baiqing himself felt a fleeting stir in his heart—purely overwhelmed by beauty.
The woman edged closer to Li Xiuran, wary eyes on the two of them. “Li Xiuran, are these people acquaintances of yours?”
From her closeness, what they had heard earlier clearly didn’t match reality.
Li Xiuran and Mo Xuanli both withdrew their weapons. Seeing Mo Xuanli’s Divine Nine Transformations revert to a bracelet, Li Xiuran’s eyes lit up.
“So this is the Divine Nine Transformations you’re rumored to have forged yourself?” He seemed curious.
Mo Xuanli frowned. “Yes. A trifling thing. Brother Li, why are you here?”
Li Xiuran gave him a once-over. “I imagine our purposes are about the same.”
“Li Xiuran.” The woman beside him didn’t like being ignored and called out quickly.
Only then did Li Xiuran introduce: “This is my friend, Mo Xuanli of the Zixiao Sect.”
“Zixiao Sect? I’ve only heard of Gu Baiqing,” the woman said.
“That would be his master,” Li Xiuran replied, then turned to Mo Xuanli. “Apologies, you must have misunderstood just now. This young lady is a friend I met while traveling in training, Ji Chuling, a Golden Core cultivator, from a small clan. We’re traveling companions.”
At the words “small clan,” Ji Chuling’s brows twitched, but she said nothing more, only cupped her hands in greeting.
Mo Xuanli returned the courtesy, but looking at Ji Chuling, he felt a strange sensation, making him frown slightly.
Ji Chuling too looked at Mo Xuanli with odd curiosity, her gaze lingering unusually long.
Meanwhile, Li Xiuran’s attention shifted, curiosity piqued by Gu Baiqing. “Brother Xuanli, is this fellow Daoist also of Zixiao Sect?”
Mo Xuanli hadn’t expected to meet someone familiar here, and introducing his master made him a bit guilty.
“This is my bro—brother, Mo Bai, a rogue cultivator. Hearing I was going down the mountain this time, he joined me to train together.”
“You have a brother?” Li Xiuran was surprised. He had heard Mo Xuanli was an orphan like himself—so the gossip was wrong. “Then greetings, Brother Mo. I am Li Xiuran.”
Gu Baiqing, just as guilty, quickly returned the greeting, not daring to speak carelessly for fear of slipping up.
“Hm? Isn’t this your master’s contracted beast? Why is it with you—could it be Elder Luofeng is traveling with you too?”
So quick to be exposed.
Li Xiuran pointed at Three Bean, who was following them, puzzled.
Mo Xuanli reacted instantly. “My master worried for me, so he let Three Bean follow.”
Three Bean hurriedly nodded in agreement.
“Wow, then your master treats you really well,” Ji Chuling said in surprise. After all, usually contracted beasts never left their owners.
Mo Xuanli gave an awkward smile. “My master treats me very well.”
Gu Baiqing truly wanted to facepalm. Lying always came at a price.
But… Ji Chuling.
Gu Baiqing frowned slightly. She hadn’t appeared in the original text. But the surname Ji was familiar. Legend said that when the primordial chaos ended in ancient times, most of the divine race perished, but some half-divine who had intermarried with cultivators survived and fell into the mortal realm. Ever regarding their bloodline as noble, they seldom mingled with outsiders, possessing their own inherited cultivation methods, keeping aloof and far from the mortal world. They were known as the Hidden Gods Clan. And Ji—that was their surname.
In the original story, the only time the Hidden Gods appeared was when the cultivation world could no longer withstand the Demon Lord Mo Xuanli. Then they emerged to assist, claiming themselves descendants of the divine, fated enemies of the demonic. But until then, the demon clan had never been formidable enough to warrant their intervention.
But though it had sounded so earth-shakingly impressive, in the end it only ended up gravely injuring Mo Xuanli; suppressing the great devil still depended on Master.
Looking at this girl’s unusual bearing, she really must be from that legendary Hidden God clan.
Wait a second!
This setup… divine race descendant, number one in beauty, inexperienced in the ways of the world… isn’t this way too much like a female lead?
Isn’t this… a Master-disciple type novel? How could a character with such a female-lead setting suddenly pop out? Don’t tell me it’s the butterfly effect from my meddling, dragging even the female lead out of the deep mountains?
Gu Baiqing’s mind was already in some chaos.
But things immediately became even more chaotic.
Li Xiuran explained what had just happened. As Mo Xuanli had guessed, they were indeed the Daoists investigating everywhere ahead of them, and in the end decided to use this method to directly catch the culprit.
The quarrel just now had been over who would play the bride. Li Xiuran didn’t want a woman to take the risk, since he wasn’t absolutely certain of success. So from the start, he had decided he himself would dress as the bride, sit in the bridal sedan, and wait for the culprit to show up.
And judging from Li Xiuran’s manner, he didn’t seem to trust Ji Chuling’s strength all that much either.
Ji Chuling was quite displeased. “I was the one who discovered it was a demon causing trouble—why can’t I be the one to catch it? You clearly know I’d be more effective than anyone else.”
In her argument Ji Chuling actually revealed quite a bit of information.
“So it’s confirmed to be a demon?” Even if Mo Xuanli had analyzed things earlier, there was still no way to be a hundred percent certain.
Li Xiuran seemed reluctant to explain too much about Ji Chuling, and could only say: “She has a clan secret art, much like the Wuxiang Temple’s arts that specifically target demons, so she can judge it. The culprit is indeed a demon—it should be a wraith that absorbed demonic qi and turned into a low-level demon.”
Mo Xuanli was slightly startled, as if sensing something off, but for the moment couldn’t put a finger on it.
“You yourself said it’s a low-level demon. I can handle high-level demons, so what’s a low-level one? I could crush it with a flick of my finger. And what kind of sight is it for a grown man to put on bridal robes? You’d better just obediently ride the horse in front.”
And riding the horse in front—that was the groom, wasn’t it?
“The demon only attacks the bride. The groom isn’t in danger at all. We could easily have someone else play the role. For safety’s sake, it’s better I do it.” Li Xiuran didn’t find dressing as the bride humiliating at all. For the sake of slaying demons and protecting the Dao, such a trifling thing was nothing.
“But your powers are restrained here, aren’t they? What if something goes wrong? My spells aren’t restrained. I’m stronger than you.” Ji Chuling was nearly in tears with frustration.
Such a simple-minded girl—though she hadn’t directly explained her identity, she had unwittingly revealed everything. Truly unworldly!
Li Xiuran could only sigh helplessly.
At this moment Mo Xuanli stepped forward. “Brother Li, we also came here intending to help. Miss Ji’s concerns aren’t without reason. Why not let me do it?”
Li Xiuran’s brow jumped. “You want to play the bride? Brother Xuanli, I’m already at the Golden Core stage now.”
“Brother Li misunderstands. I have space-type arts. If an accident occurs, I still have a way to escape.” Mo Xuanli said seriously.
“You actually have space-type arts?” Ji Chuling exclaimed in shock.
Mo Xuanli didn’t hide it, and nodded. Ji Chuling frowned faintly, looking troubled.
Li Xiuran rubbed his chin. “Then how about this—you play the bride, I…”
“We two can pose as dowry attendants or family members beside the sedan to protect him. This Brother Mo can be the groom—that would be safest.” Ji Chuling quickly cut in, as if afraid something precious would be taken away.
Wasn’t that just Gu Baiqing × Mo Xuanli?!
Gu Baiqing was horrified. Little girl, why are you dragging me into this mess? I was just here to spectate!
He finally realized—this little girl from the Hidden God clan liked Li Xiuran. She wanted to pair with Li Xiuran as the bridal couple. If she couldn’t, then at least she didn’t want Li Xiuran paired with anyone else.
Li Xiuran actually thought the idea feasible. And Mo Xuanli even glanced at Master—this was exactly what he had first imagined. And Master shouldn’t be displeased, right?
By now Gu Baiqing’s scalp was tingling. Think! Quickly think of a way out—don’t walk into the trope trap! Suddenly inspiration struck, and he said: “I’m afraid not. I can’t rest easy about my little brother, so I should be the one acting as family to guard the sedan. As for you, young lady—why not trouble yourself to be the groom?”
Ji Chuling × Mo Xuanli—hmph! Since the little girl tried to pit me, I can pit her right back.
“How could that do? You don’t look that strong. Don’t take risks.”
Gu Baiqing took a critical hit. Mo Xuanli, who had just been basking in the thought that “Master cares about me more than anyone else who could play the bride,” suddenly stiffened and said unhappily: “My elder brother is very strong—stronger than me.”
Could you say that with a straight face? Others could clearly sense that there was no fluctuation of spiritual power on him.
Ji Chuling only looked innocent.
Li Xiuran coughed. “I think… how about this. Miss Ji can play the bride, and Brother Xuanli and I can guard on both sides. That would surely guarantee Miss Ji’s safety. Then… Brother Mo…”
Gu Baiqing × Ji Chuling.
“No way!”
This time Ji Chuling and Mo Xuanli spoke up together in anxious refusal—but neither could think of a reason.
Ji Chuling could only look at Li Xiuran with grievance, and Mo Xuanli could only look embarrassedly at Gu Baiqing.
“They can guard me too—you play the groom.” Ji Chuling’s intent was all too obvious.
Whether or not Li Xiuran noticed, in the end the plan of Li Xiuran × Ji Chuling was rejected.
Half an hour later, the bride and groom appeared.
Brother-in-law Gu Baiqing and dowry-maid Ji Chuling flanked the bride Mo Xuanli on either side of the sedan.
And striding ahead with an imposing air, the groom was none other than Li Xiuran.
The final pairing: Li Xiuran × Mo Xuanli.
Gu Baiqing was a little dissatisfied. If Mo Xuanli hadn’t blocked every other reason earlier, perhaps it might have been reversed. Why was it that in the original story, Mo Xuanli could so naturally be the groom, yet when Li Xiuran appeared he ended up as the bride? D*mn it—why did it feel like losing?
Before Gu Baiqing could even react to this explosive “male lead × supporting male roleplay” development, suddenly a hand stretched out. The hand was mostly hidden by the elaborate sleeve of the bridal robe, and it rested on Gu Baiqing’s arm.
“B… Brother, I can’t see the road.”
Ji Chuling, who had just been sulking, softened when she heard Mo Xuanli say this, and kindly reminded: “There are stairs ahead. Why don’t you let Brother Mo carry you down? That dress isn’t convenient to walk in.”
Up ahead, Li Xiuran also stopped and said: “It’s perfectly normal for the elder brother-in-law to carry the bride out—it’s fine to carry her straight into the bridal sedan.”
Gu Baiqing: … I, you, this…
The red veil turned slightly, as if the disciple was glancing over.
Why did he suddenly feel this suffocating sense that he could dodge the first day of the month but not the fifteenth?
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