Chapter 17: Marriage Alliance

                                   

While Xie Changji and Kun Xuzi were talking, Hua Xiangwan was led to the guest room by the disciple named Mingsong.

As soon as she sat down and took a sip of tea, she saw Kunxuzi walk in.

When Hua Xiangwan saw Kunxuzi, she immediately stood up and saluted respectfully. "Senior."

"Girl, don't be polite," Kun Xuzi gestured for her to sit and introduced himself. "I am Kun Xuzi, the second peak master of the Heavenly Sword Sect. I don't know what sect the girl is from, or how she could have been brought here by Wushuang?"

"This junior is Hua Xiangwan, Young Palace Lord of Hehuan Palace," Hua Xiangwan reported her affiliation. "I was in danger with Daojun Xie in the Lingxu Secret Realm, and Daojun Xie didn't know what was happening, so he brought me here. I don't know how Daojun Xie is now?"

"He is injured," Kun Xuzi walked into the house, gestured for Hua Xiangwan to sit with him, and explained. "He has now gone to find his master to heal his injuries. When he recovers from his injuries, I will have him come over and make amends to the young master."

Hearing "his master," Hua Xiangwan's heart jumped, but then she thought that Xie Changji couldn't leave the realm of life and death, so she felt relieved.

Her mind turned as Kun Xuzi looked at her. "I'm afraid this road was very difficult. The young master might as well tell me, how did you get here?"

When Hua Xiangwan heard this, she knew that Kunxuzi was here to inquire about the situation, but she didn't hide it. She roughly told him what happened, though she concealed the part where Hehuan Palace set up an ambush in front of her dream, pushing all the problems onto Mingluan Palace, creating a good sect image of being innocent and implicated.

Kun Xuzi listened and asked about the Spirit Void Realm several times in detail.

After listening to Hua Xiangwan's description, Kun Xuzi nodded. "He brought you back without the spirit in his hand, so I knew something was wrong. It's just that this way implicates the young master, which is truly regrettable."

"It's okay."

Hua Xiangwan shook her head. "This time I made a special trip to express my sincerity to the Heavenly Sword Sect. I wanted to establish good relations with the Heavenly Sword Sect and help if possible, but unfortunately in the end the spirit was taken away by thieves..."

"This is not Young Master Hua's fault. The young master doesn't have to blame herself."

Kun Xuzi comforted Hua Xiangwan, and Hua Xiangwan sighed. "How can I not blame myself? I promised Daojun Xie to help him, and he also represented the Heavenly Sword Sect in agreeing to marry into Hehuan Palace. Now I can't do my job well, and I feel very guilty."

This was said tactfully but very clearly. Kun Xuzi picked up his tea and took a sip. "What the young master means is that my Heavenly Sword Sect has already agreed to marry Hehuan Palace, and it has been decided?"

"At that time, Daojun Xie was ambushed by Qingle Palace and agreed to this condition when he asked Hehuan Palace for help. After all, Hehuan Palace is from the Western Realm. It's not a small price to act for the Heavenly Sword Sect against the Western Realm Sect," Hua Xiangwan laughed, her tone a little pressing. "Elder Kun, presumably the Heavenly Sword Sect will not go back on its word, right?"

"This is natural," Kun Xuzi smiled. "However, before I commit to this, I must ask Young Master Hua—who placed the bewitching seal on Wushuang's body?"

"Naturally, it was me." Hua Xiangwan made a move, then laughed generously. "Sect Leader Su once said personally that as long as there is a disciple willing to return to the West with me, he will agree to the marriage. So at that time, I was confused and wanted to seduce Daojun Xie, but fortunately, Daojun Xie was tenacious and wasn't confused by me. His agreement to marry Hehuan Palace was a transaction he had to make under crisis. Presumably, my bewitching seal will not affect my marriage with the Heavenly Sword Sect, right?"

"Young Master Hua is magnanimous," Kun Xuzi listened to this explanation and pretended to hesitate. "But marriage is a matter of great importance. I still need to report to the sect leader and ask the disciples in the sect..."

"Elder Kun doesn't have to be in a hurry to answer me about this," Hua Xiangwan interrupted Kun Xuzi's words, lowered her head and fiddled with the floating leaves in the teacup, her voice very soft. "You can discuss it slowly. I can afford to wait, but I don't know if the spirit can wait."

Kun Xuzi frowned when he heard this, and Hua Xiangwan reminded him, "Almost all people in the Lingxu Secret Realm were from the Western Realm, and the most likely direction for the spirit to go is the Western Realm. If the Heavenly Sword Sect wants to investigate, it must be done as soon as possible."

Hua Xiangwan saw him wake to the situation, looked up and laughed, adding, "Of course, for people from Yunlai to enter the Western Realm to do things... there must be a reason. I'm afraid the demon lord will disagree otherwise."

What reason could be more legitimate than marrying Hua Xiangwan?

If they didn't marry Hua Xiangwan, they probably wouldn't even need action from the demon lord. With the status of Hehuan Palace in the western border, even if it had declined, it was still not difficult to obstruct the Heavenly Sword Sect's entry.

Speaking of this, Kun Xuzi understood.

Hua Xiangwan was offering both carrot and stick. Marrying Hua Xiangwan now wasn't just Hehuan Palace unilaterally begging them—they also needed Hehuan Palace.

Kun Xuzi didn't speak. He weighed the pros and cons, thought for a long time, and finally spoke. "How can Young Master Hua prove that the spirit wasn't taken by you?"

These words were also expected by Hua Xiangwan. She was generous. "If I took it, shouldn't the Heavenly Sword Sect send someone to marry me and dual cultivate to see my sea of consciousness?"

If the spirit was in Hua Xiangwan's hands, what she would want to do now was run away quickly, instead of going to the Heavenly Sword Sect seeking marriage.

It's just that these words were too uninhibited, and even Kun Xuzi was blocked from speaking.

Seeing that Kun Xuzi was still not satisfied, Hua Xiangwan turned her head to look at the realm of life and death and raised her hand to point. "What's more, if the spirit was really with me, the Heart Sword would have cut me down long ago, right?"

The spirit was sealed by the Heart Sword and the Soul Lock Lamp. If the spirit was on Hua Xiangwan, just at the gate of the realm of life and death, the Heart Sword should have responded.

Kun Xuzi was much relieved by this. He thought left and right, and only said, "Young master, wait a moment. I'll discuss it with the leader."

After a while, Kun Xuzi returned, looked at Hua Xiangwan, and his expression was quite serious. "I don't know if Young Master Hua has a disciple she likes?"

"Yes."

"Xie Wushuang?" Kun Xuzi was a little worried, and Hua Xiangwan smiled.

"No," she said, very sure, "Shen Xiuwen."

These words were unexpected by Kun Xuzi. He was stunned for a moment, then his expression relaxed. "Then I'll ask Xiuwen's opinion. As long as Xiuwen agrees, the Heavenly Sword Sect will prepare for the marriage. Xiuwen and the others are still at Xifeng Mountain now. At the earliest two days, at the latest three days, they will arrive at the Heavenly Sword Sect. We can prepare the wedding on the fourth day. After the marriage, I'll trouble the young master and Xiuwen to set off immediately."

In such a hurry, it was naturally for the sake of the spirit.

If it weren't to avoid seeming perfunctory to the demon lord, the Heavenly Sword Sect might even have saved the wedding ceremony.

But Hua Xiangwan couldn't ask for more. She smiled, nodded and said, "It couldn't be better."

"Then this old man will first..."

"Wait," Hua Xiangwan saw that Kun Xuzi wanted to leave and suddenly remembered something, quickly stopping him. "I have a few questions I want to ask the elder."

"Young master, please ask."

"I don't know if the elder knows—why does Daojun Xie insist that I can sense the spirit, and why did he have to take me to the realm of life and death?"

When these words came out, Kun Xuzi hesitated a little. Hua Xiangwan stared at Kun Xuzi. "Elder Kun?"

"This matter is our fault," Kun Xuzi sighed. "There was a woman who came from the western border and sacrificed a treasure called the 'Soul Lock Lamp' when the boundary between life and death was broken two hundred years ago, sealing the spirit together with my sect's sword. After many years of investigation, we found that this treasure probably belonged to Hehuan Palace."

"So, you think I am the young master of Hehuan Palace, and I came here at this time for the spirit?"

"Yes," Kun Xuzi nodded. "If the Soul Lock Lamp belongs to Hehuan Palace, presumably the young master must have a way to control it. So at the beginning, Wushuang was convinced that the young master could find the spirit. But the spirit disappeared, and Wushuang was emotionally unstable, so he thought that the young master was deceiving him and wanted to take the young master to the realm of life and death for Lord Qingheng to make a decision."

Hearing this explanation, Hua Xiangwan felt a kind of happiness from surviving disaster.

Fortunately, Kunxuzi came in time, and she didn't have to see Xie Changji.

"I'm sorry, I'm not the owner of the Soul Lock Lamp, and I can't sense its existence."

Hua Xiangwan pretended to apologize and asked the last question. "Then my last doubt—Daojun Xie's strength is so formidable. His Nascent Soul body can split the secret realm with a sword, and in an instant travel thousands of miles. Is this also help from the sect?"

"The strength of the Heart Sword cannot be measured by cultivation," Kun Xuzi lied without changing his expression. "Wushuang is the leader of the young generation of my Heart Sword. If he does his best, he can do this."

When Hua Xiangwan heard this, she thought of Xie Changjie from back then, reluctantly accepted it, and nodded. "Thank you, elder, for clarifying my doubts."

"If nothing else," Kun Xuzi said quietly, "this old man still needs to see the leader again, so I'll take my leave."

"Elder Kun, go slowly."

After sending Kunxuzi away, Hua Xiangwan took some medicine. After recovering somewhat, she contacted Lingbei to confirm that Lingbei was fine and would leave with Shen Xiuwen to return to the Heavenly Sword Sect. Only then was she completely relieved.

"Oh, also," Ling Bei finished explaining the itinerary with a little smile, "Just now the Heavenly Sword Sect seemed to have contacted Daojun Shen. I saw that he was blushing and didn't look comfortable when he came back, so I asked one more question. It seems that the young master has already decided on the marriage with the Heavenly Sword Sect?"

"He said he would give me an answer tonight, but it's estimated that eight or nine out of ten will agree."

Hua Xiangwan said lazily, "When you come back, just drink my wedding wine."

"That's great," Ling Bei's tone was a little relaxed. "I am here to congratulate the young master in advance on a joyful marriage."

Hua Xiangwan laughed, chatted with Lingbei for a while, made arrangements, and it wasn't long before she felt tired. She took some medicine and lay back on the bed to rest.

She had suffered considerable damage to her sea of consciousness in the realm of misfortune. She didn't expect to be hurt so badly...

She was thinking in a daze when suddenly the sound of birds flapping their wings came from the side. Hua Xiangwan got up and turned her head to see a crow landing on the windowsill.

As soon as the crow entered the house, the whole room was enchanted.

It stood on the windowsill and tilted its head, its eyes rolling, but what it said were human words. "Why did you suddenly arrive at the Heavenly Sword Sect? I used two teleportation arrays to chase after you."

"Knowing this is the Heavenly Sword Sect, you still dare to talk nonsense here." Hua Xiangwan stood up, walked to the window, looked down at the crow, and whispered, "If someone finds out, I'll sell you immediately."

"Got something?" The crow knew she thought it was talking too much, so it went straight to the point.

Hua Xiangwan nodded. "I got it."

"What about the marriage with the Heavenly Sword Sect?"

"It's set."

"Then I really have to congratulate the young master," the crow's voice was sour. "Everything goes well, and you'll return with a full load. However, what should be done about Xie Wushuang?"

Saying that, the crow jumped into the house and smiled a little. "Throw him away when you're done using him? This isn't your style."

"Kun Xuzi has already discovered the Bewitching Heart Seal," Hua Xiangwan raised her hand to close the window, her voice very light. "When he knows that his emotions were controlled by the Bewitching Heart Seal, he will naturally calm down. There's no trace of this matter. They will only think that I cursed him for marriage, and Xie Wushuang was bewitched by the Bewitching Heart Seal to save me. The Heavenly Sword Sect won't criticize him too harshly."

Everything was arranged, one could say it came as everyone expected, and cause and effect would disappear.

"You put a seal on him for today?" The crow was curious.

Hua Xiangwan swept over lightly. "You came here to say this?"

"Not really," the crow sighed. "It's just that Xie Wushuang's sword was a bit too ruthless, and I'm worried that something will happen to you."

"I'm okay. I'm only worried about one thing now."

Hua Xiangwan rubbed her fingers, her eyes slightly cold. "Xie Wushuang saw my memory in the secret realm. If he told Xie Changji, I'm afraid of provoking Xie Changji."

"So afraid of him?"

"He is a Sword Master who asks his heart, and he's much more sensitive to this thing than ordinary people," Hua Xiangwan reminded. "If we're not careful, we'll all die."

The crow stopped talking, thought for a moment, and only said, "Then you go and erase Xie Wushuang's memory?"

"He still keeps the dream seal, so it's not impossible. But I'm still worried about..."

Halfway through, she stopped again, halting this unlikely conjecture.

"That's it," she felt a little ridiculous. "It won't be him."

Saying that, Hua Xiangwan's tone returned to its previous calmness. "Before leaving Yunlai, if Xie Wushuang doesn't look for me, I'll use the dream seal to find him and erase that memory in the dream."

"Okay. Let your soul recuperate for two days, so as not to be discovered when you run out of mana when casting a spell."

The crow jumped around on the table, suddenly remembered something, and turned its head to look at Hua Xiangwan suspiciously. "By the way, who did you guess Xie Wushuang wouldn't be just now?"

Hua Xiangwan knew the crow had a candidate in mind, so she told it bluntly. "Xie Changji."

The crow stumbled and almost fell off the table.

"Don't scare me," the crow stood firm and hurriedly said. "How can you be sure it's not?"

"If it were Xie Changjie," Hua Xiangwan looked out the window and said very surely, "it would be impossible for him to be confused."

The first prerequisite was to have someone in your heart, and Xie Changji only had the Dao in his heart.

Only by having a heart devoted to the Dao and the Heart Sword could you cultivate to overcome tribulation.

And...

Hua Xiangwan thought of the boy in her memory who looked indifferent but had a bit of gentleness in his eyes.

He didn't have Xie Wushuang's temperament.

He was more gentle than Xie Wushuang—too gentle to the common people, and too heartless to his lover.

Listening to Hua Xiangwan's words, the crow breathed a sigh of relief, nodded and said, "Okay, I'm relieved to see that you're okay. The Heavenly Sword Sect shouldn't be stayed at for long. You should quickly get married, deal with Xie Wushuang's memory. I'll go back to the West first and wait for you there."

"Go ahead."

Hua Xiangwan waved her hand, and the crow flew out.

When the crow flew away, Hua Xiangwan sat at the table. Thinking of the wind and snow blowing in the realm of life and death today, she picked up the cold tea, thought about it, laughed lowly, raised her glass in the direction of the realm of life and death, drank the cold tea in one gulp, got up and went back to bed.

---

After waiting for two days in the Heavenly Sword Sect, Hua Xiangwan met with Sect Leader Su Luoming and the peak masters of each peak, roughly determining the marriage process.

When the Heavenly Sword Sect was covered with red silk, plastered with auspicious words, and the mountains were full of joy, Shen Xiuwen finally arrived with the Hehuan Palace entourage.

At this time, there was only one day left before the marriage. Hua Xiangwan and Shen Xiuwen did not meet. She only met the people of Hehuan Palace, let them rest for a while, and then discussed with them tomorrow's marriage process.

"The process was checked with me on the way by the Heavenly Sword Sect," Lingbei reported to Hua Xiangwan. "The young master can get married with peace of mind. The rest can be done by us."

Hua Xiangwan nodded when she heard this. She looked around and only said, "Then everyone rest for a while. We'll go down the mountain, and Lingbei will stay in the Heavenly Sword Sect to discuss something with me."

According to the rules of the Heavenly Sword Sect, the disciple needed to welcome the bride from her parents' house to the Heavenly Sword Sect. Now that Hehuan Palace was too far apart, the Heavenly Sword Sect and Hua Xiangwan discussed having her stay in the courtyard at the foot of the mountain one day in advance. The next day Shen Xiuwen would welcome his bride up the mountain, sign the marriage certificate in the Heavenly Sword Sect worship hall, and then enter the new house.

After the ceremony was completed, they could set off the next day and rush directly to the western border.

Hehuan Palace would also have a formal wedding banquet, but thinking that the Heavenly Sword Sect originally had many rules and it wasn't easy to simplify it like this, they went along with them.

Everyone had rushed all the way and felt tired. They meditated and rested for a while. When dusk came, they carried the things needed for tomorrow's wedding and went down the mountain with Hua Xiangwan.

Hehuan Palace had a large group, plus the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect, and the procession was mighty.

When going down the mountain, Hua Xiangwan sat in a sedan chair, watching the mountain of peach blossoms being hung with red silk. She couldn't help but look up at the boundary between life and death.

The realm of life and death was at the highest point of the Heavenly Sword Sect, covered with ice and snow, incompatible with the mountains full of flowers here.

The disciples of Hehuan Palace greeted Jiang Yiran and the others loudly, their voices loud, making the Heavenly Sword Sect seem extremely lively for a while.

This kind of excitement fell into the realm of life and death as if it had been magnified several times.

Xie Changji seemed to be disturbed by the sound. His eyes moved, and after a long time, he slowly opened them.

His whole body was covered with ice and snow. In front of him were a dream seal and a bewitching seal floating in the air, rotating slowly around him.

When he opened his eyes, the snowflakes piled up on his eyelashes fell. He looked up blankly, just in time to see that the entire Heavenly Sword Sect was bright red, as if welcoming some grand happy event.

He watched quietly for a while. Footsteps came from behind him, and Kun Xuzi's voice sounded. "I felt that you were awake. How is it now? Your soul should be much more stable, right?"

Xie Changji didn't speak. He looked down the mountain for a long time before asking in a low voice, "What are they doing?"

Kun Xuzi was silent. After a while, he slowly spoke. "Young Master Hua will get married tomorrow."

Xie Changji was stunned for a moment, and Kun Xuzi added, "Shen Xiuwen, requested by Young Master Hua herself. Xiuwen agreed, and the two are in love. The sect also agreed. Today Young Master Hua is waiting down the mountain. Tomorrow Xiuwen will go down the mountain to welcome his bride."

Xie Changji seemed stunned. He looked at the white snow on the ground and never said a word.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Kun Xuzi coughed lightly and pretended to joke. "The effect of the bewitching seal should be removed from you, right? How do you feel now? Tomorrow they'll have wedding wine, and Wushuang will be frost-free..."

"Bring her to the realm of life and death."

Xie Changji finally spoke and interrupted Kun Xuzi, but this was the sentence.

Kun Xuzi paused for a moment, frowned and reminded, "Changji, she is not Wanwan."

"Then bring her to the realm of life and death."

Xie Changji stubbornly spoke. "Let the Heart Sword try it once."

"But..."

"What if?" Xie Changji raised his head, looked at Kun Xuzi, and asked again. "What if?"

Kun Xuzi was speechless. He looked at the young man in front of him, whom he had raised with his own hands.

He had never shown such an expression. He had always restrained his coldness, but at this moment he looked at him—even though he had tried his best to hide it, it was still not difficult to see that he had gone to the extreme.

Kun Xuzi couldn't bear to look. He turned his head and said in a low voice, "If she hadn't been Wanwan, you would have exposed your identity and let others know your current situation. That's too dangerous."

"I..."

"You use the dream seal to enter," Kun Xuzi responded, speaking extremely quickly. "Find her as Xie Wushuang, and transform the Heart Sword into an ordinary sword. If you want to try, try it one last time."

Hearing this, Xie Changji relaxed.

"Uncle Xie."

"Wait until you come back!" Kun Xuzi's tone strengthened. "Don't think about it anymore!"

Saying that, Kun Xuzi raised his hand and pointed, and the dream seal hanging in the air fell onto Xie Changji.

"When she falls asleep, you fall asleep on your own. I..."

Kun Xuzi hesitated for a moment and finally softened his tone. "I'll help you watch. If something goes wrong, I'll protect your soul out."

"Okay."

After getting this promise, Kun Xuzi had nothing more to say. The two stayed in the realm of life and death, waiting quietly for a long time.

When it was completely dark, Xie Changji's hand lit up red with the dream seal. He lowered his head and said softly, "She fell asleep."

Saying that, the sword fell from a high place and lay across his knees.

After a while, the Heart Sword slowly turned into an ordinary long sword.

Kunxuzi reminded him. "Dream."

Xie Changji closed his eyes and activated the spell. After a while, his eyes darkened.

He walked in the dark. After a long time, light fell around him. The light constructed the surrounding scene. His eyes gradually adapted to the light, and he began to hear the noise around him.

He looked around. People came and went, and the streets were full of lanterns.

Then through the sea of people, between the dim lights, he saw Hua Xiangwan standing by the lantern stall in the distance.

She looked up at the lanterns as if choosing. After a long time, she seemed to notice his gaze and turned her head.

Through the crowd, she saw the young man in white clothes with a sword and white silk covering his eyes.

After being stunned for a moment, she slowly smiled.

"Daojun Xie?"

She spoke, and Xie Changji was silent.

Hua Xiangwan thought for a while, turned her head and took a White Rabbit Palace lamp from the side, and walked toward him against the flow of people with the lamp.

"Lying down at night and listening to the flowers in the mountains, it is because the immortal king is in a dream."

Hua Xiangwan smiled and handed the palace lamp to Xie Changji. "Since you are in my dream, I will give you a lantern."

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