"But," Meng Ruji said, almost pleading, "in these desolate mountains, we don't have the conditions for flowers and moonlight..."
Miaomiao smiled sweetly and withdrew the small money pouch from her embrace—the one Meng Ruji had just helped recover from the bandits.
Looking at that bag of silver, Meng Ruji felt genuine joy for the first time in days.
Miaomiao held it out to her. "Sister Ruji, consider this my wedding gift to you both."
As she spoke, her hand began flickering in and out of visibility—as though the night wind might carry her away at any moment.
"I know you're capable. I know you have magic. Can you fulfill my wish?"
Meng Ruji's heart softened. She reached for the pouch. "Then so be it."
"Did I agree to this?"
Meng Ruji's head snapped toward Mu Sui. He sat with a cold, unmoved expression—a statue of indifference.
She looked back at the disappointment blooming in Miaomiao's eyes, then smiled, accepting the pouch while comforting her. "Don't worry. I'll handle it."
Miaomiao's hope rekindled. She nodded vigorously.
Meng Ruji rose, her expression turning cold to match his. "Get up. Let's talk."
Mu Sui didn't delay. He stood, brushed off his clothes, and followed her into the deeper forest.
When the campfire's light had faded to a distant glow, Meng Ruji stopped and crossed her arms, studying him with irritation: "Can't you let me have peace for even one day? You just said 'until death do us part'—refusing divorce. So is it truly so difficult to perform a ceremony with me under flowers and moonlight?"
Mu Sui also crossed his arms, distant and absolute. "It's unnecessary. We came together for profit. Marriage is theatre—a fake play. She's dying. What meaning is there in watching false performance?"
"The meaning to her isn't yours to judge." Meng Ruji held up the money pouch, meeting his eyes directly. "The silver is with me. Agree, and we perform this beautifully. Refuse, and I'll use magic to bind you and force you through it."
Silence fell through the forest.
Meng Ruji raised three fingers. "I'll count to three. If you don't agree, I tie you up."
"One." She lowered a finger.
Mu Sui's lips turned downward.
"Two." The second finger fell.
Before she could lower the third, Mu Sui spoke: "Bowing in ceremony won't work."
"Why?"
He looked away, speaking coldly. "No one is worthy of receiving my bow. I have no elders."
"Then flowers and moonlight should be acceptable?"
Mu Sui didn't object.
Meng Ruji pressed her advantage: "Bowing to heaven and earth should work, then. Are heaven and earth unworthy of your bow?"
Mu Sui maintained his stubborn silence. Meng Ruji retreated strategically: "Fine. No formal bowing. Just flowers and moonlight—bowing toward the distance. That works?"
The matter settled.
Tonight. No delays.
Miaomiao said there was no need to calculate auspicious days. When two people were together, that was the best time. She'd missed enough—she wanted all beauty placed in the present moment.
Meng Ruji used Miaomiao's silver to construct a formation in the forest.
When it activated, light revolved around them. The Land of No Return's moon transformed into a mortal realm moon. Their clothes shifted into wedding garments.
Ye Chuan grilled mountain yams and fish as banquet dishes.
Tuzi ran around picking flowers, his arms laden with blooms.
Miaomiao sat in the center position, a gentle smile never leaving her lips. She watched them with curved, peaceful eyes—as though seeing through years and separation, truly witnessing the past.
Meng Ruji wove the flowers into two fresh bracelets. She wore one on her right wrist and handed the other to Mu Sui.
"Your left hand."
Mu Sui took it, studying her curiously. "Do mortal weddings give these?"
"On Hengxu Mountain, I weave flower wreaths for juniors when they marry," Meng Ruji explained. "When I marry myself, naturally I should have one too."
Mu Sui went very still, examining the delicate work. The wildflowers bloomed perfectly within the weaving. He'd never received the grass cape or worn a flower crown, but he would have this small bracelet that no one else possessed.
He held it for a long time without putting it on.
Impatient, Meng Ruji snatched it back, grabbed his left wrist, and secured it without explanation. A branch caught on his finger. She called "Wait" and moved closer, reweaving the strand back into place.
She didn't notice that when she leaned near, Mu Sui held his breath.
The magical headdress on her head swayed with golden phoenix beads. Illusory light and shadow passed through his vision, casting brilliance into his eyes. In that moment, as she bent over the bracelet at his wrist, the light caught her perfectly—making their fake play seem about to turn real.
"Done." Meng Ruji stepped back. The bewildering light dispersed.
Mu Sui expected to breathe in relief. Instead, he discovered his hand had already seized hers.
Their body temperatures merged instantly, leaving both stunned.
Meng Ruji looked at him in surprise. Mu Sui returned the same astonished expression.
Then understanding bloomed. Meng Ruji smiled. "Couldn't hold back again?" She turned passive to active, squeezing his hand. "I understand. This makes the act more real."
They clasped hands, her fingers threading through his one by one, interlocking. The flower petals on their wrists brushed together, creating a sound only they could hear.
"On this day of ceremony, I gave you Hengxu Mountain's flower bracelet," Meng Ruji said softly. "In reciprocity, husband, what will you give me?"
Mu Sui's gaze traveled from their joined hands to her face. Seeing calculation hidden in her smile, he saw through it but didn't expose it. Before she could speak again, he withdrew a piece of broken silver from her money pouch.
"I give you the blooming of Zhuliu City's Marriage Tree."
He activated the formation. A luminous tree appeared beside them.
Trunk and leaves outlined in magical light, flowers bloomed with such overwhelming profusion they seemed to defy nature. When wind passed, petals fell like goose-feather snow, burying them both within.
Meng Ruji looked up, stunned by the abundance.
"Wow..." From across the clearing, Miaomiao's soft exclamation carried wonder.
"Miss Miaomiao! That's Zhuliu City's Marriage Tree!" Tuzi rushed back to sit beside her, excitement radiating from him. "The City Lord conjured it with magic—he fulfilled your wish!"
Miaomiao gazed at the luminous tree, then at the two beneath it. Her eyes seemed to ripple with light.
"I've never seen the Marriage Tree bloom," Miaomiao said softly, "but I've seen the way Young Master Mu looks at Miss Meng."
"Ah?" Tuzi finally looked carefully at how Mu Sui watched Meng Ruji.
Beneath the tree, flowers fell like snow. Meng Ruji extended one hand to catch the magical petals as they passed through her palm one by one. She watched with fascination.
And Mu Sui...
Also watched with fascination.
Not at the petals. At the person before him.
"Hmm..." Tuzi made a knowing sound.
Miaomiao's voice turned nostalgic: "I've already seen scenery more beautiful than the Marriage Tree blooming." She closed her eyes as if seeing an old memory. "In Brother Changyun's eyes..."
Tuzi hesitated, unwilling to interrupt Miaomiao's remembrance. She looked around and finally settled her gaze on Ye Chuan, then moved beside him to whisper: "Do you... feel like they're getting married?"
Ye Chuan looked at her strangely. "They are getting married."
Tuzi: "I mean... they seem like they're actually getting married."
"Aren't they?"
Tuzi gave up and sat silently back beside Miaomiao.
Under flowers and moonlight, Meng Ruji emerged from the shock of beauty and glanced at Mu Sui, smiling: "Husband is quite skilled at setting scenes."
Meeting her gaze, Mu Sui looked as though scalded. He wordlessly turned his eyes away.
It wasn't until Meng Ruji pulled him forward that he followed.
Stepping through grass as the formation's light revolved, real and illusory flowers bloomed on the ground. With the Marriage Tree beside them, moonlight illuminated thousands of miles of the Land of No Return.
"They..." Miaomiao's voice had grown hoarse, but she still smiled, the formation's light brightening her pupils. "They look so happy."
"Yes..." Tuzi's tone had changed. "They look... very happy..." Her expression grew complex.
The words didn't reach Meng Ruji and Mu Sui.
Meng Ruji was studying him seriously: "For bowing, should I learn Hengxu Mountain's etiquette or Zhuliu City's customs? Or..." She moved closer. "Where were you from in the mortal realm before? What etiquette did you use there? Teach me?"
The question seemed to awaken something in him. But immediately after, emotion faded from his eyes.
"Madam." His voice turned cold. "It's just acting. You're being too serious."
Rather than anger, Meng Ruji simply studied his eyes. "Mortal affairs are hard to mention? Husband, you're being too distant."
A light cough came from behind—Miaomiao's voice. Meng Ruji turned and saw her cheeks beginning to flicker.
Meng Ruji's heart sank. She squeezed Mu Sui's hand and pulled him closer. "Then we'll follow Hengxu Mountain's customs. Place your hand on your chest."
She raised her own hand to her chest, tapped lightly three times, then bowed forward slightly—as though making a devout bow to heaven and earth.
Mu Sui didn't delay. He mimicked her actions, bowing to the space ahead.
"The ceremony is complete, husband."
Meng Ruji straightened, smiling at him.
Mu Sui remained expressionless. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Miaomiao—whose body was slowly becoming fainter. This time, it wasn't simple flickering. Her form was turning into specks of dust from her feet upward, floating toward the sky like flying ash.
Ye Chuan and Tuzi, sitting beside her, watched in silence.
Miaomiao still smiled. She waved at Meng Ruji: "Thank you."
Meng Ruji's grip on Mu Sui's hand tightened slightly. She looked back at Miaomiao, also smiling, waving her other hand: "Mission accomplished."
A great wind rose, disturbing the falling flowers, carrying the luminous specks that Miaomiao had become, intertwining with petals like the upward-flowing waters of Nai River, toward the night sky.
As the magical scenes faded completely, the Marriage Tree transformed into points of light—fireflies passing by them both. The formation dispersed. Silver coins scattered across the ground.
Meng Ruji smiled and asked Mu Sui: "Born because of birth, dead because of death—Qianshan Jun is so detached and rational. But have you ever found people or things you'd be willing to die for?"
Mu Sui looked at her in silence for a long moment. "Has Mountain Lord Meng found such?"
"Of course." Meng Ruji moved around, picking up scattered silver coins as if casually. "Living this long, who hasn't done a few desperate things? Qianshan Jun surely has some, right?"
Mu Sui said nothing. He found the piece of broken silver that had created the Marriage Tree, then returned it to her hands.
The unspoken answer hung between them—carried on the wind that had taken Miaomiao away, suspended in the space where flowers had fallen like snow, held in the silence after a ceremony that began as performance and somehow became true.
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