Chapter 8: Wedding Night Secrets

Before leaving that night, the group placed the nuptial wine on the table.

Yue Zhiheng showed no intention of touching it. His bridal chamber had been reluctantly decorated by his second aunt under the supervision of Chetian Prefecture, and at a glance, it was clear little effort had been put into it. Even the book on weapon crafting and talisman seals that he'd brought back to his room a few days ago still lay where he'd left it.

It was still early—not yet time for bed—so Yue Zhiheng simply picked up the book and continued reading.

Yun Wei saw that he truly had no intention of acknowledging her. Unlike in her previous life, she no longer sat lost in thought, missing her injured and uncertain father, missing Pei Yujing.

She walked to the bronze mirror, sat down, and began removing the intricate hair ornament from her hair.

Once she'd removed it all, her cascading black hair fell down her back.

It had been raining for several days in the royal city, but Fenhe County was sunny and clear. A few fireflies flew in through the window and landed near her dressing table.

Yunwei noticed Yue Zhiheng's gaze. She turned her head and saw that he'd stopped reading and was now looking at her.

"Why are you looking at me?"

Yue Zhiheng stared at her disheveled hair. "Miss Zhan is adapting quickly."

He had expected Zhan Yunwei to be pale and grief-stricken, or—as Fang Huai had said—to hide away and cry. Or perhaps to be filled with wild schemes about how to get rid of him tonight.

His going to read was also giving her the opportunity to act.

The people from the dynasty would be staying here for several more days, and to prevent the remnants of the immortal sects from coming to rescue her, he did indeed have to stay with her for the next few days.

He didn't want Zhan Yunwei to vent her frustrations only to realize that cultivators with nine spiritual veins weren't easy to kill. He feared the next few days would be anything but peaceful.

Unexpectedly, Zhan Yunwei did none of what he'd anticipated. She took off her hair ornaments, neither cried nor made a fuss, but instead stared at the fireflies outside the window.

The scattered lights outside couldn't compare to the brightness of her clear, bright eyes. Zhan Yunwei seemed to have no intention of dying with him.

May in Fenhe County was the most beautiful time of year—the Fen River ran clear, and summer insects chirped softly.

Hearing Yue Zhiheng say she adapted quickly, Yunwei asked, "What else could I do?" She looked at him. "Can you let me and my clansmen in prison leave?"

"No." Yue Zhiheng looked away, his gaze returning to his book. "You know better than I do that the dynasty won't let you leave until all the Immortal Alliance members are captured."

Yunwei chuckled. "So I have to stay in the Yue family mansion for the rest of my life?"

She said it aloud, then realized the ambiguity of her words. Both of them paused slightly.

Yunwei felt a pang of embarrassment and quickly added, "That's not what I meant. I meant that good will always triumph over evil. You can't possibly capture everyone in the Immortal Alliance!"

After a long pause, Yue Zhiheng's voice came: "I didn't mean it that way."

The room remained quiet for a while.

For the first time, Zhan Yunwei wondered if the kitchen was moving a little too slowly in preparing the food.

Perhaps Yue Zhiheng thought so too, because he broke the silence. "Miss Zhan, there's no need to belittle yourself. After I die, you can leave too. After all, there are many who want to kill me—you can pray they try harder."

He paused, then added, "Don't bother trying yourself. I'm different from other spiritual cultivators. I have no patience for spirit masters, nor do I have any sentimental feelings toward them."

His words were a warning to behave herself.

Fortunately, the strange silence was broken. After being bound by a spiritual weapon last time, and after his bluntness now, Yun Wei couldn't help but ask, "Lord Yue, have I offended you before?"

Yue Zhiheng raised his eyes and stared at her for a long while before calmly uttering, "No."

Yun Wei indeed had no memory of Yue Zhiheng. Did he hate all spirit masters?

She knew there were such people—arrogant and conceited, looking down on or even hating the perceived "weakness" of spirit masters—but those who held such views were, after all, a minority.

Thinking of Yue Zhiheng's prejudice against spirit masters, she found it difficult to be amiable.

Whenever she thought that perhaps she'd misunderstood in her past life and that Yue Zhiheng could still be saved, he would always make her understand that she was overthinking it. He was beyond saving and didn't need anyone to save him.

Just then, food was finally brought in from the kitchen.

After washing his hands, Yue Zhiheng asked Yun Wei, "Are you hungry?"

Yun Wei thought there was no need to make things difficult for herself. She hadn't eaten anything on the way from the dynasty that morning. Modern spiritual cultivation no longer advocated fasting; instead, it emphasized going with the flow.

Not eating wouldn't kill her, but it would still be uncomfortable.

She'd never thought of herself as thin-skinned before, but eating with Yue Zhiheng was truly bewildering.

However, not going and going hungry in the middle of the night seemed even more shameful and unbearable. So after some internal struggle, she finally sat down and ate with him.

Several of her actions today surprised Yue Zhiheng. He glanced at Yun Wei and noticed that she'd wiped off her lip rouge at some point, revealing her natural color—a slightly lighter red that strangely made her appear even more vibrant.

He looked away and silently ate his meal.

Yunwei had only one thought: the food at the Yue residence was truly delicious! Even the most ordinary dishes tasted like delicacies from land and sea.

She'd heard before that Yue Zhiheng was unloved at home in his childhood, often going hungry and without fine clothes. Later, he pledged allegiance to the dynasty, and once in power, he insisted on wearing the finest clothes, eating the best food, and living in the finest houses.

The people cursed him behind his back for his extravagance and debauchery.

Yunwei had also cursed him like that in her heart, but now, holding her bowl, she only felt that this food... was exceptionally fragrant.

The Lingshan lineage still retained the traditions of earlier times, emphasizing simple and pure dishes paired with spiritual fruits to nourish and recuperate. In reality, the food was bland and tasteless, making one feel utterly listless.

Yue Zhiheng noticed that from the moment they started eating, a faint pleasure spread across Zhan Yunwei's eyes. She tried hard to hide it, but her bright eyes betrayed her.

He'd heard before that on Lingshan, every breath was a form of cultivation, and immortals lived in seclusion, wishing they could eat only spiritual fruits and drink only spiritual dew.

Now it seemed Zhan Yunwei wasn't like that at all.

He wondered if it was his imagination, but he also felt the food was exceptionally good today.

Unfortunately, before they finished their meal, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside. Yue Zhiheng's expression changed when he saw who it was. Before the person could even finish speaking, he'd already gotten up and left the room.

What happened? Yunwei hesitated for a moment, then followed.

Yue Zhiheng walked very fast. By the time she chased after him, he was already out of sight—only the direction he'd gone remained clear.

Yunwei had lived in the Yue family mansion for several years in her previous life, and she immediately recognized it as the mute girl's courtyard.

The mute girl lived in the most remote courtyard of the mansion and rarely went out. Every time Yunwei saw her, she would smile gently with a hint of timidity.

She had no name; everyone called her the mute girl.

Later, by chance, Yunwei learned from Yue Zhiheng's wet nurse that the mute girl was Yue Zhiheng's older sister.

She was an ordinary person without any awakened talent.

In the dynasty, such a person born into a prominent family was considered unlucky, a sign of the family's decline, and would thus be executed at birth.

Even if they were lucky enough to survive, they would not be treated as young ladies or gentlemen—their status was lower than that of servants.

In her previous life, when Yunwei learned that the mute girl was Yue Zhiheng's sister, she'd even entertained a wicked thought: to kidnap the mute girl and exchange her for the Zhan Shu Mirror.

But that time, an evil apocalypse occurred, and the mute girl protected Yunwei even at the cost of her life. Yunwei simply couldn't bring herself to harm such a pitiful and innocent girl.

Now, what had happened to the mute girl?

Before Yun Wei even reached the courtyard, with the moon hanging high in the sky, she heard a painful, hoarse cry from afar.

The sound was almost distorted, unlike anything a human could make—indistinct and chilling.

By the moonlight, Yun Wei looked closely and saw a monster writhing and tumbling in the courtyard.

The monster's back was arched high, like several huge tumors, and its hair had grown wildly, swaying like cold, eerie water plants in the moonlight.

"It" covered its face in agony, its voice mournful, as if about to undergo a transformation.

Yue Zhiheng helped "it" up and fed it something. "It" finally calmed down, and the transformation on its body disappeared.

At first, Yun Wei thought it was a cultivator possessed by evil energy and facing transformation, but she quickly realized it wasn't.

When a cultivator transforms into an evil spirit, they become grotesque, forget their past lives, and become cruel and tyrannical.

They're definitely not like this—writhing and trembling on the ground in pain.

Moreover, as a spirit master with the most acute sense of evil energy, Yun Wei didn't detect the slightest trace of it. Only when she looked again did she recognize a familiar shadow on the "monster."

It was the mute girl!

She was horrified.

Yue Zhiheng's eyes were cold as he looked up. Yun Wei involuntarily took a step back. For a moment, she almost thought she would be killed to silence her for discovering this "secret."

But Yue Zhiheng simply said calmly, "Have you seen enough? If you have, go back first."

Confirming that Yue Zhiheng wasn't truly angry—only that his expression held a hint of melancholy—Yun Wei knew now wasn't the right time to question him and turned to walk toward the bridal chamber.

But even though she was back, her heart remained in that courtyard. She couldn't help but wonder: what happened to the mute girl?

Later, the Yue family claimed she died of illness. Could that be related to this?

---

The mute girl opened her eyes and found Yue Zhiheng guarding her.

Her eyes were filled with shame and anxiety as she gestured incoherently, pushing Yue Zhiheng with her other hand. She glanced toward his courtyard, urging him not to stay and to leave immediately.

Yue Zhiheng said, "It's alright. It was a marriage ordained by the dynasty. She has someone she loves. My coming out is fulfilling her wish."

The mute girl's eyes showed disapproval, and she still tried to push him.

"Fine, I'll go. Remember to take your medicine. Don't skimp on it. I'll get the medicinal ingredients back eventually."

The mute girl looked at him sorrowfully, then suddenly slapped herself. Tears welled up in her eyes, but remembering that today was Yue Zhiheng's wedding day, she knew it was unlucky to cry, so she forced them back.

"My killing has nothing to do with you. You don't need to blame yourself. I've said it before—I'm not willing to live like that anymore. If I'm going to do something, I'll do it right."

As he said this, his eyes held a cold smile and ruthlessness. The mute girl felt a sense of unfamiliarity and kept shaking her head, as if trying to tell him that something was wrong.

Yue Zhiheng, however, didn't look at her movements. "I'm going back."

Only then did the mute girl stop trying to stop him.

She gazed anxiously in the direction Yue Zhiheng had left, her eyes filled with eager anticipation. She hoped that once he married, he would treat the girl well and live like a normal person.

Why pursue wealth and power, or meteoric rise to fame?

---

Yun Wei had assumed Yue Zhiheng would stay with the mute girl all night, but unexpectedly, he returned as the moon rose halfway up the sky.

She couldn't help but look at Yue Zhiheng, only to find his expression calm and indifferent, as if he'd merely gone for a walk, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

If it weren't for the weeds and mud splattered on him from the mute girl's struggle, she would have almost thought everything she'd just seen was a hallucination.

She thought Yue Zhiheng would warn her about something upon his return, but instead, he spoke with a cold and weary air: "I'm going to take a bath. Are you going to go outside, or wait in the outer room?"

Yun Wei's eyes widened. If there had been a mirror, she felt her expression would have been quite comical.

Is that all? Aren't we going to talk first?

Seeing that she remained silent, her bright, watery eyes staring at him, Yue Zhiheng said, "If you have no objections, I'll go first."

His room was indeed the best in the entire Yue mansion, with a specially partitioned area for bathing.

Yue Zhiheng gave the order, and soon hot water was brought in.

Yun Wei had never realized in her past life that Yue Zhiheng could be so composed when she wasn't showing any murderous intent, as if he lived his life regardless of her presence or absence—as if she didn't exist.

Sitting in the outer room listening to the water, a strange thought even crossed her mind: if she hadn't been so preoccupied with dealing with his attempts to harm her in her past life that she couldn't sleep, Yue Zhiheng might have simply stayed instead of going to Chetian Mansion.

Lost in thought, she saw Yue Zhiheng had already changed his clothes and come out—thankfully, they were neat and tidy.

Seeing Yue Zhiheng looking at her, Yun Wei said, "I'll use a purification talisman."

No matter what, even knowing that Yue Zhiheng was indifferent to women and uninterested in her, she still couldn't bring herself to bathe beside him through the screens.

Yue Zhiheng clearly had no objections, letting her do as she pleased. He paused for a moment. "Then, Miss Zhan, let's talk about how to rest afterward."

She pursed her lips and nodded. Indeed, she knew that to prevent attacks from the Immortal Alliance, Yue Zhiheng wouldn't be sleeping separately from her for the next few days.

Yun Wei's gaze held a hint of pleading, hoping he would say something reasonable since they hadn't fallen out this time.

Yue Zhiheng said, "You can sleep wherever you want, but don't expect me to sleep on the floor."

"Yue Zhiheng!" She gritted her teeth, a hint of embarrassment at being seen through. "You mean you want me to sleep on the floor?"

"I didn't say that."

Yun Wei's spiritual power was now sealed, making her no different from a mortal. Although the summer nights weren't cold, the evil energy of the spiritual realm was omnipresent. Even if she didn't mind sleeping on the ground, she had to consider her own survival.

She still remembered how in her past life, she stubbornly slept on the ground because she hated him. Yue Zhiheng was too lazy to care about her, but after two days, the evil energy entered her body, nearly costing her her life. She almost became the first "Spirit Master" to die from evil energy entering her body.

Yun Wei laughed angrily, deciding to throw caution to the wind: "I'll sleep in the bed too! Nobody will get away with this!"

"..."

Thoughts on Chapter 8:

This chapter reveals the complex layers beneath Yue Zhiheng's cold exterior on his wedding night. The forced marriage between Yue Zhiheng and Zhan Yunwei continues to unfold in unexpected ways, with both parties navigating a delicate balance of wariness and unexpected moments of normalcy.

The most significant revelation is the mute girl's mysterious affliction. She is Yue Zhiheng's older sister, born without spiritual talent in a world where such individuals are considered cursed and typically executed at birth. Her survival came at a cost—she lives hidden away in the most remote part of the estate, and now suffers from a horrifying transformation that appears to be neither evil possession nor typical cultivation deviation. Yue Zhiheng's tender care of her and his determination to obtain the medicinal ingredients she needs reveals a protective, caring side that contradicts his ruthless reputation.