The Wedding (???)

SLAP!

The sharp crack of palm against cheek echoed like thunder in the quiet room.

Alex's eyes snapped open, stung by the sudden pain burning on his cheek. "Ugh…"

His head jerked to the side slightly, and he blinked twice in confusion.

His vision adjusted, catching the sight of a tall, slender figure standing beside his bed, her eyes wide with fury but her cheeks flushed in a deep shade of red.

"Who are you?" he asked, furrowing his brows. "You… you… Dare to hit me?"

"You..." Li Xue's voice cracked with disbelief, her hand trembling slightly as if she wanted to slap him again. "How dare you pull me and… and… and… speak a whore's name..."

Alex rubbed the red mark on his cheek and exhaled slowly, remembering the feeling of hugging someone in sleep. "Sorry. It's a sleeping habit, Miss…"

But then, as he looked at her, he asked again. "Who are you again?"

"Li Xue…" She replied, her cheeks still flushing in embarrassment and anger. "You just hug whoever is around? You scoundrel…"

"Li Xue?" Alex blinked in surprise.

But then, as something clicked inside his head, his lips widened into a playful smile. "If you are Li Xue, then I didn't do anything inappropriate. What's wrong with that, though? Aren't we going to be husband and wife tomorrow? And tomorrow night, we will do more than hugging."

Her face turned crimson at once, again in embarrassment.

"You…" she sputtered, stepping back. "You... pervert..."

Alex stretched his body, letting out a groan as his joints cracked.

He sat up on the bed, the blanket falling to his waist, exposing the lean lines of his torso, thankfully still clothed in the inner robe.

He looked at her with surprising calm, all the playfulness vanishing from his face.

"Good," he said flatly. "Since you don't like this marriage and don't have a great opinion of me, then let's talk."

Li Xue blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in tone and his expression. "Eh?"

"Let's be honest. This was His Majesty's arrangement. No one likes it…" he gestured lazily between them. "And I have no intention of tying myself down to anyone, least of all someone who can't stand me."

He turned, letting his feet rest on the cold floor. His posture was relaxed, but his gaze was steady, firm.

"So how about this?" he continued. "In front of the world, we act like the perfect couple. You do your thing. I'll do mine for one year. After that, you can use reasons like we are not compatible or whatever to divorce."

Li Xue stared at him. "Eh? Divorce?"

Her heart skipped a beat as she asked. "You don't like this marriage?"

Alex blinked at her question. "Obviously. You don't want to marry someone you don't love, right?"

"But, you can develop feelings after the marriage." Li Xue said in a hurry; her heart rate was at its peak. A moment ago, she was all happy about getting married, despite maintaining that rejection face in front of others. And suddenly, he was talking about divorce?

"Eh?" This time, it was Alex's turn to get surprised. "You like this marriage or something? I heard you didn't."

Li Xue turned her head away at that question. Trying to stay calm, she replied. "It's a marriage fixed by His Majesty."

Alex shrugged. "That's not important. What's important is the feelings of a couple. How about this, on the night of our wedding, that is tomorrow night, we'll have a divorce agreement paper with both of our thumbprints. And we will give a trial run. Like 3 months or 6 months or maybe a year. If neither of us is happy with the marriage, we will separate and go our own ways."

He raised an eyebrow, staring into her fluttering eyes. "Sound fair?"

She didn't answer immediately. 

After what seemed like a long silence, she quietly said with her head hung down. "Ok."

"Perfect." Alex smiled faintly, letting out a yawn. rubbing the back of his neck. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to go back to sleep. Please tell others that I will be skipping dinner. Also, please don't approach me. I don't want to get slapped again. It still stings."

"Hmph," she huffed, turning sharply on her heel. Her long robe swept behind her like a tide as she marched toward the door.

Just before leaving, she paused, hand on the frame. She gripped it tightly, glancing at Alex for a moment. But she didn't say anything and just walked out.

Returning to the dining room, she silently sat down. 

"What happened? Is he awake?" Li Yujin asked.

She forced out a smile. "Yes, he would like to take a rest." She hung her head down in disappointment, holding back her tears.

The morning sun rose, casting the entire Li Clan estate in a warm glow.

Crimson lanterns fluttered, suspended from intricately carved wooden beams and bronze chains.

Silk banners unfurled, embroidered with auspicious dragons and phoenixes.

The courtyard had been swept thrice already.

Rows of servants and maids bustled, laying out red satin carpets across the stone pathways.

Musicians from the imperial city arrived before dawn, tuning their zithers and flutes with practiced hands.

Inside the bride's quarters, Li Xue sat before a bronze mirror, staring at her image a bit too much. No one knows what's going on in her head. She was in that state for a while.

A pair of maids carefully applied rouge to her cheeks, and another combed her long black hair, coiling it into an intricate bun adorned with golden pins shaped like twin dragons.

As a final touch, a phoenix crown was set atop her head.

"Ahh, Lady Xue looked like a celestial maiden descended from heaven in her wedding robes," said a maid.

"Why does she look sad, though?" whispered another maid.

"Don't you know that no one likes this marriage apart from the Patriarch?" Another maid scolded her in a hushed tone.

Down in the outer courtyards, the clan grounds grew crowded as important guests began to arrive.

The ministers of nearby cities, envoys from prestigious clans, and cultivators from neighboring sects passed through the gates under fluttering banners.

And then came the guests from the groom's side, the Qin family of Yongzhou, arguably one of the top three most powerful families in the Empire of Great Liang, after the Imperial family.

At their head was the grandmaster swordsman who fought beside the emperor and married his only sister.

Qin Zhenhai, the Patriarch of the Qin Clan, walked with a dignified step. His long beard was neatly combed, and his eyes gleamed with profound qi. Rumors say that he is on the doorstep to becoming a half-deity.

To his left was Elder Qin Jian, the Second Elder, stoic and scholarly, a grand sorcerer known for sealing the Scarlet River with his ultimate brush technique in order to punish a Duke. He was Qin Zhenhai's first cousin.

On his right stood Elder Qin Mo, the Third Elder, short-tempered but fiercely loyal, clad in tiger-hide armor. Just as the other two, he too was a grandmaster Martial Artist.

Just as Li Yujin and other elders were receiving the Qin family guests, a maid stumbled into the courtyard, face pale as parchment.

"Y-Young Master Qin is missing!"

At first, no one moved. The flute players faltered; the dancers froze. Patriarch Li Yujin slowly turned his head, brows twitching as if he hadn't heard correctly.

"What did you say?" he asked with almost a growl.

"The young master is not in his room! And not in the bath! We… we've searched the entire inner hall! He is gone, my lord!"

A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd like wildfire. The wedding bells had yet to chime, and what he feared the most just happened.

"Fools!" Li Yujin roared, his voice like a whip cracking through glass. "Mobilize the entire household! I want every corner, every rooftop, every shadow searched! If this is a prank, someone will lose a limb!"

Maids scrambled. Guards dashed off in every direction at once. The bridal music was silenced, and the estate plunged into chaotic tension.

Qin Zhenhai's face remained composed, but the faint flicker of qi at his fingertips betrayed his irritation. "Patriarch Li," he said slowly, "your household allowed my son, your future son-in-law, to vanish under your nose?"

"We will find him!" Li Yujin replied in a hurry. "I swear on the ancestors of the Li Clan, whoever is behind this will be punished severely!"

"No need to fret," Qin Zhenhai said calmly, reaching into his sleeve. "If I'm right, that infilial brat of mine would have escaped on seeing an opportunity."

He withdrew a soul crystal, clear as spring water and etched with crimson runes.

A moment later, his fingers glowed with gentle light as he poured his qi into the crystal.

The gem pulsed once… twice… then shimmered with an internal glow. Within its depths, a tiny dot began to flicker, a moving light along a trail.

Qin Zhenhai's eyes narrowed. "That's odd. He is moving at high speed. That foolish son of mine doesn't have the strength to move at such speed even on a flat pathway, much less in a mountainous region."

He pressed deeper into the crystal's energy, reading its faint spiritual link. "He's at Mount Wudang. Heading down the trails."

Li Yujin's jaw clenched. "Mount Wudang? That's almost 800 li west! I'll kill whoever dared to abduct him and bring him back."

Li Yujin then turned to his captain of guards. "Prepare a flying treasure! I want my best warriors on this! Elders, assemble a tracking unit! Bring him back safely or don't come back at all!"

The elders bowed and vanished in streaks of light.

Qin Zhenhai held the crystal, still glowing softly in his palm. "I'll leave it to you, Patriarch Li," he said quietly.

"You have my word," Li Yujin replied.

Back in the bride's chamber, Li Xue stood at the window, her phoenix crown tilted slightly forward from leaning.

She had heard the news.

The groom was missing.

The reaction was rather dramatic from her side. She was momentarily shocked and then fainted unconscious as soon as she heard the news without any words.

Meanwhile, on Mt Wudang, a lone figure could be seen descending the rugged path at high speed.

Alex trudged forward at a steady pace, his boots scuffing against gravel and damp earth.

A translucent holographic screen hovered silently before him; his eyes changed, one turned pitch black, and the other turned radiant white.

The screen displayed an Emergency Mission in bold, golden characters:

EMERGENCY MISSION: ESCAPE THE MARRIAGE

Time Remaining: 00:53:18

Objective: Exit Li Clan territory and descend Mount Wudang.

Reward: +10 Talent Points, Wood Element Affinity

Alex let out a long sigh, dragging a hand through his disheveled hair. "Tch. If it had mentioned only ten talent points, I wouldn't have taken this risk to run away, but the wood element… C'mon, for that, forget about Li Clan, I would offend even the damn Emperor. With the wood element, I would get natural energy manipulation with ease, and with Heaven's Eye, I wouldn't have to go through Void Eye evolution either. I would be able to earn the qualifications to directly awaken the God's Eye. Who would dare to punish me then?"