Chapter 231: The Truth is Revealed
"So it was you!"
Chen Chang'an suddenly stood up, almost knocking over the table. He stared wide-eyed at the bride before him, his chest heaving violently as if something was rampaging inside.
He never would have imagined that the black snake from back then, the one that had bit him without a word, nearly taking his life and extinguishing all the flames in his heart, was now sitting on his wedding bed with a charming smile!
What was this? An enemy becoming a spouse?
For a moment, he didn't know whether to cry or to laugh.
"You..." He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse. "You're that black snake from back then?"
A Li tilted her head, her red lips slightly curved. "Who else did you think it was?"
Chen Chang'an: "..."
He suddenly recalled the long sword Ji Hongli often used... "The Heavenly Cloud-Gathering Sword..." he muttered softly, then his pupils suddenly contracted.
No wonder it looked so familiar!
Memories came flooding back like a tide, the scene from that battle suddenly becoming clear—
At that time, he had just traveled through five hundred years, relying on system sign-ins to scrape his way to the Perfection of the Saint Realm, and was full of ambition as he prepared to leave the valley and venture into the world.
But as soon as he reached the valley entrance, he encountered a black snake.
That snake was jet black all over, its scales glinting with a cold light, its crimson vertical pupils cold and merciless. Without a word, it pounced on him!
He hastily engaged in battle, unleashing the Four Phenomena Sword Formation, with sword energy crisscrossing everywhere, but the snake's attacks became even more fierce.
What impressed him the most was—
By the end of the fight, the snake's tail was actually coiled around a long sword!
The blade of the sword glinted with a cold, eerie light, and every strike carried the power to tear through space.
At the time, he only felt the sword was strange, but didn't think much of it.
But thinking back now...
Wasn't that Ji Hongli's Heavenly Cloud-Gathering Sword?!
Chen Chang'an suddenly clutched his forehead, his heart filled with annoyance.
"How could I not have made the connection..."
That black snake was Ji Hongli's true form!
And that battle back then, he hadn't lost to an ordinary snake demon at all, but to—a cultivator at the same realm as himself.
No wonder that snake could fight him so evenly!
No wonder Ji Hongli said they had met before when they first met!
Everything... made sense now!
Chen Chang'an took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling slightly.
"So..." He slowly raised his head, looking in the direction of Ji Hongli's cave dwelling in the distance, a complex look flashing in his eyes.
The black snake that almost took my life back then is now my daughter's master?
And... and became my neighbor?
Even... even became my wife?
He suddenly felt that this world... was truly surreal!
...
"So..." A Li saw that he hadn't spoken for a long time, the smile in her eyes gradually fading. "You don't want to get married anymore?"
Her voice was still calm, but her fingertips couldn't help but tighten their grip on the corner of her skirt.
Chen Chang'an was choked for words: "That's not what I meant..."
"Then what do you mean?" A Li raised her eyes, a sharpness flashing within them. "Are you regretting it because I'm of the Yao race?"
"I am not regretting it!"
"Then why do you have this expression?" A Li sneered. "Like you've seen a ghost."
"I..." Chen Chang'an was at a loss for words.
He couldn't very well say, "Because you almost beat me to death back then, and I have a bit of a psychological shadow now," could he?
The two of them were at a standstill for a moment when a "pa" sound came from the festive candle in the room as it bloomed with another flame-flower.
A Li suddenly stood up, flicking her red sleeve. "In that case, this marriage need not happen."
She turned to leave, her figure resolute, but her footsteps paused almost imperceptibly.
Chen Chang'an's heart tightened, and he subconsciously reached out to grab her wrist. "Wait!"
A Li turned her head, her gaze cold and sharp. "Let go."
"I won't let go!" he gritted his teeth, pulling her back in front of him. "Let me finish!"
Their eyes met. He took a deep breath and suddenly smiled.
"I truly didn't expect it to be you..." he said softly. "But on second thought, perhaps this is fate."
A Li frowned: "What do you mean?"
"The meaning is..." He raised his hand, gently caressing her cheek. "It doesn't matter if you are human or Yao, snake or dragon."
His fingertips were warm, but his voice was even gentler than the candlelight: "What's important is that you are A Li, the woman I like."
A Li's pupils contracted slightly, her cold gaze gradually softening. "So..." she asked softly, "You really don't mind?"
Chen Chang'an shook his head, smiling helplessly and gently: "Mind what? Mind that you almost ate me back then?"
"That's all in the past." He lowered his head, his forehead resting against hers. "Now, you are my wife."
A Li was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "Husband," she called softly, the end of her voice rising slightly with a hint of slyness.
Chen Chang'an's heart warmed. Just as he was about to respond, he saw a red light flash in her eyes—
A Li suddenly raised her hand, her fingertips gently hooking her own collar. The red silk wedding dress slid slowly down her snow-white shoulder, revealing her delicate collarbone.
She tilted her head slightly, her red lips parted, and the tip of her tongue fleetingly licked the corner of her mouth. At some point, her eyes had transformed into bewitching vertical pupils, glinting with a dangerous luster in the candlelight.
"...Wait! What do you mean by this?!" Chen Chang'an suddenly jumped back half a step, his back pressing against the carved bedpost. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.
A Li tilted her head, her face full of innocence: "The bridal chamber, of course~" she said. "The kind neighbors told me about it." Her fingers twirled a lock of black hair, and the tie of her red silk undergarment had unknowingly come loose by half. "They even stuffed an illustrated manual into my hands..."
Chen Chang'an: "..."
What on earth did those old women teach her!
A Li suddenly leaned forward, her hands propping on the bed's edge beside him, trapping him within that small space.
The pearl hairpins in her hair swayed gently, carrying a faint, subtle fragrance. Her red lips were almost touching his earlobe: "What's wrong?" she smiled with deep meaning. "Does Husband not like it?"
Chen Chang'an's ears burned, and his heart pounded like a drum, but he still forced himself to appear calm: "Wh-what makes you think that?"
"Then why," A Li raised an eyebrow and suddenly reached out to lift his chin, "is Husband's heart beating so fast?"
Chen Chang'an's entire body stiffened: "..."
A Li leaned close to his ear, her breath like orchids: "Or could it be that Husband... would rather try the Yao way, instead of the human way?"
Chen Chang'an: "..."
He suddenly felt that tonight might not be so easy to get through.
...
A moment later—
Chen Chang'an, with his clothes in disarray, struggled to sit up from the bed—"One last question."
A Li lazily propped up her chin, her black hair like a waterfall scattered across the pillow: "?"
Chen Chang'an took a deep breath: "A Li... how old are you?"
Ji Hongli blinked, tilted her head to think for a moment, then held up a single, slender, white finger.
A thousand years old?
Chen Chang'an felt a sense of relief.
Good, only a little older than me...
"And, does Husband have any more questions?" The candlelight flickered, reflecting the shimmering red light in her eyes.
Chen Chang'an gazed at the exquisite, beautiful face so close to his and was suddenly filled with desire.
"No more."
The beautiful night was still young, and the spring evening was yet to wane.
The red curtains fell, concealing the room's intimate charm.
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