Chapter 45.1

◎ Glancing at Each Other from Afar, One on the Wall, One on Horseback ◎

The wedding dress flaunted itself boldly before her eyes, like a brightly blooming peony.

Chi Lu took a moment to process before she understood the spirits’ intentions.

Her gaze stiffened as she glanced sideways, then moved upward, circling around the bright red wedding dress, scrutinizing it from all angles before looking at Jing Shuxing.

Whether it was an illusion or not, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he really wanted to wear this outfit.

“Where did you get this outfit?” Chi Lu finally snapped out of it and questioned the spirits.

The spirits huddled together in a group and replied, “Honored immortal, please do not be angry. We wove this using spiritual power; it is not some evil or crooked thing.”

Even if it was woven with spiritual power, it couldn’t guarantee that it would be completely harmless to Jing Shuxing. Just as Chi Lu was about to suggest urgently modifying another outfit into a wedding dress style, she saw Jing Shuxing rise from her embrace.

He unfastened the wide, warm fox fur cloak, turned around, and draped the bright red wide-sleeved robe over himself.

After Chi Lu’s meticulous decoration, he now wore a warm jade pendant at his waist, a hair crown inlaid with pearls, and when he gathered his robe, the pendants clinked against each other, emitting a clear, crisp sound.

Chi Lu was discussing with the spirits on how to approach the vengeful spirit and rescue people successfully. After they finally devised a plan, she turned back to check on Jing Shuxing’s condition.

She glanced back absentmindedly, only to see the man dressed in red, gently adjusting his jade crown, and smiling softly at her.

Chi Lu’s eyes widened, and her feet seemingly rooted to the ground. Her body was out of control; the moment she saw Jing Shuxing, her gaze fixed firmly on him, unable to look away.

She didn’t understand. It was just a piece of clothing—how could it have the power to seize her gaze so firmly?

Jing Shuxing seemed unaware of Chi Lu’s lapse. His slender fingers loosened the hair crown as he shook out the wide red sleeves of the robe, and used two fingers to smooth out the creases and wrinkles at the cuffs.

He meticulously adjusted the finer details of the wedding attire with smooth and focused movements, entirely unbothered by the spirits clamoring noisily beside him with flattery and praise. To him, it was as if he existed in a silent world.

Only that clear, bright gaze remained fixed on Chi Lu from beginning to end.

“What is the Young Sect Leader looking at?” he asked, with his lips curving slightly upward. Every word and action of his was perfectly measured, exceptionally pleasing to the eye.

Only then did Chi Lu move, and stepped back a bit dazedly. It felt as though her heart had been gently tapped, stirring up slight ripples within her.

She subconsciously wanted to avoid Jing Shuxing’s gaze. She turned her head halfway, but then suddenly realized her action was unnecessary. His attractiveness was undeniable—why should she look away?

So Chi Lu lifted her head again and flashed him a bright smile. “You are beautiful, like a painting. I’ve never seen anyone more stunning than you.”

There had been countless noises around them, but Chi Lu’s words were like a silver needle dropped onto the ground, silencing the chatter of the spirits, plunging the surroundings into an eerie silence.

The spirits stopped talking, and Jing Shuxing also awkwardly averted his gaze. Chi Lu glanced around, sensing that the atmosphere had turned odd, but she couldn’t quite figure out what she had said wrong.

She felt slightly embarrassed.

Jing Shuxing eased Chi Lu’s discomfort at just the right moment. He raised his hand, blowing into his palm as if it were cold, then lifted his hand to block Chi Lu’s line of sight.

He spoke hesitantly, “Does the Young Sect Leader mean… you like me dressed like this?”

Chi Lu replied, “I like it.”

“You’ve never worn such bright colors before. I always thought of you as a pine tree in the wilderness, but I never expected you to look so good in red.”

She stepped forward with a smile, half-jokingly saying, “It’s a pity that the timing isn’t right. Soon, you’ll be wearing this outfit to get married.”

Jing Shuxing nervously avoided Chi Lu’s gaze. Noticing how close the young woman had come, he became completely flustered.

He quickly slipped into the wedding sedan chair beside him, pulled the curtain shut, and instantly fell silent.

Chi Lu stood outside the sedan, unable to hear a single sound.

Following their earlier discussion, the spirits called out loudly, “Lift the sedan!”

They raised the wedding sedan chair.

Chi Lu stood outside all alone, innocently looking up. “Don’t you like me complimenting you?”

Her tone dipped slightly, filled with a sense of grievance. Before she could finish her words, the sedan curtain was suddenly pulled open.

Jing Shuxing held up the curtain, with a mix of panic and bewilderment expression. He stared blankly at Chi Lu, locking eyes with her as the graceful figure by the window captured his gaze.

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly, yet also pass in the blink of an eye. Chi Lu heard Jing Shuxing almost blurt out, “It’s not like that.”

He lowered his head at just the right angle, and his entire flushed, burning face fell into Chi Lu’s eyes, shining amidst the countless stars within her gaze.

“When the Young Sect Leader praises me, I am truly delighted.”

With a swift “swish,” the curtain fell back down, as if he feared that exchanging even one more word would cause some catastrophic disaster.

Most corners of the spiritual vein were pitch black, indistinguishable between day and night. However, the wedding sedan, surrounded by spirits and brimming with spiritual power, flickered within the silent, dim illusion.

Chi Lu rubbed her face and pressed her cheek against her bracelet, using its coolness to calm herself down.

She concealed her figure, climbing up the dried vines and using her spiritual power as a cover, moving like a specter through the spiritual vein. It wasn’t until her vision filled with red walls, vermillion tiles, and high-hanging red lanterns that she darted up to perch atop the high wall, finding a comfortable position.

She scanned her surroundings, and spotted the wedding sedan chair that the spirits had delivered earlier. The sedan’s curtains were drawn low, obscuring the person inside.

Chi Lu had arrived in the courtyard much earlier than the spirits. As she crouched on the wall, waiting for the right moment to make her move, her thoughts drifted aimlessly, chaotically running through every possible scenario she could think of.

The vengeful spirit was indeed peculiar, never specifying the target it wanted to capture from start to finish. Even when it realized it had seized the wrong person, it wouldn’t send them back, choosing instead to keep them all confined together.

If a Daoist couple were to be formed, it would naturally be a union of one man and one woman. In the Linghua Sect, it was common for cultivators to become Daoist couples, and Chi Lu had followed along to observe such ceremonies several times, occasionally hearing the newlyweds reminiscing about the past.

Although she didn’t fully understand, she could still feel the joy within it.

A gust of cold wind swept by, and she grew worried about Jing Shuxing’s condition, unable to resist leaning forward to peer at the wedding sedan.

The curtain was lifted by the wind, revealing his profile just in time for Chi Lu to see.

His features were clean and sharp, with his jaw outlined by an elegant curve. His lips still held a hint of a smile; he was the very image of a graceful gentleman, warm and gentle as jade.

Chi Lu was once again captivated.

Ever since she started spending time with Jing Shuxing, perhaps because he was just too attractive, she found herself staring at him more and more often. What started as occasional glances gradually turned into a greedy desire within her, making her want to keep her eyes on him at all times.

Chi Lu’s mood fluctuated with the up and down movements of the sedan chair.

A fierce wind suddenly whipped up, causing the spirits to cry out in alarm as they hurriedly set the wedding sedan down. Moments later, the sedan was lifted into the air and flipped over onto the ground.

“Sir, it’s that lady’s spiritual power. Perhaps she thinks we’re moving too slowly,” the spirits huddled together, shivering with fear.

Chi Lu watched helplessly as the sedan flipped over, and her heart leapt into her throat. She quickly sent out her spiritual power, flying swiftly to the side of the sedan to check on the situation.

Before she could use her spiritual sense to probe inside, the curtain was suddenly lifted open.

The man in red stepped out, with a gentle smile adorned his lips. “Since that’s the case, let’s uphold the complete ceremony and proceed quickly.”

Seeing that Jing Shuxing was unharmed, Chi Lu first let out a sigh of relief. She then sent her spiritual sense into the sedan, and discovered that Jing Shuxing had concealed something within.

She saw a statue of a woman formed entirely from spiritual power.

Perhaps due to being hastily crafted, the statue’s features were blurred, but the long hair flowing down the back was remarkably clear, with each strand appearing smooth, dense, and thick.

Next to the statue of the woman was a hair ribbon, also formed from spiritual power. Even though both the statue and the ribbon quickly dissipated, Chi Lu still noticed many traces of practice on them.

Unable to suppress her surprise, she soon let out a helpless chuckle.

Chi Lu covered her mouth, as her whole body trembled with laughter.

Was Jing Shuxing a child? Just because she had teased him about not knowing how to braid hair, he had gotten so worked up that he even practiced braiding inside the wedding sedan?

Although she didn’t fully understand the extent of his abilities, was the power capable of easily destroying Fengyue City really being used for something like this?

Chi Lu nearly laughed until she cried, but her laughter ceased when she sensed a sinister presence growing stronger, with a vengeful spirit steadily approaching.

She saw in the distance, beneath the red makeup, a slender lady dressed in a common green wedding gown, holding a fan to cover her face. She stood there quietly, not approaching, yet showing no intention of letting anyone leave.

The spirits also noticed the vengeful spirit and immediately huddled together, trembling with fear.

Jing Shuxing, with his usual good-natured demeanor, bent down and gestured to them, “Since she doesn’t seem to like us riding in the sedan, could you please conjure a horse for me so I can go meet her?”

He picked up a tree branch and meticulously drew on the ground, explaining to the spirits what a “horse” was, detailing its size, shape, and coat color.

Before long, a magnificent and elegant horse, pure white from head to toe, was created from spiritual power. Jing Shuxing grasped the reins, tested its strength a few times, then swiftly mounted it.