Chapter 33: Marriage

“I found it.”

Miao Miao approached Cang Qianxue with a scroll in hand. “Look, isn’t this the pill formula you gave me?”

Cang Qianxue looked down; the formula on the scroll was indeed the damaged version that Su Jiu had handed to him. However, compared to the version Su Jiu had given him, this one was clearly the real pill formula.

“Yes,” he said, his fingers brushing over the damaged portion of the formula. He raised his eyes to look at Miao Miao. “Where did you find this?”

“In the Kingdom of Snow,” Miao Miao replied. “This is something I stumbled upon a thousand years ago when I was a court physician in the imperial medical department. It’s only this half sheet. I think if you want the complete pill formula, you may have to continue going back to the Kingdom of Snow to look for it. But nowadays, the Kingdom of Snow has probably turned into a wasteland. I wonder what happened to all those books.”

The clues seemed to have come to a halt again.

Cang Qianxue frowned slightly: “After the Kingdom of Snow is the Li Dynasty. They may have preserved some important books and texts.”

If he remembered correctly, Mu Yunqing seemed to be from the Li Dynasty royal family.

After leaving Ling Miao Sect, Cang Qianxue immediately sent a message to Mu Yunqing, asking him to inquire through his contacts in the mortal realm whether there were any relics from the Kingdom of Snow in the Li Dynasty’s Library.

Now the only clue left was Su Jiu. Cang Qianxue did not leave early but waited for her in San Shui Town.

However, by the third day, as the entrance to the Half-Moon Secret Realm gradually dimmed and became ethereal, and still no sign of Su Jiu appeared, Cang Qianxue sensed something was amiss.

Logically speaking, once the time was up, regardless of the cultivation level of those inside the secret realm, they would be forcibly ejected. Yet, until the secret realm closed, Cang Qianxue had not seen Su Jiu.

At the last moment, only two figures, one male and one female, were unceremoniously ejected. The woman, drenched in water, wore an anxious and worried expression, frequently looking back at the secret realm, saying to the person beside her, “Su Jiu is still inside!”

Upon hearing the name Su Jiu, Cang Qianxue instantly flashed in front of the two, his expression icy as he released his aura.

“You just said Su Jiu?”

Zhao Ning was taken aback. She saw the man in the purple robe before her, his cultivation unfathomable, wearing a Qian Yuan Sect jade pendant at his waist, and the patterns on his clothing were also the auspicious clouds of the Qian Yuan Sect.

She quickly realized that this might be a senior from Su Jiu’s sect and hurriedly said, “Senior, we entered the Half-Moon Secret Realm with Su Jiu three days ago.”

She briefly recounted the mysterious door behind which Su Jiu had disappeared at the bottom of the river. As soon as she finished speaking, there was a flash before her eyes.

Then, exclamations arose around them.

Zhao Ning turned to look, astonished to find that the man in the purple robe had single-handedly reopened the Half-Moon Secret Realm and rushed inside.

“Who is this powerful being—” Zhao Ning was both surprised and delighted. She was shocked that Su Jiu could know such a highly skilled person, and pleased that with him there, Su Jiu would surely be saved.

Cang Qianxue entered the Half-Moon Secret Realm and in an instant arrived by the riverbank.

The moonlight reflected on the surface of the water, and the river was calm and still.

Everything was silent.

Cang Qianxue stood with his hands behind his back, his black eyes fixed on the surface of the river, his usually smiling face now solemn.

He raised his hand, and a bow and arrow of purple and gold appeared in his palm, with a faint purple light swirling around it. The bowstring was crystal clear, almost transparent.

He held the bow in his left hand and drew the string with his right, his movements seemingly casual, yet the bowstring was drawn into the shape of a full moon, gradually revealing a transparent, formless arrow.

Cang Qianxue’s gaze was fixed on the calm and bright moon on the water’s surface. His eyes narrowed slightly, and as he released his finger, the arrow shot into the water with the speed of breaking air.

The surface of the water rippled, and the moon shattered into countless fragments.

Cang Qianxue pressed his thin lips together and looked up, only to see the full moon above him gradually breaking apart, revealing the thick night.

*

Footsteps sounded nearby.

Su Jiu opened her eyes, only to be greeted by a sea of red.

She was startled and instinctively tried to move, but her body felt as if it were being controlled by something. Not only could she not move, but her head also involuntarily lifted, her mouth slightly parted, producing a delicate voice that Su Jiu would never have made.

“Husband, you’re here.”

Hearing the word “husband,” Su Jiu was immediately taken aback.

Who was she calling husband?

Where was this place?

Where was Zhao Ning?

However, before she could make sense of these questions, the red before her swayed gently, and only then did Su Jiu realize that she was wearing a red veil.

She quickly rolled her eyes and looked down at herself.

As expected, she was dressed entirely in red, clearly the bridal attire worn by a bride during a wedding.

Su Ji was in a fog, confused about everything. Before she could think it over, a gentle, deep voice sounded in her ear.

“Madam.”

This voice?

Su Jiu’s pupils widened.

**[Cang Shishu? Why is it him?]**

As the veil was lifted, Cang Qianxue’s handsome, devil-may-care face immediately came into view.

Su Jiu raised her head to look at him and was instantly in a daze.

Cang Qianxue, who usually wore purple robes, was now clad in a bright red long robe, his long black hair cascading over his shoulders, his lips a vibrant red, smiling gently at her. His eyes seemed to shimmer with a soft light, gentle and affectionate.

Completely different from usual.

Seeing Su Jiu staring at him in a daze, the smile on Cang Qianxue’s lips grew even brighter. He leaned down and gently pinched her chin, his warm breath brushing against her lips, calm and steady.

“Why is Madam staring at me blankly? Are you perhaps entranced by my beauty?”

**[Ah—how shameless of Cang Shishu, using that face to seduce me, help! ]**

Su Jiu’s inner thoughts were in turmoil. However, her body felt as if it were under some control, and she found herself displaying a charming and alluring smile, gently tilting her head to kiss Cang Qianxue’s fingertips while raising her glistening eyes, looking at him with infinite charm, her voice soft and lingering.

“Just thinking about finally marrying my husband makes my heart so happy.”

Immediately after, she raised her hand, grasping Cang Qianxue’s wrist, slowly moving her hand down from his chin to his collarbone, then to her chest…

“Husband, can you hear? My heart is beating so fast…”

**[Ah, what the hell is this—this is my body; I’m a pure and innocent girl, how can someone touch my chest!!]**

Su Jiu was both angry and embarrassed.

Although from Cang Qianxue’s reaction, she could guess that this version of Cang Qianxue might not be the real Cang Shishu, that didn’t stop her from feeling the heat of embarrassment and anger.

In her previous life and through thirty years of this life, she had never even held a man’s hand, so how could she be touched like this?

Damn it!

Just as that hand was about to fall, Cang Qianxue suddenly smiled at Su Jiu, taking the initiative to grasp her hand and pulling her into his embrace, a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

“My heart is also racing, my lady. Feel for yourself.”

Su Jiu’s hand landed on his chest.

Beneath her palm was a strong, solid chest; through the fabric and skin, she could feel the heart beating, thumping fiercely, again and again.

Su Jiu heard her speak again.

“Since my husband’s heart is racing so fast, why don’t we just consummate our marriage? A moment of spring night is worth a thousand gold…”

She wrapped her arms around Cang Qianxue’s neck, her slender legs slowly lifting beneath her dress, teasingly brushing against his waist.

Su Jiu was about to scream.

**[What the hell?!]**

**[Damn it, which lewd ghost has taken over my body? At least wear something down there! You’re really not wearing anything, are you? Damn it, what kind of fever are you having in the middle of the night?!!]**