When major sects held weddings, the celebrations lasted for three days. The first day was the welcoming banquet, a dinner to welcome the faraway guests, taking place the night before the wedding ceremony. However, the highlight of the evening wasn’t to be found at the dinner tables, but at the hunting grounds.

     According to the rules, before the sun set that evening, a respectable elder would release three spirit deer with red silk tied to their antlers into the hunting grounds. Then, the groom’s father would personally draw the names of twenty two unmarried men and women to compete for the deer.

     If a guest managed to hunt down one of the three spirit deer, they would receive ten million gold coins as their prize. At the end of the day, this was just a show for the rich sects like Rufeng Sect and Guyue’ye Sect.

     Shile Hall was high up in the air, with a verdant-tiled roof and raised eaves. Looking down from the hall, the forest of the nearby hunting grounds was visible, shrouded in the brilliant afterglow of the setting sun.

     The guests arrived one after another to greet Nangong Liu and present their gifts. Nangong Liu politely returned the greetings regardless of the guest’s status, inviting them to take their seats. After busying about for an hour, all of the guests were finally seated.

     With a chime of the bell in Shile Hall, the evening banquet officially began.

     “I wonder which guests Sect Leader Nangong will send to the hunting grounds to chase after the deer.”

     “Didn’t they say they would draw lots? I must say, everyone chosen is extremely lucky. Think about it, ten million gold for hunting down a spirit deer, and those who don’t succeed can still catch other spirit beasts or pick immortal fruits to earn a reward. Is there anything better in this world?”

     Amidst the lively talk, the hall doors suddenly opened. Nangong Si and Song Qiutong walked up the stairs together to join the banquet. The two of them were quite the pair, the man handsome and the woman beautiful, intertwined in gold and red, as they came before the sect leader hand in hand.

     Nangong Liu rose to his feet and nodded with a smile, speaking in a clear voice, “Esteemed guests, it is truly the greatest of fortunes that all of you could take time out of your busy schedules to come from all over the world and attend my son’s wedding.”

     The guests below all cupped their hands and flattered, “Sect Leader is really too polite.”

     “The young master and young madam are a perfect match. Truly a rare pair.”

     “Indeed, indeed.”

     The flattering words were almost exactly the same as the ones Mo Ran had heard from his subjects on his wedding day in his previous life, and he was sick of listening to them. His gaze subconsciously swept through the crowd, and very quickly found Ye Wangxi seated beside Elder Shuanglin.

     Ye Wangxi’s eyes were downcast. He was still dressed in that simple attire, and was completely focused on eating the food in his bowl. He never looked up to glance in Nangong Si’s direction.

     His expression, his demeanor, everything was as normal as could be, more tranquil than normal, even. Perhaps it was because life had always been hard for people like him, that they were keenly aware of just how powerless they were to fight fate. Mo Ran looked at him and suddenly remembered how when he was little, he had really loved a pagoda lantern that was being sold at the night market.

     The lantern was exquisitely made, with the outline of every roof tile drawn in detail. However, the old craftsman had set a high price, and so, while the lantern was well-made, it never sold.

     Of course, Mo Ran couldn’t afford it, but he’d run to that stall to see it almost every single night once the night market opened. The solemn light of the lantern streamed out, illuminating the dark black eyes of the child.

     However, one day, a young couple dressed in the finest satin silk came to the stall. The woman had taken a fancy to the pagoda lantern at first glance, and all it took was some cute whining about how she liked it for the man next to her to take his money out to buy it.

     And so, the lantern was taken away. Mo Ran had looked up and watched as the old craftsman took it down from the wooden shelf where it had hung for a long time, and offered it to the woman with both hands. In the end, that flickering light finally illuminated Mo Ran’s longing face for the last time before it vanished to the ends of the night market with the couple.

     Mo Ran had felt miserable at the time, but he had also been obediently calm.

     He was the same as Ye Wangxi now. In truth, the first time his eyes had landed on the pagoda lantern, he’d known that this luxury was never destined to be his. In truth, every night his face was illuminated by the pagoda, he’d already replayed in his mind the thousands of scenarios in which this light would be lost.

     It wasn’t something he could let go of, but it was something he could be at ease with. Because from the very beginning, he’d known very well how things would end, so he’d never dared to pick it up.

     “Come, come, come, time to draw lots, draw, draw—”

     Rufeng Sect’s old servant came before Nangong Liu, face full of smiles as he balanced a bronze twined branch on top of his head, “Sect Leader, the time has come! Please draw your lots!”

     “Nice! Draw one, Sect Leader Nangong!”

     Nangong Liu smiled, “Then, I will respectfully accept. I will draw twenty two lots, and pray the chosen young heroes grant me the honor of accepting the invitation for this night hunt. Should anyone be unwilling to join, please do let me know in advance. Thank you, thank you!”

     He waited for a moment, and after a while, a few timid girls from small sects whose cultivation was low, asked their parents to go up and have Nangong Liu remove their names from the game.

     Xu Shuanglin glanced at Ye Wangxi and asked with a lazy smile, “Xiao Ye-zi, do you want to go play? If you want to go, I’ll move things around for you and open a back door.”

     “I’m not going,” Ye Wangxi said. “Yifu, please tell Sect Leader to remove my name as well.”

     “How can we do that? What if we get lucky and win ten million gold?”

     Ye Wangxi: “...”

     Xu Shuanglin’s character was far more rebellious than his adopted son’s, and after a moment of contemplation, the corners of his lips curled with a trace of mischief, “If you don’t want to, then I’ll go.”

     “Yifu… you’re already in your forties this year…”

     “So what? I still look young. When I come back with all three deer, we’ll have thirty million gold. We’ll incur heaven’s wrath if we ignore the chance for easy money.”

     Xu Shuanglin stubbornly insisted on going his own way, and didn’t notice his adopted son’s dismay at all. He put on his shoes and went to find Nangong Liu with a smile. He whispered a few words into Nangong Liu’s ear, and the others only thought he wanted to have Ye Wangxi’s lot removed, yet who knew he was so in love with money that he wanted to go in and play himself?

     Nangong Liu quickly drew lots of the guests for the deer hunt. Meanwhile, Elder Shuanglin stood next to the sect leader, taking the drawn lots and reading each one out loud in an unhurried manner, “Shen Feng, Lin Sheng, Qu Yanran…”

     Eventually he read, “Oh? This is pretty amazing. The darling of the heavens, Xue Meng.”

     Soon, twenty one people were selected, leaving only one last spot remaining. Elder Shuanglin’s face was incredibly thick, and he raised his hand with a happy grin, “The last one is me. I’m a sack of old bones, please take good care of me.”

     Nangong Liu was aware of the temperament of this elder, so he didn’t stop him, and only gave a helpless smile as he passed each person a signal flare.

     “Those who have caught a deer shall use their signal as proof. Three flares will mean all three deer have been caught and the hunt will end,” Nangong Liu said. “At that time, I will be personally awaiting your return from the Xiaoyue Hunting Grounds. Each winner will receive a reward of ten million gold.”

     The crowd applauded enthusiastically at his words, cheering for their friends.

     Nangong Liu continued with a smile, “In addition, my son requested that I include another prize. The person who wins first prize will be awarded with ten faewolves. They will be allowed to form blood pacts and take them home!”

     Faewolves!

     Such precious spiritual beasts, difficult to find even in black markets, and they were offering ten!

     The hall was surging with excitement now, and there was one who couldn’t resist standing up to holler at their fellow disciple, “Shixiong, we’re counting on you! If you get first place, I’ll brush your boots for a year!”

     The hall burst into laughter.

     A female cultivator refused to lose, and shouted, “Shige! Leave them in the dust! If you win, I’ll dual cultivate with you!”

     “Woah—that’s a good one, that’s good. Hahaha, which sect does that spicy miss cultivator belong to?”

     For a moment, Shile Hall was enveloped in laughter and cheer, and even those who hadn’t been interested in the event before glowed with anticipation in their eyes, raising their wine glasses as they watched the grand spectacle.

     Mo Ran left the banquet amidst the laughter. He said to Chu Wanning, “Shizun, I’ll see Xue Meng off to the hunting grounds first, just sit tight and enjoy the feast. Wait for my return.”

     Chu Wanning replied, “Go. Remind Xue Meng to be careful, he’s too reckless.”

     “Okay.”

     Mo Ran descended the brightly lit hall along with the twenty two participants. Chu Wanning watched as those young men and women disappeared into the boundless night, then downed the red wine in his cup.

     He felt that soon Sisheng Peak would have the funds to pave a road of spiritual stones in the lower cultivation world. He was confident in his disciple’s abilities.

Thirty million gold was at their fingertips.

     It was only a blink of an eye after the cultivators had entered the forest, before Mo Ran even had the chance to turn around after sending Xue Meng off, that the first bright red flare exploded in the sky.

     Nangong Liu clicked his tongue in awe. He sighed and said, “Amazing, I haven’t even finished this cup of tea, and someone’s already hunted down the first deer. I wonder whose disciple it is? Such divine valiance is admirable!”

     Li Wuxin of Bitan Manor was sitting beside Nangong Liu, and upon hearing this, he stroked his beard and said with a smile, “If everyone here is interested, why don’t we make a bet? Of the twenty two talents, who will emerge victorious? The prize is fifty thousand taels of gold. I will gladly provide it to liven things up for Sect Leader Nangong.”

     Everyone agreed. And so, twenty two wooden sticks written with the participants' names were placed on the long table, a fine red silk laid out under each one. Those who wanted to bet came forward one after another to write their counter amount and signature.

     Xue Zhengyong turned to grumble at Chu Wanning, “How come Bitan Manor only offered fifty thousand as the prize? So little, could old man Li be poor?”

     Chu Wanning replied, “Minor gambles add to the cheer, major gambles cause injuries.”

     Xue Zhengyong laughed and asked, “Why don’t we add to the cheer too?”

     Chu Wanning shot him a sharp look, but didn’t say a word.

     Xue Zhengyong felt his hair stand on end under his stare, and he cowered back a little, saying, “Okay, okay, okay. I know you don’t like that stuff, so we’ll—”

     “What’s the point of adding cheer?” Yuheng Elder took out his money pouch and slapped it on the table, declaring expressionlessly, “If we’re doing this, then we’ll do it to injure.”

     “......”

     Xue Zhengyong stared at him for a long while, looking like he’d just seen a ghost, “How much are we betting?”

     “Three hundred thousand.”

     “...That much? What if we lose?”

     “We can’t,” Chu Wanning said. “Didn’t you want to pave a road of spiritual stones? Raise the money and you can build a few more in those villages that are particularly heavy with miasma.”

     “You’re really doing this?” Xue Zhengyong asked. “What if Xue Meng loses?”

     “He won’t lose. He’s your son, you should know this better than I do.”

     “...”

     Seeing that Xue Zhengyong was still worried, Chu Wanning said, “If we win, it’ll go to you. If we lose, it’ll be on me. Go on.”

     The silk was filled with names one after the other, and the smaller sects that originally didn’t want to bet felt their hearts itch the more they watched. In the end, they couldn’t resist spending a small amount to try their luck.

     Nangong Si thought it looked fun as well, and had just stood up to place a bet when Song Qiutong stopped him, “Husband, why are you going as well?”

     “If I win, I’ll buy you some jewelry.”

     Song Qiutong fell silent and lowered her beautiful face shyly, a few dark locks falling across her forehead, making her look particularly bashful and loveable.

     Chu Wanning inadvertently glanced in their direction. Seeing how sweet the newlyweds appeared to be with each other, he felt awkward and quickly turned his head away, which was how he missed the faint trace of unease on Song Qiutong’s face.

      Nangong Si picked up his brush with a smile and walked around the long table. Just as he was ready to make his choice and write down his bet, there was suddenly a sharp scream behind him.

     In a flash, Nangong Si reacted as ferociously fast as a wolf, swiftly side-stepping. A snow-white light flashed past his cheek, driving ruthlessly into the main pillar of the hall made of golden phoebe nanmu wood.

     Dust flew from the impact as the weapon sunk a third of the way into the wood!

     “Who’s there?!”

     “Assassin!!!”

     “Guards! Sound the alarm!”

     The sharp sound of whistles immediately resounded through all seventy two of the magnificent cities, and Shile Hall, which had just been warm with songs and merriment, was thrown into chaos in an instant, swords brandished in all directions.

     Nangong Si’s eyes were dark and gloomy, flashing with a glint of ruthlessness. He briskly wiped a trace of blood off his cheek and strode to the pillar, lifting his head to take a look.

     The weapon was an ordinary arrow, but it actually pierced so easily, deep into the solid nanmu wood.

     Suddenly his face darkened; the arrow carried a small bamboo tube, and Nangong Si retrieved it with a sullen face. He ripped open the wax seal with his vicious teeth, and out from the tube dropped a letter.

     Nangong Si opened the letter and read the first few lines with a stern expression, his fingers gripping onto the letter with incredible force. Suddenly, his expression changed dramatically. He read the message over and over in disbelief, his entire body shaking slightly, and the tips of his fingers even poked through the letter.

     “Si-er, what’s wrong?”

     Nangong Si raised his head, his face ferocious, almost a beastly change. “This is a rumor!” He spoke through gritted teeth as he made to destroy the letter.

     However, Nangong Liu was one step ahead of him, and raised his hand, trapping his son in place with spiritual power. He demanded darkly, “What’s going on? Give me the letter.”

     “Father, you don’t need to read it. It’s just a piece of nonsense!”

     But Nangong Liu didn’t listen. He waved his hand, directing the men on his left and right to retrieve the letter from the hands of his frozen son.

     He took the letter, then looked down and quickly scanned its contents before shooting Song Qiutong a swift look, the color of his face turning extremely ugly in an instant.

     Before anyone could react, he raised the letter to the fire and burnt it to ashes in the blink of an eye. Then, he chuckled dryly, “My son was right. It really is too absurd. I don’t know who came up with such a crude joke, but it’s truly…”

     “Truly, what?” A low, hoarse voice suddenly sounded from the corner of the eaves.

     Everyone’s expressions changed. Ye Wangxi immediately drew his sword and stood in front of Nangong Si.

     Chu Wanning also got to his feet, staring intently at where the voice had come from.

     It must be known that for Rufeng Sect to host such a grand gathering, the disciples responsible for security would all be of extremely high level, elite disciples of the sect. Yet this person had somehow arrived undetected to the rooftop of Shile Hall, and no one had noticed until he spoke. He was evidently not an ordinary person, and could not be underestimated.

     “Sect Leader Nangong, I kindly advised you not to let your son marry a promiscuous woman for no reason, yet not only did you not listen, you claim it was absurd. Truly, you’ve opened my eyes.”

     Before he finished speaking, a black shadow flashed by, and by the time onlookers could see clearly, a man was already standing in the center of the hall with his hands clasped behind his back, right in the middle of the packed crowd.

     “R-run! Run quickly!”

     The ones closest to the man turned pale with fright. Like a tide, they withdrew abruptly, spreading out and forming a circle around him. The shixiong shielded their shidi and shimei, as the sect leaders shielded their disciples, the mature shielding the young.

     The man wore a bronze mask with savage features and had an ink–black cloak draped around him. He said lightly, “Why run? If I wanted to cause harm, blood would have already flowed inside this hall. Stand where you are, all of you.”