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Chapter 137 - Extra: Dao Bonding Ceremony (2)

“It’s the lucky hour!”

The exclamation seemed to have come from the clouds. Exquisite music sounded outside the windows. A long red carpet extended from the gates of the flying palace to the inner palace. Outside the palace, the six dragon clans of different colors simultaneously soared into the sky rife with flashes of auspicious clouds.

The cry of a Feng suddenly streaked across the sky. Birds too many to count flew over from all directions and broke into song and dance midair, the sight so beautiful it was akin to paradise.

“Hundred Birds Worshipping the Fenghuang!”

A multi-colored Fenghuang took to the air, as beautiful as a miracle. All the guests forgot the time and forgot who they were. All they could do was gaze at the sky in a daze and stare at the Fenghuang whom countless birds acknowledged allegiance to.

As Zhuang Qing walked down the red carpet, he looked up at the miraculous sight in the sky and took hold of Fu Li’s hand. “The real Hundred Birds Worshipping the Fenghuang is really very beautiful.” At the birthday banquet of Qing Xiao Sect’s sect leader, the peacock spirit’s performance of this dance had taken the breaths of innumerable cultivators away. However, when the real Hundred Birds Worshipping the Fenghuang appeared, everyone realized that no word of beauty was sufficient to describe this scene.

“Daojuns, please enter the first door.”

Flower yao clothed in red carried baskets and sprinkled flower petals in the air ceaselessly, immersing the entire flying palace in a rain of flowers. The Baize stood at a door. Seeing Fu Li and Zhuang Qing make their way over, his face revealed a gentle smile, and he tapped their foreheads once.

The Baize’s blessing.

“Elder Baize...” Fu Li touched the center of his forehead, smiling brightly at the Baize.

“Go on in,” The Baize withdrew his smile and took a step back, allowing the two newlyweds to pass through the door.

Zhuang Qing and Fu Li directed a junior’s bow at the Baize before making their way in, hand-in-hand.

Fu Li could vaguely hear the sound of the Baize’s laughter. Unable to hold himself back, Fu Li was about to turn around when he heard the Baize’s voice beside his ear.

“Go on in, don’t look back.”

Fu Li pursed his lips, laughing lightly. Zhuang Qing leaned his head over, speaking into his ear, “You’re smiling a bit foolishly.”

“You’re more foolish than me,” Fu Li sneakily took out a mirror and placed it in front of Zhuang Qing. “Look, aren’t you more foolish?”

Zhuang Qing didn’t smile much usually, but the smile on his face hadn’t disappeared even once today, and there were hints of red on his fair cheeks. He did have the air of a rich family’s foolish son.

Looking at the him in the mirror, Zhuang Qing suddenly had a thought. So this was his expression the entire time today? Fixing his gaze on the mirror, he saw the Baize at the side of the door, smiling with an exceedingly kindly gaze as he looked at them.

Two years ago, after that incident, Zhuang Qing had ill-feelings towards Fu Li’s elders. Because when Fu Li met with this mishap, they were too calm, so calm that Zhuang Qing found it unacceptable.

To these auspicious beasts, despite Heaven and Earth’s creatures being more important, they still loved Fu Li very much. Even then, Zhuang Qing still found it difficult to release the tension in his heart. But on this day, when he saw the Baize’s gaze brimming with insuppressible affection, that little bit of ill-feeling in Zhuang Qing’s heart vanished without a trace.

“Daojuns, please enter the second door.”

The Vermilion Bird Zhu Yue and Dangkang Kang Gu were guarding the second door. Zhu Yue helped Fu Li to straighten the band around his hair, and then smiled. “Go on in, my child.”

Standing at the side, the rims of Kang Gu’s eyes had turned red from smiling, yet his mouth was continuously jabbering, “Good, these clothes are worn well.” He had thought that there would never be an opportunity for this set of clothes to be worn.

Upon walking through the second door, the long, long carpet snaked past the corridor, past the jade pathway, and straight into the inner palace. Walking on the soft red carpet was just like strolling on clouds; Zhuang Qing felt like his feet were stepping on something as soft as a feather, so light that treading on it didn’t feel real.

The Fenghuang dancing in the sky also landed on the ground, turning into Feng Ruizhong. He and the Xing Xing guarded the inner door. Upon seeing the little yao spirits escort Zhuang Qing and Fu Li over, he wanted to say a thousand words, but when they bowed, all of it turned into ‘go on in, don’t miss the lucky hour’.

Loving was easy, but staying together wasn’t. Zhuang Qing was entangled with Fu Li in both his past and present lives, and almost parted with him through death in this life. Was there anything else that could separate them?

Zhuang Qing and Fu Li discovered after entering the last inner door that the guests who ought to be sitting in the palace had already headed outside the door, glorious smiles adorning their faces.

Enthusiastic applause sounded at the entrance to the palace the moment they caught sight of Zhuang Qing and Fu Li. Among these faces, Fu Li made out his colleagues from the management bureau, the azure dragon clan’s Qing Yan, the dog yao who introduced him to the city, and the sharp-tongued crested ibis.

“Congratulations.”

“Congratulations.”

“Forever united, never to be apart.”

Fu Li wondered why his palms were sweating when the weather today was pleasantly cool.

“The lucky hour is here, pray to the Heavens.”

An altar was set up in the inner palace’s yard, on which all sorts of worship articles were displayed. An incense burner engraved with mysterious talismans was placed in the middle where it was absolutely empty.

According to the rules of the cultivation world’s Dao Bonding Ceremony, the newlyweds had to make the Dao Bonding vows in the presence of heavenly law before they could obtain its acknowledgement.

“The majestic sky above, the profound earth below – Zhuang Qing and Fu Li voluntarily bind themselves to each other as Dao Companions. From this moment onwards, they accompany each other in life and death and share in both honor and disgrace. May heavenly law please bear witness.” Zhuang Qing lit the incense and then glanced at Fu Li beside him. “Zhuang Qing is willing to share in everything with Fu Li; it will be so for my virtue, dragon qi, and purple qi.”

The guests were in an uproar. As the only dragon of national fate under the Heavens, Zhuang Qing so readily stated that he would share his immensely profound virtue and dragon qi. This was not like those honeyed words said in private; an oath witnessed by heavenly law had to be kept.

“It is Fu Li’s fortune to have met Zhuang Qing,” Holding the incense, Fu Li bowed thrice with nine prostrations. “Never again will I be apart from Zhuang Qing in this life. With him, I will share in both honor and disgrace.”

These oaths were very ordinary, and there was nothing particularly special about them. In the eyes of the guests, Zhuang Qing even seemed to have ‘lost out’. But the next instant, they saw Zhuang Qing smile, and it was an especially handsome, particularly satisfied smile at that.

Because Zhuang Qing didn’t need anything from Fu Li, all he desired was one promise.

To never be apart, and to share in disgrace and honor.

To Fu Li, gold, silver, jade items, magic devices, and medicinal pills were all superficial things. Only an emotion-laden oath could not be easily uttered. Fu Li placed heavy importance on promises. It was fine if he didn’t make a promise, but once he did, he would not betray it.

When the two people inserted the incense sticks in the incense burner, the sun suddenly radiated seven glorious, multi-colored rays of light.

A phenomenon symbolic of good fortune in the sky – this meant that their oaths had already been recorded by heavenly law, and that they had become true Dao Companions.

There was nothing more beautiful in the life of a yao than the moment obsession finally came true.

In the human world, countless people captured photos of the multi-colored sunlight. Even if ecologists had a scientific understanding of this phenomenon, there were still many netizens who wished upon these photos. Whether this was effective wasn’t important, what was important was the sheer beauty of the photos, a type of beauty that made people suspect that it was a miracle.

What cirrostratus clouds? What halo? Beautiful scenes were all miracles borne from nature.

Olden Days: I’m not sure why, but after seeing this photo, I suddenly thought of a movie decades ago. When the female lead fell into dire straits, she still thought that the man she dearly loved would fetch her on auspicious, seven-colored clouds. Perhaps two deities up above got married, leading to this magical scene.

Pretty Bear: The person upstairs is really romantic. Do you still remember that very famous gay couple from two years ago – Chairman Zhuang and his Little Assistant?

25 Cent Apple: How could I have forgotten? I even paid close attention that year to the posts concerning them. Who would have expected for there to be no news now despite the liveliness that year? Although I don’t want to admit it, these two people might have already broken up.

Dou Dou: I heard from a family member working at Chang Long that Chairman Zhuang hasn’t inspected the branch office the past two years, and also didn’t attend any public events. There’s a rumor circulating in the company that the two of them haven’t broken up, but that Little Assistant contracted a serious illness, so Chairman Zhuang has been by Little Assistant’s side all this while.

25 Cent Apple: Hearing this news, I’m in a very complex mood. I really don’t want anything to happen to Little Assistant.

The comment by the netizen ‘Dou Dou’ attracted the attention of many netizens. The formidable netizens started searching for evidence from all directions to verify Dou Dou’s words. In the end, they had no choice but to admit that Little Assistant might have really fallen ill.

Because someone discovered that there was a period of time two years back when Chairman Zhuang and Little Assistant were frequently captured eating or taking a walk together. But Little Assistant seemed to have vanished on a certain day. In the only two photos of Chairman Zhuang, he was expressionless and his gaze was cold, not at all like someone in love.

After that, there were no longer any photos or news of Chairman Zhuang, and Chang Long’s public-facing work was also handled by others. Zhuang Qing never appeared again.

In the short span of two to three days, the post had thousands of replies and kind netizens started to wish Little Assistant well underneath the post.

25 Cent Apple: I really hope Little Assistant will suddenly appear one day and say underneath this post ‘sorry everyone, I’m already cured and happily together with Chairman Zhuang’.

This comment aroused the sadness of countless netizens.

They were not only sad for Chairman Zhuang and Little Assistant, but also sad for themselves and for the emotions that had lapsed with time.

Dou Dou: I watched ambiguous feelings develop between them and watched them get together, but I don’t want to see them break up or be separated by life and death.

Olden Days: Everyone is weak in the face of love. One can prevail over money and fate, but cannot escape being mocked by fate. Little Assistant, if you are well and together with Chairman Zhuang, you must let us know after seeing this post.

One day, two days, five days, one week, half a month...

Time went by, day after day. This post was gradually forgotten, and the netizens still had yet to receive Little Assistant’s reply.

It was once again the night of the new year. Fu Li dragged Zhuang Qing to the rebuilt Reflecting Mist Mountain. As always, clouds and mist wound around Reflecting Mist Mountain, colorful flowers bloomed, and trees flourished, looking like a fantasyland. The only thing different from two thousand years back was that there were now many more things from the human world.

For instance, phones, television sets, game consoles, and so on.

Kang Gu had already learnt how to create a variety of electrical appliances and developed a computer that could connect to the internet without human electricity. With this invention, he was awarded the cultivation world’s ‘Most Innovative’ prize. It was then developed and put to use by the management bureau, extending all the way into the depths of various mountains and forests. Several yao cultivators who didn’t step outside had also learnt how to chat online.

While accompanying the elders to watch the Spring Festival Gala, Fu Li conveniently passed to Chu Yi the matter of giving a beating to the Nian, who had been seized just after coming out. Disinterested in the Spring Festival Gala, Fu Li fished out his phone and logged into the forum that he hadn’t entered for three years.

The forum’s webpage had changed drastically. The forum for emotions that Fu Li once went to was now hidden at who-knows-where. Thus, he could only exercise the power of the search bar, and consequently saw the post worrying that he had fallen seriously ill and would be separated from Zhuang Qing by life and death.

On this night, a new reply appeared right at the bottom of the post.

Mighty and Majestic Rabbit. Thank you everyone for your concern. I am well now and watching the Spring Festival Gala with Mr Zhuang. Happy New Year.