Chapter 216
Chapter 216
While Liu Ye waited in high spirits, everyone else huddled together and discussed the situation in hushed voices.
“Let’s hear some ideas. What do we do now?” Uncle Bai rapidly wrote.
“What else can we do? Brother Liu wants to attend a wedding, so let him. We only need to go through the motions,” Xu Fei said indifferently.
It was not his wedding. Who cared if Liu Ye ruined it?
“The problem is, there is no wedding,” Uncle Bai wrote.
“Then tell him the truth,” Second Uncle suggested.
Uncle Bai’s expression turned melancholy.
“When he is this excited about doing something, it is best not to interrupt him.”
“Why?”
“When he was six, a Fiend in our village promised to buy him candied hawthorns. He looked forward to them all day, but the Fiend forgot when he returned.”
“What happened after that?”
“After that… he wound up on the mountain behind our village, where lightning is still striking him to this day.”
Everyone fell silent.
That was far too terrifying!
The Driver, meanwhile, was frantically taking notes.
These were precious lessons his predecessors had paid for with their lives!
“Therefore, he must be allowed to attend a wedding. Everyone think of a way to arrange one for him.”
The Driver immediately raised his hand.
“Uncle Bai! I have a friend who runs a restaurant not far from here. We can hold the wedding there!”
“Excellent!”
“Uncle Bai, I have another friend with an apartment building near that restaurant. We can use it as the Bride’s temporary residence!”
“Very good!”
“Uncle Bai, we can even make the diners in the restaurant pretend to be the groom’s family!” the Driver proposed again.
“Mm. An excellent idea. You are quite resourceful!”
Uncle Bai looked the Driver up and down. If this unlucky bastard had not already been ensnared by Liu Ye, Uncle Bai would have wanted to take him back to the village. The man was a rare talent!
Everyone else said nothing.
This man was utterly shameless.
“There is still one problem,” the Driver said.
“What problem?”
“We don’t have a groom.”
Everyone realized he was right. Everything else could be arranged, but where would they find a groom?
“That’s easy. We’ll use him!”
Uncle Bai pointed at Xiaoshuai. Xiaoshuai pointed at himself in shock.
“Me?”
“What? Are you unwilling?” Uncle Bai wrote.
At the same time, yin energy erupted from his body. Everyone nearby nearly dropped dead from fright.
“I-I’m willing!”
Xiaoshuai hurriedly nodded. Inwardly, he thought bitterly that this was damn well karma. A moment ago, he had been relieved it was not his wedding and had not cared if it was ruined. Now look at him-he had walked straight into it.
Still, Xiaoshuai was not overly particular. Having a Fiend for a wife did not sound entirely unacceptable.
Wasn’t John getting rather intimate with a female Fiend himself?
The problem was…
“Uncle Bai, are you certain the wedding can actually be completed with Brother Liu here?”
Uncle Bai fell silent.
So did the Driver.
That was indeed a problem.
Uncle Bai patted Xiaoshuai on the shoulder, then wrote on his whiteboard, “That will depend on your fate.”
Xiaoshuai had nothing to say.
Uncle Bai, please don’t do this. You’re frightening me!
Once they finished their discussion, everyone called Liu Ye back.
“Liu Ye, here is the situation. We have unanimously decided to attend the wedding of Xiaoqian and Xu Fei.”
Liu Ye fell silent.
“Wait a minute. Whose wedding did you say?”
“Xiaoqian and Xu Fei’s.”
Liu Ye said nothing.
“Little sister, come with me for a moment.”
Liu Ye pulled Xiaoqian aside.
“Little sister, your big brother hates to say this, but your taste in men truly leaves a lot to be desired. This brat might look presentable, but he’s a terrible person. Look at him! On his own wedding day, he ran off to attend someone else’s funeral. Is that something a decent man would do?”
Xiaoshuai fell silent.
“Brother, I need to explain. I have a reason!”
Pretending was one thing, but now his reputation was involved. He had to make an effort to defend himself.
“What reason could you possibly have?”
“I came to find the master. We were planning a wedding that combined Chinese and Western traditions, but unfortunately, the master had to relocate John’s family graves. I had to come discuss it with him and ask the master to… officiate both events.”
Liu Ye said nothing.
The master certainly kept himself busy.
“Is that true?”
Liu Ye looked toward the old monk and the other experts.
Everyone else nodded frantically. Only the old monk recited the Buddha’s name.
“Amitabha. Patron Liu, a monk must not tell falsehoods…”
Everyone tensed at once.
“That is indeed what happened.”
No one said a word.
Under their astonished gazes, the old monk declared without a blush or a falter, “Amitabha. The Buddha permits lies told with benevolent intent.”
The crowd remained silent.
Master Pudu, your moral boundaries are remarkably flexible.
Liu Ye accepted the explanation, but then asked, “Fine. Even if that’s true, why did you go to the master instead of me? I’m a master too. Do you look down on me?”
Xiaoshuai fell silent.
This was bad. He had forgotten about that.
“I was just about to tell you. I only told the master a moment ago too,” Xiaoshuai said, doing his utmost to explain.
Liu Ye gave him a look of disdain, then pulled Xiaoqian farther aside.
“Little sister, do you see? This brat can’t handle the slightest problem. Still, if you like him, it isn’t your big brother’s place to object. But there’s something I have to tell you. His body is… not in very good condition. He had surgery down there once. If the two of you truly can’t have children in the future, it will probably be his fault. Don’t let your mother-in-law pin the blame on you, understand?”
Everyone fell silent.
They looked at Xiaoshuai with eyes full of pity.
Xiaoshuai was on the verge of madness. How did Brother Liu still remember that incident after all this time?
“No, wait, that never happened! Brother Liu misunderstood!”
“All right, you don’t have to say anything. We understand.”
The Driver patted him on the shoulder. Liu Ye might be unreliable in many ways, but one thing could be said for him: he was an honest man who always spoke his mind. Therefore…
Off to the side, Xiaoshuai felt close to a complete mental collapse. He prided himself on being exceptionally strong, yet the wedding had not even begun and he already wanted to die.
“In any case, if anything happens in the future, you must remember to come to your big brother. If he dares bully you, I’ll beat him senseless!”
Xiaoqian nodded. Beneath her bridal veil, her expression softened slightly. Liu Ye might be terrifying, but in him she had genuinely felt the warmth of family…
“Oh, your fingernail fell off. Here, let your big brother fix it for you.”
Xiaoqian fell silent.
Yes. She was certain now. That feeling just now had been an illusion.
The entire group headed straight down the mountain. With Uncle Bai and the others leading the way, the journey was exceptionally safe, and they soon reached the foot of the mountain.
Once there, Second Uncle and the others discovered that the roads around them had changed completely. Murky darkness blanketed their surroundings. They could not see their hands in front of their faces, much less the road.
Uncle Bai took out a lantern made from a human head and lit the flame in its mouth. A beam of light instantly shot from the head’s eyes.
A rugged trail appeared before them.