Read Novel Full Chapter 569: How Did They Both Happen to Fall for the Same Person?
Chapter 569: How Did They Both Happen to Fall for the Same Person?
As the days passed one after another, the day of Xiao Mo and Gui Junmeng’s wedding gradually drew near.
All the decorations in Seeking Immortality Temple had long since been prepared.
Gui Junmeng’s bridal gown had also been finalized after nine rounds of alterations.
Strictly speaking, Gui Junmeng herself had not offered a single opinion on those nine alterations. It had all been her senior and junior sisters “striving for perfection” on their own.
Yet they gradually discovered that the more they altered the gown, the more they felt as though something was still missing.
In the end, they simply brought out all ten bridal gowns, including the very first one, and decided to let Gui Junmeng choose properly for herself.
And the gown Gui Junmeng chose in the end just happened to be the very first one.
This left her senior and junior sisters somewhat surprised.
It was not that the first bridal gown was ugly. In truth, each of the ten gowns had its own distinctive charm.
The first bridal gown was beautiful too.
What surprised them was that Junmeng had, for once, shown a preference of her own, rather than saying, as she usually did, “Actually, I think any of them are fine.”
They asked Gui Junmeng why she had chosen the first gown in particular.
Gui Junmeng lowered her head, her cheeks faintly reddening, and said softly, “Xiao Mo said the first one looked good.”
Hearing Gui Junmeng’s answer, her senior and junior sisters could not help softening inside. One after another, they sighed over how truly blessed Xiao Mo was. How had he managed to be loved so deeply by such a wonderful junior sister of theirs?
Another month passed...
Finally, when the last night quietly slipped away and dawn sunlight pierced through the darkness, the day of the wedding arrived.
...
The sky had only just begun to brighten when Senior Sister Lin and the others hurried to Gui Junmeng’s courtyard to dress and adorn her.
Because Xiao Mo’s courtyard and Gui Junmeng’s were far too close, with only a single wall between them, it would be inconvenient for the bridal procession.
So on the night before the wedding, Xiao Mo had moved to another peak of Seeking Immortality Temple.
Xiao Mo had also risen before dawn.
Liu Shui entered Xiao Mo’s room, helped him put on the groom’s wedding robes, and carefully arranged his hair for him.
“Young Master is truly handsome.”
Liu Shui looked at Xiao Mo in the bronze mirror and spoke from the heart.
“Sister Liu Shui, there is no need to flatter me.” Xiao Mo smiled and shook his head.
“I am not flattering Young Master.” Liu Shui reached out and gently straightened Xiao Mo’s collar. “Everything I say is the truth. Among all the men in this world, I am afraid there really is no one better-looking than Young Master.”
Hearing Liu Shui praise him this way again, Xiao Mo only smiled faintly.
In Xiao Mo’s view, this was simply because Sister Liu Shui saw him through far too fond a gaze.
“Young Master...”
When the room fell quiet, Liu Shui gently raised her head and looked at Xiao Mo, her bright eyes blinking.
“I heard that when young masters from great mortal households get married, there are maids who specially teach them about the affairs of the bridal chamber. Recently, I looked through quite a few illustrated manuals on that subject. Would Young Master like me to teach you?”
“...” Xiao Mo’s expression stiffened slightly, and for a moment, he truly did not know how to answer.
“Heh, heh, heh...” When Liu Shui saw that Xiao Mo was just about to open his mouth and refuse, she could not help laughing softly. “Please do not worry, Young Master. I was only joking just now.”
Xiao Mo shook his head and followed along with her words. “Sister Liu Shui, it would be best to make fewer jokes of this sort.”
“All right, all right, I understand. Young Master really is as proper as ever.”
Liu Shui reached out with her small hands and lightly patted Xiao Mo’s shoulders. Then she took a step back and carefully looked him over, checking to see if anything else needed tidying.
“Everything is more or less ready. Young Master may go to the main hall first. I will tidy the room a little and come over shortly.”
“Very well. Thank you for your trouble, Sister Liu Shui.” Xiao Mo bowed, then turned and walked out of the courtyard.
Liu Shui watched Xiao Mo leave step by step, until he gradually disappeared from her sight, and could not help pressing her thin lips together.
Her small hand gripped the doorframe tightly. Her gaze fell in the direction he had gone, and she murmured in a low voice:
“Actually, Young Master... I really was not joking...”
...
“Young Master Xiao, congratulations, congratulations.”
“Sect Master Chen, you have come from far away, so the journey must have been tiring. Please go inside and have some tea while you rest.”
“Wishing Young Master Xiao and Miss Gui great joy on your wedding, and a harmonious marriage for a hundred years!”
“Thank you, City Lord Wang. City Lord, please come in.”
“Wishing Young Master Xiao and Miss Gui many children soon, and may you grow old together!”
“Thank you, Madam Yan. Madam, please take a seat inside.”
At the entrance to the main hall of Seeking Immortality Temple, the guests arrived one after another.
As the bridegroom, Xiao Mo naturally had to welcome them in person.
Among the guests present today were sect masters and elders from the Human Alliance’s various sects, as well as city lords and rogue cultivators from the mountains and marshes at the Golden Core Realm and above.
Even the sects of the Ten Thousand Arts world had sent people to offer their congratulations.
However, in truth, Xiao Mo was waiting for a certain woman, yet her figure still had not appeared.
Just as Xiao Mo was busy receiving guest after guest, a vast surge of demon qi suddenly swept in, startling everyone and making them feel as if they were facing a great enemy.
Including Daoist Yunxi, all the cultivators of the Human Alliance lifted their heads at the same time and looked in the same direction.
Everyone saw a limping old man, supported by a beautiful madam, stepping down through the air one step at a time.
The moment the cultivators of the upper three realms saw the old man’s face clearly, their hearts jolted.
This was Gui Ning!
Why had he come to Seeking Immortality Temple?
“Greetings, Senior Gui. Greetings, Madam Tushan.”
The instant the limping old man and Tushan Xinhua landed, Xiao Mo walked forward and bowed.
“Hahaha... This old man came uninvited. Young Master Xiao would not chase me away, would you?” Gui Ning asked with a laugh, stroking his beard.
“Senior, what are you saying?”
Xiao Mo smiled as he spoke.
“For Senior to attend this junior’s wedding is this junior’s honor. How could this junior possibly chase Senior away?”
“Besides, Junmeng has always wanted to invite Senior to the wedding banquet. She simply suffered from not knowing where Senior lived, and did not even know where to send the invitation. If Junmeng learns that Senior has truly come, I imagine she will be overjoyed.”
“You brat, that mouth of yours really knows how to talk. No wonder my granddaughter was so bewitched by you.” Gui Ning looked at Xiao Mo with satisfaction and said, “All right, let us leave it there for now. This old man is a little thirsty. I will go in and drink a few cups of tea.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Gui Ning was indeed not at all polite. He walked straight into the Daoist temple.
Inside Seeking Immortality Temple, everyone looked toward Gui Ning in unspoken agreement.
“What are you looking at? Never seen a cripple before?”
Gui Ning waved a hand, casually found a table, sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and began drinking with perfect composure.
“Senior Gui, long time no see.” Yunxi walked to Gui Ning’s side and bowed respectfully.
“Ah, girl Yun. It has indeed been a long time.” Gui Ning looked at the Temple Master of Seeking Immortality Temple. “Over these years, you have taken much trouble over my granddaughter.”
“Junmeng has never once made me worry. She began helping Seeking Immortality Temple with its affairs when she was very young. She is exceptionally sensible,” Daoist Yunxi said slowly.
“Yes. Whether it is her or her younger sister, they are both very sensible...” Gui Ning picked up the teacup and took a sip, looking for all the world as though he were drinking wine.
After setting down the teacup, Gui Ning could not help sighing. “But how did two such sensible children both happen to fall for the same person...?”
...
“Xiao Mo, congratulations.”
Outside the gates of Seeking Immortality Temple, Tushan Xinhua looked at Xiao Mo. Her expression carried a trace of complexity, but she still smiled as she offered her congratulations.
“Thank you, Madam.” Xiao Mo bowed, then pointed to a nearby peak. “Junmeng is staying there. Madam may go straight over. I imagine Junmeng must miss you very much as well.”
Tushan Xinhua’s lips parted slightly, as though she wanted to say something, but when those thousands of words reached her mouth, in the end, she only nodded gently. “Thank you.”
After thanking him, Tushan Xinhua turned and flew toward the peak where Gui Junmeng was staying.
Before long, Tushan Xinhua landed halfway up the mountain.
She listened to the bursts of laughter drifting from the courtyard.
She watched the young women of Seeking Immortality Temple flit back and forth through the courtyard like orioles and swallows, busy with their work while playfully teasing one another.
Tushan Xinhua’s heart could not help beating faster.
The guilt in her heart made her afraid to face her own daughter, but at the same time, it made her long beyond measure to see, with her own eyes, what her daughter looked like as a bride.
She concealed her demon qi and walked to the courtyard gate. She wanted to speak, but hesitated, her expression showing a trace of nervous restraint.
“This guest, you have taken the wrong path. This is not Seeking Immortality Temple’s main hall.”
Noticing the woman standing outside the courtyard, Senior Sister Huang and the others stopped laughing and walked over to ask.
Senior Sister Huang and the others did not recognize Tushan Xinhua. After all, over these years, Tushan Xinhua had never appeared on the battlefield.
But all of them felt that the beautiful madam before them looked sixty percent similar to Junmeng.
“May I ask if Miss Gui is here?” Tushan Xinhua clenched her small hands, tension in her voice.
“Oh, so you are here to find Junior Sister. Please wait a moment.” Senior Sister Huang called into the courtyard, “Junmeng, there is a beautiful madam here looking for you.”
“All right...”
Gui Junmeng’s voice came from inside the room.
But when Gui Junmeng, dressed in her red bridal gown, walked into the courtyard and saw her mother at a glance, she could not help freezing in place.
“Junmeng... long time no see...” Tushan Xinhua looked at her child gently and spoke slowly.
“Greetings, Senior...” Gui Junmeng came back to herself and dipped in a bow, then opened the courtyard gate. “Would Senior like to come in for a cup of tea?”
“Then I will be troubling you.”
Every time Tushan Xinhua heard her daughter call her “Senior,” her heart twisted in pain despite herself.
But in her heart, she understood as well. What right did she have to ask Junmeng to change that form of address?
Gui Junmeng led Tushan Xinhua into the room.
Senior Sister Lin and the others all felt that the atmosphere between their junior sister and this beautiful madam seemed rather unusual.
Moreover, the two of them looked sixty percent alike.
A guess could not help surfacing in their hearts.
However, they were in no position to ask too many questions, so they tactfully brought the junior sisters out to the courtyard to continue working, leaving the room to the two of them.
Gui Junmeng stood quietly before her mother.
At this moment, only her hair had yet to be arranged. Her long black hair fell over her shoulders like a waterfall, forming a vivid and striking contrast with the bright red bridal gown on her body.
Beneath that intense expanse of red, the woman’s skin appeared even fairer and more delicate. The sash at her waist lightly gathered in her slender waist, outlining a graceful and moving figure.
“Beautiful... truly beautiful...” Tushan Xinhua looked at her daughter in the red bridal gown. Her eyes could not help trembling faintly, and a thin layer of mist gradually gathered at the corners.
Listening to her mother’s praise, Gui Junmeng could not help lowering her head. Her small hands lightly pinched her red sleeves, and her voice was as fine as a mosquito’s hum. “Thank you...”
“Junmeng, um... I... may I comb your hair for you?” Tushan Xinhua spoke slowly, her tone carrying a few traces of caution, as though she were afraid of being refused.
Before her words had even settled, Tushan Xinhua hurriedly added, “If not, then forget it. I only...”
“O-okay...”
Gui Junmeng softly interrupted Tushan Xinhua.
After speaking, Gui Junmeng walked to the dressing table, gently brushed over her bridal gown, and slowly sat down.
Tushan Xinhua had not expected Junmeng to truly agree. Her heart trembled faintly, and she hurried forward.
She picked up the comb on the dressing table and combed her daughter’s waterfall-like black hair stroke by stroke.
Her movements were extremely gentle, as though she feared hurting her in even the slightest way.
“One comb to the end, husband and wife in love forever.”
“Two combs until white hair meets the brows, honoring each other as guests to a hundred years.”
“Three combs for the joy of precious children, the whole family laughing together in delight.”
“Four combs for piles of gold and silver, glory and riches enjoyed for a thousand generations.”
“Five combs for good things in pairs, every matter smooth and free of sorrow.”
“Six combs with health at your side, a long life of a hundred years and a smiling face.”
“...”
Every time Tushan Xinhua combed through Gui Junmeng’s hair, she softly recited an auspicious hair-combing verse. Her gentle voice echoed quietly through the small room.
By the time the hair-combing verses were finished, Gui Junmeng’s waterfall-like black hair had been neatly arranged. Once the festive red headpiece and hairpins were added, she appeared even brighter and more moving.
“All done.” Tushan Xinhua smiled as she looked at her daughter in the mirror, her tone carrying a trace of reluctant attachment. “In a little while, your husband will come to receive the bride. I will leave first, then, and not disturb you.”
After saying that, she looked deeply at her daughter, set down the comb, and turned to walk toward the door.
However, just as Tushan Xinhua took a step, Gui Junmeng suddenly reached out. Her slender fingers gently caught Tushan Xinhua’s wrist.
“Th-thank you...”
Gui Junmeng raised her head and looked nervously at the woman before her. Her lips moved faintly, as though she were gathering all her courage.
“Mo... Mother...”
Hearing this call from her daughter, Tushan Xinhua froze slightly, her eyes trembling as though something had struck the softest place in her heart.
“Junmeng... what... what did you call me?” Her voice shook, and she could scarcely believe her own ears.
“Mo... Mother...” A faint blush rose on Gui Junmeng’s cheeks, and she called out softly once more. “May I call you...”
Before she could finish asking if she could call her that, Tushan Xinhua abruptly turned around and pulled her daughter tightly into her arms.
Tears slipped silently from the reddened corners of Tushan Xinhua’s eyes, drop by drop, soaking the red bridal gown on Gui Junmeng’s shoulder.
“Yes!”
She answered, her voice carrying a tremor she could not suppress.
“Yes!”
She answered again, louder than before.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”
She answered again and again, tears pouring down uncontrollably, yet the corners of her lips curved upward in joy, like a shallow crescent moon.