Chapter 120: The Great Covenant Ceremony
After seeing that there was nothing she could do for the time being, Yu Qian told Zhou Jingchen to call if anything came up, then hung up again and returned to her book.
Since she had promised to teach the immortal children as a new teacher, she needed to be thoroughly familiar with the lesson. It would be embarrassing if someone asked a question during class and she got stuck without an answer.
Just as she was deeply engrossed in her reading, Yu Qian’s phone rang—not her real phone, but the one with the red envelope group chat.
She opened it to find Erlang Shen distributing red envelopes in the group.
Curious, she tapped to claim them one by one, only to find most were merit points that were useless to her now and in abundance anyway.
Then a message appeared:
“Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun: ‘Uncles, aunts, sisters, and brothers, on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, I will become a Dao partner with Tiantian. You are all welcome to come witness!’”
Yu Qian’s interest was piqued.
She had read many stories about immortal couples and Dao partners in various mythologies and fantasy novels and had always been curious. Rarely did she get the chance to witness such an event firsthand, so she couldn’t help but smile.
“Qian Shui Yu: ‘Zhenjun, where will the ceremony be?’”
“Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun: ‘His Majesty said it’s been over ten thousand years since there was such a joyous occasion. The grand ceremony will be held at the Peach Blossom Garden. Everyone is welcome to come and gather.’”
Yu Qian’s eyes lit up—Peach Blossom Garden!
Then she deflated.
She was just a mortal; she couldn’t possibly go. The Peach Blossom Garden was in the Thirty-Three Heavens, essentially a different dimension from the human realm, impossible to reach.
Without spiritual energy, humans couldn’t cultivate to become immortals or gods, and similarly, these deities could not manifest in the mortal world.
“Qian Shui Yu: ‘Ah... then Xiu and I probably can’t come...’”
“Tiandao: ‘Want to go?’”
The moment she sent her message, Tiandao appeared. This was the first time Tiandao had spoken in the group.
“Qian Shui Yu: ‘I do!’”
But Tiandao remained silent, sighed, and dismissed the idea of attending in person. She would just watch the livestream when the time came.
“Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun: ‘Qianqian, I remember you once said that in the human realm, there are both Chinese-style and Western-style weddings, right?’”
Erlang Shen didn’t speak in the group but messaged her privately.
“Qian Shui Yu: ‘That’s right. Why do you ask?’”
“Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun: ‘Could you help me bring two sets of Western-style wedding dresses? Plus matching jewelry.’”
“Qian Shui Yu: ‘Zhenjun, you’re holding a Western-style wedding? Are the goddesses okay with that?’”
“Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun: ‘The grand ceremony will be in the evening, with the whole day free. I want to have the Western-style ceremony during the day. That way, both styles of wedding can be fulfilled for Tiantian. She’ll be very happy.’”
Reading his words, Yu Qian felt like she’d just been fed a mouthful of sweet love, sour as a lemon.
He was clearly showing off their affection all day long!
“Qian Shui Yu: ‘Should I have the dresses made directly for you, or just give you the design drafts and let the Weavers make them?’”
“Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun: ‘Make them directly. The Weavers are busy making the ceremonial robes, can’t handle more. Also, I’m worried she might blab and spoil the surprise. I want to give Tiantian a surprise.’”
“Qian Shui Yu: ‘...Alright then.’”
It was hard to explain what she felt right now.
Every word was about Tiantian—Tiantian here, Tiantian there. Having a partner must be something amazing~
Well, it really was.
She, a minor, hadn’t even gotten together with her future boyfriend yet.
Sigh!
...
Glancing at the game, Zhou Jingchen was still seriously drawing and refining equipment, while Wen Xiu was helping her collect heirlooms and magical treasures.
Not wanting to disturb them, Yu Qian called Wen Yu.
After hearing Yu Qian’s request, Wen Yu was utterly confused.
“Wait, why exactly do you want to design a wedding dress?”
After hesitating, she chose to be honest.
“Erlang Shen is holding a grand Dao partner ceremony and needs to wear it.”
“...” Twenty seconds of silence followed, then Wen Yu asked, “What did you say again?”
“Erlang Shen is holding a grand Dao partner ceremony and needs to wear it.”
“What kind of ceremony is that?”
Wen Yu’s tone was calm, almost eerily so.
“It’s like a wedding.”
“Like with Chang’e?”
Suddenly she asked, catching Yu Qian off guard.
“Mom... Chang’e is Houyi’s wife.”
“But I saw in the Precious Lotus Lamp drama that Erlang Shen likes Chang’e.”
“Mom... that’s a TV drama! It’s fictional!” Yu Qian was on the verge of collapse; what was going on?
“Oh...” Wen Yu responded softly, then asked, “So who is Erlang Shen marrying?”
Rubbing her forehead, Yu Qian regretted being so straightforward. Her mother’s tone sounded shocked.
“Xiaotian Quan.”
“What???”
Yu Qian didn’t know what to say. After hearing this, Wen Yu’s hand trembled and nearly broke Yu Wen’s tie.
“Xiaotian Quan is male, right? Erlang Shen is marrying a man?”
“Xiaotian Quan is a girl named Tiantian. Those novels and dramas are all made up! They just wrote her as male.”
After Yu Qian’s explanation, Wen Yu was speechless.
Decades of memories had her thinking Xiaotian Quan was male; suddenly she was female—it was hard to accept.
But she agreed to the gods’ request.
These deities had cared for their daughter for so many years and extended that care to Yu Qian and her husband. Designing and making a wedding dress was just a small matter.
---
With the wedding dress arranged, the remaining task was the jewelry.
Unlike the wedding dress, which could be made through overtime work before the ceremony, rings couldn’t be crafted quickly and had to be purchased ready-made.
At this hour, there were only a few stores of the familiar jewelry companies from her past life in the country, and for Erlang Shen and his wife’s wedding rings, she didn’t want mass-produced ones but something unique.
Unique meant expensive.
She tallied her card balance and found it insufficient.
Pinching her wrist, she decided to wait until Wen Xiu returned in the evening to discuss it.
Her lack of money didn’t matter; Xiu had enough.
What belonged to Xiu belonged to her; what Xiu bought was as if she bought it herself.
With that settled, Yu Qian privately messaged Erlang Shen to get their ring sizes.
Returning to her seat, she quietly resumed reading. When she looked up again, Chen Ying was already cooking in the kitchen, and Wen Xiu had returned home, placing her computer beside Yu Qian’s and playing Guan Ning.
After doing some eye exercises to ease her eyes, she finally spoke.
“Xiu, tomorrow let’s help Tiantian and the others pick out wedding rings.”
Just as Wen Xiu was killed and waiting to respawn, she absentmindedly replied “Mm” and then plunged back into the game.
Yu Qian’s character remained idle in the marketplace, while Zhou Jingchen had finished the equipment and was preparing her out-of-combat skills.
Scanning the equipment stats Zhou Jingchen posted in the team chat, Yu Qian felt sour as a lemon.
Were those stats really something a person could refine?
Why was her luck so terrible while Zhou Jingchen’s so blessed?
But then she remembered the equipment was refined for her, for her use, and the jealousy faded.
[Team] Yun Qian: “Achen, stop for now and come eat.”
[Team] Yun Shen: “Wait a moment, just a bit more.”
[Team] Yun Qian: “Mm, have you raised your comprehension and intimacy?”
[Team] Yun Shen: “Yes. You don’t trust me to handle things?”
[Team] Yun Qian: “I’m just afraid you might forget.”
Zhou Jingchen chuckled softly and accelerated his work, hitting the Soul-Summoner Cat with the newly acquired Five Poisons and Rainwood Ice.
After trading all the items to Yu Qian, he logged off and shut down his computer. His sweetheart had called him to eat; he couldn’t keep her waiting.
Seeing the refined equipment in her bag and the three little spirit beasts in her stable, Yu Qian happily logged off as well.