Wedding Wine?

"What are you panicking for?!"

Lu Tao's smile froze on his face. His gaze swept across the disciples, and his expression darkened.

"Seven Stars Sect inner disciples have always been arrogant and full of themselves, knowing neither heaven nor earth."

"You only need to avoid them. Why are you all so terrified?"

"Hall Master, we can't avoid them!"

The disciples all wore miserable expressions as they poured out their grievances.

"Spirit Spring City, Black Tiger City, Azure Dragon City..."

"Nearly a thousand inner disciples from the Seven Stars Sect have set out at once, sweeping through more than a hundred cities under our Sky Wolf Gang."

"In a single day, whether it was Sky Wolf Gang strongholds or local affiliated gangs, all of them suffered devastating casualties!"

Nearly a thousand inner disciples had mobilized, and more than a hundred cities had fallen...

The news struck Lu Tao like thunder falling from the heavens, leaving him charred inside and out.

"Li Qingshan..."

Lu Tao spoke with difficulty, bitterness beyond words.

Only five days had passed since his letter was delivered, yet the Sky Wolf Gang had already met the Seven Stars Sect's fierce retaliation.

With timing this coincidental, Li Qingshan was undoubtedly the black hand behind it all!

Lu Tao could not help recalling the threat Li Qingshan had made over a month ago.

"By the way, you should know how many senior brothers and senior sisters I have, right?" His words still rang in Lu Tao's ears.

Yet only now did Lu Tao understand the true weight behind those words!

The Seven Stars Sect sat at the heart of the continent, its disciples roaming the martial world.

The Sky Wolf Gang had many affiliated gangs, so there had naturally been no shortage of friction with Seven Stars Sect disciples.

Yet because they had always taken the initiative to yield, they had never before suffered the Seven Stars Sect using its power to crush them.

This time, when facing Li Qingshan, he had likewise retreated again and again.

Who would have thought that the Seven Stars Sect would directly bare its ferocious claws?

No, this was merely the tip of the iceberg!

In only a few days, the Seven Stars Sect could only have gathered nearby inner disciples to strike at the Sky Wolf Gang.

Those inner disciples were merely the "tip of the iceberg" of the Seven Stars Sect.

Yet even that "tip of the iceberg" was not something his Sky Wolf Gang could contend with!

At that thought, cold sweat instantly drenched Lu Tao.

Though the Sky Wolf Gang had an Outer World Celestial overseeing it, they could neither truly attack Seven Stars Sect disciples nor dare to do so.

Moreover, this conflict had begun because of him!

Lu Tao's gaze burned as he suddenly fixed his eyes on several disciples and urgently asked,

"Other than destroying a hundred cities, did the Seven Stars Sect leave behind any words?"

The disciples looked at one another, their faces blank and bewildered.

Lu Tao's expression immediately relaxed, and he let out a breath.

"Thank goodness..."

"Thank goodness for what?!"

A furious roar rang through the air, stirring wind and clouds.

A burly old man descended from the sky!

The disciples immediately dropped to one knee and clasped their fists.

"Greetings, Gang Leader!"

The Sky Wolf Gang Leader, Duan Yibai.

An Outer World Celestial, ranked thirty-second on the Heavenly Rankings!

Duan Yibai's eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at Lu Tao, laughing in extreme fury.

"Thank goodness? Thank goodness they did not discover that you were the 'chief culprit'?"

"Even now, you still want to conceal it? Do you truly think I, the Gang Leader, am dead?"

Under the barrage of questions, Lu Tao's knees immediately buckled. He dropped to the ground, his face pale.

"Gang Leader, forgive me! I had already yielded to Li Qingshan again and again. I never imagined he would act like this, completely disregarding the rules of the martial world!"

"The rules of the martial world?" Duan Yibai sneered coldly.

"I think you have stayed in the gang for so long that you have forgotten what the martial world truly is! In the martial world, what rules are there to speak of? There is only the struggle between the strong and the weak!"

"Li Qingshan himself is nothing, but behind him stands the Seven Stars Sect!"

Duan Yibai glanced at the several disciples and said no more.

After taking a deep breath, he turned his gaze toward Lu Tao, who was kneeling on the ground, and said coldly,

"Go find Li Qingshan yourself and resolve this enmity. Otherwise, you will be carved into a thousand pieces!"

With those words, his figure vanished in an instant.

The several disciples froze in place. They exchanged glances, but none dared speak.

Lu Tao rose in a daze. Ignoring them, he shot into the sky and sped away.

Outside Red Leaf City, deep in the wilderness.

Thick fog filled the air, shrouding the mountains and forests.

The mist soaked the branches and leaves, droplets gathering at the leaf tips, trembling on the verge of falling.

Drip!

The droplet fell and shattered.

A suona suddenly sounded from deep within the dense fog.

Its notes were high and bright, festive music circling and echoing through the air.

Shadowy figures emerged from the mist. A large crimson bridal sedan chair was especially eye-catching.

Four sedan bearers were strong and sturdy, their steps steady and powerful.

Seven or eight servants carried wooden chests draped in red cloth behind them.

At the front of the bridal sedan, four musicians held suonas and blew with all their might.

"Put some strength into it, all of you! There'll be no shortage of reward money!"

The matchmaker walked beside the bridal sedan. Looking at the layers of thick fog, fear lingered in her eyes.

One of the sedan bearers shook his head and laughed, comforting her.

"Auntie Wang, don't be afraid. Fog rising in the mountains is common enough. We won't run into anything evil."

"Pah, pah, pah!"

The matchmaker spat forcefully several times, displeased.

"On such a joyous day, what are you saying?! If you can't speak properly, then shut your mouth!"

"All of you, walk faster. Don't delay the auspicious hour!"

As she spoke, the suona music suddenly stopped.

The matchmaker's face darkened in anger as she prepared to question them.

The musicians ahead of her were all backing away repeatedly, fear written across their faces.

Following their gazes, the matchmaker's heart also lurched.

Within the fog, a figure could vaguely be seen sitting cross-legged amid dead branches and fallen leaves.

The matchmaker swallowed, forced herself to be brave, and asked,

"Who goes there? Why are you blocking Miss Song's path?"

The figure slowly rose and walked forward beneath everyone's terrified gazes.

The fog dispersed, revealing his form. He was a young man carrying a saber.

At once, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Sir, you frightened me to death just now."

Patting her chest, the matchmaker stepped forward and whispered,

"In this desolate wilderness, I nearly thought we had encountered... that sort of thing."

"My name is Li Qingshan. I have only recently entered the martial world and lack experience. I was careless and became lost in this wild forest."

Li Qingshan smiled apologetically and clasped his fists.

"I never expected to frighten everyone. Sorry for the trouble!"

"Meeting is fate!" A clear female voice drifted from within the bridal sedan.

"Today is my wedding day. If Young Master Li does not mind, why not accompany us to the Lin Family and drink a cup of wedding wine?"

"Thank you for the invitation, Miss Song. Then I shall accept without further ceremony."

Li Qingshan smiled faintly and clasped his fists toward the bridal sedan.

The suonas sounded once more, festive music echoing through the forest as the wedding procession began moving again.

Li Qingshan walked amid the procession, occasionally chatting with the matchmaker, the sedan bearers, and the servants.

From family matters to affairs inside and outside the city, there was nothing they did not discuss.

Suddenly,

"Young Master Li, can you tell me what the martial world is like?"

The clear female voice drifted out from the bridal sedan again, filled with curiosity.

Li Qingshan turned his gaze toward the bridal sedan and spoke with a smile.

"Of course, though I have only recently entered the martial world myself, so I do not know much."

"I'll tell you a story about an 'escort agency,' then!"

"Thank you, Young Master Li!"

Inside the bridal sedan, Miss Song thanked him happily.

The matchmaker walked nearby and frowned, but in the end, she merely shook her head and did not stop them.

"In a very distant land, there was once a city called 'Longwind City.' Within that city was an escort agency named 'Long Fortune'..."

The wedding procession traveled onward, festive suona music echoing through the mountains and forests.

Separated by the bridal sedan, Li Qingshan told his "martial world story" bit by bit.

Miss Song's voice gradually became livelier. From time to time, she asked curious questions, and Li Qingshan answered each one.

An hour later, the fog gradually dispersed, and the wedding procession was about to leave the wilderness.

The festive suona music abruptly ceased.

The matchmaker, musicians, sedan bearers, servants...

Everyone stopped walking and froze in place, their eyes losing all spark.

Heads turned mechanically toward him, the corners of their mouths stretching upward in exaggerated smiles.

Li Qingshan paid them no heed. He walked to the front of the bridal sedan and lifted the red curtain.

A sixteen-year-old girl wore a crimson bridal gown and held a three-inch wooden figurine in her hands.

The figurine was carved from redwood and should have been the girl's toy.

Yet at this moment, the figurine was emitting a blood-colored glow, as though draped in a garment of blood.

Li Qingshan raised his gaze and looked at the girl's face.

Her eyes were lifeless, her face expressionless, and the corners of her mouth had been pulled high, as though she wore a mask.

His right hand closed around his saber hilt as Li Qingshan let out a faint sigh.

"What a pity. I won't get to drink your wedding wine..."