Black Wind Old Monster!

This, then, is what they call family.

When you're riding high, they flock to you like stars around the moon; when you fall, they discard you like a worn-out shoe.

Lin Qingxue's gaze swept past the crowd.

It came to rest on the white-clothed youth standing in the center of the courtyard.

Third Layer of Qi Refining, mediocre talent, yet his eyes were remarkably clear.

There was none of the lecherous frivolity of those profligate scions.

So this was the man she was to marry?

He too was a pitiable soul...

Arranged by his family to take in a cripple like her.

"Qingxue..."

Lin Tiannan saw his daughter and was at a loss for words.

Lin Qingxue did not look at her father, nor at the elders making spectacles of themselves.

She looked at Zhang Chen, her voice a little hoarse, yet exceptionally firm: "This marriage, I accept."

Zhang Chen looked at the woman before him, stubborn as a winter plum, and silently praised her: What a cold, stunning beauty—her looks were definitely a perfect ten!

"But, I have one condition."

Lin Qingxue continued.

"Speak," Zhang Chen nodded.

"My mother is gravely ill and bedridden. I want to take her with me to the Zhang Family."

Lin Qingxue stared into Zhang Chen's eyes: "And the Nine-Leaf Lingzhi among the betrothal gifts, I want to keep it for my mother. The rest, the family can do with as they please."

She knew that if she didn't take her mother away, once she left, her mother wouldn't survive that winter in such a cold-blooded family.

"No problem."

Zhang Chen agreed without hesitation: "Once you're at the Zhang Family, you're family. The Zhang Family will take full responsibility for mother-in-law's illness."

A flicker finally stirred in Lin Qingxue's ice-sealed eyes.

She gave Zhang Chen a long, deep look, then bowed slightly: "If that is so, Qingxue... is willing to marry."

Within less than a day, this bizarre marriage had sprouted wings.

Spreading throughout the entire East Mountain Islands.

In every street and alley, every teahouse and tavern, everyone was talking about it.

"Did you hear? That waste young master of the Zhang Family is going to marry that crippled miss of the Lin Family!"

"Haha, a perfect match! One's mud that can't be plastered on a wall, the other's a fallen genius. Who knows what kind of freak they'll spawn together."

"I think the Zhang Family has gone mad! The Number One Cultivation Family, and they're this desperate?"

In a lavishly decorated pavilion, the Zhang Family's archrival, the Young Master of the Wang Family, was holding a wine glass, listening to his subordinate's report, laughing so hard he was doubled over.

"Hilarious! Is that old ghost Zhang Tianzheng about to die? Has his mind gone completely?"

The Wang Family's Young Master downed his wine in one gulp, his eyes full of mockery: "Just wait and see. This wedding is the beginning of the Zhang Family's decline."

"Marrying a walking medicine jar won't just fail to form an alliance and strengthen their power—it'll make them a laughingstock for the entire world!"

For this marriage, the Zhang Family had truly spared no expense.

The first rays of morning sunlight had just pierced the thin mist over the sea surface when the main waterway of the East Mountain Islands erupted with deafening festive music.

This was no ordinary mortal fanfare, but the "Phoenix Seeks Phoenix" performed in unison by twelve Foundation Establishment Realm Melody Cultivators.

As spiritual power surged, the melodious sound spread for a hundred miles, even causing the fish in the sea to leap joyfully from the water.

Zhang Chen, the groom, was dressed in full regalia today.

He wore a magnificent, flowing red wedding robe.

This was no ordinary garment, but the family treasury's prized "Nine Yang Cloud Pattern Dharma Robe," a rare High-grade Defensive Spirit Artifact.

Not only could it automatically protect its master, but it also made him appear tall and straight, as elegant as a jade tree in the wind.

Though he was only at the Third Layer of Qi Refining, he stood at the prow of the most luxurious Dragon Head Flying Boat, his back straight, a faint smile on his lips.

His composed demeanor was such that one could almost forget he was a waste young master and mistake him for a hidden, extraordinary young talent.

Behind him stretched a wedding procession several miles long.

Dozens of small flying boats, adorned with colorful flags, flanked them as escorts. Each boat was piled high with chests tied with red silk—a show of face for the bride, and a display of the Zhang Family's strength to the outside world.

"Tsk tsk, the Zhang Family really went all out. This spectacle is even grander than when Zhang Yunshan took over as Family Head."

"What's the use of a big show? Just putting up a front to look impressive. Heard the news? That bride is a sickly one—this trip is probably just to bring her good luck."

"Shh! Keep your voice down, the Zhang Family's flying boat is still up there."

On the sea surface below, many passing rogue cultivators and residents of nearby islands stopped to watch.

Their gazes were complicated—some envied the Spirit Stone Rain scattering through the sky, others resented the Zhang Family's stubborn, undying foundation like a centipede that refused to die, but most carried a mocking, gossipy amusement.

In their eyes, this was a complete and utter farce.

Zhang Chen stood at the bow of the ship. His Spiritual Sense wasn't strong, but those fragments of words carried by the wind still reached him.

He caught most of it.

If this had been before, he would have been blushing with shame by now, wishing he could crawl into a crack in the ground.

But now, Zhang Chen's heart was utterly calm—he even felt like laughing.

Laugh, then. Laugh all you want.

You sparrows—how could you ever understand the joy of swans?