The morning of my wedding, the entire Ye Clan estate came alive before the sun even broke the horizon. I woke to the sound of drums in the distance—slow and steady, echoing like a heartbeat. Outside, servants moved like a tide, hanging lanterns, tying silk banners, laying out red carpets and flower petals.
Clear Sky City hadn't seen a Ye Clan wedding like this in decades.
The entire region was invited—distant clan allies, merchant partners, disciples from affiliated sects, even a few rogue cultivators who had earned our respect. If they had face, they got a seat.
The main ceremonial square had been transformed into a stage of crimson and gold. Dozens of red banners fluttered in the wind, each with a handwritten blessing from a clan elder. Rows of jade tables were arranged for the banquet, covered in delicacies from across the kingdom—crystal spirit fish from Cloudlake Bay, fire lotus wine, roast qilin beef, and steamed golden grain dumplings said to calm the meridians.
At the center stood the ceremonial altar, with a hundred-step crimson carpet leading to it. Flanking it were twin spirit trees flown in from our ancestral mountain, blooming in perfect season—a symbol of harmony and growth.
My wedding robe was deep blood-red, embroidered with black thread in the shapes of soaring dragons and lotus petals. Tailored by the clan's finest artisans, it was subtle but laced with unmistakable presence. My hair was tied into a crown knot, held in place by a silver pin shaped like a crane in flight.
Even I had to admit—I looked like someone important today.
The unicorns arrived just before noon.
Six of them, white as snow, their horns polished and wrapped in gold ribbon, pulled a phoenix carriage made of spiritwood and rose-gold motifs. It shimmered even without sunlight.
When Yun Fei stepped out, the entire square went quiet. Even the Foundation Establishment cultivators suppressed their auras.
Her red wedding gown shimmered like molten fire, every fold lined with phoenix feathers stitched in silver thread. A golden crown sat on her head, set with a single fire opal. Her face was veiled, but her posture—straight, composed, deliberate—drew every eye.
We met halfway up the ceremonial carpet. She didn't speak. Neither did I. No need.
We took the red silk cord, wrapped it once around our wrists, and walked together up the steps. Every step was slow and measured. Every movement was seen, recorded, whispered about.
The first bow—to Heaven and Earth.
The second—to our ancestors. A brazier was lit, incense burned, and our names were recorded on a scroll and sealed with clan jade.
The third—to each other.
The Jiaobeijiu wine was poured by my mother and the clan matriarch. We crossed arms and drank, our eyes meeting for the first time since the veil had lowered.
She didn't smile. I did. But neither of us looked away.
The ceremony ended. The celebration began.
The banquet was everything I expected and more.
Drums pounded. Dancers spun with flaming ribbons, their movements choreographed to old battle hymns. A cultivator from the Iron Saber Sect shattered ten wine jars with a single blade to offer his blessing. Someone from the Mo Clan released illusion lanterns that formed our names in the sky.
My grandfather stood first to speak. Ye Xuefeng didn't like giving speeches, but he made an exception today.
He raised his cup. "Changsheng, your father once told me you were born with stars in your eyes and too many ideas in your head. I didn't believe him until you turned fifteen and tried to bribe your way into the clan library with pickled spirit pears."
Laughter echoed across the tables.
"But you've grown. Today, you carry our name forward with strength and responsibility. I'm proud of you. Yun Fei—" he turned, gentler now, "—our home is yours as well."
He raised his cup higher. "This is a good day."
"TO THE GROOM!" someone yelled.
"To the bride!" another shouted.
The toasting began.
I didn't get to sit down for hours. Everyone wanted a drink with the groom. I drank with uncles, elders, merchant lords, outer clan cousins, and even a disguised rogue cultivator who turned out to be a distant Baishi Clan envoy. Their wine tasted like licorice and charcoal, but I smiled and drank it anyway.
At one point, Changrui found me by the roasted qilin station.
He gave me a look. "Don't pass out before the bridal chamber, little brother."
"I'm not that drunk," I said.
"Yet." He handed me a cup anyway. "Drink slower. And don't trip on her veil tonight, or you'll never live it down."
Next came Changjian, arms crossed. "You remembered to meditate this morning?"
"I woke up to drums, Jian-ge."
"That's not a no."
He handed me a scroll, wrapped in simple cloth.
"It's a formation. Passive defense, discreet. Activates if someone crosses ten steps of your inner courtyard uninvited."
I nodded. "Thank you."
"You'll want it," he said. "A married cultivator's enemies don't come from the front door."
Changhu showed up last, late and loud, as usual.
He dropped a lacquered box on the banquet table and declared, "For the bride, the rarest gift of all—a pearl hairpiece blessed by the Moonlight Sect's third concubine! Personally acquired at the cost of six spirit pills and a month of pretending to be polite."
Yun Fei raised an eyebrow.
Changrui smacked him on the back of the head. "You absolute clown."
"Clowns bring joy!" Changhu declared, rubbing his scalp. "I'm joy incarnate."
Uncle Tianxu arrived with a serious look and handed Yun Fei a pristine ledger. "This is blank," he said simply. "Fill it with your own ambitions. It's your household now."
She accepted it with a slight nod.
My mother, Mu Lianhua, gifted her a brocade box filled with refined spiritual perfumes from the Cloudweaver Mo Clan—exclusive, expensive, and custom-made.
Grandfather gave her a meditation pendant carved from Blackheart Sandalwood. Rare, powerful, and quiet.
Yun Fei accepted everything with a composed smile. But when she unwrapped Changjian's formation scroll and heard him explain its function, she paused. Then she tucked it into her sleeve herself.
I noticed that.
By nightfall, I'd lost track of how many cups I'd raised.
Father clapped my shoulder once before returning to the inner courtyard. "Good job," he said, voice low. "You made her feel respected. That's the real ceremony."
Mother stood beside Yun Fei at the entrance to the bridal chamber. She whispered something to her—I didn't hear what—and gave me a quick pat on the arm.
Yun Fei stepped into the room first.
I followed and closed the door behind us.
We were married now