Chapter 231 – Setting the Date For The Grand Wedding - Part 3

In a quiet courtyard, Li Yuan handed Zhu Ban’s letter to the long-legged maid who had come out to greet him. Early autumn had arrived, and the grass was turning yellow but had yet to wither.

After giving the letter, Li Yuan waited in silence. Beyond the door, Cui Huayin evidently finished reading, yet said nothing. Li Yuan didn’t prod her.

Time passed, enough for one stick of incense to burn. Still, no response. Outside, the clan head was starting to fidget.

“What’s going on in there?” he muttered. “Why is it so silent?”

But silent it remained. Li Yuan stood in the courtyard; Cui Huayin sat within the house. One door separated them, neither of them moving. The wind rustled, leaves shimmered faintly golden. Another stick of incense’s worth of time went by.

At last, Cui Huayin seemed to make a decision. She whispered instructions to her maid, Yao Jue.

Yao Jue scurried to the door and smiled brightly at Li Yuan. “Mister Li, may I trouble you to recite a poem for us?”

Li Yuan had come prepared. After a brief pause, he began pacing as he spoke—

“Clear waters flow untroubled,

Peach blossoms bloom by the shore.

Blossoms stir the surface,

Spring’s light ripples with each wave.

I adore your splendid beauty,

You are beguiled by my words.

Wind carries away the green zither,

Our tune drifts like mandarin ducks in a violet haze.”

It was a reworking of Li Bai’s lines to an old lover. The original continued with a parting theme, but Li Yuan only borrowed these verses—still quite fitting for the occasion.

Yao Jue blinked, staring at Li Yuan with wonder.

He really is talented...and just a bit shameless.

After a few moments, she said, “Please wait here.”

Then, she disappeared back inside. Leaning close to Cui Huayin, she whispered, “He was praising your beauty, my lady.”

Cui Huayin whispered something back.

Moments later, Yao Jue returned to the doorway, curtsied, and said playfully, “Your poem is lovely, but...well, it’s autumn now, so there aren’t any peach blossoms by the water.”

She giggled, then clenched her small fists in a friendly gesture, as if to cheer him on. She genuinely feared he might turn away in frustration.

Seven years—it’s been seven years! How many seven-year spans do people have?

Yao Jue had no desire to stay cooped up in this deep courtyard any longer, and she didn’t want her lady trapped in a grand palace forever, either.

By any measure, Li Yuan was the best possible match, and she personally found him more than acceptable.

Li Yuan bowed his head in thought. He really didn’t have a second poem ready that fit the season.

Yao Jue craned her neck, smiling as she asked quietly, “So, have you thought of something?”

Li Yuan said, “I’ve got a single line.”

“One line?” Yao Jue counted on her fingers, biting her lip in impatience. “Then please, go ahead.”

Li Yuan recited softly, “When autumn’s golden wind embraces the dew of jade, the luster of all other sights in the world seem to fade.”

It was a timeless verse, though in its original form it referenced the Qixi Festival—a holiday that didn’t exist here—so he couldn’t use the entire poem. Even so, Yao Jue stared at him as if struck by lightning.

After a moment, Li Yuan said, “I have another line.”

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

“Please.”

“In the heavens, may we be two birds flying side by side; on earth, like two branches intertwined.”

At that, Yao Jue gave a little gasp and clasped her hands to her heart. Outside, the clan head, quietly listening in, was equally taken aback. As a sixth rank martial artist, he fully understood how crucial

inspiration

could be for those aspiring to that rank.

Meaning is found in poetry, while ambience emerges from painting

, he thought.

In the courtyard, Li Yuan sighed. “It’s only two lines, not a proper poem.”

But Yao Jue shook her head vigorously. “No, no, that’s already wonderful. Please wait here.” She hurried back inside.

A long while passed before the doors finally opened. Cui Huayin emerged, looking exactly as she had when Li Yuan first saw her—beautiful as carved jade, but dark and unsmiling.

“I’ll marry you,” she said at last. This time, she used neither her usual lofty tone nor the imperial

we

, but she also didn’t smile. She continued, “My father’s letter says that once we’re engaged, you’ll return to his mountain for more training. When do you plan to leave?”

“How about next March?” Li Yuan asked. He estimated six months would be enough to learn Metal-Spirit Resonance.

“Very well.”

A betrothal banquet was arranged soon after, and word spread swiftly through the clan. Once the celebration was over, Li Yuan returned home and secretly instructed Xue Ning to work with Qian Da and the Wild Wolf Gang to find another place to live—one that couldn’t be tied to them in any way. Just in case.

Although marrying into the Cui Clan would bring Li Yuan numerous benefits, it also meant entangling himself in potential storms. Zhu Ban had already hinted at the far-reaching consequences. Though Zhu Ban hadn’t asked Li Yuan to do anything in particular, he felt it was wise to have a fallback plan. An out-of-the-way refuge, even if never needed, was no harm to keep in reserve.

Soon afterward, Li Yuan headed back up the mountain to continue his lessons with Zhu Ban.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

“Once you grasp Metal-Spirit Resonance,” Zhu Ban explained, “you won’t be limited to forging weapons. Fans, gourds, ink containers, bottles—any number of everyday items can be created from blood crystals, provided you use the marrow from deep within a large blood gold crystal vein. That’s something only major veins possess, like the one in Bliss Prefecture under the Holy Tree Temple’s control.

“The essence of Metal-Spirit Resonance is guiding the source blood to settle in its rightful place. After achieving Quickening with the whole piece, you then leave it in a place teeming with human life for nine months to develop genuine

spiritual awareness

. It’s akin to a nine-month pregnancy, except here, worldly human energy nurtures the artifact.

“You can tell at once if it’s a success. If the source blood inside the artifact can still move, it’s done. If not, it’s failed.

“Of course, we don’t have any source blood here, so we’ll use our own shadow blood to simulate it. And we can’t afford pure crystal marrow, so we’ll use the highest-grade blood crystals we can get our hands on. Through repeated experimentation, you’ll develop the right feel. If you manage to smith the finest possible sixth rank weapon, that means your instincts are ready...

“Other than that, all the secrets of our lineage are right here.” Zhu Ban took out a small jade box and handed it to Li Yuan.

Opening it, Li Yuan discovered several thin sheets of metal inside, each covered in rows of lines—some thick, some faint, spaced at varying intervals. The differences in engraving depth suggested they’d been recorded at different times, possibly spanning many years.

“These,” Zhu Ban said solemnly, “are the detailed notes our lineage has kept on the movement of source blood during the creation of spirit weapons. The thicker markings record heavier tones, the lighter markings record softer ones, and each length unit between them represents five seconds. It’s our clan secret. Even if outsiders got hold of it, they wouldn’t know what they were looking at.

“My master passed it on to me. Now, I’m passing it on to you.” His expression was as grave as it was devout.

Li Yuan took two steps back and knelt in respect, bowing three times. Zhu Ban accepted the tribute calmly, then helped him to his feet. “Just this much is enough. No need for any additional formality in the future.”