Suddenly the bride-escorting parade descended into chaos as it was intercepted by someone who wanted to elope with the bride-to-be!

“Interesting!” thought Ronghua.

“Help! The adulterer is here!” shouted someone in the crowds.

“Stop the parade!” shouted someone.

“Careful! They are about to shoot arrows!” shouted a voice.

Ronghua turned around. She then saw a sky-blocking barrage of arrows suddenly ascended and was soon about to rain down.

“Run!” shouted the crowds.

Within seconds, the bride-escorting parade deformed.

Slow reactions led to the result of being shot by an arrow. Wounded common people dragged on their feet and stumbled along the road, while cultivators could shield themselves with their spiritual power.

Upon seeing that, the groom’s half-faded smiling face was quickly invaded by visible anger. “How spectacular!” thought Ronghua.

Fortunately, the bride was intact. There was not a single arrow around her. It was safe to say that the rain of arrows never reached the sedan chair. The bride was still sitting gracefully in it as if all the chaos around had nothing to do with her.

Amid the chaos, in which everyone was too concerned about themselves, a man in black sneaked behind the sedan chair and held the bride’s hand.

“Daiyan, get out at once!” said the man in black.

“Oh, her name is Daiyan,” thought Ronghua. Ronghua came back to her senses and saw Daiyan left the sedan chair and followed the man in black obediently.

Possibly in response to those noises, the groom turned back and saw that someone was trying to take his bride away. The groom’s face turned grim, for he knew who the man in black exactly was even if his face was covered.

“Still trying to carry out your evil plan? How dare you!” shouted the groom.

The man in black held Daiyan up in his arms and flew with ease. They then landed slowly onto the ground.

“We both studied under the same master. How could I miss my junior fellow apprentice’s wedding as her senior?” said the man in black.

The groom unsheathed his sword.

“Zong Hang! I listened to Daiyan and spared your life, but not this time as you came for it,” said the groom.

Zong Hang smiled coldly and said, “We don’t know who will be killed this time, Yang Li.”

“You!” said Yang Li.

Upon finishing his remark, Yang Li drew his sword and made a thrust at Zong Hang fiercely with his sword.

Upon seeing that, Zong Hang held Daiyan up in his arms and jumped up to dodge Yang Li’s attack. Zong Hang and Daiyan then turned around in the air and landed back onto the ground.

“Zong Hang!” shouted Yang Li.

Noticing his attack was dodged, Yang Li was enraged. “How dare him to try to ruin this auspicious day! That shall cost him his life!” thought Yang Li.

Yang Li then continued to attack Zong Hang incessantly, with every attempt aiming to kill Zong Heng. Suddenly Yang Li moved his sword in a seemingly clumsy way, but that was, in fact, a lethal move. Yang Li’s every move was deadly, with one critical strike in every three attacks. If it were not for the fact that Daiyan was still in Zong Hang’s arms, Yang Li would have gone all out to the offensive.

Zong Hang had to retreat one step after another in the face of Yang Li’s incessant attacks.

“Yang Li, Daiyan does not love you at all. So why are you pushing her? That is not heroic conduct!” said Zong Hang.

“That is none of your business,” said Yang Li.

Yang Li moved his sword and made a thrust against Daiyan. In fear of Daiyan might be killed by Yang Li, Zong Hang turned around and undertook that attack in a hurry.

Ronghua was frustrated and cursed Zong Hang in her mind for being too stupid.

“Stop dodging his attack and fight him directly!” shouted Ronghua.

“How could Yang Li kill his own bride anyway?” thought Ronghua.

Though Zong Hang was confused upon hearing Ronghua’s remark, he went back to Daiyan and undertook Yang Li’s attack anyway, for Daiyan was too precious to be put at risk.

Within expectation, Yang Li’s attack was aimed at Zong Hang. Yang Li did not hesitate and managed to hurt Zong Hang critically. Zong Hang undertook that fierce attack and retreated a few steps back while getting Yang Li’s sword out of this body. “That’s a grave blow to him,” thought Ronghua.

“Despicable! How could you use Daiyan as a lure?” said Zong Hang.

Yang Li took a step back and shook Zong Hang’s blood off of his sword. He then pointed at Zong Hang with his sword as if he was about to attack again. “All is fair in war. Understand?” said Yang Li.

Zong Hang did not hesitate and took a stanching pill.

Zong Hang soon undertook another hit from Yang Li. Yang Li then pointed his sword at Ronghua, obviously because she reminded Zong Hang and did not seem to cherish her life.

Ronghua looked back at Yang Li coldly. But after a while, Yang Li did not attack Ronghua as the aura around Ronghua was too terrifying.

Yang Li finally made a thrust at Ronghua with his sword like lightning. Ronghua raised the corners of her mouth and shook her head in frustration. “He wants to die,” thought Ronghua.

Ronghua released a smoke of cloud and disappeared. Though Yang Li felt that something was wrong, he quickly got over it.

The bride was standing there with a cold face, ignoring Yang Li and Zong Hang entirely. “She could stand aloof from the fight? She’s got some stories!” thought Ronghua.

Yang Li realized Ronghua was gone and went back to attack Zong Hang.

Their fight was becoming increasingly intense and fierce. Neither of them seemed to care about the safety of the passersby.

Ronghua was, of course, intact. She had found somewhere secluded to watch their fight from a distance to avoid unnecessary problems. “Let them solve their own problems,” thought Ronghua.

Shortly after the fight had begun, the street that was once packed with people was emptied and wrecked.

“People are quick when they are running for their lives,” thought Ronghua.

The few people that remained on the street were Daiyan, Yang Li, Zong Hang, the bride-escorting squad, and some dead ones around them.

The bride escorting squad was hesitant; they could not decide whether they should go and get Zong Hang.

Because they could not afford to mess with any of them, and it was not in their interest to attack.

“Ay, why are you guys still here?” said Ronghua.

Upon hearing that, Yang Li raised his head. His face quickly turned cold.

“She is still alive,” thought Yang Li.

Everyone was surprised. Because Ronghua had not only survived after taking Yang Li’s attack but also managed to come out of it unscathed. Her cultivation must be strong.

Seeing Ronghua was intact, Yang Li did not want to mess with her and continued to fight with Zong Hang. Their fight was clumsy because neither of them would like to hurt the other fatally, and both of them had got too much in the minds.

“That’s frustrating!” thought Ronghua. She was almost running out of patience to watch the fight.

“Zong Hang, just leave!” said Daiyan.

The bride suddenly opened her mouth and whispered something.

Upon hearing that, Zong Hang withdrew himself from the fight and jumped back. Shocked, Zong Hang could hardly believe what he had just heard. “What did you say?” asked Zong Hang.

Daiyan’s eyes dimmed. “Just leave,” she said.

Unable to sense any feelings in Daiyan’s voice, Zong Hang was disappointed and hurt.

Ronghua had excellent hearing, and thus she heard everything.

“Uh-oh, something is wrong!” thought Ronghua.

“Why? Why are you marrying him against your will? He has….” said Zong Hang.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. Zong Hang, you should leave,” said Daiyan.

“Daiyan, I know that you don’t want to marry him....” said Zong Hang.

“My will doesn’t matter anymore. There is nothing you can do now,” said Daiyan.

“Right, there is nothing I can do....” said Zong Hang. He then suddenly became visibly frustrated.

Daiyan interrupted before Zong Hang could finish. She was standing up straight too.

“Yes, there is nothing you can do. You are not like me. You have your imperial clan to back you, and you are the future to your clan. But what about me? I have nothing but my pride, and my pride is the only thing I have now. Just leave me here!” said Daiyan.

Daiyan sounded almost like begging when she was saying that, and her eyes were brimming with tears. Zong Hang’s heart was broken by just looking at Daiyan. He then wiped away Daiyan’s tears.

Zong Hang replied with a begging voice, “Don’t cry. I will listen to you. I won’t force you to leave, but I also won’t let anyone else force you to do anything. I will give you anything as long as I could afford it.”

“Thank you!” replied Daiyan.

Upon finishing her remark, Daiyan clung to Zong Hang’s shoulders and burst into tears. She moved her head to Zong Hang and whispered something in his ear.

“I am worried about Fengyu being alone. Take care of her for me, would you?” whispered Daiyan.

Zong Hang was saddened and thought, “Why are you still worrying about other people? Why don’t you ever take care of yourself?”

“That will be my honor,” said Zong Hang.

Upon seeing that, a mixture of anger and jealousy struck Yang Li. “They don’t even realize that I am still here! They are ignoring me!” thought Yang Li. Envy sprawled in Yang Li’s mind and seemed to have blinded him entirely. He then held onto his sword and made a thrust against Daiyan with all the strength he had got. Zong Hang immediately noticed Yang Li’s attack. He hugged Daiyan with one arm and parried Yang Li’s attack with his sword. The two swords made tingling sounds when they touched.

“Elope together then!” shouted Ronghua in an attempt to escalate the situation.

Yang Li took a step back and stared at Ronghua with a grim look. He looked like he was about to swallow Ronghua alive. Ronghua did not seem to care. Yang Li then lifted his sword and slipt it into hundreds of swords in seconds.

Among the many swords manipulated by Yang Li, one shot straight to Ronghua and was quickly reaching her. Ronghua took a step back, but she heard someone was shouting her name before she could parry that attack.

“Ronghua! Be careful!” shouted a familiar voice.

Just when Ronghua was about to dodge that attack, she turned around and saw Rongnuan was dashing toward her. Rongnuan then hugged Ronghua without saying anything, causing Ronghua to lose her stability and fell.

Jun Lang stepped in and parried that sword with his tulwar accurately.

Before Ronghua could recover from the stun, Rongnuan was already checking if Ronghua was hurt.

“Are you ok? Are you hurt?” asked Rongnuan.

Feeling anxious, Ronghua looked at Rongnuan and thought, “Could you get up first?”

“Could you... get up first?” asked Ronghua.

Rongnuan suddenly noticed the way he lied on Ronghua could potentially inspire speculations of the nature of their relationship. He then blushed and stood up while pulling Ronghua back onto her feet.

Jun Lang stood in front of Ronghua and Rongnuan. After standing up, Ronghua looked at the three people fighting against one another and thought, “What happened to the idea of not hurting innocent passersby?”

The people still fighting over there looked at Ronghua coldly, without signaling any sort of apology in their eyes after they had nearly hurt Ronghua. They then resumed their fight.

Rongnuan was about to reason with them but was stopped by Ronghua. “These people managed to stay alive after hurting Ronghua. How strange is that?” wondered Rongnuan.

Though Rongnuan had some doubts in his mind, he did not rush to join their fight.

“Let’s get out of here,” said Ronghua coldly, “They are fighting. That’s none of our business, and I don’t want to hurt innocent passersby anyway. Moreover, I’ve got something much more important than getting involved in that fight. I’m running out of time.”

“Ronghua...” said Rongnuan. “Are you ok?” thought Rongnuan.

“Why is her so quiet now? That’s terrifying. And she is not replying to me. Boohoo... I feel so sad. Did I do something wrong?” thought Rongnuan.

Rongnuan let his imagination wildly run after Ronghua ignored him for a little while.

“People like Ronghua don’t care about how fiercely the others are fighting against one another. They just like to watch the fight for entertainment,” thought Rongnuan.

“But who is that Fengyu? Why does that name sound so familiar to me?” wondered Rongnuan.

“Ronghua!” said Rongnuan.

Rongnuan walked to Ronghua and grabbed her hand after seeing Ronghua walked away. Ronghua was shocked.

“What?” asked Ronghua softly.

“Why are you ignoring me? Are you angry?” asked Rongnuan.

Ronghua was confused, and asked, “Why do you think I am angry?”

“If you are not angry, why are you acting like you don’t care about me?” asked Rongnuan.

After finishing his remark, Rongnuan looked at Ronghua with an aggrieved face.

Ronghua could not help but burst into laughter. “What are you thinking about? I could be mad at anyone but not you. It’s just I was thinking about something. I might have been too concentrated and missed some of your words,” said Ronghua.

“Really?” asked Rongnuan.

“Yes, I mean it,” said Ronghua.

Rongnuan thought Ronghua was mad at him and would not talk to him anymore. But he was relieved as he saw Ronghua’s comforting face and heard her voice. “I knew that she could not be mad at me,” thought Rongnuan.

Ronghua waited there without receiving any reply from Rongnuan. The smile on Rongnuan’s face was becoming increasingly obvious. Ronghua frowned and thought, “Why is he so happy?”

“Let’s go,” said Ronghua.

Ronghua held Rongnuan’s hand, and they walked together as usual.

Jun Lang followed them as if he was just a passerby. He knew that Rongnuan was all Ronghua could see for the time being. But Jun Lang did not mind that. “As long as I could stay around Ronghua, I don’t care if she doesn’t love me. I just hope that she won’t drive me away,” thought Jun Lang.

Ronghua realized that Jun Lang did not catch up. She then shouted something.

“Jun Lang, what are you waiting for?” shouted Ronghua.

Upon hearing Ronghua’s calling, Jun Lang smiled and followed up.

“Sure! I am coming!” said Jun Lang.

Jun Lang followed up. What he did not know back then was that he would keep on following Ronghua for the rest of his life.

Just followed her no matter how far they would go!