Jinshui Lake Competition (4)

Lin Qianshuang scrutinized Xu Zheng, silently criticizing him in her mind. This man, instead of admiring the beautiful sea of peonies, sat in a corner with an air of elegance, carelessly destroying the flowers. Even a white peony had been ruined.

She glanced around. Several passing women were stealing glances at him, seemingly captivated by his melancholic scholarly aura. Seizing the opportunity, Xu Zheng approached them and engaged in lively conversation.

Lin Qianshuang felt a pang of concern for these girls. In the modern world, Xu Zheng would be a human trafficker, peddling Cauldrons in the black market to wealthy buyers from all corners of the world. He cared only for the price, not for the lives of those he sold. On the surface, he was a charming young gentleman, but beneath that facade, a heinous villain lurked.

After a brief exchange with the girls, Xu Zheng’s gaze shifted, settling on Lin Qianshuang’s hand, where she held the marriage token. His eyes held a peculiar intensity, lingering on them several times.

Confused by this strange stare, Lin Qianshuang wondered if she had made some mistake in tying the sign. She turned to look at Xiao Lanle, who was securing the red silk around her own marriage token. There was clearly nothing wrong.

Suddenly, a strange wind swept through the air, causing the marriage tokens hanging on the tree to sway precariously.

The moment Lin Qianshuang withdrew her hand, the red silk tied to the branches fluttered, and the wooden tokens clanged together. A faint white light emanated from the canopy, adorned with countless red ribbons. On the two newly placed bamboo tokens, a few dots of light coalesced, forming an unrecognizable spiritual seal. Then, the light faded, sinking back into the tree trunk.

Lin Qianshuang scoffed inwardly. Seeing the light, she’d thought the tree was truly imbued with spiritual energy, a spirit of some kind. But it was just a trick, likely a low-level demonic creature in disguise.

The Matchmaking Tree, however, could hear the thoughts of those seeking its aid. It was incensed by Lin Qianshuang’s words. After all, it had once been a celestial artifact, connected to the God of Marriage’s Book of Fate, capable of discerning the intricate threads of human destinies. How dare this young cultivator dismiss it as a mere demon?

The tree had noticed the unusual destinies of these two women, fearing that revealing their fates might offend Heaven. But Lin Qianshuang’s blatant disrespect, coupled with the fact that the Eye of Heaven was not currently watching, emboldened the tree to act.

With a furious shake of its red silk canopy, the Matchmaking Tree was ready to show this young demon cultivator its power.

Xiao Lanle stared at the two marriage tokens, now motionless on the branches. The light in her eyes dimmed, a wave of disappointment washing over her. But she wouldn’t give up. She stood there, hands clasped together, gazing at the tree with fervent devotion, whispering her plea: “Come together, come together, you must come together!”

She secretly glanced at Lin Qianshuang’s profile, clenching the Plain Inquiry Sword in her hand with a surge of anger. If those two marriage tokens didn’t come together, she would order the Penglai Immortal Sect to uproot this tree to vent her frustration and replace it with a new one. After all, the sect was overflowing with those spirit-infused immortal trees, and planting them here to fool those ignorant mortals was enough.

The tree spirit of the Matchmaking Tree was already furious. Hearing Xiao Lanle’s words, it was so enraged that smoke billowed from its nostrils. The one who had insulted it earlier by calling it a demon, and now this one, who actually wanted to uproot it - these two juniors were truly too arrogant! They didn’t even take this celestial artifact seriously!

A dazzling fireworks display erupted in the night sky, instantly blooming into a thousand colorful flowers.

Tourists carrying lanterns paused in their stroll through the sea of peonies to watch. The fireworks illuminated half the night sky, casting their light upon the marriage tokens hanging from the Matchmaking Tree.

Fireworks wouldn’t just bloom in the air for no reason, especially at this time.

Lin Qianshuang thought with a playful smile, “Chen Shangqing has arrived. I wonder what this blockhead has prepared for Junior Sister Xiao tonight. After all, he’s going to confess to her, so he must have put a lot of thought into it.”

The two beneath the Matchmaking Tree were captivated by the dazzling fireworks in the sky. At that moment, the two marriage tokens they held violently shook, transforming into two red lights that coalesced in mid-air, merging into one. Then, they soared upward, becoming a faint golden light that tied itself back to the red silk of the Matchmaking Tree.

Xiao Lanle heard the trembling of the marriage tokens and looked up, her eyes widening in surprise. The tokens had combined into two halves, seemingly coated with a layer of gold dust and radiating a faint golden glow. On the surface of the tokens, her and her senior sister’s names appeared, swaying gently in the wind. The faint image of two phoenixes intertwined on the back of the tokens was clearly visible, a symbol of a perfect match.

Lin Qianshuang heard the sound of footsteps approaching and turned to see Chen Shangqing leading a group of Penglai Immortal Sect disciples. Each disciple held a Kongming lantern¹, clearly meant for Xiao Lanle.

Chen Shangqing noticed Lin Qianshuang and Xiao Lanle standing together and, seeing Lin Qianshuang about to call out to Xiao Lanle, quickly gestured for her to be silent.

Lin Qianshuang, confused but understanding, nodded at Chen Shangqing and turned away. Suddenly, Xiao Lanle, who was standing beside her, quietly reached out and took her wrist, whispering, “Senior Sister, look up. Our marriage tokens are together.”

Lin Qianshuang looked up and saw that the spot where she had hung her marriage token was empty. Instead, on a different branch, a golden wooden plaque was hanging with their names and birthdates engraved on it. A strange golden phoenix totem was carved on the surface.

Her marriage token had vanished, and Xiao Lanle’s, hanging nearby, was also gone.

Lin Qianshuang was bewildered. They had prayed for marriage individually, so how could their signs be combined?

Could the stall owner have given them the wrong tokens?

“This marriage token was bought with Xiao Lanle’s money, so if something’s wrong, we need to go to the stall owner,” Lin Qianshuang thought, turning to Xiao Lanle. “Junior Sister, wait here. I’ll go talk to the stall owner and ask her to give us two more tokens or get your string of copper coins back. It’s not worth it.”

“Senior Sister!”

Seeing Lin Qianshuang about to leave, Xiao Lanle grew anxious and grabbed her arm. The sudden force pulled Lin Qianshuang back, sending her tumbling towards the ground.

Chen Shangqing and the other Penglai Immortal Sect disciples were approaching, and Lin Qianshuang’s fall would be a shameful spectacle, unbecoming of a senior disciple. A wisp of demonic energy shot out from her fingertips, quickly straightening her posture.

Lin Qianshuang stood firm, relieved, but then someone grabbed her wrist. A flash of light later, she was pulled into a soft embrace.

“marriage token, Senior Sister, we are a match made in heaven, a destined pairing. But you ignore it and act confused. Do you have any sense of responsibility as a senior disciple?”

Xiao Lanle stared at Lin Qianshuang with burning eyes, her voice laced with righteous indignation. Her grip on Lin Qianshuang’s wrist tightened, causing a slight pain.

Lin Qianshuang was utterly bewildered. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand. We’re just asking for a marriage token, what does it have to do with us being a perfect match?”

A moment later, a nagging suspicion took root. “Wait, something’s wrong… Us being a perfect match? This doesn’t feel right at all.”

She looked up sharply at the gleaming golden sign, ‘marriage token’, and her mind reeled.

“Has this whole story gone crazy? Not only is it all-inclusive now, but even yuri can get a marriage token? What the hell?”

Seeing Lin Qianshuang’s baffled expression, Xiao Lanle blushed, biting her lip in frustration. “Do you really want me to be the one to say it? Lin Qianshuang, you’re so annoying! You were the one who seduced me first, you were the one who pretended to be aloof and tested my feelings with that song, keeping me up all night. You were the one who kissed me at the grave and then acted like nothing happened! How can you act like it doesn’t matter now?”

Lin Qianshuang was speechless, her brain scrambled by these words. How could she not realize she’d done so many terrible things?

Xiao Lanle pressed Lin Qianshuang against the Matchmaking Tree, her elbow digging into the rough bark beside Lin Qianshuang’s head. A few leaves drifted down from the swaying branches.

Xiao Lanle leaned close, their breaths mingling. Her eyes, once clear, now held a darker intensity. Her voice, soft but firm, echoed in the air, “You were the one who pursued me, yet now you act like a victim. You’re so cunning. Are you secretly enjoying seeing me flustered?”

Lin Qianshuang looked over Xiao Lanle’s shoulder. Chen Shangqing and the Penglai Immortal Sect disciples, carrying their Kongming lanterns, were approaching. Behind them came the sect leader, Xiao Shen.

What was happening?

“Junior Sister Xiao!”

Lin Qianshuang felt a tightening around her body. Thick vines bound her, rendering her immobile. A burst of celestial energy solidified into a demon-suppressing talisman, pinning her to the tree.

Struggling against the vines, Lin Qianshuang released demonic energy in a desperate attempt to free herself. “Xiao Lanle,” she said urgently, “turn your head. It’s the Sect Leader…”

Xiao Lanle cut her off, placing a hand over Lin Qianshuang’s mouth. “I know what you want to ask,” she whispered.

Lin Qianshuang watched as the Sect Leader, Xiao Shen, approached, followed by a stunned Chen Shangqing. Her mind felt like it had been struck, blank and overwhelmed. She had no idea how to react.

Despair filled her eyes as she shook her head, blinking frantically, tears welling up.

“If you want to know my answer,” Xiao Lanle said, her gaze fixed on Lin Qianshuang’s face, “I’ll tell you now.”

Closing her eyes, Xiao Lanle gently pulled Lin Qianshuang’s chin towards her and kissed her deeply.

In that moment, the world fell silent. The only light came from the moon, its reflection shimmering in Lin Qianshuang’s eyes.

Lin Qianshuang felt Xiao Lanle’s forehead against hers, their lips parting briefly before Xiao Lanle pressed them back together with an intensity that left no room for resistance. A clear, gentle voice whispered in her ear, “I…”

“The Moon God is the matchmaker, the Matchmaking Tree the witness. The path of cultivation is long and arduous, but I only wish to win the heart of the person before me, and we will never be separated until our hair turns white.”