Chapter 406: Thousand Carp River’s Arrangement
“The issue of Yan Long and Yunzhu can be put aside.” Elder Lin continued: “But that Li brat is definitely not worthy of our descendant. Just give him some small benefits so that he’ll happily give up on this marriage! Hmph, a little brat like him cannot control such a grand matter.”
“Let the youth decide their own business.” While the elders were debating nonstop, an old voice emanated throughout the room.
“Venerable Yang!” After hearing this voice, all the elders in this room quivered as their expressions became serious.
This was a high elder of the Thousand Carp River, someone with great influence and status. There was no one else who had such a high level of authority within the sect to interfere with the matter of Lan Yunzhu’s marriage. He was not only a high elder, he also came from the Soaring Remembrance Village — a direct elder of Lan Yunzhu as well as her dao guide.
“Venerable Yang... But in the end, Yunzhu is still our descendant...” Elder Lin couldn’t help but softly tremble after hearing Venerable Yang’s words.
“Can the Thousand Carp descendant not decide her own marriage? If she can’t even decide her own marriage, then how can she have the ability to reach for the Heaven’s Will and become an Immortal Emperor!?” Although Venerable Yang did not appear in person, his commanding voice was still awe-inspiring. He continued on: “It is true that Yunzhu is our Thousand Carp River’s descendant, but she is also someone from my Soaring Remembrance Village. Her marriage is not tied to the Thousand Carp River’s interests!”
Obviously, Venerable Yang was looking out for his own; he was Lan Yunzhu’s backing.
“Older Brother Yang, you can’t put it that way!” At this time, another voice appeared: “Yunzhu is our descendant, so we have to be more careful about her future marriage.”
“Venerable Wang?” The elders present couldn’t help but look at each other after hearing this voice. It was another high elder! The one who was the most excited was Elder Lin since Venerable Wang was his master.
“Since when did Little Brother Wang decide my business?” Venerable Yang spoke with the same pressing momentum.
Venerable Wang replied with a laugh: “I don’t dare to do so. As an outsider, I do not dare to interfere with Venerable Yang’s Soaring Remembrance Village. But in the end, Yunzhu is still our sect’s disciple. Although this marriage might have been a matter of fate, it is not unreasonable for us to give our descendant’s fiance a trial. This is also for Yunzhu; if this fiance feels that he is inadequate, then maybe he will quit on his own accord.”
“Then we shall have a little test to find out this Young Noble Li’s determination regarding this marriage.” At this time, Daoist Bao Gui made the decision: “Since this marriage was a match made in heaven, we — as Yunzhu’s elders — cannot forcefully interfere, but a little evaluation is not unreasonable for her sake.”
In the end, Daoist Bao Gui was still the sect master. Such decisive words could not be easily denied even by the high elders.
“Very well, a trial it is!” Even Venerable Yang, who was a stern supporter of Lan Yunzhu, agreed to test Li Qiye.
“The sect master wants to see you.” After this decision regarding the marriage was decided, Daoist Bao Gui wanted to see Li Qiye, so Lan Yunzhu passed on the news.
“It seems that your mood isn’t bad. I assume that the matter of marriage has now been decided?” Li Qiye asked with a wide smile while looking at Lan Yunzhu: “Are you that desperate to marry me?”
Lan Yunzhu looked at him with one eye and slowly said: “Marry you? Wait until you successfully pass the trials, then talk. If you truly want this marriage, then you have to pass the trials.”
“What if I can’t?” Li Qiye asked with a smile.
Lan Yunzhu answered: “To our sect, if you choose to give up on this engagement, nothing can be better. The sect will compensate you, and as long as your demands are reasonable, the sect will try its best to meet them.”
“If that is the case, then I would rather give up.” Li Qiye rubbed his chin and said: “I would rather take the treasures than marry an old faded woman!”
“You!” Lan Yunzhu was angered to the point of vomiting blood as she glared at him and stated: “Little Devil, am I only worth one or two pieces of treasure?”
Li Qiye’s eyes shifted up and down as he scanned Lan Yunzhu before smiling: “So you really want to marry me that badly? I have to think about this for a second. In the end, marriage is the biggest decision of one’s life, and I am not a careless person.”
“Do you really think that I won’t beat you up?” Lan Yunzhu gritted her teeth while holding up her fist as she stared at Li Qiye with hatred.
“Little Girl, you need to be more gentle if you want to marry me. I like gentle women!” Li Qiye said with a smile: “If you become gentler, then I can think about marrying you. Aizz, this is a big loss, I really have to think about it.”
Lan Yunzhu was shivering from anger. After a while, she finally managed to calm down with a deep breath. She then looked at Li Qiye and said: “Are you giving up because you don’t think that you can pass the trials? Of course, if you want to be a turtle, then I won’t blame you. I could only lament the fact that the person chosen by the Dream Wishing Tree was a coward.”
“Girl, your psychological egging is still too weak.” Li Qiye shook his head then spoke while touching his chin: “However, your Thousand Carp River’s elders are acting all high and mighty... They actually think that I’m trying to climb up within your sect so I want to teach them a lesson.”
“So you are saying that you want to take the challenge!” Lan Yunzhu couldn’t help but happily exclaim.
“Oh, you really want to marry me, huh.” Li Qiye smilingly replied.
Lan Yunzhu glared at him and angrily stated: “Stop daydreaming! Wait until you pass the examination, then you can dream all you want!”
“Girl, the price of using me as your tool is very high. How about coming to warm my bed tonight? We can see if a faded old woman like you can actually warm the bed or not.” Li Qiye gently held her chin and teased.
“Go die!” Lan Yunzhu mercilessly kicked forward without a care for maintaining a proper ladylike manner.
She then brought Li Qiye to meet Daoist Bao Gui at the main chamber hall.
“You must be Li Qiye.” Although Daoist Bao Gui was the sect master of the Thousand Carp River, he was surprisingly friendly and kind; this was a striking difference in contrast to the group of Elder Lin with their oppressive auras.
After letting Li Qiye sit down, Daoist Bao Gui spoke right away: “The marriage between you and Yunzhu was decided by the heavens. However, Yunzhu is also our descendant, so we cannot be careless even if it was a match made in heaven.”
“I understand, Sect Master is saying that I can either give up or pass the trials, correct?” Li Qiye also didn’t want to mince words, so he cut right to the chase.
“Of course. To give up or to stick with it — this will be your choice, no one can force you.” Daoist Bao Gui elaborated: “Our Thousand Carp River will not force you to give up on this marriage!”
“Is that so?” Li Qiye then asked with a smile: “If I choose to give up on this marriage, what benefits will your sect compensate me with?”
Li Qiye’s words incited Lan Yunzhu’s wrathful glare since they already talked about this before.
At this time, Daoist Bao Gui uncovered a treasure tray on top of the table. After this tray was opened, a burst of light flashed, revealing three items on top.
“If you are willing to give up, then our Thousand Carp River shall not mistreat you. We will give you a Tidal Jade Vessel for protection, a Tortoise Teleportation Scroll to escape in times of danger, and also a Thousand Carp Pill to help you temper your body.”
The daoist went on slowly: “Of course, this is just the start of our sincerity. Outside of these three items, you can also pick another three as long as they are not of the Immortal Emperor level; our sect will consider and meet your request.”
Li Qiye himself was quite surprised at the Thousand Carp River’s huge showing. It seemed that the sect truly didn’t want to betroth Lan Yunzhu to him. Of course, he could understand their reasoning. After all, fertile water shouldn’t flow to outside fields; it was easier said than done for the sect to groom a descendant.
“I can feel the sincerity.” Li Qiye glanced at Lan Yunzhu, who was standing to the side. She was also gazing right back at him. Although there was no exchange of words, their intents were clearly exchanged.
“What if I pick the trial?” Li Qiye glanced over the items on the tray before asking with a grin.
Daoist Bao Gui looked at him and eventually nodded his head to say: “If you choose to continue with this marriage, then you have to pass two out of three trials. Anything less would be considered failure.”
“Then what is the consequence of failing?” Li Qiye’s interest was piqued as he cheerfully asked.
Daoist Bao Gui answered: “Although our sect won’t interfere with your marriage, Lan Yunzhu is still our descendant, so we must assess you for her sake. If you fail and choose to give up, then you can leave. However, if you choose to stay and persevere onwards, then you can try your best to cultivate until the day of success.”
“These conditions are not bad at all.” Li Qiye said with a smile: “At the very least, your sect still carries the style of an Immortal Emperor’s lineage. Your current generation does not dishonor Immortal Emperor Qian Li’s dao lineage.”
Li Qiye simply didn’t care for the sect’s strength. If the sect chose to be stubborn, then nothing could be better for him. Then, he could disregard the sect’s future completely and directly take away the items he wanted.
Of course, such prime conditions were the result of Venerable Yang as a high elder supporting Lan Yunzhu. Unlike the other elders, Venerable Yang actually wished to push this marriage along due to his own reasons.