23 Bound for Life
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At that moment, the wedding procession finally arrived in front of the estate. An Hei got off the horse and went back to the sedan. Reaching out his hand, he helped Ling Ling down with a smile.

Standing outside now, Ling Ling couldn’t help but raise her head to take a look, even though she couldn’t see clearly through the red veil. She still noticed the faint smile on his lips and smiled back. He probably couldn’t see it but she was happy enough to see him. Especially when she thought of the fact that they were on their way to get married. As soon as they entered the estate, it would be time.

"Ling Ling." An Hei spoke up and then motioned over to the gate of the estate that had been opened wide. "Let’s go inside. It’s already the auspicious hour." He had much more to say but right now wasn’t the moment. He would wait until after the ceremony when all the guests had returned home again to tell her.

Ling Ling inclined her head and An Hei led her inside. On the way, Ling Ling stole glances at her husband’s face every now and then but always looked down as soon as he faced her. An Hei’s smile grew more pronounced the longer he watched but he didn’t mention it and just enjoyed the moment.

Then, they stepped into the festively decorated hall. On the opposite side stood the ceremony master, as well as Ling Ling’s family, and the four subordinates that An Hei had brought. The other guests had taken their spots at the sides of the room. Everyone was looking toward the door, waiting for the married couple to step inside.

An Hei inclined his head toward the guests and then led Ling Ling to their seats, helping her to sit down.

Ling Ling couldn’t help but look around, trying to discern the identities of the people around her through the veil. She had immediately recognized her mother and sister and after a short moment, she even recognized some of the men that had been working with her father before and had come to visit once or twice in these years. The rest of the guests were unfamiliar to her though and she couldn’t help but wonder if they were all An Hei’s acquaintances. Thinking of that, she couldn’t help but feel like An Hei really had to be popular among the other soldiers if his wedding drew such a crowd.

Yes, even up until this day, Ling Ling still believed that the man she had found was a scholar. She had easily accepted that he wasn’t human and felt like it was plain to see but even though her mother and sister had explained to her how he just couldn’t be a normal soldier, she still felt that the two of them had to be wrong. Love made people blind sometimes.

Needless to say, those people were actually more old acquaintances of General Yang and the influential people of the capital city that An Hei had invited for Jin jin’s sake. He hadn’t invited anyone from the snake tribe save for the four that had been accompanying him originally anyway. Marrying a human woman was one thing, but it might end in disaster if there were more of their people present. If they weren’t cautious, everybody would soon know that something was wrong with them. They weren’t human, that was just how things were. And putting them among humans made it likely for them to slip up because of something they didn’t know. This was a risk An Hei wasn’t willing to take. Thus, he had decided to keep this ceremony a small one in terms of his people. If Ling Ling wanted to or rather agreed with the suggestion he would make, they could have a bigger one in the snake tribe’s territory later on. Anyway, she would become his queen by then. It wouldn’t be wrong to have that kind of ceremony. Well, that as well, was a concern for later.

An Hei pushed all irrelevant thoughts to the side and led Ling Ling forward to the cushions that had been put on the ground to mark their seats, helping her to kneel down. The girl gave her mother and sister a smile, looked at An Hei, and then turned towards the master of ceremonies, ready to start the ceremony.

The wedding ceremony of Kishin wasn’t difficult. There was an older, more traditional one but that was usually only used by very high-ranking people like members of the emperor’s family or the families of the four kings. And while everyone believed An Hei to be part of the former, he hadn’t said so himself, making everyone assume that he wanted to have a more low-key wedding ceremony so as to not give his true identity away. Thus, none of the guests questioned it when the ceremony master started the much simpler one that was common among the normal citizens of Kishin and some of the nobles.

First, he motioned at the small table in front of them. "To show your gratitude for him allowing you to get wedded, make an offering to the god."

An Hei glanced at Ling Ling and then reached out, picking up the incense sticks that had been prepared beforehand. He lit them and then inserted them into the small vessel in the middle of the table. When the smoke started curling and rising into the air, he and Ling Ling both bowed.

An Hei actually felt quite strange doing so. This god they had to thank was Yu Ha, the first of the lower gods. From what he knew, Yu Ha was not even alive anymore and even if he was, with how the relationship between the gods and the demons was at this time, he wasn’t sure if Yu Ha would actually bless any marriage he entered. Then again, the gods would surely have a good laugh if they could see him like this. They would surely say that he had settled.

When An Hei raised his head, he stared at the curling smoke for a moment and then turned to look at Ling Ling. No matter what Yu Ha or any of the other gods thought, it didn’t matter. This was just a ceremony. He might as well thank Yaarak in his heart instead. The demon king hadn’t denied him the right to marry Ling Ling just because she was a mortal. That was worth his thanks but he would rather give it in person later on.

Seeing as they had finished the offering, the ceremony master motioned toward the place where Madam Yang stood. "Bow in gratitude to the ancestors."

An Hei and Ling Ling turned to Madam Yang simultaneously. They hadn’t noticed before but she was holding her husband’s spiritual tablet in hand as if she wanted him to witness his youngest daughter’s wedding ceremony even though he couldn’t be there himself.

An Hei smiled faintly when he saw this. He really would have liked to meet him and show him his gratitude for being able to marry his daughter. Knowing that he would be satisfied with him as his son-in-law would have meant a lot. But alas, it wasn’t possible and it had to be enough that Madam Yang was ecstatic that he was marrying Ling Ling. That wasn’t too bad either.

The couple turned back to the ceremony master who had folded his hands in front of his body. "Lastly, bow to each other."

The couple turned again and looked at each other with a smile before they lowered their heads to bow, their fingertips almost touching each other on the ground. They remained like that for a moment before they got up, that smile still hanging on both their lips.

The ceremony master’s voice pulled them out of their reverie. "Now, partake in the wedding wine." He took a jar of wine from a servant that had been waiting at the back and then turned to the other side, opening the jar while Jin Jin carried over a tray with two silver cups.

This was something that her mother had come up with together with Xu Fu right before the wedding. While there was the chance that she would catch the eye of one of the men they had chosen before the ceremony or while everyone was celebrating, there would be many people there. Right now, the spotlight was on the proceedings in the middle of the room. Stepping close would put some of that attention on her, giving the men in question a reason to take a closer look. They didn’t know if it would be successful but they sure hoped so.

The ceremony master didn’t care who held the tray and Ling Ling actually smiled when she saw her sister take part in the ceremony. To her, her family was important, and knowing that her sister was happy for her and blessed this marriage made her heart feel lighter about the impending farewell.

An Hei reached out and grabbed the first cup, giving it to Ling Ling with a smile before he picked up the second one. The two of them shared a glance and then took a sip.

Ling Ling was worried she might not manage to do so with the veil still on her head but the fabric was so soft that it wasn’t difficult to lightly lift it and pull the cup below before she drank. Through the whole process, not even a little of her face was exposed.

The wine tasted bitter but left a sweet aftertaste on their tongues. It had been made by General Yang himself at the time when Ling Ling had been born in anticipation of this very day. Who knew what he had thought when he did so? Was this hint of bitterness the sigh of a man feeling like he was losing his daughter to another one? Or was this a foreboding of fate? As if even back then, he had somehow anticipated that his daughter’s life would not be easy but finally end in sweetness?

Nobody could tell but just thinking of the time her father had invested in this made Ling Ling feel as if he was there with them. She glanced at his spiritual tablet and tears gathered in her eyes. She really would have loved to have him there at least on this one day.

An Hei looked at her, feeling heartache when he saw her hands tremble a little. He wanted her to be happy. If possible, every single day in their life. To see her like this on their wedding day made him feel as if he had already failed. But then again, why would she not be sad about losing a person close to her and missing them for such an important occasion? As her husband, as long as he gave her comfort, it should not be a bad thing.

An Hei put down the cup of wine in his hand and then reached over, taking hers from Ling Ling. He took her hand while he was at it and gave a faint smile to comfort her. He would have liked to do more but, once again, this wasn’t the right moment for that. So he just tried to signal her what he meant with his gaze.

Ling Ling smiled at that, feeling a little better. Even though her father couldn’t be there with them, she was sure that he would have been happy with her choice. Her husband was a soldier just like he had been once, he wasn’t that bad off so she wouldn’t suffer at his side, and he clearly treated her very well. She didn’t think that he would have wanted anything more.

Coming to a silent understanding, the two of them interlaced their fingers, turning back to the front. The ceremony master nodded and then took a wooden box from the same assistant as before, opening it in front of them. A shimmering red ribbon lay inside that he carefully took out.

Turning to them, he raised the ribbon up with both hands. "The god has witnessed this ceremony and does not dissent. As such, you are now bound for life." He knelt down and wrapped the ribbon around their joined hands, tying it together tightly. For the rest of the evening, this was how they would have to live.

An Hei and Ling Ling turned to each other and smiled and finally, they turned back to Ling Ling’s family and then the other guests, starting the celebration following the ceremony.

I'm very sorry for not posting earlier. I was originally working on this last weekend already but then inspiration struck for another story and I went to work on that. Things happened and now it's a whole week later already. I'm really sorry about that! I did start on the revision of the next chapter already but I haven't finished so I'll have to see when I can get around to posting it. Since it's Easter, it might take a bit longer.

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