The doors to the throne room opened to reveal a sea of red. There were petals as well, falling softly like snow and whirling much like it when Youming Jun strode inside with Yue by his side.
Jiao Ziyu and Mingyue naturally followed, but they didn’t proceed into the room along the same route. Instead, they veered off to the side and then moved alongside the wall until they could claim their spots up front. And from there, they had not only an excellent view of the red-clad pair, slowly advancing, but also of the pair overseeing the whole spectacle.
First, there was the Demon King, seated upon his throne. He wasn’t alone on it though. He wasn’t alone on it, because Bai Jixue was⸺
“Disgraceful,” Mingyue muttered under his breath, glaring daggers.
Bai Jixue meanwhile, perched upon one of the throne’s armrests, only awarded him a brief look and made no move to remove himself – and the Demon King on his end definitely didn’t mind the proximity at all, one arm leaning against the other armrest while the other remained hooked around the winged immortal’s back.
Mingyue wasn’t wrong though. Jiao Ziyu couldn’t help but find their apparent seating arrangement a bit... inappropriate, probably? Then again, this was the Demon King and the Demon King’s recent mate, so who – other than Mingyue, that is – would even dare to question it?
Even the Demon King’s top advisor, Xunyun, seemed determined to ignore the spectacle they made, and although there were definitely looks, most others seemed to follow her example.
Instead, they seemed determined to pay attention to the young couple advancing gradually towards them with slow, gradual strides. Jiao Ziyu was quite surprised actually, because knowing the Demon Prince like he did, he would’ve expected the other to walk a lot faster – and to the extent that he knew Little Yue, he would’ve expected the latter to want to get this affair done and over with as soon as possible.
Instead, the two appeared to move in tandem with the musical accompaniment, particularly with the ringing of bells that seemed to accompany each step.
Then Jiao Ziyu tore his eyes away from the young couple to look towards what had been erected on the other side of the aisle – a definite altar of sorts.
Inwardly, he considered the strange positioning of the thing, because at weddings, such things tended to be up front rather than off to the side.
However, considering that this was the wedding of the Demon King’s nephew taking place in the Demon King’s own halls, then Jiao Ziyu supposed that it made sense to have the latter be the most elevated in the whole arrangement. Also, upon closer inspection, the altar didn’t seem to feature the usual items – some, yes, but not all. Instead, there were other things; other items of seeming importance.
Jiao Ziyu didn’t allow his attention to linger for long though, because the young couple had nearly reached them now.
And soon the young couple came to a stop a short distance away from them and the altar, and from the elevated throne, and only then did their hands separate – and as they did, the music stopped as well.
“Venerable Uncle,” Youming Jun then said, cupping his hands together in a greeting as he bowed. “Venerable Grandmaster.”
Next, Youming Jun turned towards Mingyue and Jiao Ziyu. “Venerable Master Bai, Venerable Master Jiao.”
Then finally, Youming Jun turned towards the altar, addressing that as well: “Venerable Mother, Venerable Father⸺”
Ah, so that was what the altar was for.
“⸺This humble one has come to ask for your blessings.”
Well, that was definitely out of order.
Normally, a prospective groom went to ask for permission to marry someone before a formal betrothal was even announced, and this typically involved various gifts and formalities. Then again, this was the Demon Realm, and given what Jiao Ziyu had heard about their wedding customs, it only made sense that things weren’t the same, even with evident similarities.
“Is that so?” the Demon King said, while Bai Jixue got down and to his feet.
“It is indeed so,” Bai Jixue said, reaching into his sleeve to withdraw a pair of golden bracelets, exquisitely decorated.
Dragon and phoenix bracelets, Jiao Ziyu privately thought as he watched Bai Jixue step down to hand them over to Youming Jun, who quickly slid them onto Yue’s wrists.
Watching this unfold, Jiao Ziyu was strangely reminded of shackles. He quickly dismissed the thought, because honestly, there was nothing even remotely strange about this. The dragon and phoenix motif symbolised a blissful union, and giving such things to the bride wasn’t anything unusual. Of course, it was typically the groom doing the giving, but⸺
Well, this particular wedding could hardly be seen as a prime example of a Demon Realm wedding – and much less a wedding taking place in the Human Realm. Also, given the rather... unique circumstances at hand, making any sort of comparisons was probably⸺
“Venerable Grandmaster,” Yue said next, cupping his hands and bowing, features still obscured by the red veil. “Venerable Demon King.”
Then, he turned towards the altar, repeating the motions. “Venerable Mother-in-Law, Venerable Father-in-law.”
Then finally, Yue turned towards them, and for a brief moment, he hesitated. Then, as he did⸺ “Venerable Master Bai, Venerable Master Jiao”⸺ Mingyue suddenly took a step forward.
He pulled out a red umbrella adorned with golden patterns of dragons chasing tigers – and it likely held some sort of significance, given the way Youming Jun grinned as he reached out to take it before proceeding to hold it over Yue’s head.
“Youming Yue, Youming Jun,” Mingyue then said. “Go and come back.”
Then, the pair bowed before him once more, and then Youming Jun quickly reclaimed Yue’s hand and as the music started back up, the pair quickly exited the room, but not before completing another round of bows to the guests of honour. And as they retreated, the rain of petals started up anew and then scattered in a whirling breeze as the doors were opened and then shut once again.
And then, just as a slightly eerie silence descended upon the room, the Demon King clapped his hands together, calling for attention.
“Prepare the feast!” he then called out, and his statement was quickly echoed by his closest advisor, who signalled for it to be done.
The wedding banquet went off with nary a hitch – similar but also dissimilar to the few weddings Jiao Ziyu had previously attended. The cuisine proved rather interesting however, and Jiao Ziyu was immensely glad to be seated next to Mingyue who quickly selected and discarded various food items, the latter while scowling at the servant who’d brought it along, indicating that they’d clearly messed up somehow.
This also kept Mingyue reasonably busy for a while, which in turn kept him from looking towards where the Demon King was clearly offering Bai Jixue an obviously raw piece of meat.
“Vulgar,” Mingyue muttered under his breath, clearly aware in spite of not looking – and judging by the amused look the Demon King sent him, the remark had not passed by unheard.
Bai Jixue meanwhile seemed content to ignore his onetime disciple, reinforcing Jiao Ziyu’s general impression that the pair must’ve had some sort of falling-out. Then again, given Mingyue’s actions, Bai Jixue treating him at least somewhat coldly wasn’t all that strange – because if Jiao Ziyu had been in a similar position, then⸺
The doors opened once more, revealing a now unmasked Youming Jun and a similarly unveiled Yue.
“Back so soon?” the Demon King said, evidently amused. “You know you could’ve taken your⸺”
Bai Jixue tugged sharply at one of those vividly crimson locks, and the Demon King apparently thought better of it.
“We’ll do the tea ceremony some other time,” he then said. “For now, let’s feast!”
And so, they did.
Say whatever one wanted about the Demon Realm, but demons sure knew a thing or two about how to arrange a pretty magnificent banquet.
All in all, it took two more days until celebrations were properly done and over with, and at this point, Jiao Ziyu had both tasted and experienced a number of things he’d never imagined he’d ever experience.
Of course, there was also Mingyue, who in lieu of other options seemed to have taken to drowning his sorrows instead – which was how Jiao Ziyu had found out that Mingyue was apparently an incredibly affectionate drunk, and that he, although even quieter than usual, wouldn’t hold back from showing his affection, albeit only towards certain targets, of which Jiao Ziyu was thankfully one.
The other was naturally Yue, and if Bai Jixue had been in attendance, then the latter would’ve undoubtedly been targeted as well – and perhaps this was at least partially why Bai Jixue and the Demon King had made themselves scarce.
Of course, Jiao Ziyu supposed there were probably plenty of other viable reasons for the latter, but⸺
Jiao Ziyu would rather not think about it, actually. He would rather not⸺
Wait, coming to think of it⸺
Jiao Ziyu sat straight up as the thought suddenly occurred. Then, he performed a quick calculation on how many days had passed since he’d last submitted any sort of report – and while this certainly hadn’t been the longest that he’d ever been out of contact, there was still that whole incident that had served as the starting point.
Shit.
“Mingyue,” Jiao Ziyu said, giving him a light nudge. “Mingyue.”
Mingyue in turn made a sleepy and mildly irritated noise, attaching himself all the more firmly to Jiao Ziyu’s arm.
Fortunately, this did leave Jiao Ziyu’s other arm free, and since Mingyue didn’t seem particularly keen on letting go anytime soon, Jiao Ziyu promptly waved over the Demon Prince, and as the latter approached, Yue naturally came over as well.
“What is it?” Yue asked, keeping his distance – which made sense, because the greater the proximity, the greater the risk of getting caught in a hug and showered with affection.
Hell, even the Demon Prince made sure to keep well outside of Mingyue’s immediate striking range, because even he had been grabbed at least once, albeit not so much for a hug as for an intense hair ruffle as aggressive as it was affectionate.
“Sorry,” Jiao Ziyu said, not really sure how to explain things. “I need a favour.”
“A favour?” Youming Jun said, tilting his head to the side, undeniably curious.
“Yeah.” Jiao Ziyu nodded. “I need to get back to the Green Jade Peaks.”
“Why?” Yue asked.
Well⸺ “I need to see the Sect Leader... and explain a few things?”
Actually, now, with a perfectly viable method of transportation so close at hand, it finally occurred to Jiao Ziyu that he had absolutely no idea as to breach this topic to Sect Leader Yeguang. Like, what was Jiao Ziyu even supposed to say?
Long time no see, sorry for not getting in touch before now, I was busy tagging along on a rescue mission to the Demon Realm and then I got roped into attending a royal wedding. Oh, and by the way, Bai Jixue is also back, and Mingyue totally sold him off to the Demon King in exchange for assistance and then Bai Jixue decided to marry the Demon King out of spite. Also⸺
Jiao Ziyu didn’t know, he didn’t know, and he honestly didn’t even want to deal with it, but if he didn’t tell the Sect Leader, then who’d⸺
“No need,” Mingyue muttered, finally letting go and sitting up straight. “Yi Yeguang knows where we are. I told him.”
Huh? “When?”
“Before the wedding,” Mingyue said, pinching the bridge of his nose now. “I already had the Demon Bastard deliver it.”
Jiao Ziyu immediately turned back towards Youming Jun, who blinked.
“Oh yeah,” the other then said. “I guess I did.”
Ah, honestly⸺
“Did you deliver it in person?” Jiao Ziyu asked, already fearing the implications.
“You know,” the Demon Prince said after a brief moment’s deliberation. “I was just planning on leaving it on some desk for him to find, but... he surprised me?”
Ah. Jiao Ziyu did not like the sound of that.
