Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 116 (2): Wedding Night

The four old men were all very moved by his heartfelt words.

Fang Che rose to his feet and pulled out the promissory note that Yin Shengong had written, then tore it to shreds before pulverizing those shreds to dust.

"My apologies for going against your wishes, Master, but those are my most sincere thoughts."

Yin Shengong stared at Fang Che in silence for a long while, then suddenly erupted into laughter.

"Did you all hear that? I wanted to pass down the position of pope to him, but he doesn't even want it! He thinks it's unworthy of him!"

"Congratulations, Pope Yin!" the three elders said in unison with wide grins on their faces.

"What're you congratulating me for? This disciple of mine is clearly too ambitious for his own good! Someday, I'm going to get implicated by him and end up dead!" Yin Shengong chortled with mirth.

He then turned to Fang Che and chuckled, "Make sure you don't go saying this stuff to anyone else. Otherwise, you won't be alive for much longer!"

"Yes, Master. I understand."

"I have a request, Pope Yin," Mu Linyuan said in a bashful manner.

"Let's hear it."

"Whenever you decide to retire and go to stay with Night Demon, can the three of us also move with you to become your neighbors?"

Qian Sanjiang and Hou Fang's eyes instantly lit up at this proposal.

"You just want to have my disciple look after you in your retirement!" Yin Shengong snapped. "Fine, do as you please!"

The three elders were ecstatic, and they immediately raised a toast to Yin Shengong.

Clearly, the four old men were in very high spirits, and the three elders had even begun discussing what their lives would look like post-retirement.

The more the three elders thought about it, the more excited they became, and it felt like they would gladly retire on the spot if given the choice!

"Isn't it far too early to be thinking about stuff like this? The three of you could end up dead long before you get to retire!" Yin Shengong chortled.

"Don't say that!" the three elders collectively protested. "You need to drink three cups of wine as punishment for cursing us on such a joyous occasion!"

Yin Shengong gladly accepted the punishment, downing three cups of wine in a row.

He then rose to his feet and declared with a suggestive smile, "Let's go out for a stroll. Tonight is my disciple's wedding night, let's give him some privacy."

The three elders rose to their feet, and all of them were practically glowing with elation.

"Where are you going, Master?" Fang Che asked.

"We're just going out for a stroll. We may be demonic church members, but even we're not so shameless that we would stay to eavesdrop on our juniors on their wedding night!" Yin Shengong chortled.

Fang Che instantly began blushing furiously, and he stammered, "Al... Alright, but make sure to stay away from the Hall of Protectionists and White Cloud Warrior Academy."

"We don't need you to tell us that," Yin Shengong scoffed with a roll of his eyes, and with that, the four old men departed.

Fang Che stepped out into the courtyard in his red wedding suit and he exhaled as he looked up at the night sky, his breath instantly forming a white stream of condensation in the chilly air.

***

Ye Meng had been sitting anxiously on the edge of the bed this entire time, her head still enshrouded under her bridal veil.

She felt as if there was a turbulent storm of erratic thoughts raging in her head, but she was unable to register any of them.

There was only one thing that she knew for certain, and that after tonight, her life was going to be completely different.

From this day forth, Fang Che, Night Demon, Starlight, Administrator Fang, and her husband were one and the same.

She took a deep breath as she reminded herself of her mission.

I have a duty to do my part for the welfare of the continent! I must persevere! I cannot allow my heart to be swayed!

Ye Meng closed her eyes as a look of resolve appeared on her face.

I'm sorry, my husband. I am an undercover agent. If I am ordered someday to kill you, then I will die with you, but I must follow my orders. If I am exposed someday, I do not ask for your forgiveness. I will remain by your side through thick and thin, through life and death, and if there comes a day when you find out my deception, I will be content to die at your hands.

Ye Meng closed her eyes tightly as two lines of tears came streaming down her face.

Right at this moment, the door was opened, then closed again.

Ye Meng's entire body instantly stiffened with apprehension, and her heart began pounding with the thunderous intensity of a stampede of galloping horses.

The only thing that she could draw solace from was the red veil over her head, much like an ostrich with its head in the sand.

As Fang Che approached the bed, a wry smile appeared on his face at the palpable tension radiating from Ye Meng's body.

I'm just as nervous as you are!

He gently sat down beside Ye Meng, then suggested, "How about I don't remove the veil for now, and we just have a chat?"

The red veil bobbed up and down slightly as Ye Meng nodded in response.

"It all feels very sudden, doesn't it?" Fang Che sighed. "Believe it or not, I had no idea this was going to happen."

Ye Meng had no reason to doubt him.

If he had harbored nefarious intentions for her, then he would've already made his move long ago, yet he hadn't.

"It's not that I don't like you, I'm just worried that I'd be condemning you by marrying you. Regardless of who I appear to be on the surface, deep down, I'll always be Night Demon of the One Heart Church. You're not a demonic church member, so you'll definitely be implicated by marrying me. That's why I've always been hesitant to do this, but Master has made the decision for us today.

“He's worried that you'll become a liability in the future, so he only gave me two options, which were to kill you or marry you. I couldn't bear to see you die, so I chose the latter. Honestly, I'm not opposed to marrying you anyway, so a part of me was happy that this happened."

Ye Meng's expression softened slightly under her veil as she listened to Fang Che's confession, and deep down, she wasn't opposed to this marriage, either.

"I never imagined that the ugly little mutt that I saved on a whim back in Green Wave City would become my concubine," Fang Che chuckled.

Ye Meng gave a disgruntled harrumph.

Ugly little mutt? Are you sure you're not talking about yourself?

"How about you?" Fang Che asked. "What are your feelings on all of this? Did all of this happen against your will?"

Ye Meng didn't say anything.

Does it matter if I wanted this to happen or not? What's the point in even asking me? 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Sure enough, Fang Che continued, "In any case, it's not like it matters."

A displeased pout appeared on Ye Meng's face.

Fang Che inched closer, and his voice dropped down to a whisper as he said, "I'm going to lift the veil now."

Ye Meng shuddered as all of her apprehension instantly returned in full force.

"Now that I think about it, I've never taken a close look at you," Fang Che mused, prolonging the suspense. "What do you actually look like? What if your face is riddled with pockmarks?"

"Don't lift the veil then," Ye Meng harrumphed. "There are pockmarks and scars all over my face!"

"Well, lucky me! That's exactly what I'm into!"

Ye Meng held her breath as the bridal veil was finally lifted, revealing her bright red cheeks and watery eyes.

Her expression was a complex mix of resignation, joy, anticipation, and fear, and her delicate lips were quivering as she stared at Fang Che.

"You're even uglier than I feared," Fang Che sighed.

The displeased pout instantly returned.

"Let's have a drink together," Fang Che said. "As is tradition, cross-cupped wine must be drunk between bride and groom to seal the deal."

Fang Che handed Ye Meng a cup of wine while also keeping one for himself, and they linked arms before drinking their cups of wine.

Ye Meng was blushing furiously the entire time.

After that, Fang Che cut off a length of hair from both his own head and Ye Meng's, then tied them together in a firm knot before placing the knotted lengths of hair into a jade box that he handed to Ye Meng.

"From this day forth, we are bound together for life. There's no running away for you now."

Ye Meng was staring at Fang Che in astonishment.

"But Young Master, the hair-knotting rite should only be observed with your official wife!"

Fang Che offered no response aside from to imprint his lips against Ye Meng's, and she immediately felt as if she were about to drift up into the air.

Her mind went completely blank, and she felt as if she were about to asphyxiate. By the time Fang Che finally pulled back, she was left completely drained of all strength, and she was left gasping for air, but her eyes were glowing as bright as stars.

"You wanna strip yourself or do you want me to help you?" Fang Che asked.