Reborn As The Short-Lived White Moonlight of the Tragic, Powerful Male Lead - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The wedding robes were clearly an ill-fitting borrow. However, Nian Wan’er’s face was flushed with the blush of a true bride—modest and happy, her eyes so full of Baili Wuhen that even the handsome Gu Yunqi, whom she had peeked at earlier, could no longer draw her attention.

The Town Mayor hurried forward: “Immortal Lords! Forgive me for not welcoming you sooner!”

The Mayor was incredibly enthusiastic. To him, the more help, the better; one can never have too many cultivators. However, Baili Wuhen and Nian Wan’er felt differently. They were out on a family trial and naturally didn’t want outsiders interfering.

Baili Wuhen, in particular, wanted to show off his skills. Even if he couldn’t win, the Nian family’s Golden Core guard was there. His plan was to protect Nian Wan’er and make her fall hopelessly in love with him.

The Nian guard frowned but stepped forward politely enough to greet Xie Lanting and Gu Yunqi, making their identities clear. Noticing that Xie Lanting’s cultivation was higher than Gu Yunqi’s, he addressed Xie Lanting: “The Mayor of Purple Flower Town asked the Baili and Nian families for aid. Our two young masters are here on a mission. We ask our fellow Daoists to grant us this convenience.”

Xie Lanting remained amiable: “I am merely passing through and worried for the innocent townsfolk. If you can handle it, I’m happy to save the effort. But I’d like to stay and see the result. You won’t mind, will you?”

Baili Wuhen sneered inwardly. Isn’t he just saying: ‘If you lose and embarrass yourselves, I’ll still have to step in’?

On the surface, he acted magnanimous and confident: “Please.”

Xie Lanting and Gu Yunqi stayed as a matter of course. Xie Lanting pointed to the red silk fluttering in the courtyard: “And what is this?”

“Oh, it’s like this!” the Mayor explained. “That evil thing always kidnaps people on wedding days. The Immortal Lords came up with a plan to risk themselves by faking a wedding to lure it out.”

The robes were borrowed. Nian Wan’er, wearing the loose clothing and heavy makeup, lowered her head shyly. Baili Wuhen took her hand, his voice dripping with affection: “Don’t be afraid.”

Xie Lanting: Heh, scumbag.

…

The group waited for the bait to be taken. However, they waited from day till night, and from night till dawn. The mortals guarding the courtyard couldn’t help but slip into a few dreams. Baili Wuhen and Nian Wan’er sat in the room until they were numb. In the faint light of dawn, they looked at each other—

A full day and night had passed. Not a shadow of the evil spirit was seen. Nothing happened.

The Mayor had stayed up all night too, gaining a few more white hairs. He ordered refreshing tea to be served; the courtyard was soon filled with a tea fragrance so strong it woke the birds dozing in the trees.

Cultivators don’t get dark circles after one sleepless night. Baili Wuhen and Nian Wan’er had changed back into their own clothes, their expressions sour. The novelty of playing husband and wife had worn off, replaced by anxiety: Which part of the plan went wrong?

After gulping down three bowls of tea, the Mayor stroked his beard and whispered tentatively: “Uh… is it possible this evil thing can tell a real wedding from a fake one?”

“If so, that’s trouble,” Baili Wuhen said, brow furrowed. “How would it distinguish? We performed the bowing ceremony. If it’s about feelings, Wan’er and I are childhood sweethearts… our bond is… cough!”

Realizing he had let slip something personal, he stopped perfectly. Nian Wan’er’s attention was instantly pulled back, her lips curving into a sweet smile.

Bond? You mean the ‘bond’ where you use her and then kill her? Xie Lanting set down his teacup. If the spirit really can distinguish weddings, any two people off the street would be more “real” than you two.

The Mayor sighed. “What do we do? If we use real townspeople, they’ll just be kidnapped. Every couple vanished during the ceremony—a great wind blows, everyone is blinded, and when it stops, they’re gone. We mortals are truly helpless!”

The Mayor looked distressed. After a moment, his gaze swept over Baili Wuhen and Nian Wan’er, and he spoke tremulously: “What if… during the ceremony… we add a marriage contract?”

Baili Wuhen: Now that sounds great!

The Nian guard stood up abruptly: “Absolutely not!”

The Mayor shrunk back. “I only…”

The guard cut him off decisively: “No.”

In the cultivation world, weddings aren’t just about bowing; they involve signing contracts, tying red strings, and announcing to Heaven and Earth. The guard could accept a fake bowing ceremony for a mission, but a marriage contract was no joke. The lady might not actually marry Baili Wuhen; he couldn’t let her reputation be tarnished.

Xie Lanting set down his tea and suggested lazily: “Why don’t we try different people? If that doesn’t work, we’ll think of something else.”

Baili Wuhen grew wary: “Who?”

Xie Lanting looked at the guard: “How about you and your lady—”

“No!” “Impossible!”

Xie Lanting was interrupted by Baili Wuhen and the guard simultaneously. He understood why Baili was unhappy, but he looked at the guard in confusion: “Why?”

The guard said stiffly: “My status is not worthy of the lady.”

Xie Lanting: “…It’s just an act.”

You’re fine letting your lady be with a scumbag like Baili Wuhen, but you’re ‘unworthy’ to play a role?

The guard was stubborn: “No is no.”

Xie Lanting sighed. They couldn’t use mortals; they had to use cultivators. There were only so many here. He prepared to step up himself: “Fine. Miss Nian, what do you think of—”

“I will go with Senior.”

Xie Lanting stopped mid-sentence. The one who spoke was Gu Yunqi.

Xie Lanting had intended to ask if Nian Wan’er would play the role with him, and if not, he’d ask the others—excluding Baili Wuhen, obviously. He hadn’t expected someone to be so proactive.

Xie Lanting: “Then I’ll trouble Wenren to join me.”

Right, Xie Lanting only knew him by his alias, “Wenren Yun.”

The others had no objection, including Baili Wuhen; the priority was getting the spirit to appear. The Mayor hurried off: “I’ll prepare the robes immediately!”

…

Since it was two men this time, they needed male-style robes. Fortunately, the townspeople were happy to lend theirs. Finding the clothes wasn’t hard, but since wedding robes are usually custom-made, it was difficult to find a perfect fit.

The Mayor gave them a room to change. Full wedding attire was too cumbersome, so Xie Lanting only swapped his outer robe. When he finished and stepped out, Gu Yunqi was already waiting in the courtyard.

Xie Lanting was caught off guard by the sight of the red-clad youth.

A jade gentleman under the candles, red robes like fire crossing the spring breeze.

Though Xie Lanting was the number one beauty of the cultivation world, he had a soft spot for Gu Yunqi’s look—dashing, handsome, and vividly alive against the scenery. In a life of bad luck since transmigrating, only a handsome face could warm a “visual-lover’s” heart.

Xie Lanting was looking at Gu Yunqi, and Gu Yunqi was looking at him.

The Immortal Lord’s posture was impeccable—an elegant gentleman. The fiery red robes made his skin look even more striking, making one want to snatch away his mask to see his true face.

Xie Lanting walked up to him with a smile. “You look quite good in that.”

Gu Yunqi said sincerely, “You too.”

“Flattering me? You can’t even see my face.” Xie Lanting adjusted his sleeves and asked casually, “By the way, how old are you?”

Gu Yunqi: “I’ll be twenty in a few days.”

His upcoming birthday was the very day he was supposed to marry Xie Lanting.

Twenty… the transition from boy to man. Xie Lanting mused. In two years when the youthfulness fades, how handsome will he be? I was only twenty-two when I transmigrated, roughly the same… wait.

Xie Lanting gripped his sleeve, suddenly realizing something.

Twenty-two was his age. But this body—Immortal Lord Lanyue—was a ripe one hundred years old.

An image popped into his head: An old, weathered cow slowly chewing on fresh, tender green grass.

Xie Lanting: “…”

He shook the image out of his head. Stop it. My soul is a twenty-something youth! Besides, this is just a fake marriage, no actual ‘content.’ It doesn’t count as ‘robbing the cradle’!

Xie Lanting flicked his sleeve and lied through his teeth: “Mmh, then we’re about the same age. Stop calling me ‘Senior.’ Just use my name.”

Gu Yunqi pretended not to know the Immortal Lord was over a century old: “I won’t be so abrupt. I’ll call you Brother Qu.”

Better than Senior; sounds younger. Xie Lanting patted his shoulder: “Let’s go, Wenren.”

…

They began the “Three Bows” in the decorated hall. The Mayor acted as the master of ceremonies, shouting: “First bow to Heaven and Earth—”

Xie Lanting knew it was just an act, but as he performed the first bow, something in his chest was inexplicably stirred. It was as if his heart, independent of his brain, decided to give a happy little skip.

What was that? Confused, he followed with the next bow.

“Spouses bow to each other!”

As the Mayor’s voice fell, the two turned to face each other and bowed. The “Three Bows” were complete. Just as they were about to straighten up, a violent gale suddenly swept in from the open doors. Lanterns swung wildly, and the door frames rattled. The force was immense, sending the hems of their red robes flying.

Xie Lanting and Gu Yunqi snapped their heads up: It’s here!

The Mayor shrieked, blinded by the wind: “This is it! AHHH!”

Blinded, he couldn’t see the mass of pitch-black mist drifting in. From within the mist, a skeletal, snow-white hand reached out. As it had done many times before, it lunged for the couple in red. Just as it was about to grab the robes, there was a sharp clack.

The skeletal hand: “?”

You can’t have the robes, but you can have a sword.

Xie Lanting thrust his longsword into the skeletal grip. Bone clashed against cold steel with a grating screech. With a swift, fluid slash, Xie Lanting sent the skeletal hand and the black mist crashing into the wall. THUD. The entire house shook from the impact.

The black mist fell to the floor. The wind stopped abruptly. Everyone except the Mayor closed in. The Nian guard gave Xie Lanting a thoughtful look; when the mist had lunged, he hadn’t even seen how Xie Lanting had drawn his blade.

Xie Lanting stood with his sword, his aura suddenly cold and sharp. He spun the blade in a flourish, watching the mist dissipate to reveal the creature inside: “Finally… what the heck!?”

His flourish faltered midway. His voice jumped an octave, nearly cracking. As the mist cleared, a snow-white human skeleton lay there!

Xie Lanting feared nothing—not demons, not monsters. He was brave enough to bungee jump from the clouds. But he had a singular, absolute weakness: Horror movies. He avoided them by eight hundred miles—Eastern, Western, ancient, or modern. He was utterly defeated by the human imagination.

Yes. Immortal Lord Lanyue—the Peerless Swordsman—was afraid of ghosts.

A chill ran up his spine. He took a step back, his brain working overtime to force a logical analysis: Stay calm! There are no real ghosts in this world!

According to the original novel’s setting, all “ghosts” were either hallucinations or misidentifications. This world had all sorts of bizarre monsters, but no true ghosts. When people died, their lights went out; nothing remained.

Thinking of this, he finally calmed down. But despite knowing it wasn’t a ghost, the sight of the stark white bones still made his skin crawl. The skeleton hit the wall and pulled down a length of red silk. The bright red fabric draped over the white bones—a perfect horror movie aesthetic. The skeleton “clack-clacked” its head up, its two dark, hollow eye sockets locking onto Xie Lanting.

Xie Lanting had to use every ounce of willpower to resist the urge to just scream and hack it to pieces out of pure terror.

His backward step looked like he was making room for Baili Wuhen and the others. Only Gu Yunqi noticed his shoulders were suddenly tense and his grip on the sword was no longer natural.

Gu Yunqi looked at Xie Lanting, then at the skeleton. He thought: I must be overthinking it. Immortal Lord Lanyue is a battle-hardened swordsman who has slain mountains of demons. There’s no way he’s scared of a pile of bones.