“What surprise?” Li Luo asked gently, avoiding Yun Moxiao’s scorching gaze.

“During the banquet, the emperor offered to fulfill one of my wishes, and I asked him for your hand in marriage,” Yun Moxiao replied.

“...me!” Li Luo raised her head in shock.

“Yes, you! Tomorrow, the emperor will issue an imperial decree for our marriage. Li Luo, we’ll soon be husband and wife!” Yun Moxiao again embraced Li Luo. “Li Luo, we’ll have a home together, a home for both of us.”

Li Luo soundlessly began to cry. A home—something she had always dreamt of, but never expected to become a reality. She had once thought of the Slaughtering King’s manor as her own home, but a true home would contain her loved ones and prized possessions that could bring her joy and warmth.

And now, the man who was hugging her had promised her such a home.

“Yun Moxiao?”

“Hm?”

“I promise I’ll repay your affection with my entire life,” Li Luo replied seriously, but Yun Moxiao only smiled.

“What? There’s no need for any sort of repayment. I just want to live happily with you, happily ever after.”

Back in the Slaughtering King’s manor, Yun Ruoyan lay by Li Mo’s side, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

“What’s the matter, Yan’er?” Li Mo gently pulled her body toward him.

“Li Mo, do you know what my brother requested of the emperor today?”

“What?”

“He had the emperor betroth Li Luo to him, and the emperor agreed! My goodness, I’m so happy for them I can’t sleep! I have to start preparing for the wedding, for the wedding banquet, for gifts, for arranging for the procession—Li Luo’s marrying into the Yun manor from the Slaughtering King’s manor, after all, and I’m in charge of both the families for the moment…”

“That’s why you need a good night’s rest. Now, sleep.” Li Mo hugged her tightly, preventing her from tossing and turning any further. Finally, sleep slowly took ahold of Yun Ruoyan.

The next day, bright and early in the morning, she left for the Yun manor. Li Luo was now responsible for the goings-on of the Yun household, but since she was about to be married, Yun Ruoyan intended for her to get at least a few days of rest so she could be in the best shape for her marriage.

“Li Luo, you’re not allowed to do anything during this period of time. Rest well and just think about being a beautiful bride. The emperor’s imperial decree will come around noon, so you just have to dress up well for the moment,” Yun Ruoyan said. Li Luo had gotten up even earlier than she had and was already beginning to work. Although Li Luo didn’t need to be personally responsible for a lot of the tasks she was handling, she did have to direct the servants of the Yun household, and Yun Ruoyan knew how taxing the endeavor could be.

“Thank you, sister.” Yun Moxiao was used to waking up early, especially after his tenure in the army. When he woke up early to see Li Luo already dealing with all sorts of affairs, he tried to get her to stop, but Li Luo had refused to listen to him. In contrast, Yun Ruoyan’s words were far more effective.

Li Luo finally stopped working after having dealt with the most important matters for the day. Yun Ruoyan dragged Li Luo to her room and began helping her put on makeup. “You’ve always been the one doing this for me, Li Luo, so let me help you once.” With Yun Ruoyan’s help, the already pretty Li Luo began exuding an aura of such beauty that Yun Moxiao couldn’t tear his eyes away from her.

The imperial edict arrived almost right after Yun Ruoyan had finished her final touches, and Li Luo was officially proclaimed the female head of the Yun household.

Yun Moxiao immediately brought Li Luo to pay her respects to the Yun matriarch. Her condition had gradually been improving, and she was absolutely thrilled to see Yun Moxiao. When Yun Moxiao introduced Li Luo as his future wife, the Yun matriarch was so happy that she immediately removed a jade bangle from her wrist and handed it to Li Luo.

Although the Yun matriarch was getting better, she still wasn’t able to concentrate for long periods of time on account of her age. After Yun Ruoyan, Yun Moxiao, and Li Luo chatted with her for a while, they prepared to leave to let her rest.

Suddenly, the Yun matriarch asked Yun Ruoyan about what had happened to Yun Lan. “Ruoyan, why has your father been in closed cultivation for so long? Have you gone to check up on him?”

“I have, Grandmother. Father’s doing fine, and there isn’t much to be worried about,” Yun Ruoyan replied.

“Grandmother, I came home too late last night and was waiting for the imperial edict this morning, so I haven’t yet had time to see Father,” Yun Moxiao added.

“In that case, you should go visit him now. I’m sure he’ll be pleased to see you back, safe and sound.”

After they bade farewell to the Yun matriarch, Yun Moxiao directed them all toward Yun Lan’s residence. Li Luo could sense Yun Ruoyan’s hesitation, and she offered to do something else instead, but Yun Moxiao grabbed her hand and said, “You’re going to be my wife and the next female head of the Yun household, so we definitely have to go see my father.”

“Official Yun’s in closed cultivation, isn’t he? Would it be a bother? I could find some future opportunity to pay my respects to him, perhaps,” Li Luo replied.

Yun Ruoyan also grabbed Li Luo. “Li Luo, I was overthinking matters. You’ll soon be a part of the Yun family, and there aren’t any secrets we need to keep hidden from you.” She turned to her brother. “Brother, Father isn’t in closed cultivation at all. Instead, he’s trying to save someone.”

“To save someone? Whom?”

“Our mother.” Yun Ruoyan led the way to her mother’s cottage on the lake, where Yun Moxiao finally saw his mother for the first time in decades. She lay peacefully on the bed of frozen jade, so full of vitality that she seemed like someone who was sleeping soundly.

“She’s our mother?” Yun Moxiao asked in disbelief.

“Yes. She’s your mother, Lin Yuemei,” Yun Lan replied.

Yun Moxiao clenched his fists tightly. His eyes turned red as he knelt in front of the bed. “Mother, you’re finally back, you’ve finally returned!” Yun Moxiao gently touched Lin Yuemei’s hands and put his face against her palm. “Mother, I thought you were gone for good…”

Unlike Yun Ruoyan, Yun Moxiao had lived with his mother for quite some time, and the motherly warmth and fond memories he had of her were deeply imprinted in his heart. His feelings toward his mother were naturally stronger than Yun Ruoyan’s.

“Mother, Brother’s back. The three of us are finally reunited,” Yun Ruoyan choked out, kneeling by Yun Moxiao’s side and placing her palm over Yun Moxiao and Lin Yuemei’s.

Suddenly, by their side, Li Luo exclaimed, “She moved! Madam Yun moved!” While Yun Ruoyan and Yun Moxiao were tightly clutching Lin Yuemei’s palm, Li Luo had seen Lin Yuemei’s brows flutter.

Everyone immediately turned to Lin Yuemei.

“Mother, won’t you open your eyes? Have a look at Brother and me!” Yun Ruoyan begged.

“Mother, wake up, please. Ruoyan and I are both waiting to pay our respects to you, and I’m about to get married!” Yun Moxiao pulled Li Luo to his side. “This is my soon-to-be wife, Li Luo. She’s very pretty, and I would give my life for her.”

“Madam Yun, please wake up. I look forward to meeting you,” Li Luo added.

Two tears slowly rolled down the sides of Lin Yuemei’s face.

“Mother’s awake! She’s crying! Father, did you see that? Mother’s crying!” Yun Moxiao and Yun Ruoyan clutched each other in joy, but Yun Lan’s face was still stern and severe.

“Your mother won’t awaken quite yet,” Yun Lan replied.

“But didn’t she just cry?” Yun Ruoyan wasn’t about to give up hope.

“Yuemei’s condition is a lot better, but there’s still quite a bit to go before she can truly wake up once more.” Yun Lan informed them that Lin Yuemei’s life had reached its natural conclusion, and what he was doing to prolong it went against the natural laws of heaven. To take the last step would severely weaken him and potentially lead to recoil on Lin Yuemei’s body.

As a result, he had hesitated from performing the last part of the technique. Luckily, however, Lin Yuemei was no longer in danger of perishing, and even without the frozen jade bed, she could survive in an unconscious state.

As they left their mother’s cottage, Yun Moxiao and Yun Ruoyan had their spirits far more dampened than when they had entered. According to what Yun Lan had told them, Lin Yuemei’s reawakening could well be infinitely prolonged.

“Lass, isn’t it easy to awaken your mother?” the demonic dragon forefather asked from within Yun Ruoyan’s mind.

“Do you have an idea?” Yun Ruoyan stopped short.

“Have you forgotten about the silver dragons’ holy water already?”

“Holy water?”

“Yes, holy water, the highest-grade holy water that can resurrect even the dead,” the demonic dragon forefather continued. “Although this isn’t something that we’ve seen for ourselves, that silver dragon isn’t prone to exaggeration. I expect that holy water will truly possess some remarkable, near-miraculous properties.”

“Ah, how could I have forgotten?” Yun Ruoyan’s eyes shone with hope once more.

“What did you forget?” Yun Moxiao glanced strangely at Yun Ruoyan.

“Brother, quite a lot happened to me in the otherworld.” Yun Ruoyan explained what had happened on the Mingyuan continent after her and Li Mo’s arrival, including the entire fiasco between the silver and demonic dragons, with particular emphasis on the holy water that the silver dragons had managed to distill.

Yun Moxiao stared hopefully at Yun Ruoyan. “As long as we can acquire some holy water for ourselves, we’ll be able to save Mother?”

“Yes, you’re right!” A black gleam flew out of Yun Ruoyan’s body. The Feilai Blade hovered by her side, and on top of the Feilai Blade sat the demonic dragon forefather.

“This is…?” Yun Moxiao stood up in surprise.

“He’s the forefather of the demonic dragons,” Yun Ruoyan introduced. After Yun Moxiao recovered from his temporary shock, he bowed to the demonic dragon forefather.

“Not bad,” the demonic dragon forefather commented. “As expected of the brother of the clan head of the demonic dragons.”

“What—Elder, I apologize, what did you say Ruoyan was?!”