Be Gentle, Immortal Master

Chapter 199 – Husband And Wife

Through a veil of snow, I stared at him, beyond words.

The life he envisioned had been a secret dream of mine ever since I realized my feelings for him years ago. Even before I was aware of who I truly was, and even before we had crossed the line that kept us apart, I had imagined in my wildest fantasies that one day, there would come a way to rid the barriers that lay between us. I had imagined that one day, I would be able to stand by his side proudly as his equal, unafraid to declare that I was his, and he was mine.

But I knew that was a luxury we couldn't afford. The need for Mount Hua's resources to help me reach my ascension aside, there were responsibilities that he had to keep as one of the eldest immortals here. His current conditions only complicated the matter further—a solution to undo the damage of a demonic sword must exist somewhere within the numerous cultivation sects in the country, and it would be much easier to seek help as a master of Mount Hua, instead of a self-cultivator without any connections to a large sect.

As much as I had always wanted to be with him in the open, there was too much to sacrifice, and he surely understood it as well as I did. But he still decided to ask …

"Qing-er." He smiled, seeing my confliction. "Back in that meditation chamber, you taught me a lesson. For the past five years … or maybe even two hundred years, all I had tried to do was to keep you safe, to ensure that you could live soundly in this life without the risks and dangers from Twin Stars. But you made me realize that what I did wasn't enough … Because even if you could live on for hundreds of years more, it wouldn't have been in a way that you wanted, and it wouldn't be worth the price that was paid."

He brushed his thumb over my cheek. "You helped me reach an epiphany, and I've realized since then that I'm even greedier than you are. You didn't want a life without the one you love … whereas I ask for even more. I want a life where we can laugh like this, be ourselves like this, and have all our neighbors hear us and envy us. A life where we can travel the world together, hand in hand, and not have to hide how we look at each other in the eye. A life where we can have a family, children, and share those simple happiness with them every day, just like any other couple you grew up with and envied."

A snowflake landed on my lashes, and the melted icy drop stung my eye, making it a bit misty. "H-How did you know I envied them?" I asked a bit embarrassedly. "Cultivators aren't supposed to want a life like that …"

He laughed softly. "Because I know you … And I know your concerns. Rest assured that you don't need any help from Mount Hua for your ascension. Neither do we need their support to find that solution we need—if it was something that the name of Mount Hua could have resolved, I wouldn't have spent two hundred years and still be looking for an answer. These are not issues you need to worry about … You only need to tell me what your heart desires, and whether you want to share such a life with me."

My lips trembled. He had considered it all, then … And he had truly made up his mind. This was a moment that I had been dreaming of for years, but when it suddenly came, everything felt too natural and too perfect to be true. I was in so much awe that I couldn't even react. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to calm myself.

"Your life is my life, Bai Ye," I found my voice at last. "I would share it with you no matter where you decide to go, no matter what you decide to do. Especially when you've already planned it all out to be exactly the way I want it." Clasping my hand around his, I gave him a sly smile. "Besides … You said you consider yourself married already, so I don't seem to have a choice on whether or not I'd like to marry you."

He raised an eyebrow at the reference of what he had said to me at Silver Gate. "And you said I owed you a ceremony for that to count," he reminded me. "Will you do it with me now, Qing-er? To kneel to the heaven and the earth to swear us as one? To officially declare us as a couple in the eyes of the world?"

My heart skipped a beat. But I nodded firmly. Together, we fumbled out of the deep snow and made our way to the clear ground by the corridor. It wasn't until then that we remembered our hair was still tied up in a knot, and with a few ouches, I reluctantly untied them so that we could kneel side by side.  Exchanging a look between us, we turned to face the eastern sky, then touched our foreheads to the ground.

This was the ceremony in the commoner's world that sealed the union between a new couple. Simple but solemn, this was the wordless oath that bonded two people together, as they pledged their love together in the witness of the universe.

And that easily, we had done it.

"Qing-er." His loving voice whispered against my ear as he helped me get back to my feet. "Wife," he added.

"Husband," I whispered back. For no reason at all, I felt my cheeks flush. The title sounded a little strange … though in all the greatest ways.

He nudged his cheek against mine, and I could feel him smiling. "Wife," he said again. "What do they do at the end of the wedding after the ceremonies are over?"

I blinked.. Before I could respond, he had swept me off my feet, and he strode into our room with me in his arms.