Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Cheng Yunsu blinked and replied with a cold smile, ”Father, don’t listen to them. The Hundred Flames Trading Company didn’t help Lu Chao.”

Just now, the members of the Cheng Mansion surrounding them had been roaring about how Lu Chao had relied on outside help to defeat everyone.

But that wasn’t true at all.

Cheng Chuming looked at his daughter’s resolute gaze, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more.

Cheng Yunsu then said gently, ”Father, don’t worry. Lu Chao will handle everything tomorrow.”

As her voice fell, Cheng Chuming’s mouth gaped even wider.

He glanced at Lu Chao outside the window, then back at his supremely confident daughter, his expression growing incredibly strange.

Finally, he replied hoarsely, ”I’m too tired. I’m going to rest in the adjoining room.”

With that, Cheng Chuming walked into the small room next to Cheng Yunsu’s. As he closed the door, he couldn’t help but gaze at the crescent moon outside the window and murmur, ”Xue Hongying, are you dead or alive?”

Xue Hongying was Cheng Chuming’s first wife, and Cheng Yunsu’s birth mother.

”If you’re alive, why did you leave?”

”If you’re dead, why didn’t you leave behind a single final word? What kind of extraordinary person are you, and why did you choose me?”

Regarding Xue Hongying, Cheng Chuming had far too many questions that he couldn’t answer.

She had appeared like a goddess descending to the mortal realm, joined with him, and given birth to Yunsu.

Then she had suddenly left, disappearing without a trace. But it was clear Xue Hongying was no ordinary person, because their daughter Cheng Yunsu’s Heavenly Destiny Bone and her talent in the Martial Dao were unprecedented in the history of the Yangzhou Cheng Family.

This was the talent she had inherited from her mother’s bloodline.

”Xue Hongying, our daughter has now recovered from her injuries, and she’s married a man who possesses the Life-taking Bone.”

”But the Life-taking Bone is too terrifying. Our daughter... she’s like she’s been possessed.”

”She even said that our son-in-law, without any outside help, could defeat everyone from the Cheng and Bai Mansions despite being only at the Postnatal First Layer. She said he could handle everything tomorrow.”

”How is that possible? Tomorrow, he has to face the City Lord’s Mansion!”

”Has our daughter’s soul been devoured by the demon inside that Life-taking Bone?”

Cheng Chuming’s face was filled with worry. His daughter’s words had made his skin crawl; she seemed as if she were controlled by a demon, spouting unbelievable claims, her trust in Lu Chao that of a fanatic.

He had originally come to accept Lu Chao, but now his heart was in turmoil.

「The sky gradually brightened.」

Cheng Chuming had tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. Lu Chao hadn’t slept either, completely engrossed in refining the Flame Spirit Bird Destiny Bone. Cheng Yunsu had sat by the window, quietly keeping him company, also staying awake through the night.

Just then, a trembling female voice called from outside the broken door, ”Young Miss, the Patriarch has sent us to help you dress.”

A pair of servant girls from the Cheng Mansion approached, holding wedding garments.

Hearing this, Cheng Yunsu wrapped her cloak tightly around herself and said, turning her head, ”Leave it. I’ll do it myself.”

The two servant girls quickly put the clothes down and ran away.

They had no desire to help Cheng Yunsu dress, no desire to see that horrifying appearance that was neither human nor ghost. It would give them nightmares.

Cheng Yunsu turned back, but she didn’t immediately put on the wedding attire. Instead, she continued to watch Lu Chao outside the window.

’Her husband had said that even if this so-called wedding was a trap where everyone would be an enemy, he would make her the most stunning bride. She didn’t know if Lu Chao would succeed in restoring her True Qi, but she didn’t particularly care.’

’As long as Lu Chao was here, she was at peace.’

Suddenly, Lu Chao opened his eyes and said in a low voice, ”I succeeded.”

With that, Lu Chao flashed directly into the room and slowly opened his hand.

Cheng Yunsu saw that the Flame Spirit Bird Destiny Bone in his palm had transformed into a familiar shape, radiating an almost familiar aura.

Her gaze shifted to Lu Chao’s face, and Cheng Yunsu asked softly, ”Back then, you saw it too?”

The shape of the bone was identical to her shattered Heavenly Fire Sparrow Bone.

Lu Chao nodded. ”Beneath the Blood Stele, I saw everything clearly.”

It was precisely because he had seen the shape of Cheng Yunsu’s Heavenly Fire Sparrow Bone that he was able to refine the Flame Spirit Bird’s Destiny Bone into an identical form. As tears welled in Cheng Yunsu’s eyes, Lu Chao spoke again, his voice solemn. ”Now, I will fuse the bone for you. And then, I will help you dress.”

They called for Cheng Chuming, then stepped into the adjoining room. Cheng Yunsu slowly removed all her clothes.

She exposed her smooth, still faintly red back to Lu Chao.

There was a hollow there—the place where her Heavenly Fire Sparrow Bone had once been.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Chao said in a low voice, ”Xiao Su’er, brace yourself.”

Pressing the Flame Spirit Bird Destiny Bone into the hollow of Cheng Yunsu’s back, Lu Chao simultaneously circulated the True Qi generated by the Fire Sparrow Map, beginning to activate and connect with Cheng Yunsu’s own nearly withered True Qi and meridians...

...

「Four hours passed in the blink of an eye.」

Outside the adjoining room, Cheng Chuming was on pins and needles. ’Why would changing clothes take four hours? And why aren’t they responding when I call?’

’Could it be? Is Lu Chao really restoring Yunsu’s True Qi? No, that’s impossible.’

’There’s no such Miracle Elixir...’

A Miracle Elixir might exist for blindness and burns, but restoring True Qi required restoring the Destiny Bone.

Originally, Cheng Chuming had held a sliver of belief, but that was before he came to think his daughter was... possessed.

Suddenly, Cheng Chuyan’s voice shouted from outside, ”Cheng Yunsu, the hour has come! Get out here immediately!”

Then, Cheng Chuyan looked at Cheng Chuming and added, ”Big Brother, today is your precious daughter’s wedding day. Don’t look like you’re at a funeral. Hurry up and change into some nice clothes. Don’t bring shame on our Cheng Mansion.”

Cheng Chuming was still covered in whip wounds, but as the bride’s father, he naturally had to dress formally.

At this moment, Cheng Chuming hesitated and asked, ”Little Sister, today, will Young Miss Wu Xin...”

Cheng Chuyan cut him off sharply. ”Don’t ask me, I don’t know either... But I’m sure it will be very, very ’spectacular’.”

Ignoring Cheng Chuming, she turned back to the adjoining room’s door and barked, ”Get out here now, or I’m kicking the door in!”

The auspicious hour had arrived, and no one in the Cheng Mansion wanted any more trouble.

If Cheng Chuming hadn’t been standing guard here the whole time, Cheng Chuyan would have suspected that Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu had already slipped away silently with the help of the Hundred Flames Trading Company.

It was also because of their concern about the Hundred Flames Trading Company that Cheng Weishan and Bai Wenrong hadn’t come to cause trouble for Lu Chao during the night.

The next moment... CREAK!

The door opened, and a vibrant red dress emerged from within.

Cheng Yunsu had changed into her wedding gown. She was wearing a red wedding veil, so her face was hidden. As for Lu Chao, he had also put on the clothes the Cheng Mansion had prepared for him.

He was dressed entirely in red, his posture ramrod straight!

Seeing the two of them walk out, both Cheng Chuyan and Cheng Chuming let out a long sigh of relief.

Cheng Chuyan looked Lu Chao up and down a few times and sneered, ”You clean up well enough, but a Life-taking Bone is still just trash.”

Not bothering to acknowledge Cheng Chuyan, Lu Chao took Cheng Yunsu’s hand and walked directly toward the wedding venue...

Gradually, the surrounding noise grew into a clamor. It was obvious that nearly every person of note in Yangzhou City had arrived.

Just as Wu Xin had said, it had to be a grand affair.