Ordered to Marry by the High King - Chapter 6

Ch-chūjià (Get married)?

This was outrageous! The little fox had never imagined that her Aunt Lanhui harbored such ambition—she actually wanted to form a marriage alliance with Lingkong Mountain. That lord was none other than the high king of the Cangqiong Realm, and once the monarch of Wugou River. Who would dare to reach for a connection that lofty?

Zhuoxue didn’t doubt what she heard—after all, in her memory, Lanhui had mentioned Lingkong Mountain more than once. She couldn’t have misheard every time. It seemed Aunt Lanhui still treated her well. Others, in their fury, would wish to skin her alive, but not Aunt Lanhui—she only wanted her to marry up.

Fortunately, hearing about Lingkong Mountain this time didn’t strike the same fear into her heart as it had days before. Perhaps it was all the tales she’d heard in town about the goddess saving people.

Thinking of that silver-haired great demon in the portrait, she even began to entertain the idea—what harm was there in giving it a try? If they weren’t the kind to eat people and spit out bones, they must at least be reasonable.

The demon lord liked mortals—so did she. That was something they had in common. Maybe… maybe they really would hit it off.

After all…

After all, demons rarely talked of love. Most just partnered for dual cultivation and muddled through life together.

“Why are you still here?” Lanhui said coldly.

Zhuoxue hesitated. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that the tiger demon harbored a cruel streak. Beautiful, yes—but no one could be completely kindhearted. She looked up and asked quietly, “Do you really want me to go? Don’t you care about me at all, Aunt Lanhui? Don’t I have my own good points?”

“Tell me.” Lanhui asked, “What good points exactly are there to care about?”

Zhuoxue racked her brains. Her heart sank—she couldn’t think of a single answer. 

She thought hard, her heart skipping a beat—she couldn’t even come up with an answer herself.

“Get out!” Lanhui shut her eyes and refused to spare even a glance.

Of course, she didn’t truly want Zhuoxue to leave, nor was she worried that Zhuoxue would actually go. There were only monks on Ninghong Mountain—not a single chicken could be found even if you searched the whole place. Without meat, Zhuoxue would definitely refuse to leave. Even if she went, she wouldn’t last, and in the end, she’d have no choice but to rein herself in and come slinking back.

Still seated beside Lanhui, Zhuoxue felt that Lanhui’s refusal to look at her was actually a sign of soft-heartedness. She nuzzled her chin against Lanhui’s leg, still half in beast form, like a little creature itching itself, and said, “You don’t really want me to go, do you? Then I won’t go. That place or not—it’s all the same. But if you and I don’t speak clearly, won’t that just hurt our relationship?”

A cold, sharp gaze bore down on her, making Zhuoxue shiver in fear.

“You want me to speak clearly?” Lanhui asked.

Zhuoxue mumbled, “Can’t we just talk things through nicely?”

Lanhui said, “Fine, I’ll speak nicely—and you’d better listen well.”

The words were barbed, and they stung Zhuoxue with instant regret. She shouldn’t have said that.

Lanhui said coldly, “If you sneak out again, stealing chickens and causing trouble, I’ll burn the wooden boat, seal the gap in the cliffs, and the illusion over the mountain will no longer only affect mortals—even demons won’t find their way through it.”

She clearly meant to turn Qiufeng Ridge into a prison.

Having seen the vast world beyond, and grown used to coming and going freely, how could Zhuoxue ever accept that?

Zhuoxue stared wide-eyed. She didn’t take those words as idle threats—Lanhui always meant what she said. If she’d said it, then she truly intended to do it.

“Actually, I haven’t been stealing chickens these past few days,” Zhuoxue blurted out in a panic.

“Then what were you doing?” Lanhui pressed.

Zhuoxue braced herself and said, “That kind old Madam Qian from town passed away. I went to send her off… and it took me a bit far.”

“You sent her all the way to the Nine Springs Palace?” Lanhui’s voice turned sharp. “That place is under the jurisdiction of Kunlun Yaojing. How dare you!”

From the distance, a few bold little demons chimed in.

“Mountain Lord, look at her! She’s completely unteachable—why not lock her up again?”

“Locking her up isn’t enough. Just block the way entirely! We don’t want to go out anyway. Nowhere’s better than Qiufeng Ridge!”

Lanhui looked at the fox, saying nothing more.

The girl sitting on the muddy ground—spotless despite her surroundings—suddenly transformed into a white fox and bolted away. Before fleeing, she even frantically packed her belongings. How could she live without eating chicken? If she had to stay in that dark, sunless place month after month, year after year, she’d go mad! If that was her only choice, then she might as well go to Lingkong Mountain.

Lanhui watched the fox flee but remained seated by the water’s edge, unmoving. Her face betrayed exhaustion, and within her expression lingered a shadowy, unspoken worry.

A yellow oriole chirped as it landed lightly on her shoulder, tilting its head and examining her.

Lanhui’s gaze passed through the distant crevice in the cliffs, where faint daylight filtered through. Who could say what place she was thinking of?

The oriole gave a few small hops, glancing in the direction the fox had run.

“Let her go,” Lanhui murmured, lowering her gaze. “She can go wherever she likes. Either way, she’ll be back in a few days. I… can’t control her anymore.”

The oriole chirped again.

“Maybe the outside world isn’t as dangerous as I thought,” Lanhui shook her head. “What angers me isn’t that she comes and goes from the mortal world—but that her conduct is improper, and she never thinks about the consequences of what she does.”

The oriole went silent.

***

That fox, after packing up, truly didn’t stop walking. She moved on as if completely carefree—until she was almost out of Qiufeng Ridge, when she finally began looking back with each step. She had thought that Lanhui would at least try to stop her once or twice. Then she could pretend to stay reluctantly, take the chance to say a few sweet words, and maybe the whole matter would be brushed aside.

But to her surprise, she had made it all the way to the edge of Qiufeng Ridge, and still—nothing but silence behind her. Not even the shadow of a demon stirred. Not even the trees had rustled.

At that moment, the foot of the mountain was already aglow with lights, while Qiufeng Ridge remained dead silent. The fox found herself suddenly unsure whether to stay or go. Since childhood, she had been the most favored little demon on Qiufeng Ridge—when had she ever been treated with such coldness? This felt worse than being locked up. It was as if a piece of her heart had been carved out. Though it wasn’t autumn or winter, a chill wind howled through her chest, freezing her to the bone.

Should she go back?

Zhuoxue hesitated for a beat. She was never one to be obedient—tell her to go north, and she’d throw herself against the south wall instead.

No, she wouldn’t go back. So what if it was Lingkong Mountain? She’d go and show Lanhui a thing or two.

Red, then. Red’s festive.

The only issue was, she’d never dealt with a marriage alliance before. And all the demons on Qiufeng Ridge were single—how would she know what the process was?

Was the ceremony first, or the bed? 

Why didn’t those mortal-world storytellers ever cover this part?

If it was the bed first… what was she supposed to do?

The butt…

Surely the butt had to be touched first, right?

Qiufeng Ridge was about forty kilos from Lingkong Mountain. One had to cross a raging river and climb past jagged hills teeming with thorny beasts. When the peaks ahead appeared—like they’d been split by an axe, yet arranged with striking harmony—she knew she had reached Lingkong Mountain.

Heavy illusions cloaked Lingkong Mountain, even thicker than those at Qiufeng Ridge. One couldn’t see a hand in front of their face or even tell what they were stepping on. No wonder Madam Qian nearly starved to death when she accidentally wandered in.

Zhuoxue had heard of Lingkong Mountain many times, but this was her first time setting foot here.

Perhaps it was because the demon lord of the Cangqiong Realm resided here that so many demons gathered, and even the demonic aura here felt stronger than elsewhere.

Biting cold, dangerously seductive.

A mix of pungent and fragrant…

The air was so thick with clashing scents it made her nervous, but none of them revealed anything clear—good or evil, kind or cruel. If she ran into one of those demons who liked digging out others’ demon cores to eat, Zhuoxue figured she’d never return.

Still, she was already here. If she turned back now, Lanhui would surely scold her again.

A demon should rise upward. She had to do something worthwhile eventually—something to prove to Lanhui that all those meals hadn’t been wasted on her. With her bundle on her back, the fox leapt forward, blindly rushing ahead—and nearly smashed straight into a boulder. When she hit the rock, she simply used it to climb up, all four paws scrambling, teeth clenched tight.

Oddly enough, even with so many demons gathered, the demonic energy here shouldn’t have been this thick. Even the mist was soaked in demonic energy. Every blade of grass, every tree—it all looked ready to be pickled in the stuff.

The white fox, tail dragging behind her, bumped into this and that, ending up with lumps all over her head. Fortunately, though her ears weren’t great, her nose still worked. Following the scent of demon energy, she fumbled around for half a day and finally reached the summit.

Once the mist was beneath her feet, Zhuoxue finally got a clear view of Lingkong Mountain.

She hadn’t expected this—Lingkong Mountain was decked out in red silk, with colorful lanterns hanging in midair like stars pouring down from heaven. From a distance, the sound of string and flute music floated through the air.

So many demons—there were demons everywhere.

The white fox hid behind a boulder, peeking her head out cautiously. She figured this must be some kind of banquet.

What bad timing. Could the demon lord of the Cangqiong Realm be getting married?

Zhuoxue’s heart sank. She didn’t even know if she’d be able to crash the wedding and stop it.

Demons descended from the sky—some hundreds of years old, some just recently transformed into human shape. All looked elated, carrying gifts of every kind, stepping onto the red carpet and heading toward the main peak.

Strangely, there were even other demon lords among them. Their cultivation was unfathomable, their presence overwhelming—clearly not ones to be messed with.

Zhuoxue had never seen them in person before, but she had heard Lanhui mention a few. That one with the black wind swirling around him, half his face masked in white bone, strings of pearl necklaces on his neck—wasn’t that the demon lord of Jueming Ridge?

Spotting a little demon carrying tea and wine, Zhuoxue suddenly tripped her.

The little demon staggered in fear, shouting, “Why’d you trip me? If I spill this, you’re gonna get it!”

Still in fox form, Zhuoxue looked like a soft, fluffy cloud plucked from the sky.

“Did you get separated from your master?” the little demon asked, glancing around and trying to figure out who the fox belonged to.

Zhuoxue said matter-of-factly, “My master was in a rush. I wasn’t paying attention and got left behind.”

The little demon scratched her head. “Our demon lord is hosting a grand banquet. Any guest wanting to enter the main peak needs an invitation.”

Not a wedding, then. The fox let out a quiet sigh of relief and said awkwardly, “Then what should I do? Good jiejie, won’t you help me, please?”

Looking around nervously, the little demon gritted her teeth and set down the tray of tea and wine, on which lay a wooden token. Zhuoxue sniffed at the wine aroma and read the inscription on the token—it was a pass for entering and exiting.

The little demon whispered, “Take it in for me. Just place it on the banquet table—make sure it’s set properly. Keep the token for me for now. I’ll come find you later.”

Just then, the fluffball transformed into a girl. Silver bells jingled at her feet, a pair of snowy-white fox ears peeked through her hair—whiter than snow, whiter even than pure snow.

The little demon was stunned.

Zhuoxue lifted the tray of tea and wine and smiled. “Good jiejie, see you soon.”