CG Chapter 167: A Groom's Fate
Two men were strolling under the grace of the cold moon. From a distance, the two would appear to be walking together.
The rare few with sharp eyes, however, would notice a gap between them, not too long to cause unease, nor narrow enough to pose any threat or give rise to untoward thoughts.
The journey to the betrothal area was brief, not taking more than the time it took for half an incense stick to burn. Yet, despite that brief period, things were much different for the duo.
That, however, didn't seem to have any effect on Li Wuyou, as he was already deep inside the illusion, causing even the most unnatural circumstances to feel like the most mundane of matters.
Conversely, Aretius, being the main antagonist in this story, perceived a heavy sense of lethargy. He felt as if he were straining with each step, pushing through a viscous, dense liquid.
Unknown to Aretius at that time, Li Wuyou felt that exact weight. It is easy for one to feel strong when he has it, when the story itself is written with you in mind. When that time comes, only the rare few would rise even when the story fights back.
They are the ones who see the ray of hope even in the depths of the abyss.
Contrary to what many think, wisdom, biased knowledge, doesn't aid one here. Occasionally, hope is reserved for the foolish, because of a certain level of naivety, they willingly jump into the abyss.
As Aretius approached his own chasm, he witnessed the light of foolishness. Just as a newborn calf is not afraid of tigers, the foolish don't know how close they are to danger.
Apparently, he wasn't the only one from the trio who survived the first act.
"Who is your sister-in-law? You people think this is my first mission? Come at me if you dare; I will show you."
It was the screams of a young girl holding a sandalwood Memorial Tablet from the Ancestral Temple, using it as a weapon against the guests and family members.
Seeing her, Aretius shone with a bright light; this light, however, wasn't out of care for her person. He wanted to gather the duo before he made his escape. When they first crossed paths, he merely didn't want the hassle of going against their two lineages.
Ultimately, he came to the conclusion that he could use their lineages as the prosperous soil for the growth of his force.
The kind of force he planned to foster this time was a lot different; for now, however, he needed to focus on getting these two brats out safely.
During the brief time these calculations flashed through Aretius's mind, Li Wuyou, in his dull state, ran crying toward the screaming and scared Hong Gu.
It was an ironic twist of fate that these two were enemies on the outside. Now, one believes they are the closest of relatives.
"Wei Gu! What are you doing? Don't ruin sister Nier's wedding," he shouted in an irritated tone.
Li Wuyou believed that his friend, one of the young misses of the Wei clan, was ruining the marriage between their own sister and the young master of the Ji clan. To him, he wasn't Li Wuyou, but Wei Wuyou.
These righteous screams and shouts to Hong Gu were more dreadful than all the people around her. The face didn't carry the same features or visage, but that voice carried a strange tinge of closeness, enough to be familiar or fake like all the rest.
She, too, felt like she was losing herself; nothing seemed real, and everything seemed somewhat off.
How long had she been here? How sure was she that she wasn't simply envisioning it all? She might truly be Wei Gu, after all; that name sounded too much like her own name.
When false is taken for true, true becomes false; if non-being turns into being, being becomes non-being.
It was that illusion of closeness that pushed Hong Gu over the edge. Once one lets the slightest hint of doubt into their heart, they seal their fate; they seal their fate on losing it all. This seal carried more weight than any jade imperial seal, for it is a seal placed by oneself.
Since entering this village, Aretius had never doubted his role. He didn't tolerate any trace of fear from mundanity as a lowborn, nameless steward, nor did the zenith of illusory immortality get to him.
Aretius stood behind; the duo were next to each other, easy to grab and escape. Everything flowed smoothly, almost perfectly... But when did things go perfectly in life?
Even when they do, they don't. Something might appear perfect on the outside, but once you step closer, you notice the cracks in the wall. In life, no one and nothing stands as high as you might think.
On the outside, Aretius seemed as if he had surrendered, striding at Hong Gu with a rageful appearance.
He appeared as the furious groom who had his wedding ruined. He was a moment away from uniting the two 'great' clans of Wei Ji village. He was about to have it all; he was about to become the lord of these lands.
To him, the limited boundaries of this village represented the whole world.
Just as his hands touched the shoulders of the duo, everything started to fall apart. He was about to grab them and escape. A sudden, undeniable feeling of immense and immediate threat was screaming at him.
In a moment that stretched forever, and took less than the time it took a cicada to flap its wings, Aretius scanned his surroundings.
A thousand thoughts flashed through his mind, attempting to figure out where this sense of threat came from.
He sought to locate the source of that threat. Unfortunately, he fell just short.
A drag of cold air in and a gust of heavy, turbid air out.
Suddenly, in the next breath, Aretius twisted his neck, his eyes flickered with a bright light as his gaze locked onto the dark void above.
That threat...