The Unruly Immortals

Seeing Gao Zhijian really seemed a bit anxious now, Zhao Wu, who was driving the carriage, spoke up, "Doggy, stop teasing him. If you really get him worked up, he'll give you a beating."

"Brother Li, it looks like there's a wedding happening inside, why not go take a look? All the villagers should be there."

Li Huowang looked up at the sunset-bathed sky, nodded, and led the group towards the village. "The customs here in Huo Shu really are a bit odd, to get married at dusk."

"Brother Li, we also have weddings at this time!"

"Oh? Why is that?"

"No reason, it's just always been the custom."

While chatting with them, Li Huowang slowly made his way into the village.

It wasn't hard to find the house where the marriage was taking place, as villagers carrying buckets of rice and eggs pointed the way for Li Huowang.

It wasn't just rice and eggs; some of the wealthier ones also had live chickens and lambs in their baskets.

These brought a more obvious pride to their faces, and they deliberately walked slowly, swinging their carrying poles more dramatically, as if to show off to others.

Following these people, Li Huowang quickly found the house where the wedding was taking place.

The two stone lions at the entrance indicated that this family was different from the other villagers.

The two people welcoming the guests with smiles at the entrance rushed to greet Li Huowang's group when they saw them. "Gentlemen, you can leave your carriage at the entrance, and I'll look after it for you."

When they found out that Li Huowang and the others were bodyguards, and after seeing the convoy order, the two didn't become wary; instead, they enthusiastically led them to the seats.

It seemed that the more people who came to a wedding here, the more prestigious it was.

Realizing this unexpected benefit to their bodyguard identities, Li Huowang felt more convinced that his choice to escort the convoy was the right one.

However, their ability to do so might also be due to their very ordinary attire, which was normal for the region as most people wore hats and face veils to protect against sandstorms.

In Siqi, it would be absolutely impossible to invite a group of people wearing black veils and hats to dine at the table.

Sitting cross-legged at the high seat around a small table, Li Huowang first took out chopsticks, picked up a little piece of each dish, and secretly passed it under the table to Mantou.

Although it was a bit uncouth, Li Huowang didn't care; his thick skin didn't mind. He was more afraid that the village might be a den of bandits, and that the food might have been drugged with knockout drugs.

He had survived all kinds of chaos, and it would be quite a story if he were to fall for something here.

A while later, seeing Mantou licking his face, wagging his tail, and climbing onto him, wanting more food,

Li Huowang nodded to the others, "Eat up."

After the long journey, upon seeing the spread of delicious food, everyone threw etiquette to the wind and devoured the meal hungrily.

Li Huowang didn't touch the food but instead picked up the cup of thick tea beside him and drank it down.

The blisters in his mouth, to his heightened senses, felt like torture every moment; he just wanted to quickly cool down the burning sensation.

However, the cuisine in Huo Shu greatly differed from that in Siqi, in that there were very few vegetarian dishes.

Most of the dishes consisted of meat and dairy, as well as roasted buns and date pastries.

The only thing that could be considered vegetarian was the fruit and tea in the pretty dishes, leaving Li Huowang with few choices.

"Zhao Wu, try this roasted bun! This roasted bun really is something else! Crispy on the outside, fragrant on the inside! Delicious!"

Not everyone cared only about the food; Bai Lingmiao stretched her long, white neck, curiously looking towards the entrance.

She watched as the bride, veiled in red, was helped down from the happy sedan chair.

At that moment, a handsome young man with sword-like eyebrows forcefully struck his bronze gong, calling out appropriately, "The bride enters the house! Wealth rolls in!!"

"Great!!"

Seeing everyone else stand up and clap, Li Huowang nudged Gao Zhijian, who was gobbling down food next to him, and stood up as well.

"Klang~" Another gong sounded,

"The bride overturns the basin~! Prosperous and thriving~!!"

"Good! Well said!!" The whole courtyard grew even more festive and jubilant.

"Klang~!!"

"The bride dismounts the saddle~! May fortune and prosperity be with her~!"

Li Huowang's mood also lifted at the sight of the smiling faces all around him.

Right after, he saw the strong envy in Bai Lingmiao's eyes.

He reached out and pinched her soft hand, and Bai Lingmiao turned her head to give him a reassuring smile.

"Senior Brother Li, everyone else has given gifts, should we also present a gift? It's only polite."

"Alright, you decide."

"We could give some of Siqi's special preserved fruits; they don't have those here. It represents our goodwill and won't cost much silver."

Just as she finished speaking, the fourth gong sounded. "Pay homage to the God of Happiness~!!"

"What!?" Li Huowang could hardly believe his ears. "What did he just say they're worshiping?"

To him, the warm and lively atmosphere that had just been there vanished in an instant, replaced by bone-chilling cold that enveloped him completely.

"Senior Brother Li, they said to pay homage to the God of Happiness." Sun Baolu, with his mouth full of lamb meat, repeated.

Under Li Huowang's shocked gaze, the couple, amid the cheer and laughter of their relatives, entered the main hall and knelt before a round red 'happiness' character on the wall, performing the ritual of deep bows.

The young man with a smile on his face was about to strike the gong when he saw Li Huowang in the crowd, and his expression soured.

"Second! What are you looking at! Strike the gong, quick!" Urged on by the groom's urgent whisper, the young man lifted the red-cloth-wrapped gong mallet and struck down heavily.

"Klang~~" The piercing sound of the gong sounded again.

"From this day on, the eldest son of the Hou Family, Hou Qiao, is blissfully married! Taking Luo Tian as his lawful wife! The bride is virtuous and dignified, may the God of Happiness bless our family to prosper, to branch out and bear offspring! May they have children soon!"

"Hehe! Wonderful!!"

The atmosphere peaked at that moment, with everyone grinning and clapping their hands.

Watching the groom and bride enter the side door, the others gradually sat back down, eating and chatting among themselves.

This left Li Huowang, still standing alone, looking quite out of place.

After feeling someone tug at his sleeve, Li Huowang's face, now looking a bit unsightly, sat down again.

According to the information he had received previously, the God of Happiness was some sort of terrifying being, perhaps one of the entities hidden behind the White Jade Capital.

For such an entity to become the deity blessing marriages was decidedly ironic.

Although he didn't know how this custom originated, one thing was clear: those who were worshipping had no idea what they were actually worshipping!

"Senior Brother Li, what is it? Nothing bad has happened, so why the long face? Are you... ill again?"

Li Huowang glanced at the speaker, Dog-Egg, and pointed with his hand towards the large round red character on the wall. "Do they worship that thing in other places when they get married?"