"Many thanks, Great King! Many thanks!" Fei Yangnian was overjoyed. He had thought himself dead for certain, never expecting such considerate and thoughtful arrangements. Duanmu Yu truly was a good soul.

Fei Yangnian was quickly led out by the patrol bees. Soon after, the other spirit beasts crowded in impatiently, all still eagerly waiting to raid the bridal chamber. But with a casual word from the handsome man, those spirit beasts unable to take human form withdrew of their own accord, leaving only those capable of assuming human shape to enter the tent.

Faced with this situation, no matter how composed and free-spirited Duanmu Yu appeared on the surface, deep down she was thoroughly repulsed. Raiding the bridal chamber inevitably entailed intimate gestures with the other party, and she found it disgusting—she had never had intimate contact with any man.

Yet in the present circumstances she had no choice but to grit her teeth and play along. Surely she could not turn hostile on the spot; even seeking death did not call for such a method.

Sure enough, the spirit beasts began clamoring from the outset for the bride and groom to kiss in public. They were not human, after all, and their standards in this regard were quite unrestrained. There was no avoiding this no matter how Duanmu Yu tried.

Watching the other party lean closer and closer, Duanmu Yu shut her eyes and steeled herself, just about to risk it all, when a thunderous explosion erupted from the crowd. Several human-formed spirit beasts were blasted away on the spot, and the entire lavish tent was thrown into utter chaos.

"What's going on?" The human-formed spirit beasts, sent sprawling in all directions by the blast, were panic-stricken. Some were so frightened they reverted directly to their original spirit beast forms. The scene was in utter disarray. No one could have imagined such an accident would occur on such an occasion—who had the audacity to cause trouble in the Guardian's bridal chamber?

The spirit beasts were all in a panic, but the handsome man, their host, showed not the slightest alarm. He had pinpointed the source of the thunderous explosion at the very first moment. His expression was extremely grim: "Blastfire Fruit..."

Indeed, the source of the explosion and chaos just now was a specialty of this very Herb Garden—the Blastfire Fruit, which would detonate at the slightest mishandling.

The spirit beasts were collectively speechless. Before today's banquet, the Guardian had specially granted them permission to gather some rare spirit herbs from the Herb Garden as return gifts. It was an extremely rare opportunity, and naturally they had not held back. It was hardly surprising that some spirit beast had gathered Blastfire Fruits; no one had expected trouble to arise at such a moment.

Blastfire Fruits were extremely unstable, exploding at the slightest squeeze. Just now, it was clearly the case that someone had accidentally crushed one amid the commotion, thus producing this awkward and chaotic accident.

"All of you, get out of my sight." The handsome man's expression had now darkened completely. Had it not been for the accident just now, he would not have minded letting the spirit beasts enjoy their raucous fun—after all, it was a customary human tradition. But now he had completely lost the mood. A single Blastfire Fruit had instantly ruined his rare good humor beyond repair.

The spirit beasts scrambled and tumbled out in haste. The Guardian's ruthlessness was notorious; if they fled too slowly at a time like this, they might well lose their lives here.

Watching the noisy spectacle, Duanmu Yu quietly breathed a sigh of relief. That Blastfire Fruit had truly extricated her from a tight spot, and she could not help saying a silent thank you in her heart. The one she had to thank was, of course, Wei Zhao. After all, the spirit beasts were no fools—none would dare carry such a dangerous thing as a Blastfire Fruit in to raid the bridal chamber and stir up trouble. The culprit behind that Blastfire Fruit was none other than Wei Zhao.

However, Wei Zhao acted with great caution, remaining in his primal spirit state hidden in a corner the entire time, merely sliding the Blastfire Fruit silently beneath their feet. Otherwise, given the handsome man's perceptive abilities, had he appeared in his primal spirit form, he might well have given himself away.

The spirit beasts were quite perceptive. Seeing the Guardian in a foul mood, they not only fled the lavish tent in haste but dared not linger outside either, fearful of becoming scapegoats by some mischance. One after another they hurriedly crowded onto the Sky Ladder and departed this den of trouble.

Little did they know, the handsome man's mood was not nearly as foul as they imagined. Once only he and Duanmu Yu remained in the tent, his expression quickly softened, and he said gently, "The nuisances are all gone, my lady. Let us begin our dual cultivation now."

Dual cultivation—that was the fundamental reason he had set his mind on taking Duanmu Yu as his wife. And now, having skipped the bridal chamber raiding, they had come directly to the bridal chamber itself, and he could scarcely contain his impatience.

"Ah?" Duanmu Yu was startled at these words. She had just been rejoicing at having escaped the bridal chamber raiding, only to find that this fellow was now moving straight on to the further step of the bridal chamber—and this was the real thing.

"What is it?" The handsome man looked at her with some surprise.

"Uh... this... isn't it a bit too fast?" Duanmu Yu racked her brains for a way to stall. She had not yet discussed any concrete plan with Wei Zhao, and now she was being forced straight into the bridal chamber. What was she to do?

"Too fast? How could it be? We have properly held our grand wedding feast, and by tradition the next step is the rites of union. Is that not perfectly normal? How could it be too fast?" the handsome man reasoned.

"But... but..." Duanmu Yu was at a loss for words in her alarm, until at last a flash of inspiration came to her: "I still don't even know how to dual cultivate..."

"Oh, that's simple. In a moment you need only regulate the true qi within your body. You need not concern yourself with anything else—I will take the lead in all of it," the handsome man said with a smile.

"But..." Duanmu Yu wanted to stall a while longer. No matter what, she had to at least wait until she could think of a way to confer with Wei Zhao.

"No buts. Come with me." The handsome man's face darkened. Though his tolerance for Duanmu Yu was far greater than for those spirit beasts, it was ultimately still quite limited. Once he set his mind on something, no one could change it—and his new wife Duanmu Yu was no exception.

Duanmu Yu did not dare prattle on any further. If she said even half a word of refusal now, the other party might turn hostile on the spot, and then there would be no room left for maneuvering at all.

The handsome man clasped his hands behind his back and strode toward the rear of the tent. Duanmu Yu was at a loss for a moment, when suddenly Wei Zhao's voice rang out in her mind: "Follow him, and act as the opportunity allows."

Duanmu Yu steadied herself, but unexpectedly the handsome man ahead suddenly halted, as if sensing something amiss, and actually began carefully searching every corner of the tent. (To be continued.)