Phoenix's Requiem

“I’m afraid I won’t last till that day—I expect I’ll live for another year at the most.” The demonic dragon forefather sighed, then turned toward Yun Ruoyan. “If you refuse to take on the position of clan head, I really don’t know who else would be able to shoulder such a responsibility. Once the demonic dragons are revived, they won’t be able to remain on the Chenyuan continent for extended periods of time, and they must return to the Jiyuan continent in force. However, none among the silver dragon clan are easy to deal with. After I pass, if the demonic dragon clan is to remain without a leader, their fates might be worse than death. So call me selfish if you want, but I won’t bring you to the Jiyuan continent unless you agree to be the next leader of the demonic dragons.”

“You—” Yun Ruoyan hated being threatened, but she didn’t have any other means of getting to the Jiyuan continent.

“Lass, there’s no point in staring at me. My mind is set.” The demonic dragon forefather crossed his arms. “And let me remind you of one thing: your mother doesn’t have much time left.”

Yun Ruoyan was so upset that she didn’t sleep for the entire night. The next day, when she accompanied Yun Moxiao to the Lin family, she still looked lifeless and haggard. Luckily, her family’s attention was all on Yun Moxiao and Li Luo, whom he was about to marry, and not on Yun Ruoyan herself.

Surprisingly, Yun Lan hadn’t much objected to Yun Moxiao’s marriage. Although he wasn’t too satisfied by Li Luo’s status, the emperor himself had permitted the marriage, and he had no choice but to accept. However, the Lin family was very pleased with Li Luo. Lin Qingchen had already known of Li Luo’s existence, but this was the first time she was seeing her for herself. As expected, she had a graceful, natural beauty, and seemed very well suited for Yun Moxiao.

This was the first time Lin Qingxue had seen Li Luo, and she tugged on her hand and kept trying to chat with her. “Sister Li Luo, I heard you’re also a beastkin,” she suddenly exclaimed.

Li Luo hadn’t expected such a question from her, and she stilled for a moment. Although within the Li kingdom the beastkin were treated no differently from regular humans, their former enslavement had led to a pall of inferiority that had yet to dissipate. Although Li Luo had never been embarrassed about who she was, she couldn’t help but hesitate at Lin Qingxue’s sudden, direct question.

“Sister Li Luo, please ignore my sister,” Lin Qingchen quickly jumped in.

Li Luo smiled. She looked at Lin Qingxue, who was staring at her with wide, innocent eyes, with no trace of malice on her face. “It’s alright. Qingxue’s innocent and cute, and I like her personality.”

However, Lin Qingchen sighed. “It would be a compliment if she were still underage, but now that she’s an adult and still considered innocent and cute...”

Lin Qingchen and Lin Qingxue had both celebrated their fifteenth birthdays on the Mingyuan continent. Their celebrations had occurred almost immediately after close brushes with death, and everyone, including themselves, had forgotten about the occasion. When they finally remembered that their birthdays were past, it was already too late for any celebration.

“Sister Li Luo, I didn’t mean anything by my question,” Lin Qingxue emphasized. “I had two very good friends in the past who were also beastkin, so when I learned that you were one too, I was very happy. You seem like a very amiable person,” she praised.

“You have beastkin friends?”

Lin Qingxue nodded. “A pair of siblings who stayed at the Lin manor for a time, but they’re both gone now.”

No one knew where Zhuo Yifeng was. On the other hand, Zhuo Lin’er had allegedly found her birth father, who had taken her from the Lin manor. This had happened while the Lin sisters were still on the Mingyuan continent, and Lin Qingxue had been rather upset by the fact that Zhuo Lin’er hadn’t contacted them after her departure.

“Is that so?” Li Luo tugged on Lin Qingxue’s hand. “If there’s an opportunity in the future, I’d like to meet these two friends of yours.”

“Alright! When they get back, I’ll definitely introduce them to you.” Lin Qingxue perked up. “Sister Li Luo, let me show you around the Lin manor.”

“Right, Sister Li Luo! Once you marry Brother Moxiao, the Lin family will be like your home as well. You should familiarize yourself with your new home,” Lin Qingchen added.

“Alright.” Li Luo agreed readily.

The Lin family was renowned for its pillmasters, and there were naturally all sorts of rare herbs and grasses being grown within the manor grounds. The Lin sisters brought Li Luo through the various gardens brimming with flora.

Meanwhile, within Lin Zainan’s study, Yun Ruoyan, Yun Moxiao, Li Mo, Lin Zainan, and Lin Tianming were discussing the date for the wedding. Given the imperial decree, the wedding had to occur promptly. After checking the calendar, Lin Zainan suggested three days from today as a good date, but Yun Moxiao wanted to push the wedding back.

Lin Zainan and Lin Tianming were both a little confused by his decision. Yun Moxiao and Li Luo seemed to get along extremely well, so why wouldn’t Yun Moxiao want to get the wedding done with as soon as possible?

However, Yun Ruoyan knew her brother’s intentions. Now that he knew that his mother was still in the Yun manor and had a chance of being revived, he naturally wanted to wait for her to awaken before having the ceremony. However, Lin Yuemei’s revival had been delayed indefinitely, and they couldn’t delay the wedding for much longer.

“Brother,” Yun Moxiao said. “I’ll be heading to the Jiyuan continent soon, and it’ll be a dangerous journey. Before I leave, I’d like to see you start your own family, so will you satisfy my request?”

Yun Moxiao mulled it over for a moment before finally agreeing to have the wedding in three days.

Everyone had lunch at the Lin family before they dispersed. If the wedding was to take place in three days, Yun Ruoyan would have a lot to accomplish during that time.

Lin Tianming sent them out of the manor. With Lin Zainan’s care, Lin Tianming was now able to walk for short distances with his cane. He had taken on the responsibility of tending to the Lin household, and, with the Lin sisters’ support, the Lin family’s reputation was on the rise once more.

“Uncle, there’s something that I discussed with Ruoyan that I need to tell you. For the moment, we’ve decided to keep it a secret from Grandfather,” Yun Moxiao told Lin Tianming.

“What’s the matter?” Lin Tianming hurriedly asked, noticing the serious look on his nephew’s face.

“Uncle, don’t be nervous. This is great news,” Yun Ruoyan interjected. “Let’s speak on the carriage.”

As they entered the carriage, the two siblings told Lin Tianming about Lin Yuemei.

“Yuemei’s still alive?!” Lin Tianming was so agitated upon hearing the news that he stood up and almost hit his head against the roof of the carriage.

“Be careful, Uncle!” Yun Moxiao tugged on his hand before he could hit his head. “We’re telling the truth, of course. We wouldn’t joke about our mother.”

“I can’t believe that Yuemei’s still alive...” Lin Tianming’s voice was quavering. “If Father were to learn about this, he’d be thrilled beyond words. Quick, bring me to her—oh, and don’t forget your grandfather as well!”

“Uncle, Mother’s still in a coma, and it’s difficult to arrange for such a meeting,” Yun Ruoyan replied. “Furthermore, we don’t know when Mother will wake up, so we don’t dare to inform Grandfather about this. If something were to happen, we’re afraid that he wouldn’t be able to take the shock.”

Lin Zainan had already lost his beloved daughter once, and neither Yun Ruoyan nor Yun Moxiao dared to have him suffer the same heart-wrenching pain once more. He had been young when he had learned of the news that his daughter was dead, but now that he was older, it was unlikely that he would be able to survive such an ordeal. 𝐟re𝐞w𝐞𝒃𝓃𝒐𝐯𝚎𝒍.c૦𝚖

“No, no, you’re right, of course. Your grandfather’s much older now, and he can’t take such shocks. It’s better for us to tell him when Yuemei wakes up.” Lin Tianming interlaced his fingers. “How can we revive Yuemei? Do we need a spiritual pill of some sort? Let me know. No matter how expensive, I’ll do my best to obtain it.”

“The Yun manor isn’t lacking in spiritual pills, and with the Slaughtering King’s manor helping out, we won’t need any additional pills, Uncle,” Yun Ruoyan replied. “There is one key ingredient that we’ll need to save Mother, but this is something that can only be found on the Jiyuan continent. That’s why, shortly after Brother’s marriage, I’ll be heading to the Jiyuan continent with Li Mo.”

“Uncle, don’t worry. No matter what, we’ll save Mother,” Yun Moxiao affirmed resolutely.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and it came time for Yun Moxiao and Li Luo’s wedding. Given Yun Moxiao’s status as the general who had just quelled the Farsighted King’s rebellion, the banquet had at least a hundred tables’ worth of soldiers, and another hundred for the emperor and his suite of officials. Preparations for the enormous banquet so tired Yun Ruoyan out that she didn’t even have the energy to take care of Li Yan.

Luckily, Li Mo had had the foresight to book all the chefs from the main restaurants of the capital for the occasion. With almost every servant from the Slaughtering King’s manor helping out, the banquet took place without any major disruptions.

As lieutenants and commanders and officials of the court crowded around Yun Moxiao, toasting him in celebration, he drank and drank and drank so much that he really was starting to get drunk. Even his oft-used excuse of pretending to be drunk couldn’t extricate him from the crowd that threatened to grow larger and larger as time passed.

When Yun Ruoyan finally had some time to rest, only to find that her brother was being surrounded by a gaggle of men and being forced to drink, while Li Mo was sitting by the side with Li Qianhan, she stomped over in a fit of fury.

She bowed to Li Qianhan, then thundered at Li Mo, “Aren’t you going to help your brother-in-law out?”

“Of course, Ruoyan. That was negligent on my part. I’ll go save my brother-in-law immediately,” Li Mo replied glibly.

“As for you!” Yun Ruoyan turned to Li Qianhan. “As the emperor of the Li kingdom, how can you bear to see one of your prized officials having his wedding ceremony delayed?”