Under normal circumstances, the contents of the Marriage Registry are not to be disclosed, but there are two exceptions.
The first is upon joining the Hehe Immortal Palace. On their first day, all immortal officials can request to view their own entry in the Marriage Registry a small perk of the job.
The second case is when the Matchmaker happens to be in a good mood; if he is cheerful, he may offer to check people’s romantic fates.
On Qi An’s first day, it coincided with the Matchmaker receiving his stipend he was in high spirits and took Qi An into the inner chamber where the registry was kept, allowing her to take her own volume to read. At that time, the Matchmaker was busy planning the allocation of his stipend and didn’t pay attention to Qi An’s registry; he only remembered that after she finished reading, she looked relaxed and bowed properly to thank him.
Her calm demeanor led him to believe she had a destined, happy marriage. He never imagined she would later claim to have a solitary fate, with her spouse column left blank.
Logically, the Marriage Registry displays all romantic fates of creatures in the mortal and heavenly realms. If the partner is not of the same race, even if their name cannot be known, the words “Different Race” would appear. Even if both parties do not end up together, a record would always remain. As Qi An described it a situation where not even a single name appears was truly something rarely seen in centuries.
Therefore, after Qi An and Mo Qing went to see the Heavenly Emperor, the Matchmaker remained preoccupied with the matter and later sought out her registry volume. He found the corresponding volume based on her birth date and, with a flick of his sleeve and a spell, the pages flipped spontaneously, stopping at the page recording Qi An’s name in the blink of an eye.
Before turning to the page, the Matchmaker had doubted Qi An’s words. Based on his years of experience, he thought her story might have been a fabrication designed to trick the Demon Lord into annulling the engagement. But upon seeing that the space after her name was indeed blank, he once again felt that his understanding was insufficient.
Romance is heaven-ordained, and even the Matchmaker cannot alter it.
Sigh, such a beautiful young lady, why is her romantic fate so bleak? It seems her bond with the Demon Lord was merely a passing moment, not even worthy of being displayed in the registry.
As the Matchmaker sighed and prepared to close the volume, his fingers brushed across the page. He suddenly froze, a glimmer of surprise and joy flashing in his eyes. Thinking of something, he clutched the registry and ran out of the immortal palace, kicking up a breeze in his wake.
The immortal officials rubbed their eyes in unison they truly had been immortals for too long, as they were seeing strange sights indeed. They had never seen the Matchmaker move with such agility.
The Matchmaker arrived at Han Sui Yuanjun’s divine mansion in high spirits. It was as if he had returned to his own home; he began shouting the moment he stepped through the door: “Little Han Sui! Your Matchmaker brother is here! Come out and welcome me!”
The mansion was silent. After a long while, a cold-looking woman holding a wine jar walked toward the Matchmaker, swaying unsteadily. She squinted at him for a long time before she finally recognized him.
“Oh, it’s you, Matchmaker. What business do you have coming to see me?”
As she asked, she lifted the wine jar and took a large, unrefined gulp. Seeing her flushed face and the smell of alcohol, the Matchmaker knew she must have been drinking all night. Concerned, he snatched the wine jar from her without a word. “How can you drink like this?”
Han Sui hummed in dissatisfaction, wanting to reclaim the jar. To her surprise, this old man, usually so sluggish, was incredibly nimble today. Coupled with her drunken state and unsteady footing, she couldn’t reach it no matter how she tried. Since force wouldn’t work, she turned to persuasion.
She looked at the Matchmaker with watery eyes and said aggrievedly, “I’m not on duty these days, so drinking a bit won’t cause any trouble. Won’t you return the jar? I’ll only drink one sip.”
However, the Matchmaker was unmoved. Seeing she couldn’t retrieve it, Han Sui decided not to persist; it was just one jar of wine, and there were plenty more in her mansion. With that thought, she walked back to her “drinking sanctuary,” only to find dozens of empty wine jars of various sizes lying on the empty floor.
Han Sui was stunned the jar the Matchmaker had taken was the last one.
She let out a deep sigh, planning to go buy a cartload of wine, but the Matchmaker blocked her path. He said worriedly, “Ever since that incident, you have been so decadent. I have always regretted it if I hadn’t told you that name on your Marriage Registry back then, would you still be like this? That brat from the Demon Clan also blamed me for it. Now that I think about it, that brat, though unreliable, at least wouldn’t have let you be this heartbroken.”
A flicker of emotion finally appeared in Han Sui’s clouded eyes. She smiled bitterly. “And what if you hadn’t told me? The Marriage Registry ordains fates; even if you hadn’t spoken, my history with him would remain unchanged. This day would have arrived regardless. I once thought I could change him, attempting to fight against destiny, but look at the result—didn’t I still end up in this state?”
The Matchmaker had long known she would say this; fortunately, he was prepared. He turned the registry to Qi An’s page and presented it to her. “Look at this first.”
Han Sui shook her head, and after sobering up a little, she focused her gaze on the book. Qi An’s name was listed, and in the “Partner” column, which had been empty, there was now a faint smudge of purple ink. It seemed to trace a stroke, but it was blended into the ink, appearing and disappearing, making it difficult to discern clearly.
“I’ve never seen a situation like this before. But since it happened, doesn’t it show that destiny is not entirely unchangeable?” The Matchmaker looked deeply at Han Sui. “If this is true, you need not remain shackled to the registry; you might regain your peace sooner.”
Han Sui clutched the registry, speechless for a long time. After a while, as if she had come to a realization, she whispered, “I want to see him again.”
This was the umpteenth time Han Sui had said this. The Matchmaker had opposed it countless times, but this time, he agreed with her decision. He said with satisfaction, “Good, then go. But I don’t feel easy letting you go alone; I will find someone to accompany you.”
Assigning tasks was naturally easier with his own officials. Among them, the temporary odd-jobbers were the easiest to dispatch. Thus, the Matchmaker thought of Qi An.
Therefore, after leaving Han Sui’s mansion, he headed straight to the Heavenly Clarity Palace, waiting by the entrance for Qi An to emerge.
When Qi An came out and saw the Matchmaker waiting, she felt a surge of excitement. She really had made it big to have her boss personally waiting to pick her up! Upon seeing her, the Matchmaker got straight to the point: “Get yourself ready; I have a task for you.”
Qi An, realizing he wasn’t there to pick her up, felt a surge of disappointment followed by a hint of pride. Having just taken a job from the Heavenly Emperor, and now receiving a task from the Matchmaker himself, she hadn’t expected to be so valued by her leaders. She sighed to herself: whether as a mortal or an immortal, one shouldn’t be too capable, or they would be destined for a life of toil.
Although appreciative of the recognition, Qi An still declined: “What a coincidence, I have other matters to attend to. Perhaps you could arrange for another colleague?”
The Matchmaker hadn’t expected his little temporary employee to disobey him before she was even officially regularized. He was displeased. Ignoring his advanced age, he pouted and acted petulantly: “I am your superior my words no longer carry weight? I don’t care; you must do it for me you are the most suitable!”
Qi An was in a dilemma. “My task was ordered by the Heavenly Emperor and the Demon Lord. If it is truly urgent, why not tell them yourself?”
Coincidentally, just as she finished speaking, Mo Qing strolled out, weighing a bead in his hand. He walked to Qi An’s side, handed the night-luminescent pearl to her, and said, “I saw that the room you’re currently staying in isn’t in a good location—too dark. Although you probably won’t be staying many more nights, it should still be bright to be comfortable. This pearl is of a slightly lower quality, but it will suffice for now. Just make do with it.”
Qi An toyed with the round, flawless pearl and asked timidly, “Where did this come from?”
“I saw it in Yangxu’s room. It didn’t match the decor, and he just left it in a corner; he probably didn’t like it, so I kindly took it for him.”
Qi An raised an eyebrow no wonder he came out after her; he’d gone to demand a pearl. The Matchmaker, meanwhile, gasped. That night-luminescent pearl had been a birthday gift from the East Sea for the Third Prince. Small as it was, it could illuminate a hundred miles and, if channeled with magic, could break illusions and point the way. How could Yangxu not like such a treasure for both home and combat?
The Matchmaker gossiped timidly: “May I ask, Demon Lord, what was Prince Yangxu’s reaction when you asked for this pearl?”
“He seemed very grateful for my thoughtfulness; his face turned red all the way to his neck.” Mo Qing sighed, “The kid knows how to be grateful.”
The Matchmaker gave a dry laugh—that wasn’t gratitude; it was clearly the humiliation of not being able to refuse and not wanting to lose face, causing him to choke until his face turned red.
Qi An didn’t think much of it and accepted the pearl. Since he’d already asked for it, it wouldn’t do to waste it, right? After tucking the pearl into her Qiankun bag, she noticed the Matchmaker hesitating. Recalling his previous words, she kindly spoke to Mo Qing on his behalf: “Right, Boss said he had something to arrange for me, see if…”
Before she could finish, the Matchmaker caught Mo Qing’s suggestive glare and interrupted in a panic: “No, no! I’ll go find someone else; it’s just a minor matter why would I need Little An to do it personally?”
Qi An was speechless. That’s not what he said just a moment ago, is it? But never mind going to the Demon-Beast Realm was far more exciting than any task from the Matchmaker. After all, besides regularization, she could also reclaim the Heart-Clearing Pearls the Emperor had “stored” for her for a hundred years enough to buy many cultivation pills!
Besides, she had never been to the Demon-Beast Realm. She had heard that the demon-beasts there, regardless of gender, were all stunning, one more exquisite than the next, and even the spirit beasts there were more endearing than those of other clans. Qi An could already imagine the scene of peerless beauties waiting for her with a spirit beast in one hand and cultivation pills in the other.
After indulging in this fantasy, she felt her blood surge, and a warm liquid seemed to tickle her nose. To avoid embarrassment, she steadied her mind, chased away the reverie, and adopted a serious expression. “Important matters come first; let’s hurry and complete the task.”