Time within the estate seemed to have frozen.
I wanted to tell Chen Xiaowu about my discovery, wondering if he knew anything about this sort of thing.
Suddenly, I collided head-on with a hurried figure, one of those Tianji Pavilion disciples from earlier. I muttered an apology:
“Sorry.”
Only to look up and find myself staring straight at Duan Qianyue’s face. I was puzzled as to why he was wearing the attire of a Tianji Pavilion disciple.
Looking as though he feared I would expose his identity, his expression shifted abruptly, and he slapped a hand over my mouth to keep me from making a sound.
Pulling me into his embrace with a swift motion, he whisked me away into the shadows as several Tianji Pavilion disciples seemed to be searching for something.
I heard someone asking if it had been found. Once they had walked far enough away, Duan Qianyue produced an object, placed it in his palm, and held it up right before my eyes.
It looked remarkably familiar. It turned out to be a miniature version of the estate, glowing faintly with light. Inside the tiny buildings, people could actually be seen walking about and talking, though their words were too indistinct to make out.
“What is this?” I asked, staring at Duan Qianyue in shock.
Instead of answering me, he channeled his spiritual energy, chanted an incantation, and grabbed hold of me.
I felt a sudden dizzying spin, and then the lifeless estate I had just been standing in instantly transformed into a bustling, brightly lit scene adorned everywhere with red lanterns.
The maids and servants wore joyful expressions as they bustled about busily. I had been pulled right into the miniature estate by Duan Qianyue.
At that moment, I was seated on a chair, with Duan Qianyue sitting right beside me.
Up on the seat of honor sat a plump middle-aged couple, who were presumably Master Wang and Madam Wang.
Standing below the seat of honor were a pair of newcomers dressed in vibrant red robes, each holding one end of a red silk ribbon.
The moment I saw the groom’s appearance clearly, I bolted upright in astonishment, as he looked utterly identical to me.
The commotion I caused made the crowd turn their heads to look at me in succession. The groom also spotted me, and the happy expression that had just been plastered across his face instantly twisted into something rather ugly.
He urged impatiently:
“Let’s hurry up and finish the wedding ceremony.”
He was in such a rush to complete the ceremony that my intuition told me I could not let him succeed. Acting on a sudden flash of inspiration, I called out:
“Miss Wang!”
The young woman, whose head was still covered by a red bridal veil, had no idea who had called out to her, so she softly turned to question the groom beside her.
The groom muttered something to her in response, and then a servant hurried forward. The groom whispered a few instructions into his ear, and the servant scurried off in a rush.
Within moments, five or six family servants stepped forward and tried to haul me outside. When I refused to budge, they laid hands on me to drag me away.
In my desperation, I shouted:
“I am the Heir of Rong Prince’s Estate! Who dares lay a hand on me? Miss Wang, a few days ago my Master sent me down the mountain to eliminate the demon in your household. I don’t know why your groom looks exactly like me.”
“Let go of me!”
Even as I struggled, I was being pushed closer and closer to the doorway.
The moment I finished speaking, Miss Wang snatched the red veil right off her head and spun around to look at me.
Upon confirming that I truly was Yu Li, she rushed right over, her slender hands gently caressing my face.
Though it felt a bit awkward, I didn’t say anything as she exclaimed in joyful surprise:
“It really is you.”
Then, she turned to the servants holding me down and said coldly:
“Haven’t you let go yet? He is the Heir of Rong Prince’s Estate. Do you all have a death wish?”
Hearing this, the servants hurriedly released me and retreated to the side. Miss Wang turned back to ask me:
“Are you all right, Young Master Yu?” Her tone was laced with deep concern.
That gaze carried unconcealed affection, and her bright, striking facial features were undeniably gorgeous, making me feel rather self-conscious.
The groom couldn’t stand to watch any longer and called out to Miss Wang:
“My bride, come over here quickly.”
His voice sounded identical to mine as well. I lowered my gaze to look at Miss Wang before me, noticing that she seemed to be hesitating.
Judging by her attitude toward me, she was clearly able to tell who the real one was and that the other fellow was a demon in disguise. I reached out to grab her arm.
“Miss Wang, you cannot trust the words of a demon.”
Miss Wang looked at me, a troubled expression crossing her face, whereas the groom broke into a sinister, eerie chuckle.
“He claims to be that beloved Young Master Yu you have been pining for, but he doesn’t even remember your name. How could he possibly spend his life with you? On the other hand, I can use this face to keep you company forever. If you have any lingering concerns, I can easily kill him right now.”
What kind of worldview-shattering nonsense was this? What shocked me even more was that Miss Wang didn’t even bother to refute it.
Her expression had already shifted into an indifferent one as she said to me:
“That’s right. You don’t remember me at all, nor would you ever marry me.”
“I…”
Before I could figure out how to respond to Miss Wang, the monster lunged straight at me from the other side.
I drew my sword to block the onslaught, but was still forced back a good several meters until I landed right outside the main hall.
Its hands were covered in coarse gray fur, and its fingernails were a full three centimeters long, looking as hard and sharp as weapons.
Its movements were blindingly fast. Forget about launching a counterattack, simply dodging its blows was already an immense challenge.
Coupled with the fact that I had zero practical combat experience, it probably hadn’t expected me to be this weak, and let out a contemptuous smirk as it prepared to finish me off once and for all.
Duan Qianyue, who had been standing on the sidelines watching the spectacle, called out with malicious glee:
“Senior Brother, why aren’t you using your internal energy?”
He must have assumed I was afraid of triggering the blue grass poison, but the truth was I had no idea how to channel my internal energy in the first place.
Just when I thought I was done for, a surge of power suddenly erupted from deep within my body, blasting the demon back several meters and apparently inflicting quite a heavy injury upon it.
However, it quickly clambered back to its feet and resumed its attack against me. Having been thoroughly provoked by me, its assaults grew even more ferocious.
I remembered how I had triggered that burst of power just moments ago, but when I tried to invoke it again, I found that it simply wouldn’t respond.
I leaped up onto a corner of the wall just as the demon lunged and swiped at empty air.
I glanced over at Duan Qianyue, who showed not the slightest intention of coming to my rescue.
Moreover, there were restrictive barriers outside this wall, making escape impossible.
After trading blows a few more times, my stamina was beginning to run out, while the demon only grew bolder and fiercer with every clash. I simply couldn’t take it anymore and shouted:
“Duan Qianyue, if I die here, how are you going to answer to Master?”
I spent the very last ounce of my remaining strength to roar out those words, and then squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that upon death I might somehow return to my original world.
“No!”
That cry had come from Miss Wang, but the fatal strike never landed because Duan Qianyue swept in, caught me in his arms, and dodged out of the way.
He didn’t forget to mock me in the process:
“Senior Brother has really become this useless now.”
With that, he went off to engage the monster in battle. Miss Wang rushed over to my side and steadied me.
“It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry.”
She was crying bitterly, tears streaming down her face in unbroken chains. It was clear she truly loved the original owner, but the original owner had preferred men.
Ah, what a pity. I didn’t reply, casting just one final look at her before turning my attention back to Duan Qianyue’s side.
Such a minor demon was no match for the protagonist. It was quickly slain by Duan Qianyue.
It reverted to its true form, a large gray bear. The moment the demon died, this pocket dimension could no longer sustain itself.
The surrounding space convulsed like an earthquake and rapidly crumbled into fine dust. Everyone collapsed in a heap across the ground, rubbing their heads in confusion, with no idea what had just happened.
Duan Qianyue merely maintained the posture of having just executed the demon. Once the tremors subsided, he cast a cold glance in my direction and walked away.
Now, the estate we stood in was no longer decked out in festive red; this was clearly the real residence, while that miniature version and the carcass of the gray bear had vanished together.
Miss Wang had fainted and been carried back by her maids, while someone had gone off to fetch a physician. Master Wang expressed his utmost gratitude to me and my junior brother for ridding them of the demon and saving their entire family.
He even invited me to stay at the estate for a few more days, until the estate manager reminded him of my identity. Only then did he realize it belatedly, stammering that he was truly muddle-headed not to recognize the Heir of Rong Prince’s Estate, while showering me with obsequious compliments about how I was truly a dragon among men and so forth.
I perfunctorily brushed him off with a few remarks and took my leave. Ah Yun was still waiting for me outside the estate gates. Just as when I had first seen him earlier, the sky had already grown dark by now.
I climbed into the carriage, but Ah Yun didn’t move. He gave me a subtle cue with his eyes, prompting me to look back toward the interior of the estate.
Miss Wang, having woken up at some point, was running toward the main entrance with her maids chasing anxiously behind her. Stopping just short of the threshold, she gazed out at me from afar and called out:
“My name is Wang Xi! Xi as in the Xi of parting!”
I made no response, lowered the carriage curtain, and instructed Ah Yun:
“Let’s go home.”