Note: This is the final chapter of the main story.

"It Would Be Our Honeymoon."

In the middle of the first month, Gu Feidi celebrated his nineteenth birthday in the House of Jade.

Then, the next three months passed in the blink of an eye, and the fifth month arrived, the month of Su Yang’s birthday. 

As a martial artist, Su Yang’s coming of age ceremony wasn’t as regulated as someone of royal status. He only requested the shixiong and shijie of House of Jade to prepare him a simple ceremony and a simple outfit.

As for the guest of honour for his ceremony, at first Su Yang wanted to invite Qing Bo to take charge, but she refused. 

“Once the time arrives, there will be someone who will handle the guests and your ceremony. Just wait patiently for two more days.” Qing Bo shared with a smile. “The Wulin Conference will be conducted in early June. The ones who are invited should already be rushing to the Central Plains.”

Sure enough, less than three days out from Su Yang’s birthday, Luo Yu and Qin Jianyue made an appearance at the House of Jade. They just finished helping Luo Yin stabilise the E’Luo Gui Faction’s situation. Since Mount Mei Zhu was on the way to Elegant Jade Peak, they decided to stop here so they wouldn't miss Su Yang’s birthday.

The day before Su Yang’s birthday, Su Huaizhu and Gu Ruohai also showed up at the House of Jade to specially attend Su Yang’s crowning ceremony. Along with them were Pu Lingyun and Fan Xi.

These seniors that had been away from the House of Jade for two decades paid their respects to Old Qi during their visit, and also greeted Wang Ke who was in the same generation as them. Di Ling and Mo Yun, who were in the younger generation, saluted the seniors, then Di Ling guided these four to the guest house.

Pu Lingyun and Fan Xi scheduled a date with Su Yang and Gu Feidi to have tea and chat at a pavilion, and brought the news of the current situation in the Wulin. 

“With the Wulin conference not far away, all the sects are preparing to seek more benefits at the event.” Pu Lingyun said. “Shifu already decided to give up his position as the Wulin Alliance Leader and pushed Uncle Xiu for the position. Next, Tengyun Pavilion will draw tight its forces and mainly support the Village of Mount Qianfeng in the back. Shifu also plans to recall all the shixiong in charge of the subdivision hall.”

“Recall all of them?” Gu Feidi pondered. “Is father going to start selecting for the next Pavilion Lord?”

Pu Lingyun sighed, “Since you ran away with Su Yang, what else could Shifu do? Besides, there are still rumors in the Jianghu that you were seduced by the Evil Sect’s Young Master. Even if you want to return to reclaim the title of Pavilion Lord, Shifu will not agree.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Su Yang sitting aside and smiled brightly. “You two should just enjoy your happy days away from all of this hustling and bustling mess! I trust that if Tengyun Pavilion is ever in trouble, you two won’t stand idly by, right?”

“Of course, I’ll always return if necessary.” Gu Feidi promised.

“That’s right. We will definitely come and help if anything happens.” Su Yang also smiled and nodded.

After a pause, Gu Feidi asked, “What about you? Aren’t you going to fight for the next Pavilion Lord’s position?”

Pu Lingyun curled her lips and huffed, “I’m still a woman. Even if I become the next Pavilion Lord, there won’t be any fewer rumours and slander. Besides, I want to marry Fan-Er, even if he joins the Tengyun Pavilion, he’ll inevitably be criticised harshly. I would lose my patience dealing with these hideous messed up things, so I might as well stop arguing. No matter which shixiong gets promoted, what reason is there for them to not give me the senior title?”

Gu Feidi was surprised and asked, “Oh? You’re getting married? Have you decided on a date?”

Pu Lingyun wasn’t bashful on this in the slightest as she frankly stated, “After the Wulin Conference, the date will be the last third of the seventh month. When that time arrives, you two must attend my wedding banquet.”

Su Yang immediately smiled and chirped, “Of course, we will definitely come!”

Pu Lingyun added, “Maybe there will be a one-month banquet for my nephew. Both of you should just sneak back to Tengyun Pavilion in the second half of the year.”

Gu Feidi chuckled, glanced at Su Yang and said, “This is not urgent, we can discuss it in the future.”

Tomorrow would be Su Yang’s twentieth birthday. Whether the Blood Curse was still a threat or not, tomorrow they would learn the result. 

In ancient times, there was no accurate device to keep track of time. Su Yang didn’t bother to wait to celebrate his birthday at midnight. He went to bed early to conserve energy for the coming of age ceremony.

While Gu Feidi suffered isonomia. 

He laid on the bed and looked sideways at the sleeping Su Yang. He gently placed his hand on Su Yang’s cool wrist to count the other’s pulse. The sleeping older man’s breathing was light and shallow. He pretty much put his ear against the other’s cheek to have a clearer listening to the faint sound of breathing. 

This lasted until the sky outside the window started to turn bright. Su Yang turned over in his sleep, unconsciously put his hand on Gu Feidi’s chest and murmured something. 

Gu Feidi was finally relieved. He chuckled and reached out his hand to clasp Su Yang’s fingers, closed his eyes and went to sleep. 

* * *

Su Yang’s crowning ceremony would be held along with his birthday banquet. There were not many guests in the House of Jade, other than the seniors, shixiong and shijie, so the overall event was simple.

Qing Bo still didn’t appear in person. Only a letter carried by the little green bird contained words of congratulations, which Gu Feidi read aloud at the ceremony. Gu Ruohai, as the guest of honour, placed the crown on for Su Yang, then Su Huaizhu, as the father, chose a name for Su Yang.

Su Yang was kneeling before Su Huaizhu. The former Sect Leader said, “As the ceremony’s conditions were met, on this lunar month and propitious day, I announce your courtesy name, the splendid name of...Wu JiuWithout calamity. Jiu (courtesy name) and Yang (in Su Yang) could both mean calamity but different words..”

Su Yang accepted his courtesy name and after performing the three worshipsA form of paying respect in ceremony. The person kneels very low three times (hands touch the ground). Hard to tell towards who, Baike only has guests, but I feel like it could be more than towards the guests., the ceremony was officially over.

Then they removed the incense burner table and started the birthday banquet.

After the banquet, Su Yang and Gu Feidi went to look for Su Huaizhu. 

“Senior, now the Poisonous Gu can be removed from your body.” Gu Feidi said. “Why don’t we take this opportunity to get rid of it?”

Su Huaizhu declined, “No need to hurry. As long as I don’t use my internal energy, this Poisonous Gu could be suppressed for a period of time.”

Gu Ruohai standing on the side disagreed, “No matter whether the Gu Bug is dormant or not, it’s not something good to keep in your body. If it can be removed, it should be done as soon as possible.”

Su Yang nodded immediately and persuaded, “That’s right. In any case, we have the White Flame Gu now and also the mental skill, not to mention I reached the age of twenty. Since everyone is present, let’s take the chance to force the Poisonous Gu out here within the House of Jade’s walls. If we encounter any incident, there’s always Qing...Shizun here. So there is no concern for lack of remedy.”

Su Huaizhu fixed his eyes at Su Yang for a long time before agreeing with a smile, “Might as well.”

To be on the safe side, they didn’t remove the Gu Bug on the day of Su Yang’s birthday, but postponed it for a few days so everyone could have a proper rest and mental preparation. 

Luo Yu had already translated the method of utilising the White Flame Gu into the Central Plains language and personally and carefully taught Gu Feidi. He also confirmed that after several months of practicing the dual cultivation technique, Su Yang and Gu Feidi had balanced the internal energies in their bodies. They were as harmonious as Yin and Yang, which was enough to command the Flame Gu. 

On the day of dispelling the Gu, De Ling brought Shizun’s letter and led the pairs of fathers and sons to an isolated spacious house beside the Jade Mirror Lake with Luo Yu. There was a pool of cold water from the lake in this house, which could help Su Huaizhu to suppress the Poisonous Gu. 

Su Huaizhu removed his robes and immersed himself in the pool. Gu Feidi stood before him, one hand against the centre of the senior’s chest, where ‘shan zhong’ was located. The second hand against the ‘qi hui’, just below the belly button. 

Su Yang circled his arms around Gu Feidi from behind, before putting his palms on Gu Feidi’s back and used his internal energy with the younger man, prompting the White Flame Gu’s strength, like an extension of a bug, to slowly explore into Su Huaizhu’s meridians.

Su Huaizhu gave a muffled groan, closed his eyes slightly and clenched his teeth. In the cold pool during summertime, he suddenly shed beads of sweat, but didn’t let any pain overflow between his teeth. 

The process of removing the Poisonous Gu was not short. In order to ensure success, Su Huaizhu couldn't pass out and must remain awake throughout the process. Seeing Su Huaizhu close his eyes and endure this long pain, Gu Ruohai finally couldn’t bear the sight of it. He joined the three in the pool and gently took the suffering man into his arms.

Fortunately, other than it taking longer than Luo Yu’s expectations, the process went very smoothly. As soon as the Emotion Gu was forced out of Su Huaizhu, it was immediately entangled and killed by the White Flame Gu’s tentacles. 

Su Huaizhu was pale as a ghost. He slowly opened his eyes, weakly moved his lips to utter “Thank you” to Su Yang and Gu Feidi before immediately fainting.

Gu Ruohai took the man ashore right away, turned back and told Su Yang and Gu Feidi to rest, then anxiously carried Su Huaizhu away. Luo Yu followed them while muttering how he needed to check the sleeping man’s pulse. 

The duo were also exhausted to the point where they could hardly stand steady. They helped each other to the side of the pool. 

Su Yang was shivering in the cold water. Gu Feidi sighed and helped the other dry his wet clothes and hair. He followed his father’s example and picked Su Yang up and took the older man back to the Lively Spring Garden. 

On the roof of the building, the little green bird that was perching quietly for a long time shook its wings before taking off into the mountain. It flew over the mountain and into a semi-opened window of the Hidden Pearl Pavilion and landed on the shoulder of a woman dressed in green. 

Qing Bo raised her hand to caress the bird, said smiling, “...Time for us to go.”

…

The next morning, Qin Jiangyue and Luo Yu left the House of Jade and returned to Elegant Jade Mountain. Pu Lingyun and Fan Xi also said goodbye as they planned to travel together before their wedding. Once they had their fun, they would return to Tengyun Pavilion. 

Originally, Su Huaizhu and Gu Ruohai were also leaving, but Old Qi asked them to stay for a few more days. The old man wanted to nurse Su Huaizhu with medicine and acupuncture—over the years, Su Huaizhu had forcibly suppressed the Emotion Gu by devious methods, not to mention him triggering the Emotion Gu many times, which had caused damage to his meridians. But recuperating could only bring relief to the injury, he would have a difficult time making improvements to his martial arts. 

While Su Huaizhu stayed in Old Qi’s yard to nurse his meridians, Gu Ruohai scheduled training with Gu Feidi and Su Yang in the training field daily to guide their sword techniques. 

“You two are well integrated in terms of mental skill and internal energy. Having to complement each other and the three mental skills, as long as you two practice hard, both of your internal energies will be incomparably strong and will become an unstoppable force.” Gu Ruohai said. “It’s just that the two of you haven’t ventured out in the Jianghu for long. That means less fighting experience, and also the ever present risk of alteration in sword technique.”

Then he paused and continued, “Although you two will stay in the House of Jade and away from the future Wulin disputes, both of you must be on alert to danger in times of peace. It would be fine if there’s no participation, but once the two of you are needed, you must have the abilities to back it up.”

Gu Feidi and Su Yang listened to the advice with an open mind. 

After a few days, seeing the deadline of the Wulin Conference was approaching, Old Qi finally agreed to release his patient. Afterward, Gu Ruohai and Su Huaizhu also left the House of Jade and returned to the Wulin where disputes were slowly rising. 

Some time later, Pu Lingyun sent a wedding invitation to Gu Feidi and Su Yang.

The letter attached to the invitation mentioned that Xu Yunzhan and Huo Ying’s son had been born, and the one-month banquet was only half a month after Pu Lingyun’s wedding. 

During this Wulin Conference, the Village of Mount Qianfeng really lived up to expectations and replaced Tengyun Pavilion in the leadership over the Central Plains Wulin. The head of the Xu Family took over as the Wulin Alliance Leader, and the first thing he did was to put the evidence of Wujiang Sect’s collusion with the Evil Sect and E’Luo Gui Faction before everyone, and remove the countless spies that the Wujiang Sect planted in various sects. 

“In addition, the news that the imperial court will marry someone from E'Luo has been confirmed. They approved Princess Dan Yang’s marriage with the faction’s new king, E’Luo Ying. The official ceremony will be held next spring.”

After reading the letter, Gu Feidi smiled and turned to Su Yang. “Since our techniques and internal energies are balanced, maybe it’s time for us to go out. After attending Lingyun’s wedding and my Kindred Spirit Brother’s son’s one-month banquet, we can travel together...Once it’s winter, we can go to Elegant Jade Mountain again. Don’t you like building snowmen? Now you can enjoy the snow to your heart’s content.”

Su Yang burst out laughing and exclaimed, “You still remember that thing about the snowman? Actually, I only wanted to play with snow because I wasn’t able to at that time. Now...sure, I guess. Able to travel with you is like having our honeymoon.”

Gu Feidi didn’t understand the word. “Our honeymoon? What do you mean?”

Su Yang smiled mysteriously and didn’t answer.

As Gu Feidi was about to ask again, his attention was suddenly captured by a very small cracking sound. His eyes immediately went to Su Yang’s chest and his eyebrows narrowed slightly. 

Su Yang spotted the other’s change in expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Gu Feidi reached out to hook out the red silk thread hanging around Su Yang’s neck and held the pearl sized bird egg in the palm of his hand. Su Yang studied it carefully and saw a small crack on the egg. 

“It’s cracking its shell!” Su Yang was so shocked that he almost jumped up. He muttered in concern, “Why did it never crack when I accidentally pressed against it in the past. During those times, I was glad that the egg had a tough shell. Now looking at it...do you think the little guy can break out?”

“Don’t worry.” Gu Feidi comforted Su Yang while carefully cutting the thread around the egg. “Since the egg shell had cracked, it should be able to get out.”

The two heads moved closely together, and the two pairs of eyes were locked on the egg. They didn’t even dare to breathe too hard. 

After a long time, finally, a small beak pierced the eggshell and poked itself out. 

However, before Su Yang could cheer, a dazzling light shone before them which forced both men to shut their eyes. 

When they opened their eyes back up, they saw that the bird egg, which was originally the size of the little finger tip, had disappeared. Instead, it was replaced by a fully-grown green parrot, the size of a palm, as it landed on the corner of the tablet by the bed.

Su Yang: “...”

Gu Feidi: “...”

For a moment, neither of them said anything. 

After a long time, Gu Feidi sighed and said, “The big world you and Shizun came from is very strange…”

Su Yang still didn’t answer. 

He stared at the parrot in a daze and digested the strange sound in his head for a long time. 

It was not until Gu Feidi anxiously called out his name several times that Su Yang finally came back to his senses. He turned to the worried younger man.

Gu Feidi asked, “How are you feeling?”

Su Yang was silent for a moment. Suddenly, he lifted the corner of his lips until they gradually turned into an incomparably brilliant smile, and his eyes were filled with a surprising glow. 

He opened his arms and embraced Gu Feidi tightly while exclaiming excitedly, “We...we’ll never, ever, ever be separated! I’ll be with you, together forever!”