Seeking Truth with a Sword

Chapter 422 - 373: The Groom

The sound of drums was loud and chaotic, echoing across the wilderness and growing ever closer.

The wedding procession consisted of over a hundred men, each wearing a smile and colorful attire. Some were beating drums, and others were holding torches.

The flickering light of the flames, along with the dim light, allowed Li Ang and Pei Jing to faintly see a groom riding a horse in the middle of the procession, dressed in a red shirt, a white inner skirt, and black long boots.

Red official uniform.

Li Ang and Pei Jing exchanged glances, their hearts sinking.

The red official uniform, which was dark red, was usually worn by lower-ranked officials.

According to Yu Law, common people were allowed to wear ceremonial clothes one grade higher than their actual social status during weddings, a practice known as "Photography" to demonstrate the officials’ encouraging attitude towards marriage.

Due to the custom of "Photography," the red official uniform was the most common wedding outfit among the common folk.

However, the one worn by the groom seemed a bit unusual—it had a pattern of phoenixes carrying long ribbons.

"A wedding procession?"

He Fanshuang, whose vision was not so good, finally saw clearly. She flicked her finger, causing a talisman to pop out from the talisman plate on her right wrist, and clasped it in her palm.

Trouble was coming.

Though it was customary in Yu Country to have night wedding processions, this place was remote, with no villages or inns nearby, and situated along a railway line. It was unlikely that ordinary people would pass by.

The passengers in the train car had also heard the deafening sound of the drums and, in a panic, squeezed into the aisle, chattering and inquiring.

"Please, everyone, stay calm!"

Pei Jing immediately turned around and declared loudly, "I am Pei Jing, a student from the Academic Palace in the third year of Zaiqian, and my father is the Minister of the Left of Yu Country. These two are my classmates from the Academic Palace. We’re experiencing some trouble in this car right now.

Please return to your compartments, lock your doors, pull down the window curtains, and ring the Heavenly Bell.

No matter what noises you hear, whether from outside the window or the door, do not open the door or pull up the curtains!

We will protect everyone."

Those who could afford a seat in the luxurious nineteenth carriage at night were typically rich and powerful, naturally aware of rumors about supernatural incidents, and could recognize that the three individuals’ attire indeed belonged to the Academic Palace.

The title of Minister of the Left, along with the surname Pei, was convincing enough.

The chaotic noise in the aisle abruptly stilled, and the passengers hesitantly returned to their compartments, following Pei Jing’s instructions.

"Fourth Brother?"

The guards of the Pei family, holding Pei Jing’s younger brother who was unaware of what was happening, moved through the aisle and approached.

"Take Qilang to the compartment as well."

Pei Jing spoke rapidly to the guards, "Set up the Warning Talismans, and even if you hear my voice later, do not open the door."

Having said this, he then looked toward an older man dressed in brocade behind the guards and said earnestly, "Mr. Wan, please stay and help me."

"Alright."

Known as Mr. Wan, the elder nodded slowly. He seemed to be an attendant sent by Pei Jing’s family to protect him. There was no trace of spiritual energy around him—he looked like a wealthy, venerable man—except for the thick calluses on his fingers and the old scars covering the backs of his hands.

Li Ang found it odd yet not too surprising. Half a year had passed since their academic exchange, and Pei Jing had caught up with both Li Ang and He Fanshuang, having just reached high order in the Rain Listening Realm.

If he still needed protection at this level, it had to be a guard from the Cloud Patrol Realm—Candle Cloud Realm was impossible. Pei Jing had not yet decided to take over the entire family business, after all.

Misinterpreting Li Ang’s subtle expression, Pei Jing explained, "Qilang is my full brother. He was left with our maternal grandparents in Luoyang for many years and has recently shown a Cultivation Talent, so I brought him back to Chang’an."

He Fanshuang squinted and asked, "Heavenly Awakened?"

"Yes." Pei Jing nodded.

Those young ones who, without having engaged in any systematic Cultivation, could still influence nature’s spiritual energy with their inexplicable innate talents, were known as the Heavenly Awakened.

If ordinary people’s Cultivation required them to dig a reservoir to tap into the potential of their Qi Sea, then the Qi Sea of a Heavenly Awakened was, to a large extent, innately developed. Their Cultivation speed in the early stages was significantly faster than that of ordinary people.

In ancient times, Heavenly Awakened emerged incessantly, reaching their peak during the era of the Two Jins. However, as the "pure-blood" nobel families gradually disappeared, the appearance of Heavenly Awakened became increasingly rare, and there had been no recorded instances for a very long time.

It was indeed rare for the Pei family to produce such an individual.

Li Ang glanced at the closed door and said nothing further, as now was not the time to discuss this.

A middle-aged man in a plain robe approached, holding a waist token. "The four of you?" he inquired, then stated, "I am Sun Xinzhi, Judge from the garrison of the Capital Province, one of the train attendants for this journey."

Train attendant?

Li Ang eyed the waist token in the middle-aged man’s hand. Its pattern and design showed no anomalies. It was a credential of the garrison.

Pei Jing frowned and asked, "Why didn’t you mention this earlier?"

Sun Xinzhi explained, "Earlier, I was not aware of the situation and was concerned that the abnormality might have another cause..."

The sound of drums and the wedding procession grew nearer, interrupting Sun Xinzhi’s words. The distance between the two groups was now just over two hundred paces.

The appearance of the groom in the center of the wedding procession was clearly visible.

He was handsome, with a smile on his lips, but his face seemed caked in makeup, giving it a greasy texture.

"We can’t let them get any closer," Li Ang said immediately. The approaching party had ill intentions. They could not move this train carriage, which itself weighed over twenty tons, and they also had to consider the passengers inside and whether other enemies were lurking.

They had to find a way to stop them.

Li Ang stepped down from the train carriage and raised his right arm high into the sky.

WHOOSH—

From his right wrist, the long-unused Mechanical Crossbow saw the light of day once again. Its mechanism recoiled heavily, shooting a talisman-wrapped crossbow arrow above the wedding procession.

BOOM!

The talisman activated in mid-air, forming a large spherical fireball. Besides its impressive momentum, it also stirred up turbulent air currents.

As the wedding procession was buffeted by the air currents, their clothes rustled fiercely, yet no one stopped; all advanced uniformly towards the carriage.

WHOOSH—

Another talismanic arrow exploded above the wedding procession, yet there was still no response.

These people seemed oblivious to the brilliant light and loud sound, unaware of the threat of death, and simply continued on their way, constantly narrowing the distance.

"I’ll handle this."

He Fanshuang pinched an Earth Transformation Talisman between two fingers and flung it into the wind.

The railway used materials similar to those of the Imperial Palace walls, which could resist Magic to a certain extent, so He Fanshuang’s target was not the rails but the mud beside the tracks.

The Earth Transformation Talisman landed on the ground, and the surrounding soil immediately dissolved into mud. Li Ang instantly understood; he unleashed his Telekinesis, driving the mud to cover the surface of the railway, accumulating it into a sloped mound of earth, forming a path that bypassed their carriage and directly connected to the rail tracks further back.

However, the wedding procession stepped over the sloped mound, ignoring the newly constructed path, and continued directly towards the carriage.