82: Chapter 82 Sending Out Invitations

The fifth day of the first lunar month, Soul Realm main hall.

Three days remained until the grand wedding. The square in front of the main hall was already draped in intertwined red and gold silk. Hun Qian was leading two teams of guards, checking the newly replaced glass lanterns one by one; he would not stop until he had even verified the temperature of the flames sealed within the wicks.

As he checked, he jotted notes into a ledger. Nearby, two young guards whispered that Elder Hun Qian was more worried than the Young Clan Leader himself. Hun Qian did not even turn his head as he retorted, "The Young Clan Leader's previous wedding was also overseen by me; what could you possibly know?" The two guards immediately fell silent.

Inside the hall, the round table was filled with people. Hun Tiandi remained in his usual, perpetually lazy posture, holding a cup of wine and taking an occasional sip. Void Swallowing Flame sat to his right in human form, black flames dancing listlessly on his fingertips. Hun Qinger had rarely moved from the corner to the table; she toyed with a tiny ice crystal, her icy blue eyes scanning the four women sitting opposite her from time to time, a hint of scrutiny hidden in the depths of her gaze that only she understood. Soul Yuan Tian and Elder Hun Tu sat in the lower seats. At such a family banquet, the two Eight Star Dou Sheng suppressed all their pressure, looking just like two ordinary, thin, withered old men. Soul Mie Sheng leaned back against his chair, listening to Hun Qian report on the wedding preparations with an expressionless face.

Hun Feng sat to the left of Hun Tiandi, with Medusa, Yao Yao, Gu Xun'er, and Xiao Yi Xian seated in order beside him. Hun Muxiao sat on Lin Qingwan's lap, poking at a sticky rice ball in her bowl with chopsticks.

"What are your plans regarding the invitations?" Hun Tiandi set down his wine cup, his gaze falling on Hun Feng. "Gu Yuan is already there from the Ancient Eight Clans, and Yan Jin has also arrived at the Soul Realm early. Lei Ying wrote back saying he would come in person. As for the Void Ancient Dragon side, the Great Elder of East Dragon Island replied on behalf of Zi Yan, saying that the Dragon Emperor would prepare a generous gift. The Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan's Feng Tianyu has not given a firm answer yet, but Feng Qing'er privately sent a pair of seven-colored phoenix feathers to Yao Yao, so it seems they will also send someone. As for the remaining small and medium-sized forces—the Pill Tower, the Flower Sect, the Burning Flame Valley, and a few reclusive old monsters—should we invite them?"

Hun Feng raised his wine cup and swirled it, just about to speak, when Medusa suddenly set down her teacup. The movement was very light, and the sound of the cup bottom clicking against the tabletop was not loud, but everyone in the hall instinctively looked at her. She was wearing a pale purple home dress today, her long hair loosely held up by a jade hairpin. She had no expression on her face, but the light in those purple eyes was colder than usual.

"Since we are inviting, we might as well invite everyone." Her voice was not loud, but every word clearly spread throughout the entire main hall. "All the prominent forces, sects, and clans on the continent—whether it be the Ancient Eight Clans or reclusive rogue cultivators, regardless of whether they were enemies or friends with the Hun Clan before—send an invitation to every single one of them. Those who come to congratulate us are friends. Those who do not come and do not reply are merely watching. Those who reply but make excuses not to come—are enemies."

She paused, picked up her teacup and took a sip, her tone as flat as if she were talking about the weather: "After the wedding, we can just send people to visit them one by one."

The hall was silent for a moment. Hun Feng's hand holding the wine cup stiffened in mid-air. He looked at Medusa's cold and stunning profile, his heart skipping a beat. In the original story, Medusa's formidable reputation was not just for show—back in the Jia Ma Empire, she alone was able to lead the Snake-People Tribe from a hunted tribe to the strongest force in the Northwest Continent, relying on her ruthless and decisive nature. But he did not expect her to use this ruthlessness here, and even less did he expect her to say such things so casually at a family banquet of the Hun Clan in front of all his elders.

"Good." Void Swallowing Flame was the first to speak, his voice low and slow. His eyes, burning with black flames, lingered on Medusa's face for a moment, carrying undisguised appreciation. "Good! The Young Clan Leader's main wife should have this kind of courage."

The ice crystal in Hun Qinger's hand turned gently, her icy blue eyes shifting from Medusa to Hun Feng. Her tone was as cold as ever but carried a trace of faint approval: "You have good taste, kid, and quite the fortune with women!"

Hun Tiandi leaned back against his chair, the smile on his lips deeper than ever. He tilted his head to look at Hun Feng, his gaze full of meaningful approval: "Feng'er, this main wife of yours is more than a notch stronger than your father's was back in the day."

Hun Feng drained the wine in his cup, turned his head to look at Medusa, and said sincerely: "Cai Lin, those words of yours just now—I like them." Medusa glanced at him, her lips curving slightly, the arc extremely faint.

Yao Yao was the second to speak. She swallowed the honey cake in her mouth, picked up her wine cup, and stood up, a look of eager anticipation flashing in her peach-blossom eyes: "Cai Lin sister is right. Invite them all, not missing a single one. Those who come are friends; those who don't, we'll keep a record and settle the account slowly after the wedding is over. Anyway, my bone whip hasn't tasted blood in a long time, and I was just worrying about not having a place to stretch my muscles."

"I have already received the phoenix feathers from the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, but Feng Tianyu hasn't given a firm answer yet. If he doesn't come, I will just happen to return those phoenix feathers—return them in person, and by the way, pluck a few of his newly-appointed phoenix tail feathers as well." Yao Yao spoke with great excitement. Hun Muxiao, sitting next to her, raised her little face and asked if phoenix feathers were like chicken feathers. Yao Yao reached out and pinched her cheeks, saying they were about the same, and that she would make her a feather duster later.

Gu Xun'er put down her teacup. She sat in the third seat to the left of Hun Feng, her posture still as dignified and reserved as befits the eldest lady of the Ancient Clan, but the calmness and decisiveness in her tone made everyone present look at her slightly: "I agree with Cai Lin. A wedding is a joyous occasion, and the invitation is a gesture of sincerity. If the sincerity is delivered, it depends on whether the other party accepts it. The Ancient Clan has already allied with the Hun Clan; those forces that are still watching should also take a stand. If anyone thinks that the Hun Clan will become soft-hearted after allying with the Ancient Clan, they are wrong—we should just use this wedding to let the entire continent see clearly that the treatment of the Hun Clan's friends and the Hun Clan's enemies is completely different." She grew up in the Council of Elders, accustomed to seeing her father and Gu Dao maneuvering between various forces, and she understood better than anyone how to use a wedding to leverage the political landscape of the entire continent.

Xiao Yi Xian was the last to speak. She gently set the teacup in her hand on the table, lifted those cold, clear eyes, and spoke in a soft but distinct voice: "Send out the invitations, and prepare the poison pills as well. They can choose not to come, they just shouldn't regret it. It just so happens that I recently refined a new variety of Poison Core Begonia, and I haven't found anyone to test its efficacy yet."

Hun Feng held his wine cup and looked at the four of them from left to right—Medusa sat dignified, the ruthlessness and composure in her features making her look even colder and more stunning than usual; Yao Yao was so excited she couldn't wait to go out and pluck phoenix feathers; Gu Xun'er was as calm as if she were voting on major military and national affairs in the Council of Elders; Xiao Yi Xian was silently soaking poisonous flowers in her tea. He suddenly felt that his harem seemed a bit different from what he had imagined. Who were Gu Xun'er and Xiao Yi Xian before? One was the eldest lady of the Ancient Clan, gentle and dignified, never participating in slaughter; the other was a physician from Qingshan Town, saving lives and healing the wounded, using even poison with extreme caution. And now? One says, "If they don't come, they are enemies; we will visit them one by one after the wedding," and the other says, "The poison pills are ready; they just shouldn't regret it." Is this because they were influenced by him? Or did they always have this side, only it was covered up by Xiao Yan's halo before, and they never had the chance to expose it?

Hun Tiandi set down his wine cup, his gaze slowly sweeping over the four women, each possessing their own sharp edge. Medusa's ruthlessness and decisiveness, Yao Yao's bloodthirsty combativeness, Gu Xun'er's deep political acumen, Xiao Yi Xian's cold and ruthless poison path—these traits were top-tier talents, rare in any of the ancient clans, yet now, Hun Feng had gathered them all by himself. He had lived for thousands of years and had seen countless powerhouses rise and countless powerhouses fall, but this was the only instance in the history of the entire continent where someone could take so many women with top-tier bloodlines under his command and have them willingly sit at the same table to discuss how to help him deal with his enemies.

"Feng'er," Hun Tiandi leaned back against the chair, the arc of the smile on his lips looking meaningful no matter how one looked at it, "Your eye for picking women is more than a notch stronger than your father's. The Hun Clan accepts these daughters-in-law."

Hun Feng stood up with his wine cup and bowed to Hun Tiandi and Void Swallowing Flame respectively: "The matter of the invitations is settled. Hun Qian, start drafting the list after the banquet. Send invitations to every prominent force, sect, and clan on the continent, not missing a single one. If they come to congratulate us, the Hun Clan will treat them with courtesy. If they don't come and don't reply, keep a record. If they reply but make excuses not to come—after the wedding, I will have Hun You and the Assassination Department pay them a visit one by one."

Hun Qian bowed to accept the order, a rare trace of a smile appearing on his old face—the Young Master's wives were all more assertive than the last; he, the butler, was afraid he would have his hands full in the future. Hun Muxiao jumped down from Lin Qingwan's lap, ran to Yao Yao's side, tugged on her sleeve, raised her little face, and asked if Aunt Yaoyao and the others were going to fight again. Yao Yao picked her up and kissed her, saying, "What fighting? Auntie is going to collect debts." Hun Muxiao asked what collecting debts meant. Yao Yao thought for a moment and said it meant that others owed your father something, and Auntie is going to help him get it back. Hun Muxiao nodded, seemingly understanding, and then asked if the people who owed things would cry. This time, it was Medusa who answered for her, her tone cold and certain: "No, because they won't have the chance to cry."