Investing in the Reborn Empress, She Actually Calls Me ‘Husband’
Chapter 264: Marriage Fate Pouch: If Its Broken, Its Aimed at Me

The territory of the Azure Luan Clan.

The night was serene, the moon hanging high in the sky.

A young girl sat on the highest branch of a tree in the clan's land, her delicate, jade-like wings shimmering under the moonlight like frost. Her slender legs swung gently, and in her arms, she cradled a big-headed doll.

She seemed... lost in thought?

Ying Bing gazed at the moon, her eyes distant, making her appear more like an unblemished jade sculpture than a living being.

Before she could gather her thoughts, the branch beneath her dipped slightly—someone, or rather, a bird, had landed beside her. It was the blue-clad girl she had come to know over the past few days.

Luan Qing.

Ding-ling-ling—

The sound of bells conveyed Luan Qing's message:

"We're setting off soon. The elder sent me to inform you."

"Mm, thank you."

Ying Bing nodded.

Yet Luan Qing lingered, hesitating as if she wanted to say something but was too shy. She buried her face in her own feathered wings.

"Is there something you need my help with?"

Ying Bing's clear voice carried a gentler tone than usual.

After a moment's pause, Luan Qing shook her bells in an unusual rhythm, the fragmented chimes barely intelligible—had Ying Bing not recently studied musical tones, she might not have understood.

"Could you... hang this on the Wishing Tree at the Hanging Temple for me?"

Hope flickered in Luan Qing's eyes.

"They say if you tie your wish to that tree, your destined one will appear soon... and then I’ll finally be able to speak."

"Of course..."

Ying Bing reached out, only to realize Luan Qing had handed her two embroidered pouches.

Luan Qing jingled her bells with a smile.

"You already have your destined one. But hanging these on the tree will still bless you with happiness..."

"......"

Ying Bing fell silent for a beat, lips parting—but before she could speak—

"Little Bing! Where are you? We're leaving!"

Shang Qinqing's voice rang out.

"Coming."

Ying Bing lowered her gaze briefly, her pale, slender fingers tightening around the pouches before tucking them into the big-headed doll.

With a sweep of her wings, she took to the night sky.

Meanwhile...

A fishbone boat glided across the water, its wake rustling through the reeds and startling nameless beasts into fleeing through the undergrowth.

"Long time no see."

Li Mo sat perched on the hollow eye socket of the fish skull, staring at the familiar, colossal moon. The lunar sigils on the tiny figure within his dantian glowed faintly.

Having spent days in the Blackwater Marsh—the domain of the Howling Serpent Clan—where the skies were either overcast or drizzling, he hadn’t seen the moon in ages.

The cold, quiet radiance of the moon remained unchanged, just as it had been in countless nights past.

Hmm.

Young Li was lost in thought, yet it didn’t hinder his contemplation of the moon’s divine essence.

The moon in his inner world hung just as high, its presence subtly resonating with the one outside.

An automatic cleansing of his spirit, an effortless absorption of divine insight.

"Lord Sky Serpent?"

"Li... Brother Li Mo?"

A voice snapped him out of his trance, startling him.

Turning, he saw Murong Xiao and Wu Dameng.

"What are you two doing up at this hour? Walking around without a sound—scared the scales off me."

Murong Xiao rubbed his bald, gleaming head.

"I thought Brother Li would notice us."

"I was cultivating. The fully focused kind. Haven’t you learned by now how serious I am about it?"

Li Mo spoke with righteous indignation, then cleared his throat.

"What’s the matter?"

"I’m hungry."

Murong Xiao had skipped dinner again.

Being vegetarian, the only greens the Howling Serpent Clan offered were waterweed—useful for picking teeth, little else.

"Oh, right. I grabbed some wild chives earlier. We can grill them."

"That’s... not ideal."

"Hmm? Right, Buddhism considers chives a stimulant..."

"No, Brother Li. Today’s my first day of abstinence. A critical juncture. I can’t afford to fail again."

"......"

In the end, Murong Xiao still ate the grilled chives—mostly because they smelled too good to resist.

Li Mo had also convinced him with flawless logic: "Since today’s your first day, eating chives just means tomorrow is still your first day. The count doesn’t reset. Even Buddha couldn’t call this a relapse."

Murong Xiao found Li Mo’s wisdom profound. Clearly, he understood Buddha better than a monk like himself.

"So good."

"Enjoy. Dameng, want some? With cumin and chili?"

Wu Dameng was about to nod when Li Mo cut in:

"Actually, never mind. You’ll just make it rain again."

A cardinal rule for the Howling Serpent Clan in the Southern Wilds: No sneezing unless necessary.

"Oh, another water tribe passed by earlier and left gifts for you."

Wu Dameng munched on chives, eyeing Li Mo with envy.

"Ah, just pile them over there."

Li Mo gestured to a corner of the fishbone boat’s cabin, already stacked with courtship gifts from aquatic clans and others.

Their journey so far had drawn as much attention as when the Hidden Dragon Ranking crowned him the "Wife-Blessing Battle Soul" back in Yunzhou.

"Aren’t you going to look through them? At least consider some."

"What’s there to see?"

Li Mo couldn’t care less.

Wu Dameng, however, was relentless in his efforts: "For example, this—this red crystal coral was a gift from the princess of the Giant Whale Clan. Though she’s a bit on the larger side..."

"How large?"

"Well, her true form is... about a hundred zhang or so?"

"Excuse me?"

"Uh... How about this one from the Sea King Squid Clan instead?"

The journey to the Hanging Temple wasn’t exclusive to the Mingjiao Clan. Some aquatic clans had even traveled all the way from the South Sea, naturally having heard of the Heavenly Flood Dragon’s exploits. Unlike certain other clans, the Mingjiao Clan wasn’t overly strict about bloodline purity.

Some clans insisted on intra-clan marriages to maintain lineage purity. Take the Azure Phoenixes, for instance—their entire clan waited eagerly for their destined mates. But the Mingjiao Clan had always been more... flexible when it came to choosing partners.

This much was evident just by looking at Brother Murong Xiao, who was casually munching on leeks over there.

"Dameng, be honest—did you take bribes?" Li Mo said irritably. "Every single one you’ve introduced is massive in size."

"I believe a male should pair with a strong female. Humans have a saying for it—'eating soft rice'? Eating soft rice is comfortable, Boss Li Mo. I’m only thinking of your best interests." Wu Dameng spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

No wonder he was the acting drama flood dragon...

Li Mo fell silent for a moment.

"Where did you even learn this nonsense?"

"The storytellers by the riverside in Nanguan City. I often listen to a tale called The Domineering Empress Falls for Me. It makes perfect sense!"

"Cut down on those stories. That’s pure science fiction—you know, as unrealistic as a Mingjiao sneezing without causing rain."

"Really...?"

"Hmm?"

Li Mo stared at Wu Dameng, whose transformed figure was burly and bore the fierce, intimidating features of a flood dragon—now dangerously close to resembling a "Wu Dameng the Adorable."

His fists clenched instinctively. How bizarre.

The next morning.

In the distance, they could already see an ancient temple, majestic and radiant, as if bathed in holy light amidst the clouds atop the mountain.

The Hanging Temple.

But after disembarking from the fishbone ship, Young Li encountered a major problem.

No—he hadn’t even stepped off the ship yet.

From afar, he could see a massive crowd of aquatic beings gathered at the dock—mostly women with distinct aquatic features, dressed in elaborate attire and bearing treasures from their clans.

Some weren’t even here for the Celestial Jade at the Hanging Temple.

Then what were they after?

The True Dragon bloodline, of course!

Even if it was just a trace!

Even if it was faint!

As long as it existed, there was hope of ancestral reversion—a chance to leap through the Dragon Gate!

The scene was overwhelming.

The Heavenly Flood Dragon, Young Li, leaned back in a tactical retreat, sucking in a sharp breath.

"Oh no. They’re here for me."

......

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