After a while, the wedding banquet finally came to an end, and amidst the good-natured teasing of the guests, the groom was escorted into the bridal chamber.
Being cultivators—and considering that Chen Fan had no close friends here and his parents had passed away long ago, having only attended the wedding because they lived in the same community—no one felt inclined to pull any rowdy pranks on the newlywed couple.
Slightly intoxicated, Chen Fan walked into the bridal room. The moment he stepped through the door, he saw the bride sitting stiffly and upright on the wedding bed. Hearing him enter, her body grew slightly taut.
Chen Fan wasn't faring much better at that moment. Although he had lived for quite some time, he had been a shut-in before transmigrating, and after coming here, he had become an even more reclusive cultivator. Whatever street-smarts he possessed were only useful when conducting business transactions—who on earth knew what to do in a situation like this?!
Let alone living in this world for decades, he had never encountered this kind of thing even once in his life.
After pondering for a moment, he gave a light cough and said, "My wife, you've kept me waiting."
Rubbing his hands together, Chen Fan picked up the festive weighing rod from the table and slowly extended it toward the bride.
As the red bridal veil was gently lifted by Chen Fan and floated down, the room instantly fell into a heavy silence.
"Is this the woman who has married me?" Seeing the face that appeared before him, Chen Fan couldn't help patting his own cheek, terrified that the sight before him was merely a drunken hallucination.
As cultivators who frequently came into contact with spiritual energy, people generally did not look too unappealing, or else Chen Fan would never have agreed to an arranged marriage without even meeting his prospective partner once.
He had expected his bride to be of ordinary appearance, but now he knew he had struck gold.
Upon seeing her looks... well, words failed his impoverished vocabulary; he only knew she was breathtaking, utterly stunning. While Chen Fan stared blankly, Li Lingyu raised her eyes, gazing at Chen Fan with a look brimming with bashful charm.
It made Chen Fan's heart skip a beat.
Seeing that he remained motionless for a long time, Li Lingyu shifted her gaze slightly away, then lowered her head and bit her lip gently.
After that, she shifted her body on the bed a little to the side.
Then, she murmured softly, "Husband, please sit."
Just as Chen Fan was beginning to sober up, hearing that form of address made his head spin even more.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, maintaining a distance of just a fist's breadth from Li Lingyu, he said somewhat awkwardly, "We are married now. From now on, we are husband and wife."
The moment he finished speaking, Chen Fan wanted to slap himself across the face. What on earth was he saying?!
"Mn, Husband," Li Lingyu shifted slightly and said shyly.
Chen Fan sat up straight, trying to clear his head. Then, catching the faint fragrance drifting over, he instantly felt his mouth go dry and his blood surging uncontrollably.
Li Lingyu was just about to speak when her peripheral vision caught Chen Fan's state. Her face instantly flushed to the roots of her ears, and the words retreated back into her mouth as she lowered her head slightly.
The bridal chamber fell silent once more.
After a moment, seeing that Chen Fan still remained as motionless as a wooden stake, she gently bit her delicate teeth and leaned in close to Chen Fan's ear, her voice as thin as a whisper: "Please be gentle with me, Husband."
Hearing those words, his mind could no longer hold onto any coherent thought; his body surrendered entirely to instinct, and he pounced.
Spring filled the garden, and the bed creaked rhythmically.
Lying on the bed in a state of post-coital clarity, completely drained of energy, Chen Fan suddenly heard a chime.
[Skill System successfully loaded.]
[You have formed a marital bond with your dao companion Li Lingyu, establishing a new family. You have received an initial reward: a random skill will be selected for you to break through.]
[Ding!]
[Based on your current skills, Alchemy has been randomly selected for your breakthrough.]
[Ding!]
[Your Alchemy skill has broken through. You have become a First-Tier Alchemist.]
What is this?
Looking at the row of text before him, Chen Fan sat up abruptly, staring intently at the notification that had just appeared in his field of vision.
"Is this a system?"
"A Skill System?"
"What is this? How novel!"
"It says here that I've broken through to a First-Tier Alchemist. Have I already become a First-Tier Alchemist?"
Chen Fan reminisced carefully. The heat control, ingredient pairing, and timing for adding herbs during alchemy suddenly felt as familiar to him as if he had practiced them for many years.
This... he had actually completely mastered the techniques of a First-Tier Alchemist!
Looking at the text floating before him and feeling the profound mysteries of a First-Tier Alchemist, all his previous points of confusion were thoroughly understood.
"So you need to get married to get a cheat? As expected, you can't reach the Great Dao using just your hands."
"I wonder what other functions this system has, though. I wonder if it can directly break through my cultivation realm."
After a wave of excitement—which even dispelled his post-coital lethargy—he looked at his wife beside him, who was still groggy from the devastation she had just endured. Stirred to action once more, and hearing the unconscious, delicate whimpers of his wife, Chen Fan couldn't help but say, "My wife?"
"What?" came a drowsy voice.
...
Another bout of creaking ensued.
Early the next morning, looking at the text still hovering before his eyes, Chen Fan felt refreshed and invigorated. The depression that had accumulated within him for years was expelled in one breath, and he instantly sensed his cultivation realm beginning to loosen.
"Now that I've become a First-Tier Alchemist, I'll be able to access better resources. I just wonder how this golden finger works."
Chen Fan thought for a moment, then turned his gaze toward his wife, who was fast asleep on the bed. Text had suddenly appeared before him here as well:
[System]
[Chen Clan]
[Head of Household: Chen Fan]
[First Wife: Li Lingyu]
"Is this a system panel? But it looks so crude! I have no idea what it's even good for. Why isn't this a Dragon-Abode-style system?"
Chen Fan was left speechless at the sight.
Right at that moment, Li Lingyu slowly woke up and opened her eyes.
Her newly opened eyes were still hazy. Blinking gently, she happened to lock eyes with Chen Fan, who was staring right at her, and instantly snapped awake.
Li Lingyu's face turned beet red in an instant, and she hurriedly buried her head under the blankets.
"Husband is too much! He completely ignored my pleas yesterday."
Chen Fan gave a dry cough and smiled awkwardly. Just as he was about to speak, seeing the endearing, coquettish expression of his wife, Chen Fan immediately began to hands-on grope her all over again.
Feeling Chen Fan's movements, Li Lingyu's body grew weak and limp once more.
Outside, little birds chirped in the early morning.
Once everything was finally over, Chen Fan quickly got up, washed up, and went to make breakfast.
Li Lingyu, whose legs were still somewhat weak from her recent ordeal, watched Chen Fan bustling about. The deep-seated anxieties in her heart gradually faded away—after all, just yesterday they had been complete strangers.
"It seems my husband is truly a very good person."
Li Lingyu thought quietly to herself.
After finishing the breakfast, Chen Fan dressed Li Lingyu and helped her wash up.
During the meal, the two of them ate in silence, unsure of what to say.
Chen Fan wanted to speak, but after an awkward silence of several moments, not a single word came out. Thinking about it, ever since they met yesterday, they had only done one thing—which they were literally still doing just moments ago—and hadn't properly conversed at all.
Seeing this situation, Chen Fan decided to force a conversation out of sheer awkwardness, though unfortunately, after stewing for a long time, he still couldn't utter a single syllable.
Li Lingyu, who was eating her meal, suddenly spoke up: "Husband... why aren't you saying anything?"
"Mh, ah! Right," Chen Fan managed to squeeze out these few words after a long pause.
Thinking a bit more, he added, "Ah! This! That."