Whose Wedding?

Anbaixiu never in his wildest dreams expected the future he foresaw to be a wedding. What was truly absurd, however, was just how blurry the prophesied vision was. He could vaguely make out a man and a woman in magnificent wedding attire exchanging vows amidst the blessings of a crowd. Their postures suggested they were about to kiss, but their facial features were completely obscured. As for the garments, it was a long bridal gown, showing only blocks of yellow and white without any distinct patterns or cuts visible. No matter how learned Anbaixiu was, there was no way he could deduce which kingdom the wedding dress originated from based on such blurry patches of color. As for the surrounding guests, there seemed to be quite a crowd, but their clothes were a riot of colors—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, black, and white were all present. A row of figures who appeared to be bridesmaids stood to one side, but there were no groomsmen on the groom's side. What kind of regional custom was this? Anbaixiu thought back to the few weddings he had attended; none seemed to match this. The only thing that could be confirmed was that the wedding was taking place on land. "Strange. I was divining the sahuagin's movements—how did I end up divining a wedding?" Fate was elusive like that, but Anbaixiu was not rattled by such an ambiguous glimpse of the future. Divination was always this way: if you could interpret it, study it carefully; if you couldn't, under no circumstances should you make wild guesses. Just like last time, when Anbaixiu foresaw his own head coming off—who would have thought the one to pluck his head off wouldn't be an enemy, but the Rose of Decay? Prophecy was merely a reference. One should never overreact, lest it push the future down the abyss of tragedy. Therefore, Anbaixiu decided to simply go about his business as planned. He could inquire about the wedding later at his leisure, checking if any prominent figures had gotten engaged or were preparing to marry in recent years. After the encounter with the giant shark, the ghost ship met no further obstacles, carrying Anbaixiu into an oceanic trench. It was somewhat different from the trench where they had met previously, harboring even more bioluminescent fish and looking far more picturesque. Melina was so thrilled her eyes practically turned into searchlights. But as the ghost ship arrived at its destination, she obediently set aside her playful mood and followed behind Anbaixiu, stepping onto a massive, magnificent vessel. Looking at this ghost ship from afar, Anbaixiu clearly sensed the changes in Aige. The ghost-ship maiden had grown stronger once again—to a degree that even an outsider could perceive. Stepping onto the deck, Aige once more manifested in the form of a sea elf to welcome Anbaixiu. "Long time no see, Captain Aige," Anbaixiu greeted. "It looks as though your power has grown even greater." Aige nodded and said, "Thanks to you, the doubts that troubled me for hundreds and thousands of years were cleared away, and you helped me find a direction to solve my problem. My goal is to become a deity and beseech Ao to resurrect my father. That's no easy task, so naturally, I can no longer slack off like I used to." Previously, Aige had merely sought a way to resurrect the old shipwright, mostly by poking around for information everywhere. It wasn't until Anbaixiu told her that only Ao could save her father that Aige naturally threw herself into amassing power. It was precisely because of this goal that when Anbaixiu mentioned he wanted to help her achieve godhood, Aige invited him over for a detailed discussion without a second thought. After spending time together over this period, everyone in the Elegy Poetry Society had come to realize just how capable Anbaixiu was. As long as this lich gave his word, there was nothing he couldn't accomplish—provided one could pay the corresponding price. And Aige was already fully prepared for that. "Attaining godhood is no simple feat; I can only offer some advice. However, the original plan might need some adjustment. Captain Aige, I happen to have recently acquired some knowledge concerning deities that might help you ascend faster. It's just that I need to understand everything about you first." Anbaixiu had received knowledge shared by the Lady of Mists. Though this goddess had been a lesser deity across both lifetimes, a deity was still a deity; the world they perceived was fundamentally different from what mortals sensed. Mortals might be able to slay a deity, but that did not mean they could possess divine knowledge. The knowledge Leira shared was impossible to describe in words, so Anbaixiu couldn't simply pass it on to Aige either. He could only utilize it to see if it might help her become a deity. Upon hearing this, Aige did not answer immediately. Instead, she looked toward Melina. "You must be Melina. My apologies, I was so caught up talking with your father that I overlooked you. Your mother and I are good friends, so there's no need to be nervous. You don't have to keep staring at me like that." Melina replied sheepishly, "I'm sorry. I just thought... you're so pretty, big sister." "Call me Aunt Aige," Aige said with a smile. "I'm nowhere near as beautiful as your mother. Your parents and I are old friends, so there's no need to flatter me." Melina hurriedly explained, "No, I'm telling the truth! You're prettier than Mother—I mean your soul!" Ever since boarding the ship, Melina had been staring at Aige, looking as if she had once again been charmed by a pretty older sister. Yet strictly speaking of physical appearance, Aige was nowhere near the Elven Queen's level, and fell short compared to the Rose of Decay as well. What Melina saw wasn't merely power. Her golden eyes perceived the truth—the divine radiance emanating from Aige's soul, which drew Melina in completely. Looking into Melina's golden eyes, Aige seemed to sense their extraordinary nature and said in surprise, "This child truly is special. Your father can weave souls, and you can see a soul's truest essence. Truly father and daughter." Aige turned to Anbaixiu and said, "Undead bearing a child is something even Velsharoon, God of Liches, couldn't pull off. You already possess power surpassing deities; ascending to godhood is only a matter of time for you." Anbaixiu didn't feign modesty, calmly replying, "May your words prove true. But let's return to the matter at hand. Captain Aige, please display all your power. I want to know everything about you in the utmost detail." "Good thing we're both undead, or words like that could easily be taken the wrong way," Aige said with a smile. "Uh, well..." Anbaixiu wanted to say he meant nothing by it. Undead, after all—who among them would harbor such romantic feelings? They weren't like Gareth and Canggu, that bizarre pair among the undead. Yet remembering his earlier divination, Anbaixiu's brow furrowed. Could this also be a hint from destiny—that the newlywed couple actually shared no feelings for each other? Then it had to be a political marriage, which narrowed the scope by more than half right away! While Anbaixiu was secretly pleased, Melina etched the scene before her firmly into memory. Before leaving home, her mother, the Rose of Decay, had instructed her with utmost seriousness to remember everything her father said and did on this trip. Not a single word missed, not a detail omitted—she had to commit it all firmly to memory. Even if she couldn't understand it, she had to remember it clearly first; only then could she grow smart. 'I have to remember this without fail and report back to Mother so she can teach me to be smart!' Melina stared wide-eyed at Aige and Anbaixiu, making sure to record even the faintest fluctuation of their souls. Aige had no idea what Anbaixiu and Melina were thinking. All she knew was that she had cracked a joke, and in response, Anbaixiu had fallen silent while Melina stared wide-eyed. Aige suddenly felt a bit awkward. She had genuinely just been making a joke. Had she gone too long without having a normal conversation with someone, leading her to overstep? "Ahem. What you want to know about is my legendary boon, right? Let's find an open area and I'll display it for you." Aige quickly changed the subject and set the massive ghost ship in motion. Anbaixiu quickly asked, "Where are we heading?" Aige replied, "My legendary boon is better demonstrated against some enemies. Weren't you looking to cause trouble for the Githyanki? I'll take you to Dragon Island, and we can drop in on Gareth and Canggu while we're at it." Aige thought to herself that with two more friends from the Elegy Poetry Society around, the atmosphere surely wouldn't be this awkward anymore, right?