Junior Brother Pays Respect to You: Chapter 61 - Fated for Romantic Entanglements
Chapter 61: Fated for Romantic Entanglements
The faint fragrance in the palace made Qin Zheng feel a little drowsy.
Probably because “Xiao Bai” had positioned him awkwardly, Qin Zheng began to feel sore all over not long after sitting.
He originally wanted to suggest they first undo the binding spell on him, but the three women were so lost in expressing their longing that he couldn’t get a word in, and could only listen helplessly.
When Qin Zheng heard the words “get married immediately,” he finally couldn't hold it in.
Let alone whether this was the past or present — even if he were back in his own time, he wouldn't marry these three sisters.
Though they were indeed beautiful, Qin Zheng had always hated being forced into things, especially something like this.
Qin Zheng smiled and said, “You must have mistaken me for someone else. I'm not some Mountain God — the one who came with me is.”
“If you're talking about marriage, you should go negotiate with him.”
The woman in blue was momentarily stunned, but then immediately laughed and turned to her sisters, saying, “I feel like Yu Jingchen is even more interesting than before!”
The woman in white covered her mouth and chuckled softly. “The three of us were born with a celestial eye — we can see the essence of a person’s soul.”
“We're certain that you are Yu Jingchen.”
“The person who came with you may be shrouded in your aura, but he is not you at his core.”
“Even though we don’t know why you’ve ended up like this, we would never look down on you just because you’ve lost your powers.”
“From now on, the master of Xifeng Valley is you.”
Qin Zheng quickly rejected, “A woman needs to find someone reliable to be happy. For your own good, I think you should find someone who suits you better.”
In other words: clinging to some woman’s thigh doesn’t compare to clinging to his junior brother’s thigh —
At least that wouldn’t risk altering history.
However, the three sisters seemed to selectively ignore Qin Zheng’s words. One after another, they gave formal bows and introduced themselves:
“I am Hong Yi, the eldest.”
“I am Lan Yi, second-born.”
“I am Bai Yi, the youngest of the sisters.”
Their names were easy enough to remember.
After the brief introductions, Hong Yi suddenly leaned in close to Qin Zheng’s face — almost touching.
She stared at him for a while before saying, with a hint of regret, “I wonder if you’ll ever regain your original appearance. You now don’t even look one-tenth as good as you did.”
Lan Yi nodded in agreement.
Qin Zheng let out a breath and said through gritted teeth, “I think I already look quite dashing as I am now.”
Although he had already been suspicious about being the Mountain God, having someone confirm it aloud still made him uncomfortable.
How could a dignified Mountain God have ended up like this?
What kind of Mountain God was this supposed to be?
Qin Zheng composed himself and suddenly grew enthusiastic.
“So you three like Yu Jingchen because of how he looked?”
“Well then, I can recommend someone to you — the person who just entered the forest with me. My junior brother. I’m sure his looks meet your standards…”
Wait a second!
Halfway through his sentence, Qin Zheng suddenly recalled something the sisters had said earlier.
Hong Yi mentioned the Spirit Pillar — and seeing it weaken — didn’t that mean they were the guardians of the pillar?
He had almost overlooked such an important detail because of their bizarre marriage talk.
Qin Zheng looked at the three sisters and asked to confirm, “This… is Xifeng Valley?”
Hong Yi smiled. “Yes, of course. Did you only just now realize?”
Qin Zheng didn’t want to admit it. He sighed deeply and said, “My junior brother and I came here to reinforce the Spirit Pillar. As its guardians, shouldn’t you be cooperating with us?”
“So why am I being tied up like this?”
Hong Yi smiled, “Reinforcing the pillar will only take a moment. I think getting married is more important right now.”
Lan Yi nodded in agreement. “Exactly, marriage is a major life event. Why not hold the ceremony first?”
Bai Yi didn’t speak, but also nodded in full support.
Qin Zheng felt these three were clearly obsessed with the idea of marriage.
But then again, Yu Jingchen had strung them along for thirty years — no wonder.
Still, why did he have to deal with this?
So what if he’s Yu Jingchen’s reincarnation?!
Qin Zheng looked around the empty palace and asked helplessly, “Then where is my junior brother?”
Hong Yi answered cheerfully, “We can let him in after we’ve completed the wedding ceremony.”
Seeing that the sisters were still so insistent, Qin Zheng said sternly, “I refuse to marry you.”
The usually quiet Bai Yi immediately asked anxiously, “Why?”
Qin Zheng let out a long sigh and said coldly, “Because I don’t like any of you.”
Bai Yi looked worriedly at her two elder sisters.
Hong Yi patted Bai Yi on the shoulder and didn’t seem angry. Instead, she said firmly, “That’s just because you’ve never been married. Once the ceremony is over and we share the wedding chamber, I’m sure you’ll take back what you said.”
Her rather suggestive words made Lan Yi chuckle and Bai Yi blush.
“And,” Hong Yi added, “before your reincarnation, you already accepted the painting we three gave you. That means you accepted our proposal.”
Painting?
The Three Sisters’ Words?
Qin Zheng suddenly recalled his encounter on Mount Yujing.
And also the three portraits of Yu Jingchen he saw at Yu Jingchen’s residence.
He remembered Huiwu mentioning that the paintings were gifts from three sisters, and that Yu Jingchen had to accept those paintings before Huiwu would help him.
Looks like it was these three women right in front of him.
So it was all one-sided love after all.
But Qin Zheng couldn’t be bothered to expose their lie.
Given the current situation, even if he told the truth, they’d still try to force him into marriage.
Sigh! Yu Jingchen really left him quite the mess… and now he had to clean it up.
And he had no idea how!
“Quick, quick, quick!” Hong Yi suddenly urged impatiently. “Bring the wedding robes, let’s help the lord change right now.”
Lan Yi quickly rushed to the side, grabbed the red wedding robes, and ran back.
Without hesitation, Hong Yi stepped forward and yanked open Qin Zheng’s clothes—revealing his snow-white chest.
However, the next moment, the previously bold and forward three sisters all suddenly turned shy, spinning around with their backs to him, flustered and embarrassed. “I don’t know why, but seeing the lord’s body makes me feel so shy!”
“So shy!”
“Mmm~”
After saying that, the three of them fled from the hall in unison. “We’re going to change too!”
Looking at the grand hall that had suddenly fallen silent again, Qin Zheng was slightly stunned. So these three sisters were fake ruffians after all.
He stared resentfully at his now-exposed chest, feeling rather indignant.
Getting bullied by the demon race was bad enough—now he had to be bossed around by three women.
Thump thump thump—
A strange sound made Qin Zheng lift his head.
He saw that the “Xiao Bai”s who had just left had returned again.
The sound had come from their footsteps.
He wasn’t sure if they were the same four who had carried the bridal sedan earlier.
They came before him and began undressing him completely.
And then helped him put on the bright red wedding robes.
Qin Zheng couldn’t help but think of the Xiao Bai who had lived with him for over a decade.
If it were the real Xiao Bai, he definitely wouldn’t dare to do this.
He wondered how Xiao Bai was doing since he went up the mountain.
Qin Zheng couldn’t resist, only helplessly watching as these “Xiao Bai”s flipped him back and forth.
A few times, one of them leaned in very close. That’s when Qin Zheng noticed that although these “Xiao Bai”s resembled the real one from afar, up close there were obvious differences.
Too many things didn’t match.
What exactly were these things?
Once dressed, Qin Zheng was led out of the palace by the “Xiao Bai”s.
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw the sky overhead.
In front of the palace stood a pyramid-shaped divine altar.
Atop it stood three women in bright red wedding dresses.
Though all in red, each outfit had been tailored to reflect their individual personalities and preferences.
The “Xiao Bai”s supported Qin Zheng up onto the platform, then shoved into his hand a red silk ribbon made of three strands twisted together.
The other ends of the silk were held by the three sisters.
Qin Zheng shook his head in discomfort. “Can you release the spell on me first?”
“We’re about to perform the wedding rites—I can’t even move. How do you expect me to go through with the ceremony?”
Hong Yi shook her hand. “No can do. If we undo it, you might try to run away.”
Qin Zheng grumbled inwardly: This is clearly a forced marriage!
Where the heck is Qin Su?
This marriage absolutely can’t happen. If it does, it’ll definitely alter the past!
He had to stall—maybe Qin Su would show up in time.
Suddenly, Qin Zheng thought of a question that had been bugging him.
If he could get an answer, maybe he could figure out Xiao Bai’s true identity.
“Before the ceremony… can I ask something?”
The three sisters glanced at the sky. “There’s still time. Please, husband, ask away.”
Qin Zheng frowned at the title—he wasn’t used to being called that.
“It’s like this. I want to ask… what exactly are those things that helped me change clothes?”
“Haha!” Hong Yi laughed. “Oh, I thought it was something serious.”
“They’re Xuling—illusory spirits formed by us using the essence of the forest plants.”
Qin Zheng looked puzzled. “Spirits of plants?”
“Can the spirits of plants really form conscious entities like that?”
“Conscious?” Hong Yi giggled. “They don’t have consciousness.”
“To create sentient Xuling, you’d have to be a high-level cultivator.”
Qin Zheng frowned deeply.
So Xiao Bai… was created by someone else?
But who?
“Oh no, sister, time’s almost up!”
Lan Yi looked at the sky, urging them along.
“Yes, yes!”
“Husband, let’s go through the ceremony first. Once we’re in the bridal chamber, we’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
With that, the three of them lowered their red veils.
Qin Zheng’s body began to bend forward involuntarily in preparation for the ceremonial bow.
He cried out, “Can we talk about this marriage a little more?”
“Isn’t this all a bit too rushed?”
Hong Yi smiled. “Not at all. We’ve been thinking this over for nearly thirty years. We’re absolutely sure.”
“Bow to each other as husband and wife!”
Just as she shouted those words and Qin Zheng was still struggling…
Something fast flashed over the red silk ribbons—
And suddenly, the red silk connecting him and the sisters split cleanly in two and fell to the ground.
The sisters sensed something was wrong and immediately lifted their veils, looking around.
Qin Zheng turned and shouted with relief, as if he had just seen his savior:
“Junior Brother! You finally came! One more second and you'd have had three sister-in-laws to serve!”
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