Chapter 15: Grand Wedding (Patreon)

Zhang Zheng took a deep breath and spoke solemnly into the communication talisman: "Superintendent-General, forgive my bluntness, but the situation at the scene is highly suspicious. One of the victims — the girl in green — has kept her head down the entire time, too frightened to speak, her ears burning red. That's clearly a stress reaction from coercion! Way of Great Peace law states that any case involving personal violation must be brought back to the station for a statement. That's protocol."

On the other end of the line, there were two seconds of silence.

Tie Shan's voice came through again, this time with a subtly different edge to it. "Captain Zhang, you've done well. You know the regulations by heart. But... do you know who it is you're trying to arrest?"

Zhang Zheng froze.

"The one with the handprint on his face." Tie Shan paused. "The man who signs both our paychecks."

Zhang Zheng: "...?"

"The one who wrote the Governance Compendium."

Zhang Zheng: "...??"

"The one who single-handedly subdued the Three Great Yao Emperors more than a decade ago and forced them to sign a peace treaty."

Zhang Zheng: "...???"

"The founder of the Way of Great Peace." A weary, world-worn note crept into Tie Shan's voice. "The Daoist of Great Peace himself."

Zhang Zheng's blade clattered to the ground.

[March 7th: Hahahahaha! He was so scared he dropped his sword!]

[Silver Wolf: delayed_reaction.jpg — brain loading... loading failed.]

[Hu Tao: This Director hereby declares this the finest meme material of the year! security_captain_bravely_arrests_his_own_boss.jpg]

[Honkai 3rd · Bronya: According to my data analysis, this captain's blood pressure has likely gone off the charts by now.]

Zhang Zheng turned his head stiffly, taking a second, fuller look at the man with the handprint on his face.

The Daoist of Great Peace.

The legendary Earthly Immortal.

The being who had single-handedly subdued the Three Great Yao Emperors.

The founder of the new order — his ultimate boss, several ranks removed.

And moments ago, he had pointed a blade at this very man and declared he'd "take him down."

Zhang Zheng's lips trembled.

"D-d-d-d-Daoist... Daoist Master..."

Gusttave patted his shoulder, smiling warmly. "It's fine, you did well. You know the rules cold, your judgment at the scene was sound, and you stood your ground even under pressure from a superior. The Way of Great Peace needs people like you."

Zhang Zheng's legs went weak. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

[Kiana Kaslana: this_captain_right_now: I was terrified.jpg]

[Silver Wolf: Social death in progress. Recommend he just resign and flee the country.]

[Kaeya: No, this is a promotion in progress. Demonstrating professionalism right in front of your boss and getting his personal seal of approval — that's peak career achievement, people!]

"That said—" Gusttave changed tack, pointing at the five girls behind him. "These ladies really are my old— ahem, my fiancées. I really was joking earlier, though maybe I took it a bit too far."

Feixiao bristled instantly. "Who said I was your fiancée! Don't go making decisions on your own!"

Belle stamped her foot too. "Exactly! Who agreed to that! Who!"

Tingyun waved her folding fan, her smile soft and gentle. "This one never nodded to that, sir."

Wise blushed and said nothing, only gently tugging at her younger sister's sleeve.

Huohuo finally raised her head, the flush still lingering on her cheeks. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she only turned her face away, her voice barely more than a mosquito's whisper: "...Nonsense."

Gusttave turned to Zhang Zheng and spread his hands. "See? They're just shy."

Zhang Zheng: "..."

Zhang Zheng studied the five girls' expressions — one bristling, one blushing, one hiding behind a fan, one silent with her head down. They were all denying it out loud, but not a single one of them had actually left the courtyard.

Going by his years of investigative experience, this didn't look like coercion at all. It looked far more like a full-blown lovers' spat.

[ZZZ · Belle: "They're just shy," my ass, hahahaha!]

[Hu Tao: This Director can testify — these five girls curse up a storm, but not one of them has budged an inch!]

[Silver Wolf: mouth_says_no_body_says_yes.jpg]

[Elysia: Oh my, a shy girl is the cutest thing ever, isn't she?]

Zhang Zheng silently picked his blade up off the ground, bowed, and led his men off at lightning speed.

Before leaving, he even remembered to prop the kicked-in gate back upright — though it was already too crooked to close.

[March 7th: Help, he really almost had his own boss arrested by one of his own men, hahahaha!]

[Mavuika: Suggest awarding Captain Zhang "Model Officer of the Year." Daring to arrest even the boss — now that's true impartiality.]

Afterward, Gusttave spent a long while calming the girls down, then saw each of them safely home to wait for an auspicious day to formally propose.

Three months later.

News that the Daoist of Great Peace was getting married spread like wildfire across both the human and yao realms.

And it wasn't just one bride — it was five.

The three matriarchs of Tushan, and the two young ladies of the Dongfang family.

The day the news broke, sales of drinking snacks across the entire capital shot up tenfold.

Storytellers in the teahouses stayed up all night composing a new tale, titled The Daoist of Great Peace and His Five Golden Flowers. Every showing sold out, standing-room tickets included.

[March 7th: Wow, that kind of promotional push — that's celebrity-tier treatment!]

[Silver Wolf: Suggest renaming it to That Time I Founded the Way of Great Peace and Ended Up With Five Wives — much catchier.]

Meanwhile, at Tushan.

Feixiao slammed the storybook down on the table. Its cover showed an illustration of five beauties clustered around a Daoist — drawn with surprising skill.

"Who wrote this! Who told him to write this!" Feixiao fumed. "'Five Golden Flowers,' really! Disgusting!"

Tingyun waved her fan lazily and turned a page at her own leisurely pace. "Don't get so worked up, Second Sister. It actually makes you look quite good. Listen to this line — 'General Feixiao's willow brows arched in fury, her almond eyes flashing with reproach, yet lovely even in anger' — that's some decent flattery."

"Who asked for his flattery!"

Huohuo sat by the window, holding the same storybook, gazing out at the falling petals, the faintest curve at the corner of her mouth.

Meanwhile, at the annex of Divine Fire Manor.

Belle lay sprawled across the table, flipping through the storybook with a rustle of pages, her pink ponytail swishing with every motion.

"Sister, listen to this part — 'The Dongfang family's second daughter, Belle, delicate and lively, her voice like a silver bell, though still young already showing the makings of a beauty to topple cities' — ugh! Who wrote this cheesy nonsense!"

Wise, sitting nearby embroidering her wedding gown, looked up at her sister's words, a faint smile on her gentle face. "It's not wrong, really. You are quite pretty."

On the day of the grand wedding.

The Way of Great Peace headquarters was decked out in lanterns and festive banners, red silk stretching from the front gate all the way to the far end of the street. Guests from both the human and yao realms packed the entire road — Shi Kuan, Demon Emperor of the Northern Mountains, sent an envoy bearing gifts; the Old Fox Emperor of the Western Regions attended in person (mostly hoping to use the occasion to build ties with the human race); and though the Poison Emperor of the Southern Kingdom, Huandu Qingtian, grumbled and cursed the whole way, he still sent a cartload of southern specialties as a wedding gift.

[Author's Note: Mid-Autumn Reading Event! Top up 100, get 500 bonus VIP coins! Top up now (Event period: September 25 to September 27).]