Chapter 45: The Marriage Contract
Another world?
Chen Yan had read plenty of online novels, so this kind of setting—different realms, separate worlds—wasn’t difficult for him to grasp.
“You come from another world? A place called the Domain Realm? What’s it like? Is it one of those celestial realms filled with immortal cultivators? Are there demons, spirits, and all that?” he asked curiously.
Gu Qing Yi regarded him silently for a moment before shaking her head. “The nature of the Domain Realm is not something you need to understand right now. What matters is what I’m about to tell you—it concerns both your Chen Clan and my Gu Clan in a significant way.”
Chen Yan hesitated. “You keep talking about the Chen Clan… but I’m not even sure the one you’re referring to has anything to do with me. The old lady who raised me once told me I was a foundling.”
Gu Qing Yi scoffed. “You are of the Chen Clan—there is no doubt. Do you truly believe someone of Venerable One’s status would casually take in just any child? You may have been born in this world, but your bloodline is undoubtedly of the Chen Clan. And the Chen Clan hails from the Domain Realm.”
Chen Yan sighed, neither agreeing nor refuting her words. He had his own suspicions.
The old lady had spun many stories about his origins—his mother being a White Fox, his father an unknown entity…
But after obtaining the secret manual and cultivating, he had used his Heaven’s Eye Qi-Observing Technique to examine himself. From his fortune to his very essence, he was purely a Two-Legged Terror Ape, through and through.
Not even a trace of a demonic bloodline.
The old lady’s tale of the White Fox had been nothing more than one of her endless pranks—just another trick, like the countless ones he had suffered growing up.
A White Fox mother, an unknown father—ridiculous.
“The Domain Realm and this world are separated by a great barrier,” Gu Qing Yi continued. “By the laws of Heaven’s Dao, two different worlds should never be connected. However… due to certain complicated events in ancient times, powerful figures from the Domain Realm discovered weak points in the barrier and forced open gateways. Only through these gateways could the two realms become linked.
“Due to the restrictions of Heaven’s Dao, passage between the two realms is not easily achieved. The Realm Gates are guarded by a force that even a Heavenly Venerable could perish attempting to cross. It was only through the formations established by ancient experts that passage could be made possible—under very specific conditions.”
Chen Yan nodded. “Got it. So, basically, it’s like smuggling. Normally, there’s no way through, but by using special means and timing it right, some can sneak across. That about right?”
Gu Qing Yi nodded. “That is an apt comparison.”
Something nagged at Chen Yan. “But wait a minute… when my old lady passed away, the Black and White Lords said they were there to ‘escort her back to take up her position.’
“I always thought we had a proper underworld—the Netherworld, the Afterlife, and all that.”
“No,” Gu Qing Yi said firmly. “Your world originally had no cultivation, no demons or spirits. Only after the Realm Gates were breached did entities from the Domain Realm start crossing over—some fleeing trouble, others seeking pleasure and indulgence. They used various methods to sneak through and remain in your world.
“Take that old turtle outside, for instance. His ancestors were Demon Cultivators from the Domain Realm who smuggled themselves here and left behind a bloodline.”
“Then… what about the Netherworld?”
“In the Domain Realm, there is a territory ruled by the Ghost Clan, governed by several Venerables. The so-called ‘Netherworld’ you speak of is merely a misunderstanding—your world does not have one. The Black and White Lords you refer to are simply Ghost Clan operatives.”
“So our world doesn’t actually have an underworld?”
“No, it does not. The Netherworld you imagine exists only in the Domain Realm, though it is known by another name.”
“Then why did they say my old lady was ‘taking up her position’?”
Gu Qing Yi shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. Perhaps the Honored Elder was merely spending time in your world, and when the period ended, she returned to fulfill her duties. A Venerable has immense responsibilities, after all.”
Understanding dawned.
So, there were no native ghosts, spirits, or demons in this world.
The so-called Netherworld, the Black and White Lords, all those beings—they were from another world entirely.
Like… extraterrestrials?
That meant ghosts weren’t actually spirits of the dead, but visitors from another realm.
Chen Yan glanced at Gu Qing Yi, an odd thought flashing through his mind. [What if the Domain Realm was actually named ‘Bureau of Censorship’?]
“So,” he asked, “you smuggled yourself here from the Domain Realm—for what reason?”
Gu Qing Yi took a deep breath. “I came to find someone. Do you recognize the name Chen Jue?”
Chen Yan blinked. “Chen Jue? Which ‘Jue’ is it? The one for ‘decision’? The one for ‘secret’? Or the one for ‘absolute’?”
Gu Qing Yi extended a foot and traced a single character on the ground—one that often-symbolized severance, determination, or an unbreakable vow.
Chen Yan’s expression shifted slightly. His eyes darkened as he pressed his lips together, falling into a silent contemplation.
Gu Qing Yi fixed her gaze upon Chen Yan for a long moment before he finally spoke under the weight of her scrutiny.
“Chen Jue… Very well, I recognize that name.” Chen Yan let out a sigh, the last glimmer of wishful thinking vanishing from his eyes.
Chen Jue—indeed, a name Chen Yan had long known.
His own name, “Chen Yan,” bore the surname “Chen” precisely because of Chen Jue. Otherwise, why would the old madam give him such a name? The old madam herself did not bear the Chen surname. On her identification papers, her family name was “Huang.”
Ever since Chen Yan could remember, he had always worn a yellow jade pendant around his neck. Delicate carvings upon its surface inscribed a name: Chen Jue.
Naturally, it was the old madam who had placed it upon him. She had told him that when she found him, the pendant had already been hanging from his neck.
As a child, Chen Yan had not understood the significance. Since the old madam had told him to wear it, he had simply done so. That was, until the day he tumbled while roughhousing with the village children. The jade pendant shattered into several pieces.
Young Chen Yan had returned home in tears, cupping the broken fragments in his hands, expecting a harsh scolding—perhaps even a beating.
To his surprise, the old madam merely glanced at the fragments before tossing them into the hearth’s flames.
“Broken is broken. It was just an object, after all.
The person is gone. There’s no need to cling to dead things as a remembrance.”
She spoke as though she had long since come to terms with it.
It was in that moment that Chen Yan realized: Chen Jue was, in all likelihood—his father.
And more importantly…
That person was already gone.
For twenty years, the old madam had raised Chen Yan. She had spun countless tales of his mother—of white foxes and breathtaking beauty.
But his father?
Chen Jue.
From the day the jade pendant had been cast into the flames, she had never spoken that name again.
“If I have not misunderstood,” Chen Yan murmured, exhaling deeply, “then the man you speak of—Chen Jue—is likely my father. And according to what the old madam once said… he should already be dead.”
He shook his head. “But beyond the name, I know nothing. The old madam never breathed a single word about him, not even in passing.”
Gu Qing Yi gave a small nod. “That aligns with my own deductions. When I arrived in the secluded village where the Venerable One resided, I examined your home and saw your name—Chen Yan. From that moment, I had a strong suspicion that you were a descendant of Chen Jue.”
She paused before continuing, her voice slow and measured. “Approximately twenty-five years ago, Chen Jue was said to have committed a grave crime and fled from the Domain Realm. Countless pursuers searched for him, yet none ever found him. Many suspected he had escaped to this world of yours. However, the Realm Gate only opens once every many years, making it impossible to verify. Even now, with the gate newly opened, I have only just obtained the chance to confirm the truth.”
Chen Yan’s brow lifted slightly. “You said my father—this Chen Jue—committed a great crime? He must have been someone of considerable status, then.”
He let out a dry chuckle. “By your own words, the old madam who raised me was none other than one of the legendary Thirty-Six Venerables. Even if you add in the Heavenly Venerables and Earthly Venerables, she was among the fifty greatest figures of your world.
For someone like her to take me in… it must have had something to do with my father. If he was connected to such a supreme figure, then surely he wasn’t some ordinary person?”
Gu Qing Yi’s eyelids twitched. Her voice turned peculiar. “You are not mistaken. In our world, Chen Jue’s name is widely known.”
She paused, then enunciated each word clearly:
“Everyone knows the Chen family villain—Chen Jue. His crimes were monstrous, his conduct deplorable. If it were possible, people would tear his bones apart and scourge his flesh from existence!”
Chen Yan froze.
Wait.
What kind of colossal crime had his father committed?
Did he crash the Celestial Peach Banquet?
Did he shatter the South Heavenly Gate?
Or did he—perhaps most heinously—seduce the Heavenly Venerable’s daughter?
“What exactly did he do…?”
“I do not know.” Gu Qing Yi shook her head. “By the time he fled the Domain Realm, it was already long ago. But this has no bearing on you. The laws of the Domain Realm, though strict, do not impose the sins of the father upon his children. You need not worry—I have not come to drag you back for judgment.”
Chen Yan sighed in relief. So she hadn’t come to arrest him as some sacrificial pawn for his father’s sins.
“If Chen Jue fled to this world,” Gu Qing Yi continued, “then he must have later met a woman and sired you. As for why the Venerable One chose to raise you… that, I do not dare speculate.”
Her tone grew solemn. “Still, my arduous journey here was not in vain. To finally find a direct descendant of the Chen family—that alone makes all my suffering worthwhile.”
Chen Yan, having absorbed all this, found himself somewhat relaxed. “Since you’re not here to apprehend me, then what exactly is your purpose in seeking me out?”
“I did not come for you specifically.” Gu Qing Yi’s voice was calm. “If I could have found Chen Jue, that would have been ideal. But if not—any one of his direct bloodline would suffice.”
Slowly, she extended a single pale finger to her forehead.
A faint golden radiance emerged at the point of contact.
Then—
From the space between her brows, a stream of golden light unfurled, forming a shimmering contract suspended in the air between them.
Glowing runes flickered across its translucent surface.
A contract.
A marriage contract.
Gu Qing Yi’s expression grew complicated as she met Chen Yan’s stunned gaze.
“Chen Yan—this is a marriage contract between myself and the Chen family.”
Chen Yan: “…”
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation