Chapter 696: Commitment by the Lake

Luo Yan and the others would need some time to refine the blood corpses, so Ye Feng simply sent the four of them into the refinement realm to do the work. He, along with Jin Wen, went to the Situ family’s residence to propose marriage once again.
When Ye Feng arrived with a large amount of betrothal gifts, he was turned away at the door.
The future father-in-law also looked helpless, shaking his head and saying, “I’ve just talked to Xuan Er about your proposal, but for some reason, she refuses. I’ve asked her several times but still can’t figure out why.”
At that moment, Lu Luo rushed to the gate and handed Ye Feng a piece of paper.
“Meet me by Xiangsi Lake at midnight tonight.” Ye Feng opened the note—it was written by Situ Xuan. He nodded helplessly and said to Lu Luo, “I understand.”
“The young lady said she has her reasons for doing this,” Lu Luo added, worried about the two of them. “She’ll explain everything to you in private. But please don’t stay near the Situ family’s residence for too long.”
Ye Feng frowned slightly but still nodded.
He stayed at an inn near the city gate with Jin Wen. Xiangsi Lake was a small lake not far outside the city. By the lake stood a large tree, with a strange pattern right in the center of its trunk—resembling a man and a woman kissing. Many people said this tree was a marriage tree, so many young men and women would meet by Xiangsi Lake and make marriage vows under it.
Ye Feng waited anxiously until midnight before appearing suddenly by the lake, beneath that marriage tree.
As expected, there were many young men and women gathered there in pairs, behaving very affectionately—some walking hand in hand, some hugging, and even some imitating the pattern on the tree trunk by kissing…
“This is a nice place, right?” A familiar voice came from behind Ye Feng. When he turned around, it was Situ Xuan, now without her veil. Her stunning face, which he had glimpsed once in the cultivation world and could never forget, was now fully visible before him. For a moment, Ye Feng was stunned.
“Idiot…” Situ Xuan blushed under his gaze and teased him.
Ye Feng finally came back to his senses. “It’s your beauty that’s to blame!”
“Walk with me…” Situ Xuan said, taking his hand and smiling.

“Mm.” Feeling the delicate softness in his palm, Ye Feng gripped it a little tighter, as if afraid he might lose it by accident. The two walked hand in hand along the shores of Love Lake. “Do you know why there are so many lovers by Love Lake?” Situ Xuan asked with a smile. “Isn’t it because of that Marriage Tree?” Ye Feng raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t expect you to have done some research.” Situ Xuan pulled Ye Feng toward the Marriage Tree. “Then do you know that this Marriage Tree also has a story?” “Oh, I really didn’t know. Is there a origin to it?” Ye Feng raised his eyebrows. He had only heard casually that there was a Marriage Tree here; as for the specific story, he was unaware of it.

“Legend has it that long ago, in the True Realm of the Higher Primary Plane, there were two powerful families. Though their influence was immense, they were at complete odds with each other—any encounter between their members ended in deadly conflict. During one violent clash, a young man and a young woman from these two families were both sucked into a spatial vortex and brought to our Illusory Realm. Both were severely injured, their storage rings lost in the vortex, and they had no healing pills left. Moreover, the spiritual energy level in the Illusory Realm was far inferior to that of the True Realm. Unable to recover for a long time and facing great mobility constraints—the man had his arms severed, while the woman had her legs cut off—they were forced to cooperate to survive. The woman acted as the man’s arms, and the man served as her legs. Over time, they developed deep feelings for each other and gradually became inseparable. With no hope of restoring their strength or returning to the True Realm, they built a small hut by the Lake of Longing, settled there, and married. Years later, the truth about them reached the people of the True Realm. Naturally, both families refused to acknowledge their marriage, but the woman was already pregnant. They were even more unwilling to accept the child born of their union and tried to kill it. After numerous vicious schemes, the couple was caught off guard and lost their child. After losing their child, they left their respective families. The woman’s hair turned white overnight, and she aged rapidly. The man tried every means possible but could not save her. Later, a doctor told him that to save his wife’s life, he would have to sacrifice his own. He had to transfer his life force to her through mouth-to-mouth contact every day. So, the man kissed his wife daily, but he himself aged day by day. After several more years, his life force finally ran out. During one such attempt to sustain her life, both exhausted their last reserves of energy and perished there. After their deaths, their bodies turned into a giant tree, with only the shadow of their once-kissed lips remaining on its bark…”
“It turns out to be such a tragic story. I thought the reason so many people came here was because of a happy love story,” Ye Feng said, shaking his head after hearing it.
“After all, happy endings are rare…” Situ Xuan looked up at Ye Feng. “Do you blame me for rejecting the proposal today?”

“I’ve decided to wait until I hear your explanation before deciding whether to blame you,” Ye Feng said, holding his head in his hands, seemingly unhurried.
“The reason is simple: you have powerful enemies at your side. If you were alone, the Shangguan family in the Real World might not dare to attack you, and even if they did, you could defeat them. But if we get married, our Su family will become a burden to you. Then you’ll have to take care of me, as well as my father and the entire Su family. The Shangguan family in the Real World might be reluctant to attack you due to your connection with a powerful being from the Supreme World. But attacking our Su family is a completely different matter. After you destroyed the Shangguan family in the Illusory World, you can’t expect those powerful beings not to seek revenge, right?” Su Xuan analyzed.
“I really hadn’t thought this far ahead. It’s just that those people from the Shangguan family refused to break off the engagement no matter what, so I had no choice but to kill them all to make the engagement void.” Ye Feng was also helpless. “After destroying the Shangguan family, the first person who came to mind was you, so I came to propose right away, without considering the consequences.”
“I’m willing to marry you, but not now. If I accept your proposal now, our Su family will surely be destroyed. That’s why I can’t accept it. I hope you understand,” Su Xuan explained. “If one day you have no more worries, I’ll be waiting for you in a beautiful red dress. Then, wherever you go, I’ll follow you…”
“That’s what you said.” Ye Feng finally got the answer he wanted. Since Su Xuan had said those words, it meant she would only marry him in this life. He shouldn’t rush either; he needed to resolve his worries first.
As their eyes met, they could see each other’s feelings. A sly look flashed in Ye Feng’s eyes as he tentatively lowered his head. Su Xuan hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn’t avoid him and closed her eyes instead. Ye Feng kissed those cherry-like lips…