Mingxi was trying very hard not to die. He stood in the groom’s chamber while two aunties, one elder, and Lysandra circled him like vultures.
“That color washes him out.”
“No, he looks elegant, like a broody ghost.”
“Stop pinning things on me!” Mingxi hissed.
Lysandra held up an embroidered sash. “Okay, butthisis the vibe.”
Mingxi stared. “That has a lot of embroidery.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“He’ll wear it,” Minghua declared, bursting in. “No one askhim!”
“I am right here,” Mingxi shouted.
Mingjun placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be over soon.”
Mingxi whispered, “I would rather fight six Yao-guài Láng.”
“You already fought one,” Mingjun noted. “And it was easier than this.”
The morning of the wedding, dawn broke gently across the valley, painting Huoyáo Jìng in shades of gold and rose. The ancestral hall was decorated in deep red banners embroidered with silver fox tails. Lanterns hung from the beams, their flames flickering in patterns that matched the clan’s qi.
Poppy stood at the eastern gateway, the bridal veil in her hands—not over her face but folded neatly over one wrist. In the fox clan, brides were not hidden. They were honored. Revealed. Seen.
Her robe was red, deeper than wine, embroidered with curling moonlit foxes in thread so fine it shimmered. A silver ribbon cinched her waist, and foxfire hairpins glowed softly in her hair.
When she stepped into the courtyard, silence rippled through the crowd.
Mingxi—red ribbon trembling between his fingers—lost the ability to breathe when she appeared. She was everything he hadn’t let himself hope for.
Xu Yunlian officiated, robed in ceremonial white.
“Shen Mingxi,” she said. “Penelope Sinclair. You come before the ancestors and the clan to bind your paths together.”
They nodded, hands already joined.
First Bow—To Sky and Earth
They turned toward the sky. Bowed. Lanterns flickered. The air shifted—gentle, approving.
Second Bow—To the Ancestors
The ancestor tablets glowed faintly, illuminated by foxfire. They bowed again. A soft rustle of unseen tails swept the room.
Third Bow—To Each Other
Mingxi looked at her, knowing she was the only thing he’d ever chosen freely. Poppy bowed. He bowed in return, deliberately formal.
Xu Yunlian tied a thin red silk cord around their joined hands—one loop for choice, one for devotion, one for future.
Mingxi spoke first, voice low and steady, “Yueguang… you have brought light into every dark corner of my life. I vow to walk with you, protect you, learn with you, and honor you. I vow to be your home, as you have become mine.”
Poppy sniffed, clearly on the verge of tears.
