The peach blossoms in the back mountain were still in full bloom. When Cang Yaochen returned from the market, he carried a large roll of bright red silk.
He set up a wooden frame in the courtyard and spread the silk across it. The red fabric was dazzling under the sunlight. Jiang Li had just woken up; rubbing her eyes, she walked into the yard and watched him measuring the silk with a wooden ruler.
"Senior Brother, why did you buy so much red silk?" Jiang Li crouched by the frame and touched it. The material was thick and felt smooth to the touch.
Cang Yaochen put down the ruler and looked at her with a smile. "We've lived here for five years, but we've never had a proper wedding. I bought the finest material; I want to sew a wedding dress for you myself."
Jiang Li froze. Looking at the mass of red, her heart beat rapidly. A wave of unease washed over her.
"Things are fine as they are. Why the sudden need for a wedding?"
Cang Yaochen didn't answer immediately. He took Jiang Li's hand, clasping her fingertips in his palm. His palm felt burning hot.
"A wedding will bring peace to your heart. The third of next month is an auspicious day. We'll set up a few tables in the yard. I'll have A-Mu go down the mountain to invite some familiar locals so we can celebrate."
"Or is it... that Li'er is unwilling to marry me?" Cang Yaochen asked, letting go of her hand with a feigned look of disappointment.
Jiang Li lowered her gaze to her toes. "Senior Brother shall decide. Naturally, I am willing."
Cang Yaochen pulled her into a tight embrace. "I knew my Li'er wouldn't let me down. I will treat you well, life after life."
Over the next few days, Cang Yaochen grew even busier. He rose before dawn every day to cook and feed the livestock. The rest of his time was spent sitting under the largest peach tree, sewing.
He held a tiny needle, meticulously crafting their wedding garments. Jiang Li sat across from him shelling beans, which made a pitter-patter sound as they hit the bamboo basket.
"Senior Brother, where did you learn to sew?" Jiang Li asked.
Cang Yaochen's hand jerked, and the needle pricked his fingertip. He put the finger in his mouth to soothe it. When he looked up, his face wore that same gentle expression. "When I was wandering the world before, there was no one to mend my clothes. I had to learn to do it myself."
Jiang Li stared at her own fingertip. A red dot from a needle prick appeared there as well, though it vanished almost instantly. She felt a flicker of confusion but instinctively hid it from Cang Yaochen.
In the afternoon, Cang Yaochen sent A-Mu down the mountain to invite guests.
A-Mu carried a tattered cloth bag, his flower-carved mechanical hand hanging at his side. As he left the yard, he glanced back at Jiang Li. His left eye held a hidden fear.
Once Cang Yaochen went to the back mountain to fetch water, Jiang Li slipped into A-Mu's small grass hut.
Under A-Mu's pillow, she found a yellowed piece of paper. It was a portrait of Jiang Li. In the drawing, she was enveloped in a layer of black mist, her eyes cold as ice.
Jiang Li's hands shook violently. The person in the drawing was exactly like the version of herself she saw in her dreams.
That evening, Cang Yaochen tried on his groom's outfit. Dressed in all red, he stood before the bronze mirror. Turning to Jiang Li, he asked, "Li'er, do I look like a proper husband in this?"
Jiang Li leaned against the bedpost, watching him. Against the red of the clothes, his face showed a slight flush. "Yes," she said, forcing a smile.
Cang Yaochen walked over and touched her forehead. A warm current flowed from his palm into her brow. Jiang Li felt her head grow heavy, and those occasional flashes of bloody memories blurred once more.
"Senior Brother, your hand is so warm," Jiang Li muttered, her eyelids drooping.
Cang Yaochen didn't reply. He blew out the candle. Once Jiang Li was sound asleep, he stepped out into the yard.
He suddenly braced himself against a peach tree, doubled over in a fit of violent coughing. Covering his mouth, blood dripped through his fingers onto the soil. The blood was purple.
A-Mu had returned at some point, standing in the shadows.
"Master, the people have been 'invited' as you ordered. They will arrive on time tomorrow." A-Mu kept his head low, his mechanical joints trembling.
Cang Yaochen wiped the blood from his mouth, his gaze icy. "Don't let them slip up. If Li'er notices anything wrong, I'll take you apart and bury you in the formation eye."
He pushed himself up from the tree and looked back at the bamboo house. Inside, Jiang Li shifted in her sleep. Cang Yaochen's breath hitched as he felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest.
He knew the illusion was failing. Outside, experts from the Holy Lands were searching for them. Every search drained his divine power.
Early the next morning, A-Mu led several "villagers" up the mountain.
Everyone was bustling about, hanging red lanterns and pasting "Happiness" symbols. Watching them, Jiang Li's unease deepened. These villagers made her feel uncomfortable, though she couldn't pinpoint exactly why.
During lunch, an older woman held Jiang Li's hand and praised him. "Mr. Cang is a good man. Marrying him, young lady, means a life of blessing."
Looking at the woman's wrinkled face, Jiang Li asked, "Auntie, where do you live? I'd like to visit you sometime."
The woman froze, looking toward A-Mu for help. A-Mu kept his head down, chopping wood furiously, not daring to speak.
"Auntie Wang lives on the west side of the peach orchard. The path is difficult to walk," Cang Yaochen said as he set a dish down, naturally placing an arm around Jiang Li's shoulder.
His grip was heavy, making her shoulder ache.
Jiang Li didn't press further and lowered her head to eat. She noticed that the piece of meat in her bowl, though oily and bright, had no taste at all. It felt like chewing on a piece of wet wood.
She quietly spat the meat into her hand and hid it in her sleeve.
That night, Jiang Li couldn't sleep. Waiting until Cang Yaochen's breathing became steady, she crept out of bed and into the yard.
She pulled the meat from her sleeve. Under the moonlight, the meat changed color, finally turning into a piece of blackened, rotten peach leaf.
Jiang Li nearly cried out. She looked at the red lanterns in the yard. Under the moonlight, the characters on the lantern paper twisted and shifted.
A-Mu was sitting at the distant stone mill, sharpening a blade. Seeing Jiang Li standing in the yard, he froze in surprise. His lips moved, but in the end, he only pointed toward the bamboo house, gesturing for her to go back quickly.
Jiang Li finally understood. This was no paradise. It was a massive cage, forcibly woven with her blood and Cang Yaochen's life.