Chapter 332 Chapter 332 – The Tragedy
Before the groom could follow his instruction, a third man appeared on the rooftop.
"There is no fire like passion. There is no shark like hatred. There is no snare like folly. There is no torrent like greed."
"Hm, Henry? What do you mean?" Vivi asked, lifting her head from the wooden roof. A bed of flowers had cushioned it for her.
The monk remained silent, letting the wedding unfold. The groom opened the box and took out a silvery sword with azure hues on the broad side of the blade. When placed in the sun, it turned entirely azure.
"I will treasure this sword. Thank you, Father-in-law!" The groom cupped his fist, keeping the sword in his hand. The gift-giver shook his head and raised a cup of wine as he gave a speech.
"In the presence of these two ancient and esteemed families, we gather today for a momentous occasion that marks not only the union of Tenessa and Jonathan but also the harmonious joining of our once rival families.
The journey here has not been simple. Our history, rich in its complexity, has been one of rivalry. Yet, in the faces of Tenessa and Jonathan, we find a bridge between our worlds, a testament to the enduring power of love and unity.
As Tenessa's father and a proud member of the Fulgencio family, I stand before you embracing this union with a heart full of hope. Today, we set aside past differences and look towards a future where our families share not only bonds of respect but of kinship.
May this marriage be a symbol of new beginnings, bringing prosperity, honor, and joy to both the Fulgencio and Tuestague families. To the happy couple, Tenessa and Jonathan, may your life together be blessed with the same harmony and happiness we celebrate today.
Please, let us raise our glasses to the newlyweds and to a future of shared fortunes and enduring peace between our families."
"Cheers!" Everyone raised their cups and drank. They all wore smiles as they poured another cup in preparation to the toast of the groom's father.
"Now, for the gift of the father of the groom!" The announcer called.
"This necklace is made of the claw of a white tiger at the seventh stage and was inscribed by a seventh-rank runologist. It can help you replenish your stamina without needing a Qi Gathering Formation."
"It is as beautiful as it is helpful. Thank you, Father-in-law," the bride smiled sweetly and bowed.
"Good, great! This daughter-in-law of mine has great eyes…" The man delivered a speech of his own about the union of the two families.
Suddenly, Alaric understood Henry's words. The relaxed music turned angry, the beat turning a few times faster. The volume rose, making everyone frown at the inauspicious music.
"Oh, I see," Vivienne sighed, "There are only two happy people in this wedding."
The newlyweds went to hug their parents, and the schemes behind the scenes all took place at once.
"Hey, you, play something more cheerful!" A young guard shouted at Alaric, missing the show in the short moment it took him to turn back.
Dark Qi that the trio recognized as Demonic Qi seeped out of the two gifts held by the lovers into the wielders, corroding their minds. They both lost their sanity for a short moment, but it was enough to cause irreversible damage.
The Azure Dragon Sword pierced the Tuestague patriarch's heart while a fan appeared in the bride's hand as she decapitated her own father.
"Patriarch!" hundreds of cultivators unsheathed their weapons in an instant. All of them were ready for a war, yet none thought their patriarch would be a casualty.
"NO! FATHER!" Two cries resounded when the two youths returned to their senses. They gazed into one another's eyes, understanding that they were both used by their families to set a trap for the other. War raged around them as one cultivator stabbed another only to be stabbed the next moment by another.
They stumbled in their fancy clothes, tears washing their faces. They intertwined their fingers, leaning on each other for support.
"CAN'T YOU STILL SEE IT? THIS WITCH HAS CHARMED YOU!" The Fulgencio's patriarch screamed as he crawled on the ground to his wife for help. However, she was busy fending off multiple enemies, unable to give first aid to her husband. The remnants of Demonic Qi were corroding his flesh, and a trail of blood marked his path.
"No, both of you have betrayed us! I might be unfilial for marrying the daughter of the enemy, but you are not any better!" Jonathan shouted at his father. He fell on his knees along with Tenessa in tandem. He did nothing at the sight of his father dying a few meters away.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop, the three figures remained unmoved, spectating without interfering.
"He is right, you know," Vivi jabbed Alaric's shoulder, "These parents did backstab their children. Won't you do something?" The years they spent together were more than enough for her to learn all about Alaric's friendship perversion.
"They have both died due to their own evilness," Alaric replied, "There's no need to kill the pawns who followed their loathsome plan. However, someone else will pay for it."
His music colored the district that now turned into a battlefield with a strange yet fitting atmosphere. With every pull of a string, a thread of life was torn. With every echo of his melody, another tragedy befell. Alaric inhaled, sensing the sound waves spreading in the air.
"Oh," Vivi laughed lightly when she found the same man Alaric did. "I assume he did not expect such a righteous man would observe the event. By the way, won't you help all those people?"
She pointed not at the main stage where most of the battles took place, but at the places where the commoners who came to spectate the wedding previously stood. Thousands were running away, screaming. Those who fell would never stand up again, being trampled by the stampede of escaping humans. Others died from the explosions generated by the battles of the cultivators.
"I'm not a hero of justice," Alaric dismissed her words and continued to play his music, escorting the fighters to the afterlife with his tunes.
"You! With which side are you?!" Two members of the Tuestague family leaped to the roof, pointing their swords at the trio.
"Neither."
"Then die!"
Before they could take a step after saying those words, two blasts hit their chests, leaving a gaping hole where their hearts used to be. Their lifeless bodies were crushed on the ground beneath the house.
"Don't bother us," Vivi frowned. She came here to watch a wedding, but the tragic twist in the story was not half-bad either. She did not appreciate the interference.
"Give me a hand, Henry," Alaric asked. He knew that asking the sloth would be no good.
"Hmm." The monk hummed and mixed his own Qi into a loud tone produced by the guqin. The five have almost perfected their combinations and teamwork during those fifteen years.
"Ah!"
All the metallic sounds of weapons meeting one another and the screams of death stopped. Everyone froze in their spots, shockwaves pulsing through their bodies. Even the mortals stopped amidst their escape.
Next, a man screamed and fell from the branches of a tree, blood flowing from his orifices.
"Do you know this man?" Alaric's voice was carried in the silence and the people suddenly regained their ability to talk.
"Hey, isn't it the patriarch of the Benvolio family?"
"It's Friar Benvolio!"
Murmurs swept through the crowd. Alaric could guess the gist of the matter from the whispers his ears picked up. Henry, in sync with his friend, sent his hand and grabbed the air. A huge ethereal palm closed its finger on the injured man's body and pulled him to the rooftop.
"The truth will set you free," Henry recited and his Buddhist Qi enveloped the powerless man.
"Tell me, what do you stand to gain from this battle?" Alaric asked. The whole street turned silent. Everyone understood that the mysterious stranger with the guqin was responsible for their paralyzed state, and they knew better than to protest against a cultivator that powerful whose personality they did not know.
"I…" Friar paused for a moment as though contemplating whether he should spill the beans. His morality eventually won, prompting him to share the details.
"If two of the great families join forces, my family would suffer as the third great family. We would stand alone against the combined pressure of the other two families," he explained.
"You were right, Henry, it was a matter of greed. There you go, dear people, today's tragedy was caused by this man."
"You… You sold the Azure Dragon Sword to my father!"
"Friar, you dare set my husband up? You sold us the necklace!"
Both families lost their desire to fight when they learned they were dancing in the palm of a third party. Every additional death would only serve Friar's interests. The three families were special because they were the only ones hailing sixth-stage cultivators, but two died now, putting them at a big disadvantage.
"Hypocrites! You would have suppressed my family if I did nothing, killing us all slowly!" Friar yelled back. "You, why do you get involved in this matter? You specifically said you had nothing to do with the wedding!" He turned to Alaric, his lips quivering.
"If you don't want to take credit for your actions, it must mean those actions are evil – don't do them."
Alaric had no idea that those words would come back like a boomerang one day, and that day was sooner than one might think.
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