The fact that it couldn’t be changed was exactly what made it terrible. This meant that if Yun Huizhou wanted to marry Miss Su Fu, he would have to participate in the martial arts marriage competition.
Miss Su was ranked first on the Beauty Rankings, so there would surely be many people who wanted to marry her.
Competition would inevitably be fierce. What if there were narrow-minded, insidious villains among them?
Yun Huizhou’s martial arts were so overpowered among the younger generation that he had even taken first place in the Martial Arts Assembly last year. If he participated in the marriage competition, he would definitely be the one to win the beauty’s hand.
Perhaps he would become an eyesore to some insidious villain who might plot against him during the match.
The more he thought about it, the more Lian Li felt this was the case. He looked at Yun Huizhou, his voice softening.
He was currently dressed in women’s clothing, and as a great beauty in drag, Yun Huizhou—that dead-straight man—was very susceptible to this act.
“Can you really not go?”
Yun Huizhou kept his eyes lowered, his emotions unreadable. After a long while, he finally said, “There is no one else who can go. We can’t exactly have the Junior Uncles or Senior Uncles go to preside over it.”
The East Island Lord was away from the island year-round. Lian Li hadn’t seen them once in the past year and didn’t even know if the East Island Lord was a man or a woman.
The South Island Lord—Lian Li and Yun Huizhou’s Master—relied entirely on mental intent to speak. He usually didn’t like seeing people and was likely a victim of social anxiety; he certainly wouldn’t go.
The West Island Lord was a cross-dressing boss, beautiful beyond compare. If he went, he might steal the spotlight; the head of the Su family probably wouldn’t want him there.
Then there was the North Island Lord, who was always acting eccentric and muttering to himself. If he went, he might suddenly feel the whim to tell someone’s fortune. If he blurted out a bad omen, he would offend people for no reason.
Thinking it over, Lian Li realized that in the entire Drunken Dream Island, the only person suitable to go was indeed Yun Huizhou.
This was truly… a total dog’s breakfast…
For however long he remained silent, Yun Huizhou let him hold his hand.
Finally, Lian Li’s arms grew tired, and he let go.
The two of them took the rare path through the long corridor back to the pavilion, silent the whole way.
Lian Li was thinking about the mission. Yun Huizhou, for some reason, was also very quiet.
Before going to sleep that night, Lian Li finally figured it out. He walked to Yun Huizhou’s bedside and said, “I’ll go with you.”
Since it couldn’t be avoided, he could only face it. He would follow along and keep a close eye on things.
If necessary, he would just put on women’s clothes and forcibly kiss Yun Huizhou to ruin his reputation, making it impossible for him to participate in the marriage competition.
But then he had a second thought: what if Yun Huizhou actually really liked that Miss Su Fu?
If he did that, what would be the difference between him and those people who did harmful things under the banner of “it’s for your own good”?
Thinking of this, Lian Li felt a bit frustrated.
He gave Yun Huizhou a heavy huff, then returned to his side and flopped directly onto the bed.
Yun Huizhou was baffled by the huff and followed him over.
Seeing him approach, Lian Li pulled the covers over his head.
Yun Huizhou tried to pull the blanket back but couldn’t budge it, and he even got kicked by Lian Li.
In the end, he could only give up and return to his own side.
Since he had decided to go out together, Lian Li decided to make several preparations.
Because he didn’t know what kind of plot Yun Huizhou would face—whether it would be an injury to his foundation or a poisoning—he needed both healing medicines and antidotes. On Drunken Dream Island, the person with the most medicine was the West Island Lord.
Early the next morning, Lian Li scrambled out of bed and sat before the mirror, sighing and groaning.
He had woken up an hour earlier than usual.
Yun Huizhou hadn’t been awake yet, but he opened his eyes after hearing Lian Li’s voice.
He walked over to Lian Li’s side and found that Lian Li had already changed into women’s clothing and was applying makeup in front of the mirror.
He leaned against the screen and watched for a while before asking, “Why the sudden urge to put on makeup today?”
During the first two months, Lian Li had been watched closely by the West Island Lord and had to apply makeup every day. Later, when the West Island Lord stopped watching so closely, he only secretly put on makeup at night while Yun Huizhou was bathing whenever he wanted to play a prank on him.
“I need to go to the West Island to find Junior Uncle.” Lian Li had finished his makeup. He stood before the mirror and spun around twice before continuing, “Going like this will make Junior Uncle much easier to talk to.”
“What are you going to the West Island for?” Yun Huizhou asked.
He remembered that unless there was a specific reason, Lian Li avoided the West Island as much as possible.
“Sigh~” Lian Li sighed and said, “Junior Uncle has so many good medicines. Since we’re heading out, shouldn’t we bring a bit more just in case?”
Yun Huizhou didn’t care much about this, only saying, “I usually bring some life-saving pills and some universal antidotes, but I’ve never had to use them.”
Lian Li knew Yun Huizhou’s martial arts were excellent. Among the younger generation, he estimated that no one was his match except perhaps Zhao Honglan and Qu Tingquan.
Even among the older generation, unless those famous figures were specifically known for their martial prowess, they probably weren’t his match either.
So, this guy was actually quite arrogant.
Lian Li said, “Besides life-saving pills, we should bring more of other kinds. Who knows what kind of monsters and demons we’ll encounter.”
As he spoke, he finished tidying himself up and walked out the door.
To his surprise, Yun Huizhou followed him out. He glanced at Yun Huizhou and asked, “You’re coming with me?”
Yun Huizhou nodded and said, “Yes, I think what you said makes sense. I might as well go along and see what other useful medicines are in Junior Uncle’s Medicine Pavilion.”
The two arrived at the West Island. They originally intended to head straight for the Medicine Pavilion, but then they remembered that the two of them combined weren’t enough to beat the West Island Lord. They had to go to the small building where the West Island Lord resided first.
Sensing their arrival, the West Island Lord ignored them completely, lying on his soft couch reading a book.
Lian Li passed a mirror, tidied his hair which had been slightly mussed by the wind, and then put on a “silly, sweet, and innocent” smile, skipping toward the West Island Lord.
Yun Huizhou followed and stopped three meters away from the West Island Lord.
Lian Li, however, wasn’t polite at all. He plopped down on the soft couch and prepared to give the West Island Lord a bear hug. He pitched his voice to sound sweet and soft, “Junior Uncle, long time no see, I missed you so much.”
Naturally, the West Island Lord wasn’t willing to let him hug him. He grabbed Lian Li by the back of his collar and tossed him toward Yun Huizhou.
Yun Huizhou had to catch him, otherwise, the boy would have been thrown into the lake by the West Island Lord.
“What did you come here for?” The West Island Lord sat up straight. He looked at Lian Li, who was leaning in again, his tone full of disdain, though he didn’t push him away again.
“Junior Uncle, Master told us yesterday to go out and handle some business. You know the Jianghu is treacherous, and I have no experience. If someone harms me, there will be no one left to wear pretty dresses with you.” As he spoke, Lian Li pulled a handkerchief from his bodice and wiped away non-existent tears.
“And so?” the West Island Lord said. “Can your Senior Brother not protect you?”
“It’s mainly because I’m too weak,” Lian Li said. “If you average the two of us out, we’re just mediocre.”
The West Island Lord remained unmoved. “Oh.”
Lian Li didn’t care about his coldness at all and continued, “Junior Uncle, give us a little something.”
His eyes were brimming with tears that looked ready to fall at any moment, making him look incredibly pitiful.
West Island Lord: “…”
He was used to the other four guys charging straight into the Medicine Pavilion to rob him; this was truly the first time he had seen someone as confidently beggarly as Lian Li.
“Fine.” The West Island Lord smiled. “Add one year of women’s clothing.”
Lian Li: “…”
Lian Li also smiled. “Alright, Junior Uncle.”
Once the marriage competition is over, I’ll just hide outside with Yun Huizhou for a year, Lian Li thought happily.
However, the West Island Lord wasn’t going to let him exploit that loophole. He added, “Don’t think about hiding outside for a year. I count a year as 365 days; you have to accumulate 365 days of wearing it on the island. If you have the ability, then don’t return to the island for the rest of your life.”
Lian Li’s smile didn’t waver. “Of course, Junior Uncle.”
