Chapter 184: Becoming Drunk

Seeing that Gao Zhijian seemed genuinely agitated, Zhao Wu, who was driving the carriage, spoke up, "Dogwa, stop teasing him. If you really annoy him, he might just hit you with a stick.""Brother Li, it looks like there's a wedding happening inside. Should we go take a look? Everyone in the village should be there."Li Huowang looked up at the sky, fiery with the setting sun, nodded, and led his group toward the village.

"The local customs in Later Shu are quite peculiar; they actually hold weddings at dusk.""Brother Li, we get married around this time where I'm from too!""Really? Why is that?""No particular reason, it's just always been the custom."As they chatted, Li Huowang slowly ventured deeper into the village.

The wedding house wasn't difficult to find, as villagers carrying buckets of rice and eggs pointed Li Huowang in the right direction. It wasn't only rice and eggs; some wealthier folks had live chickens and small lambs in their baskets. The faces of those carrying the latter clearly radiated more pride, and they deliberately walked slower, swaying their carrying poles more vigorously, seemingly showing off to others. Following these villagers, Li Huowang quickly located the wedding house.

Two stone lions at the entrance indicated that this family was different from the others in the village. Two smiling greeters at the door saw Li Huowang's group and quickly came forward to welcome them. "Sirs, you can just leave your carriage by the door; our lads will look after it for you."Upon learning that Li Huowang and his companions were escorts and after seeing their consignment manifest, the two greeters showed no alarm. Instead, they enthusiastically invited them to the best seats. It seemed that for them, the more people who attended a wedding, the more prestigious it was. Li Huowang increasingly felt that his decision to work as an escort was the right one, given this unexpected benefit of their profession. However, the hosts' welcoming attitude might also be related to their normal attire. To withstand sandstorms, most people here wore conical hats and veils. In Siqi, it would be absolutely impossible to invite a group wearing black veiled conical hats to a banquet.

Seated at the head of a small table, Li Huowang first took out his chopsticks. He secretly picked a small piece from each dish and discreetly passed it to Mantou under the table. Although it looked a bit undignified, Li Huowang was thick-skinned and didn't care. He was more afraid that the village was a bandit's den and the food had been drugged. He had endured all sorts of other troubles; it would be quite something if he were to fall here. After a while, seeing Mantou licking his face, wagging his tail, and resting on him, wanting more food, Li Huowang nodded to the others. "Eat." Having traveled a long distance, everyone, upon seeing the table full of delicacies, disregarded their manners and began to wolf down the food.

Li Huowang didn't touch the food. Instead, he picked up the strong tea nearby and drank it. For him, with his enhanced senses, the blisters in his mouth felt like constant torture. He just wanted to alleviate this burning sensation as quickly as possible. However, Later Shu cuisine was very different from Siqi's; there were very few vegetable dishes. Most dishes consisted of meat and dairy, along with baked buns and date steamed bread. The only things that could be considered vegetarian were the dried fruits on the pretty plates and the tea, leaving Li Huowang with limited options.

"Zhao Wu, try this baked bun! It's really good! Crispy on the outside, fragrant on the inside! So delicious!"Not everyone was focused on eating. Bai Lingmiao stretched her slender, white neck, curiously looking towards the entrance. She watched as the bride, covered by a red veil, was helped down from the sedan chair. At that moment, a handsome young man with sword-like eyebrows vigorously struck a bronze gong in his hand and shouted appropriately, "The bride enters! May wealth flow abundantly!""Wonderful!"Seeing everyone else stand up and applaud, Li Huowang nudged the ravenous Gao Zhijian next to him with his elbow and stood up as well.

"Clang!" The gong rang out again."The bride crosses the basin! May prosperity flourish!""Excellent! Well said!" The festive atmosphere in the entire courtyard grew even more joyful."Clang!""The bride crosses the saddle! May fortune and peace be with her!"Looking at the beaming smiles all around, even Li Huowang's mood couldn't help but lighten. He then noticed the strong envy in Bai Lingmiao's eyes. He reached out and squeezed her soft hand. Bai Lingmiao turned back and offered him a reassuring smile.

"Brother Li, everyone else has given gifts, shouldn't we give one too? It would be rude not to.""Alright, you decide.""We could give some preserved fruits, a specialty of Siqi. They don't have those here; it would show our goodwill and wouldn't cost much silver."Just as she finished speaking, the fourth gong sounded again. "Worship the God of Double Happiness!""What?!" Li Huowang could barely believe his ears. "What did he just say they're worshipping?" In his perception, the previously lively and warm atmosphere around them instantly vanished without a trace, and an icy chill enveloped his entire body.

"Brother Li, they just said 'worship the God of Double Happiness'," repeated Sun Baolu, his mouth full of lamb.To Li Huowang's shocked gaze, the newlyweds were led by their joyful relatives into the main hall, where they performed a grand kowtow ceremony before a large circular red "囍" (double happiness) character on the wall. The smiling young man, holding the gong and about to strike it, spotted Li Huowang in the crowd, and his expression became somewhat troubled. "Second Brother! What are you looking at! Strike the gong!" Hearing the groom's low, urgent reminder, the young man raised the red-cloth-wrapped gong hammer in his hand and struck it forcefully.

"Clang!" The piercing sound of the gong rang out again."Henceforth, Hou Qiao, the eldest son of the Hou family, celebrates his great joy! He takes Luo Tian as his wife! May the virtuous and dignified bride, blessed by the God of Double Happiness, ensure the prosperity of the family, expand its lineage, and bear many sons early!""Haha! Excellent!"The atmosphere reached its peak at this moment, with everyone beaming and clapping. Seeing the bride and groom enter the side door, others gradually sat down, eating and chatting. This made Li Huowang, standing alone, seem particularly out of place. Feeling someone tug his sleeve, Li Huowang, his expression somewhat grim, sat back down.

According to the information he had previously received, the God of Double Happiness was a being even more terrifying than the God of Joy. Perhaps it was one of the entities hidden behind the White Jade Capital. It was undoubtedly very ironic that such a being had become a deity blessing weddings. Although he didn't know how this custom originated, it was certain that those who worshipped it had no idea what they were truly worshipping!"Brother Li, what's wrong? Nothing has happened. Why that expression? Are you... having another episode?"Li Huowang glanced at Dogwa, who had spoken, and pointed to the large circular red character on the wall. "Do weddings in other places also involve worshipping that thing?"