Chapter 146: The Shrine Wedding

"The key right now is to figure out a rescue plan for Yue'er," Ye Lan said, staring intently at the map in deep thought. According to the comparison, the enemy forces were vast and heavily populated, featuring no shortage of formidable opponents. On their side, however, the only ones whose strength could be considered top-tier were herself and Ye倩 [Ye Qian]. The mid-tier fighters consisted of the Panther siblings and Tong Xiaoguo, while Yongxin and Zhong Chen barely met the standard. As for the lower tier, that left only those two idiots, Du and Hu. A ratio of nine against one hundred and thirty—this was truly a tough nut to crack.

"Although it's meant to be a diversion, each person will be bearing the pressure of several opponents," Ye Lan decided. "Now, I will assign the positions. The two general-tier powerhouses of the enemy will be held down by Ye Qian and myself. The ninja squad led by the Black Panther siblings will be responsible for tying down their ninjas. Tong Xiaoguo and Hu Guozheng will combine offense and defense, cooperating with the samurai guarding Yue'er to clear out those Saitama family samurai together."

"That shouldn't be a problem, but the holding action can't last too long, or no one will be able to handle the strain," the lolita panther agreed.

Seeing that the discussion seemed to exclude him, Du Bin interrupted, "Aunt Lan, what about my assignment?"

"You will stick close to Hu Guozheng, look for openings, and be responsible for the rescue. You don't need to do anything else."

Du Bin asked strangely, "Why?"

"Your strength is at the absolute bottom here, and running away happens to be your specialty, so the task of saving people falls entirely on you."

A drop of sweat hung on Du Bin's forehead. His strength had clearly improved quite a bit, yet they always treated him like a useless person. Tong Xiaoguo covered her mouth and chuckled strangely; it seemed their tie last time had just been a fluke.

Hu Guozheng smiled and leaned in, saying, "Idiot, just think of Aunt Lan as trying to keep you, her future son-in-law, from getting beaten to death."

"Nonsense," Du Bin shot him a side-long glance.

Noticing their whispering and fearing they might have misunderstood something, Aunt Lan explained, "I have my reasons for assigning you to the rescue. Don't let your imaginations run wild."

"I don't think we should make this decision so hastily," Du Bin said at this point, though he wasn't questioning Aunt Lan's formulated rescue plan.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, fishing in troubled waters," Du Bin said with a mysterious expression.

"Fishing in troubled waters?" Everyone looked puzzled. Hu Guozheng asked doubtfully, "Old Du, how are we supposed to fish in troubled waters?"

Prompted by his hint, Ye Lan seemed to grasp Du Bin's intention. He continued, "The eldest son of the Saitama family marrying Nakajima Yue'er is such a major event, yet it is bound to be handled discreetly. If this news reaches Heijiro's ears, how do you think he will react?"

The lolita panther replied, "He will lead the other two families to come and snatch her away."

"Exactly. Since both sides are after Yue'er, neither will let the other obtain the Sacred Light Jade. This gives us a window of opportunity to make up for our lack of manpower. At the very least, their powerhouses will definitely be dispatched to fend off the three families, and the ones left behind will be more than enough for the nine of us."

"Mm, not bad," Ye Qian gave him a thumbs-up and whispered to Ye Lan beside her, "I wouldn't have guessed that this brat usually looks so lazy, but his mind is so meticulous. No wonder Xiaotang likes him. Fatty, you shouldn't always look at people through prejudiced eyes."

Ye Lan had to admit that his mind was indeed sharp, but getting rid of her prejudice against him was truly impossible. Who asked him to project that kind of image from the very beginning? With the plan finalized, everyone began their preparations, and Du Bin and Hu Guozheng used the next two days to rest and recover their transcendent abilities.

That night, fireworks lit up the sky above the shrine. The Saitama family had not publicized the wedding; only the people within the entire shrine knew about it. The stationed samurai stood at their posts with high spirits. On this day, the happiest person of all was undoubtedly Saitama Changsheng. This was the long-awaited dream he had cherished for so long—he could finally officially take Yue'er as his wife.

Inside the room, Kagura was forced to sit still while several women dolled her up. She wore a completely white *shiromuku*, trailing a long hem. True to its name, every piece of clothing and accessory was entirely white, symbolizing the bride's purity. Furthermore, the *shiromuku* was like a blank sheet of paper, implying that the bride's personality would also become a blank slate, completely erasing her bad habits from her maiden home, and preparing her to learn all the family customs and traditions of her husband's household—just like a piece of paper waiting to be dyed anew. The deeper implication was that a daughter married off was like poured-out water, hoping that once married, she would never look back. The white cotton hat worn by the bride also had a special significance; in the past, it was believed that a woman's long hair harbored spirits, so the white cotton hat was intentionally used to cover it as a prayer to ward off evil and misfortune.

After the elaborate preparations, Kagura appeared in the shrine. The wedding was a Shinto-style marriage ceremony, a complicated ritual originating from the Muromachi period, which was the most popular form of wedding ceremony among military official families at the time.

The etiquette was quite numerous. During the wedding, the bride and groom had to pledge to love each other for a lifetime and grow old together by sharing three hundred and thirty-nine cups of wedding wine. Therefore, the most important procedure in the entire wedding was drinking these 339 cups of nuptial wine. When guests poured wine for the groom, every cup had to be drained in three sips, after which they would exchange cups and pour wine for each other. Throughout the wedding banquet, this mutual toasting continued incessantly, and the entire process of drinking the nuptial wine signified the joining of the man and woman in a blissful union. Due to the desire to keep a low profile, the complex rituals were handled hastily.

Saitama Changsheng wore a black kimono. He and Kagura stood side by side before the shrine's deities while a Shinto priest held a prayer text for sacrificing to the gods and began to read it aloud. Beside them, Saitama Changyuan stroked his small mustache with great satisfaction.

At that moment, a ninja hurried to Saitama Changyuan's side and whispered something to him. Upon hearing it, Changsheng's expression turned grave, and he immediately flicked his sleeve and departed. Seeing him leave with that look, Kagura guessed that the lolita panther must have brought Aunt Lan and the others to attack, but she also worried for their safety, given how heavily guarded the place was.

Upon returning to the main hall, Saitama Changyuan slammed his palm onto the table, causing it to split into several pieces instantly. "Damned fools! Exactly who leaked the news to Heijiro?"

"Family head, right now their three families are fighting the Shadow guards at the foot of the mountain. It won't be long before they attack the shrine," the ninja said, kneeling on the floor.

Seeing that the ceremony outside was still underway, Saitama Changyuan said to his two generals, "Miki-kun, stay behind to guard against any contingencies. The rest of you, come with me to meet the enemy."

Immediately, a group of people rushed in a fury halfway up the mountain to face the Nakajima family and the other two major clans. Heijiro roared with dissatisfaction, "Old man, hand over Nakajima Yue'er immediately, or else your Saitama clan will be wiped out!"

Saitama Changyuan blew his beard and stared with wide eyes; this punk hadn't even grown all his hair yet and dared to threaten him like this! "Hmph, what a big mouth! No matter what, Yue'er is still a member of my Saitama family. Handing her over to you offers no guarantee she won't be brutally murdered. I see you're only after the Sacred Light Jade she carries, because without the Sacred Light Jade, you cannot summon the Nakajima family's guardian deity of a thousand years."

"Don't speak in such a lofty and righteous tone! Yue'er is your biological sister's daughter, which logically makes her your niece and at the same time my cousin. This matter of you wanting her to marry your son seemingly did not go through the consent of our Nakajima family. I know what scheme your Saitama family is playing—you want to transfer the Sacred Light Jade into the bloodline of your own offspring. The Sacred Light Jade has always been a sacred treasure of the Nakajima family, and what you're doing is simply unprincipled. As long as you hand over the Sacred Light Jade, I won't interfere with their marriage."