The Weeping Inn was sort of an odd choice to hold the wedding. Crow only understood when he entered the building and saw a large courtyard in the center of the building. The enclosed surface area probably covered more space than the inn itself.

It looked like many events were held in this place because the courtyard had ten levels leading down to a pond in the middle. In the center of the pond was a stage with a bridge from a passage that led into a space under the ground level of the inn.

On top of that, the flat roof of the inn would also provide additional seating space if needed. Crow stood on the stage, dressed in a gaudy suit that was supposed to be in vogue. Harold’s tastes were unique.

“What about the people that got away?” Harold nervously asked his father—all acting, of course.

“Don’t worry about them. If they show up, they’ll wish they hadn’t,” Hank didn’t show any signs of worry or concern, making Crow nervous for real this time. An ambush was expected, but the way Hank acted, it was more than that. He hadn’t had much time to process all of Harold’s memories, but now Crow was frantically going through them.

Some minutes later, he came across an uncle—Hank’s brother Hal. The man was troublesome, as his Shield was definitely higher than Stone. Hank’s alchemy had given him prestige, but it was Hal’s backing that father and son dared to act like monsters. The only good thing was that Hal never used whatever power was backing him. Every time he stepped in, he did so by himself.

Crow had diligently read through Barnes’ legacy and took the man’s teachings to heart. His archery skills improved tremendously, but deep inside, he knew this legacy was never meant for him. Because of that, Crow shared it with Song Xue. She seemed to have an affinity with it more than he did. That didn’t mean Crow didn’t learn everything his old mentor had to teach him—especially the man’s thoughts on how to take down people more powerful than him. A mortal killing a cultivator was something that every practitioner would scoff at, but Crow knew the old archer had done just that.

Barnes called his meditation technique Harmonious Nature. It did not require mana but entering a state of nonexistence. Or maybe it was the opposite, a form of complete existence. Barnes used it to harmonize his aura, intent, and mind with nature and make all his desires feel like that of the world itself. Even if the target felt uneasy, they would feel no life-threatening danger unless Barnes’ focus slipped. Crow used Harmonious Nature while meditating because it was a magnificent technique. It didn’t help his cultivation, but he’d gain massive leaps of understanding toward Druid abilities and the balance between them and the natural order.

It differed from his other aura-hiding abilities. Those techniques wouldn’t be effective if the person’s strength was too high above him. Barnes created his opus magnum but probably didn’t realize his true legacy wasn’t his archery but his Harmonious Nature. Crow continued to practice it now because he feared he might need to use it.

The seats inside the courtyard were slowly filling up. Many people came, but not because of Harold. They wished to remain on the good side of Rudder Alchemy, even if they all knew this wedding was a huge farce. Most of the town knew Hank captured the two women and wouldn’t let them go.

Crow wasn’t happy that no one said or did anything. All this time, Harold used the young women of this town to sate his perverted tastes, and the city bit their tongue and said nothing. The families of those women allowed these things to happen with their silence. It was disgusting. On the other hand, it was also liberating. No matter what happened next, he didn’t give a shit about any of these people. Live or die—it had nothing to do with him. Let their deaths become a tribute to the unreconciled dead.

Jorl, the city lord, appeared on the stage and shook hands with Hank. The two talked, but Crow sneered at them because Jorl was only there to kiss Hank’s ass. The submissive display made Crow want to slap the city lord across the face and ask him where his pride is as a man and a cultivator.

After a time, they dragged Mara out from the passage below along with Song Lin. Crow initially thought they’d hide Song Lin away, so he was confused as to why she appeared. That was until he saw how Mara moved and realized they’d drugged her. She was practically hanging off Song Lin, who looked like she was struggling to keep the woman up.

Seeing this scene, Crow felt his knuckles crack as he clenched his hands in rage. Even some people in the crowd had disapproving looks, but the cowards didn’t dare speak up. Once Mara arrived in front of Crow, Song Lin gave him a look, but he could see some confusion in her eyes. He knew that subconsciously she felt his presence. Mara, drugged as she was, could only snarl at him and spit in his face.

Harold/Crow didn’t get upset. He chuckled while wiping the spittle from his face. Mara was as fiery as ever, and even he couldn’t completely hide the affection in his eyes. Song Lin watched him like a hawk, saw the minute changes to his face, and now knew something was off.

“Keep it up, slut,” Crow whispered fiercely and lewdly. He had to keep up the façade but kept it low enough that only the women and Hank could hear him. “Soon, my snake will spit in your face.”

“T-try it, fat fuck,” Mara slurred. “I’ll bite that little fucking worm off and shove it in your ear.”

“My ear?” Crow laughed and struggled to keep his composure. This woman said some strange shit when she was angry. It was his laughter that finally shifted Song Lin’s thoughts, and Crow could see her eyes growing rounder by the second.

“Silence,” Hank commanded them in a low voice before walking to the end of the stage. Harold’s dad waved to the crowd until the private conversations stopped. “Thank you all for coming to my son’s wedding! We come from a simple background, so our ceremony will be quick. They’ll acknowledge each other, and you can come to the lake’s edge to wish them well. You may place any gifts on the small barge floating there. Later, those with invites can attend the banquet at our manor. There will be a small martial tournament with prizes for our promising youth.”

Hank turned to look at his son and waved him forward. Crow grabbed Mara’s arm behind the elbow and forcibly brought her along. The woman tried to resist but could barely stand, and Crow was always stronger than her. He felt a little bad about tricking her this way and originally planned on tipping her off. However, he couldn’t do that until this mysterious uncle Hal showed himself.

“Son, do you acknowledge Mara as your wife?”

“I do,” Crow grinned like a fool and glanced at Song Lin, who was staring at him as if she’d seen a ghost. He subtly winked at her because he needed her to stop staring and drawing attention. They’d been together long enough that she understood and looked away, but now her eyes were scanning the crowd. There was no way Crow came alone.

“Mara, the Rudder family accepts you as a concubine of my son. May your union bring you bliss,” Hank stated, not even giving Mara a chance to refuse. He didn’t care because, in this town, who dared refute him? Still, he had to ask the next question. “Is there anyone that opposes this union?”

BOOM!

Directly facing the stage was an ornate set of wooden doors nearly three meters tall led into the inn’s main lobby. As if on cue, those doors were blasted into splinters of wood, and it was unknown if those people closest to the explosion were alive. Crow looked up, seeing a figure twice the size of other men punching out the space above the door so he could walk in without ducking his head. The giant stepped from the shadows with a big grin on his face causing people to cringe back in fear.

“Show off,” Mara muttered from beside Crow. While he agreed, it still impressed him.

“Otto no agree.”