Chapter 126: A Brawl at Three-Lives Lake

The cutscene began the moment they stepped onto the house in the center of the lake. Neither of them skipped it; they waited until the very end to watch it unfold. After all, for both of them, this was their first wedding. One had never been married before, and the other had only ever "borrowed" a place to live from a landlord.

They watched as their characters bowed to the heavens and the earth, then to the sect leaders seated in the hall, and finally to each other. Due to the game’s character settings, the "elders" present at the wedding ceremony were always the leaders of the respective sects. Sitting in the chairs, watching the pair with benevolent gazes, were Chun Sanniang, leader of the Myriad Demon Palace, and Daoist Master Taixu, leader of the Carefree Temple.

When the animation ended, Zhou Jingchen stopped his character’s red-packet-giving emote and initiated a trade with Yu Qian.

"Hmm?"

"Supplementary betrothal gifts for you."

After a brief pause, Yu Qian accepted them. "I’ll give you my dowry tomorrow."

He frowned. A miscalculation. Had he known, he wouldn't have given so much, and then his little cutie wouldn't have felt the need to return an equal amount. This time, however, he didn't refuse as he usually would; he simply replied with a soft "Mm."

The others in the voice chat didn't react to their exchange. To them, the exchange of betrothal and dowry gifts between a couple was only natural. There was no concept of one party giving more than the other; it had been the custom for ages. Only when both husband and wife contributed could their relationship remain on equal footing.

Entering PK mode at Sansheng Lake did not increase one's kill count, nor did it cause items or experience to be lost upon death, which was why many chose to come here to fight to their hearts' content.

Once Zhou Jingchen activated PK mode, he noticed the screen turn crimson in an instant, and both their characters collapsed within a second. Only then did they realize that everyone else had already enabled "kill" mode and was simply waiting for them to switch their status.

Cold sweat broke out on both of them, and they reached a mutual decision: do not respawn. They weren't about to hand over their heads on a platter. Instead, they watched with amusement as Nanyuan and the others met their ends in various creative ways.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Nanyuan didn't say a word, standing quietly in the back to heal her team. Even so, she died time and time again. Fortunately, they were already at the respawn point, allowing them to jump right back into the fray. As they watched, Zhou Jingchen and Yu Qian even grabbed bags of melon seeds, munching away while offering commentary.

"Hey, hey, hey! Use your AoE heals! Why aren't you casting them when so many people are losing health? Why are you clicking on them one by one? That's so slow!"

"Use your crowd control skills as soon as they're off cooldown! Why are you saving them? Are they going to lay eggs or something?"

"Tank, drop a defensive circle! Nanyuan has her ultimate ready again."

"No, no, that Knight—why are you charging forward without buffing yourself? You're a support, not a damage dealer. I hope you understand your role."

The two of them chattered away until everyone had a headache.

In the brief intervals between skirmishes, Wen Xiu sent a private message to Nuwa: "My Lady, I feel like Zhou Jingchen is incredibly childish whenever he's with Qianqian."

"That's normal. Fuxi is even more childish than that sometimes."

Wen Xiu was speechless. Did all men become childish once they started dating?

She mused to herself that if a "little puppy" were to date her and act that clingy and childish, she would probably shiver in discomfort. Forget it; she couldn't handle that. She was better off staying away. Work was good, and gaming was better. Work brought her fulfillment, and games brought her joy.

The group fought at Sansheng Lake until the dungeon time limit expired.

"Refreshing!"

"Satisfying!"

"Fighting is truly the best."

Everyone felt content with today’s brawl. After emerging, they invited Fuxi, Nuwa, and Wen Xiu into their party and called others over to tackle a dungeon together. Yu Qian checked the weekly quests: Painting Wall, Ornaments, and Spring Grass. For her and Zhou Jingchen, these weren't difficult, but for this group—who were running these instances for the first time—it was another story.

Seeing the others listening to walkthroughs in the voice chat, they didn't say anything. They started with Spring Grass. Yu Qian’s health and defense were too low to tank, so she had to have Zhou Jingchen find a dedicated tank to hold the boss.