Chapter 154 – Love in a Fallen City: You Are My Eternal, Unfading Starlight – Wedding (17)
Marlon Bruce grabbed a knife and charged at Le Mengqi. Just as the military personnel restrained him, Le Mengqi used the last of her strength to reverse the blade and stab it into Marlon Bruce’s abdomen.
“Who’s the one dying now? You go to hell, go to hell…” Le Mengqi’s expression was crazed.
She grabbed Turs with her blood-soaked hands. “Turs came to save me. He’s here to marry me, to marry me… No, get away, you’re Sade, you’re not Turs…”
“Let the merfolk base handle it,” Turs said as he pulled his hand back and took the handkerchief offered by Sade to wipe his hands clean.
He looked at the restrained Le Mengqi with disgust, as if looking at garbage, and said nothing before turning to leave.
With the matter resolved, Lieutenant General Sade, feeling much more relaxed, caught up with Turs and invited him to attend his wedding with Meg. Yes, when the Walker family announced their marriage, he had also started thinking about it. The only thing was, Meg still didn’t know—how should he propose?
“Things were going just fine with me and Meg at home, and they had to call me back for something this trivial…” Lieutenant General Sade complained to Turs.
Turs opened the car door, glanced at Sade, and said meaningfully, “And how do you think Marlon Bruce escaped?”
Sade stared at the car driving away, lost in thought.
“Marlon Bruce’s diehard supporters must’ve broken him out,” he muttered to himself.
No. He recalled the meaningful look Turs gave him before leaving.
In past prison breaks, there had always been heavy casualties. But this time, not a single person was injured or killed. Could it be…? Sade looked in the direction Turs had left. Was this your revenge, Turs?
Marlon Bruce’s successful escape had indeed involved Turs letting it happen. Turs wasn’t someone who took lives lightly—but he wasn’t the type to repay evil with kindness either. Did Le Mengqi really think he didn’t know she had repeatedly targeted Bai Tang?
This time, letting Bruce escape was simply a way to avoid unnecessary casualties. There was no desperate resistance.
Trading a single prisoner for several of the Interstellar Federation’s elites—wasn’t it worth it?
Marlon Bruce hadn’t just made an empty threat when he said he’d drag someone down with him. He had already prepared for death. He had filmed the entire process of abusing Le Mengqi and uploaded it online. It was through analyzing that video that the military was able to locate them.
Le Mengqi was ruined—everything she cared about: her reputation, her image, her body, and her mind.
When she was rescued by the military, she was immediately surrounded by a swarm of tabloid reporters, each one holding explicit photos of her that she couldn’t bear to look at. Her earlier suggestive, semi-revealing photos couldn’t compare at all. And the reporters’ questions were sharper than the last.
Because of Le Mengqi’s merfolk identity, and her alternating states of lucidity and madness, she was confined to a well-known psychiatric hospital outside the city.
When staff from the merfolk base were organizing her belongings to deliver to her, they unexpectedly discovered a written “plan” she had outlined—a grand scheme to steal someone else’s protector.
Though she never had the chance to carry it out, Le Mengqi’s actions were condemned by all the merfolk. They didn’t want someone who harmed their own kind. Aside from Mr. Eddie, who still visited her at the hospital occasionally, not a single merfolk wished to see her. That alone showed just how much of a failure she was as one of their kind.
Peace was restored in the Interstellar Federation, and soon came the wedding of Turs Walker and Bai Tang.
The merfolk base was essentially Bai Tang’s maternal family, and Turs would be formally receiving Bai Tang from there.
That day, the merfolk base was filled with joy and celebration. Many unmarried adult merfolk came to offer their congratulations to Bai Tang, and spontaneously took on the role of merfolk groomsmen. They insisted that Turs Walker must go through five trials and overcome six challenges to win Bai Tang’s hand. Only then would he truly appreciate Bai Tang and never let him suffer.
Meg was among the merfolk groomsmen. As Lieutenant General Sade’s intended partner, it wouldn’t do for him to stand guard outside—he might feel soft-hearted and open the door for Turs and the groomsmen, who were led by Sade himself. So Meg took on the role of guarding the inside.
“Tang Tang looks really beautiful today,” Meg said sincerely, with a hint of envy in his eyes. He wondered when Aida would finally propose to him.
“Really?” Bai Tang stood in front of the full-length mirror, turning to look at himself from side to side.
He was wearing a white suit today. If you looked closely, the fabric had subtle golden patterns woven into it. The design was of Bai Tang’s favorite animal—little squirrels—faintly visible under the light.
Turs, knowing Bai Tang’s love for squirrels, had the suit custom-made for him. His own suit bore the same pattern, but with a bolder, more commanding look.
“Mhm, out of all the merfolk today, none look better than you,” Meg said with a smile, handing Bai Tang a glass of water. “Drink more water—if you turn back into a mermaid tail during the ceremony, it won’t be good.”
Bai Tang wasn’t particularly worried about reverting to his merform. With the system’s medicine, he could change forms at will.
He drank the water in one gulp and, trying to calm his nerves, started chatting casually with Meg.
“When are you getting married, Meg? I’ll be your groomsman too,” Bai Tang said with a smile, noticing how Meg’s cheeks turned bright red. Finally, he thought, someone more shy than me.
Turs was teasing him, so he decided to tease Meg in return—just for fun.
“It’s not that fast! Aida and I have only been living together for three months,” Meg said shyly, turning his head away.
“Turs and I are getting married after just a few months too. Time isn’t the issue! Or… is Lieutenant General Sade treating you badly? I’ll tell Turs to go beat him up…” Bai Tang raised his fist and waved it in the air.
“Ack—no, no, not at all! Aida treats me really well…” Meg hurried to explain, worried that Bai Tang might actually get Turs to go beat up Sade.
“Hahaha, I was just teasing you—”
“Huh?!”
With Meg keeping him company, waiting in the bridal suite didn’t feel too nerve-wracking. But as the minutes ticked by and the scheduled time drew near, Turs still hadn’t shown up. Bai Tang couldn’t help but get a little anxious. Was there traffic? Or… had Turs gotten cold feet?
“Turs is here,” the system said, watching the red dot on the map.
Bai Tang lit up and looked out the window. Sure enough, Turs was leading a group of familiar faces—all people Bai Tang had seen at the military headquarters.
“That one… is that Lieutenant General Sade?” Bai Tang asked Meg, pointing to one of the men behind Turs.
“Yep! You didn’t recognize him either, huh? I’ve been trying to get Ida to shave his beard forever, and for some reason, he finally did it yesterday,” Meg said, clasping his hands together, falling into a dreamy daze. “Isn’t he handsome?!”
Without the full, scruffy beard, Lieutenant General Sade did indeed look rather dashing—he retained a rugged masculinity, but now with less roguishness and more of a dependable presence.
Bai Tang shook his head as he watched Meg, who had clearly lost a few IQ points to lovesickness. “Ah… people in love~”
The system paused for a moment, then let out a sigh. “You two are the same.”
Bai Tang: “…”
The merfolk, seeing that the groom’s party had arrived, exchanged glances and got into position for the “wedding games.” Every checkpoint was ready—they were determined to show these protectors just how formidable merfolk could be.
First challenge: a riddle to test Turs’ intelligence. Without even pausing to think, he solved it on the spot. Merfolk: defeated.
Second challenge: they had spent days building an obstacle course in the main activity hall. If Turs didn’t clear it within the time limit, he’d fail—and Bai Tang would be off-limits for marriage.
But this was Turs—the youngest general in the Interstellar Federation. He loosened his tie and charged forward. In just a few agile moves, he cleared the course… then circled back and did it again.
“So cool… as expected of General Walker… ahhh…”
Strength always inspires admiration—especially for young merfolk who had never seen much of the outside world. Many of them forgot what they were supposed to be doing and started taking off their wrist corsages, eager to give them to Turs.
Second challenge: merfolk, defeated.
The military groomsmen saw how the merfolk looked at Turs with admiration—and couldn’t help feeling both envious and jealous. Having Bai Tang wasn’t enough, he was even attracting the admiration of so many merfolk. But then they thought—Turs might be getting married, but the military was full of powerful men. If the merfolk liked strong people, maybe they still had a chance.
With that thought, the young men stood tall and proudly showed off their physiques, causing waves of excited squeals from the merfolk.
Listening to the ruckus outside, Meg, who was guarding the door, turned to Bai Tang and said, “They’re here, they’re here!”
Bai Tang quickly sat up properly and kicked his shoes under the blanket.
At the doorway, the merfolk stood hand-in-hand, blocking the entrance to the bridal room. They demanded songs, then written pledges of devotion. Tulls did everything they asked, but they still refused to let him in.
One of the merfolk said, “If you want to enter the bridal chamber, you’ll have to break through the merfolk’s defense line!”
Now that was a real challenge—how could they get in without hurting the merfolk?
Lieutenant General Sade had a sudden idea and called out, “Meg, are you in there? Open the door—”
The merfolk shouted angrily, “No calling for help! Meg isn’t allowed to open the door!”
Turs turned to his groomsmen and said, “Brothers, whether or not we get to take our merfolk home today… depends on you.”
The implication was crystal clear. Fueled by all the lovey-dovey teasing, the groomsmen surged forward—each one princess-carrying a startled mermaid or merman, causing a chorus of shocked cries.
“Ah! Put me down!”
“No way! I’m Myrna. Want to get to know me better?”
The merfolk defense was instantly broken. Turs pushed open the door, only to find Meg standing inside, arms spread wide.
“You have to find the shoes. No shoes, no taking anyone away.”
“Alright. We’ll find the shoes.”
Bai Tang sat barefoot on the bed, nerves showing. “H-hurry up. If you take too long, I-I’ll marry someone else…”
Turs smirked and slowly walked around the room. Finally, he knelt down in front of Bai Tang.
“I found the shoes.”
“Wh-where?” Bai Tang shifted slightly, trying to push the blanket with his hands behind his back—but Turs caught him and pulled out the shoes hidden under the covers. “Here.”
He gently took Bai Tang’s soft, pale foot—each little toe wiggling nervously—and slipped the shoe on.
Then, brushing a kiss to the corner of Bai Tang’s lips, Turs whispered, “Marry me.”
Bai Tang smiled with curved eyes and open arms. “Okay.”
…
At the chapel, the kindly-faced priest stood before the two grooms.
“Turs Walker, do you take Bai Tang to be your partner, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for as long as you both shall live?”
“I do.”
“Mr. Bai Tang, do you take Turs Walker as your partner, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for as long as you both shall live?”
“I do.”
“Will the couple please exchange rings.”
At the priest’s cue, Meg stepped forward, holding the rings.
Turs picked up a ring and slid it onto Bai Tang’s ring finger.
“Tang Tang, I love you.”
Bai Tang also put a ring on his freshly minted husband’s finger, smiling sweetly.
“I love you too.”
Amid cheers and laughter from the crowd, their lips met, sealing a promise meant to last a lifetime.
Author’s Note:
The merfolk arc ends here!
Lately I’ve been so exhausted. I just signed up for a January exam today, and in a few days my new story Little Fox Cat will officially launch.
Between writing and studying, I feel like there just isn’t enough time in the day. Pulling all-nighters is inevitable, but just thinking about dark circles, eye bags, and hair loss makes me feel like a wreck… QAQ