563: Chapter 498: The Wedding Date Approaches, Moonlight and Civilization Share the Beauty

The invitations were handwritten by Qin Qing.

She sat under the lamp in the academy's archives, writing stroke by stroke for three whole days.

Before the ink had even dried, those pages had already been transmitted to every corner of the New Universe—to the command headquarters of various war zones, the Cosmic Council, the settlements of the myriad races, and some remote outposts whose names even Lin Zhou himself could barely remember.

The invitations were simple; there was no gold-leaf ornamentation, no Seal of Divine Power.

Only a single line of text was written in the center of the page:

"Lin Zhou and Su Yueyao are scheduled to hold their wedding in the winter of the seventh year of the New Universe, aboard the ark of civilization. At that time, the cabin will be filled with Moon Radiance, and civilization will shine together."

On the first day after the news spread, a flag appeared on the ramparts of the Iron Wall Fortress.

The flag was not large, hung up temporarily by Wang Meng; it was red cloth with white characters, bearing the word "Congratulations".

On the second day, confirmation letters arrived one after another from various war zones.

On the third day, the Cosmic Council sent a ceremonial Seal engraved with "Civilization's Moon Radiance," personally sealed by the Council Speaker.

On the fourth day, people began sweeping fallen leaves in the plaza of the Civilization Academy, others wiped the dust from the pillars, and some re-laid the stone steps leading to the ark of civilization with a fresh layer of bluestone slabs.

By the seventh day, all confirmation letters had been returned.

Lin Zhou stood on the deck of the ark of civilization.

This ship was different from the one built by The Transcendent back then; it lacked the three-thousand-meter-long streamlined hull, nor did it have a shell engraved with the reliefs of three thousand civilizations.

It was more like an old ship that had been dismantled and reassembled; the hull was shorter than the original, and the structure was simpler, but the fractures had been joined with newly cast metal, leaving behind streaks of pale gold weld seams.

The weld seams glowed with warmth in the light; they were not perfect, but they were sturdy enough.

Su Yueyao walked over from the direction of the stern. She was wearing a moon-white robe today, and tucked into her hair was a hairpin that was half cyan-gold and half silver-white—it was the very form taken by the betrothal jade pendant.

Her Moon Radiance flowed across the deck, occasionally seeping into the gaps in the planks, leaving a faint layer of silver light upon the weld seams.

"Are you looking at the ship's seams?" she asked.

Lin Zhou withdrew his gaze. "The weld seams are brighter than the hull itself."

"That is the spark you left behind, still burning." She looked in the direction of his gaze; the weld seams were indeed brighter in the twilight than the surrounding hull, as if the ship were still slowly healing.

"Yue Yao, how long do you think this ship can hold out?"

Su Yueyao thought for a moment. "It doesn't need to hold out for long. As long as it can carry us through that journey, that is enough."

In the distance, Qin Qing was directing people to hang the last batch of lanterns on the bow.

Wang Meng stood on the deck at the stern, facing the direction of the New Universe, holding up an earthenware bowl. He raised it silently, then tilted his head back and drank it dry.

Behind him, Li Mo's projection was leaning over to inspect the rune circuits beneath the deck, his fingertips tracing the edges of the runes as if confirming whether they were still operating stably.

Lei Zhan stood at the side of the ship, touching the row of newly cast railings, while the Iron Rock Giant stood behind him, holding the ladder for him.

Iron Face sat on a wooden crate at the bow, with a worn book spread open on his knees. The edges of the pages were curled and flapping loudly in the wind, but he made no move to press them down.

As Lin Zhou walked across the deck, Qin Qing was checking the suspension cord of a lantern. She let go, and the lantern swayed in the wind before steadying itself.

"Captain, the cabin at the bow has been arranged according to old customs. Go take a look and see if there is anything that needs changing."

Lin Zhou walked into the bow cabin; the room was not large, but it was more spacious than he had expected.

On the windowsill sat that half of the betrothal jade pendant—the other half was with Su Yueyao, currently tucked into her hair.

The jade pendant glowed faintly on the windowsill, its cyan-gold and silver-white lights flickering alternately, like a heartbeat beating extremely slowly.

Outside the cabin door, the sound of the wind began to rise.

The wedding would be held in three days, at which time everyone who had received an invitation would arrive.

The wedding would be held on this ship, and under the witness of the river of civilization, firelight and Moon Radiance would illuminate the cabin together.

In the distance, the silhouette of the Wall of Heroes was faintly visible in the twilight, the names on the wall being gilded with a warm color by the last rays of daylight.

The entire ship sat quietly in the Void Realm, the weld seams on the hull glowing faintly in the twilight, like an old ship that was slowly healing.