Chapter 123
Chapter 123
Knock, knock, knock-
The sound came again.
Qiao Yu shivered for no apparent reason and stared fixedly at the door. It took him a while to realize there had been exactly three knocks. Whoever stood outside was alive.
He hurried over and drew back the bolt.
The moment the door opened, a woman dressed as a maid rushed inside. She seized his wrist and cried in delight, “Benefactor!”
Qiao Yu: “…Thank you, but I’m not a benefactor right now. I’m a prince.”
The visitor was actually Luo Yunmeng, which surprised him. He had expected No. 17 and No. 19, those two walking disasters. Who would have thought this menace would show up instead?
“Then you’re the male lead? But why did the male lead die as soon as the story started? And why is he having a ghost marriage?”
Luo Yunmeng did not understand.
Qiao Yu did, though.
The first time he had opened his eyes in an Instance, his head had fallen off. He was thoroughly familiar with this kind of treatment.
After dying often enough, a person got used to it.
“A ghost marriage is one thing, but why did they nearly nail me inside the coffin afterward?” Qiao Yu rubbed his chin, puzzled.
As it happened, Luo Yunmeng had been studying hard on Mount Mao recently and knew the answer.
“A ghost marriage is also called a nether marriage or bone pairing.
“It’s a folk custom with a very long history, and the practices vary from place to place.
“I know of three kinds. In the first, the family fears their dead relative will be lonely in the underworld, so they find another lonely deceased person to marry them and appease their spirit.
“In the second, the dead person causes trouble, so their family finds them a young and beautiful living spouse. The couple are buried together after the spouse eventually dies of old age. Until then, the living one remains a widow. That’s the kind involving the role you’re playing.”
“And the last one?” Qiao Yu was the sort who had to get to the bottom of everything. An unfinished explanation made him deeply uncomfortable.
Luo Yunmeng sighed and continued, “The last kind is much crueler. Some families fear that an isolated ancestral grave will harm the prosperity of later generations. They find a living person to bury with the dead, sacrificing them alive to complete the ghost marriage.
“Ugh. Just thinking about it gives me chills…”
As she spoke, Luo Yunmeng’s gaze drifted to Qiao Yu. The smile slowly vanished from her face. Fascination crept into her eyes, and her voice grew dazed. “Boss Qiao, it’s only been a few days. How did you get this good-looking? Your complexion is much better too…”
Current Charm: 37%
Qiao Yu’s brow twitched.
Wait, this Charm attacked humans and ghosts indiscriminately?!
“No, no! I cannot lose myself in a man’s beauty. I still have a doctorate to earn!”
Before Qiao Yu could intervene, Luo Yunmeng snapped herself awake and viciously pinched the inside of her own thigh. “The wise do not fall into the river of love. A queen of competition goes straight from master’s to PhD!”
Current Charm: 35%
Qiao Yu: “…”
Well. That was abrupt!
Before he could make sense of it, a familiar voice suddenly sounded outside.
The Ghost Matchmaker’s coarse voice called through the door, “Mr. Lou Yu, filming starts in five minutes. Please report to the set.”
Qiao Yu and Luo Yunmeng exchanged a glance, then hurried to the set together.
The production had spared no expense. The location was an extraordinarily luxurious classical garden in Suzhou.
Winding covered walkways curled around a crystal-clear lake amid lush groves of bamboo. Every view was exquisite.
The crew looked perfectly normal and bustled about with practiced efficiency. Lighting and cameras were arranged in meticulous order. Aside from their lack of shadows, everything about them resembled ordinary people.
Several cameras were aimed at a half-closed door. There was no blocking rehearsal or direction. A crew member simply stepped forward with the slate.
Clap!
“Imperial City Storm, scene two, take one-action!”
As soon as the words fell, an unnatural, frigid wind swept through. The old-fashioned door gave a drawn-out creak and slowly swung open. The red candles inside flickered once, then were abruptly snuffed out by the wind.
The room instantly plunged into darkness, with only a thin wash of moonlight to see by.
Qiao Yu stepped into the room, his broad sleeve tracing a half-circle through the air. With a rakish air and the languid ease unique to youth, he strolled forward at an unhurried pace.
As he walked, he wondered what they expected to film in this pitch-black room.
He rounded the folding screen and saw the Ghost Matchmaker standing before the bed curtains. Before he could react, she pushed him onto the bed beside the unknown bride.
Other than Qiao Yu, the bride, and the Ghost Matchmaker, the room was empty. It was far too quiet for a wedding. They looked more like three people waiting for someone to deal the cards for a game of Landlord.
“Groom, please lift the bride’s veil.”
As she spoke, the Ghost Matchmaker held out a weighing rod tied with white silk.
Qiao Yu raised his eyelids but did not take it. Instead, his gaze roamed freely around the room.
Where in the world was that Review Card?
[Ding-character deviation: 10%.]
The room’s atmosphere seemed to freeze in that instant. Only the faint rise and fall of breathing remained.
“Groom, please lift the bride’s veil.”
The Ghost Matchmaker’s upturned lips flattened. A forceful note entered her hoarse voice.
Qiao Yu bent down and looked under the bed.
Still no sign of the Review Card he longed for.
[Ding-character deviation: 30%.]
The shadows of the trees outside began to sway in the wind. Their silhouettes fell across the window in a disorderly tangle, gradually gathering into a monstrous ghost with bared claws. It seemed to be waiting, lying in ambush.
Without warning, the Ghost Matchmaker’s rotting face enlarged before Qiao Yu. A nauseating stench rolled off her as she forced the weighing rod into his hand and repeated, each word bitten off, “Groom. Please. Lift. The. Bride’s. Veil!”
Qiao Yu leaned back in disgust and tossed the rod onto the floor.
Clang!
The moonlit young man, dazzlingly beautiful beneath its glow, gave a rebellious scoff. “I’m fucking gay. I’m not dragging some woman into a sham marriage!”
Not even for a movie.
The next second, an extremely familiar chuckle sounded beside his ear. The bride lifted the red veil herself, revealing an exquisite face of striking beauty. Beside Qiao Yu’s handsome features, the two looked extraordinarily well matched-a pair pleasing enough to frame.
Uh… Why had Shang Yan followed him in?
As Qiao Yu stared at the delicate face and limpid eyes before him, a faint trace of regret rose in his heart.
[Ding-the male and female leads have both broken character. Deviation has reached 100%. The Instance’s Forced Plot Progression mechanism has been activated.]
Qiao Yu and Shang Yan looked at each other. They had clearly both heard the system announcement and were caught completely off guard.
The next second, a new effect appeared.
[Ding-Entwined Slumber Incense has been released.]
Qiao Yu: 0.0
What?
Say that again. What kind of incense was that?!
In an instant, the world seemed to spin. The Ghost Matchmaker abruptly vanished, leaving no one else in the room except for a video camera that had appeared from nowhere.
At the same time, a faint fragrance curled through the air, eagerly taking effect.
Qiao Yu’s face flushed bright red. Before he could react, the groom was pinned to the bed by his bride with all the ferocity of a starving wolf.
And as if that were not bad enough, disaster struck twice.
[Ding-the male and female leads remain out of character. Deviation has reached 100%. The Instance’s Forced Plot Progression mechanism has been activated.]
[Ding-the effects Ink-Black Hair Cascades Like a Waterfall and Loosened Robes are now active.]
What the fuck were those supposed to be?!
The hairpin atop Qiao Yu’s head suddenly fell. His long black hair streamed free in the wind, and the sash around his waist abruptly loosened. His voluminous wedding robes slipped from his shoulders. The instant his luminous skin met the air, it was veiled by that curtain of ink-black hair-concealing just enough to suggest everything…
Bzzzt, bzzzt… Current Charm: 41%
-Fuck! That bastard blacked out the feed again!
-Goddammit, what a sore loser!!
-At a time like this, shouldn’t your eyes be glued to your wife? How do you still have time to kill the cameras?!
-Waaaaaaaaah…