Chapter 289
Chapter 289
“I’ve been thinking that we might be able to learn something about how the Bride chooses her Groom from what happened to Fang Kang,” Qin Weiyi continued.
Yellow Hair frowned. “Fang Kang’s face is completely vacant. Chances are, he’s already gone. In other words, being chosen as the Groom probably means death. His soul was erased, and once nothing but that empty shell remained, he became Miss Xie’s Groom.”
Yellow Hair’s theory was largely in line with what everyone else had been thinking.
Qin Nan turned to look at Jian Fan again.
Becoming the Groom was bad enough. Now it looked like they would be gambling with their lives.
“There’s something I don’t understand,” Lin Junruo ventured timidly. “Is that Bride actually human, or is she a ghost?”
What the Bride had said earlier had all but confirmed one thing: the people in this town were probably all ghosts. And if Fang Kang could only become the Groom after dying, then that meant Fang Kang was already dead as well. In that case, what about the Bride and Squire Xie?
The Bride might be a ghost, but in some ways, she also seemed human.
“I think you’d be better off worrying about your own situation,” Xia Zeqin, who had remained silent until now, suddenly said.
The atmosphere at the table abruptly froze.
While they had been focused on seriously analyzing the situation, they hadn’t felt particularly afraid. But now that Xia Zeqin had pointed it out…
Everyone silently recalled one crucial fact.
They appeared to have walked straight into a den of ghosts.
Aside from their own Player group, everyone around them was a ghost.
Ghosts…
These ghosts might look no different from ordinary people right now, but they were still ghosts.
More importantly, they were in the Realm of Death. There was no way this damned place would treat them kindly.
At that thought, they exchanged glances and shuddered involuntarily.
Now they finally understood why they had felt that eerie chill from the moment they entered the town.
They had walked right into a den of ghosts. How could it not feel creepy?
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Jian Fan said, calmer than anyone else.
Qin Nan nodded. “We’re already here. Worrying blindly will only scare us. Stay calm. We can win this!”
Xia Zeqin gave a soft, derisive snort.
Yang Zhen arched a brow at him. “You know, I think you’re even less likable than Fang Kang.”
Xia Zeqin stared at her in disbelief.
“Didn’t you see what happened to Fang Kang?” he asked.
Why was there always someone foolish enough to provoke him?
Yang Zhen curled her lip. “Oh, I’m so scared.”
Mu Xin remembered that Yang Zhen had helped her earlier. Xia Zeqin was far too strange and unpredictable, so out of basic concern, she reached over and gently tugged Yang Zhen’s sleeve.
It was best not to provoke Xia Zeqin if they could avoid confronting him directly.
Noticing Mu Xin’s subtle gesture, Yang Zhen looked at her in confusion.
Mu Xin gave her a slight shake of the head.
Yang Zhen frowned.
She had never been the type to swallow an insult or restrain herself. But they were in the Realm of Death, and Mu Xin… Well, the fact that she could team up with Jian Fan and the others meant she was clearly capable. This was probably a friendly warning.
With that in mind, Yang Zhen said nothing more.
Xia Zeqin was annoyed that Yang Zhen had provoked him, but when she let the matter drop, he didn’t continue targeting her either.
The Bride was still making her rounds and offering toasts.
However, she was nearly finished.
“Normally, after the toasts at a wedding banquet, everyone plays pranks on the newlyweds, right? Once we’re done eating, we should be able to leave, shouldn’t we?” Qin Nan brought the conversation back to the matter at hand.
“Should we leave early?” Yellow Hair suggested.
He wanted to search for clues too, but they were in a den of ghosts. If all these ghosts suddenly swarmed them at once… Good lord. Just imagining that scene was almost too beautiful for words. Yellow Hair decided that staying alive was more important. They could always come back tomorrow during the day to search for clues.
Leqing Town was completely deserted during the day. In other words, these ghosts could probably only appear at night.
Qin Weiyi’s expression, however, turned grim.
There were bound to be clues at this wedding banquet. If they left now, they would miss quite a few of them. But staying here really was far too dangerous.
If they were only dealing with people, that would be one thing. They at least had Yang Zhen and Lu Jing, both of whom could fight. But against ghosts… could Lu Jing even fight a ghost?
They were at a severe disadvantage.
But would leaving this place truly allow them to escape?
Qin Weiyi had his doubts.
“There’s no need to think about it. We can’t leave,” Jian Fan suddenly said.
Everyone turned toward Jian Fan.
“The real show is about to begin,” Jian Fan added.
Everyone was baffled.
Still full of questions, they followed Jian Fan’s gaze.
The Bride had reached the last ghost in her round of toasts.
Did Jian Fan mean that the real show would only begin once she finished toasting everyone?
Qin Weiyi watched the scene, then raised his gaze to the red lanterns filling the courtyard. Something clicked in his mind. He thought he understood what Jian Fan meant.
At that moment, the Bride finally finished toasting the last ghost.
Squire Xie broke into a smile.
“Today is my daughter’s big day. Eat and drink to your hearts’ content, everyone. There’s no need to stand on ceremony with me.”
Squire Xie’s hearty tone made him sound exactly like an ordinary father overjoyed by his daughter’s wedding. Yet the moment his words fell, waves of chilling wind swept through the courtyard.
The wind surged in from all directions, making everyone shiver. At the same time, the red lanterns in the courtyard began thrashing wildly. As they swayed, their red color faded in an eerie transformation. In the blink of an eye, every red lantern had turned white. Even the red silk draped around the courtyard had become white.
Everyone was startled by the sight.
The timid Mu Xin clung tightly to Yang Zhen’s arm.
Lin Junruo was not doing much better. Yellow Hair was standing beside her, and she did not notice anything amiss as she instinctively pressed closer to him at the terrifying sight.
She kept burrowing closer until more than half her body was practically nestled in his arms.
Yellow Hair: “???”
Yellow Hair found the scene rather unnerving too, but the person in his arms quickly claimed most of his attention.
Should he remind Lin Junruo that she was currently burrowing into his embrace?
Yellow Hair seriously considered the question, but he soon had no attention to spare for something so trivial.
The once-festive wedding now resembled a sinister funeral.
Just then, a woman suddenly rose from among the crowd. No, a female ghost.
She had originally been dressed in red, but as their surroundings changed, so did she.
Her red clothes transformed into a long, pale-blue dress. That was not the important part. The important part was that the dress was covered in bloodstains. On closer inspection, blood even seemed to be dripping from its hem. Her hair, which had originally been pinned up, now hung loose and disheveled.
Her back was turned to Qin Nan and the others, so they could not see her face. But judging by her appearance…
Well, she certainly looked like a ghost, though perhaps she looked even more like a madwoman.
“It’s Miss Xie’s joyous day. Why don’t I perform a dance to entertain everyone?” the woman said with a chuckle.
As soon as she finished speaking, applause erupted around her.
The woman covered her mouth and giggled. Then, with a casual flick of her hand–
Qin Nan watched as she effortlessly flung her entire arm straight off her body.
Holy shit!
Qin Nan swore inwardly.