Chapter 321
Chapter 321
Auntie Ma and her husband’s knowing smiles turned bewildered after Qin Nan and Yang Zhen’s reactions.
Qin Weiyi spoke up to remind them, “Shouldn’t we be leaving?”
Auntie Ma came back to herself and slapped her forehead. “Right, right. We need to hurry to Squire Xie’s residence.”
She ushered everyone outside, apparently forgetting the minor incident entirely.
The group left the house.
Just as at Brother Zhao’s home, two red lanterns stood beside the doorway. Auntie Ma picked them up and hung them outside before leading everyone toward the Xie Residence.
Her home was nearby, so they soon reached the entrance.
As on the previous two occasions, Squire Xie was outside welcoming guests.
Auntie Ma led Qin Nan’s group forward to greet him.
The exchange was the same as before. If anything had changed–
“My heavens, what a magnificent build.” Squire Xie’s eyes practically shone as he stared at Lu Jing.
His enthusiasm made Lu Jing’s skin crawl, and he silently edged closer to Qin Weiyi.
These NPCs were terrifying.
Squire Xie spoke to Lu Jing for a while, then personally offered to escort their group inside.
His attitude left everyone deeply uneasy.
He was far too enthusiastic toward Lu Jing. On the other hand, Lu Jing consumed all his attention, rendering everyone else practically invisible.
Lu Jing followed quietly beside Qin Weiyi, complaining bitterly inside.
But this was how things stood, and there was nothing he could do to change it.
Enthusiastic though he was, Squire Xie only led them into the courtyard. Once they took their seats, he returned to the entrance to receive more guests.
As soon as he left, Lu Jing blurted, “What the hell is going on? Why is Squire Xie suddenly so enthusiastic about me?”
Qin Weiyi turned and gave him a sympathetic look.
According to their earlier theory, Squire Xie’s attitude was influenced by Miss Xie’s Favorability toward them. His behavior now–
Miss Xie’s Favorability toward Lu Jing had probably risen again.
But Miss Xie had not even appeared during the last cycle, so no one knew where that Favorability had come from.
Favorability was something they needed to monitor, but Jian Fan currently cared more about another matter.
He looked at Yang Zhen. “Did you see everything clearly?”
At the question, Yang Zhen’s expression turned strange. “Yes.”
“What happened?” Qin Nan immediately pressed.
Yang Zhen gave Mu Xin an indescribable look before answering. “There were no red clothes. What they’re wearing was dyed red with their own blood.”
Everyone stared.
“Ghosts have blood?” Qin Nan asked in confusion.
Yellow Hair thought for a moment. “Probably. Didn’t that female ghost drip blood while dancing during the first cycle?”
That… did seem to happen with some ghosts, but Qin Nan still found it absurd.
Blood running from a ghost’s body as a frightening effect was something he could barely understand. But cutting open a palm and having blood spurt out was not something a ghost should be capable of.
Could these people actually not be ghosts?
But if they were not ghosts, what were they?
Jian Fan remained silent after hearing Yang Zhen’s account.
Amid his silence and everyone’s discussion, a commotion suddenly arose outside. The Bride and Groom had arrived.
Everyone immediately set aside their thoughts and crowded toward the entrance to watch.
The same procedure unfolded. Miss Xie kicked the bridal sedan, then the matchmaker helped the Groom out.
This Groom was tall and slender, appearing more handsome than the previous two. His face, however, remained hidden for now.
The Bride led the Groom into the main hall, where they exchanged wedding bows as usual. Then came the unveiling.
After the previous Faceless Person, Qin Nan assumed this Groom would be another. He paid little attention, and the others felt the same.
But when Miss Xie lifted the red veil, the face beneath it was revealed.
It was not a Faceless Person.
The Groom’s features were perfectly clear, and the face was extremely familiar to Qin Nan and the others.
The Groom was none other than–Shi Chen.
How could it be Shi Chen?
Everyone immediately turned to look for him, only to discover that he was nowhere in sight.
Shi Chen, who had been following behind them, had vanished at some point. And he was not the only one missing. Two others were gone.
After exchanging glances, they realized with dismay that Lin Junruo and Yellow Hair had disappeared too.
“What’s going on?” Qin Nan whispered, clearly caught completely off guard.
Qin Weiyi frowned as well.
Shi Chen becoming the Groom was shocking, yet not entirely unexpected. Yellow Hair and Lin Junruo’s disappearance was the more pressing concern.
This was not the time to discuss it, however.
The wedding bows had ended, and the guests were heading toward the courtyard. Jian Fan grabbed Qin Nan and said grimly, “Go.”
Jian Fan pulled Qin Nan away. Qin Weiyi immediately dragged Lu Jing after them, and the others followed one by one. Before long, they had left the courtyard behind.
With the benefit of their last experience, Jian Fan knew the way this time and led everyone straight to Miss Xie’s courtyard.
The others were full of doubt and worry, but Jian Fan said nothing. He went directly into the bridal chamber, then headed straight for the bed.
Stopping beside it, Jian Fan looked up at the names carved into the bed.
There was still no name after Fang Kang’s.
“Something must have happened to Shi Chen. His name isn’t there yet because it hasn’t been updated?” Qin Nan had noticed it as well.
After a moment’s thought, Jian Fan said, “He hasn’t been brought in yet.”
“Hmm?” Qin Nan did not understand.
Jian Fan did not explain. Instead, he turned to Qin Weiyi and asked, “What’s the situation with the bells?”
Qin Weiyi took out the bells and counted them. “Still ten.”
They had previously speculated that the bells might represent the number of repetitions, but Shi Chen’s transformation into the Groom had now revealed a great deal.
For example, the number of bells really did represent how many of them were still alive.
Shi Chen had probably died during the day without any of them noticing. Yet there were still ten bells, which meant Lin Junruo and Yellow Hair were alive. That could barely be considered good news.
“We have to find them as soon as possible,” Qin Nan said.
Jian Fan shook his head. “We can’t.”
“We’re not going to look for them?” Qin Nan was taken aback.
Lin Junruo and Yellow Hair might not be permanent members of their team, but they had grown somewhat attached to them. Jian Fan was not the kind of person who would abandon his companions.
“We don’t have time,” Jian Fan answered.