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Lu Liangting’s hands and feet were tightly bound by ropes, rendering him immobile. A rag stuffed in his mouth prevented him from making any sound,, and a red cloth blindfolded his eyes, leaving him in a hazy crimson darkness.

Even worse was the lingering dizziness and throbbing pain from being struck on the head, constantly tormenting his nerves and making it difficult to concentrate or think clearly.

Lu Liangting had no idea where he was. He only knew that shortly after entering the village, he had been ambushed—by someone who seemed to be alive.

The pressing question was, why had this person knocked him unconscious and brought him here?

Struggling was futile, he could only feel that he was sitting on a bed draped with soft bedding. The bedding seemed new, without any wrinkles. He couldn’t discern the material, but it felt somewhat stiff and cold to the touch.

The air was permeated with an indescribable odor, a mix of candle wax, decay, and the musty smell of an old, long-abandoned wooden house where the air had stagnated from lack of circulation.

These combined smells made his heart sink with foreboding.

He sensed that a layer of his clothing had been removed and replaced with something unknown. This new garment had the same cold, stiff texture as the bedding beneath him.

Lu Liangting tried to struggle, but his legs were fastened to something, preventing him from standing up. He could only lean back and attempt to twist his body to one side.

Since he was on a bed, there should be a headboard. Maybe he could use it to rub off his blindfold and at least see his current situation to figure out a way to escape.

This was his only option. His clothes had been taken, along with the three props hidden inside. He couldn’t speak either, so he had to rely entirely on himself.

After multiple attempts, Lu Liangting finally succeeded.

Using all his strength, he turned his body sideways, pressing his head against a pillar to his left. Fortunately, the red cloth covering his eyes was thick enough to allow him to apply force when rubbing against the pillar.

After several tries, the blindfold gradually slid upward, and the room’s interior slowly came into view.

With a final forceful rub, the red cloth came off. But upon regaining his vision, what lay before him left Lu Liangting completely stunned.

The room was dimly lit, the only light coming from two red candles engraved with the character “囍” (double happiness, usually used in weddings) placed on a table.

Everything in the room was decorated in red. The small space had its doors and windows sealed shut, adorned with large “囍” characters. Even the doorframes were draped with festive red cloths. The table before him held several plates, not filled with candies, but with eyes, noses, ears, and hearts.

The two red candles were connected by a red string, seemingly symbolizing a union.

He was sitting on an old wooden bed with red curtains, covered in bright red bedding.

His clothes had been changed, not into sacrificial robes, but into a traditional wedding outfit. A large red flower was even pinned to his chest, missing only the ceremonial headdress.

It was obvious that this was a traditional wedding setting.

The problem was, one of the two main characters of the wedding, the groom, seemed to be himself!

He was an outsider. Aside from Zhao Mingyue, he didn’t know anyone in this village.

Why is he the groom?

Lu Liangting suddenly realized something.

“A ghost marriage!”

Even he couldn’t help but curse inwardly. He had no desire to see what his “bride” looked like, nor did he want to be “happily married” in this ghostly place.

Trying to struggle again, Lu Liangting only now realized that his feet were tied to two iron rings on the bed. If he couldn’t free his hands first, his feet were hopeless.

The surroundings were eerily quiet. Through the paper-covered windows, Lu Liangting could vaguely see many figures standing outside.

So many, yet so silent.

No, were those things outside even human?

He thought of the moving wax-sealed corpses he had seen upon arriving in the village. The answer became clear, and a sense of despair washed over him.

Even if he broke free, what could he do? Those zombies were still blocking his way.

Despair threatened to overwhelm him, but Lu Liangting quickly regained his resolve and continued to struggle.

As long as there was even the slightest chance, he had to try.

He didn’t know how much time had passed as he kept struggling. Suddenly, in the dead of night, sounds seemed to come from outside, along with the unmistakable howls of fierce ghosts.

“Someone’s coming. Is it the bride, or the one who knocked me out?”

Lu Liangting stopped struggling and looked towards the window.

“I hope it’s not Mingyue.”

He knew Zhao Mingyue was also in this village, so he worried that the person barging in might be her.

·

·

At the same time, Bai Yu, controlling Zhao Mingyue’s body, charged towards the wedding courtyard like a phantom, her speed frighteningly fast. Approaching the courtyard, she raised her hand, a blood sword materializing. Taking a step to steady herself, she swung with all her might.

A three-meter-long blood-red blade light swept horizontally, cutting over a dozen wax corpses in half at the waist.

In three strides, she leaped onto a wax corpse, using it as a springboard to jump directly onto the roof of the main gate.

Shen Shuyun had mentioned that several fierce ghosts were hidden here. Sure enough, a quick glance revealed them.

Ordinary wax corpses had their entire faces sealed, completely obscuring their features, a sight even more terrifying than sewn-shut facial orifices. But among these wax corpses, a few were different. Their sealed facial features had been forcibly opened, resulting in grotesque and distorted expressions, their eyes and mouths gaping wide, revealing hollow voids within.

Bai Yu roughly counted about eight such wax corpses.

Aside from their faces, these eight wax corpses had another distinguishing feature, their joints.

It was evident that although their bodies were still covered in thick layers of wax, it didn’t hinder their movements in the slightest.

“These are probably jiangshi, right?” (Jiangshi are Chinese hopping vampires/zombies.)

Zhao Mingyue’s voice echoed in her mind, startling Bai Yu.

“You’re awake?”

“Mm-hmm, it’s a very strange feeling, like sleep paralysis. My consciousness is clear, but I can’t control my body. Anyway, it’s a terrible experience.”

“This is a ghost marriage. Lu Liangting has been captured to be the groom.”

“He’s the groom in a ghost marriage? Then where’s the bride?”

“The bride…” Bai Yu raised her eyes to look at the dark mountains hidden in the distance. “I guess the bride is coming from the back mountains.”

She had always wondered about the connection between the later and former villages. The dangers in the former village were real but seemed relatively minor, as if this place was merely under the influence of the later village. Now she was almost certain that the malevolent power from the back mountain was continuously encroaching upon this area.

Moreover, she felt that the two evil gods in the back mountain wanted to escape, not just to emerge, but to flee.

These two evil gods were constantly arranging and manipulating everything in the former village, weakening something. If successful, perhaps they could come out from the back mountains.

As Bai Yu stood on the rooftop, communicating internally with Zhao Mingyue, the fierce ghosts in the courtyard had noticed her. Compared to ordinary wax corpses, these ghosts were indeed boss-level threats.

From over five meters away, they leaped at her in a single bound, a foul stench assaulting her senses.

Their forcibly opened mouths gaped wide, emitting deep, hoarse howls.

They had lived miserably in life, controlled by evil gods. Even in death, they could not find peace. Their corpses and souls would be exploited, just like the old woman in the east village. Under such circumstances, how could their resentment not run deep?

The fierce ghosts’ resentment soared to the heavens. Even if they broke free from the wax corpse bodies, they wouldn’t be much weaker than Xiao Lian on the fifth floor of Sunshine Apartments.

“Roar!”

Splat!

Reversing her grip, Bai Yu thrust her long sword into the mouth of the pouncing wax corpse, the blade piercing through its skull and out the back of its head.

As she withdrew the sword, the tiles beneath Bai Yu’s feet shattered. She leaped into the air, kicking another pouncing wax corpse down, then used that force to jump up again. She delivered two upward kicks to the wax corpse’s chin in quick succession.

The wax corpse’s body fell back uncontrollably. Bai Yu landed, drew her sword, and slashed.

With a chilling slash, she severed the wax corpse’s legs. Two more swift strikes followed, one cutting it in half at the waist, the other beheading it, sending the head flying.

In a single exchange, she had repelled three fierce wax corpses. Bai Yu took two steps back.

The blood threads of the long sword in her hand churned relentlessly before reforming into its original shape.

These wax corpses were incredibly tough. If ordinary wax corpses were as hard as plastic, these were like stone.

Zhao Mingyue’s body had its limits after all. Even if it had been enhanced, it wasn’t that strong. So to cut through these few wax corpses, she could only rely on the long sword.

Under extreme control, the sharper the long sword, the more fragile it became, lacking toughness.

With each slash, she felt pain.

After all, the blood threads were a part of her body, an important part that constituted her being.

The people behind her were somewhat dazed at this point. The disparity in strength left them shocked.

But upon realizing that this sword-wielding figure was most likely that person, they felt relieved.

This outfit, this long sword, those clean and efficient moves, if it wasn’t that individual, they wouldn’t believe it.

“Hahaha, Doctor, I never thought I’d run into you here. How does it feel to be transformed into a woman?” Black Fist laughed heartily. Mid-laughter, she punched a fierce ghost, sending it flying.

“I’ve long wanted to spar with you, but I never had the chance.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a blood thread sword light shot straight towards her position, its angle tricky, predicting her location.

Black Fist almost instinctively dodged but forcibly stopped herself. The blood thread sword light grazed past her body, slashing the floor to pieces before turning into tiny blood threads that disappeared into the ground.

If she had followed her body’s instincts and dodged just now, she would have definitely been hit.

“Just kidding! Now’s not the time for a spar!”

Inwardly cursing that monster, Black Fist didn’t dare provoke Bai Yu further and focused on dealing with the enemy.

Bai Yu landed and casually swept her gaze around.

She wasn’t interested in finding Lu Liangting; she was more concerned about whether the deity statue was inside.

She randomly picked a secluded small room and rushed over.