Chapter 15 Time is Running Out

Next, they found Huo Mo near the opera stage in the west side of the inner courtyard.

The opera stage had been abandoned for many years, the curtains hanging raggedly, and both the stage and the area beneath it were covered in dust.

He sat blankly on a bench, staring listlessly at the stage, as if a grand opera were being performed on the empty platform.

Zhang Yuanqing's expression darkened. In his vision, Yin energy was gathering thickly around Huo Mo, his soul on the verge of departing, already near death.

He hurried over, placed a hand on Huo Mo's shoulder, and black energy surged from his eyes, endlessly drawing the Yin energy into his palm, devouring and digesting it.

Huo Mo shuddered, a glimmer of awareness returning to his hollow eyes, and he instinctively cried out,

"So cold, so cold..."

The Fire Master trembled, looking around, and seeing Zhang Yuanqing beside him and Xie Lingxi not far away, he exclaimed:

"Damn, where did you guys go? You disappeared as soon as we left the main hall..."

"Everyone got separated," Zhang Yuanqing waved his hand, interrupting the other man's questioning. "How did you end up here?"

"After I got separated from you, I unknowingly walked here and then heard someone singing an opera..." Huo Mo said, recalling the events:

"I followed the sound and saw this opera stage. There was a woman singing on the stage, I watched for a while, and then, then I don't remember anything."

At this point, he shuddered. Seeing the dilapidated opera stage in the distance, with no sign of a singing woman, Huo Mo looked gratefully at the Night Wanderer beside him. "You saved me?"

"It's pretty obvious," Zhang Yuanqing said with a smile.

Huo Mo breathed a sigh of relief, the earlier experience filling him with lingering fear. "My skills and items are useless against wraiths. Thank you, Brother Wang Tai."

Although each profession has its own characteristics, the fact that a wraith could silently control Huo Mo was probably due to level suppression.

Spiritual "monsters" are unpredictable, and dealing with them can be troublesome if you don't have the right skills. But they also have a disadvantage: their methods of harming people aren't very direct.

Not as efficient as stabbing someone with a knife.

In the spiderweb-filled dressing room next to the opera stage, the three found a golden hairpin.

Holding the golden hairpin, Huo Mo's heart finally settled, and he asked,

"What about Xi Shi and Qitian Dasheng?"

Xie Lingxi shook her head. "We haven't found them yet. Hopefully, they'll be as lucky as you were."

Huo Mo glanced at her. "Do you want them to die that much?"

Xie Lingxi looked pitiful and wronged. "How can you say such a thing, Brother? We're teammates~"

Huo Mo simply ignored her. They had argued earlier, and he was fed up with the little girl's two-faced attitude and didn't like her very much.

Of course, it was also because the girl wasn't his type. Otherwise, it would be a different story.

The three left and went to another courtyard. The mansion was larger than they had imagined, with the backyard divided into smaller courtyards, some used as gardens, others with opera stages.

After walking for a while, Zhang Yuanqing, with his night vision, saw a figure stumbling toward them in the distance.

The person was wearing skinny jeans and trendy shoes, dressed like a spirited young man—it was Qitian Dasheng.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, happily approaching.

Black energy surged in Zhang Yuanqing's eyes as he examined him for a moment, confirming it was really him.

The four met up and recounted their experiences. After getting separated, Qitian Dasheng had mistakenly entered a courtyard with a brightly lit house. He pushed open the door to find the room empty, with a neatly folded wedding quilt on the bed.

Qitian Dasheng guessed it was one of the betrothal gifts, but following his instincts, he quietly retreated.

Then he ran into Zhang Yuanqing and the others.

Huo Mo listened in stunned silence. "The biggest coward is the safest?"

"What are you talking about? I'm cautious, not a coward," Qitian Dasheng defended himself.

There's some truth to that. Sometimes, the ones who survive aren't the smartest or most capable, but the biggest cowards… Zhang Yuanqing interrupted their pointless argument and looked at Qitian Dasheng, asking:

"Where's the wedding quilt?"

Qitian Dasheng pointed behind him.

Led by him, the four came to the courtyard and indeed saw a brightly lit house.

Seeing the fear on his teammates' faces, Zhang Yuanqing sighed helplessly.

"I'll go get it for you."

This was the Night Wanderer's domain.

He immediately entered the house, and as he stepped over the threshold, the lattice door closed automatically.

Outside, Xie Lingxi and the others saw 'Wang Tai' disappear the moment the lattice door closed. The candlelight inside was dim, but it didn't cast his shadow.

After a few anxious minutes, the lattice door crashed open, and 'Wang Tai' burst out, carrying a wedding quilt.

He looked disheveled, his clothes torn in several places and stained with blood.

"Dasheng, catch!"

Zhang Yuanqing threw the wedding quilt to Qitian Dasheng, who happily caught it, hugging it tightly. Just as he was about to ask what had happened inside the house, Zhang Yuanqing said,

"Let's go, let's find Xi Shi."

Qitian Dasheng didn't press the issue and continued exploring the inner courtyard with his teammates.

The night was dark and starless, the only light source being the red lanterns hanging under the eaves, casting a scarlet hue over the silent world.

Occasionally, a gust of Yin wind blew through, shaking the lanterns under the eaves, making it even more terrifying.

"Come over here, I'm here..."

Suddenly, a soft, seductive voice came from ahead.

Zhang Yuanqing and the others looked up and saw Xi Shi standing under a lantern at the corner of the eaves, waving at them.

She stood there, still as a clay statue, waving stiffly, her smile also stiff, with a hint of eeriness.

"Xi Shi!"

Seeing that she was unharmed, Qitian Dasheng breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go over when Huo Mo grabbed his shoulder.

At the same time, Zhang Yuanqing's voice rang in his ear: "Look at her shoes."

Shoes? Qitian Dasheng stared intently, his pupils slightly contracting.

She was wearing a pair of red embroidered shoes.

That wasn't Xi Shi!!

"Come over here, come over here..."

Xi Shi continued to wave, her smile frozen and eerie.

"Go past her, ignore her!"

Zhang Yuanqing said in a low voice.

Seeing the solemn expression on the Night Wanderer's face, Qitian Dasheng quickly averted his gaze, feeling nervous and not daring to look again.

The group continued walking for a while, and Zhang Yuanqing, staring ahead, said:

"Do you remember when Xi Shi entered the mansion, she said she saw a woman standing under a red lantern?"

Hearing this, Huo Mo couldn't help but look back, vaguely seeing the woman standing in place, no longer waving, quietly watching them.

"That's freaking creepy..." the Fire Master spat.

Xie Lingxi asked in confusion, "Why would she turn into Sister Xi Shi?"

Zhang Yuanqing looked ahead, sighed, and said, "You'll understand when you see it for yourselves."

What does that mean? The three didn't understand at first, but after walking a little further, they vaguely saw a figure hanging under the eaves of a house.

"Sister Xi Shi?" Xie Lingxi exclaimed.

It was Xi Shi, hanging dead from the eaves, her seductive face distorted in suffocation, her eyes wide and bloodshot, her complexion pale, her lips slightly parted.

Her death was gruesome.

Qitian Dasheng and Huo Mo were both shocked and frightened, not expecting her to die here so silently.

Zhang Yuanqing, with his night vision, had seen it all along and had already passed the shock stage. He led the three, their faces filled with complex emotions, closer to the body.

Xi Shi hung there silently. Zhang Yuanqing touched her hand; it was ice-cold. She had been dead for at least half an hour.

"It's Sister Xi Shi's wedding invitation."

Xie Lingxi pointed to the ground near the body's feet, where a red invitation had fallen.

Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the invitation and ignored it, black energy surging in his eyes as he connected with the remnant spirit within Xi Shi's body.

He needed to verify whether Xi Shi had died from the wraith or other factors.

His brow suddenly swelled, and memories that didn't belong to him flooded in.

He saw several fragmented events from Xi Shi's past. This sister was a level 2 Water Ghost, a Spirit Realm Hunter from Nan Hang City in Tong Province, a non-official member of a folk Spirit Realm Hunter organization.

Her real-world job was a nurse, and she maintained relationships with several men, including the head of her department, a wealthy businessman, and the manager of the Spirit Realm organization.

A non-believer of marriage who didn't believe in love, men were resources in her eyes.

A social butterfly who was doing quite well.

At the end of the memory, Zhang Yuanqing saw a ghostly figure in a wedding dress appear, and the scene abruptly ended.

She was killed by the Ghost Bride?! Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes, looking stunned and feeling a chill down his spine.

He thought, that's impossible. How could the Ghost Bride attack early? Wasn't she waiting to choose a son-in-law?

If the Ghost Bride could attack at any time, what was the point of the game?

Also, since the Ghost Bride personally killed someone, why only kill Xi Shi and not attack him and the others? Or was she planning to attack later?

At this moment, he heard Xie Lingxi and Qitian Dasheng discussing:

"Why is her gender crossed out?"

"I don't know, maybe it's crossed out after death?"

Zhang Yuanqing was stunned and immediately said, "Let me see."

Xie Lingxi handed over the wedding invitation.

Zhang Yuanqing narrowed his eyes and saw that Xi Shi's "gender" had been crossed out with a thick line of ink.

Xie Lingxi opened her bright eyes. "Brother Wang Tai, what did you see in Sister Xi Shi's spirit?"

Qitian Dasheng and Huo Mo immediately looked over.

"She was killed by the Ghost Bride!"

"What?!"

The three looked horrified, glancing around warily.

If the Ghost Bride were to attack, probably no one present would survive. It shouldn't be like this. Even for an S-level mission, the difficulty might be high, but they should still have a chance of survival.

"I have an idea, but the logic is a bit flawed..." Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a moment, then looked at the clever Xie Lingxi. "Can I see your wedding invitation?"

"Oh!"

She cooperated readily, pulling out the wedding invitation tucked into her waistband.

Zhang Yuanqing took it and unfolded it, his expression turning strange. "Gender: Male?"

Huo Mo and Qitian Dasheng leaned over and saw that the "Gender" column read "Male."

Qitian Dasheng looked heartbroken. "You look like a pretty young girl, but I didn't expect you to have a dick?!"

"What?" Xie Lingxi blushed and explained, "I just thought that the Ghost Bride is looking for a husband, and the husband must be a man. If I filled in 'Female,' wouldn't that be against the rules and I'd be eliminated immediately?"

Huo Mo and Qitian Dasheng fell into thought.

Xie Lingxi wrote 'Male' for her gender, so my guess was right. In the old version, women directly pass, while in the new version, women directly gg. Because this is an S-level Spirit Realm, direct passage is too easy... Zhang Yuanqing's speculation was confirmed.

Xi Shi was directly eliminated by the Ghost Bride because she didn't meet the groom setting.

He explained his reasoning, and after listening, Xie Lingxi said sadly,

"I was just guessing and wasn't sure, so I didn't say it. I should have reminded Sister Xi Shi."

Whatever you say! The three men silently thought the same thing.

Now there are only four people in the team, and the Ghost Bride can only kill one more, at most only one more, thankfully... Remembering their acquaintance, Zhang Yuanqing took down Xi Shi's body, gently placed it on the ground, and looked at the remaining three companions, saying:

"Time is running out. We should find the bridal chamber."

Although he didn't count the time, he could roughly estimate that it had been almost an hour since they entered the mansion.

Xie Lingxi, Huo Mo, and Qitian Dasheng quickly put the matter of Xi Shi out of their minds and secretly perked up.

Each holding their betrothal gifts, the four continued forward, deeper into the mansion, silently traversing different gardens, accompanied only by the red lanterns.

After wandering for a long time, the four who still hadn't found the bridal chamber suddenly saw a courtyard ahead, with upturned eaves and the character "囍" (double happiness) pasted on the windows and doors, with a soft candlelight shining out.

A scarlet carpet covered the path leading from the courtyard to the main house.

"When the time is right, the bridal chamber will appear," Zhang Yuanqing said, looking at his teammates' tense expressions. "Let's go."

He originally wanted to make a humorous remark: "Don't be so nervous, the Ghost Bride might be a busty, curvy milf."

But seeing the grave faces of his three companions, as if they were heading to the execution ground, Zhang Yuanqing wisely dismissed the idea of lightening the mood.

As of now, they still didn't know the Ghost Bride's method of choosing a son-in-law. Four-choose-one, or all of them?

Similarly, they didn't know if they could survive.

Entering the courtyard and walking over the red carpet, Zhang Yuanqing stopped in front of the door, took a deep breath, and forcefully pushed open the lattice door.

"Bang!" The two lattice doors opened inward, Zhang Yuanqing stepped over the threshold, tensing all his muscles, and surveyed the layout of the room.

The entire room was decorated with festive red. The character "囍" was pasted on the wall, and a round table was placed in the hall. On the table were two candlesticks with half-arm-length red candles flickering. Under the candles were several celadon plates with longans, peanuts, and other items.

To the east was a large bed, the curtains and sheets were all festive red, but there was no bedding.

The bedside was empty, no bride in a wedding dress and red veil as he had imagined.

The Ghost Bride wasn't here... Zhang Yuanqing's tense heartstrings slowly relaxed, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to talk to his teammates behind him, but after turning around, he found that he was the only one left in the bridal chamber.

His three teammates had disappeared again.

"Only I entered the bridal chamber?" Zhang Yuanqing suddenly felt a chill and then reacted, muttering, "The Ghost Bride is quite playful, arranging a bridal chamber for each person..."

Given the current situation, it matched his previous second speculation: four betrothal gifts correspond to four grooms, the rest die.

"Next, I'll just wait for the bride to come and favor me! I just don't know who she will choose..."

Zhang Yuanqing turned around and closed the door, silently summoning Little Doubi and letting it lie on his head, ready to fight.

He stroked the infant spirit's head and looked at the festive scene in the room. He couldn't help but think of a joke he had seen online, saying that just after getting married, he had a wife and a son, the Ghost Bride could be considered to have reached the peak of her life!

And the son wasn't black.

The candlelight was bright, and the room was brightly lit. Zhang Yuanqing originally wanted to sense the passage of time through the burning of the candles, but the candles were particularly magical and didn't seem to be consumed no matter how long they burned.

He didn't know how long passed, but the door was blown open by a gust of Yin wind with a 'bang,' and the candles went out instantly. The cold wind howled in every corner of the bridal chamber.

The room was plunged into darkness. Zhang Yuanqing's heart trembled, and the infant spirit on his head trembled violently, falling into extreme fear, as if the end of the world had arrived.

He stiffly turned his neck and looked toward the open door. Outside was as dark as ink, but with his night vision, he vaguely saw a figure wearing a wedding dress and covering her head with a red cloth, walking toward the bridal chamber on the red carpet.

...

ps: Nine thousand words today, asking for monthly tickets.