Because of the commotion at Zhao Xudong's house to rescue Fatty, no one had a chance to eat. Fortunately, they had brought plenty of food with them.
Ye Tiancheng went to the person in charge of managing their supplies and brought back some food to share with Hou Mingzhu and the others. Although it wasn't anything delicious, it was definitely enough to fill their stomachs.
Zhao Hai had taken Ye Tiancheng and the others to find the people, but he hadn't returned with them. He stayed at Zhao Xudong's house for the feast.
Little Fox also said that if he were in their shoes, he probably wouldn't eat at such a household after experiencing such an event.
Due to the continuous heavy rain, the roads were indeed difficult to travel, and Ye Tiancheng and the others were still unable to leave. However, they knew that they would likely have to fend for themselves for food in the coming days. After what had happened, even if they could leave, they didn't want to eat at Zhao Xudong's house anymore.
As for the temporary inability to leave, Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu discussed it and planned to call for a plane as soon as the weather cleared up so they could leave by air, wanting to get away as soon as possible.
With Fatty safely back, all the messy affairs were tidied up. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Ye Tiancheng saw Shao Ying fussing over Fatty and showing great concern. He wondered if she had been too shocked earlier to react and had only just come to her senses, or if she was deliberately trying to impress them in front of everyone because her performance earlier hadn't been good enough.
After identifying the suspicious point, Ye Tiancheng found it difficult not to pay attention to Shao Ying's strangeness. Just as he had kept a close eye on Little Fox after finding him, suspecting his abnormality, Ye Tiancheng had never let go of his suspicion, determined to get to the bottom of it and never lower his guard until the truth was revealed.
When Ye Tiancheng was suspicious of Little Fox, even during moments of mental fatigue, it was usually because he had been mesmerized.
Little Fox did possess such an ability, but when this mesmerizing ability was used, people as sensitive as Ye Tiancheng and the others would feel a sense of strangeness, which would be quickly discovered, making them wary.
But what could be wrong with Shao Ying? If there was something, why would she be targeting Fatty?
When Little Fox was found, the place where he appeared was already very strange, and it happened suddenly when Ye Tiancheng and Fatty were tracking the black energy and the person in red.
Under such circumstances, Little Fox's sudden appearance was very likely related to the Fuxi Qin that had been stolen at the time and the person in red who was the source of the black energy.
In the end, it turned out to be true.
Little Fox's experiences before he lost his memory, and everything that happened in the Odd Market, had already confirmed this.
Little Fox's appearance was due to the Fuxi Qin and was related to the ghost fox Azi. Then, Shao Ying's appearance beside Fatty must also have a trigger, a cause.
If one wanted to infer whether Shao Ying had ulterior motives, or whether she might not like Fatty as much as she seemed, and whether her appearance contained a conspiracy, it would ultimately depend on understanding this cause before making a judgment.
Ye Tiancheng made up his mind that if he had the chance, he should find Hou Mingzhu and Fatty to understand what had happened during the time he was away.
Zhao Hai usually went to Zhao Xudong's house for feasts. Since he had to eat two meals, they would go at noon and return in the evening to avoid the hassle of traveling back and forth.
But today, perhaps because he had caused trouble with Ye Tiancheng, Zhao Hai returned with his wife and children in the afternoon.
Ye Tiancheng saw Zhao Hai returning from afar. After arriving home, he sat on the doorstep of his house, frowning and smoking.
Knowing that he had caused trouble for them, Ye Tiancheng proactively went over and apologized to Zhao Hai. However, Zhao Hai was not a bad-tempered person, nor was he a villain.
Therefore, despite the unpleasant incident, Zhao Hai did not blame Ye Tiancheng and the others and did not mind them continuing to stay at his house.
Ye Tiancheng stated that they would not be eating at Zhao Xudong's house for the next few days. After all, with what had happened, anyone would likely not want to interact with each other anymore.
Zhao Hai also expressed his understanding and told Ye Tiancheng that they could borrow the kitchen at his house if they needed to cook their own food. Ye Tiancheng thanked him profusely, and the matter was settled.
After a day of exhausting turmoil, they returned to their rooms to rest at night. Since the room had been splashed with chicken blood, Fatty and his girlfriend Shao Ying found it difficult to stay in their original room. Zhao Hai took it upon himself to help them switch rooms, and the previous room was temporarily sealed off.
Fatty also asked Little Fox for many things. After all, with such an incident, he didn't want to experience the same thing again.
Who would willingly lie in a coffin with the dead for no reason? As a grown man, who would be willing to be "married off" like that?
Ye Tiancheng was finally able to rest at night. He protected Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng. Seeing that both of them had fallen asleep, he himself gradually felt sleepy. As drowsiness washed over him, his consciousness gradually blurred, and he slowly drifted into dreamland.
As he was sleeping soundly, without knowing when, Ye Tiancheng suddenly heard what sounded like music and drumming outside, which was very noisy. He vaguely walked to the window and saw a sea of red.
Several people were carrying a large red sedan chair, each adorned with a large red flower and wearing brightly colored clothes. Two middle-aged women followed beside the red sedan chair, with a long procession accompanying them, with many people in front and behind, playing suonas and beating gongs.
Ye Tiancheng felt that something was strange about these people, and their faces seemed to be flushed with an abnormal crimson hue.
He mustered his spirits and looked closely, only to realize that they were all dead people.
Just then, such a bizarre procession actually stopped in front of his room window.
The two middle-aged women accompanying the sedan chair, who looked like matchmakers, walked to the window and said in a shrill voice, "The auspicious time has arrived, please have the bride get into the sedan chair!"
Ye Tiancheng's mind went into a daze again.
When Ye Tiancheng came back to his senses, he was already sitting inside the sedan chair. Even stranger was that he didn't know when he had changed into a bright red wedding dress, with a red veil covering his head. When he opened his eyes, all he could see was the clothes on his body, the red veil in front of him, and the tassels at the edge of the red veil.
His hands no longer felt like his own. Those slender, fair fingers looked very much like the supple, delicate hands of a woman. The skin was fair and smooth, undoubtedly a woman's hands.
Ye Tiancheng instinctively wanted to move, but he found that he couldn't move at all.
He suddenly remembered what Fatty had said during the day. Wasn't his current experience exactly like what Fatty had gone through before?
Ye Tiancheng immediately wanted to mobilize his cultivation and break free from the restraints, but suddenly, Ye Tiancheng stopped. He didn't believe that Liu Han would inexplicably target them; there must be a reason.
So, after some hesitation, Ye Tiancheng did not move. Instead, he sat quietly, letting everything unfold on its own.
He wanted to see what would happen if he stayed there until the end, and if he would end up in a coffin like Fatty.
Speaking of which, he wondered if Zhao Xudong had ordered Liu Han's coffin to be sealed up again.
He didn't know how long the sedan chair had been slowly moving before it finally reached its destination. Ye Tiancheng heard a voice from outside, "Please have the bride alight from the sedan chair!"
Then, someone lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, and a wrinkled, yellowish, and exceptionally rough hand intruded into Ye Tiancheng's vision, reaching under the red veil, "Bride, please alight from the sedan chair?"
Since his movements were completely beyond his control, Ye Tiancheng didn't intend to do anything. This body automatically moved, raising a hand to clasp the hand extended before his eyes, and then stepped out of the sedan chair.
Assisted by others, Ye Tiancheng walked quietly, looking at the path before his eyes. It seemed to correspond with his memories, appearing to be the path outside Zhao Xudong's house.
Ye Tiancheng was helped by the matchmaker into the main hall. He vaguely remembered this place. On the first day he arrived at Zhao Xudong's house for the feast, Zhao Xudong had completed the wedding ceremony with Liu Han in this very spot.
Next, it was basically the officiant reciting the rites, followed by the three bows to heaven and earth and the elders, the couple's mutual bows, and then being sent to the bridal chamber. These were basic wedding rituals.
This was not a modern ceremony, nor was it an ordinary wedding. If it were conducted in the Western style, he didn't know if it would still work. In any case, Ye Tiancheng completed the wedding procedures and was sent into a room decorated entirely in red.
Then, he was seated by the matchmaker on the bridal bed, which was covered with a bright red bedsheet and scattered with red dates, peanuts, dried longans, and melon seeds.
Ye Tiancheng was actually a little speechless.
After he and Hou Mingzhu remarried, they hadn't even had their wedding yet, and he was already getting married to someone else. Even more speechless was that in this wedding, he was not the groom, but played the role of the bride.
This inverted sense of strangeness made him feel thoroughly uncomfortable.
Just as Ye Tiancheng was contemplating whether to continue enduring it, he heard the door of the bridal chamber creak open, followed by a series of footsteps. Another person in a wedding dress walked to the bedside.
The lower half of the person's body, dressed in a red wedding outfit, came into view. Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but think to himself that the person coming must be Zhao Xudong.
He wondered what Zhao Xudong would see when he lifted the veil, whose face he would see. If he saw his face, would he be very surprised and scared?
But if he saw Liu Han's face, Ye Tiancheng would be even more puzzled.
How could Liu Han do all this? And what did all this that was happening now mean? What significance did it hold?
Seeing the person arrive, Ye Tiancheng decided not to act and instead waited patiently for what would happen next. For some reason, the groom who had arrived had not lifted the veil.
The groom stood before Ye Tiancheng for a long time, showing no intention of lifting the veil. Just as Ye Tiancheng was getting a little impatient, he suddenly heard the groom's voice. It was indeed Zhao Xudong.
"Hanhan, I'm not forcing you. You're dead now, and no one will be willing to marry you like I am. Don't be so willful anymore."
"I truly love you, which is why I want to marry you as my wife, whether in life or death. Just be good, and after some time, we'll go back. I will take good care of you and will never let you suffer any grievances."