In the pitch-black courtyard, a crimson lantern drifted forward, its eerie red glow seemingly sealed within the cage, unable to illuminate its surroundings.
The lantern floated to the doorway, stopping just beyond the threshold, leaving only a narrow gap between Zhang Yuanqing and the spectral light.
Zhang Yuanqing could clearly sense a ghost lurking behind the threshold—a malevolent, chilling presence. Yet no matter how intently he stared, he couldn't discern its form in the darkness.
Silently channeling his Lunar Power, he prepared to unleash Soul Devouring at any moment.
Nightwalkers possessed a natural advantage over Spectral Entities, provided the entity's rank didn't exceed their own.
From the shadows, a hand emerged. In the dim red light, Zhang Yuanqing saw a bluish-black hand with dark, gnarled nails.
The ghostly hand held a stack of red-sealed name cards, as if offering them to Zhang Yuanqing.
When Zhang Yuanqing refused to take them, the ghostly hand remained extended, creating a tense standoff.
After an agonizing pause, Xishi's trembling voice whispered, "Wang Tai?"
Seeing Wang Tai standing motionless, she feared he had unknowingly triggered a fatal trap and already met his end.
Ah, either way, it's a blade to the neck, Zhang Yuanqing thought with resignation as he reluctantly accepted the name cards. The bluish-black hand immediately withdrew, and the crimson lantern drifted away, disappearing into the depths of the courtyard.
Zhang Yuanqing descended the steps and returned to his teammates, raising the Marriage Invitations in his hand.
"Five in total. They seem to be for us."
He distributed the invitations to his teammates. When they unfolded them, they saw red cards with black characters: the bride's name, Bailan, and her birthdate. The groom's side was left blank.
The Instance prompt echoed in their minds:
[ Ding! You have received the Ghost Bride's Marriage Invitation. Please write your name. The Ghost Bride will choose her groom in one hour. ]
Write their names? Choose a groom in an hour?
What would happen if the Ghost Bride chose them? Holding the invitations, their thoughts raced.
Zhang Yuanqing felt conflicted. During his introduction, he had used Wang Tai's name, not his real one, Primordial Heavenly Venerable. Should he write his true name or the false one? He couldn't tell if using a fake name would incur punishment.
As he pondered how to fill out the invitation, Zhang Yuanqing's mind suddenly clicked. He turned to his companions.
"Remember the Amusement Park's description? An indescribable entity came here and tasked the park's Spirits with finding a young man. His name had four characters."
Xishi and the others remembered, but they didn't understand why he was bringing it up.
Xie Lingxi's mind worked fastest. She glanced at the Marriage Invitation in her hand. "Are you saying there might be a connection between the two?"
The young woman followed this line of reasoning, her face suddenly paling. "The indescribable entity tasked the Ghost Bride with finding a young man, yet she's asking us to write our names? Could this mean the young man the Ghost Bride is searching for in the Haunted House is a Spirit Realm Walker?"
"Impossible!" Xishi exclaimed, her face filled with disbelief.
As seasoned Walkers who had cleared numerous Instances, they knew that Spirit Realm introductions typically served as background information, explaining the setting and past events.
Their purpose was simply to help Walkers quickly understand the Instance—nothing more.
Before this, they had assumed the young man sought by the indescribable entity was a character within the Spirit Realm, perhaps even a monster.
They never considered it could be related to the "players."
What power could a mere Spirit Realm Walker possibly possess to alter the very essence of a Spirit Realm?
"It's probably just a coincidence," Great Sage, Heaven's Equal said, frowning. "Since it's a Ghost Marriage, they'd naturally need names."
No, it's not a coincidence, Zhang Yuanqing thought, his guard rising. The old strategy guide didn't mention Marriage Invitations. These only appeared after the Spirit Realm changed. Combined with the Spirit Realm introduction, I refuse to believe there's no connection.
He couldn't shake the feeling that the information in the Spirit Realm introduction carried an unsettling familiarity.
Buzz... That day, she came to Jinshui Amusement Park.
Suddenly, the Cat King Speaker in Zhang Yuanqing's pocket emitted a sound.
Everyone immediately glanced at his pocket, but the speaker fell silent again.
Why did it stop talking? This speaker is acting strangely, Zhang Yuanqing thought. After waiting a few more seconds and seeing the speaker remain silent, he lost interest and said, "Let's fill out our names first."
He unfolded the Marriage Invitation and tried writing "Wang Tai" in the name field using his finger as a pen.
His reasoning was this: since the Spirit in the Haunted House required them to write their names, it meant 'she' couldn't see the Spirit Realm Walkers' true IDs. Otherwise, the Marriage Invitation would be pointless.
Therefore, it was reasonable to deduce that the Instance allowed Spirit Realm Walkers to disguise their IDs, even though it wasn't explicitly stated. They had to infer this through deduction and intuition.
Actually, writing "Primordial Heavenly Venerable" wouldn't be a problem either, Zhang Yuanqing mused, except it might create trust issues among the team. He then noticed the black characters forming where his finger had written:
Wang Tai.
Next, he fabricated a birthdate and gender. Well, he didn't fabricate the gender.
The four teammates followed suit, using their fingers as pens.
Xie Lingxi stood on tiptoe, timidly glancing at Zhang Yuanqing's Marriage Invitation before writing her own name. In the gender field, she hesitated briefly before filling in "Male."
After completing the Marriage Invitation, Zhang Yuanqing tucked it into his pocket and stepped across the threshold first, saying,
"Let's go in. Stick close behind me."
Seeing his teammates' tense expressions, Zhang Yuanqing tried to lighten the mood with a joke: "I've had a strong birth chart since I was a kid. Even female ghosts have to consider maternity leave when they see me."
The others: "..." Making jokes like that at a time like this? Are you genuinely brave or just reckless? There's a real bride-to-be ghost inside, you know.
Wasn't that funny enough? Zhang Yuanqing glanced at their faces and fell silent, quietly entering the mansion.
Beyond the threshold lay the outer courtyard, surprisingly spacious. A stone-paved path ran down the middle, flanked by corridors that hugged the outer walls.
As the group crossed the threshold, rows of red lanterns beneath the corridor eaves flickered to life, casting an eerie crimson glow against the pitch-black night. The lanterns resembled scarlet eyeballs, silently watching the living intruders entering the courtyard.
At the end of the stone path stood a grand hall with upturned eaves. Its lattice doors were tightly shut, and a dim, yellowish light seeped through the cracks.
"Huh?" Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up as soon as he stepped inside. "Check if your skills and Inventory are sealed."
Fire Fiend and the others froze, either activating their sensing skills or checking their Inventories. To their surprise, they discovered that this Instance hadn't sealed their abilities or items.
A mix of relief and apprehension washed over them. Relief because they finally had some confidence facing the dangers ahead. Apprehension because the availability of their tools and skills implied the Haunted House's danger level was far beyond ordinary.
Led by Zhang Yuanqing, the group advanced slowly, their footsteps the only sound in the silent night.
"Ah~!"
The group, focused intently, suddenly heard a scream that startled them.
Fire Fiend whirled around angrily, glaring at Xishi. "What the hell are you screaming about?" he snapped.
Xishi's face paled as she pointed down the corridor, about ten meters away. Her voice trembled as she whispered, "There... there, under the lantern... there's a woman."
The others whipped their heads around, but saw only a lantern hanging silently in the darkness. Where was the ghost?
This incident further heightened the already tense atmosphere among the four.
Zhang Yuanqing, however, remained relatively calm. Having already experienced a Supernatural Dungeon and being a Nightwalker himself, he no longer felt the primal fear of ghosts.
In his eyes, there was no difference between ghosts and Autobots.
The oppressive ghostly aura and pervasive yin energy here paradoxically dulled his senses. He couldn't detect weak or distant spectral entities. However, he could now wield the Demon Subduing Pestle, so he no longer feared the Ghost Bride. Zhang Yuanqing reassured his team while leading them forward.
"Did you notice? The Instance only gave us a one-hour warning before the Ghost Bride chooses her groom."
Blind fear was pointless. He used information to distract his teammates and ease their anxiety. "My theory is that our actions and behavior over the next hour will become the criteria by which the Ghost Bride selects her groom.
"The question is whether becoming the groom means survival or death. Also, the heavy yin energy here harbors many dangers. We might be wiped out before the hour is up."
I wonder if the Ghost Bride still favors looks. If so, as the most handsome member of this team, I'm under a lot of pressure.
Soon, they reached the main hall. Zhang Yuanqing stepped forward and pushed open the tightly shut lattice doors.
Creak~
The grating sound echoed through the night.
Inside the grand hall, candlelight blazed high, illuminating a red carpet that stretched across the floor. Crimson banners hung from the pillars, and at the carpet's end stood two grandmaster chairs, an offering table laden with candles and fruits, and a vibrant red "囍" character adorning the wall.
Lining both sides of the red carpet were seven or eight paper figures dressed in ancient servant attire. Their lifelike features, from their arched scarlet lips to their vivid eyes, were eerily realistic.
What truly sent shivers down one's spine was the unnatural angle of their heads, twisted at grotesque angles. Their hollow eyes stared fixedly at the entrance, watching the group as they pushed open the door and entered.
Thump, thump, thump. Xie Lingxi recoiled in terror, her small hand clamped over her mouth to stifle a scream.
At that moment, Zhang Yuanqing felt his scalp tingle.
Not from fear, but because these paper figures were all ghosts.
After a brief assessment, he breathed a sigh of relief—they were merely Lesser Ghosts.
I might be helpless against the Ghost Bride, but these Lesser Ghosts dare to act arrogant before me? That's going too far! Zhang Yuanqing channeled his Lunar Power, his eyes darkening with shadow. He centered his qi in his dantian and roared:
"Get lost!"
The paper figures collapsed to the floor in a heap, accompanied by gusts of icy wind and faint wails as they scattered in a panicked retreat.
Behind him, Xishi, Xie Lingxi, Fire Fiend, and Great Sage, Heaven's Equal stood frozen in astonishment.