After Saving the Self-Destructing Ghost King - Chapter 5

Just as the sky was growing faintly bright, the servants in the Liu residence became busy, preparing all the necessary supplies.

Yan Baichuan glanced briefly at the surrounding guests. It was clear that everyone’s mastery of superficial pleasantries varied quite a bit; the guests dressed as wealthy merchants wore forced, reluctant smiles, while their eyes plainly spelled out the word “unlucky” they simply didn’t dare to voice it aloud due to Liu Yingfeng’s power and influence.

This was already Liu Chengmian’s third wedding, and given that the bride was of humble birth, Liu Yingfeng was too weary to make a grand spectacle of it. The wedding suona horns blew only a few scattered notes, serving merely to go through the motions. Jinyou used his folding fan to conceal the upward curve of his lips, leaned in closer to Yan Baichuan to watch the Liu family make a fool of themselves, and whispered, “It looks like this Liu father-and-son pair isn’t all that popular behind the scenes. Look at that fat fellow on the right he’s rolling his eyes so hard he’s almost having a spasm, though heaven knows what deep-seated grudge he holds against Liu Yingfeng.”

Following Jinyou’s gaze, Yan Baichuan happened to spot a chubby man clad in a dark green brocade robe, who let out a heavy, disdainful huff and rolled his eyes dramatically at Liu Chengmian.

Hiding behind his folding fan, Jinyou let out a soft snort of laughter, patted Yan Baichuan on the shoulder, and murmured, “I’m going to go find some amusement. I’ll leave you to keep an eye on things here.”

Yan Baichuan’s gaze swept over Liu Chengmian, who was currently helping the bride down from the sedan chair at the entrance. Perhaps because all the guests were watching, the bride’s rough-looking hands clutched at the front of Liu Chengmian’s robes, her fingers curling timidly inward as if trying to hide inside her sleeves. Seeing Jinyou’s eager expression, Yan Baichuan still offered a word of caution: “Lest unexpected trouble arise, return as soon as you can.”

Yan Baichuan never spoke idly; since he said trouble might occur, he was at least seventy or eighty percent certain in his heart. With a slight nod, Jinyou reined in a portion of his casual demeanor and walked over toward the guest who had been continually rolling his eyes.

“Ah, what a strange affair.” Stepping up beside the dark-green-robed man with a deliberately exaggerated air, Jinyou muttered as if to himself, “Given Young Master Liu’s family background, how could he possibly marry an anonymous farm girl? Could it be that this farm girl possesses looks that could topple a city?”

Clearly harboring immense dissatisfaction toward the Liu family, the plump guest let out a rough, loud huff. “What else could it be? With their ominous pattern of every woman they marry dying off, which respectable family would dare marry their daughter to them? That’s just sending someone to their death!”

“There’s actually such a bizarre matter! This younger brother is a newcomer to these parts might I ask big brother to enlighten me?” Jinyou turned his body sideways, making it obvious that he was deeply interested in the inside story. Seeing that someone was still unaware of the affair, the plump guest immediately opened the floodgates of conversation. “Hah, no need to stand on ceremony. My name is Wang Ben, and I run a spice business right here in the city. Who in Liucheng doesn’t know about the Liu family’s affairs? It’s simply because that farm girl was willing to marry. I heard she has a severely ill elderly mother and a three-year-old younger brother at home; the Liu family must have promised them a fair bit of benefits.”

Addressing him as “Big Brother Wang,” Jinyou managed to fish out a great deal of information within a very short span of time.

As it turned out, Liu Chengmian’s first marriage had taken place three years prior, but due to the bride’s sudden and tragic death, no one else was willing to marry into the family for a long time. It wasn’t until a year later, when the incident had gradually faded from people’s memories, that the Liu family began looking into eligible young women once again. As fate would have it, the match fell upon Wang Ben’s niece, Wang Wan.

“That cousin of mine was an only daughter, usually well-read, sensible, and exceptionally well-behaved. Who would have thought that after meeting him once during the Lantern Festival, she went back and forth until she stubbornly insisted on marrying Liu Chengmian, completely bewitched by whatever spell that fellow cast! It’s just that my elder sister and brother-in-law adored her dearly, and failing to sway her, they let her marry anyway. And yet… sigh, better not speak of it!” After taking a sip of tea, Wang Ben continued with a somewhat desolate expression, “Later on, unable to bear the blow, my sister and brother-in-law liquidated their pawnshop in the city and moved back to their hometown.”

With this connection in place, it was no wonder Wang Ben looked at the Liu father and son with utter disdain. Jinyou closed his folding fan and walked back to Yan Baichuan’s side with a thoughtful expression.

Lingyun sat cross-legged in an ungraceful posture, picking at the osmanthus cakes on a plate while relying on her exceptional hearing to eavesdrop on Jinyou’s conversation. With a touch of lament, she remarked, “Ah, what talented scholars and beautiful maidens, evening strolls amid lanterns such lovely affairs only ever exist in storybooks. But if placed upon real living people, they’d inevitably be branded as having illicit affections and lacking propriety.”

Ying Chuang also took a bite of an osmanthus cake, finding it completely tasteless and bland. Hearing Lingyun’s words, he looked somewhat dazed, yet also stirred with anticipation. “Four-scented… beast meat? What kind of beast meat is that? Is it tastier than roasted chicken?”

“Sigh”

Lingyun let out a long sigh and slumped limply against her chair, her sitting posture looking even more unsightly.

“Hush, it’s starting.”

Liu Chengmian and the bride drew close to the main hall, where Liu Yingfeng sat in the seat of honor.

“First bow to Heaven and Earth”

“Second bow to the high ancestors”

“Bride and groom… bow to each other”

Just when everyone thought everything was going smoothly, a gust of wind suddenly rose out of nowhere, sweeping through the front hall right at the moment of the “bow to each other.” Every guest inexplicably felt a chill rising from the depths of their souls and shivered, while the emcee’s voice faltered slightly with hesitation, though he gritted his teeth and finished shouting the final phrase.

Yan Baichuan and Jinyou exchanged glances. Just now, during the mutual bow, what flashed beneath the bride’s oversized wedding robes was undeniably a pair of slender, fair, and delicate hands.

Completely oblivious to this, Liu Chengmian took the bride’s hand which had once again reverted to a rough texture and considered the ceremony completed.

While the groom went about toasting the tables, the four of them, Yan Baichuan, Jinyou, Lingyun, and Ying Chuang evaded the guests and servants, quietly making their way toward the bridal chamber. As they reached the central courtyard, the sound of the wind suddenly picked up around them, and the surrounding red candles flickered with a dim, ominous glow against the howling wind, tightening everyone’s nerves.

“Ah!”

Accompanied by a shrill scream, a figure came bolting out from inside the room. Recognizing the person as Liu Chengmian’s young attendant, A-Nian, Yan Baichuan stepped sideways to block his path and intercepted him. “What happened inside?”

A-Nian’s face was as pale as paper, and like a drowning man, he struggled to draw heavy breaths. “Ghosts… there are ghosts inside! She’s come to exact her revenge, she’s come to exact her revenge!”

With that, A-Nian tried to bolt away, but Yan Baichuan grabbed him by the back collar. “State your business clearly, or else I’ll send you right back inside to keep the ghosts company.”

A-Nian looked on the verge of tears. Was there anyone else this overbearing? There were ghosts about, yet he wasn’t even allowed to run for his life! But seeing Yan Baichuan’s unyielding attitude, A-Nian forced himself to calm down and stammered in reply, “It’s… it’s a maidservant who used to be close to the young master, named Xin’er. A few years ago, the word outside was that she was married off, but actually… she died. I heard she died looking quite terrifying, and the master strictly forbids us from ever mentioning it.”

Yan Baichuan stepped aside, and A-Nian fled in a flurry of grateful kowtows.

Jinyou gazed at the Liu residence, which was rapidly transforming into a veritable haunted house, and sighed inwardly. Although he had long anticipated that the Liu father and son wouldn’t tell them the truth, failing to even inform them of the actual origin of the trouble was downright malicious trap-setting—no wonder Yan Baichuan had sensed from the start that Liu Chengmian’s wedding would bring unexpected changes.

Yan Baichuan walked at the front, his entire body enveloped in a chilling malevolence. Jinyou and Lingyun followed half a step behind him on either side, while Ying Chuang brought up the rear. They had barely taken three steps forward when two dark shadows broke through the air from the main quarters, only to be deflected away by Yan Baichuan with a flick of his blade. Glancing down at the ground, Yan Baichuan saw that they were precisely two black coffin nails the kind used during burials to seal a soul in place. This was the “warning” sent to them by the person A-Nian had called “Xin’er.”

These two black coffin nails were stained with dried blood; things had likely gone horribly wrong during the burial. Having always loathed these filthy, underhanded tricks, Jinyou raised his foot, intending to kick them aside, when two more projectiles whistled toward his ears. This time, they targeted his eyes, but were easily intercepted and blocked by a stream of water he summoned.

The relaxed expression vanished from Yan Baichuan’s face in an instant, his gaze turning fiercely ruthless as he stared at the bridal chamber not far away, his right hand unconsciously tightening around the hilt of Duanming. Seeing that he was brimming with malevolent aura and not someone to be trifled with, this ghost had instead chosen to target Jinyou—what a cowardly bully picking on the soft targets. Yan Baichuan’s patience was completely exhausted; the crimson blade of Duanming faintly flickered with a murderous intent, while a sudden gale whipped up fallen leaves, entirely obscuring everyone’s vision.

Tugging strands of hair that had blown into her mouth out of the way, Lingyun spat in annoyance and formed a hand seal with her right hand, freezing all the swirling fallen leaves into ice.

“Pfui! Do you have any idea how hard it is to maintain this hair?!” Pulling out a bagua mirror to carefully inspect her pitch-black, glossy locks, Lingyun turned around only to find Yan Baichuan staring with a gloomy expression at a fifth coffin nail embedded in the ground.

“Jinyou is gone.”

When the violent gale struck, Jinyou had also been blinded by the swirling leaves, and amidst the chaos, he instinctively cast out a stream of water in the direction from which the coffin nails had flown. Yet when he lowered his sleeve, he discovered that his surroundings had completely changed.

The courtyard was still the courtyard of the Liu residence, but the season had shifted entirely. The trees no longer bore withered, yellow leaves; instead, they were laden with freshly bloomed peach blossoms, looking exceedingly picturesque in the breeze. Walking a couple of steps around the room, Jinyou carefully examined the interior furnishings.

A set of tea ware sat upon the tea table in the room. Picking it up for a closer inspection, Jinyou saw that it was merely an ordinary teapot, hardly precious. On the other hand, the incense burning within the room was of a rather high-grade variety, blending a sweet fragrance with unadorned elegance unmistakably the quarters of a woman.

Having never set foot inside a woman’s bedchamber before, Jinyou hesitated for a moment before stepping inside. He needed to break this illusionary realm as quickly as possible, and there was no telling what Yan Baichuan and the others were encountering outside.

The bedchamber had clearly been meticulously tidied up. Jinyou opened the wardrobe; most of the garments inside were made of ordinary cotton cloth, yet one or two items incorporated silk in less conspicuous areas, carefully tucked away by the owner.

Jinyou had already guessed that the owner of this room was likely Xin’er. Judging by the style of the clothing, this maidservant named Xin’er probably enjoyed considerable favor within the household, coupled with a certain degree of shrewdness. Those silk pieces were likely gifts from Liu Chengmian, yet Xin’er hadn’t gone so far as to fashion them into full garments; instead, she utilized them only in inconspicuous places thus signaling her affections without inviting envy, demonstrating a clear understanding that towering trees attract the wind.

Before long, sparing Jinyou any further guesswork, everything played out to confirm his assumptions.

“Sister Xin’er, Young Master’s Shoushan stone seal is missing, and he’s looking all over for you to help find it. Come along with me quickly!”

A young maidservant led “Jinyou” into Liu Chengmian’s study. Liu Chengmian waved the young maidservant away, leaving only the two of them behind, before speaking in a voice laden with tenderness and affection, showing not a shred of anxiety over a lost seal: “Xin’er, why aren’t you wearing the fabric I gave you? That color suits you much better.”

Jinyou wanted to open his mouth to offer a sarcastic sneer, only to find that his body seemed entirely beyond his own control: “Silk is expensive; being too conspicuous isn’t good.”

Liu Chengmian chuckled softly. “It’s merely a bolt of fabric; how could it ever compare to you?”

“Xin’er” lowered her head, concealing the delight blooming across her face. “Chengmian, when you promised after drinking last time that you would marry me, were you speaking the truth?”

A flash of aversion crossed Liu Chengmian’s eyes, though his expression grew even gentler on the surface. “It seems Xin’er is eager to become a bride.”

With a despondent tone, “Xin’er” replied, “As I grow older day by day, I yearn all the more for stability—for instance… becoming your wife.” Seeing that Liu Chengmian remained silent, “Xin’er” continued, “When I previously served the Mistress, she had once wished to find a good family for me to settle down with. Unfortunately, she passed away early, and that matter was left unfinished. Chengmian, why not fulfill the Mistress’s dying wish?”

Liu Chengmian reached out to brush away a stray lock of hair from Xin’er’s face, tracing the contours of her pretty features as he made a promise: “Since Xin’er wishes to be a bride just once, how could Chengmian possibly refuse?”

Unaware of the underlying reality, “Xin’er” felt her heart overflowing with sweetness.