Starting Out With a “Perfect Wife” Trial Card (Transmigration Into a Novel) - Chapter 2

Jin Banwei felt that a wife should be a choice made from the heart, not a gift given like a game, yet the System opened its mouth as if to tempt her.

【Because you are currently in a supernatural novel, the Host using this card might acquire a powerful Ghost King as a wife, or perhaps a formidable Ghost Catcher. This will be determined by the draw result. Host can rest assured that no matter her strength, she will be completely obedient to the Host and protect the Host.】

Jin Banwei wasn’t interested in the System’s promise of obedience; only the word ‘protect’ caught her attention.

Currently, Jin Banwei urgently needed a way to save her life. Without Kindred Spirit Points to draw a prize, the only thing she could use was this one Perfect Wife Experience Card.

But the idea of the System gifting a wife was simply too absurd.

Jin Banwei had never been in a relationship, but she had dreamed of beautiful, romantic love. Her ideal wife would be a kind and gentle person. They would meet at the right time and slowly develop feelings for each other through their interactions, not have their emotions controlled by a system.

She pouted, her grip tightening on the card in her hand: “Aren’t you the Kindred Spirit System? If you’re doing good deeds, how can you manipulate someone else’s feelings.”

The Kindred Spirit System seemed unable to read her inner thoughts. It only answered when Jin Banwei asked, but it answered every question.

【The Kindred Spirit System only forges good connections. Therefore, no matter what the Host draws, the System will perform a screening and select someone with an emotional deficiency who is not resistant to the System’s arrangement to come here and tie the Red Thread of Fate with the Host. The Red Thread of Fate will not affect the Host, it will only affect the wife the Host draws.】

The System’s explanation was very clear, and it didn’t violate the definition of the Kindred Spirit  System. However, Jin Banwei couldn’t understand how a conscious person, or a soul’s emotions, could be so deficient that they would comply with a machine’s arrangements.

She herself didn’t want this. Although the System said the Red Thread of Fate wouldn’t affect her emotions, Jin Banwei was a relatively kind person. If the System really brought her a wife, the one who was utterly obedient to her, her conscience wouldn’t allow it.

Jin Banwei put the card back into her pocket, dismissing the idea of using it. She looked up at the ceiling again. The wall skin, already completely stained blood-red, seemed about to peel off. The pair of ghostly hands hadn’t stopped, and the force of their pounding grew heavier and heavier.

That high-hanging ceiling was actually beginning to sink, drawing closer and closer to Jin Banwei.

If she let it continue to drop, it would crush Jin Banwei sooner or later.

Jin Banwei nervously swallowed her bitter saliva. The protagonist of the novel later changed her attitude towards ghosts and slowly began to try talking to them instead of instantly scattering their souls.

According to the setting, everything in the world has a soul, whether human or animal.

After humans and animals die, they may linger in the world due to overwhelming resentment or unfulfilled wishes, thus becoming ghosts. As the time they linger increases, some ghosts are influenced by their own resentment and environment, turning into malicious spirits that harm the living. However, most are merely lingering, restless souls unable to find peace and reincarnate.

Since she was now bound to the Kindred Spirit System and had arrived in the world of a supernatural novel, she would certainly have to deal with ghosts in the future. Even if she was afraid of them, she had to slowly learn to overcome it. Since the card couldn’t be used, the only path left was to accumulate Kindred Spirit Points for a prize draw.

There were quite a few ghosts in this room. If she was lucky enough to accumulate enough Kindred Spirit Points for a draw before dark and got some good equipment, she wouldn’t have to fear that Nightmare Demon.

Jin Banwei reviewed the origin of ghosts and the female protagonist’s later approach to comforting them in her mind, constantly working on herself, and finally mustered her courage.

Her back pressed tightly against the wall closest to the sunlight, she took a deep breath and asked towards the ceiling: “Um, do you… have some unfulfilled wish?”

Jin Banwei didn’t get a response. She anxiously clenched her fingers and directed her gaze towards the dolls in the corner: “Do you… do you have any wishes?”

Still, no ghost responded.

Jin Banwei’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.

She had been foolish. These ghosts were trapped here by the Nightmare Demon, so naturally, their souls were restricted by it, including their voices being sealed off. Otherwise, such a gathering of ghosts would have surely alerted the Ghost Catchers long ago.

They couldn’t respond to Jin Banwei.

Just as Jin Banwei felt utterly disappointed, a sudden, violent noise came from above her head. She slowly looked up, and a pair of pitch-black hands tore through the ceiling, reaching toward her, accompanied by a low, sinister laugh: “Heheheh, my wish, of course, is to eat you! Your soul smells so fragrant! So fragrant!”

“Hiss.” Jin Banwei’s throat was seized, the sharp claws piercing her skin, and bright red blood dripped down her neck.

Jin Banwei’s consciousness began to fade. The watery blur caused by the pain obscured her vision, and her eyelids grew heavy. Her survival instinct urged her to feel for the card in her pajama pocket. As her fingers constantly rubbed the card, her fingertip gradually felt heat, and the System’s prompt sounded in her ear.

【Ding! Host has activated the Perfect Wife Experience Card. Beginning wife-type draw now.】

【Ding! Congratulations to the Host for drawing the Ghost Wife. The Ghost Wife has too much Yin energy. Prolonged proximity to the Host may affect the Host’s health. Considering the Host’s body, the System now asks the Host to begin weaving a physical body for the Ghost Wife.】

“…”

She couldn’t move at all right now!

Before Jin Banwei could voice her complaint, she suddenly felt a chill rise from her back. The coldness spread, permeating every inch of her skin. Her tired eyelids regained their energy, and Jin Banwei’s lowered gaze snapped open, her bright eyes once again taking in the layout of the room.

Where was the black hand? There was no blood on her neck.

A… hallucination?

Jin Banwei looked up at the ceiling again. There were no signs of tearing, only the sound of constant pounding on the wall.

She touched her neck. Besides a slightly cool sensation, there was no bloody residue.

Jin Banwei felt a little relieved, but the Perfect Wife Experience Card in her pocket had truly been used.

In Jin Banwei’s palm, bamboo slips and scraps of silk cloth appeared out of thin air, along with a golden-glowing red thread that wrapped around her wrist. Information related to the art of papercrafting (Zhizhashu) surfaced in her mind.

The methods for dealing with ghosts in the world vary, and this papercraft art is one such method. Objects crafted by a Papercraft Master can ward off evil. Paper figurines, when marked with a person’s birth details and stained with human blood, can serve as a substitute to ward off ghosts. A skilled Papercraft Master can even bind malevolent spirits into paper figures for their own use.

Small figures crafted from bamboo slips and scraps of cloth, when stained with one’s own fresh blood, can summon a soul. The ghost is then drawn into the paper figure for the master’s use. The greater the master’s skill, the more powerful the ghost the paper figure can contain.

What Jin Banwei needed to do now was not to trap a ghost, but merely to craft a body for the Ghost Wife that could block the excess Yin energy. Yet, this was extremely difficult for Jin Banwei, who had no prior experience.

Perhaps if she couldn’t craft the paper figure, the Ghost Wife wouldn’t come.

Jin Banwei held onto this faint hope, but she quickly discovered that her hands began to move on their own. The scraps of cloth and bamboo slips danced between her fingers, rapidly transforming into a human shape.

Looking at the gradually forming paper figure, guilt welled up in Jin Banwei’s heart: “Don’t worry, once I save up enough Kindred Spirit Points, I will definitely draw a powerful artifact to set you free. When that happens, I’ll burn you lots of paper money as compensation!”

【Host does not need to feel such guilt. The Experience Card is only valid for ten days. Even if the Host develops feelings for the Ghost Wife during these ten days, the System will still release the Ghost Wife.】

Jin Banwei nearly bit her tongue: “Why didn’t you say so earlier!”

【The Host did not ask.】

Jin Banwei’s initial observation was correct: the Kindred Spirit System truly could not read her thoughts. The System could project sound into her mind, but only when Jin Banwei spoke aloud, just like a normal conversation, could the System hear her voice.

That was good, otherwise, she would feel like she had no privacy at all.

Hearing the System say the Experience Card was only valid for ten days, the guilt in Jin Banwei’s heart lessened considerably. She had thought she was permanently binding a soul’s freedom.

However, Jin Banwei thought the System was overthinking it.

Falling in love with a ghost in such a short period of ten days was preposterous. She had lived for twenty years in her previous life and hadn’t fallen in love with anyone.

She was a decent person; she certainly wouldn’t cross any lines during these ten days. Jin Banwei had already decided: she would use the protection of the Ghost King to accumulate as many Kindred Spirit Points as possible, and once the time was up, she would set the Ghost King free. She could burn plenty of paper money as a reward. If her Kindred Spirit Points were sufficient, she could even draw some treasures that would increase her cultivation as repayment.

But what if the Ghost King woke up after ten days, was unhappy about having her emotions manipulated, turned against her, and tried to kill her?

Jin Banwei’s guilt vanished, replaced by a touch of panic.

As the paper figure gradually took shape, the chaotic and eerie sounds in the room slowly began to weaken, becoming softer and softer. Jin Banwei’s ears finally found peace, but her fingertips grew increasingly cold.

The scraps of cloth her palm touched gradually lost their soft texture, becoming stiff and hard to bend. The subsequent steps became increasingly difficult, and the bamboo slips were harder to control.

The sound from the ceiling stopped, but suddenly, a more terrifying noise came from behind her. Jin Banwei spun her head around to look, and the plush dolls huddled in the corner had actually stood up, taking small, short-legged steps towards her. However, because they were trapped by the Nightmare Demon, their movement was extremely difficult; with every half-step they took, the bloody color on their fur deepened.

Although they all bore the faces of plush dolls, Jin Banwei could feel the intense suffering of the dolls’ souls forcibly breaking free from the Nightmare Demon’s bondage. The reason for their action seemed to be the nascent paper figure in Jin Banwei’s hands.

Though controlled by the Nightmare Demon’s power, they also sensed the arrival of a greater danger. They wanted to prevent the paper figure from being completed.

Jin Banwei would not pity a ghost that might end her life. Her hands moved faster. Her grip on the bamboo slip became momentarily unsteady, and the bamboo slip cut her palm.

The fresh blood flowing from her palm dyed the scraps of cloth red. The stiff and hard-to-bend cloth and bamboo slips softened again. Jin Banwei’s hands moved faster and faster, blurring into multiple images.

In a short while, the paper figure was complete.

The dolls lost all hope of struggling and instantly fell back to their original spots.

The completed paper figure wasn’t large, only about a foot tall, but the craftsmanship was incredibly delicate. Jin Banwei could hardly believe she had made it, even the texture of the clothes was clear. The only flaw was the lack of a brush and paint; the paper figure had no face.

Just then, Jin Banwei felt a cool breeze pass her ear, and a cloud of red mist appeared before her eyes. The red mist burrowed into the paper figure, and the figure actually began to grow eyebrows and eyes, generating a face right before Jin Banwei’s eyes…

The face was exquisitely beautiful, and the eyes were bright and expressive, seeming as if they might come to life. The clothes on the paper figure gradually gained color, no longer just the areas stained by Jin Banwei’s blood.

The red mist grew denser, and the paper figure floated up before Jin Banwei. When the red mist dissipated, there was no paper figure; instead, a beauty of her own height stood before her.

She was very pale, unnaturally so, with faint, pale-blue veins easily visible beneath her skin. Her neck was long, delicate, and fair, with only a small hint of blood-red blush near her collarbone on her pristine skin, adding a touch of color to the pure white, delicate flower.

She wore a deep-red bridal dress. Golden hairpins adorned her neatly coiled hair, and her eyes were closed, her long, thick lashes gently fluttering. Her beautiful face looked quiet and gentle.

She was here to marry her.

If the oil lamp in the room were replaced with red candles, it would be more fitting. In her mind’s eye, it was as if she saw the scene of red candles illuminating the beauty’s jade-like skin, a slender finger parting her robes, revealing fragrant, jade-like bones.

As soon as the thought arose, Jin Banwei quickly bit her tongue to force herself to clear her mind. She was actually having romantic fantasies about a ghost.

But… she was truly beautiful.

Though her eyes were still closed, Jin Banwei could already imagine the gentle, flowing affection in them.

“Hmm?” A light, questioning murmur escaped the beauty’s lips. She slowly opened her eyes, and a ripple of water gently spread across their surface. The other end of the red thread tied to Jin Banwei’s wrist wrapped itself around the beauty’s wrist.

The beauty’s brow lifted slightly, and her fingers soundlessly pinched the encroaching red thread. A faint red glow surfaced on her fingertip, the thread snapped at her touch, and vanished before their eyes.

Jin Banwei didn’t notice that the Red Thread of Fate had been broken before it vanished. She stared intently at those shimmering eyes, focused on the gentle light within them.

Her features were clearly refined, and her eyes were inherently gentle, yet they also held an indescribable charm, a seductive allure that no painting could capture. With a gentle blink, there was a sense of enchantment.

The beauty looked back at her, her red lips parting slightly: “Husband.”

Jin Banwei’s breath caught, and two patches of red flew onto her cheeks…

Support Starting Out With a “Perfect Wife” Trial Card (Transmigration Into a Novel)