Stepping in for the Heroine to Crush the Protagonist Group [Transmigration] - Chapter 10

[Author, how many more surprises do you have that I don’t know about?]

[Scummy male lead and scummy second male lead pairing up—I guess you can’t sleep in the same bed and wake up as two different people.]

[I’m dead. What kind of melodramatic plot twist is this?!]

[If Xie Qingyang weren’t mute, he’d be screaming his lungs out right now.]

[If He Shiqing weren’t blind, he’d be finding a hole to crawl into right now.]

[After leaving the Floating Life Pagoda, I wonder how these two will face each other.]

[They don’t want to face each other; they just want to die.]

[I can’t even think about it. My feet are already curling up three bedrooms and a living room out of embarrassment.]

…

Hu Li quietly scanned the book reviews swirling around Xie Qingyang’s and He Shiqing’s heads, suppressed her laughter, and stepped into the residence.

Inside, the hall was filled with guests. Everyone who saw Gu Sheng and Hu Li stood up to bow and offer congratulations, celebrating the union of their two families.

Hu Li and Gu Sheng stood side-by-side, returning the greetings all the way until they sat down in the main hall. Only then did the rigid smiles on their faces finally fade.

The wedding officiant was Shang Miaoyun. Hu Li clutched her forehead, watching the girl’s legs shaking like sieves, and couldn’t help but worry for her. Asking an anti-social person to officiate a wedding was comparable to the men’s soccer team making it to the World Cup.

“E-everyone, welcome.”

Shang Miaoyun, standing in the center of the hall, stammered out six words after a long struggle. Then, she bent over in a deep bow, her entire body beginning to tremble. She bit her lip, her hands tightly clutching her skirt fabric, knuckles white, clearly indicating extreme nervousness.

Seeing her like this, Hu Li felt a pang of pity. She wanted to persuade Gu Sheng to find someone else and not to pressure Shang Miaoyun.

But just as she was about to speak, Shang Miaoyun suddenly straightened up and fluidly began reciting the wedding procedures.

Hu Li: !!!

She looked at the sudden change in Shang Miaoyun, dumbfounded, unable to understand what had just happened.

Gu Sheng, sitting beside her, seemed to hear her thoughts and explained in a low voice, “Junior Sister Miaoyun is timid by nature, but when faced with a major event, she never holds back.”

Min Xiuhé, standing behind Gu Sheng, corrected her, “Miaomiao isn’t timid; she’s just a woman of few words.”

Hu Li remained silent, nodding robotically. After recovering her wits, she continued to watch He Shiqing lead Xie Qingyang through the wedding ceremony.

The rest of the process went smoothly. After bowing to Heaven and Earth, Xie Qingyang was escorted into the bridal chamber, dragged by Min Xiuhé and Shang Miaoyun on either side.

Later, after a few rounds of drinks and when most of the guests had dispersed, Hu Li and Gu Sheng helped lead He Shiqing into the bridal chamber as well.

In the bridal chamber, He Shiqing, the blind man, and Xie Qingyang, the mute, sat facing each other. The other four were dispersed throughout the room, secretly observing. Since nothing had gone wrong during the daytime, someone was definitely going to cause trouble in the bridal chamber once night fell, given its specific context.

Outside the house, the cold wind howled, striking the loosely latched window shutters, making a constant pat-pat-pat sound.

[Book reviews, protect me.]

[The late-night ghost story segment has started.]

[It’s 2 AM now. My feet don’t dare to leave the blanket.]

[My feet are strangely cold.]

[Ghost sighting.]

…

Under the bed, Hu Li scanned the book reviews flying around her, tugged on her robe to cover the “old cold leg” syndrome of this body, and continued to tuck her head in to observe the situation in secret.

Gu Sheng was hiding under the table opposite her, with only a pair of eyes and one hand peeking out from beneath the tablecloth.

After a long while, Gu Sheng suddenly signaled to Hu Li, indicating that someone had arrived. Hu Li nodded to her, tightened her grip on the candlestick she was holding, and waited quietly for the troublemaker to appear.

Da. Da. Da…

A sequence of irregular footsteps sounded. Then, with a creak, the room door was pushed open.

On the bed, He Shiqing, who was grappling with Xie Qingyang, stopped his hands when he heard the noise and asked warily, “Who is it?”

He had been in a state of blindness ever since entering this scenario game. But before entering the Floating Life Pagoda, he had intentionally bought a copy of the Floating Life Pagoda Records from the Black Market and studied it thoroughly. He knew that the guardian of the Third Floor was a lustful ghost who liked to use people’s selfish desires as bait to lure them into carefully crafted illusions. At this moment, having successfully married Gu Sheng, he should have triggered the crucial plot point.

Unfortunately, he was currently blind. To successfully subdue the lustful ghost, he needed to wait and see what happened.

The lustful ghost didn’t speak after entering the room, causing the atmosphere to fall into a deadly silence. Hu Li swallowed hard, staring intently at the pair of boots approaching her, her heart pounding like a drum.

When the wind blew earlier, she saw it: there were no legs inside those boots; they were suspended in the air.

This is going to kill me. Although she knew the arrival was undoubtedly the lustful ghost, experiencing something straight out of a horror story firsthand made her legs tremble uncontrollably.

Fortunately, the ghost’s target was Xie Qingyang, so she could hold out a little longer.

Under the bed, Hu Li still had time to mentally prepare herself, but the mute bride, Xie Qingyang, on the bed, was having a much harder time. His two hands were holding back He Shiqing’s restless hands, and his eyes were staring face-to-face at the lustful ghost, who had just lifted his veil. The expressions of both parties were a kaleidoscope of astonishment.

Xie Qingyang still couldn’t understand why, after leaving the Fourth Floor normally, he woke up to find himself the mute bride.

Equally confused was the lustful ghost. He scrutinized Xie Qingyang for a while, then a voice that sounded like it was ground on sandpaper rang out: “Eek! Why does this bride look so masculine?” His accent was unique, but it didn’t lessen the obvious critique of the mute bride’s appearance.

Xie Qingyang’s hands, grasping He Shiqing, paused, and his lips pressed into a thin line. He was clearly furious.

But then, He Shiqing interjected, “My wife is very beautiful. What nonsense are you spouting?”

This comment nearly made Xie Qingyang faint. He immediately disregarded his usual respect for He Shiqing and blocked the other man’s mouth with his foot.

The lustful ghost: …

He looked at the two of them. Faced with this incomprehensible scene, he was, for the first time, unable to take action.

[Lustful Ghost: Suffering a professional setback. Preparing to change careers.]

[Lustful Ghost: Meeting this mute bride is my fortune.]

[Lustful Ghost: This bride looks like she could pull up a weeping willow by the roots.]

[Lustful Ghost: I can’t do it. I simply can’t.]

[Lustful Ghost: Am I the terrifying one? No, it’s this mute bride.]

…

The book reviews were flying chaotically under the bed. Hu Li covered her mouth, trying not to let her laughter escape. Unexpectedly, she looked up and came face-to-face with a pair of glowing green eyes.

“Eek! Don’t suppress your laughter. The young couple isn’t moving, but the bed is shaking because of you,” the lustful ghost said, repeatedly shaking his index finger at Hu Li’s face.

Hu Li instinctively went cross-eyed. Then, realizing the ghost had spotted her, she immediately flipped over the bed and scrambled up the nearest pillar.

“Ghost! Ghoooost!!!” she screamed.

The movie ‘The Ring’ was too conservative. Looking at the ghost’s green face and exposed fangs, Hu Li genuinely felt like she was having a heart attack.

The ghost was startled by her scream too. He sat down between Xie Qingyang and He Shiqing, whining pitifully, “Eek! Why are you, an elder, so timid?”

Hu Li faced away from him, staying silent.

Gu Sheng, hiding under the table, saw the situation and helplessly revealed herself. She flew a plate of peanuts toward the lustful ghost and said coldly, “Send us out of the Third Floor.”

The ghost met her gaze, paused for a moment, ignoring her demand. Instead, he looked at Hu Li again and couldn’t help but sigh: “Eek! You two elders look really handsome, even handsomer than this bride.” He wondered if he was mistaken, but he genuinely felt that Hu Li and Gu Sheng looked more like young women.

But the roles in this illusion were assigned according to a person’s deepest desires. Logically, there shouldn’t be any gender swapping. Unless these two are men with feminine appearances.

Thinking this, the ghost found the situation plausible. Then, as his eyes met Xie Qingyang’s, he kindly reassured the ‘bride’: “Bride, it’s not your fault for being a bit masculine. You’re still beautiful!”

Xie Qingyang’s mouth twitched, his face clearly screaming, “Say one more word, I dare you.“

At the same time, He Shiqing, hearing the tone of Gu Sheng’s voice, sensed that something was wrong. He tentatively reached out to touch Xie Qingyang’s face, wanting to confirm his ominous suspicion.

The next second, he was knocked unconscious by a chop from the already furious Xie Qingyang.

The event happened too fast. The lustful ghost stared in astonishment at the bride, who revealed a strong arm. Frowning slightly, he blurted out, “Eek! She’s a shrew.”

Xie Qingyang: … My fists are hardening.

He stood up from the bed, grabbed the ghost’s neck, and prepared to fight him to the death.

But just then, Gu Sheng took the candlestick from Hu Li’s hand, suddenly walked next to the man and the ghost, and pressed the tip of the candlestick against the ghost’s neck.

“Send us out of the Third Floor,” she demanded.

The ghost and Xie Qingyang both froze, looking at Gu Sheng. The ghost then swiftly snapped his fingers near Xie Qingyang’s ear, causing him to slump unconscious onto He Shiqing.

“You want to leave the Third Floor? No,” the ghost said, twisting his neck. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring straight up at Gu Sheng.

Hearing this, Gu Sheng’s hand, hidden behind her back, signaled to Shang Miaoyun, who was peeking out of the wardrobe, and then stepped aside, clearing a space.

Shang Miaoyun understood. She pushed the wardrobe door open and flashed in front of the ghost in a few steps, throwing a Binding Talisman.

Immediately after, Min Xiuhé, who was hiding on the roof beam, jumped down and pressed a Ghost-Dissolving Talisman, which she held between her jade fingers, onto the ghost’s face.

In this illusion, they had no spiritual power or artifacts; the only things they could utilize were talismans.

Unexpectedly, the ghost merely sneered at the talismans, and the two papers instantly dissolved into smoke.

“Eek! Why did you all rush out so eagerly? I was going to pull you out one by one!” he said unhurriedly. The next moment, a red rope flew out from his sleeve, and in just a few breaths, it tied all four of them up like dumplings.

He had sensed the presence of all four of them the moment they entered the bridal chamber. He had wanted to play with them a little longer, but he hadn’t expected them to be so impulsive and pop out all at once.

Hu Li was closest to the ghost. She tightly closed her eyes. With the only finger she could move, she pointed at Xie Qingyang and negotiated with the ghost: “Brother, catching one bride is enough. How about you let us rough old men go?” She figured no matter how perverse the ghost’s tastes were, he wouldn’t be interested in old men, especially in the cultivation world where old men didn’t have any benefits to offer.

But the ghost merely smiled at her words and said directly, “Only children make choices. I’ll take them all.”

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