The Sickly Beauty Haunted by a Gloomy Male Ghost - Chapter 2

Even as his fragile throat was being crushed, leaving him a single step away from death, Bai Weixue’s voice remained soft and gentle, though laced with a suppressed tremor of pain.

The thick, metallic taste of blood spread through his mouth. He murmured the word “Groom” with an unsettling intimacy, all while digging his nails into his palms to keep himself from gagging in disgust.

Cold sweat drenched his ink-black lashes. The sensation of suffocation hadn’t vanished, yet he acted as if nothing were wrong, even curling his damp eyes into a smile at the malevolent spirit.

The blood talisman had failed.

However, that terrifying force hesitated, refusing to tighten further.

Although he couldn’t discern the ghost’s features, Bai Weixue was certain the entity was staring at him.

Sure enough, a second later, the eerie, icy black mist slowly retreated from his neck, shifting instead to grip his chin.

The oily mist tightened, feeling as though it might crush his bones. At the same time, a stiff, distorted voice drifted from above: “Don’t play tricks.”

Bai Weixue wanted to laugh, and he did. A shallow dimple appeared, and the mist pressing against his cheek sank slightly into the soft flesh.

The smile pulled at his wounds, bringing a surge of sharp pain, and he coughed up another mouthful of blood.

Using his fingertip to pick up a smear of fresh blood, Bai Weixue held it up before the ghost’s eyes, his expression half-smiling. “With this?”

The ghost remained silent, but the frost lingering in the air gradually receded. Bai Weixue knew the entity’s patience was wearing thin, and he had no desire to dawdle. He tilted his chin up slightly. “Help me sit up.”

As he moved, his pale neck tilted back, revealing startling purple bruise marks from the strangulation. Although he hadn’t been killed, his body had suffered a severe blow. With his current strength, he couldn’t even manage to rise on his own.

The ghost clearly realized this as well. The dense black mist surged beneath Bai Weixue, propping up his upper body against the coffin wall. His golden hair fell loosely, obscuring his eyes. Compared to the pitch-black coffin, his face was so pale it was frightening.

As the mist scattered, Bai Weixue looked down, his expression thoughtful.

To require so many blood talismans for suppression, this was clearly no ordinary vengeful spirit. Judging by the dust on the coffin, the entity had been trapped here for a long time, and its power was severely depleted. Otherwise, his single blood talisman wouldn’t have been able to restrain it.

It was evident that the ghost currently lacked the ability to escape the coffin. The restriction lay within the coffin itself, not the lid, or else it would have escaped during the “wedding night” instead of waiting until now.

The ghost was naturally suspicious. A few words weren’t nearly enough to win its trust. The reason it had let him go so easily, aside from Bai Weixue being too weak to be a threat, was likely because its situation couldn’t get any worse.

If that was the case, why did the villagers send it a bride?

Bai Weixue hid his thoughts and pulled a yellow talisman from his robe. He bit his middle finger and emotionlessly smeared it with blood. He hadn’t lied to the ghost, he truly did have a way to help it escape.

In the original owner’s memories, there was a spell called the “Mandarin Duck Covenant.” This wasn’t exactly a proper spell, it was mostly used between the sheets to add spice to a couple’s life.

Ecstatic, ethereal, intoxicated, bone-melting… these were the descriptions given by those who used it.

However, there was one detail they remained tight-lipped about: once the Mandarin Duck Covenant was activated, the souls of the two parties would be forcibly bound together across time and space. Unless one side died and their soul dissipated, the two would be inseparable for all their lives, just like a pair of mandarin ducks.

Thus, only couples who were deeply in love and devoted unto death would ever enter such a pact.

Bai Weixue intended to use this very point to break the spatial restrictions and pull the ghost out of the coffin.

To prevent either side from suddenly backing out, the covenant had a specific activation condition. Only once activated could the ghost truly leave the coffin.

Bai Weixue had considered pulling a bait-and-switch to sign a slavery contract instead, but unfortunately, there was no such thing in the original owner’s memory. Furthermore, the ghost was extremely paranoid. Trying to trick it under such close scrutiny wouldn’t be easy.

Finally, the talisman was finished. Bai Weixue’s face grew even paler. He blinked his amber eyes and shook the paper between his fingers toward the ghost. “Remember our agreement?”

The viscous black mist surged toward him, greedily coiling around his fingertips, even filling the gaps between his fingers. The ghost stared at Bai Weixue, its blurred features shifting as if pulling into a smirk. “Naturally.”

Bai Weixue let his lips curl. He loosened his grip, letting the thin paper flutter in the air. Before it could hit the ground, the black mist scrambled to snatch it, landing it squarely in the ghost’s palm.

The yellow talisman flashed with a red light that grew dimmer and dimmer until it was extinguished by the darkness. Simultaneously, a faint bird-shaped brand appeared on the necks of both Bai Weixue and the ghost. Bai Weixue’s nerves were pulled taut, so he didn’t pay much attention to this minor detail.

“Once I get out, you’ll be free,” Bai Weixue said, looking at the ghost. Even in the dark, his beautiful eyes shone brightly. “Isn’t it time to fulfill your promise?”

The ghost’s face was hidden within the mist. After a long silence, a voice finally drifted out: “…Indeed.”

As the words fell, the humanoid shape of the mist suddenly dissolved. The thick, icy fog rolled toward the figure in bright red like a tidal wave. A cold, clammy sensation brushed against Bai Weixue’s ankles and wound its way upward, gradually forming a new “person” in front of him.

A terrifying, chilling aura pressed against him. Bai Weixue was reminded of the suffocating feeling of having his throat crushed. He watched coldly as the ghost slowly leaned down, whispering in his ear in an intimate posture: “Do you need my help?”

The icy breath slithered into his ear like a snake. Bai Weixue tilted his head uncomfortably. However, he still nodded. After all, the ghost was right, he was in a lot of pain and couldn’t climb out of the coffin on his own.

Even though he had given an affirmative answer, the expected sensation of being lifted by the mist didn’t happen. Bai Weixue frowned. A strand of cold, slimy mist slid across his cheek. His lashes trembled, and a bad omen suddenly rose in his heart.

In the next second, the ghost’s low, raspy voice rang in his ear:

“Tell me, do you think there’s a trap outside?”

His chin was gripped, and Bai Weixue was forced to look up, revealing a face that was cold and aloof, yet tantalizingly attractive.

His short golden hair merged with the thick black mist, and his face was cupped by the ghost, sinking into the dense ghostly aura. He looked like a patch of snow falling into an abyss, pure and white, tempting the abyss to covet and defile it.

Bai Weixue said coldly, “What do you mean?”

His red lips parted and closed, and his soft tongue was faintly visible behind his snowy teeth. The black mist lurking in the shadows grew restless. The ghost’s voice, full of malice, sounded in his ear: “I only just realized my bride is so beautiful.”

“I can’t bear to let you go.”

Hearing this, Bai Weixue’s pupils shrank, and his mind instantly snapped to high alert. He understood the ghost’s intention immediately.

It wanted to kill him and then possess his body!

The ghost was sinister and cunning, it hadn’t trusted him from the start. It made sense, it had been trapped here for so long, and suddenly a bride appeared who could help it escape, it was suspicious no matter how you looked at it. The coffin trapped it, but couldn’t hurt it further. Going outside was a different story.

Since its strength was so depleted, if there really was a trap outside, rather than letting Bai Weixue go freely, it was better to kill him, devour his soul, and then wear his skin to take his place. That would offer a better chance at survival.

“Thud!”

He was grabbed by the neck and slammed against the coffin wall, letting out a muffled groan.

The ghost looked down at him from above. Bai Weixue wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but the entity’s features seemed clearer. He felt as if he could see a pair of bloodthirsty, crazed eyes steeped in malice through the mist.

Cold, murky, the gaze was like a venomous snake ready to strike at any moment.

Transmigrating as a bride for an evil ghost was unlucky enough, but having to play the role of the farmer bitten by the snake made Bai Weixue very unhappy.

Moreover, there was no trap, he was a victim of this setup too!

The ghost watched those beautiful eyes slowly grow dim, and the smirk on its face widened. The skin beneath its palm was warm and delicate, the pulse thrumming with vibrant life. It was getting impatient.

Impatient to kill him,

Impatient to wear this skin,

Impatient to escape,

Impatient to.

Suddenly, the ghost’s movements froze.

The smile vanished instantly, its expression darkening into something terrifyingly grim.

It slowly lowered its head to look at its palm, its killing intent so thick it felt tangible.

In its palm, the beautiful bride was gone.

In his place was a small, exquisite red embroidered shoe.

A yellow talisman was stuck to the shoe, and the crooked characters on it looked like a row of laughing faces, all grinning up at it.

The ghost whipped its head up. Through the gap in the coffin lid, it saw an identical laughing face. The bride’s beautiful face wore a wide grin, mocking it.

Before the coffin lid slammed shut completely, the ghost stared at those lips. He watched those two red lips part and close, elegantly spitting out four words:

“In. Your. Dreams.”

The Farmer and the Snake?

Not a chance.

As his racing heart slowly calmed, pain and exhaustion rushed in to claim him. Bai Weixue tore off the displacement talisman stuck to his back, his expression looking somewhat withered.

If he hadn’t had the foresight to stick a displacement talisman on the red shoe he’d taken off, he would have been finished this time.

The yin energy inside the coffin was heavy, so ordinary talismans were useless, he had to draw one on the spot using his blood. The ghost was ruthless, and any slip-up would result in death. The Mandarin Duck Covenant was merely a tool he used to distract the ghost so he could finish drawing the real talisman.

After all, the Mandarin Duck Covenant had only one activation condition: the “entwining of necks.”

The ghost hadn’t even manifested a physical body, he couldn’t even touch it, let alone entwine necks.

So, from the very beginning, he never intended to take the ghost out. A venomous snake like that deserved to rot in its coffin.

Bai Weixue’s eyelids grew heavier. He scanned his surroundings and found himself in an abandoned ancestral hall.

Yellowed spirit money was scattered across the floor, the incense burner was covered in a layer of reddish-brown rust, and the white candles were draped in spiderwebs. In the corner, a plump gray rat scurried by.

Looking around, the top of the coffin was actually the only place he could manage to lie down. Bai Weixue’s vision went dark, and he closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

…

So cold.

The chill turned into sharp needles, piercing deep into his marrow.

The shadow of nearly being strangled clung to him like a curse. He felt as though his throat were being squeezed again, and the sensation of the grip tightening felt frighteningly real.

Bai Weixue jolted awake, looking around warily.

But the coffin lid was tightly shut, and he was still lying safely on top of it. Nothing had changed.

“It really was a dream.”

Bai Weixue blinked his sleepy eyes and peacefully rolled over.

The rise and fall of his chest gradually became soft and rhythmic. Further up was a neck as delicate as white porcelain.

Overlapping the terrifying purple finger marks, several fresh, bright red choke marks had appeared at some point, standing out in a startling, vivid contrast.

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