The Sickly Beauty Haunted by a Gloomy Male Ghost - Chapter 3

Bai Weixue woke up.

His entire body ached, his neck was bruised a deep purple, and even swallowing felt incredibly difficult. The chill from the coffin had seeped into his marrow, leaving him cold as a block of ice, his fingers so stiff he could barely bend them.

He was still wearing the red bridal gown, but he only had one embroidered shoe left on his feet. It wasn’t hard to guess where the other one had gone.

Bai Weixue stared at the coffin lid, his expression blank. If looks could kill, the malevolent spirit trapped inside would have died ten thousand times over by now.

He pushed himself up and climbed out of the coffin. The moment his feet hit the ground, he let out a sharp hiss of pain, doubled over, and slowly slid down against the side of the coffin.

With stiff, clumsy fingers, he rolled up his trouser leg to reveal an ankle. As his gaze drifted down, his brow furrowed instantly.

A ring of purplish-black bruising had appeared abruptly on his jade-like ankle. It looked like a crack in fine jewelry, possessing a certain shattered, tragic beauty.

When did this happen? He had no memory of it.

Just then, footsteps echoed from outside the ancestral hall. A moment later, the heavy doors were pushed open, and a biting, freezing wind swept inside.

He looked up warily at the group of villagers who had entered.

Leading them was an old man with a face full of deep wrinkles. He stood with a hunched back, looking at Bai Weixue with a paternal air, reaching out a hand as rough as old tree bark. “Don’t be afraid, child, we won’t hurt you.”

Bai Weixue shook his head in refusal, supporting himself against the coffin as he slowly stood up on his own.

Despite the intense pain wracking his body, his face remained stoic. He simply asked, “Where am I?”

The old man tremulously withdrew his hand, his cloudy gaze falling on the bruised marks on the youth’s neck. He spoke slowly, “This is Yinsi Village, and I am the village chief. It was heaven’s will that brought you here, you are the bride chosen to be offered to Him.”

Seeing that Bai Weixue remained silent, the chief continued, “He is very pleased with you. From today on, you belong to Yinsi Village. As long as you stay here obediently, we will treat you well.”

Bai Weixue still didn’t say a word.

The chief didn’t get angry. He smiled kindly, revealing sparse, yellowing teeth. “Oh, and about that friend of yours… while we don’t usually welcome outsiders, for His sake, he may stay as well.”

Bai Weixue’s gaze finally shifted, looking down to meet the chief’s murky eyes.

Finally, he curled his lips into a faint smile and said tonelessly, “Fine. Take me to see him.”

Yinsi Village sat in a low-lying mountain basin, surrounded by peaks on three sides with rugged, uneven terrain. Earthen houses were scattered across the landscape, looking like lonesome tombstones from a distance.

The sudden blizzard from the previous day had turned the already difficult dirt paths into a muddy swamp. A single walk was enough to coat shoes in a thick layer of muck, and that was even worse for Bai Weixue, who had left one shoe behind in the coffin.

As he followed the chief out of the hall, he looked down at his bare foot. “Is the wedding sedan still there?” he asked.

The chief turned his head. “It is. Why?”

Bai Weixue replied, “It’s not convenient for me to walk. Carry me back.”

The chief: “…”

His clouded eyes slowly rolled, landing on the shoeless foot. “What is this?”

Bai Weixue followed his gaze, then looked away as if it were nothing. “Oh, that. He likes me a bit too much and kept trying to leave marks on me. I was afraid it might hurt, so I gave Him a token of my affection.”

Yes, a literal “worn-out shoe.”

It was already cold outside the hall, but as he spoke, the temperature seemed to drop several more degrees. It felt as though the frost was rushing toward him, and Bai Weixue let out several sudden sneezes.

He frowned and urged, “Can we hurry up?”

The wrinkles around the chief’s eyes deepened. He turned his hunched frame toward the other villagers and barked an order, “Move it, be quick about it! Get the bride into the sedan and carry her back!”

And so, Bai Weixue sat in the wedding sedan, the villagers carried it, and the chief followed alongside as the procession made its way back into the heart of the village.

The sedan stopped in front of a dilapidated earthen house.

The red paint on the door was peeling, and a black bronze lock hung from the bolt. The chief pulled out a key and led the way.

As Bai Weixue stepped out of the sedan, before he could even reach the door, he heard a dog barking from inside.

“Woof! Woof woof! Woof!!”

A villager picked up a wooden club, intending to teach the animal a lesson for not recognizing its place, but Bai Weixue, walking up from behind, stopped him.

His pale face remained expressionless, his light-colored eyes staring directly at the man as he said coolly, “If you lose control of your strength and cause blood to be spilled during a wedding celebration, that wouldn’t be very good, would it?”

Spilling blood during a celebration was often seen as an ill omen, especially for a “grand wedding” involving Him. The villager clearly understood this. He grunted a few times, lowered the club, and kept a wary eye on the dog while letting Bai Weixue pass.

Strangely, as soon as Bai Weixue approached, the dog stopped barking and began to wag its tail happily.

The villager looked surprised. “This dog wandered into the village about half a month ago. Our village is remote and surrounded by mountains, so nobody knows where it came from. We thought about keeping it as a guard dog, but it was vicious to everyone. We were thinking of slaughtering it for meat in a few days, but it seems to have an affinity for you. Let it guard your door then.”

The big black dog wagged its tail vigorously. Bai Weixue’s gaze lingered on it for a few seconds before he looked away.

The dog’s tail immediately drooped, and it bared its teeth fiercely at the villager.

Inside the courtyard, the smell of damp earth hit him. Bai Weixue immediately noticed that one of the main rooms was locked.

Before he could speak, the chief handed him the key. As he reached for it, the chief held on, not letting go just yet. “Remember, you are now the bride of Yinsi Village. Do not harbor thoughts you shouldn’t have.”

Bai Weixue snatched the key away and said nonchalantly, “I know.”

Once the chief left, the mask of indifference vanished from Bai Weixue’s face, replaced by a heavy, somber frown.

He went forward to unlock the door, but before he could push it, it was pulled open from the inside. A delighted voice rang out, “Weixue?!”

Standing there was a young man in his early twenties with black hair and dark eyes. He wore glasses and had a refined, scholarly look.

This was his client, Wen Yu.

Wen Yu said urgently, “There’s something wrong with this village. I was knocked unconscious as soon as I arrived, and when I woke up, I was locked in here. I couldn’t get out. I’m so glad you’re back. How is it? Did you find Xiaoyu?”

His voice trailed off as he realized something was wrong with Bai Weixue.

The youth looked haggard. His blonde hair was flecked with blood, and he was dressed in a bizarre, crimson bridal gown. Looking further down, one foot wore an out-of-place embroidered shoe, while the other was covered only by a lonely white sock.

When Wen Yu saw the purple finger marks on his neck, his face filled with shock. “Weixue, you… what happened to you?”

Bai Weixue scanned the man quietly, searching for any signs of deception, but found none. He withdrew his gaze and stepped into the room. “Let’s talk inside.”

There was a round mirror in the room with a landscape film stuck to the back.

Bai Weixue stared at his reflection, his expression growing even more distant.

The youth in the mirror had cold, pale skin and a thin, beautiful frame. His phoenix-like eyes were upturned at the corners, carrying a cold and haughty gaze. His blonde hair fell messily over his forehead, partially obscuring his eyes and giving him a somewhat melancholy, world-weary aura.

Though, to be fair, he was feeling quite melancholy at the moment.

He had spent three years lying in a hospital bed, little more than a vegetable. He had thought that “transmigrating” would be a new lease on life, but he hadn’t expected to end up in the body of a sickly person with the same name.

This body coughed after three steps and gasped for air after five. To make matters worse, it had attracted a malevolent ghost and nearly died.

Bai Weixue hadn’t lived long enough in his past life, so he valued survival above all else. Even if he was a weakling now, he accepted it. Looking in the mirror, he saw that this face was identical to his original one, even the red mole on his earlobe was in the same spot. One of the few differences was that the original owner of this body had no ear piercings, whereas he did. Also, the original owner was blonde, while he had been black-haired. Bai Weixue never liked standing out, and the blonde hair felt too flashy and bright for his taste.

Beside him, Wen Yu bit his lip, apologizing guiltily, “I’m sorry, Weixue. I didn’t know it would be this dangerous.”

Bai Weixue suddenly turned his head. “How much was this job paying again?”

Wen Yu silently held up five fingers.

Bai Weixue’s eyes lit up. “Five hundred thousand?”

Wen Yu remained silent.

Bai Weixue’s expression dimmed. “Fifty thousand?”

Wen Yu didn’t dare make a sound.

Bai Weixue felt his vision go dark. “It couldn’t be five thousand, could it?”

Wen Yu gave a tiny, hesitant nod.

Bai Weixue: “…”

Wen Yu quickly added, “I can add more! I’ll add another five thousand. As long as we find Xiaoyu, I’ll pay whatever it takes. It’s just… even you almost didn’t make it. Does that mean Xiaoyu has already…”

Bai Weixue’s expression was cold. It was unclear if he was upset about being scammed for such a low price or if he simply thought the task was too troublesome. “If Xiaoyu really went missing here, you need to be prepared for the worst.”

Wen Yu gasped. “What do you mean?”

Bai Weixue replied, “This village is eerie. Haven’t you noticed? Setting aside the fact that there are real ghosts, they are extremely xenophobic. If I weren’t their ‘chosen bride,’ I doubt we’d be standing here alive.”

Wen Yu was so despondent he couldn’t speak.

“Fine,” Bai Weixue said. “I’ll clean up first. We’ll go to the village chief tonight to ask about Xiaoyu.”

The light in Wen Yu’s eyes flickered back to life. “Are we just going to ask directly? Won’t that alert them?”

Bai Weixue touched the bruises on his neck and hissed in pain. He glanced at Wen Yu and answered, “Yinsi Village is so remote. It would be weirder if we showed up at the village entrance with no purpose at all. Even if we alert them, so what? If we actually posed a threat to them, we wouldn’t be in such a pathetic state right now.”

Wen Yu lowered his head in shame. Remembering something, he pulled a tube of ointment from his backpack. “Let me help you apply this. It’s very effective for clearing up bruises.”

Bai Weixue took the ointment, declining the offer. He didn’t like physical contact with strangers, especially in a sensitive and vulnerable place like his neck.

The thought of who had left such hideous, terrifying marks made his knuckles turn white as he gripped the tube.

Being trapped in a coffin was far too good for that thing.

In the evening, the two went to the village chief’s house. The chief welcomed them warmly and handed them each a handful of peanuts.

Bai Weixue had changed out of the red bridal gown. He now wore a light gray trench coat over a white turtleneck sweater, which hid the bruises on his neck. His blonde hair hung softly, adding a touch of gentleness to his pale, cold face.

A man inside the house looked up as they entered. When he saw Bai Weixue, his eyes went wide, and he stared blankly. Bai Weixue swept his gaze over him, he was a villager, likely there to discuss business with the chief.

Bai Weixue lowered his eyes and moved toward the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). The kang was connected to the stove, and with a fire burning inside, the surface was warm and comfortable. However, there was a strange smell he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Wen Yu didn’t beat around the bush. He pulled out a yellowed photograph and asked the chief, “Have you seen the girl in this photo? She is…”

To his surprise, the chief didn’t even look. He cut him off immediately. “Never seen her.”

Wen Yu said anxiously, “Please, look again…”

The chief suddenly became impatient. He stared at Wen Yu, his murky gaze peering out from under sagging eyelids in a way that made one’s skin crawl. “Have you seen any women in this village?”

Wen Yu froze, unsure how to respond, and looked to Bai Weixue for help.

Bai Weixue peeled a peanut, popped it into his mouth, and then slowly stood up. “We understand. Sorry to disturb you.”

With that, he pulled Wen Yu and left.

It wasn’t until they were outside the chief’s house that Wen Yu snapped out of his daze. He turned the chief’s words over in his head, and goosebumps broke out on his arms. “Weixue, what did he mean by that?”

“Exactly what he said.” Bai Weixue held his palm out to Wen Yu.

Wen Yu blinked in confusion, then suddenly realized what he wanted and dumped the rest of his peanuts into Bai Weixue’s hand.

Bai Weixue accepted them happily, a small dimple appearing on his cheek. “Wait a bit. We might get an answer very soon.”

Utterly confused, Wen Yu followed his lead and waited.

The night air was bone-chilling. Despite his layers, Bai Weixue’s lips turned pale, and he coughed incessantly. Wen Yu looked at him with concern and suggested, “Why don’t you wear my scarf?”

Bai Weixue shook his head. More than physical contact, he was uncomfortable with the lingering warmth of a stranger.

Finally, the door to the chief’s house opened, and the villager from earlier stepped out.

The man was caught off guard when he ran into them. A flicker of emotion crossed his eyes—not panic or guilt, but rather the look of someone who wanted to say something but was held back by fear.

Bai Weixue signaled Wen Yu with a look. Wen Yu immediately stepped forward to block the villager’s path, speaking gently, “Sir, we wanted to ask you something.”

The villager looked past him, his eyes landing on Bai Weixue. “You’re the one chosen as the bride?”

Bai Weixue nodded.

The villager waved his hand dismissively. “I know what you want to ask. Take my advice: the person you’re looking for isn’t here. Don’t waste your breath.”

Wen Yu asked unwillingly, “Why?”

The villager frowned, his gaze slowly shifting to Wen Yu’s face. He let out a cold laugh. “Why else? Because our village is cursed.”

Wen Yu was stunned. “What curse?”

The villager lowered his voice, his tone turning cold and hollow. “Why do you think this place is called Yinsi Village?”

“Because we are cursed to have no daughters and no sons, and the people here are desperate for both!”

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