Chapter 11

While the two entities outside were locked in conflict, the five people inside began searching for an exit, guided by their own intuition.

The portals for each group entering a Domain are never fixed; if they were, it wouldn't be a challenge—it would just be a standard, farmable instance.

*Clatter... Bang!*

The heavy wooden door of the manor was blown wide open by a gust of wind, slamming against the wall with a mournful, screeching protest.

Standing outside was a woman with a seductive, bewitching appearance. Several small cyan snakes coiled around her, and others slithered over her body. Her eyes, a pair of scarlet slits, were cold and indifferent. As a breeze stirred the dark hair across her forehead, it seemed to carry a signal; the flesh on either side of her nose twitched inward, as if she were sniffing the air for the scent of living beings.

"Humans," she muttered. Greed gathered in the depths of her eyes, and her mouth watered involuntarily.

She discarded the severed head she had been holding and smoothed her elegant yellow qipao. The garment was exquisitely tailored, clinging perfectly to her frame and accentuating her graceful curves. The higher the level of a ghost, the more human it appeared. Aside from her Medusa-like hair of writhing snakes and her reptilian pupils, the Snake Woman looked no different from a person.

As she stepped over the threshold, the small snakes around her slid across the floor, slithering into the manor, flicking their tongues to gather information and hunt for prey.

Just then, the Snake Woman remembered something important. She stepped back out, turned, and walked toward the corpse of the Ghost Bride, crouching down to carefully peel off its clothing.

She had restrained herself during the fight specifically to avoid damaging the garment. Fortunately, just as Bagua had said, the Ghost Bride’s wedding dress was of exceptional quality—it repelled blood, resisted water and fire, and was immune to ordinary damage. It remained perfectly intact.

The Snake Woman breathed a sigh of relief. Compared to the items belonging to Xia Lingze, what did humans matter? She couldn't let them ruin the transaction.

One could say the Ghost Bride’s wedding dress was essentially her own skin. To be killed before being skinned was, perhaps, a stroke of luck for the bride.

With solemn movements, gentle hands, and bated breath—as if handling a priceless treasure—the Snake Woman removed the dress piece by piece. Hummed a eerie, sinister tune, she turned, her graceful silhouette gradually vanishing into the depths of the street.

Inside the manor, the five people trembled, their faces deathly pale—paralyzed by fear.

After the rustling sounds outside finally faded, they stifled their terror and resumed their search for the exit. They did not dare cast a single glance outside, even though the front door stood wide open and a mere look would have revealed the truth.

Because of this, they failed to notice the corpse of the Ghost Bride slowly disappearing. The head that had been tossed aside was gone, replaced by a bloody, skinless "person." Only the skin on the head remained, its eyes filled with venomous, lingering malice.

***

Huai Maocai was searching the woodshed for the exit; his intuition had narrowed the location down to this vicinity.

The door to the woodshed was unlocked and swung open with a push.

The room was pitch black, and the night outside offered no light. Fortunately, Huai Maocai was a smoker and had the habit of carrying a lighter. He flicked it on, using the flame as a light source to navigate the dark, cramped room.

The air in the woodshed was stagnant. Huai Maocai did not dare breathe deeply; he held the lighter in his right hand while shielding his nose and mouth with his left arm, switching hands whenever his muscles grew tired.

The firewood was piled into a small mountain, a mix of dry logs and damp, green wood. Besides the fuel, the room was cluttered with weeds and straw.

Huai Maocai found nothing among the firewood, and after feeling along the walls, he discovered no hidden compartments or mechanisms. It seemed the exit wasn't in the woodshed.

Just as he was about to leave in disappointment, his gaze fell upon the pile of weeds in the corner. After a moment of hesitation, he walked over and began to sift through them.

As he crouched on the ground, struggling to search, he failed to notice a figure approaching the door. The person arrived, stopped, and then slowly turned to face the woodshed.

*Drip. Drip.*

What was that sound?

Huai Maocai’s hand froze mid-motion. A cold sweat broke out across his back, and terror filled his eyes. He turned his head stiffly, only to lock eyes with a pair of horrifying, black-and-white eyes—the pupils were unnaturally large, occupying half of the whites.

His eyeballs trembled as his gaze shifted downward.

Below the neck, the body was a bloody, skinless mess. Above, however, was a sweet, delicate face. Her raven-black hair hung behind her, her nose was high and refined, and her lips were small and crimson. But because of the terrifying gaze she fixed upon him, it only inspired profound fear, leaving no room for appreciation.

Wasn't the first day supposed to be the safest? As long as one didn't violate the rules, the ghosts wouldn't attack.

Had he violated a rule?

He had followed every regulation for the Ghost Bride's Domain released by the government!

"How could a bride enter a place like a woodshed?" the female ghost asked in a resentful, sinister tone. A thick, suffocating stench of blood washed over him, choking Huai Maocai.

At that moment, the realization hit him with horrific clarity: he had indeed violated the rules.

[Summary of Rules for the Ghost Bride's Domain:
1. The ghost marriage is held on an auspicious day; delaying or advancing it violates the rules.
2. The bride must wear the red wedding dress; be aware of any garment swaps.
3. The groom is usually represented by a paper or wooden effigy; it cannot be a living creature like a rooster.
4. During the bowing ceremony, the bride and groom must bow to Heaven and Earth, ancestors, and parents in the correct order; the sequence must not be wrong.
5. After the ceremony, they are sent to the bridal chamber; the bride and groom must stay together and cannot leave the room.
...
11. Always remember your persona! Once you break character or act in a way that contradicts your persona, you will die!]

The jet-black hair began to swell and grow as if it had a life of its own, surging into the woodshed and wrapping around Huai Maocai.

"No—ugh... mmph!"

His scream was cut short as the hair forced its way into his throat. Huai Maocai’s face contorted in agony, turning a visible, bruised blue as he slowly suffocated to death.

The others were not far away. Theoretically, they should have heard him, but in reality, they heard nothing.

After searching for a while, the four survivors failed to find an exit and returned to the courtyard to regroup. This had been the plan—to gather at regular intervals to ensure everyone was accounted for.

As time ticked by, Huai Maocai remained missing.

Duan Xunxue, whose stomach always ached when she was nervous, said weakly, "Huai Maocai isn't here yet. Do you think he found the exit and left?"

That possibility could not be ruled out.

But deep down, everyone feared the alternative: Huai Maocai had met with an accident.

"It's only the first day, surely not..." said Xu Gehan, the other girl, trying to stay calm.

The rules stated that nothing usually happened on the first day. The Ghost Bride’s power was centered on hallucinations, which were supposed to take effect on the second day, inducing people to break the rules.

Therefore, the first day had to be utilized properly. It was the only day when what you saw and heard could be trusted—so long as you didn't actively violate the rules, you wouldn't die.

This was why, even though the Ghost Bride was only an A-rank ghost, her Domain was classified as S-rank: her hallucinations were terrifying and nearly impossible to guard against.

"Don't think too much. Let's keep looking. I don't know when dawn will come. They say 'one day,' but it's really just one night—half a day... You must remember to lie back in the coffins before sunrise. We can only move at night," Zhai Zhiyu reminded them. His expression was grim, but he kept his voice steady; he knew that if he let fear spread, their morale would shatter.

The Ghost Bride’s Domain was built on illusions. The faster one's resolve crumbled, the faster one would die.