Chapter 12

As the first rays of dawn pierced through the clouds and bathed the earth, the four hurried back to their respective rooms and lay down in coffins, pretending to be deceased brides.

Meanwhile, the empty and eerie mansion seemed to come alive. Maids and servants busied themselves with their tasks; the master and mistress prepared invitations for a banquet, cordially inviting guests to celebrate their son’s wedding.

In addition, to curry favor, they distributed some money among the nearby villagers, who, in return, offered a few kind words, bringing smiles to the master and mistress.

Everyone was pleased—except for the bride, who was the sole victim.

Within the grim narrative of the ghostly wedding domain, she was murdered by her own father. After death, her body was sold to a wealthy family to be wed to their son in a ghost marriage.

“Let’s pick the 8th as the date. I’ve consulted a master; the 8th is very auspicious for weddings.”

“Agreed. It’s settled then.”

With the date chosen, the next step was to dress the bride.

Like lifeless dolls, the four blankly allowed others to paint their faces. When it came time to change clothes, they fretted over whether they would be stripped bare... Fortunately, they were only draped in wedding gowns without disturbing their original clothes.

They silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Time slipped away unnoticed until suddenly, all sounds ceased as if someone had pressed mute.

To be safe, the four dared not open their eyes immediately. After waiting for quite a while, they cautiously cracked open a slit, squinting to observe their surroundings. Seeing nothing amiss, they finally sat up in their coffins, gazing at the dark sky outside with mixed feelings of nervousness and relief.

—Nervous because eerie things often appeared at night.

—Relieved because during the day they were immobilized, like meat on a chopping block, defenseless. At least at night, they could move.

*Creak...*

They pushed open their doors and emerged one after another, gathering in the courtyard.

Li Zhouyin was the last to come out. Upon seeing his companions, a faint smile appeared on his face. Just as he was about to greet them, he noticed their eyes fixed on him in shock.

What was wrong?

Could there be a ghost behind him?

His smile stiffened, and he dared not breathe heavily, let alone speak. Cold sweat soaked through his clothes. Like a rusty machine, he turned his head slowly to look behind.

...

There was nothing there.

Yet Li Zhouyin did not relax; instead, his fear deepened.

If there was nothing, then what were the other three afraid of? Surely it wasn’t him.

---

Holding her aching stomach, Duan Xunxue clarified for Li Zhouyin: “The color of your clothes is wrong!”

Li Zhouyin instinctively looked down at his garments but didn’t immediately understand what was wrong with the color. He remembered that the others wore red wedding dresses, while his was white.

Being different was never a good sign in the ghostly realm.

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with white clothes?” Li Zhouyin asked, his face draining of color, lips trembling.

It seemed he hadn’t thoroughly studied the rules of the ghost marriage domain—or perhaps he had, but forgotten.

Zhai Zhiyu explained, “One of the rules is that the bride must wear a red wedding gown.”

“What am I supposed to do?!” Li Zhouyin panicked. To be selfish, if someone else had the same problem, he might not be so anxious. But now he was clearly the only one at fault, his terror blanking his mind and numbing his limbs.

—What to do?

Obviously, find a red wedding dress and change into it! But where to find one? The easiest way was to snatch it from someone else!

Li Zhouyin’s gaze fell on the weakest of the three, Duan Xunxue. Should he steal her dress?

But if he did, what would happen to Duan Xunxue?

Moreover, starting a conflict now could alienate the others, even if they didn’t intervene, they would surely look at him differently.

Duan Xunxue noticed Li Zhouyin’s stare and, realizing his intent, clutched her collar tightly, watching him warily.

Li Zhouyin recoiled from her gaze, stepping back two paces. Then, regaining composure, he gave a bitter, resigned smile.

“Sorry, I won’t take your dress.”

Before being drawn into this ghostly realm, Li Zhouyin was an ordinary man who had never done harm. He wouldn’t even litter in the street—he was a person of strong morals. To rob another’s chance at life, causing their death by proxy, would require crossing a psychological threshold he hadn’t yet passed.

—At least for now, he couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing.

“Don’t rush. There are still six days left. The ceremony is on the seventh day. If we find a way out before then, we survive. Besides...” Zhai Zhiyu tugged at the corner of his mouth, “If we don’t find a way out, we’ll die on the seventh day anyway.”

“By the way, do you all remember the national rules for the ghost marriage domain?”

“I remember a little.”

“Me too...”

“I hardly remember anything.”

Seeing this, Zhai Zhiyu took some time to quickly and succinctly review all the rules.

“As the days pass, danger increases. By the seventh day, it’s basically hopeless,” he concluded.

---

“Then let’s hurry and find an exit!” Xu Gehan forced a smile.

They immediately ruled out the other escape route: fulfilling the ghost marriage spirit’s wish or resolving its regrets.

“While looking for an exit, we should also search for clues,” Zhai Zhiyu reminded them. “The only survivor managed both: helping the ghost marriage spirit resolve its regrets and searching for a way out, escaping successfully on the last day. He emphasized that the spirit’s hallucinations intensify rapidly; without finding clues and easing its malice, he wouldn’t have escaped.”

The group fell silent.

Some things sounded simple but were difficult to accomplish.

—Thanks to that survivor, the ghost marriage domain’s backstory was well established. They didn’t need to guess the spirit’s regrets or wishes based on its actions.

Now everyone knew that to fulfill the spirit’s regrets or wishes meant avenging the killer—an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Revenge was at the core.

But how could they exact vengeance for the ghost marriage spirit?

Their strength was no match for the supernatural creatures, and they didn’t even possess ghostly artifacts! The sole survivor entered equipped with such tools and was a special forces professional. How could they compare?

It was essentially a dead-end.

In summary, this was the grim truth Zhai Zhiyu had deliberately withheld.

As the brother of the only survivor, Zhai Zhiyu knew full well how terrifying the ghost marriage domain was.

This time... it seemed no one would escape.

---

“Eh? Where is this? Am I dreaming? A dream?”

Suddenly, a puzzled voice echoed.

Everyone instinctively looked toward the room where Huai Maocai had been staying and saw a curious young boy emerge.

He wore a white long robe with a lifelike golden dragon coiled at the waist. The robe’s hem was wide, swaying softly as he walked. The fabric was clearly fine silk—smooth to the touch with a delicate sheen. The tailoring was impeccable; the fitted cuffs and subtly cinched waist were just right.

The boy’s skin was fair like jade, his features delicate. Thick, well-shaped eyebrows arched slightly, as if painted by an artist’s brush, framing a handsome face. His eyes shone bright as stars, radiating a sunny, refreshing aura. Upon seeing the four, he paused, then broke into a radiant smile that seemed to dispel all gloom and sorrow—a beam of light warming their heavy hearts.

“Hello,” the boy greeted cheerfully, walking toward them with light steps.

Up close, the four noticed a small tuft tied at the back of his head. The ends of his hair were golden—whether dyed or naturally blond before growing it out and trimming, a small streak remained.

“Excuse me, do you know where this is?” he asked politely. “I think I should be sleeping... Could this be a dream?” He muttered uncertainly to himself.