Chapter 14

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Xia Lingze’s isolation from the world and his understanding of the law owed much to the careful guidance of his Uncle Tiedan.

— To cultivate kindness in the child and prevent him from doing wrong and bringing punishment upon himself, Uncle Tiedan devoted himself with utmost focus and seriousness, fearful that the little lord might turn wild in the future.

Although the child’s hair tips naturally bore a golden hue... ahem, just a figure of speech, those in the know would understand.

In any case, to be safe, the entire village not only had to constantly put on a friendly and gentle front, worried that the little lord might run amok, but also racked their brains to devise all manner of ways to plug every loophole, with legal education being one of them.

...

Countless hollow eyes stared fixedly at Xia Lingze; their sockets were empty, black as abyssal pits, radiating a chilling coldness that made one feel as if they could be swallowed whole at any moment.

The eerie guards crept closer and closer to Xia Lingze, their pale, ashen faces revealing a greedy hunger as they forcefully drew vitality from the living. Their gaze was like cold, sharp needles piercing into the heart, filling one with an inescapable despair.

Yet throughout this strange and terrifying scene, Xia Lingze showed not a trace of fear.

— What’s this? Xia Lingze had seen many bizarre and grotesque beings before. Uncle Tiedan had also taught him from a young age not to view others through tinted glasses; these creatures didn’t choose to be this way and deserved respect for their natural physiology and personal preferences.

The closest guard already extended a hand, veins bulging, nails sharp, skin blackened, touching Xia Lingze. Other guards gradually pressed in, making physical contact with the youth.

... Still, no fear stirred.

Hidden in the shadows, the ghost of the arranged marriage bore a gloomy expression, its demeanor grave.

This young man’s defenses were like a fortress, impenetrable. Who exactly was he?

Zhai Zhiyu and his group thought Xia Lingze was pulled into the ghost domain midway, but the ghost domain’s master knew this person was never dragged in by it.

An uninvited guest either sought death or held some real confidence.

After some probing, it seemed to be the latter.

Having just suffered severe injury, the ghost of the arranged marriage concluded that Xia Lingze was unfathomably deep, deciding to first devour the other four to recover before turning to deal with Xia Lingze. For now, it would use illusions to stall him.

As it turned to leave in search of easier prey, the ghost suddenly shuddered all over and spun back sharply to look at the youth.

— The illusion it had crafted was effortlessly shattered by the youth, who stood there seemingly doing nothing, wearing a casual smile, lips moving but inaudible to the ghost.

Its body trembled uncontrollably; its soul quaked under immense pressure.

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The ghost of the arranged marriage stared at the youth in horror. Unlike the defiance it felt facing the snake woman, here it sensed an irresistible dominance. Fear engulfed its mind.

Born an A-rank, the ghost was invincible, with no equals. Even when facing higher-ranked peers, it was rebellious, always plotting revenge when opportunity arose.

Yet before this youth, it harbored not the slightest rebellious thought, like the weakest E-rank monster facing the strongest S-rank. In fact, even B-rank would struggle.

So... this was fear.

The ghost thought in a daze, drenched in cold sweat in the shadows, frozen in place.

At that moment, the youth leisurely adjusted his sleeves and lifted his gaze towards it.

With a thud, the ghost’s legs gave way and it knelt, bowing its head so low it seemed to want to bury itself in the ground, its black hair falling to fully conceal its face.

But the truth was...

Xia Lingze muttered with annoyance, “No wonder Uncle Tiedan said boys need to protect themselves too—indeed, it was just a dream. Imagining making them disappear, and poof, they really vanished. Tsk, why would I have such a dream? So wicked. Ugh, got goosebumps.”

He eased the chill in his heart by smoothing his sleeves, feeling better, and glanced ahead to the corner of the courtyard’s flower bed. The shadows formed by the walls completely blocked the moonlight, making that spot especially dark.

Come to think of it, it was very quiet.

Where were those four? When would the wedding ceremony happen? What would it look like? Who stood opposite whom? Side by side or in a row...?

Xia Lingze’s thoughts raced, many images flashing through his mind.

After he entertained these musings, the ghost domain shifted.

In a blink,

Xia Lingze found himself seated in a grand hall, below him stood four brides of varying height lined up, wearing wedding dresses with red veils covering their faces.

In front of the brides, a red-draped wedding table held incense burners, tea sets, and ceremonial items.

The air was filled with faint sandalwood incense and white smoke; only he and the four brides were present—no sixth person.

Xia Lingze’s expression shifted from confusion, bewilderment, solemnity, to finally shock.

Four brides, no one else present—so he must be the groom?

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Though it was only a dream, Uncle Tiedan often said, “What you think by day, you dream by night”—but he had never actually thought of this before!

Xia Lingze was greatly shaken. Usually purposeful and never confused, this was the first time he felt doubt.

As Xia Lingze’s mind whirled, the four brides suddenly moved.

They paired off, facing each other, while an off-screen narrator’s voice, deep and magnetic like a certain TV wildlife documentary host, intoned:

“On this auspicious day, a match made in heaven, today the newlyweds join as one. We gather in joy, witnessing this couple’s step into matrimony.”

***

The four who thought themselves doomed suddenly felt the world spin wildly, then their vision flushed red... a strangely familiar déjà vu.

They calmed quickly despite their hearts pounding as if to burst, thunderous drums ringing in their ears.

Time passed—long and short at once to those living through it—until their bodies moved involuntarily, taking a few steps and turning.

Then a familiar voice sounded:

“On this auspicious day, a match made in heaven, today the newlyweds join as one. We gather in joy, witnessing this couple’s step into matrimony.”

The four were speechless.

“Teacher Zhao, is that you? Your voice has been stolen!”

The voice paused, then continued excitedly:

“Today, we welcome four lovely maidens and one talented gentleman. The brides are handsome and elegant, beautiful and virtuous. The groom—oh, the groom seems distracted. Marrying four wives is not enough; clearly, our groom is the worst of the worst.”

Toward the end, the tone was full of grief and regret.

Before Xia Lingze could figure out how “handsome and elegant” fit with “beautiful and virtuous,” hearing himself called out, he sprang up, seemingly to no one in particular, hurriedly denying, “I’m not! I’m not! I don’t even know them!”

No, this dream was too terrifying. He had to wake up.

Next moment.

Back in Guiyi Village, the Xia family.

The youth lying in bed suddenly opened his eyes wide and sat up, clutching his chest with a look of relief as if he had just escaped death.