Chapter 50: Ghost Marriage¹ Auspicious Evil

‘Xie Sui’ froze, seemingly completely unexpected that his disguise would be seen through by Nie Pengpeng so instantly.

It gave Nie Pengpeng another smile, and its facial muscle tissue began to drip slowly like melting ice cream, revealing a second face beneath the skin.

After seeing that face, Nie Pengpeng could not help but take a step back.

What kind of face was that… there were no features, only layers upon layers of flesh, like countless sheets of wet tissue paper pasted onto a skull. Those stacked layers of flesh rose and fell as if breathing, blood-red bubbles of meat constantly bulging and collapsing. She could even faintly see dried flakes of skin tissue falling from its face.

How disgusting. Nie Pengpeng did not feel afraid, only a bit nauseous.

She regretted it now. Rather than exposing it and having to face this eyesore of a monster, she would have preferred to pretend she knew nothing and continue facing that greasy version of Xie Sui.

“I thought your head was filled with this man, and that you would pounce on him with excitement the moment you saw him.” The monster spoke as it slowly approached Nie Pengpeng. “Don’t they say love makes people blind? To see the person you like and still remain so calm, I am truly impressed.”

“Don’t come any closer!” Nie Pengpeng swung the wooden stick in her hand with force. “I would never like a man who’s prettier than me. Dating someone like that is way too much pressure, okay! From the age of six until now, my ideal type has always been the Griffin Knight. My dad said princesses are supposed to marry knights!”

Nie Pengpeng did not know why she was discussing her ideal romantic type with a monster… Dammit, this was not some late-night girl talk session.

Although the Red-clothed Female Ghost was currently possessing her, the ghost had little offensive power and could only create illusions. Just now, the Red-clothed Female Ghost had used a vision-obscuring illusion on this face-changing monster, but the creature had shown no reaction at all.

In this situation, she could only try to make small talk to stall for time, hoping Xie Sui would find them as soon as possible.

Hearing Nie Pengpeng’s words, the face-changing monster actually paused to think for a moment, and then its body and face underwent another transformation.

Its body instantly stretched to about one hundred and ninety centimeters, morphing into a blonde, blue-eyed knight wearing a suit of armor.

Those eyes, as clear as sapphires, looked at Nie Pengpeng with deep affection. Before it could speak, its face began to deform again, turning into a very dignified, square-jawed face, while the shimmering golden armor transformed into a blood-stained Law Enforcement Team uniform.

This sudden change not only stunned the monster but also left Nie Pengpeng dazed.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, you’re quite the flirt.” The monster, now wearing Yan Nanxing’s face, flashed a very frivolous smile. “Human, just how many people are stored in your heart?”

“None of your business!” Nie Pengpeng snapped, her face flushing with a mix of embarrassment and anger. “Did you show up in front of me just to research who I like? How are you monsters even more gossipy than old ladies!”

“This is just a personal hobby of mine.” The monster’s face shifted again, transforming into the appearance of a black-robed Taoist. “I am learning how to become human, and researching your human emotions is truly interesting.”

“Alright, enough small talk. If I don’t bring you back soon, Master will scold me again.”

“Master?” Nie Pengpeng racked her brain to stall for time. “Is your master one of those villagers? Is it that middle-aged man who tricked us into the village? Why didn’t he release you to catch me earlier instead of waiting two days?”

This face-changing monster seemed to enjoy communicating with strangers and was easily distracted by Nie Pengpeng. “Villagers? No, those villagers are just dogs kept by Master, and they often fail to follow discipline. That pack of dogs has no right to order me around. I only listen to Master.”

The fear in Nie Pengpeng’s heart gradually dissipated. She suddenly realized that these ghosts and monsters only looked terrifying on the outside, but their inner minds were much simpler than humans. They were quite foolish and easy to trick into talking, answering whatever she asked.

“Who is your master? Why does he want to catch me?” Nie Pengpeng asked tentatively.

The monster shook out its black Taoist robes. “Master is Master. I am currently in Master’s likeness. He wants to catch you to hide you away. You cannot be taken back by Liu Wuyong, nor can you be caught by those reckless villagers.”

Nie Pengpeng found it a bit strange. “Your master… wants to save me?” Although she did not know who Liu Wuyong was, the fact that the master did not want her caught by the villagers made him sound like a good person.

“No.” The monster shook its head. “It’s to kidnap you and then demand a ransom from the Nie family. Master has already recognized who you are.”

Nie Pengpeng let out a long sigh of relief.

Great, so it was just a kidnapping. If it was about money, then everything was negotiable.

The fear in her heart vanished instantly, and Nie Pengpeng’s confidence surged.

She put her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and looked at the monster with an arrogant expression. “Since you want money from my dad, you have to guarantee my safety, right? Have the village doctor bring over some hemostatic and anti-inflammatory medicine. If you don’t agree to my demands, I’ll smash my head against this rock and die.” As she spoke, she slapped a nearby mountain boulder with force.

The expression on the monster’s face turned strange. “Actually, it’s not strictly necessary for you to be alive, as long as your body is intact. Master can just put any soul into your body and control your movements.”

Nie Pengpeng instantly wilted. “How… how can you guys be like this? What if my father asks about things only I know…”

“We can search your soul. The price is just having your soul scattered to the winds, but that sort of thing doesn’t matter.” The monster grew impatient and stepped toward Nie Pengpeng in a few strides. “Alright, Miss Nie, I suggest you come with me quietly. Chatting with you was quite fun, and I don’t want to kill you yet.”

Nie Pengpeng was jerked forward by the monster, one hand desperately clutching the rock, refusing to leave. “Wait, I…”

“Are you worried about that Law Enforcement Team guy at the waste disposal station?” The monster’s face shifted again, turning into Yan Nanxing’s likeness. It said with a grin, “You didn’t think I came here alone, did you?”

The words had barely left her mouth when a noise echoed from the direction of the limestone cave.

Nie Pengpeng’s face instantly turned deathly pale.

Yan Nanxing was currently unconscious from excessive blood loss! He had no way to fight back!

“You bastards-“

A sound like a sudden clap of thunder cut off the curse Nie Pengpeng hadn’t even finished shouting.

A massive cloud of white smoke suddenly billowed from the cave exit. The rolling dust and vast white mist instantly obscured everything in the surrounding area.

Nie Pengpeng and the monster felt as if they were standing in a white void. At the edge of the mist, a burly figure slowly walked toward them.

It was Yan Nanxing, who should have been unconscious from blood loss.

Yan Nanxing’s eyes were vacant, and a massive phantom of a talisman hovered behind him. Faint, blood-red patterns flowed across his face, and a single stick of lit incense rested atop his head. He moved with the rhythmic “Three Praise Steps,” dragging the corpses of two human-headed, snake-bodied monsters in his hands.

The all-encompassing white mist was the smoke produced by the burning incense stick balanced on his head.

Sensing the aura emanating from Yan Nanxing, the monster’s face distorted with terror. It let out a scream that nearly cracked its voice. “Guan Jiang Shou²?!”

“No.” The face-changing monster steadied itself. “Scared me to death… it’s not a true possession by a god. It’s just a divine phantom conjured by a Deity Invitation Talisman. I was wondering how a human body could possibly withstand the possession of the two Generals, Zeng and Sun³…” It breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately dropped Nie Pengpeng and turned to flee without hesitation.

As the guardians of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the Guan Jiang Shou specialized in slaying evil spirits. They were ruthless figures who only killed and never offered salvation. Even if it was just a divine phantom from a Deity Invitation Talisman, the monster was no match… one only had to look at its companion, who had already been torn in two.

To think a lowly member of the Zhaoping City Law Enforcement Team would carry a Deity Invitation Talisman; the state organs were truly willing to spend money. No wonder its master didn’t want to provoke the Law Enforcement Team.

Since the Spiritual Recovery began, the state had spent a fortune to ensure every member of the Inspectorate Bureau’s Law Enforcement Team was equipped with a Deity Invitation Talisman during missions to prevent accidents. These talismans were standard-issue equipment, much like handguns, serving as a life-saving measure when there was no other way out, specifically to prevent being caught off guard by supernatural events during a mission.

The conditions for activating the talisman were: being in an environment with excessive Yin Energy and being unconscious due to heavy injury. The effect of the Deity Invitation Talisman lasted only as long as it took for a single stick of incense to burn, and the power of the summoned divine projection was inferior to a true deity possession ritual.

Although it had fled decisively, the face-changing monster didn’t get far. A phantom of a pointed trident pierced straight through its chest.

The last thing the face-changing monster saw before its consciousness faded was its human-headed, snake-bodied companion being tossed beside it like a piece of trash.

Nie Pengpeng was stunned. The reversal had happened too quickly. One moment she was worrying about Yan Nanxing, and the next, he looked like a god descended to earth, instantly slaughtering the monsters.

The guiding incense on Yan Nanxing’s head was burning rapidly. Likely due to the state of his body, it looked like he wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer.

He hoisted Nie Pengpeng onto his shoulder and began walking up the mountain as if on level ground. It seemed he intended to cross the mountain and take her out of the village directly.

After being picked up by Yan Nanxing, Nie Pengpeng finally snapped out of it. she hurriedly tried to stop him. “Captain Yan! Are you conscious? We can’t just leave like this. We have to find Xie Sui. There’s no sign of civilization within several hours’ drive of here. Even if we escape the village, your injuries will kill you! Do you remember who Xie Sui is?”

Hearing Nie Pengpeng’s words, Yan Nanxing’s forward momentum paused for a moment, and then he changed direction.

The white mist enveloped him as he moved slowly forward. The two of them seemed to turn into phantoms, passing through rocks, through houses, and through the maddened villagers, heading toward Xie Sui at the center of the village in the shortest straight line possible.

Xie Sui, who had intended to go out and find Nie Pengpeng, was blocked in the middle of the road.

It was two very familiar little girls, their faces and bodies covered in varying degrees of bruising. They silently pressed a slip of paper into Xie Sui’s hand, then turned to run.

Xie Sui reached out and caught both of them.

These were the two little girls he had rescued from Chef Shao who had been subjected to Zaochu; Nie Pengpeng and Captain Yan had escorted them back.

If he had known this village was such a hellhole, he would have listened to Captain Yan and sent these two girls to the Inspectorate Bureau.

Xie Sui asked softly, “Where did those bruises come from? Do you know where the sister and the uncle who came back with you went?”

The girls seemed unable to speak. They struggled in panic, shaking their heads desperately.

Just then, a woman with disheveled hair rushed out of a nearby alley and snatched the children back from Xie Sui.

The injuries on the woman’s face were even more horrific than those on the girls. The half of her face covered by her hair was bruised and deformed, the skin stretched translucent by fluid buildup in the soft tissue.

The woman shook her head apologetically at Xie Sui, then picked up the two girls and ran away at top speed.

Xie Sui stood in place, watching the woman’s panicked retreating figure. He didn’t give chase, instead silently unfolding the slip of paper in his hand.

The name ‘Wuzhiqi⁴‘ was written on it in crooked handwriting.

Wuzhiqi… that seemed to be a famous water monster. Xie Sui remembered a record from the Classic of Mountains and Seas⁵: “The water beast loved to cause harm. Yu locked it beneath Jun Mountain; its name is Wuzhiqi.”

Xie Sui recalled the boatman on the way here saying that the girls who drowned in the water were all brides for the Water God… did this Water God refer to Wuzhiqi?

The woman had the little girl give him a note with Wuzhiqi’s name on it; was she trying to tell him something? Could the sacrifice on April 4th be related to Wuzhiqi? Were the villagers planning to drown another girl for the Water God, which was why she came to him for help?

Xie Sui frowned, instinctively flipping the paper over. On the back, there was actually another name – ‘Golden Mother of the Jade Pool’.

Seeing this name, Xie Sui paused.

How did the Golden Mother of the Jade Pool get involved? The things these villagers worshipped were a bit too eclectic…

The title ‘Golden Mother of the Jade Pool’ might be somewhat obscure, but this figure was more widely known by the name ‘Unborn Venerable Mother⁶‘, who was said to be one of the incarnations of the Queen Mother of the West.

Xie Sui didn’t know much about this deity, only vaguely remembering her as an ancient goddess who governed longevity and the elixir of immortality.

Longevity…

Xie Sui suddenly felt a slight headache. The slip of paper turned into fine powder in his hand, scattering with the wind.

Giving him only two names made it nearly impossible to investigate. He would have to take it one step at a time. The most important thing now was to find Nie Pengpeng and Captain Yan, as their situation was far from optimistic.

The Red-clothed Female Ghost that had appeared on the tour bus should still be with Nie Pengpeng. The Ghost Infant on Xie Sui’s person had memorized that ghost’s aura, so he could find them as long as he followed the Ghost Infant’s guidance.

Fortunately, there was a ghost by Nie Pengpeng’s side, otherwise, tracking her down would have been difficult.

Following the Ghost Infant’s lead, Xie Sui arrived in front of a small courtyard that looked very familiar.

The layout of this courtyard was similar to the one the boatman had arranged for him, consisting of four rows of houses surrounding a central yard.

However, unlike his own quarters, the gatehouse of this small courtyard was draped in red silk and hung with red lanterns. Two bright red “Double Happiness” characters were pasted on the main gate, and the people walking to and fro were all dressed in red. It looked very festive.

Was someone in the village getting married?

Nie Pengpeng’s aura was coming from this courtyard. Xie Sui hesitated for a moment before stepping inside.

No one stopped him. Xie Sui easily made his way to the main hall, where he saw two large red coffins positioned directly facing the door.

Tsk, a Ghost Marriage.

He knew nothing normal could come from a wedding in this gods-forsaken village.

But… had Nie Pengpeng been forced into a Ghost Marriage Alliance?

Xie Sui quickly approached the coffins and leaned against the wood to sense the interior. There was no sign of living breath in either coffin.

Furthermore, even though he had entered the main hall, the Ghost Infant was still signaling for him to keep moving forward.

Xie Sui looked at the wall in front of him, falling into deep thought.

He really didn’t know how to walk through walls.

It shouldn’t be pointing to the house behind this one; according to the Ghost Infant’s directions, Nie Pengpeng was definitely within this specific courtyard.

Xie Sui scrutinized the wall carefully. Could it be that Nie Pengpeng had been bricked up inside the wall?

Wait, the Ghost Infant was tracking the aura of the Red-clothed Female Ghost on Nie Pengpeng, not Nie Pengpeng’s own aura. It was highly possible that the female ghost had been separated from Nie Pengpeng for some reason, and the one bricked into the wall might only be the ghost.

This was trouble.

Xie Sui had originally assumed the female ghost would protect Nie Pengpeng at all times, especially in a dangerous den of monsters like this village. They should have been inseparable.

He hadn’t expected the human and ghost to be separated by some outside force.

Just as Xie Sui was about to leave the courtyard, a middle-aged man and woman carrying paper effigies walked in from outside.

Upon seeing Xie Sui, the two middle-aged people froze.

The woman, who was holding a male paper effigy, had red-rimmed eyes. she looked Xie Sui up and down, a look of realization crossing her face. “Are you also a ‘guest’ of the village? Does your family have someone who needs a Ghost Marriage Alliance as well?”

At this mention, the woman seemed to be struck by grief again, her voice choking up. “My poor son, he passed away at only eighteen. We came here just to find him a companion.”

The man also sighed, reaching out to pat the woman’s shoulder gently.

Looking at the pair, Xie Sui frowned. He hadn’t expected there to be other “tourists” in the village besides himself and the production crew.

To fish for more information about the village, Xie Sui followed their lead and asked, “Are you here to buy a girl’s remains for a Ghost Marriage?”

The middle-aged man looked at Xie Sui with a bewildered expression. “Why would we buy old bones?”

Xie Sui was stunned by the question and looked at the paper effigies the couple held in their arms.

Could he have misunderstood them? Did they only intend to use paper effigies for their son’s Ghost Marriage? But if they were just using paper, they could do that anywhere. Why travel all the way to this ghost village?

The middle-aged man let out a disdainful sneer, looking at Xie Sui with contempt as if he were looking at a country bumpkin. “For a Ghost Marriage Alliance, it’s obviously best to use someone freshly killed. How could a set of bones that’s been sitting around for years be worthy of my son?”

Translator’s Notes