Chapter 42: The Illusory Bride

“Senior Brother, do you have any shame?” Chu Sang poked Tantai Ming.

Tantai Ming replied, “I don’t.”

“Ah, what a coincidence, neither do I,” Mu Chihuai remarked lazily.

Sikou Qiu’s eyes gleamed as if discovering a new world. “If you all don’t care about shame, then I won’t either!”

Cheng Ying coughed softly into his fist. “…Hmm.”

Qiu Xiude’s fingers trembled, nearly bursting with anger.

Qin Xixue glared at them furiously, her chest heaving violently, almost unable to breathe. How could they be so shameless—and so confident about it?!

Utterly brazen!

Chu Sang crossed her arms and glanced coldly at Qin Xixue, recalling a scene from the original novel.

In the original story, Sikou Qiu was also desperate to improve her abilities, developing a heart demon and mental obstruction. Around that time, she heard news of the Chaotic Green Lotus Seed emerging in the Cloud Abyss Secret Realm. She and Cheng Ying rushed there, barely escaping death. Cheng Ying risked his life to pluck a lotus seed, only for it to be stolen midway by Yan Wangxing, who was accompanying Qin Xixue.

He went further, killing Cheng Ying and using his blood to nourish the seed until it bloomed.

Sikou Qiu and Cheng Ying were childhood sweethearts. Devastated, she descended into darkness and the demonic path, vowing endless vengeance against Yan Wangxing. She eventually usurped his position as Demon Lord.

This woman, once completely ignored by Yan Wangxing, became the biggest obstacle on his path to becoming a Demon Lord.

He nearly died several times because of her. If not for Qin Xixue’s supreme-grade elixirs, he likely would have perished halfway through the plot.

But villains are, after all, villains. Sikou Qiu ultimately met her end at the hands of the protagonists, killed by a sword through the heart, her body and soul destroyed.

She became an important villainess in the novel, crucial in advancing the romantic relationship between Yan Wangxing and Qin Xixue.

In this lifetime, however, after Yan Wangxing’s last avatar self-destructed, his true body was gravely injured. Twice wounded in just six months, his cultivation level must have fallen significantly. He likely retreated to the Demon Realm to heal, with no idea when he’d reemerge.

Moreover, a rift had formed between him and Qin Xixue.

This time, Yan Wangxing hadn’t shown up at the Cloud Abyss Secret Realm, causing a significant deviation from the original plot.

Chu Sang was determined to protect her senior brothers and sisters.

She wouldn’t let them follow the same path as in the original story.

…

“Lady Shao, this rouge is ground from hollyhock flowers by Spring Maiden. It looks truly stunning on your lips, making your complexion rosy and lovely.”

“Truly, you’re the most beautiful bride Biyi has ever seen! Hehe~”

As she opened her eyes, she was confronted with a woman’s magnified face leaning close, causing her pupils to constrict suddenly.

The woman’s face was pale as paper, yet her cheeks were excessively rosy, as if painted with meticulous brush strokes—unnatural and jarring.

The maid smiled at her, eyes wide open and unblinking, devoid of any emotion, staring fixedly like a lifeless paper doll.

Her entire being exuded an indescribable, eerie sense of horror.

Seeing her awake, the maid covered her mouth and giggled, “Hehe~ Lady Shao is so cute, you fell asleep just now while I was applying rouge for you~”

“…” This laughter was also unsettlingly creepy.

It sent chills down one’s spine.

The maid cupped her pale face, gazing longingly, “I heard from Sister Xiu’er that the wedding night is worth a thousand gold pieces. It’s the most important event in Lady Shao’s life. You must be made up beautifully to please the young master~”

“There are still a few hours left. Miss should rest well. Tonight you’ll enter the bridal chamber to meet the groom~”

“…” The young girl’s face tensed as she turned to look out the window.

A faint dawn light was breaking through the night, indicating it was probably around three or four in the morning. Normal households should be resting at this hour, yet this maid was here to attend to her in the dead of night?

And what did she just say about entering the bridal chamber tonight… Who gets married so late at night??

“Tonight, the master will send a carriage to pick up the miss. Please rest well in your room during this time, and don’t go out~” The maid’s lips curled into a perfect, rigid smile, her gentle voice seeming like a casual reminder, but her hollow eyes contained a hidden warning.

With that, she seemed to glide rather than walk out the door, which was then closed behind her.

The young girl hurried to the door, trying to open it, but found it locked tight,

Someone had locked it from the outside.

And the maid who should have left after exiting the door didn’t leave.

She simply turned around, her smile unchanged, facing the door directly, separated by just a thin layer.

Through the thin paper of the door, the maid’s form seemed even more like a paper figure, motionless, her body and limbs not even rising with breath.

The young girl held her breath, taking two steps back. Even separated by a door, the maid’s gaze seemed tangible, [monitoring] her every move.

She collapsed back onto the bed.

Glancing at the bronze mirror on the table, it reflected the young girl’s form, dressed in a vivid red wedding gown, adorned with a phoenix crown and embroidered shawl, made up elaborately and gorgeously.

Perhaps the powder on her face was applied too thickly and too white, her lips a touch too red, making her look less like a joyous bride and more like a vengeful ghost seeking retribution.

She didn’t like it.

Looking at herself in the mirror like this, the young girl felt extremely unfamiliar.

She felt as if she had forgotten something important.

However, when she tried to think about it, her mind was filled with a sharp pain, urging her to stop immediately.

Her sea of consciousness was a blank haze, as if a thick fog had covered her memories.

“Meow~”

Though the window was clearly closed, a black cat somehow ran in from somewhere.

The young girl looked frightened, as neighbours all said black cats were inauspicious! Yet one appeared on her wedding day!

“Go, go away!”

She hurriedly grabbed a pillow, about to throw it to scare away the black cat.

The black cat nimbly dodged the attack and leaped to bite her arm.

The young girl let out a scream as a flood of memories suddenly rushed into her mind.

She remembered, her name wasn’t Shao Qinghuai, she was Chu Sang.

She had come to the Cloud Abyss Secret Realm to seek the Chaotic Green Lotus Seed, and everything before her eyes was an illusion created by the lotus pool. If intruders become lost in the illusion and lose themselves, their physical bodies in reality would die along with them, being devoured by the lotus pool and becoming nutrients for the Chaotic Green Lotus Seed to grow and bloom.

This was dangerous! She had almost fallen for it.

This illusion was truly realistic, not only locking away memories, but also forcibly implanting the memories and personalities of others.

“Xiao Bai!”

The little black cat was actually Xiao Bai who had rushed over.

“Wuwu, Master, you finally woke up, I was so scared just now!” Xiao Bai nuzzled against her chest.

Thanks to Xiao Bai, she was able to wake up in time. The situation with her senior brothers and sisters would only be worse, she had to find them quickly!

And also figure out what was going on with this illusion.

— To leave the illusion, one must break the illusion.

And to break the illusion, one must find the formation eye.

The formation eye could be a tree, a stone, or it could be a person, a living eye with an untraceable trail…

There were maids guarding the door, so she definitely couldn’t leave that way.

Chu Sang pushed the window, but it was also locked. She looked down at Xiao Bai, “How did you get in?”

Xiao Bai waved a paw in the air, passing half of it through the wall, “Master, this illusion only targets you all. As your contract spirit beast, I’m not bound by the illusion. As long as the illusion doesn’t detect my presence, I can move freely within it.”

Chu Sang thought for a moment, then drew two substitute talismans, sticking one on Xiao Bai and one on herself.

After Xiao Bai passed through the wall, she focused her mind, and when she opened her eyes again, she was already outside the room.

She turned to look back, and Xiao Bai ran out from the room again, jumping into her arms.

“It worked.”

Rather than calling this place an illusion, it was more like a small world distinct from reality.

Every blade of grass and tree here was extremely real, and even talismans could take effect.

The night was dark, with festive yet eerie red lanterns hanging on walls and roofs, and servants patrolling from time to time.

Chu Sang applied a concealment talisman and hid behind a fake mountain. Just then, several maids passed by. She swiftly knocked out the nearest maid, dragged her behind the fake mountain, and swapped clothes with her.

When she walked out from behind the fake mountain, her face had also changed to that of a maid. She experimentally waved her hand, maintaining the stiff, soulless expressions and movements of a paper figure, and followed behind the other maids in lockstep.

“Where are we going?” she asked, curiosity piqued. Why wander in the garden in the middle of the night?

“Hehe, some new brides and grooms have arrived. We must hurry to serve them.”

Chu Sang realised these maids were like mindless puppets, engaging only in question-and-answer exchanges, like NPCs in a game, awaiting orders from their “master.”

“Hehe, more brides and grooms,” she echoed, imitating their tone. “How wonderful!”

“Yes, indeed. The young master and miss will surely be delighted. With so many new, beautiful brides and grooms marrying them tonight, I just hope the coffins can fit them all without squeezing the young master and miss…”

Chu Sang blinked in disbelief. What on earth? A wedding in coffins?

She finally understood the source of that eerie feeling in her heart.

This was a ghost wedding.

Drawing on her Oscar-worthy acting skills, Chu Sang seamlessly infiltrated the group of maids, subtly gathering more information.

It turned out that a few days ago, the twin son and daughter of the Wang family had tragically drowned.

Grief-stricken, their father had consulted a renowned monk, who advised him to arrange ghost marriages, spending a fortune on the ceremony to comfort the souls of his beloved children in the underworld.

“In his early years, the master was obsessed with seeking immortality, neglecting even his wife, let alone the young master and miss,” one maid explained. “Now that the young master and miss are gone, he deeply regrets his actions, but it’s too late. It’s truly lamentable…”

“The master lost his wife early in life, and now in his later years, he’s lost his children. It’s truly pitiful.”

“How could heaven treat such a kind and generous man like our master this way? Wah wah~”

“All five of his previous wives also passed away early. The master is kind-hearted but seems to have shallow bonds with his family. Heaven is unfair!”

“Left alone in this world, even if he could live for hundreds of years, the master surely wouldn’t be happy…”

As Chu Sang listened to the gossip, they arrived at a grand garden, similarly decorated with lanterns and festive ornaments. The brides and grooms mentioned by these maids were likely their group. She wondered which rooms her senior brothers and sisters were being held in.

Chu Sang twisted the jade bracelet on her wrist. Before setting out, Fifth Senior Brother had given one to each of them. This spiritual tool could bind several people within a certain distance and allow them to sense each other’s locations, originally intended to prevent them from getting separated when entering secret realms.

She picked up some combs and a rouge box and headed to the left wing room.

On the bed sat a bride wearing a bright red wedding dress, her face covered by a red veil.

She approached and lifted the veil, revealing Sikou Qiu.

She appeared to be in a deep sleep, her head drooping, completely motionless.

“Fourth Senior Sister, wake up.”

Sikou Qiu stirred under her shaking, opening her eyes in confusion before turning her head: “Junior Sister?”

Chu Sang quickly explained the situation. “Fourth Senior Sister, we need to split up and find the others.”

“Alright.”

They snuck out, going their separate ways.

Chu Sang soon found Mu Chihuai in the next room. After waking him, she also found Tantai Ming and Cheng Ying. With time to spare, she even woke up several people from other sects.

Of course, except for the Tianyan Sect.

Let them fend for themselves.

The maids and guards they encountered were knocked out, and their clothes were exchanged to serve as decoys.

“Junior Sister, what should we do next?”

Sikou Qiu shuddered, still unsettled from nearly losing herself earlier.

“There’s something suspicious about this Wang family master,” Chu Sang frowned. “I learned from those maids that in his early years, he was obsessed with seeking immortality to the point of near madness. Moreover, he had previously married five wives, but strangely, they all died prematurely without warning.”

“Even his only pair of children, barely in their teens, drowned… How can there be so many coincidences? This Master Wang is definitely hiding something.”

“He’s likely to be a key figure in this illusion, and might know where the formation’s eye is located.”

Tantai Ming’s expression tensed, “Then let’s storm into the mansion and capture him for interrogation!”

“Seventh Senior Brother, don’t be rash!” Chu Sang pulled him back. “This master seems to be just an ordinary mortal, but in an illusion, truth and falsehood are intertwined. We can’t act rashly. We need to first scout out the opponent’s true strength before making a decision.”

“At midnight tonight, his deceased children will be married. He’s invited monks and Taoist priests he knows to attend the banquet.”

“We’ll disguise ourselves and infiltrate to see what he’s really up to.”

The four exchanged silent glances. While they were unconscious, their junior sister had woken up, and by the time they awoke, she had already gathered intelligence and formulated a plan.

Junior Sister carrying the team, surviving against all odds.

As dawn broke, the mansion began welcoming guests. Chu Sang led her senior brothers and sisters to stake out nearby. They picked out a few easy targets, knocked them out, took their invitations, changed their appearances, and confidently entered the mansion, taking seats at the lower end of the banquet.

Soon after, a middle-aged man with greying temples emerged. This was the head of the Wang family.

He bowed to the guests below and exchanged some pleasantries. As night fell, the main event was about to begin.

He clapped his hands, ordering someone to bring in the brides and grooms.

A cold sword light slashed through the air.

“Die!”

Chu Sang raised an eyebrow at these uninvited guests at the door. Mo Qingchen and Qin Xixue had also arrived. As expected of the male and female leads, this small illusion couldn’t hold them back.

…