It took Xie Lian a while to regain his senses. He thought, “Is that boy the ghost groom?”

He didn’t think so. If he were, the wolf pack in Junshan Mountain would be his subordinates. Why would they be so terrified? And the formation on the road must have been set up by the ghost groom, yet he casually… crushed it.

But if not, why would he abduct the bride?

The more he thought about it, the stranger it became. Xie Lian tossed the Ruoxie cloth over his shoulder, thinking, “Forget it, he might just be passing by. Let’s focus on the main task.” He looked around and let out an (yi). Not far away was a building, standing silently.

Since the boy had brought him here, and the building was hidden within a carefully constructed formation, he had to go inside.

Xie Lian walked a few steps, then stopped, turned back, picked up the veil, patted it, and held it before continuing towards the building.

The building had high red walls and courtyards. The bricks, stones, and tiles were slightly weathered, like an old city god temple, and based on Xie Lian’s experience, it was likely a martial god temple. Sure enough, he looked up and saw three large characters on the gate:

“Mingguang Palace”!

Mingguang, the Northern Martial God, the General Pei Lingwen mentioned in the spirit communication array, whose incense was very prosperous in the North. No wonder they hadn’t found Mingguang Palace nearby but had found Nanyang Temple. The Mingguang Temple here was in Junshan Mountain, but had been sealed by a formation. Was the ghost groom connected to General Mingguang?

General Mingguang was a highly successful and influential god official, and his position in the North was stable. Xie Lian didn’t think such a god official would be involved with a ferocious creature like the ghost groom. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to be unlucky enough to have their home usurped by a ferocious creature without knowing. He would have to see what the truth was.

He walked forward. The temple door was closed but unlocked, and opened with a push. A strange smell hit him.

It wasn’t the musty smell of disuse, but a faint stench of decay.

Xie Lian closed the door, making it look untouched, and entered the temple. In the center of the main hall was a statue of the martial god, the Northern Martial God Mingguang. Many human-shaped objects, such as statues, dolls, and portraits, are easily tainted with evil energy. Xie Lian examined the statue carefully.

After a long look, his conclusion was: The statue was exquisitely crafted. It held a sword and wore a jade belt. The face was handsome, and the bearing was majestic. There was no problem. The stench didn’t come from the statue, so Xie Lian ignored it and went to the back of the main hall.

As he turned, Xie Lian froze, his pupils constricting.

A group of women, dressed in red wedding dresses and wearing veils, stood stiffly before him.

The faint stench of decay emanated from these women.

Xie Lian quickly composed himself and counted them one by one: one, two, three, four… up to seventeen.

The seventeen brides who had disappeared in Junshan Mountain!

Some brides’ red dresses were faded and damaged, likely those who had disappeared earlier. Others were new, and the smell of decay was very faint, likely those who had disappeared recently. Xie Lian lifted the veil of one bride.

Under the red veil was a pale face, slightly greenish, looking terrifying under the dim moonlight. The most terrifying thing was that the woman’s dead face was contorted, yet a stiff smile remained on her twisted features.

Xie Lian lifted the veil of another woman, and the same upward-turned smile was present.

All the corpses in the room were dressed in wedding clothes and wore smiles.

Xie Lian seemed to hear the eerie song again: “New bride, new bride, new bride in the red palanquin… Tears streaming, over the mountain pass, under the veil, don’t let your smile show…”

Suddenly, he heard a strange sound outside the temple.

It was incredibly strange, like two thick cloth-wrapped sticks banging on the ground, or something heavy being dragged. The sound approached quickly, reaching the temple entrance in an instant. A long creak—the temple door opened.

Whatever it was, it was likely the ghost groom. And now, it had returned!

There was nowhere to escape or hide in the back of the hall. Xie Lian thought for a moment, saw the row of brides, and quickly put the veil back on, standing among them, motionless.

If there were only three or four corpses, the missing number would be obvious. But with seventeen, it would be difficult to notice someone had infiltrated unless counted individually, as he had just done.

As he stood there, he heard the strange “thump, thump” sounds entering.

Xie Lian stood still, thinking, “What kind of sound is this? The rhythm is somewhat like footsteps, but what kind of footsteps are these? It’s definitely not the boy who brought me here. He was very relaxed, and his steps even had a tinkling sound.”

Suddenly, he remembered something, his heart tightening, “No good, the height is wrong!”

These corpses were all women, but he was a man, naturally taller. While it wasn’t immediately obvious that there was an extra person, a particularly tall person among a group of corpses would be noticeable!

But, on second thought, Xie Lian quickly calmed down. He was indeed tall, but Xiaoying had only simply tied his hair, not done much styling. These brides were all dressed up, their hairdos towering, some wearing phoenix crowns, adding height to their heads. Some were probably not much shorter than him. Even if he were tall, he shouldn’t be too conspicuous.

As he thought this, he heard a “whoosh” sound, two zhang away.

After a moment, another “whoosh,” closer this time.

Xie Lian realized what the ghost groom was doing.

It was lifting the veils of the brides one by one, checking the faces of the corpses!

“Bang!”

Now or never! The Ruoxie cloth shot out, striking the ghost groom.

A loud bang, and black mist billowed. Xie Lian didn’t know if the mist was poisonous. He had no spiritual light to protect him, so he immediately held his breath, covering his mouth and nose, while using the Ruoxie cloth to disperse the mist. “Thump, thump!” Xie Lian narrowed his eyes, seeing a small dark figure flash past the temple entrance. The temple door was wide open, and a cloud of black mist rolled towards the forest.

Xie Lian immediately pursued. But after a few steps, flames erupted in the forest, and shouts of battle echoed from afar: “Charge!”

A young man’s voice was particularly loud: “Catch the ugly monster, rid the people of evil! Catch the ugly monster, rid the people of evil! We’ll split the reward!” It was Little Pengtou. Xie Lian groaned inwardly. These people had actually gone up the mountain. It would have been fine if the formation had been intact, but the boy had crushed it, and they had stumbled upon the place. And they were coming from the direction the ghost groom had fled!

Xie Lian rushed forward with the Ruoxie cloth, shouting, “Stop!” Everyone froze. Before he could speak, Little Pengtou eagerly asked, “Miss! Were you abducted by the ghost groom? What’s your name? We’re here to save you, you can rest assured!”

Xie Lian was stunned, then amused. He remembered his female attire. There was no mirror in Nanyang Temple, and he didn’t know what he looked like, but judging by the reaction, Xiaoying’s skills must have been excellent. These people mistook him for a real bride, and Little Pengtou probably expected him to be the seventeenth bride, to claim the reward. He couldn’t let these villagers run around, but he couldn’t guarantee the ghost groom hadn’t escaped. At that moment, two young men in black arrived. Xie Lian immediately called out, “Nanfeng, Fuyun, help me!”