She shielded the boy, as if afraid someone would hit him again, explaining, “He really isn’t the ghost groom. Look at him, a few people beat him like this, how could he fight those skilled officers guarding the bride’s palanquin…”

Xie Lian and Nanfeng exchanged a look, both feeling a headache coming on.

If she was telling the truth, then the boy was completely unrelated to this matter?

The bandaged boy, the “fierce” ghost groom, the “near-ultimate” Qinggui, and the owner of the silver butterflies, whose power even Celestial officials feared—a small Junshan Mountain was filled with unusual guests, making things difficult to handle. Who was who? What were their relationships? Xie Lian felt his head swelling.

He rubbed his temples, ignoring the truthfulness of Xiaoying’s words for now, and suddenly remembered something he wanted to ask, “Xiaoying, have you always lived near Junshan Mountain?”

Xiaoying said, “Yes. I’ve always lived here. I can guarantee he hasn’t done anything bad here.”

Xie Lian said, “No, I want to ask something else. In Junshan Mountain, besides the one on the mountain, has there never been another Mingguang Temple?”

Xiaoying was startled, “That…” She thought for a moment, “There should have been.”

Hearing this, Xie Lian suddenly felt he’d grasped something important.

He said, “Then why is there only Nanyang Temple at the foot of the mountain, not Mingguang Palace?”

Xiaoying scratched her head, “There was, but I heard that every time they tried to build Mingguang Palace, it would mysteriously catch fire during construction. Some say General Mingguang couldn’t suppress something here, so they replaced him with General Nanyang…”

Nanfeng noticed Xie Lian’s serious expression, “What’s wrong?”

Xie Lian suddenly realized it was too simple.

The bride who couldn’t laugh, the temple that mysteriously caught fire, the Mingguang Temple sealed within the mountain formation, General Pei’s majestic statue, and the ghost groom who vanished after being injured by the Ruoxie cloth—

Too simple!

Something had been obscuring his vision, preventing him from noticing this simple truth from the start!

He grabbed Nanfeng, “Lend me some spiritual power!”

Nanfeng was startled and exchanged a palm strike with him, “What’s wrong?”

Xie Lian dragged him and ran, “I’ll explain later, we need to subdue the eighteen bride corpses!”

Nanfeng said, “Are you crazy? There are only seventeen bride corpses, you’re the eighteenth!”

Xie Lian said, “No, no, no, there were only seventeen, but now there are eighteen. Among the eighteen bride corpses, one is fake—the ghost groom is among them!”

The two rushed back to Mingguang Temple, but the back of the main hall was empty. Only scattered red veils remained where the brides had stood.

Xie Lian thought, “No good, no good, we’re in trouble.” He quickly picked up the veils. As he finished, he heard screams outside. Looking out the window, they saw dozens of brides in crimson wedding dresses, forming a circle, slowly approaching the villagers.

These women were pale, smiling, with their arms outstretched, the corpses of the brides!

Seeing them approach, no one could remain calm. Everyone ran, Xiaoying helping the bandaged boy. Xie Lian helplessly shouted, “Don’t run!” He had said this countless times tonight, yet people always ignored him. He waved his hand, the Ruoxie cloth flew into the air, rotating like a dancing celestial maiden, attracting several brides. Seven were drawn to the smell of blood in the forest. Xie Lian said, “Nanfeng, chase them, don’t let them leave the mountain!”

Nanfeng had already chased after them. Two brides attacked Xie Lian. Xie Lian took the veils he had picked up, threw them, covering the brides’ faces. Their movements immediately slowed.

The thick red veils covered their eyes and noses, obscuring their appearance and smell. Their stiff bodies couldn’t remove the veils. They could only grope around, like playing hide-and-seek. Xie Lian stood before them, waved his hand, and saw them groping in the wrong direction. He couldn’t help but say, “Excuse me,” grabbing their arms and placing their hands on each other’s necks.

The two brides, feeling something, shuddered, and fiercely clawed at each other. Xie Lian ran, throwing the Ruoxie cloth, forming a large white circle on the ground. He shouted to the fleeing crowd, “Get inside the circle!”

The crowd hesitated, but Xiaoying quickly pulled the bandaged boy inside. She went out and dragged the unconscious Little Pengtou in. A bride jumped to the edge of the white circle, trying to grab someone, but was blocked by an invisible wall. Xiaoying realized she couldn’t jump in, shouting, “Come in quickly, they can’t enter this circle!”

The crowd rushed in. Fortunately, Xie Lian had made the Ruoxie cloth expand, the circle was large enough. The brides, unable to enter, turned and shrieked, attacking Xie Lian.

Xie Lian was ready, throwing veils, deftly covering the brides, one by one. The brides started groping around blindly. The crowd inside the white circle cheered, “Good!” “Amazing!” “That’s skilled!”

Xie Lian habitually said, “It’s nothing. Those with money give money, those without give applause… uh?” He realized his mistake, having blurted out a phrase from his days in the acrobatics troupe, and stopped. Several brides jumped high into the air, landing before him. Xie Lian leaped back, silently chanting the spirit communication incantation, “Lingwen, all-knowing! I have a question, do you know if General Mingguang has any close female companions?”

Lingwen’s voice sounded, “Your Highness, why are you asking this?”

Xie Lian said, “I’m in a bit of a dangerous situation. Several dead people are chasing me.”

Lingwen: “Ah? So tragic???”

Xie Lian: “It’s okay. So, does he? I know this is private, so I didn’t ask in the spirit communication array. Mission requirements, no leaks.”

Lingwen said, “Your Highness, it’s not that it’s hard to answer, it’s that General Pei has too many female companions, and I don’t know which one you mean.”

Xie Lian almost stumbled, “Alright. Among General Pei’s female companions, is there one with a strong possessive nature, jealousy, and a disability?”