chapter 8

To give, or not to give?

Xie Lian maintained his composure. He had yet to decide whether he should continue to sit like this, unmoving and unmoving, or whether he should pretend to be a panic-stricken bride and timidly hide backwards. The owner of that hand was actually quite patient and graceful. He didn't move, and he didn't move either. It was as if he was waiting for Xie Lian's reply.

After a long while, Xie Lian stretched out his hand for some reason.

He stood up and was about to lift the curtain to get off the sedan chair. However, the other party was already one step ahead and lifted the red curtain for him. The newcomer grasped his hand, but he didn't grasp it too tightly. It was as if he was afraid of hurting Xie Lian. It actually gave off the illusion that he was being cautious.

Xie Lian lowered his head and let the newcomer lead him out of the sedan chair. Right now, he caught a glimpse of a wolf corpse that had been strangled to death by the Silk Ruoye. His mind slightly turned, and his feet slightly tripped. With a startled gasp, he fell forward.

The newcomer immediately backhandedly supported him and caught him.

With this support, Xie Lian also backhandedly grabbed the newcomer's hand. He only felt something cold. It turned out that the newcomer was wearing a pair of silver wristguards.

These wristguards were gorgeous and exquisite. The patterns on them were simple and unadorned. Maple leaves, butterflies, and ferocious beasts were carved on them. They were rather mysterious and didn't seem to be something from the Central Plains. Instead, they seemed to be an antique belonging to a foreign tribe. Holding onto this person's wrist, it appeared refined and neat.

The ice-cold silver and pale hands were completely lifeless, yet they carried a bit of murderous and evil aura.

Xie Lian's fall had been an act to test the newcomer. The Silk Ruoye had always been slowly twirling under the wide sleeves of his wedding clothes, accumulating power and waiting to be unleashed. However, the newcomer merely held onto his hand and led him forward.

Xie Lian's vision was unclear due to the veil covering his head. Furthermore, he wanted to stall for time. Thus, he deliberately walked very slowly. Surprisingly, the newcomer also matched his pace and walked extremely slowly. His other hand would occasionally come over to hold onto Xie Lian, as if he was afraid he would fall again. Although Xie Lian was extremely vigilant in his heart, being treated like this, he couldn't help but think, "If this really is a bridegroom, then he really is gentle and considerate to the extreme."

At this moment, he suddenly heard an extremely light ringing sound. With every step the two of them took, that ringing sound rang out. Just as he was pondering what this sound was, he suddenly heard the muffled roars of wild beasts coming from all directions.

Wild Wolves!

Xie Lian's figure slightly moved, and the Silk Cloth Ruoye suddenly retracted from his wrist.

Unexpectedly, before he could do anything, the person holding his hand lightly patted the back of his hand, as if comforting him and telling him not to worry. These two blows were so light that they could even be said to be gentle. Xie Lian was slightly startled, but that low growl had already been suppressed. When he listened carefully, he suddenly realized that these wild wolves were not growling, but whimpering.

That was clearly the whimper of a wild beast that was terrified to the extreme, unable to move, and struggling on its deathbed.

His curiosity towards the identity of the newcomer grew even stronger. He wanted to lift the veil to take a look, but he also knew that it would be inappropriate to do so. He could only peek through the gap below the red veil. What he saw was the hem of a red robe. Under the red robe was a pair of black leather boots, and he was walking at a moderate pace.

The pair of small black leather boots were tightly folded, revealing a pair of slender and straight calves. When he walked, it was very pleasing to the eye. Hanging from the side of the black boots were two thin silver chains. With every step he took, the silver chains swayed, emitting a crisp jingling sound that was very pleasant to listen to.

His footsteps were careless and brisk, making him seem even more like a teenager. However, every step he took seemed to have a well-thought-out plan in his chest, as if no one could obstruct his steps. If anyone dared to block his path, then that person would be waiting to be crushed to pieces. Because of this, Xie Lian couldn't be sure what kind of person this person was.

Just as he was pondering, a dense white object on the ground suddenly entered his line of sight.

It was a skull.

Xie Lian's feet paused for a moment.

With a glance, he could see that there was a problem with the way this skull was placed. This was clearly a corner of some array. If he touched it, he feared that the entire array would instantly launch an attack towards this point. However, looking at that teenager's footsteps, it seemed as if he hadn't noticed that there was something there. Just as he was thinking about whether or not he should warn him, he heard a 'crack' that was too miserable to listen to. Then, he saw the teenager's foot step down, instantly crushing the skull into pieces.

Then, as if he didn't feel anything, he indifferently stepped over the pile of powder and walked over.

Xie Lian: "…"

He actually, with just one foot, crushed the entire array into a pile of powder …

At this moment, that teenager's footsteps paused. Xie Lian's heart moved, wondering if he should make a move. But that teenager only paused for a moment, then continued to lead him forward. After two steps, there was suddenly a dripping sound from above, as if drops of rain were hitting the surface of the umbrella. It turned out that just now, that teenager had opened up an umbrella and covered their heads.

Although it wasn't the right time, Xie Lian couldn't help but praise him for being so considerate. But he was still rather puzzled. "Is it raining?"

Black Mountain, Lush Wild Forest. Far away in the depths of the mountains, a pack of wolves howled at the moon. Not sure if it was because of the battle that had just happened in the mountains, the cold air was still filled with a faint smell of blood.

The scene was extremely strange and enchanting. But that teenager was holding him with one hand and holding the umbrella with the other. Slowly walking forward, it was an inexplicably bewitching scene of boundless romance, leisurely and affectionate.

That strange rain came and went in a strange manner. Not long after, the dripping sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella disappeared. That teenager also stopped and stood still, seemingly putting away the umbrella. At the same time, he finally withdrew his hand and took a step closer to Xie Lian.

The hand that had been holding Xie Lian along the way gently grasped a corner of the veil and slowly lifted it up.

Xie Lian had been waiting for this moment the whole way here. He stood motionless as he watched the lingering red curtain in front of him slowly lift up — —

The silk moved!

It wasn't that the teenager was murderous. Rather, he had to strike first to gain the initiative and restrain him first!

Who knew that when the silk Ruoye flew out, it would bring about a fierce wind. That scarlet veil left that teenager's hand, flew up and then fell back down. Xie Lian only had enough time to see the afterimage of a red-clothed teenager before the silk Ruoye passed through.

That teenager actually shattered into a thousand silver butterflies, scattering into a dazzling silver starry wind.

Although it was still untimely, after Xie Lian retreated two steps, he couldn't help but exclaim in his heart. This scene was truly beautiful, as if he was in a dream. At this moment, a silver butterfly faintly flew past his eyes. He wanted to take a closer look, but that silver butterfly circled around him twice before merging with the butterfly wind. Together, they transformed into a part of the silver light that filled the sky, flapping their wings as they flew into the night sky.

After a while, Xie Lian finally regained his senses. He thought to himself, "Is this teenager the ghost bridegroom or not?"

From what he could tell, he didn't seem like it. If he was, then the wolf pack on Mount Yu Jun should be his subordinates. Why would they be so afraid when they saw him? Furthermore, the array on the road should have been laid down by the ghost bridegroom, yet he had casually … … crushed it.

But if that wasn't the case, then why would this teenager come to rob the bridal sedan chair?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was strange. Xie Lian flung the silk Ruoye over his shoulder and thought to himself, "Forget it. It's also possible that he just happened to be passing by. It's better to put this aside for the time being. Proper business is more important. "He looked all around him and made a" yi "sound. As it turned out, not too far away, there was actually a building that stood there.

Since that teenager had brought him here and this building had been painstakingly hidden within the maze, then he had to go in and take a look.

Xie Lian walked a few steps before suddenly stopping. After thinking for a while, he turned back and picked up the veil on the ground. Patting it a few times, he held it in his hand before continuing to walk in that direction.

The red walls of this building were tall, and the bricks and wooden tiles were slightly mottled. It actually looked like a city god's temple that had existed for many years. Furthermore, according to Xie Lian's experience, this building was most likely a martial god's temple. Sure enough, when he raised his head, he saw three large words carved out of diamond and iron on top of the main door:

"Ming Guang Temple"!

The martial god of the north, General Ming Guang, was also the same General Pei that Ling Wen had mentioned in the spiritual communication array last time. It was no wonder that they hadn't been able to find Ming Guang Temple in the vicinity and had instead found Nan Yang Temple. It turned out that Ming Guang Temple was located in Mount Yu Jun. However, it had long been sealed off by a maze. Could it be that this ghost bridegroom had some sort of relationship with General Ming Guang?

However, this General Ming Guang could be said to be a proud and powerful Great Priest. Furthermore, his position in the north was also very stable. Personally, Xie Lian didn't think that such a Great Priest would be willing to have anything to do with the ghost bridegroom. It wasn't strange for a Great Priest to be unknowingly poisoned by a Great Priest. As for what the truth was, it was better to wait and see.

He walked forward. The temple door was closed, but it wasn't locked. With a push, it opened. After pushing it open, a strange smell assaulted his nostrils.

It wasn't the gray gas that had been left untouched for many years, but a faint rancid smell.

Xie Lian closed the door with a backhand, making it look as if no one had entered before. Then, he stepped into the temple. In the middle of the main hall, there was a martial god statue. Naturally, it was the martial god of the north, General Ming Guang. Many human-shaped objects, such as statues, dolls, and portraits, were easily contaminated with evil energy. Therefore, Xie Lian first went up to carefully examine this martial god statue.

After looking for a long time, his conclusion was: This statue was sculpted extremely well. It held a treasured sword and wore a jade belt. It had a handsome face and an imposing appearance. There was no problem, and the rancid smell wasn't coming from the body of the statue. Thus, Xie Lian ignored him and walked towards the back of the main hall.

When he turned around, Xie Lian's entire body froze. His pupils instantly contracted.

A group of women wearing bright red wedding dresses and veils stood straight in front of him.

The faint rotting smell came from the bodies of these bridal gowns.

Xie Lian quickly calmed his mind and counted one by one. One, two, three, four … … all the way until he counted seventeen.

They were precisely the seventeen brides who had gone missing in the area around Mount Yu Jun!

Some of the brides' wedding dresses had already faded red and were extremely old and tattered. They should have been brides who had gone missing earlier. Some of the brides' wedding dresses were brand new, and the style was also new. The smell of rotting corpses on their bodies was also extremely faint. They should have been brides who had gone missing recently. Xie Lian pondered for a moment before lifting the veil of one of the brides.

Under the bright red veil was a deathly pale face. It was so pale that it had a slight greenish tint to it. Under the dim moonlight, it looked extremely frightening. But the most frightening thing was that this woman's face had already been twisted. However, on this twisted face, there was still a stiff smile.

Xie Lian took off another woman's veil, and the corner of his mouth also rose.

This room was filled with corpses, yet all of them were wearing wedding clothes and had smiles on their faces.

Xie Lian's ears seemed to ring with the strange ballad sung by that child, "New bride, new bride, new bride on the red sedan chair … … eyes brimming with tears, crossing the hill, don't smile under the veil … …"

Suddenly, he heard a strange sound coming from outside the temple.

It was truly an extremely strange sound. It was so strange that it was hard to describe. It sounded like two sticks wrapped in thick cloth that were fiercely beating on the ground. It also seemed like there was a heavy object hanging on them that was being dragged on the ground with difficulty. This sound came from far away and approached extremely quickly. In a flash, it had arrived at the entrance of Ming Guang Temple. With a long creaking sound, the entrance of Ming Guang Temple was pushed open.

Regardless of whether it was a person or something, it was most likely that ghost bridegroom. And now, it had already returned!

There was nowhere to escape and nowhere to hide. Xie Lian only thought for a moment. Seeing the row of brides, he immediately covered his head with the veil again and stood inside, motionless.

If there were only three, four, five, or six corpses standing here, he would naturally be able to tell that the number was wrong. But now, there were seventeen corpses here. Unless he counted them one by one like he did just now, it would be very difficult to immediately notice that someone had mixed in.

Just as he stood inside, he heard the strange "thump thump", "thump thump", "walk" in.

While standing still, Xie Lian pondered, "What exactly is this sound? Listening to the length of the pause, it's a bit like footsteps. But what kind of thing's footsteps are like this? This definitely isn't the youth that brought me here. He was very calm and at ease, even walking with a jingling sound. "

Suddenly, he thought of something and his heart tightened, "Not good, the height is wrong!"

These corpses were all women, but he was a genuine man. He was naturally taller than women. Although he couldn't tell at a glance that there was an extra person, he could tell at a glance that there was a particularly tall person among the group of corpses!

However, when he thought about it again, Xie Lian quickly calmed down. He was indeed tall, but that girl, Little Ying, had only simply tied his hair and didn't do much. These brides, on the other hand, were all dressed splendidly, their hair buns reaching the sky. Some of them were even wearing phoenix crowns, with a large crown on their head. Some of them added together might not be shorter than him. Even if he was taller, it shouldn't be very eye-catching.

Just as he was thinking about this, he heard another "swish" sound. It was two feet away from him.

After a moment, another "swish" sound was heard, and this time, it was a little closer to him.

Xie Lian finally realized what the ghost bridegroom was doing.

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

"Bang!"

If he didn't attack now, when would he? The Silk Ruoye suddenly flew out and hit the ghost bridegroom.

A loud sound was heard, and the black fog hit his face. Xie Lian didn't know whether or not the demonic fog was poisonous. He didn't have any spiritual aura protecting his body, so he immediately held his breath and covered his nose and mouth. At the same time, he urged the Silk Ruoye to dance and create a stream of wind to disperse the black fog. He only heard "thump thump", "thump thump"! Xie Lian narrowed his eyes and saw a short and small shadow flash past the entrance of the temple. The temple door opened wide, and a mass of black fog surged towards the forest.

Xie Lian made a prompt decision and immediately chased after it. Unexpectedly, he hadn't even chased for a few steps when the forest unexpectedly burst into flames. In the distance, he heard the sound of fighting and killing. "Charge — —!"

A young man's voice was particularly loud and clear. "Catch the ugly freak and eliminate the evil for the people! Catch the ugly freak and eliminate the evil for the people! Everyone can divide the reward equally! "It was that youngster. Xie Lian complained bitterly in his heart. This group of people said they wanted to go up the mountain, and they actually went up the mountain. Originally, it would've been fine if they hadn't been able to find the place with the protection of the formation. However, just now, that formation had been smashed to pieces by that youngster's foot. They were like a blind cat running into a dead mouse, and they actually managed to find the place. When he looked again, the direction they came from just happened to be the direction that the ghost bridegroom had fled in!

Xie Lian lifted the Ruoye silk cloth and rushed over. He shouted, "Stop and don't move!" Everyone was stunned. He was about to speak again when he heard the youngster eagerly ask, "Miss! You were kidnapped by that ghost bridegroom and brought into the mountain, right? What's your name? We're here to save you, so you can rest assured! "

Xie Lian was startled. In his heart, he found it funny. Only now did he remember that he was still wearing women's clothing. There were no mirrors in Nan Yang Temple, so he didn't know what he looked like right now. However, looking at their reactions, Miss Little Ying's hands should be very skillful. This group of people were so startled that they actually treated him as the real bride. This youngster was probably still hoping that he would be the seventeenth bride so that he could receive the reward. No matter what, he couldn't let this group of villagers run around in this situation. However, he couldn't guarantee that the ghost bridegroom wouldn't continue to run forward. Just at this moment, two black-clothed youngsters rushed over. Xie Lian immediately called out, "Nan Feng Fuyao, quickly come and help me!"

Who knew that when these two people followed the sound and looked over, they would both be startled and simultaneously take two steps back. Xie Lian had to ask them several questions before they finally reacted. Xie Lian asked, "You guys came from that direction? Did you encounter anything on the way? "

Nan Feng replied, "We didn't!"

Xie Lian said, "Good. Fuyao, immediately follow this road and search the surroundings. Make sure that the ghost bridegroom hasn't escaped. "

When Fu Yao heard this, he turned around and left. Xie Lian then said, "Nan Feng, you guard this place. Make sure that not a single person can leave. If Fu Yao didn't find the ghost bridegroom in the mountains, then he's definitely in this group of people right now! "

Hearing this, the group of burly men went into an uproar. The youngster could also see that Xie Lian wasn't a woman and was the first to jump up. "Not a single person can leave? Based on what! Is there still any law? Everyone, let's not listen to them … … "

Before the youngster could even land on the ground, Nan Feng chopped out with his palm and a large tree that was wide enough for a person to wrap their arms around broke and fell to the ground. Everyone immediately remembered that this youngster would chop things without saying a single word. If they were chopped by him like a pillar, then even if they paid him money, it would be useless. Thus, they all stopped talking. The youngster then said, "If you say the ghost bridegroom is in our group, then he's in our group? Everyone here has a name. If you don't believe me, you can use a torch to shine on everyone's faces and see! "

Xie Lian said, "Nan Feng."

Nan Feng took the torch from the youngster's hand and held it up, shining it on everyone. Every single face was covered in sweat. Some were nervous, some were at a loss, and some were excited. Every single one of them was extremely vivid. Xie Lian couldn't see what was going on, so he walked in front of everyone and said, "Everyone, I have offended you just now. However, I injured that ghost bridegroom and he escaped. He definitely couldn't have gone far. When my two little friends came here, they didn't bump into him. I'm afraid that he might have mixed in with you guys. I'll have to trouble you all to carefully look at each other and clearly see everyone's faces. See if there's anyone you don't recognize mixed in with your group. "

When everyone heard that the ghost bridegroom might have mixed in with their group, they all felt their blood run cold. They didn't dare to be careless and looked at each other in dismay. After looking for a long time, someone suddenly cried out, "Why are you here?"

Xie Lian's eyebrows jumped. He rushed over and asked, "Who?"

The youngster snatched someone else's torch and shone it towards a corner before saying, "That ugly freak!"

The person he was pointing at was actually Little Ying. Little Ying's crooked nose and slanted eyes looked somewhat distorted under the light of the fire. It seemed as if she couldn't stand being exposed like this. She raised her hand to cover her face and said, "I … … I was just worried and wanted to come up and take a look … …"

Seeing her extremely frightened appearance, Xie Lian took the torch from the youngster's hand and asked everyone, "How is everyone?"

The group of people shook their heads one after another and said, "There's no one we don't recognize."

Nan Feng asked, "Could it have attached itself to someone's body?"

Xie Lian muttered to himself for a moment before saying, "It shouldn't be. It's a solid person."

Nan Feng said, "But since it's already a 'ferocious' person, it's hard to say if it can change its form."

While they were hesitating, the youngster was the first to shout, "The ghost bridegroom isn't among us. Did you guys see clearly? If you saw clearly, then let us go! "

Xie Lian swept a glance at them and said, "I would like to ask everyone to stay in front of this Ming Guang Temple. Don't leave even half a step."

Everyone wanted to complain, but when they saw Nan Feng's grave and stern expression, they didn't dare. At this time, Fu Yao also returned and said, "There's no one nearby."