Chapter 74: The Bride's Lament

 "At a time like this, you need to use the restroom?" Wan Chunhui glared at the guard.

 "Manager Wan, I can't help it! I can hold off on the big one, but not the small one!" The guard looked distressed.

 Wan Chunhui glanced at the storeroom. It seemed calm enough for the moment, so he waved the guard off. "Fine, go quickly and come right back!"

 "Yes, sir!" 

 The guard hurried away, moving awkwardly.

 But after he left, he didn't return for a long time.

 Wan Chunhui's suspicion grew, and he was about to send someone to check on the guard when Tiger's voice came from the storeroom, sharp with tension.

 "Boss, the painting is moving!" Tiger shouted, pointing at the glass case with wide eyes.

 Lu Fei felt a chill run down his spine as he fixed his gaze on the case.

 The ancient painting, which had been lying still, was now slowly unfurling on its own.

 Wisps of black, malevolent energy wafted out, spreading around the room.

 "Everyone, be alert!" Lu Fei called out.

 The black aura swiftly filled the storeroom, stopping just at the door but sending a chilling wind out to Wan Chunhui and the guards standing outside.

 What happened next left them speechless.

 The painting kept unfurling, growing larger until it surpassed the confines of the glass case.

 The scene depicted in the painting became startlingly vivid.

 "Oh no!" Wan Chunhui tried to avert his gaze, but it was too late.

 His eyes were locked in place, staring helplessly at the unfolding image.

 On the aged canvas, the figures in the wedding procession began to move, stepping forward with a bouncy gait as they carried the bride's palanquin.

 Music drifted from their instruments, but instead of joyful wedding tunes, it sounded like a funeral dirge.

 The palanquin swayed up and down, and the bride inside raised her hands, covering her face as if crying.

 "On the eighteenth day of the first month, an auspicious day," 

 "Wearing the phoenix crown, dressed in the wedding gown. Carried in the bridal sedan, tears streaming down."

 "This journey is one of no return."

 "My parents, indifferent, stand in the hall, is it a gathering of people or ghosts?"

 "I only wish to be married away quickly…"

 The bride's mournful wails filled the air, laden with sorrow and grievance, tearing at the listeners' hearts.

 For a moment, Lu Fei felt as though he had become the groom, dressed in red, waiting for the bride in the palanquin.

 The bride was beautiful, the love of his life.

 Red lanterns hung high, and he stood before a grand gate, watching the palanquin draw closer.

 Auspicious day, bowing in marriage.

 From now on, they would live under the same roof, and be buried in the same grave…

 "Wait, where did this bride come from?"

 A warm surge of energy flowed through Lu Fei's core, jolting him awake.

 He glanced around; everyone was entranced, eyes glued to the painting.

 All of this had happened in the blink of an eye.

 "Don't look at it!" Lu Fei shouted urgently and stepped in front of Tiger. With his protective energy, he could withstand the mental assault of the painting, but Tiger and the others couldn't.

 "I'm fine, boss!" Tiger said, shaking his head hard as he held the ghost-headed knife, regaining his senses. He hadn't meant to look at the painting; he had no idea how he got drawn in.

 "Hold up the bagua mirror!" 

 Lu Fei instructed Tiger to use the bagua mirror to shield his eyes while he advanced with the heavy, rusted ghost-headed knife.

 The scene in the painting seemed to expand, and the figures in the procession grew until they were life-sized.

 Inside the palanquin, the bride lifted her veil and looked directly at Lu Fei.

 Before Lu Fei could discern her face, a sharp pain stabbed his eyes as if pricked by needles.

 He clenched his teeth, channeling energy to his eyes.

 Gone was the lifelike scene; all that remained was a swirling mass of dark energy, within which the ghostly faces of women flickered in and out of sight.

 "Faces! Like those the guard drew!" 

 Lu Fei's eyes burned and ached, but he endured, swinging the ghost-headed knife into the thick, writhing black fog.

 The knife, blessed by sunlight and lethal to malevolent entities, sliced through the darkness.

 "Ah!!!"

 A woman's wail echoed as the black fog split apart. 

 Outside, Wan Chunhui and the guards snapped out of their trance, only to cry out in pain.

 The guards clutched at their eyes, some with bloodshot sclera.

 Wan Chunhui, bowing his head against the stabbing pain in his eyes, felt his heart racing, his body soaked in cold sweat.

 Fortunately, Lu Fei's timely action had saved them from blindness.

 "Manager Wan, take care of yourselves!" Lu Fei called, focused solely on the task.

 The guards, useless and now a liability, only added to the chaos.

 The dispersed black fog regrouped and coalesced into a snarling ghostly face that bore a striking resemblance to the bride from the painting.

 On the canvas, the bride's eyes turned into bloody, hollow sockets, and crimson tears trickled down.

 The ghost face opened its mouth, lunging toward Lu Fei.

 Keeping his composure, Lu Fei swung the ghost-headed knife at it.

 Boom!

 The face disintegrated, leaving a jagged wound across the bride's face on the canvas. More blood streamed from the tear, spilling beyond the painting.

 Ssshh— 

 A sound like flowing water filled the room.

 Lu Fei's heart sank as he looked up.

 Red streaks of blood were seeping down the walls like tears, passing over the ghost-repelling charms and dulling their markings.

 "Tiger, keep an eye on the charms! If any fade, use the cinnabar to redraw them! We can't let the formation break!" Lu Fei shouted, furrowing his brow.

 If the formation failed and the evil energy escaped, everyone outside would be in danger.

 "Got it, boss!" 

 Tiger quickly scooped some cinnabar onto his fingers and ran to the most faded charm, retracing the symbols to prevent them from losing their power.

 Lu Fei kept swinging the ghost-headed knife, slicing apart the ghost face each time it reformed.

 The knife's power was undeniable; the ghost face couldn't withstand it and turned its attention to Tiger.

 But Lu Fei wasn't about to let that happen, guarding Tiger closely.

 Tiger moved from wall to wall, constantly refreshing the charms with cinnabar to keep them active.

 After several attempts, the ghost face retreated into the painting.

 Suddenly, the figures in the procession leapt from the canvas, surrounding Lu Fei.

 The drumming and blaring of horns exploded around him.

 The sound stabbed at Lu Fei's eardrums, making them feel as if they were splitting. He slashed at the figures with the ghost-headed knife.

 The figures had expressionless faces, like soulless mannequins.

 "Wait, why does that one look different?"

 His knife halted above one figure's head as he stared at its unsettling face.

 Among the procession, one figure wore a groom's outfit. 

 But Lu Fei was sure that when he first saw the painting, there had been no groom.

 "This groom looks familiar… it's the guard who lost his sight!"

 The groom's face was a perfect match for the guard's. Unlike the other figures, it was filled with pain and fear.

 Lu Fei's confusion deepened.

 This was an expression only a living person could have!