Chapter 74

Around the room, guests were also sitting.

They were laughing and talking loudly, making it extremely lively.

The entire scene was bathed in light.

At this time, Rose and Red Lotus looked up.

In the pavilion where the top couldn't be seen, were there actually spirit tablets standing one after another?

It turned out,

This was not a pavilion,

But an ancestral hall.

"Sister..."

Red Lotus reached out and pointed tremblingly at the guests.

Rose focused her gaze,

And was immediately terrified to realize that these guests had yellow talismans stuck to their faces, with strange characters written on them in cinnabar.

They,

Were just like dead people!

"Bride and groom... enter the hall!"

A sharp voice rang out.

A fat old woman in flamboyant clothes appeared in the ancestral hall.

Her complexion was livid, her eyes sharp enough to devour people, and in front of her were two pitch-black coffins.

She was... the ghost matchmaker.

Specifically responsible for arranging marriages in the underworld,

And also serving as the master of ceremonies for the wedding.

"Bring them over!"

Under the ghost matchmaker's command, the black-robed paper people escorted the man and woman to her.

The man was wearing black official robes, his figure was slender, and his face was handsome, but his skin was slightly rough, as if he often traveled outside.

The woman beside him wore a phoenix coronet and ceremonial robes, adorned with exquisite jewelry, and her skirt was embroidered with phoenixes; she was dignified and elegant.

At the same time,

In the ancestral hall,

The two black coffins were pushed open by the paper people.

Two figures were revealed inside.

Likewise, a pair of man and woman.

But their movements were stiff, their complexions were pale, and they also had yellow talismans stuck to their faces, needing help even to walk.

They were dead!

"No, no, no!"

"Get away, all of you, get away!"

"This can't be, you can't do this!"

At this time,

The man who had been gagged earlier, because the cloth ball in his mouth had fallen out, shouted,

"A marriage between the living and the dead, if you do this, you will damage your yin virtue!"

"This is strictly forbidden!"

"Even if we are outsiders, once it's found out, you will all be thrown into jail!"

"Let me and Chen Yin go!"

Watching the paper people carrying the dead toward him, the man resisted constantly, his face full of anger and fear.

His name was Zhang Wenbo,

And he was an outsider merchant.

The living woman beside him was named Chen Yin; the two were childhood sweethearts, had been engaged since they were young,

And had sworn to grow old together.

Both their families were of average means; although they had a few acres of good land, due to the exploitation of local gentry, they only had enough to scrape by each year.

Because of the frequent wars in recent years, their family's fields were all destroyed.

If Zhang Wenbo hadn't known some martial arts, Chen Yin would likely have been abducted by cruel soldiers long ago.

To survive,

The two took all their savings, left their hometown, and imitated street vendors to start a small business.

At first, they suffered repeated setbacks and lost quite a bit.

Later, they met a benefactor, and the situation slowly improved.

They didn't earn much, just enough to eat.

Fortunately, both were very frugal and had saved up quite a bit of money over the years.

Zhang Wenbo promised Chen Yin that once they earned enough silver, they would get married and settle down.

A handsome man and a beautiful woman,

It was almost about to come true.

Who knew that just because they passed by a small path and looked down at a red envelope left on the side of the road,

They were knocked unconscious.

When they opened their eyes again, they found themselves dressed in wedding clothes, and their hands and feet were tied up.

The series of strange events that followed made them gradually understand.

They had been arranged for a ghost marriage!

Zhang Wenbo was matched with the Wang family's youngest daughter!

Chen Yin was matched with the Wang family's eldest son!

This couple, who were about to settle down and build a love nest, had fallen into an abyss because of this business trip!

Forced to marry someone they didn't like, someone they had never even met... a dead person!

If this happened to anyone,

They wouldn't be able to accept it!

Imagine, a (boy/girl) who grew up with you,

You studied together, learned to read, grew up together...

During that time, there were arguments, laughter, and you had sat on the mountaintop quietly watching the sunset and the sunrise.

After growing up,

You finally found a job, even though it was hard.

Seeing that years of hard work were finally about to bear fruit, you were about to step into the wedding hall.

But just at this moment, you were kidnapped while traveling to a remote village and forced to marry two dead people!

This damn thing,

Who could accept it?

Who could endure it?

But what could you do if you didn't accept it?

Resist?

It's useless!

Zhang Wenbo and Chen Yin were outsiders.

Unarmed, they couldn't resist the overwhelming numbers.

Not to mention that the Wang family had the greatest influence in the area, and even the county magistrate had to give them some face.

Let alone whether anyone knew that Zhang Wenbo and his partner were in trouble.

Even if someone knew, could they find this place?

Even if they found it, what could they do about the Wang family?

Despair!

Zhang Wenbo clenched his fists, wanting to break free from the ropes, but it was to no avail.

With an order from the ghost matchmaker, the paper people picked up the cloth ball from the ground and stuffed it back into Zhang Wenbo's mouth.

Very quickly,

The two pairs of newlyweds were supported by the paper people and stood on the platform.

They stood with their backs to the two elders of the Wang family.

Under the bright red candlelight,

In the eerie wedding hall,

The ghost matchmaker's sharp voice suddenly pierced the silence,

"First bow to heaven and earth!"

As soon as the words fell,

The paper people pressed on the necks of Zhang Wenbo, Chen Yin, and the two deceased children of the Wang family, forcing them to bow to heaven and earth.

"Second bow to the high hall!"

Then, they were forced to turn around and bow to the Wang family's old couple sitting in the high hall.

Finally,

When the paper people had the two pairs of newlyweds stand facing each other.

The ghost matchmaker issued the final command,

"Husband and wife... bow to each other!"

As soon as the voice fell,

The shrill sound of the suona filled the entire ancestral hall!

Like a mournful song claiming lives, it made one's whole body cold, and goosebumps broke out everywhere.

Not long after, the bowing ceremony ended.

The paper people controlled the cold hands of the Wang family's eldest son to help him lift Chen Yin's red veil.

At the same time, the veil of the Wang family's youngest daughter in front of Zhang Wenbo was also lifted.

One, beautiful as a flower, with a gentle temperament.

One, half of her face was already rotting, her temperament... had no temperament, only coldness; just seeing her made one's heart tremble involuntarily.

At this time,

The ghost matchmaker removed the cloth balls from the mouths of Chen Yin and Zhang Wenbo.

In an instant,

Angry curses and sorrowful weeping intertwined, making the entire ancestral hall noisy.

Seeing this, a fierce light flashed in the ghost matchmaker's eyes,

"On such a big happy day, crying and cursing, what kind of behavior is this!!"

"Someone!"

"Bring me my needle and thread!"

What happened next made all the spectators' spines chill.

The ghost matchmaker, like a cruel demon, held a thin embroidery needle, threaded it, and aimed it at Chen Yin's lips...

The sharp embroidery needle pierced through her upper and lower lips.

Blood dripped down the corners of her mouth.

Intense pain occupied her mind; she was terrified, begging constantly, and tears flowed uncontrollably.

Zhang Wenbo, who was beside her, witnessed his beloved enduring endless pain, and the anger in his heart turned his eyes blood-red.

He struggled desperately, trying to break free from his restraints, but the ropes binding his hands and feet were exceptionally sturdy.

Even though he was about to tear his hands and feet off, the ropes remained motionless.

Those paper people also had immense strength, pinning Zhang Wenbo down so hard that it was difficult for his knees to lift from the ground.

"Cry, cry, cry!"

"Isn't it just marrying a dead person? What's there to cry about?"

"In the underworld, the Wang family will let you enjoy glory and wealth for the rest of your life; you should be secretly happy!"

The ghost matchmaker was expressionless, sewing with the needle while speaking fiercely,

"Done!"

"Let's see how you cry now!"

Not long after,

The woman's weeping turned into whimpering from her throat.

Her mouth was covered in blood.

The rough method stitched her upper and lower lips together, and the slightest effort to open her mouth caused heart-wrenching pain.

"You old hag, I'll kill you!" Zhang Wenbo roared.

At the wedding, the ghost matchmaker sneered, picked up the needle and thread, and quickly stitched his mouth shut as well.

"Much quieter now."

The ghost matchmaker was satisfied, then looked at the paper people,

"Bring the coffin nails!"

In the blink of an eye,

The paper people brought the coffin nails.

The black coffin nails, each twenty centimeters long, were covered in rust and exuded an ominous aura.

The ghost matchmaker first simply disinfected these coffin nails with candlelight, then her eerie eyes locked onto Chen Yin again.

She approached step by step.

Then she grabbed her hand.

Dragged her to the coffin lid, and with a bang!

The coffin nail pierced through Chen Yin's palm, pinning her hand to the coffin lid!

Subsequently, her other hand and both feet did not escape the same fate.

Accompanied by shrill whimpering.

Very quickly,

Everything was over.

At this moment, Chen Yin seemed to have lost her soul, pinned to the coffin lid, her eyes hollow, her eyes turned red from excessive tears.

The most terrifying thing was that her face, because the coffin nail pierced an acupuncture point, was actually half-laughing and half-crying...

Laughing while crying... you guess how she was laughing while crying...

Despair, boundless despair.