Chapter 102: Forbidden City, the Groom Welcoming the Bride

Following the man in black robes, we walked forward for two or three minutes, and the voice ahead that kept reminding us of the location still rang.

However, Zhang Hao pulled the bride in front and halted.

"Come quickly, this way."

The voice kept sounding, and even though Zhang Hao and the ghost bride stopped, it seemed to be calling them forward from a spot not far ahead.

"Something's off; this thing is probably not a living person but a ghost."

Even though Zhang Hao had stopped moving forward, the place where the voice sounded each time remained at a distance—just a dozen meters ahead.

Zhang Hao turned around to leave, but found that the passage had vanished at some point.

"Come quickly, this way, don't take the wrong path."

The voice kept ringing, and unlike the earlier friendly reminder tone, now Zhang Hao felt it was eerie.

"wail!"

The eerie crying rang in the Alley, and Zhang Hao immediately triggered the Ghost Crying Face's wail.

In this narrow Alley, however, the crying could not spread; when it hit the walls it was absorbed cleanly, like seawater into a sponge.

This darkness covering the whole city seemed able to suppress and weaken the Fierce Ghost's supernatural influence.

It seemed that aside from the silhouette in the darkness, no one else could make sound inside.

Seeing this, Zhang Hao immediately unleashed his own Ghost Domain.

The black-and-white Ghost Domain invaded the Alley, a Coffin appeared, and dense, profound darkness enveloped the whole Alley.

A White Curtain extended from Zhang Hao's waist, reaching ten meters to coil the distant shadows and suppress them.

"Come quickly, this way."

However, that voice did not disappear; instead, after Zhang Hao struck the silhouette, the voice began to overlap heavily, as if echoing in his mind.

In the Alley, silhouettes in black robes appeared one after another, constantly waving at Zhang Hao, as if indicating he should go that way.

This kind of voice seemed to carry an intangible supernatural force, making Zhang Hao's legs unconsciously move forward.

The darkness in the Alley at that moment also seemed to be dispelled, and one Alley after another emerged deep within, leading to unknown destinations.

At that moment, the bride moved, and as the image of the bride flashed in Zhang Hao's mind, those voices seemed to be blocked.

The current Zhang Hao not only shares the bride's Ghost Painting Restart, but also shares part of Hong Bai Shuang Sha's supernatural.

Although it's only shared supernatural, compared to before when he had no resistance to mental attacks, the change is revolutionary.

The black-and-white Ghost Domain kept invading the Alley, and soon Zhang Hao successfully tore open a passage to retreat within it.

"Let's go, we'll leave here."

Zhang Hao stared at the Alley, a hint of apprehension flashing in his eyes.

In this situation, the way the silhouettes in the darkness waved resembled the ghost bride's gestures when he performed Ghost Summoning.

Moreover, more eerily, after Zhang Hao waved, he could control the Fierce Ghost's path, and this ghost could also lure the Fierce Ghost.

If Zhang Hao's Terror Level were lower and he lacked the bride's protection, he might truly fall into this ghost's path.

Following the passage carved by the Ghost Domain to the city streets outside, Zhang Hao finally re‑examined the narrow Alley.

The road was bottomless, its end unseen, yet for some unknown reason Zhang Hao had previously ignored this.

He clearly knew this was a Spiritual Realm, a road connecting to a Spiritual Realm that the elder Kamiya had linked with a yellow‑mud road.

Logically, after Zhang Hao entered here, he shouldn't easily trust that the things inside are real.

"Seems this place isn't simple; we must be careful."

"This might be the spot the old man intends to trap me."

Zhang Hao stared at the Alley for a long time, committing it firmly to memory.

The ghost's ability is similar to the bride's Ghost Summoning, yet seems to possess powers the bride lacks; perhaps they can complement each other like a Puzzle.

But now, Zhang Hao doesn't want to disturb it.

When he first struck, Zhang Hao sensed a blockage; that intangible darkness wasn't the Alley's oddity, but belonged to the city's Spiritual Realm.

The city's situation remains unclear; arbitrarily imprisoning any one ghost might disrupt the city's Balance and entangle him in troubles hard to resolve.

Beyond the Alley, Zhang Hao kept moving forward.

He advanced while surveying the surrounding buildings.

Some buildings in the city were pitch black, revealing nothing inside.

Other buildings emitted faint light, and through the windows one could see strange silhouettes moving inside.

"Clack! Clack clack!"

As Zhang Hao walked forward, a sound of high heels striking the ground came from behind.

The sound was familiar, like the high heels Zhang Youhong once wore.

Zhang Hao halted, looked toward the source behind, but there was nothing, as if it were an illusion.

Yet when Zhang Hao continued forward, the heel‑tap sound quickly resurfaced behind him.

The sound was rapid, seeming to draw nearer to Zhang Hao.

However, when Zhang Hao looked back again, he found nothing.

"Strange thing."

Zhang Hao stared behind for a long while, then slowly turned around and kept walking.

This time the Footsteps returned, yet Zhang Hao didn't stop; the black-and-white Ghost Domain emerged, spreading toward his rear.

Through the Ghost Domain, Zhang Hao could feel an invisible pair of high heels constantly treading within his Ghost Domain behind him.

The heels seemed able to walk through the Ghost Domain unimpeded; their steps were swift, soon reaching just five meters from Zhang Hao.

At that moment, Zhang Hao sensed an inexplicable sense of danger.

Just like the embroidered shoes on the bride's feet, perhaps when the opponent draws near, they will launch some terrifying attack like those shoes.

Immediately, Zhang Hao took the ghost bride's hand, and without turning around he made a move toward the figure behind him.

The eerie Footsteps stopped, Zhang Hao turned his head again and saw a silhouette standing behind him.

The person had long hair, wore a Cheongsam that had turned gray‑white after being invaded by the Black and White Ghost Domain, and wore a pair of black high heels.

"Liu Qingqing? No, that's not right."

Zhang Hao looked at the other side and quickly recovered.

The Cheongsam on the other side was not a Fierce Ghost, just a Cheongsam tainted by the supernatural, so it lost its color before the Black and White Ghost Domain.

But the high heels she wore were a genuine Fierce Ghost, so in this case they retained their color.

Zhang Hao walked up to this ghost, examined it for a moment, then lost interest.

This woman's whole body, only the high heels were ghosts; the rest were merely ordinary corpses.

After confirming the ghost posed no threat, Zhang Hao reached out, pressed her to the ground, made her kneel there, and turned to continue forward.

Although this high‑heeled female ghost wasn't strong, I had only just entered this small town a short while ago and was already targeted by two ghosts, which enough shows how bizarre this place is.

Passing through this Chinese‑style street, a park quickly appeared on the side.

In the center of the park there was a lake.

From afar, it seemed a graceful woman was frolicking in the lake.

But when Zhang Hao looked toward her, the lake woman seemed to see him as well; she swam here at incredible speed, and soon appeared at the lake's edge, staring at Zhang Hao with a pair of venomous, resentful eyes.

"Ghost that cannot leave the lake."

Zhang Hao paid no attention to the lake ghost; after noting its existence in his mind, he continued toward the city's depths.

This city was almost a Ghost City; Zhang Hao sensed he might reap considerable gains here.

Within such a Ghost City, perhaps there were some puzzles suitable for him.

After crossing the park and two more streets, Zhang Hao seemed to reach the city center.

"Forbidden City!"

In the city center, a two‑story Courtyard hung a Signboard like this.

"Forbidden City?" Zhang Hao looked at the Courtyard, walked over with curiosity.

He wasn't too worried about danger; after all, the derivative ghost paintings left by Caesar Grand Hotel or Da Dong City could get him out.

Entering the Courtyard, it differed from his imagination; there were no people nor ghosts, only a counter in the center. As Zhang Hao and the bride approached, the counter opened eerily, and a wooden Signboard was thrown out.

"Forbidden City taboo: Red and White Double Evil!"

The moment the wooden Signboard was thrown, Zhang Hao felt an unsettling sensation all over, an invisible connection appearing on him.

"Is this some Medium? It seems to carry a curse."

Zhang Hao walked to the wooden Signboard and picked it up.

The curse affecting him seemed to emanate from this Signboard; it is a kind of Medium belonging to this eerie city.

The instant Zhang Hao lifted the Signboard, a strange phrase appeared in his consciousness.

"Reverse Coffin, Night Crier, Kneeler, Approacher, Peeker dies."

"Hmm? This has been implanted with a Killing Rule?"

Zhang Hao stared intently at the Signboard and the counter.

He only picked up the Signboard, but unexpectedly had a Killing Rule implanted.

However, when Zhang Hao intended to attack, his action stalled.

His behavior was restricted; this counter did not satisfy any of the five Killing Rules implanted in him.

"No, that's not right."

"This is not an implanted Killing Rule, but a strengthening of the Killing Rules I already had," Zhang Hao suddenly realized.

In fact, the rules that were implanted were all Killing Rules Zhang Hao already possessed; they just hadn't manifested because his actions didn't fully follow them.

Ignoring the implanted rule, Zhang Hao picked up the Signboard; by instinct he quickly understood its function.

It is something akin to a resident identity.

The curse on this Signboard is something called a taboo.

With the curse represented by this taboo, you may attack things in this city that violate the Killing Rules stipulated by your taboo.

Otherwise, imprisoning other Fierce Ghosts in this city would contravene its regulations.

"I see, it extracted five Killing Rules from my body as my taboo in this city?"

Zhang Hao looked at the second floor of the Courtyard; it was pitch black, details unseen, but he could feel a suppressive aura.

The city was terrifying; at least for now Zhang Hao lacked the ability to defy it, so he decided to act according to the taboo rules.

Anyway, Zhang Hao had exactly five Killing Rules, and triggering them was relatively easy.

"By the way, bride, which taboo rules have you extracted?"

Zhang Hao looked at the ghost bride, and soon a line of words appeared in his mind.

The ghost bride directly copied the taboo rules obtained from the Signboard and pasted them to Zhang Hao unchanged.

"See him dies, Think of Him dies, Approacher dies, Toucher dies, Reverse Coffin dies."

"Also five rules like mine? Not bad."

Zhang Hao was fairly satisfied with the content the ghost bride pasted.

Thus, he and the bride now had ten taboo rules, allowing freer movement in this city.

He just didn't know why this city kept implanting taboo rules into other Fierce Ghosts.

Nevertheless, these matters no longer concerned Zhang Hao; once he left the city, he could retrieve the Ghost Scissors from the red room and cut off the curse the city had stained onto him.

Leaving the Courtyard, Zhang Hao walked onto the street outside.

When a ghost walked toward him, a White Curtain sprang from Zhang Hao's waist and hoisted the creature up.

Those who leave the Ground die.

After hanging the Fierce Ghost, Zhang Hao directly threw it into the ghost painting's Ghost Domain.

This is one of the taboo rules Zhang Hao obtained, but obviously Zhang Hao actively letting the other leave the Ground also falls within this category.

After throwing this ghost into the ghost painting for a while, Zhang Hao, who noticed no change, quickly realized that this would not trigger the city's Killing Rule.

"I see, let's go, we'll look for the Puzzle."

He walked in the direction Zhang Hao came from.

He won't let that Alley go.

Before, he feared that mastering the other would break the city's Balance; now, being a member of the city himself, no one fears anyone.

While Zhang Hao walked forward, silently the door of a three‑story residential house opened.

An old man dressed in a paper funeral shroud appeared outside the door, sitting on a constantly rocking rocking chair.

"Creak, creak!"

The rocking chair kept swaying, and just as Zhang Hao passed by, the old man suddenly opened his eyes.

"Got your eyes on me?"

Zhang Hao turned his head toward him; the old man appeared neither early nor late, but precisely when he passed, and even opened his eyes as he had just walked by.

Yet at that moment, the old man seemed to see something terrifying, and his opened eyes quietly closed.

"Hm?"

Zhang Hao suddenly sensed something; the black and white Ghost Domain abruptly spread and invaded the old man.

Soon, a Black and White Portrait fell onto the rocking chair.

The old man had his eyes on Zhang Hao, but the instant he opened his eyes, it triggered Zhang Hao's Seeker's Death rule, allowing Zhang Hao to act.

Moreover, the old man precisely triggered the Killing Rule that when someone sees Zhang Hao outside the city, the view of his back will be turned into a Black and White Portrait.

"Just right, we still need a temporary place to stay, so let's go up and check the old man's room first."

Although Zhang Hao doesn't need rest, the city's ghosts are simply too many.

Constantly walking outside, it's inevitable to be eyed by some terrifying Fierce Ghosts.

While one or two aren't worrisome for Zhang Hao, a larger number becomes troublesome to deal with.

And he also intends to search this city to see if he can find other Puzzle pieces for himself and the Ghost Bride.

Entering the house, its layout was nothing special.

The old house almost mimicked a normal family's layout: kitchen, living room, Bedroom, bathroom.

However, the owner evidently didn't need these things, so everything inside, except for an Old Taishi Chair, was covered with a thick layer of dust.

Zhang Hao entered the room with no intention of cleaning, closed the door and stood at the windowsill watching everything below.

Perhaps because his Terror Level was relatively high, when he walked on the Road below earlier, he saw few ghosts.

But as he went upstairs and shut the door, strange human silhouettes began appearing on the Road below.

"The instinct to seek profit and avoid harm makes these Fierce Ghosts instinctively conceal their aura when I appear."

"Looks like this decision was right; to search for the Puzzle here, I still need to hide myself."

The houses here seem to isolate aura; no matter how Zhang Hao observes other houses, at most he sees human silhouettes inside, unable to fully perceive the level of Fierce Ghosts within.

Through continuous observation, Zhang Hao soon discovered a group of human silhouettes worth noting.

It was a procession of people in red clothing, carrying Lanterns, with a Flower Sedan Chair lifted behind them, moving forward.

The Flower Sedan Chair glowed, and a woman seemed to be inside.

"Is that a groom? Is the one in the Flower Sedan Chair a bride?"

He stared at the man in the front of the procession, dressed in a red ceremonial robe.

For no reason, Zhang Hao felt a strong instinct to snatch that garment for the first time.

This desire was even stronger than any he had felt when encountering any ghost before.

Even the stimulus from the white Ghost Candle and the white Lantern that could summon ghosts before was not this intense.

In an instant, the black and white Ghost Domain invaded the house.

In the dim Road far away, accompanied by a flash of black and white, a Coffin materialized out of thin air; Zhang Hao knelt on the Coffin, and a long White Curtain draped from the Coffin to the Ground.

Zhang Hao commanded the Fierce Ghost beneath him that lifted the Coffin, hurling the Ghost Coffin at the wedding procession.

At this moment.

Driven by the strong instinct, he didn't even consider any ghost's Terror Level, only wanting to seize that red garment.

(End of Chapter)