Chapter 1633

Thud!

A drum sounded, and the dim room instantly lit up; over a dozen paper people swarmed over, shouting, "Sir! Two sirs!"

Jin Chen: "……"

With a headache from the shouting, Jin Chen coldly interrupted: "Don't shout randomly!"

"Exactly! We're innocent!" Jing Xingcan shouted with his eyes closed.

"Sir! If you picked up the gold, that means you agree to take us as brides!" Seeing him refuse, the paper people instantly turned fearsome, baring teeth and claws as they lunged.

Bullshit!

Jin Chen lit a torch and threw it over, saying, "I didn't pick it up, and I haven't blamed you for scattering gold that almost made me fall!"

The paper effigies, however, were not afraid of the flame; they merely stopped as they were about to enter the screen, saying, "Sir… please come in."

The instant Jin Chen's foot stepped inside, he pulled it back, but he couldn't stop Jing Xingcan, who had already walked two li, his upper body still draped over Jin Chen's shoulder; after a stumble, he still went in.

"Sorry, sorry." Jing Xingcan quickly stood up, gave an apologetic smile and patted his chest: "Xiao Chen, don't be so fierce, it's scary."

Jin Chen punched him, then hauled him inside the screen; the two instantly stopped.

Behind them was a pile of glaring paper effigies; ahead, over a dozen newlywed brides were suspended in midair, their necks bound by a red silk ribbon.

Wedding robes mixed with fresh blood, making it impossible to tell which red was more glaring; they died with eyes wide open, each pair staring at the intruder, the grayish-white flesh of their necks sloughed off and coated in dust on the ground.

The red silk ribbon was thin; over a dozen corpses swayed, their embroidered shoes stretching out from the wedding robes, toes pointing to the ground.

But when they entered, they clearly saw each corpse's eyeballs rotating, as if provoking or resenting.

It hurts so much……

A newlywed bride wailed, "It hurts so much…"

Their voices were like weeping, eyes bleeding, "It hurts so much…"

"Worship with me, please; if we marry, the pain will stop."

A newlywed bride stretched out a bluish-white hand, like a skeleton, to grab Jin Chen's face, drooling, "Worship with me…"

Jin Chen stepped back half a step, bluntly said, "Get lost."

"Then stay… stay!!" She flew into a rage and charged.

"Ahhh, my god, they're all ghosts!" Jing Xingcan sensed the resentment, grimacing: "It's over; we seem unable to beat them."

Jin Chen looked at him thoughtfully and said, "Sixth Senior Brother, I'm sorry."

"Huh? … Ah!"

Jing Xingcan was knocked out; Jin Chen hauled him to a dusty grand teacher's chair in the corner.

In an instant, golden light surged.

All dust and shadows had nowhere to hide, rising and falling in the golden light like the rays of the rising sun.

The room was dark and chilling; Jin Chen alone stood in the golden light, raising an eyebrow at the dozen or so female ghosts whose faces were full of shock, and said, "Open the door, make way."

Female ghosts: "……"

"What monster did you bring in this time, Sir?! It's so bright! Is a bodhisattva walking among us?!"

They dared not block the path for fear of being burned, yet also feared Sir's blame if they couldn't catch a person; they were torn.

Jin Chen didn't have time to waste on them.

The golden light was like a heavy axe, cleaving the red silk ribbon in one strike, cleaving that truly bizarre screen.

That cluster of black mist that had seized them shrieked forth, its wrapped resentment fiercer than the little flower of Xiling Town; even in this world where spiritual aura was just beginning to revive, such a thing was rare.

Ling Gun Gun suddenly spoke.

【Oh ho! Clue broadcast: In the original plot, Jing Xingcan and Xu Qie died at the hands of these ghosts, formed from the condensed resentment of all the lovelorn people of Min Dong City, intangible and fearless, their true form being a pitiful beggar maiden.】

Jin Chen narrowed his cold eyes, stepped back half a step, raised his hand to resist the black mist, gradually clenching his fist.

Ahhhh!!!

That shrill scream instantly turned horrific, scorched by spiritual power until the mist dissipated; it nearly burned on the spot, withdrawing by relying on the endless resentment of the whole city, curling up inside the screen.

In an instant, everything around faded away.

Jin Chen knew it feared him, frowned and glanced several more times, holding Jing Xingcan as he waited for the darkness to recede.

The wedding banquet had passed into twilight, and outside it was already getting dark.

Jin Chen was somewhat dazed, unsure if he had actually come out, until he caught sight of a white-clad figure rushing forward without hesitation in the moonlight—it was Rong Zixu.

Jin Chen almost instantly broke into a smile, "Senior Brother!"

Jing Xingcan had just slowly come to, when Jin Chen tossed him onto the ground.

He rubbed his butt and cried out, then looked up to see the senior brother holding Jin Chen in his arms.

Jing Xingcan silently crawled out, feeling inexplicably that he shouldn't disturb them.

"I'm not hurt, I'm fine." Jin Chen knew what Rong Zixu was about to ask, and preemptively explained; if Rong Zixu weren't holding him so tightly, he would have shown him his whole body.

Rong Zixu's worry that had been hanging in his heart fell away, but his heartbeat remained fast.

It was lingering fear, plus the lingering aftertaste of having regained what was lost.

Jin Chen affectionately rubbed his forehead against his brow, softly soothing, "Look, there's not a single injury."

Rong Zixu felt a little itchy from being rubbed, truly unwilling to push him away; he murmured an assent, his hand reaching to touch Jin Chen's hair but then lowering—only to be intercepted by Jin Chen's hand, after which their fingers intertwined.

Jin Chen lifted his fingertips, laughing wantonly as he lightly kissed his lips.

Rong Zixu stared, somewhat startled, at Jin Chen; the youth, relying on his indulgence, had already nestled in his arms and yawned, feeling no sense of being too close.

Go back to sleep, senior brother.

... Okay.

He simply couldn't bear to refuse Jin Chen's request, no matter what it was.

【Detected Villain Heartthrob Value +10, total 50!】

Five people not far away, plus a ghost: ……

Something's off.

Xu Qie thought, How wonderful! The fellow disciples finally discovered it!

"Could Xiao Chen be a bit too clingy to the senior brother?" Jing Xingcan worried to himself.

Chang Wuming: "……I feel like it's the senior brother clinging to Xiao Chen."

Gong Siyue stared at him in shock, "Don't you find this line terrifying?"

Yang Yu fanned himself with his fan, "Heh! Isn't it just that their feelings are not ordinary? A wonderful thing!"

Mo Ranmei wiped away the blood, shook her head, "No, no, Min Dongcheng doesn't allow the fashion of exchanged sleeves and handkerchiefs; don't let anyone find out!"

"Wait a moment," the most steady Xu Qie didn't forget the matter, looking at Mo Ranmei, "I know about exchanged sleeves, but what is exchanging handkerchiefs?"

"In Min Dongcheng, when women exchange handkerchiefs, it means they have privately pledged to stay together forever and never marry, which is no different from exchanged sleeves," Mo Ranmei said, seeing that the blood on her neck wouldn't wash off, she simply gave up.

"Holy shit..." Gong Siyue suddenly leaned in, "Are you sure?"

Mo Ranmei: "……?"

She glanced at Gong Siyue, then looked at Xu Qie beside her, and slowly nodded.

Gong Siyue: "What are you staring at!"

Gong Siyue said with a complex expression: "Before Su Su died, she received a letter from the Mo Family; inside was a letter, and later I saw her take out a handkerchief from her bosom."

She pointed at Mo Ranmei's cuff, "The handkerchief and your cuff both have plum blossom embroidery."

Mo Ranmei:!!!

Xu Qie and the others shifted their gaze to watch the drama.

Mo Ranmei was so frightened her head almost fell off.

She crouched on the ground, feeling around for a while before putting her head back properly, "I don't know……when Su Su took my handkerchief."

Mo Ranmei felt utterly bewildered, "If she… if she did that, why would she also try to steal my husband?"

Jin Chen ate a melon seed, then speculated, "Love turns to hate; if you can't have it, destroy it."

Others: "……"

That's too extreme a destruction.

Mo Ranmei almost burst into tears.

Rong Zixu silently covered Jin Chen's mouth, "Be good, don't speak either."

Since it was late, Rong Zixu still decided to investigate tomorrow; the Heaven's Mandate Seven Sons returned to the inn with the ghost that refused to leave.

"Hey there, customer."

The waiter saw Chang Wuming and came over to chat, "The young master sharing your room got hurt; I just sent him to buy medicine, what do you think…"

"What kind of injury? What happened to him?"

Chang Wuming asked instinctively, his face panicked.

"Looks like he was beaten, and pretty badly," the waiter said frankly.

Chang Wuming grabbed the medicine and hurried upstairs, not daring to meet Jin Chen's gaze; he knew he shouldn't do this, but… he couldn't help himself.

Jin Chen glanced at Chang Wuming's back without changing expression, his smile slightly fading.

How strange—could it be that the protagonist's charm in this world is impossible to sever?

Or… perhaps Bai Shiyun hides some secret he still doesn't know.