Chapter 4: 3. Sending Off the Bride

3. Sending Off the Bride

Zhou Sanji could not be certain which uninvited guest had come.

His heart was both startled and fearful, yet at this moment he could only press down his alarm and, lowering his voice toward the stiff crowd before the white cloth, said: "What are you gawking at? Keep the music going…"

The crowd was jolted back to their senses by Zhou Sanji's voice.

Sun Yanshun struck the clappers first, then the sounds of the various instruments rose one after another, and in the bone-chillingly cold room, the atmosphere seemed to turn festive once more.

Zhou Sanji's pair of ink-black eyes glanced sidelong toward the other side of the black cloth. Pinching his voice, he repeated his earlier question with a beaming smile: "I wonder if Miss Zhong and your parents and elders feel that Zhou Zhou Langjun's birth characters are a match for you?"

Amid the clamor of music, Zhou Chang scanned the expressions of the crowd, and through their faces he seemed to be able to hear their frantic heartbeats.

Though they said nothing, each and every one held their breath and pricked up their ears, waiting for the woman's response from behind the black cloth.

Fortunately, not long after the 'matchmaker's' words fell, a soft, gentle female voice came from behind the black cloth, calm and mild: "A match."

The woman's vocal tone was the same as before, only now there was no trace of timidity in her voice, as if she had become a different person.

Hearing her voice, the crowd immediately relaxed a little.

Yet Zhou Sanji's scalp went numb, and inwardly he grew more certain that something unknown had just possessed the girl behind the black cloth!

Steeling himself, his pair of paper eyes turned toward Zhou Chang, who sat on the other side, and asked his 'youngest grandson' the same question.

Deep misgiving hid in his tone: "I wonder if Zhou Zhou Langjun and your parents and elders feel that Miss Zhong's birth characters are a match for you?"

Zhou Chang's reply, by contrast, was calm and certain: "A match."

His grandson's response gave Zhou Sanji back a measure of courage. He steadied his breath, bent down and picked up a wooden stick, and with it slowly lifted the black cloth hanging between Zhou Chang and 'Miss Zhong,' asking at the same time: "Miss Zhong, please look upon Zhou Zhou Langjun's appearance.

I wonder if you are satisfied with his looks?"

The black cloth was slowly lifted away.

A woman in a great red bridal gown sat perfectly upright on a tall bench.

Her figure was slender, and that brilliant red wedding dress set off her slim, delicate frame all the more.

The woman's bloodless pale fingers were folded together before her lower abdomen.

A sheet of yellow paper covering her face stirred slightly in the wind, and faint ink traces slowly sketched out on the blank spaces of the yellow paper thin brows, narrow elongated eyes…

In the blink of an eye, a bewitching, amorous face sprang vividly to life on the paper.

The face on the paper was soul-stealing; 'it' stared fixedly at Zhou Chang across from it, its crimson lips parting slightly, smiling winsomely: "I am satisfied…"

Seeing such an enchanting face appear on that blank sheet of paper, a chill shot from the soles of Zhou Sanji's feet straight up to the crown of his head!

What on earth had he summoned by performing this play of 'Zhong Kui Marrying Off His Sister'?!

The music in the room became chaotic at that instant, the various sounds tangling into a muddle.

Everyone present felt a sinister, drafty presence circling above their heads and behind their necks!

Zhou Chang, among the frightened crowd, seemed out of place.

He exchanged a long look with the smiling paper face across from him, then turned his gaze toward the 'matchmaker's' shadow on the white cloth.

The 'matchmaker,' Zhou Sanji, stood frozen behind the white cloth, momentarily at a loss.

Zhou Chang could only take matters into his own hands — he turned his gaze back, fixed his eyes on the beautiful face on the yellow paper, and smiled: "I am also very satisfied with Miss Zhong's appearance.

Matchmaker, when shall I and Miss Zhong be wed?"

The paper face had entered the room without harming a single person inside; it had merely attached itself to Bai Xiue's body to come and complete this marriage with Zhou Chang.

Clearly, its interest in Zhou Chang's wedding at present outweighed everything else.

It had come for Zhou Chang; only Zhou Chang did not know whether what it fancied was the 'Zhou Chang fleshly body' he now occupied, or himself as he truly was.

Whichever it was, being able to attract this paper-faced ghost for now could be counted a good thing.

Zhou Sanji came back to himself and said hesitantly: "The wedding can wait… Since the two of you are now mutually pleased, let us first exchange tokens of betrothal. Bear this well in mind — once the tokens are exchanged, the two of you must honor and cherish each other for a lifetime, and never part!"

Zhou Sanji lowered his voice, deliberately reminding Zhou Chang.

But Zhou Chang, as if unable to catch the hidden meaning in his words, answered on his own accord: "Of course, a lifetime together as a pair, never to part.

However, I cannot move at the moment. Someone come, help me cut off a lock of hair to exchange with Miss Zhong."

His gaze fell on Sun Yanshun.

Sun Yanshun did as bid, cutting off a lock of Zhou Chang's hair, wrapping it in red paper, and with trembling hands passed it to the paper-faced one sitting upright across from him.

The paper face did not reach out to take it; she gazed lovingly at Zhou Chang across from her, and the red paper packet Sun Yanshun handed over was blown open by the wind. That lock of hair drifted, wove itself into a thin cord, and coiled around its wrist.

A lock of black hair hanging at one side of the paper face likewise detached itself at the same moment and drifted toward Zhou Chang.

On Zhou Chang's right wrist there had originally been a red cord of an extremely pale color.

The black hair and that red cord twined about each other, like a loop of cord plaited from one black and one red strand, and slipped onto his right wrist.

He lowered his eyes to look at the loop on his wrist, his expression faintly puzzled.

On his fifteenth birthday, his grandfather had had his fortune told at a celebration altar gathering back in the old hometown, and determined that before his twenty-third birthday he would encounter a sudden disaster.

Therefore his grandfather had gone to the 'Yinsheng Old Mother' back in the old hometown to ask for this red cord, to help him dissolve the future calamity.

But how could this red cord have appeared here?

"This servant too is willing to be with my lord a lifetime as a pair, unto death never to part…" the beautiful face on the yellow paper went on speaking, shy and bashful.

Zhou Sanji watched the two exchange their betrothal tokens, his gaze complicated.

He pinched his voice again and, in a theatrical singsong, chanted: "The two of you are in mutual affection, and now you have the matchmaker's word — a blessed bond foreordained, hereby concluded today.

However — oh dear, however, though we now have the matchmaker's word, we still lack the command of parents.

The elders of Zhou Zhou Langjun's household have already agreed to this marriage; I wonder where Miss Zhong's parents and elders might be?"

The matchmaker's shadow on the white cloth turned sideways and bowed toward 'Miss Zhong' in inquiry.

'Miss Zhong' sat perfectly upright on the tall bench, as if she had not heard Zhou Sanji's question at all.

The sheet of yellow paper on her face did not stir either; the beautiful face drawn in ink on the paper now seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary portrait.

Zhou Sanji asked 'Miss Zhong' once more.

The paper face still gave no response, but Bai Xiue, who wore that paper face, suddenly shuddered at this moment, as if just pulled out of water, gasping for breath in great heaving gulps!

The cold air lingering in the room had, without anyone noticing, dissipated somewhat.

Seeing this, Zhou Sanji knew what was happening; he switched back to his own voice and comforted the still-terrified Bai Xiue: "Girl, do not rush, do not fear!

Now is the time to set the date for your Young Lady Zhong's wedding; you must invite your Brother Zhong Kui to come and bear witness.

You must invite Brother Zhong Kui to come..."

Bai Xiue's mind was a blur, but hearing Zhou Sanji's voice, she seemed to grab a lifeline, murmuring along with his words: "Invite Brother Zhong Kui to come and bear witness."

"That's right!"

Zhou Sanji pitched his voice again, clapped his hands, and shouted: "Invite Great Lord Zhong Kui to come and pay his respects!"

This clap of the hands seemed to be a signal, causing all kinds of instruments in the room to play at once; everyone present wore smiles on their faces and shouted along: "Invite Great Lord Zhong Kui to come and pay his respects!"

Amidst the rising and falling sounds of enthusiastic invitations, the clay idols placed throughout the house all revealed smiling faces at once, while a cold wind howled angrily, filling the broken house!

The white banner fluttered violently in the cold wind; a pool of blood color swirled upon the white cloth, within which a fierce painted mask churned and roared!

As soon as everyone saw the painted mask on the banner, they all perked up, straightening their spines one by one, no longer crouching!

Seeing their expressions, Zhou Chang also knew that Zhou Sanji's performance of the 'Zhong Kui Marries His Sister' play had finally concluded, and he had successfully borrowed the power of that so-called 'Zhong Kui'!

Zhou Sanji held the white banner, his pair of Ink Eyes becoming even more vivid and spirited: "Let's go, let's go, to escort the bride and send her off!"

The crowd joined in: "Come, come, this is the auspicious hour!"

"Groom, mount the horse!"

"Bride, take the sedan!"

The crowd helped Bai Xiue sit inside the coffin; they lifted that thin-skinned coffin, which thus became the bride's wedding sedan.

Zhou Sanji took two steps to Zhou Chang's side, reached out to support Zhou Chang, but caused Zhou Chang to lose his balance, his whole body leaning heavily onto him.

The youngest grandson's body was like a block of ice that would not melt.

Zhou Sanji steadied Zhou Chang, and with the assistance of others, lifted Zhou Chang onto his back.

He was clearly thin and frail, far shorter than Zhou Chang, yet at this moment he possessed immense strength; carrying Zhou Chang on his back seemed to require no effort at all.

Watching the 'Ink Eyes' on Zhou Sanji's eyelids gradually turn red, Zhou Chang guessed this was perhaps the main reason the other man could carry him. At this moment, he heard Zhou Sanji's question, somewhat low in tone: "You still cannot move?"

Zhou Chang answered: "I cannot move."

"The Soul-Waking Spell has been chanted, the Life-Returning Talisman has been drawn; by all rights, you should be able to move by now... never mind, never mind; at least you can speak now. When we get home, I will think of other ways for you!"

Hearing Zhou Sanji's words, Zhou Chang lowered his eyelids and said nothing.

That feeling of being locked inside a coffin had indeed weakened somewhat after Zhou Sanji drew the talisman on his body.

But it was only weakened slightly; it had not completely disappeared.

Perhaps because he was not Zhou Sanji's true youngest grandson, this caused Zhou Sanji's method to fail to succeed completely.

He looked down at the red string on his wrist; in this short while, the red string had completely merged with the hair of the 'Paper Face'; its color had become even more vivid, one end still wrapped around Zhou Chang's wrist, while the other end drifted in mid-air.

Everyone was now gathered around Zhou Sanji, awaiting his orders.

Zhou Sanji's pair of Ink Eyes were now deep red as blood; he shoved the banner pole into Zhou Chang's palm and spoke in a muffled voice: "After walking out through this door, try not to make any sound; keep your footsteps low!

Secondly, your breathing must be very fine; absolutely no farting allowed!

Try not to let any scent escape from your body; hold back any urine or feces!

We are currently borrowing the power of Great Lord Zhong Kui, but what people give, they can also take back at any time; we must restrain ourselves and stay alert, so that if we encounter a wrong situation, we can be prepared and have a chance to escape!"

Zhou Chang observed the expressions of the crowd from above.

The people, who had been excited by borrowing the power of 'Zhong Kui', now all wore grave expressions again.

They mostly thought that borrowing Zhong Kui's power would mean everything would be worry-free, but they did not expect the situation to still be so serious, requiring attention to this rule and that rule.

Sun Yanshun, standing nearby to ease the atmosphere, grinned and explained: "Li Xiamei and the pack of dogs she raised have very keen noses and ears; Old Duan Gong requires you to do this for your own good. However, now that Great Lord Zhong Kui is shielding us, there will be no major problems on this journey; just keep Old Duan Gong's words in mind yourselves."

Hearing this, Zhou Sanji glared fiercely at Sun Yanshun, and the atmosphere became somewhat subtle.

Aside from Zhou Chang and Old Duan Gong, the remaining three people were all disciples brought by Sun Yanshun.

Naturally, they listened more to Sun Yanshun; hearing his words, they all felt relieved again.