bookpub Chapter 5: The ceremony failed, but the spirit lingers.
Chapter 5: The ceremony failed, but the spirit lingers.
To the west wing?
Chen Fu had no objection; he was fine with going anywhere. He also wanted to see what those eyes were.
I've even encountered the vengeful spirit of a water ghost, so why would I be afraid of a pair of eyes?
Song Shuangwei walked towards the west wing with great interest, but before she could even push open the door, she heard a gasp from the main hall.
Several young people were about to go inside to check it out, but they were stopped by a sign erected at the entrance.
Chen Fu, with his sharp eyes, was able to make out the words written on the sign from a distance of more than ten meters.
It was a line of red writing, meaning that to enter the main hall, one had to find the invitation in the east and west wing rooms.
The young people exclaimed in surprise because red ink was dripping down the characters, like blood, as if they had just been written.
"Scared already? Your mental fortitude isn't very strong..." Chen Fu muttered to himself, then turned to Song Shuangwei to explain the situation before heading towards the west wing.
Song Shuangwei showed interest on her face and followed Chen Fu inside. A couple who were standing close to them also walked over when they saw this.
The door to the west wing was ajar. When Chen Fu pushed it open, it made a teeth-grinding creak. The room was dimly lit, with only an oil lamp with a tiny flame on the dressing table.
"This must be an electronic device; it's quite well-made."
Song Shuangwei naturally took Chen Fu's arm and pointed to the oil lamp.
Chen Fu nodded silently and began to observe the layout of the room.
The room was decorated to resemble an ancient boudoir, but there was a sense of disharmony throughout.
The dressing mirror was covered in dust, and on the table lay not rouge, but a small tuft of dry hair and a few rusty copper coins.
The bed was covered with a bright red quilt, and instead of the mandarin ducks commonly used at weddings, the quilt cover featured two carp with their heads and tails intertwined, seemingly smiling but not quite.
The wooden wardrobe was placed in the corner, its surface wrapped with red rope and adorned with small bells, as if something was sealed inside.
Song Shuangwei pulled Chen Fu forward and touched the quilt. A layer of fine dust stuck to her fingertips, but the quilt felt no different from an ordinary one.
Where do you think the wedding invitations will be?
She asked, feigning fear, but her eyes gleamed.
Song Shuangwei invited Chen Fu to the amusement park and even chose the location for their ghost marriage immediately, all in an attempt to take that final step.
They've known each other for over a decade, and she wasn't willing to remain just friends forever.
Unfortunately, the person in front of her was very slow-witted and couldn't understand her intentions at all.
"Girl, you're acting so fake. You're clearly more excited than me..." Chen Fu pouted, gently pulled away from Song Shuangwei's hand, and began to rummage through the items.
Another couple followed the same steps.
Chen Fu untied the rope on the wardrobe and found several brightly colored but outdated women's cheongsams hanging inside.
He parted his clothes and began to search, when he suddenly heard a soft cry.
Turning her head, she saw that the couple was inspecting the dressing table. They found several baby teeth in the lower cabinet, which startled the girl.
Chen Fu noticed that when the baby tooth was turned out, the dusty mirror seemed to be cleaner and could even reflect a blurry human figure.
Seeing that there were no invitations in the closet, he turned around and walked over, imitating what he did in horror movies, and breathed on the mirror.
This action surprised the couple, and Song Shuangwei, who had been silent all along, was also astonished.
I never expected you to be so brave.
Chen Fu didn't pay attention to any of that. When the dust was blown away, his face was reflected in the mirror.
With sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and delicate features, his calm face was like a deep, still pool.
But at his shoulder, there was the silhouette of a woman in a red wedding dress, looking down at him.
The woman's blood-red eyes were exactly the same as the ones he had seen in the courtyard.
Chen Fu frowned, turned around abruptly, and saw three faces illuminated by tiny flames.
He looked in the mirror again; the woman's silhouette had vanished, and several lines of water-like writing slowly appeared on the surface:
"My younger sister was born in the year of Wuyin (1898) and died in the year of Bingshen (1896). She remained unmarried in her chamber, her soul returning to the west wing. The betrothal gifts have not yet arrived; how can we be a couple?"
The signature was a bloody fingerprint.
He died at eighteen? That's a bit of a pity... Chen Fu thought to himself, keeping the strange phenomenon to himself.
Since the blood-red eyes have appeared twice in a row, it will definitely happen again in the future, so there is no need to dig deeper for now.
"Is this a clue?" The boy in the couple leaned forward.
"It should be," Chen Fu said in a low voice. "Keep searching. There must be something else in this room."
The couple and Song Shuangwei continued their search as instructed.
Finally, Song Shuangwei found a wooden board under the bed that could be pried open.
Chen Fu pulled her aside, crawled inside himself, lifted the wooden board, and took out a small sandalwood box from the hidden compartment.
The four of them huddled together and opened it. Inside were a pair of small dragon and phoenix bracelets, with a white envelope underneath.
"These are the betrothal gifts and invitations."
Chen Fu opened the envelope by the candlelight.
It was written in neat handwriting:
"With humble gifts, I respectfully submit my application for employment."
I humbly request your acceptance of this invitation, and I would also like to request that you move to the main hall at 3:45 PM to witness the wedding ceremony.
"If the ceremony is not completed by the due date, the spirit will not rest."
Chen Fu took out his phone and checked the time.
It's 3:30 PM now, and 3:45 PM is the third quarter of the Shen hour, which matches perfectly.
"Good job, bro, you even managed to find this."
However, this ghost marriage doesn't seem very proper; there are four of us, but we have six invitations.
The boy joked, trying to lighten the mood and help his girlfriend recover from the shock.
However, the last line of text on the invitation also made him feel a little scared.
Chen Fu glanced at it and realized it was true.
"The organizers probably didn't expect that only four of us would come in."
Song Shuangwei analyzed that this kind of thing is very common, and it is always better to be well-prepared than to be lacking.
Chen Fu distributed the white paper invitations, placed the sandalwood box on the dressing table, took the bracelet, and walked out of the west wing.
Since they still had some time, they stood in the front yard and began to wait.
Song Shuangwei nudged Chen Fu with her elbow and whispered, "Why are you being so gentlemanly today?"
She was referring to Chen Fu's action of crawling under the bed earlier.
"It's hot, and my brain isn't working properly, otherwise I wouldn't be doing this dirty and tiring work."
Chen Fu chuckled. Did he expect the girl to crawl under the bed?
"Virtue~"
Song Shuang smiled and scolded, a smile curving her lips.
If you care about me, just say so. You don't want to admit it.
When I see the cadaver, I'll jump into your arms and see how you react.
The boy watched the two flirting and then turned to look at his girlfriend.
The girl stood quietly to the side, cautiously observing her surroundings, still recovering from the emotions she had just experienced.
She was timid and originally wanted to go to the place where the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet, but she couldn't resist her boyfriend's desire for excitement, so she came along.
The boy held the girl's hand to offer warmth.
He also wished his girlfriend were as brave as the long-legged girl in front of him, but he knew he couldn't change that. He could only secretly resolve that if anything frightened his girlfriend again, he must stand up and protect her immediately.
Before long, the young men who had gone to the east wing also came out.
Their faces were grim, and the leader was holding a pair of red embroidered shoes and identical white paper invitations.
Just as we arrived at 3:45, the main hall door opened silently, and a clearer suona horn sound came from inside, along with faint human voices, suggesting that many guests had gathered.
From everyone's perspective, all they could see were a bunch of dark silhouettes.
Chen Fu walked over first, placed the white paper invitation on the sign, and his deep voice resonated throughout the surroundings:
"Distinguished guest, please take your seat!"
Chen Fu glanced around and thought to himself, "You're just using sound effects to scare people, you have no creativity at all. Show me something else."
Just as I finished thinking, I turned my head and saw a pale face behind the door.
The face was covered in thick white powder, with exaggerated blush on the cheeks, and the green light below made the features look sinister and terrifying.
Chen Fu's eyebrows twitched, suppressing the urge to punch him, and he asked in a low voice, "What are you looking at?"
The emcee was stunned, thinking to himself, "Don't I look scary? How come this boy isn't afraid at all?"
Out of professional ethics, the emcee grinned and tried to show an exaggerated smile as much as possible, then pulled the boy into the main hall.
Those standing behind only saw Chen Fu pause for a moment, and then somehow he was pulled inside. For a moment, they had no idea what had happened.
Song Shuangwei reacted the fastest, taking three steps at a time to climb the steps, throwing the invitation at the sign, and stepping into the main hall without hesitation.
She looked as if she were going to rescue her husband who was imprisoned.