Chapter 78: The Bone Bride
The entire courtyard trembled.
The deep burial pit at its center shook violently, causing loose earth to slide into the open coffin below. Every villager stopped chewing at the exact same moment.
Silence swallowed the feast.
Inside the crimson coffin, the bride slowly sat upright.
Her wedding veil swayed despite the absence of wind.
Everyone’s attention instinctively shifted toward her.
Only Shen Yu noticed something different.
The bride wasn’t looking at the villagers.
She was looking directly at him.
A familiar mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
Ding!
Yun Han’s Favorability +5.
Current Favorability: 15.
Underneath the scarlet veil, a soft voice drifted through the silent courtyard.
"Only after endless hardships does true gold reveal its brilliance..."
"Though battered by storms from every direction, one should remain steadfast..."
The poetic lines Shen Yu had recited moments earlier were being repeated word for word.
His eyes widened.
She had remembered them.
No...
She had appreciated them.
Slowly, a pale hand emerged from beneath the oversized red sleeve.
The skin peeled away like aged paper.
Flesh crumbled.
Muscle vanished.
Until only an elegant white skeletal hand remained.
Instead of looking terrifying, it possessed an eerie beauty.
Resting upon those delicate bones was a tiny crimson paper crane.
With a gentle flick of her fingers—
Flutter.
The paper crane spread its wings and floated into the air.
Everyone stared.
It ignored every person present and flew directly toward Shen Yu.
"Impossible..."
Mohan’s confident expression cracked for the first time.
He had simulated countless futures.
Never—not once—had the bride voluntarily helped someone.
The crimson crane circled Shen Yu’s head before softly landing on his shoulder.
Shen Yu carefully picked it up.
It wasn’t merely a paper crane.
It had been folded from a square sheet of brilliant red paper.
The instant he unfolded it, realization flashed across his eyes.
"So that’s it..."
Without hesitation, he tore the paper into several strips.
His fingers moved rapidly.
Fold.
Fold.
Fold.
Within seconds, the crimson paper had become several tiny paper dishes that looked exactly like the offerings on the villagers’ tables.
Without waiting another second, Shen Yu placed one before the stone child clinging to his back.
The little creature’s gloomy eyes immediately lit up.
"Food!"
"So much food!"
Its terrifying expression vanished instantly.
Like an obedient child, it grabbed the folded paper and stuffed it greedily into its mouth.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Although it was clearly chewing paper, thick grease and dark blood flowed from between its stone teeth.
The horrifying sight made Lu Xian feel nauseous.
Yet Shen Yu watched calmly.
As the little monster finished eating, its grip on Shen Yu’s neck loosened.
Its hostility melted away.
It climbed down from Shen Yu’s back and stood obediently beside him.
Then it tugged gently on his sleeve.
"Big Brother..."
"You’re so nice."
Ding!
Stone Child Favorability: -15 → +15.
The enormous reversal shocked everyone present.
Even Lu Xian couldn’t hide her disbelief.
"It... changed that quickly?"
Shen Yu finally let out a slow breath.
He stepped away from the kitchen entrance before bowing respectfully toward the bride inside the coffin.
"I thank Miss Yun Han."
The bride lowered her head ever so slightly.
Ding!
Yun Han Favorability +3.
Current Favorability: 18.
Shen Yu couldn’t help wondering.
A young woman who appreciated literature...
Who responded to poetry...
Who possessed elegance even after death...
How had someone like her become the sacrificial bride of this cursed village?
There had to be a story.
A tragic one.
Returning to the banquet table with the stone child following behind him, Shen Yu resumed his seat.
The little monster even climbed happily onto his lap.
Its previous murderous intent had completely disappeared.
Across the table, Mohan’s expression darkened.
He stared at Shen Yu as though trying to dissect him.
"How?"
"How did you know reciting poetry would make the bride help you?"
His voice carried unconcealed frustration.
Every advantage he believed he possessed had been overturned.
Shen Yu merely smiled faintly.
"What do you think?"
That single sentence nearly made Mohan grind his teeth to pieces.
He refused to believe it.
If Shen Yu could gain the bride’s favor...
Then he should be able to do the same.
Standing abruptly, Mohan slapped the table.
Bang!
Every villager slowly turned toward him.
Even the stone faces emerging from their backs paused.
Mohan straightened his clothes.
He deliberately adopted what he believed to be an elegant posture before looking directly at the bride.
Then, in an affectionate voice, he began reciting.
"Though mountains crumble..."
"Though rivers dry..."
"Though winter thunders and summer snows..."
"Only then shall my love fade..."
He spoke with exaggerated emotion.
His eyes remained fixed upon Yun Han.
Nothing happened.
The bride didn’t even move.
Mohan frowned.
Perhaps...
That poem wasn’t famous enough.
He cleared his throat.
"The graceful maiden upon the riverbank..."
"The gentleman’s perfect match..."
Still nothing.
The bride remained perfectly motionless.
A bead of sweat rolled down Mohan’s forehead.
He refused to accept defeat.
He launched into another declaration.
"In heaven, may we become paired birds."
"On earth, entwined branches."
"I love you."
"I love you like a mouse loves rice..."
"Northeast is my homeland..."
The further he spoke, the stranger his words became.
Classical verses mixed with modern clichés until even he no longer knew what he was saying.
The courtyard fell completely silent.
Not a single villager reacted.
Even the stone faces stopped chewing.
They all stared blankly at Mohan.
Their expressions resembled people watching a fool perform in the middle of a funeral.
The bride slowly leaned backward.
Without the slightest response...
She lay back inside the coffin.
The crimson veil settled once more.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Mohan stood frozen in place.
His mouth twitched.
"..."
Not even a paper scrap floated toward him.
Behind Shen Yu, Lu Xian pressed her lips tightly together.
She desperately wanted to laugh.
Taishan looked away, pretending not to know the man standing beside him.
Even the stone child sitting on Shen Yu’s lap tilted its head in confusion.
"Big Brother..."
"Who is that strange uncle?"
Shen Yu nearly choked.
Across the courtyard, several villagers resumed eating.
One old man clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"What nonsense."
"Has this youngster lost his mind?"
The other villagers nodded in agreement before returning to feeding the stone faces behind their backs.
It was as though Mohan had never existed.
His grand performance had been completely ignored.
The humiliation was worse than being attacked.
Mohan slowly lowered his head.
His fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.
Why?
Why had Shen Yu succeeded while he had failed?
He had memorized countless poems before coming here.
He had even practiced his tone.
Everything should have worked.
Unless...
His eyes narrowed.
No.
It wasn’t the poetry.
It was the person.
The bride had never cared about the verses.
She cared about the sincerity behind them.
Or perhaps...
She simply didn’t like him.
That possibility made Mohan’s expression grow even uglier.
Across from him, Shen Yu gently patted the stone child’s head while quietly observing the silent bride within the coffin.
He wasn’t celebrating.
Instead, he was thinking.
Yun Han had helped him twice already.
She wasn’t hostile.
In fact...
She seemed to be trying to guide him.
If that was true, then perhaps the greatest secret of Twin Tomb Village wasn’t hidden in the villagers.
Nor in the kitchen.
Nor in the stone-faced monsters.
It lay inside that crimson coffin...
With the lonely bride who had long since become a ghost.
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