Chapter 57: The Betrothal Gifts
The sinister wind dispersed, and calm stillness returned to the hall. Candles burned in silence, casting flickering shadows that swayed gently on the walls and floor. The thick yin energy that had blanketed the room faded away.
Xie Lingxi and the others lacked a Nocturnal Specter's spiritual sensitivity, but even they could sense through instinct alone that the hall had become safe.
Fire Demon studied him with a scrutinizing gaze, his tone carrying equal parts surprise and delight. "You're a Nocturnal Specter? You're actually a Nocturnal Specter..."
A single shout had been enough to scatter the vengeful spirits. There was no further demonstration necessary for Wang Tai's class.
"Is it really that strange? Jinshui Amusement Park has supernatural elements. Getting matched to a Nocturnal Specter is perfectly normal," Zhang Yuanqing replied with an easy smile.
"I can't make promises about the other attractions, but for this Haunted House, I can keep you all safe, at least until we encounter the Ghost Bride."
The four teammates exchanged glances, each spotting the delight in the others' eyes.
None of them had expected them to have such a rare class among their ranks. In a supernatural dungeon crawling with ghosts and spirits, having a Nocturnal Specter as an escort was more reliable than most items could ever be.
After all, this was literally their area of expertise.
In an instant, the way all four teammates looked at Zhang Yuanqing shifted, and they felt strongly dependent on him.
"We only have one hour," he reminded his teammates. "No dawdling. Let's see if there are any clues in here."
He swept his gaze across the hall, and with his night vision, he quickly locked onto the altar behind the grand armchair.
He walked over to inspect it. Beneath a blue and white porcelain plate heaped with peanuts and dried longan lay a sheet of red paper that had been pressed flat.
Zhang Yuanqing picked it up and read it by candlelight as the others gathered around.
"Betrothal gifts: a steelyard beam, a golden hairpin, medicinal wine, and a wedding quilt."
Xie Lingxi stroked her chin, her bright eyes darting about as she pondered. "These aren't traditional betrothal gifts, but since the paper says so, we're probably meant to find these four items and present them as such."
Finding all four would make whoever held them the equivalent of a groom bearing his betrothal gifts.
Great Sage Equal to Heaven spoke up. "What happens if we don't find them?"
"We die, obviously," Fire Demon said. "More importantly, once the gifts are gathered, the Ghost Bride picks one of us?"
"Why just one?" Zhang Yuanqing asked. "Why don't all of us head into the bridal chamber together?"
His teammates stared back at him, utterly expressionless.
He shrugged. "It's just a joke. Trying to lighten the mood. You people have zero sense of humor."
Their expressions grew even more flat.
Xi Shi rolled her eyes, while Xie Lingxi continued, "The outline of this mission is getting clearer. In one hour, the Ghost Bride will choose a groom. Her criteria is whoever possesses the betrothal gifts. So we need to find all four items somewhere in this mansion.
"Of course, the part I don't know is whether the lucky one who gets chosen gains a chance at survival or faces certain death."
Fire Demon looked the girl up and down. "You really don't remember the guide at all?"
Her analysis had been remarkably thorough for someone who claimed ignorance.
Xie Lingxi pouted, putting on a wounded expression. "I really don't know."
Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the number of people in the team, and a chill ran through him.
Following the current clues to their conclusion, two outcomes were possible. The first was that finding all four betrothal gifts would count as the entire team meeting the requirement, after which they would simply await the Ghost Bride's selection. The second was that the four gifts could only guarantee four people met the requirement, and the one who was not carrying a gift would die without question.
The first scenario was manageable. But if it was the second...
His mind raced.
If it's the second scenario, then by this stage of the dungeon, infighting becomes inevitable. The number of remaining survivors might not even exceed four. No wonder they didn't seal our items and skills. This stage is designed to force us into killing each other. An S-rank dungeon really is lethal at every turn...
If things truly came to that, how many would be left?
As team captain, he had a hidden mission. The members in the team could not drop below three.
Leaving that aside for the moment, the groom selection process itself served as a psychological trap. It gave the impression that only the person chosen by the bride would have a chance at survival. After all, habitual thinking dictated that the lucky ones always received preferential treatment.
However, Zhang Yuanqing was certain that whoever the bride chose would die.
The reasoning was simple. First, that was how the original version worked. Second, if only the chosen one survived, the hidden mission would be meaningless, since no matter how hard anyone tried, only one person would remain alive after this point.
What difference would it make whether the team lost members during the stage or not?
Of course, if the Ghost Bride turned out to be a fickle heartbreaker, that was another matter entirely.
The Ghost Bride segment might only mean the death of one person, but the dangers of the Haunted House extended far beyond her. First came the crisis of internal betrayal. Then the other vengeful spirits that lurked within.
As team captain, navigating this dungeon was truly nightmarish. If clearing it didn't come with massive rewards, that would be downright unreasonable. Thankfully he had his divine artifact, the Demon-subduing Awl. He had nothing to fear, even if he had to face the Ghost Bride head on.
Following that train of thought, Zhang Yuanqing instinctively scanned his teammates and noticed their gazes had grown dark and guarded, as though they were already wary of one another.
Nobody in the team was stupid.
He cleared his throat. "Time is short. Let's find the betrothal gifts first. Everyone, stick close to me and don't scatter. Ordinary vengeful spirits can't get near me."
In a situation like this, his words carried the most weight, and they all still needed his class abilities.
The group circled behind the spirit wall at the back of the hall and entered the inner courtyard. Winding corridors stretched before them, hung with red lanterns whose deep crimson glow illuminated trees, flower beds, and ornamental rock formations.
In the distance, arched doorways connected to other courtyards, and rows of single ridged houses stood in orderly formation beneath the night sky.
The Ghost Bride really was the daughter of a wealthy family, Zhang Yuanqing marveled silently.
Given the scale of this estate, it had to be at least three courtyards deep.
He surveyed the layout of the buildings, then turned to remind the group. "The yin energy here is very heavy. Stay close to me—"
He cut off abruptly. Behind him stretched nothing but empty space. Not a single person was in sight.
His teammates had vanished.
Now that's genuinely terrifying, Zhang Yuanqing thought. He drew a deep breath but did not stop. He kept walking forward.
He needed to find them quickly. None of them were Nocturnal Specters. Even though their skills and items hadn't been sealed, their means of dealing with spirits were limited. Any of them could die at any moment if they encountered a tenacious vengeful spirit.
He crossed through the garden and spotted candlelight glowing inside a building ahead. The light was dim, seeping through the lattice windows in a ghostly shimmer. Every other building sat in pitch darkness.
Zhang Yuanqing crept cautiously along the corridor toward the room, focusing his senses. The yin energy inside was dense and oppressive, but no vengeful spirit had taken up residence.
He stood on tiptoes and pushed open the lattice door, revealing the room's interior.
It appeared to be a woman's private chamber. A canopy bed lay along the eastern wall, its curtains hanging low. A round table occupied the center, and a vanity sat by the window, its bronze mirror aimed directly at the doorway.
A steelyard beam forged from gold rested quietly on the vanity.
Zhang Yuanqing stepped over the threshold, closed the door behind him, and approached the vanity. Once he reached it, he picked up the golden beam. It was no longer than half his forearm and about as thick as his thumb.
This was traditionally used to lift the bride's red veil, symbolizing "a balanced and content heart."
That wasn't too hard. I found one right away, he thought to himself.
He was about to leave when he heard the crackle of static. A voice came out of the Cat King Speaker in his pocket.
"That day, she came to Jinshui Amusement Park..."
That troublemaker always made noise at the worst times. But wait, what was it trying to say? Come to think of it, the speaker was part of the amusement park itself. Perhaps it knew something useful. Zhang Yuanqing shifted his attention to it, waiting to hear more.
The Cat King Speaker didn't disappoint this time.
The voice continued, "The spirits in the Haunted House trembled and prostrated themselves on the ground. The great being did not trouble the weak vengeful spirits. She instructed the bride to find a young man on her behalf. That young man's name was Yuanshi Tianzun!"
Zhang Yuanqing's mind went blank with a deafening buzz, as if struck by lightning. He froze completely.
She's looking for me? For me?!
Who was looking for him? Why?
Shock and confusion surged upward, and then, almost instantly, he realized what was going on.
The Three Paths Mountain Goddess!
His mind raced.
The Taiyi Sect's official announcement said a powerful boss had triggered the disturbance across the Spirit Realms. The description of the Jinshui Amusement Park dungeon said that the being had slumbered for ages and was surprised to find all these novel little gadgets in the world. Every detail points to the Three Paths Mountain Goddess.
I'm the one who awakened her. She's looking for me because the Demon-subduing Awl contains half of her yang soul. Damn it, that old hag just won't let me go. Can't she leave me alone? I'm still a kid...
Deep down, Zhang Yuanqing had always known. If he kept leveling up, he would inevitably cross paths with the Goddess. But that was supposed to happen after he became a high level Spirit Realm Walker, when he could use the yang soul inside the Demon-subduing Awl as leverage for a deal.
He never imagined the old hag's reach extended so far that she could influence a low level Spirit Realm.
He cursed inwardly. Damn it. I knew this mission couldn't be that simple. So pulling out the Demon-subduing Awl would actually expose my identity?
After all, the Goddess was looking for him precisely because of the awl.
Her influence already permeates this Spirit Realm. The moment I pull out the Demon-subduing Awl, that old hag will come flying over. What would happen to me then? Whether a dungeon boss has any moral standards is debatable at best. What if she casually squashes me like an ant?
After deliberating back and forth, Zhang Yuanqing decided to keep his identity hidden and continue the mission without using the Demon-subduing Awl.
Exposing himself could mean having to face the Three Paths Mountain Goddess directly, a terrifying deity of unfathomable power. There were too many unknowns.
If he continued normally and cleared the Haunted House, nothing would happen. And if he truly reached a point of no return, he could still pull out the awl then.
With the pros and cons sorted out, the panic in his chest settled. He was about to turn and leave when he caught sight of something in the bronze mirror. The door behind him had been pushed open.
He whipped around in alarm, only to find the door firmly shut. It hadn't moved at all.
What was going on? Zhang Yuanqing turned back in confusion, letting his eyes settle on the bronze mirror again. This time, his eyes narrowed.
A woman in a white dress had appeared in the mirror, her hair hanging loose and wild. She stepped over the threshold and walked into the room in a bizarre, unnatural gait.
The room reflected in the bronze mirror seemed different from the one he was standing in.
The woman in white moved in a strange manner to the vanity and sat down.
Only then did Zhang Yuanqing finally realize why her movement looked so wrong. She had been walking backwards!
What came next would have scared an ordinary person to death. The woman in the mirror raised her hands and lifted her head clean off her shoulders, cradling it in her arms.
Her hands were a mottled blue black, her long nails dark and razor sharp.
The skull's black hair parted to reveal the woman's face. She had a deathly pale complexion and pitch black lips. Her eyes, with ghastly white pupils, were staring fixedly at the mirror as though gazing through it at Zhang Yuanqing from another world.
This ghost had zero looks, Zhang Yuanqing thought as he backed away quickly, planning to retreat from the room.
However, the woman's loose hair in the mirror suddenly came alive, rising like tentacles before plunging violently through the mirror's surface.
Ripples spread across the bronze mirror as clusters of hair pierced through its surface, coiling around Zhang Yuanqing's wrists and torso, tightening relentlessly, intent on dragging him into the mirror.
"Hmph!"
Thick, inky black light surged in Zhang Yuanqing's eyes. He opened his mouth and inhaled with all his might.
Soul Devouring!
The skill that could suppress ordinary vengeful spirits only managed to slow the rate at which the hair was coiling around him. It couldn't consume the ghost inside the mirror.
She was powerful, far beyond any ordinary vengeful spirit. Zhang Yuanqing's feet slid forward inch by inch as he was drawn closer and closer to the bronze mirror.
His mind raced through possible countermeasures. The Demon-subduing Awl was off limits unless absolutely necessary. The Bloodthirsty Blade dealt physical damage and so it was useless against spirits. The Red Dancing Shoes' attacks were also physical, and its stomps would do nothing against a spirit body.
After running through every option, the answer was clear.
It's your time to shine, Little Goofball!!
Zhang Yuanqing exhaled a wisp of yin energy from his mouth and summoned Little Goofball.
"Abah..." The round, adorable infant spirit plopped onto the vanity, lazily stretching its tiny limbs about. Then, it noticed the ghost in the mirror.
In an instant, like a cat with its fur standing on end, the infant spirit scrambled off the vanity at a speed no baby should possess, tumbling and crawling behind Zhang Yuanqing, wailing at the top of its lungs in sheer terror.
Zhang Yuanqing cursed. "Useless thing! Get in there!"
He sent the infant spirit a mental command to attack.
"Abah abah!"
Obedience was a spirit servant's nature. Little Goofball raised its faint little eyebrows, let out two fierce squeals, then grabbed Zhang Yuanqing's pant leg and climbed all the way up to his shoulder before launching itself at the mirror with everything it had.
The round, pudgy little body passed straight through the bronze mirror and plastered itself across the ghost's face.
Zhang Yuanqing immediately steadied his emotions and shifted his consciousness into the infant spirit, using Exchange to swap away the ghost's perception.
The ghost's sinister face went slack, as though she had suddenly lost all awareness.
The deadly wire-like strands of hair lost the strength sustaining it and drooped away lifelessly.
Beautifully done! Zhang Yuanqing congratulated the little spirit servant.
He recalled Little Goofball at once, letting the infant spirit perch atop his head, and bolted for the exit.
The ability only lasted three seconds, but it was more than enough to escape the room.
He burst through the door and leaped over the threshold. The moment Zhang Yuanqing returned to the garden, a loud slam echoed behind him. He looked back to see the candlelight in that room had already been snuffed out, leaving nothing but pitch-black darkness.
Sinister gusts swept through the inner courtyard. Numerous vengeful spirits lurked in the distance, craving the Nocturnal Specter's aura yet too intimidated by his presence to approach.
His thoughts drifted to his teammates. I need to find them fast, before they all end up dead.
He hurried out of the garden, passed under an arched gateway, and entered the neighboring courtyard. He spotted Xie Lingxi almost immediately.
The girl was standing before a water vat in the corner of the courtyard. Her upper body had been submerged inside it, and her hands gripped the rim as she struggled desperately. Clearly, something inside the vat pulling her down. No matter how hard she fought, she couldn't wrench herself free.
Gradually, her thrashing grew weaker and weaker.
Zhang Yuanqing approached steadily and caught the smell of alcohol. He leaned over and peered inside. Dark liquid sloshed within, and an infant spirit trailing an umbilical cord swam about within. That cord had wound itself around Xie Lingxi's neck and was dragging her relentlessly under the surface.
He scooped up Little Goofball with both hands and, ignoring the spirit servant's frantic squirming, tossed him straight into the vat.
The infant spirit trailing its umbilical cord spotted one of its own kind entering and immediately released its grip, baring its teeth and snarling at Little Goofball.
Zhang Yuanqing grabbed Xie Lingxi by the shoulders and hauled her out of the vat with one powerful pull.
She coughed violently, her face flushed scarlet, bangs and sideburns plastered wetly against her forehead and cheeks.
A dozen or so seconds later, once the burning in her lungs had eased enough for her to see Zhang Yuanqing's face clearly, she burst into tears of relief.
"Bro Wang Tai, you came to save me! I never want to enter a Nocturnal Specter related Spirit Realm again. It's too, too scary!"
It was her first time in a dungeon with supernatural elements.
"How did you end up here?" Zhang Yuanqing asked, still keeping his eyes on the vat.
Inside, the two infant spirits had broken into a full-on brawl, pouncing on and biting at each other, churning the dark liquid about in rippling waves.
Xie Lingxi stood on tiptoe and peeked into the vat, then gagged as she remembered how much of that liquid she had swallowed.
"That's so disgusting, so disgusting," she repeated.
After a thorough round of complaints, she finally answered his question.
"Bro Wang Tai, I was following you out of the hall when a fog rolled in and suddenly everyone was gone. I went looking for you all and somehow ended up here. Then I caught a whiff of wine and followed the scent to this vat.
"I figured it had to be one of the betrothal gifts, so I lifted the wooden lid. The moment I did, something like a rope shot out of the vat and dragged me in."
She stared at the umbilical cord infant spirit in the vat, thought about the liquid she had choked on, and her small face went white as a sheet. "It's so disgusting. So disgusting..."
Zhang Yuanqing mentally calculated the time as he studied the girl.
"You can hold your breath for quite a while," he finally commented.
Xie Lingxi shook her head and said in a delicate voice, "I have an item that restores the user's vitality. Without it, I would've suffocated in that vat ages ago."
She raised her pale, slender wrist to reveal a bracelet of emerald-green jade.
A vitality restoring bracelet... Was this girl also a Wood Demon? Her temperament didn't quite match, though.
Zhang Yuanqing gave a brief grunt of acknowledgement without lingering on the bracelet, and said, "Come with me to find the others. Let's hope we're not too late."
Xie Lingxi collected some of the liquid. Zhang Yuanqing recalled Little Goofball, who had just experienced his first ever fight with someone his own age, and the two set off along the cobblestone path deeper into the estate.
"By the way, hand over that card."
"Huh? What card?"
"Don't play dumb. The card from the parking lot. I saw you stuff it in your back pocket."
"..."
