Ten li away from Suhe Village, a peasant household was decorated festively. Two red lanterns with the Chinese character "Xi" (happiness) written on them were hanging on both ends of the big gateway. They swayed in the wind, spinning constantly.
Inside the quiet small courtyard, the sound of suona horns for the wedding procession came out intermittently. Instead of feeling the joy of a wedding, there was a hint of desolation.
"The Lan family is really strange. Who marries off their daughter at night?"
"Exactly. They've set up so many banquets, but no guests or relatives are going in to dine. It's so eerie."
"It's so scary. Let's go quickly. Stay as far away as possible. If we get involved with something unclean, it'll be a big trouble."
The neighbors were standing in their own yards, whispering constantly.
All these voices fell into my ears without a single one missing.
Because the girl about to get married was me. At this moment, I was kneeling in front of an ancient painting, wearing a bright red phoenix coronet and a cape for brides.
With the red veil covering my face, I couldn't see clearly who was painted on the painting. But if it was a normal wedding, why wasn't the groom present, but instead they used a painting to propose marriage?
It was obvious that - he was already dead.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a chill down my back. I really wanted to escape from here, but for some reason, my body was like being tied up by ropes and I couldn't move at all.
Time passed little by little. I could only hear the clock on the wall ticking. Each tick seemed to bring me one step closer to death.
Suddenly, the sound of the suona stopped. A gust of cold wind blew open the door, extinguishing the candles on the sacrificial table. White smoke danced chaotically, and the curtains fluttered violently, making a whining sound like crying.
That feeling was extremely terrifying. The red curtains fluttering up and down were like the tongues of hanged ghosts, swaying from side to side.
It added a layer of mysterious veil to this already terrifying late - night.
My heart tightened.
"He's coming."
This kind of fear of not knowing the truth was like being in the endless purgatory, slowly torturing me. I wanted to look but was too scared to.
A chill gradually crept up from behind me, followed by a faint fragrance of sandalwood.
That thing should already be standing in front of me, looking down at me.
Although there was a red veil between us, I could feel it, because I felt an unusual aura lingering above my head.
My mind kept imagining the terrifying appearance of that thing, and my body trembled uncontrollably.
He... he was already lifting the veil. Yes, he was definitely lifting the veil. I was in despair at this moment, and my heart was pounding wildly.
I tightly closed my eyes and didn't dare to look. Tears flowed down uncontrollably.
Then came a cold touch. He was actually kissing my eyes, wiping away my two lines of terrified tears.
"Are you scared?"
His voice was very soft, with a hint of hoarseness in the deep tone. It was so nice that it made people breathless.
This voice made my originally terrified heart relax a little.
I slightly squinted my eyes, trying to sneak a peek at the terrifying face that I had imagined countless times in my mind.
There was a mist around him. Vaguely, I could see the outline of a man, but I couldn't see his face clearly.
My heart started to beat wildly, and my mind was completely occupied by fear.
His face was so close to mine. The corner of his mouth curled up into a charming smile.
"You're mine tonight..."
Those kisses like raindrops landed on my face, neck, and gradually slid down...
I turned my head and looked at the painting on the wall. It wasn't a portrait at all. It was clearly a silver - scaled flying snake shuttling through the dark clouds at the beginning of chaos.
...
My name is Lan Chiyu. I'm twenty - two years old this year and a sophomore at Longcheng University.
The reason I'm having this wedding is that I'm carrying the debt owed by my father's generation.
This debt dates back to seventeen years ago. At that time, I was only five years old. I was already adorable, and my mouth was very sweet. I spoke clearly, and my childish voice was very nice.
One night, I was sound asleep. Suddenly, I started to mutter in my sleep. The voice was completely not that of a child. Sometimes it was an old - fashioned old woman's voice.
"Hehe, you're so pretty. Come with me."
Sometimes it turned into an adult woman's jealous and vicious voice: "Looking like this, who are you trying to seduce? Die."
This really scared my parents. My mother quickly picked me up, trying to wake me up, but no matter what method she tried, I didn't respond at all.
Lying on my mother's body, I was like a boneless mollusk. If it weren't for the faint breath, I would have been a dead person.
My parents had me late in life, so of course they wouldn't give up. At that time, they went to several of the best big hospitals in the Northeast, but they couldn't find out what was wrong. They just said everything was normal, but with these symptoms, how could it be normal?
Finally, an old expert suggested that we go and see a doctor for hysteria. Since it wasn't a physical illness, it must be a spiritual illness.
He also recommended a great immortal who specialized in treating spiritual illnesses. It was said that he was a well - known spiritual immortal far and wide.
My parents went there with hope, but they were stunned when they arrived.
They had no idea. Once they went, they were shocked. Originally, my father thought that great immortals lived in thatched cottages in the remote mountains, like ascetics.
Unexpectedly, he lived in the most luxurious villa area in the city center, a four - story western - style building with its own courtyard. The people waiting to see him at the door could line up all the way outside the community. How could we wait? When would it be my turn?
At this time, I was on the verge of death, so my father simply didn't queue up. He rushed to the front row, hoping that the great immortal could show special mercy and save my life.
But the great immortal asked for an astronomical price. Even if our family sold everything, we couldn't raise that much money.
Finally, we ended up being kicked out.
At the end of our rope, an old beggar at the door couldn't bear to watch. He told my father that if the "living immortal" inside didn't save me, he would.
He said that he was also a well - known disciple of the spirit world in this area.
My father didn't believe it at first, but after the old beggar said something, my father thought it was a bit reliable. Desperate for a cure, he listened to him.
The old beggar also said that my father wasn't destined to have descendants. My life was retrieved by someone who defied fate, and I could only live until I was ten at most. It didn't really matter whether I was saved or not.
My parents were eager to save their daughter. They quickly knelt down and hoped that the old beggar could save me.
The old beggar didn't hesitate. He agreed to save me, but he could only solve the problem of the snake immortal possessing me for the time being. As for defying fate, he couldn't do it. It would bring about divine retribution.
My parents thought that it was better to solve one problem at a time, so they asked the old beggar to deal with the snake immortal problem first.
The old beggar sat cross - legged. His body started to tremble constantly, and he began to mumble and sing. Although my father didn't understand, he knew that he was summoning the immortal.
When the old beggar finished singing and opened his eyes, his originally dull eyes suddenly lit up.
He stared at the summoned immortal in surprise, was stunned for two seconds, and immediately knelt down and kowtowed.
"What good deeds have I done to deserve summoning you?"
It seemed that he had summoned an extraordinary person!