Chapter 19: The Bride of the Wraith King (19)

All the brides were pulled into the coffins by a strange, unseen force.

Including Tang Mu.

The brides were terrified, bewildered by the sudden turn of events. The woodcutters remained outside the coffins, guarded by ghostly hands and villagers from Azure Dragon Village. Meanwhile, the brides were held fast to the coffin boards by the ghost hands, unable to move except for what little their upper bodies could manage outside the boards.

“Tang Mu, sister!”

Xue Fen was restrained, unable to move even slightly toward Tang Mu. He was anxious—likely worried for himself as well.

A sinister chuckle echoed.

The moon over the River of Forgetfulness suddenly turned blood-red. The villagers, who had previously spoken amiably with the players, transformed as well. Their faces turned greenish, fangs bared, eyes fierce as they stared at the seven brides trapped inside the coffin boards.

But not An Xiaoyue.

An Xiaoyue had become a rag doll. Strictly speaking, she was no longer a bride, so the one bound as her teammate, Joseph, had the misfortune of taking her place.

“The red moon rises, the ghost ship sails, the brides are offered, the ghost king rejoices. Grant them red paint, reward them with coffin palanquins. All ghosts obey, prepare the bridal red!”

The old ghost woman ordered the brides to be painted with the deathly red makeup. The atmosphere was thick with eerie tension.

When it was Joseph’s turn, he was nearly beside himself with rage. A grown man forced into makeup—dead bride makeup, no less—it was utterly revolting.

“Let me go! Do you hear me? I’m not a bride! My identity is a woodcutter! Woodcutter! Can’t you open your damned eyes and see clearly?”

But even if Joseph shouted until his throat was raw, it made no difference. He was forcefully smeared with deathly rouge, powder, blush, and so forth.

Once his makeup was finished—

Tang Mu couldn’t help herself and burst out laughing.

Hearing Tang Mu’s laughter only made Joseph angrier.

“Miss Tang Mu, aren’t you going a bit too far? I know you’d never fancy me, but could you at least show me some respect?”

“Sorry, sorry, I just couldn’t help it… Ha ha.” Tang Mu waved her hand, still laughing.

Joseph’s face darkened even further, his cheeks flushed to the base of his neck. At a time like this, Tang Mu could still laugh? He couldn’t tell if she had a big heart or simply nerves of steel.

As for Xue Fen—

He used a Petrification Talisman (E), forcibly petrifying three ghostly monsters within five meters and breaking through the obstacles to reach Tang Mu’s side.

“Tang Mu, sister, are you alright? Did the ghost hands hurt you?”

Faced with the handsome, magnified visage of this younger brother, Tang Mu had only one thought: an E-grade Petrification Talisman. That’s worth tens of thousands of gold coins in the Metaverse Shop. And just like that, it was used up?

Heads may roll, blood may flow, but money must be earned! That’s money—money! In the real world, that could buy how many green plants, how much water, and how many food resources!

“Xue Fen, little brother, didn’t your mother teach you not to waste money? An E-grade item, and you just use it without a second thought? You… you’re going to drive me mad!”

Tang Mu could no longer openly favor Xue Fen. No matter how handsome he was, or how naïve and easy to fool, she simply couldn’t afford to indulge someone who wasted expensive items so carelessly.

Out in the world, he’d bankrupt several slums in no time!

Xue Fen whimpered at the edge of the coffin, but quickly pressed a new E-grade item into Tang Mu’s hand.

[A Lucky Coin (E)]: Toss it into the air; it lands. Guess heads or tails. If the player guesses right, the player wins and the NPC is eliminated. If the NPC guesses right, the NPC wins and the player is eliminated. Use with caution—there’s only a 50% chance of survival!

Xue Fen whispered, “Metaverse Shop, sells for 58,888 gold coins.”

She rubbed the coin; the front bore the design of a one-gold coin, while the back was decorated with a silver peach motif.

Tang Mu’s expression immediately brightened.

“Oh, then it’s fine.” She was delighted.

Perhaps realizing her own money-grubbing demeanor was a bit unseemly, she coughed, trying to appear serious.

“I think we’re about to land. Have you thought of a way to protect yourself?”

Xue Fen wiped his tears and shook his head.

“No.”

He said, “I worked as a chef in the back kitchen, so I never had a chance to get clues from the NPCs. Did Tang Mu, sister, learn anything?”

Tang Mu paused, her gaze evasive.

“No, nothing.”

Xue Fen drooped, disheartened. “Ah, what should I do then? When we meet the ghost king, I’ll die…”

“It’s alright. You’re so adorable, surely fortune will favor you,” Tang Mu lied without hesitation.

And then, her eyes flickered as she dragged Xue Fen into the coffin with her. When the ghosts came to paint the red makeup, Xue Fen was above her, his face taking the brunt of the deathly bride makeup.

“Ha ha.”

Fortunately, the coffin’s interior was spacious enough. When Xue Fen finally rolled off Tang Mu, his cat-like painted face was clearly visible to her.

Xue Fen looked utterly aggrieved.

“Tang Mu, sister, you’re so mean! You didn’t want to be made up, so you sacrificed my face! Hmph, I’m not talking to you anymore!”

“Oh, little brother, don’t be upset, don’t be upset.” Tang Mu gently patted his shoulder, soothing him with warmth. “When Wang Qing splashed water earlier, didn’t I save you? Since I saved your life, isn’t it only fair you sacrifice your little face for me now?”

Xue Fen felt as if he’d been targeted by a cunning fox.

“But aren’t we teammates now…”

“Teammates are teammates, but we’re also friends.”

Tang Mu lightly tapped his forehead, and for a moment, Xue Fen felt she was particularly interested in his eyes, always gazing into them.

Just as Xue Fen wondered if Tang Mu had discovered something, she shifted her gaze elsewhere.

“Hmm… It looks like the coffin lid is being lifted. Are we about to be nailed inside?”

The entire coffin was made of wood. The mutated villagers lifted the boards and pressed them tightly onto the coffins, pushing them until every seam was sealed.

The other brides inside the coffins cried desperately for help.

“Help us, we don’t want to be locked in here!”

“It’s too dark inside the coffin, let us out!”

“Huan Zhiyong, save me!”

“Tan Feizhang, save me!”

But Huan Zhiyong and Tan Feizhang remained motionless, their minds occupied by the fear of their own deaths once they reached shore. They had no energy to spare for those soon to be strangers.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Each coffin was nailed shut, leaving the brides with virtually no chance of escape.