Chapter 21: The Bride of the King of Mysteries (21)

Seeing Xue Fen’s innocent demeanor, Tang Mu truly found it hard to lay a hand on him. But for the one she loved, there was nothing she wouldn’t do.

She had already offered her warning, after all.

She had done all she could.

Whether Xue Fen could save himself now depended entirely on him.

As for the Empire of Spades under the rule of the Queen of Spades—

Certain information was strictly confidential to outsiders. Even Black Attendants were forbidden from revealing secrets to players, or else they would be destroyed. To eliminate any threat to Yan Xingwen, she had to be ruthless.

After Yan Xingwen “died,” Tang Mu resorted to illegal means to keep in touch with him. She wasn’t sure if the Queen of Spades had noticed something amiss, but Yan Xingwen’s memories had been wiped. For more than half a month now, she’d been unable to reach him.

She didn’t know who Yan Xingwen had become, what he looked like, whose name he was using, or whose body he now inhabited as he drifted through unknown scenarios, doing his “employer’s” bidding.

All she knew was that she feared for Yan Xingwen’s current situation.

As for the Queen of Spades…

Tang Mu wanted nothing more than to destroy him.

If she ever found the chance.

She would erase this person completely—utter annihilation in every sense.

...

The raft stopped drifting.

“Tang Mu, it seems we’ve stopped.”

“Yes.”

It felt as though the coffin had been blocked by something—struck hard.

They had likely reached the shore.

The lid of the coffin was pried open.

The mutated villagers reverted to normal.

Their features were no longer as hideous as they had been under the blood moon. No blue faces, no fangs, no bleeding from every orifice—none of that.

But their skin was still ghastly pale—clearly, they were not ordinary people.

“Benefactor, this batch of brides has been taken care of. Please have a look.”

The brides were brought into the daylight once more.

But when they opened their eyes, the first thing they saw was an old man, well past his seventies, dressed in luxurious brocade robes and wearing reading glasses.

He exuded an air of nobility.

But his gaze upon the brides was devoid of pity. On the contrary, he looked at Tang Mu and the others as if they were worthless goods, appraising them coldly.

“Why is this batch of brides so small?” The brocade-clad elder was clearly displeased.

The tobacco pipe man bowed and apologized repeatedly.

“Benefactor, it’s rare nowadays to find families willing to sell their daughters. I went to great lengths to gather these few brides. Though few in number, they are of good quality. Please, have a look at this one.”

He pointed at the coffin holding Tang Mu.

There were clearly two people in that coffin—Tang Mu and Xue Fen.

Yet the elder in brocade seemed unable to see Xue Fen at all.

Instead, he gazed at Tang Mu with undisguised desire.

“Indeed, not bad.”

“And the other brides, do you still want them?” asked the pipe-smoking old man.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” the elder replied, instructing the pipe man to send all the brides to the underground crypt. “Clean them up and bring them to me. I want to savor each one personally.”

“Certainly.” The pipe man hastily told the village women to strip the brides of their wedding gowns, leaving only thin white inner garments. Then each bride was forced to drink a sleeping draught, making their bodies limp and helpless, unable to resist.

When the potion was brought to her lips, Tang Mu turned her head away.

“I’m not the bride. He is,” Tang Mu said, pointing at Xue Fen. “Look—he’s the one wearing the bridal makeup.”

The villagers hesitated.

She had hoped this would get her out of the predicament—

But the pipe-smoking old man snorted coldly. “What are you waiting for? Give both of them the potion! The benefactor and the late young master are not particular about gender. Once they’ve had their fun, you can give them another dose and send them on their way. The dead reveal no secrets. There’s no need for you to be so nervous all the time!”

The villagers, scolded into action, hurried over and forced the potion on Tang Mu and Xue Fen.

Who would have thought—

That such a small place as Qinglong Village could be so rotten to the core.

Tang Mu did not swallow the potion. She kept it in her mouth and, while the villagers were distracted, spat it into her sleeve.

But Xue Fen was a straightforward person. He foolishly swallowed every drop.

By the time Tang Mu realized and checked on him, Xue Fen was already groggy.

Tang Mu was speechless.

Perfect.

She hardly needed to do anything herself.

Suppressing a trace of guilt, Tang Mu pretended to lose consciousness, allowing the villagers to strip away her excess clothing.

But Joseph was not so compliant.

As they forced the potion down his throat, he struggled and shouted, “Look at me! I’m a man, a man! I’m not a bride! What’s wrong with your benefactor, that filthy, disgusting old man—so depraved he doesn’t care about men or women? Disgusting! It’s one thing if he wants to take advantage of someone like Xue Fen, who looks like a woman, but why me? I’m a fully grown man, body and mind! I refuse to be treated like some woman and sent into that filthy old man’s lair!”

“Hey! Are you listening?” Joseph couldn’t control his rage. “Stop pulling at my clothes! I won’t drink your potion! I won’t!”

He even knocked over the bowl of medicine.

But it was pointless to resist.

The villagers soon brought another bowl. They pried open Joseph’s mouth and forced the medicine down his throat.

Tang Mu watched from the side, struggling not to laugh.

But she couldn’t give herself away.

She had to keep pretending to be thoroughly drugged, wobbling her head along with the others.

There were only five brides left.

Outside the coffins, three woodcutters were also held by the villagers.

The woodcutters seemed caught in the “plot” as well.

They stared blankly at those in the coffin, their eyes hollow and dull.

But suddenly, all three began to weep and beg, “Please, let me and Ah Hua go. Ah Hua is innocent—she’s so young. She can’t be forced into a ghost marriage with your late young master...”

All three spoke in unison, repeating the same lines.

It was eerie.

As the plot demanded, the villagers glared at the “Jiang Langers” ferociously.

“You already know our secret. How can we let you and Ah Hua live? If word gets out, the benefactor’s family name will be ruined!”

The “Jiang Langers” immediately rounded their eyes in fury. “You commit rape and murder and still care about your family name? After doing all this evil, you want reputation too?”

Impatient with their outbursts, the pipe-smoking old man waved his hand, ordering his men to subdue the woodcutters.

“There’s still some potion left from the brides. Give it to them as well!”

“Yes, sir!”

The “Jiang Langers” were powerless to resist and were dosed with the potion. Their bodies went limp at once, but their eyes burned with rage, as if they wished to tear these evil, murderous degenerates apart and drink their blood.

The pipe-smoking old man would tolerate no defiance.

He barked, “Hurry and throw them in the water! If the benefactor’s pleasure is spoiled, you’ll all be buried with the late young master!”

“Yes, yes.”