Who Is Next?

Wei Yuan sat up and saw a candlestick on the desk holding two red candles, while another standing candlestick stood in the corner on the opposite side of the room. The candlelight was an eerie, dusky red, like the dying rays of dusk. "Husband, the hour is late. We should rest." Yes, the hour was late. Wei Yuan got out of bed and stepped onto the floor. The moment his feet touched down, he frowned and lifted them back up. There were two clear footprints on the floor! Only then did Wei Yuan clearly see a thick layer of dust covering the ground, as though it had not been swept in ages. Something caught the corner of his eye; turning his head, he saw a spiderweb hanging from the corner of the bed. Wei Yuan reached out to brush the spiderweb away, inadvertently sending a flurry of white dust into the air. "Husband..." the bride called again. "Coming, coming..." Wei Yuan answered repeatedly, making his way over to the bride. He hesitated for a moment, wanting to look behind her, but she obstructed his view. The candles were placed high, and their flames were dim, leaving the floor shrouded in murky gloom and obscuring whatever was there. Wei Yuan felt as if a shroud covered his consciousness; he simply could not recall what he wanted to see or what he was looking for. The bride urged him once more. A pang of guilt rose in Wei Yuan; he felt he should not be letting his mind wander on such an auspicious day. Although the bride had been sitting motionless and her face was veiled, Wei Yuan instinctively sensed that she must be exceptionally beautiful. He gently lifted her bridal veil, revealing a breathtakingly gorgeous face. Ji Liuli. Cold sweat broke out all over Wei Yuan. *Crack!* Another crisp sound rang out as something shattered within Wei Yuan's consciousness. His vision went dark, and he plunged into blackness once more. *** Inside a gloomy hall, two towering figures sat facing each other. Before each of them stood a miniature altar, upon which countless ant-like figures bustled up and down. Although the hall was a single structure, a distinct dividing line ran down its center. One side was a dark, profound world, while the other was parched and scorching, with sandstorms howling up from time to time. The shadowy figure on the dark side spoke: "His primordial spirit has already been cast into the Nether Cold Realm. However, this opening scenario is the fatal Paper Bride. I am afraid you will not be able to negotiate terms with him as you wished." The figure from the scorching desert world replied, "What I want is Tianyu. I don't care what method you use—as long as you can bring him back, I will give you fifty thousand superior sacrifices." "You have so many descendants, and countless mighty experts among them. Why do you place so much value on one whose talent is so mediocre?" "The Ancestral Shaman just granted me an epiphany: this descendant's ability is vital to the next phase of my plans. That is why I am willing to pay an extra price. How do you intend to dispose of that human? He seems to have ties to the Heavenly Flaw that Panshan spoke of." The figure of the dark world said, "Once inside the Nether Cold Realm, even I cannot directly intervene. If you insist on having him alive, you could send a squad of warriors in. However, the one behind this opening scenario is Dream Eater; your people will likely suffer heavy casualties." "Dream Eater? Then forget it. By the way, what made you strike so suddenly this time?" "The human race delivered a piece of intelligence. I discovered that a few intriguing youths have arrived in that domain called Qingming. They possess what I desire." "Intelligence provided by humans? Could it be a trap?" "I have performed divination; it should be genuine. Humans never hesitate when using our hands to eliminate their rivals. This is precisely why the Ancestral Shaman does not allow a singularly powerful faction to arise among them. Only in a state of balance will they pursue mutual slaughter with such zeal." *** Wei Yuan opened his eyes and gazed quietly at the relief carving on the bed canopy, constantly feeling that this picture was trying to tell him something. "Husband, you're awake?" Wei Yuan slowly turned his head toward the voice and saw the bride in her auspicious bright red robes sitting quietly by the bed. It felt as if her gaze was quietly watching him through the veil. Wei Yuan shifted his glance and noticed her hands, partially exposed beyond her sleeves. They were slender and pale, showing no sign of ever having gripped a kitchen knife. A kitchen knife? Where was the knife? Wei Yuan's eyes began to wander, trying to discover where that kitchen knife was hidden. His consciousness still felt veiled, and he didn't even know why he was searching for that knife or how he knew of it in the first place. Wei Yuan only knew that the blade was heavily nicked. He rose, intending to get out of bed. After his feet touched the floor, he pulled them back again, and sure enough, two distinct footprints appeared. An unknown duration of dust had long accumulated on the floor. *The servants are slacking off again...* Wei Yuan looked around and saw a spiderweb, but found no spider. The two candlesticks remained unchanged, their flames impossibly dim, and the room was extraordinarily cold. This time, Wei Yuan did not touch the spiderweb. His feet touched the ground again, and just as he was about to stand, he suddenly noticed something strange on the floor. In two spots, the accumulated dust was slightly thinner. Judging by the outlines, they looked like elongated claws or paw prints, with their fronts pointed toward the bed. Not long ago, had someone stood by the bedside, watching him as he slept?! "Husband, the hour is late. We should rest early." The words seemed imbued with a peculiar magic. Wei Yuan immediately knew the hour had come: he should lift the veil and consummate the marriage. Yet the room was so frigid that the thought of undressing filled him with reluctance. He took the bride's veil and gently lifted it, and sure enough, he saw an exquisitely beautiful face gazing at him with placid composure. It was Bao Yun. Wei Yuan breathed a bizarre sigh of relief, feeling that this time things were finally normal. Yet the smile on Bao Yun's face abruptly vanished. Something in Wei Yuan's consciousness shattered once more; his vision went dark, and he fainted. *** Wei Yuan opened his eyes once more, quietly staring at the relief carving on the canopy. The ghosts were carrying a humanoid thing, dripping with blood, but Wei Yuan felt it might not necessarily be human. As that thought crossed his mind, the thing suddenly changed, turning bizarre, impossible to identify as any known species. The expressions on the ghosts' faces turned somewhat panicked, whereas before they had seemed ferocious and terrifying. Before? When had he seen this carving before? Wei Yuan tried to think, but his consciousness was veiled, and he couldn't remember anything. Wei Yuan continued looking at the carving, noticing the bride seated at the center of the table gripping a kitchen knife with both hands. Her hands were slender, small, and pale, gripping with great force. "Husband, you're awake?" Wei Yuan turned his head, got up, and prepared to step out of bed. Before letting his feet touch the floor, he looked down first. The faint footprints before the bed were still there, somewhat resembling claws, yet oddly strange in an indescribable way. The spiderweb still hung from the bed corner, but the spider was nowhere to be found. A corner of the web was missing; the spider was slacking off again... The candlelight was dim, and the room was extraordinarily cold. The pair of hands partially exposed outside the bride's sleeves were pale, slender, and lovely; surely beneath the veil lay an equally beautiful face. How long had she been watching him...? Wei Yuan suddenly felt reluctant to get out of bed. Reaching out, he grabbed the blanket, intending to pull it back over himself, but the blanket was extraordinarily damp—so soaked that his hand came away wet. The liquid was thick and viscous, not quite like water. Wei Yuan raised his hand to look, only to see his palm drenched in fresh blood. Startled, he recoiled, and his left hand seemed to press against something hard. "Husband, the hour is late. We should rest." The words immediately reminded Wei Yuan that it was indeed late. Thus he got out of bed, walked over to the bride, and lifted the veil. Beneath it was another exceedingly beautiful face. Her large eyes looked somewhat vacant, but were in truth pure and clear. Feng Tingyu. Wei Yuan pondered thoughtfully: was this ordered by cultivation level? Or perhaps by Dao Foundation grade? In that case, who would be next—Yun Feifei, Xu Wan'er, or Xu Yi? With a crisp *crack*, Wei Yuan lost consciousness. Wei Yuan opened his eyes. He quietly gazed at the relief carving on the canopy, squeezed the blanket with one hand—feeling the viscous liquid on his hand once more—and felt around the bed with his other hand. Sure enough, he touched a hard object. Feeling it carefully, it seemed to be a kitchen knife. In the carving, the thing carried by the ghosts remained grotesque, its race unrecognizable, but something seemed to be missing from it. Behind the heads of each of the seven brides seated at the table was a halo of light. In the records of many sects, such a halo represented a Dao Foundation. "Husband..." Wei Yuan slowly turned his head, his hand quietly gripping the kitchen knife. "...The hour is late. We should rest." These words immediately reminded Wei Yuan that the hour to consummate the marriage had arrived. And so, forgetting about the kitchen knife, he rose, got out of bed, and walked over to the bride. Just as he prepared to lift the veil, Wei Yuan suddenly noticed that one of his hands was covered in blood, vivid red like the bridal veil. Wei Yuan's consciousness hitched for a fleeting moment. It suddenly occurred to him: had she left out a sentence just now? Yet by then the hour had arrived, and Wei Yuan's hand had already lifted the veil.