Listening to the shrill suona and watching Yuanshi Tianzun drape a bridal veil over his own head, the Spirit Realm walkers present felt an indescribable sense of bizarre absurdity welling up inside them. On the one hand, they could not tell whether the core of his technique was the red bridal veil or the gadget playing music from his waist pouch.
On the other hand... a boy, a red bridal veil, and wedding music... this was just too eerie.
*This lousy speaker really is something. Blasting music regardless of the occasion and stealing all my limelight,* Zhang Yuanqing grumbled inwardly as he donned the red bridal veil.
"Want to experience what it feels like to be a groom?" The mournfully vibrant splash of red was reflected in Unbridled's amber slit pupils as he sneered with a bizarre expression, "Turns out you want to be my bride. Sorry, but that won't do—I have no interest in men."
Zhang Yuanqing ignored him, reining in his focus to quietly sense his surroundings as he waited for the Ghost Bride to appear.
Seeing his taunt elicit no response, Unbridled's eyes flickered slightly. Abruptly cracking the floor tiles beneath his feet, he charged in for a dishonorable strike.
He had no idea what this kid's trick was, but any risk had to be nipped in the bud. Giving an enemy time was equivalent to endangering oneself.
*Zzz-crackle...* Suddenly, static crackled amidst the high-pitched wail of the suona, as though the signal was being jammed.
*She's here.* Zhang Yuanqing sensed a vast, boundless surge of Yin qi pouring from the Void behind him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, yet he dared not turn around.
The sensation was all too familiar. Back at Jinshui Amusement Park, when the Ghost Bride had made her entrance, he had felt the exact same way—the experience was identical.
The immense Yin qi enveloped the entire villa. The official walkers present felt their very souls tremble. *Just what did he summon?*
In Unbridled's field of vision, he saw a dense expanse of dark, heavy mist eerily billow behind the official Night Wanderer, carrying chill, dread, and horror. Faintly visible, a spectral figure clad in a vibrant red bridal gown emerged behind the Night Wanderer.
*Skrrrrt!* The soles of Unbridled's feet scraped harshly against the floor as he slammed on the brakes, forcing himself to a halt.
An indescribable dread exploded in his heart.
*A terrifying vengeful spirit... a powerful vengeful spirit... an irresistible vengeful spirit...* Sensing the oppressive presence of a high-level Yin entity, Unbridled followed his instincts and spun around to flee without the slightest hesitation.
He was a Witch Doctor, not an Illusionist; he lacked the means to deal with spirit bodies.
Much less a high-level entity of this caliber.
Unbridled lunged toward the main entrance. But just as he took his first strides, he halted abruptly. The front door was gone, replaced by a pitch-black, murky fog.
Within the shadowy mist, the eerie figure in the red bridal gown loomed indistinctly.
*This...* Unbridled's scalp tingled with numbness. He pivoted and bolted toward the stairs.
However, a dense wave of shadowy mist rolled down from the staircase. Amidst the churning fog, a pair of delicate, dainty feet clad in red embroidered shoes was descending the stairs step by step.
Despair welled up in Unbridled's eyes.
*What... what is he doing?* In the eyes of the official walkers, Unbridled seemed possessed, rushing alternately toward the entrance, the windows, and the stairs.
Yet each time, he would recoil in terror. His hideous insect-like face contorted with fright, his amber slit pupils filled with sheer panic.
Tang Guoqiang shuddered violently. Lacking strength in his limbs, he scrambled desperately to crawl away from Zhang Yuanqing, panicked as if fleeing for his life.
*A ghost wall?* Zhang Yuanqing lifted his head slightly, observing the frantic Unbridled through his extremely limited field of vision, and instantly deduced that the Ghost Bride was using an illusion.
Just as he thought to seize the opportunity to finish Unbridled off and draw some blood, he suddenly discovered he could not move.
*What's going on? The item description never said the red bridal veil would restrict movement...* Zhang Yuanqing was both shocked and suspicious. Immediately afterward, he felt something pressing against his back.
It was like a block of ice, yet unusually soft.
Boundless Yin qi surged into him, penetrating his body and fusing with the Lunar force within him.
The slumbering Little Doubi was startled awake, curling up and shivering. The infant spirit had no idea what had happened; the moment he woke, he felt engulfed in immense danger.
Finally, Zhang Yuanqing found that he could move again. He took a step forward, walking slowly toward Unbridled, step by step.
Yet none of this was under his control.
The Ghost Bride had taken control of his body.
Guan Ya, Qingteng, Bailong, Li Dongze... everyone's eyes shifted away from Unbridled and landed upon the slowly advancing Zhang Yuanqing.
Whether it was an illusion or not, for a fleeting moment, they saw a sinister phantom in a red bridal gown pressed tightly against Yuanshi's back.
Looking upon that ghostly silhouette, deep, instinctual dread gripped their hearts.
Zhang Yuanqing walked right up to Unbridled. Through the bottom hem of the red bridal veil, he glimpsed a pair of pale, delicate hands reaching out from behind him, seizing his hands.
Piercing Yin qi converged in his palms. Zhang Yuanqing watched helplessly as the skin of his hands turned a bruised bluish-black, the muscles of his arms swelling and becoming coiled with pitch-black veins.
Sharp, pitch-black nails extended from his fingertips.
Those pale, delicate hands guided this ghostly arm to clasp around Unbridled's neck.
Grim, shadowy mist closed in on all sides, and in every direction stood ghostly figures clad in red bridal gowns. Unbridled looked left and right in sheer panic. He wanted to flee, but there was no way out; a spectral figure stood in every direction.
His heart pounded wildly, adrenaline surging, yet it brought not courage, but utmost terror.
His ferocity, his rage, his cruelty, his decisiveness—all had vanished for reasons unknown. The only emotion remaining was terror and trembling.
Unbridled knew he was under some influence, but the despairing part was that even knowing it was abnormal, he could do nothing to change it.
At that moment, the ghostly figures in every direction reached out simultaneously. Beneath the gorgeous, vibrant red gowns were pairs of bruised, powerful ghostly hands wrapped in dark veins.
With nowhere left to retreat, Unbridled watched powerlessly as the ghostly hand clamped onto his throat. In the next instant, icy Yin qi invaded his body and spread rapidly, draining his life force away.
Beneath his demonic claw, Zhang Yuanqing watched the light in Unbridled's slit pupils dim bit by bit until it completely extinguished.
Within that tall, hideous frame, the soul rapidly shattered and dispersed.
*Whew, he's dead...* Zhang Yuanqing felt a wave of relief. Only now was he certain that the battle had ended and no more surprises would arise.
*No, wait, there's still that monster with a human head and snake body.* The thought had barely crossed his mind when the Ghost Bride manipulated him into turning around and walking toward the giant serpent.
Almost the very next moment, the ferocious eyes of the giant serpent alternated between glazed and savage, its limp serpentine body writhing uneasily and weakly.
It, too, had fallen into an illusion.
Zhang Yuanqing followed the exact same method, seizing the serpent by the neck and stripping away its life.
Yet Zhang Yuanqing found that his movements did not stop, nor did the Ghost Bride depart. Instead, she piloted him around to face the official walkers.
The official walkers, who had just begun to feel a surge of relief, suddenly froze.
Zhang Yuanqing sensed the pale, delicate hands holding his arms sway slightly, hesitating between Bailong, Qingteng, and Guan Ya.
A few seconds later, she seemed to make her choice, steering Zhang Yuanqing step by step toward Guan Ya.
"Y-Yuanshi?" The veteran driver's face turned deathly pale as she shuffled backward in fright.
*She wants to kill Guan Ya? No, stop, hurry and stop!* Zhang Yuanqing panicked, but his body was completely beyond his control.
The Ghost Bride surely had a time limit, but the item description gave no indication, and Zhang Yuanqing had no idea how long she would linger. By the time her duration ran out, Guan Ya would definitely be dead and cold.
Seeing Guan Ya draw nearer and nearer, Zhang Yuanqing's thoughts raced. Suddenly hit with an idea, he transferred the "manipulation" to Little Doubi inside him.
Within his body, Little Doubi could no longer endure the pressure and burst into loud wailing.
Zhang Yuanqing thus gained a brief window of mobility. He immediately raised his left hand and yanked the item off his head.
The vast Yin qi quickly receded into the Void, and the Ghost Bride returned helplessly to the Spirit Realm.
By this point, he was only five or six paces away from Guan Ya.
Zhang Yuanqing collapsed onto his backside, sitting sprawled out on the floor, gasping for breath as exhaustion surged back through him.
Guan Ya's white shirt was drenched in sweat, damp hair clinging to her cheeks, her chest heaving up and down.
Sensing the terrifying Yin qi dissipate, the official walkers exhaled in unison, feeling both relieved and thrilled. *As expected of a Night Wanderer who cleared two S-rank realms in a row—even as a rookie, he's already so extraordinary.*
Trembling, a Wood Demon pulled out pills from his tactical backpack and said, "Quick, take an antidote pill. Even if it can't purge the toxins completely, it will alleviate the symptoms."
"Can you bring them over?"
"I... I can't move..."
Captain Qingteng knitted her delicate brows. "Who can still move? Go upstairs first and collect that item. Right now it's just coughing and paralysis, but there's no telling if we might drop dead any moment."
Da Jiba staggered to his feet, intending to go upstairs, but after a few paces, he collapsed helplessly, passing out from excessive blood loss.
Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing pushed his exhausted body up and said, "I'll go."
Bailong breathed a sigh of relief and smiled weakly. "You really are a dependable boy. No—a dependable man."
*If you'd said that just ten seconds earlier, the Ghost Bride wouldn't have spared you...* Zhang Yuanqing muttered inwardly.
The behind-the-scenes commander, Li Dongze, gave a hint:
"It should be on the second floor, toward the front entrance, in the second or third room. Unbridled was fighting in that position earlier—he was probably guarding the item."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded and staggered up the stairs.
The crowd watched him disappear around the corner of the stairs. Li Dongze glanced down at his wristwatch, his face lighting up with delight.
"The thirty minutes are up. The barrier has dispersed. We can call for backup now."
Among the official walkers present, only he insisted on elegance and wore a wristwatch.
Everyone else checked the time on their phones, which had all been switched to airplane mode before initiating the capture operation.
Right then, the living room door was violently kicked open, and more than a dozen fully armed official walkers filed inside.
Following them was Fu Qingyang, dressed in a white suit with his short ponytail, flanked by Ling Jun, dressed casually and loosely.
*The backup team is here?* Li Dongze and the others were surprised and delighted.
Ling Jun's gaze swept over the dead gu beasts, and he chuckled, "Looks like we're not needed after all. Money Prince, your captains possess quite the combat prowess."
Fu Qingyang glanced at Guan Ya, who was unharmed, then at the other captains, his stern, aloof face relaxing slightly.
Chapter 77