Chapter 27: Relocating the Grave (15)

Players, in the end, are no match for the preferential treatment NPCs receive.

Aside from the first two pages where the outlines of characters were vaguely discernible, the rest had been crumpled into a ball, and no amount of pondering could decipher which characters they were.

The progress of the dungeon had hit a stalemate once again.

After spending the entire afternoon sharing and gathering clues, only when things finally quieted down did Qi Yiqing realize that his longing for the little NPC was so intense it made his heart ache with a dull, suffocating pain.

Lying across the soft back of the sofa, the red-haired man stared intensely with glistening eyes at the locked door deep in the hallway, his fingers twitching slightly.

Consumed by his love-struck state, Qi Yiqing did not notice the bizarre and fervent look Liu Wanjun was casting his way from behind.

The feeling of being shackled by an NPC must be unbearable; she wanted to make Qi Yiqing understand that players were the greatest variable in this game.

As for NPCs, they were destined to be stepped upon as mere paving stones.

Moreover, it was clear that the female NPC could easily tug at his heartstrings. Having a weakness was terrifying, and she would not allow Qi Yiqing to be controlled by such a vulnerability!

Qi Yiqing was her light! Her sun!

The dazzling and ostentatious sun was too accustomed to its own indulgence, never caring what its scorching rays might bring to the survivors dwelling in the shadows...

At night, Stone Village fell into a deathly silence.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

The players lying in their beds opened their eyes, their bodies rigid, not daring to move a muscle.

The man sitting against the door slowly opened his eyes, his sharp gaze half-shuttered.

It was happening again.

Qi Yiqing had guessed the paper figures would return at night. He sat on the floor all night without sleeping, his arms crossed over his chest, closing his eyes to rest.

The rustling sound of paper figures rubbing shoulders caused the woman to toss and turn repeatedly.

When the knocking sound stopped right in front of her door, Jiang Shengsheng opened her eyes abruptly and sat bolt upright. The thumping of her heart amplified in her eardrums, shaking her to the core.

It's here again!

Trembling all over, Jiang Shengsheng reached out to her side, her scalp tingling at the cold, smooth touch under her hand.

She stiffened her neck as she turned, her eyes meeting the painted eyes of the paper figure on the bed.

"Ah!"

Waking up to find her boyfriend turned into a paper figure?!

Jiang Shengsheng was terrified to the point of death. With legs turned to jelly, she scrambled off the bed, her hands clamped tightly over her mouth.

She swallowed a short scream back down, her brain nearly overwhelmed by a sense of suffocation.

Only now, belatedly, did Jiang Shengsheng understand the sinister and bizarre nature of Stone Village.

With a creak, the locked door was pushed open lightly by the intruder.

As she met the man’s golden-dusted outer eye corners and the red mole at the center of his forehead, the tears hanging in her lashes spilled over in a rush.

Memories deliberately hidden beneath a veil of mist surfaced one by one, and Jiang Shengsheng’s face turned deathly pale under the man’s relentless advance.

She had only returned to her hometown to relocate a grave; why was she encountering something like this?

"Heh," sensing what his wife was thinking, a dull, low chuckle spilled from Qi Man’s lips. "We have already bowed in ceremony and become wed, my wife."

Under Jiang Shengsheng’s desperate gaze, the long-haired man in red spoke in a low voice that sounded like a demon’s whisper: "You can never escape. You are mine."

The floor beneath her feet was swallowed inch by inch by a long, crimson carpet, and the surrounding walls were replaced. To her horror, Jiang Shengsheng realized she was standing in an antique-style room.

On the round table sat red candles carved with dragons and phoenixes, red "double happiness" characters were pasted everywhere, and pristine white cups were overturned on the table in pairs.

Jiang Shengsheng lowered her head and raised her arms.

The pajamas she had been wearing before sleep, changed by Xia Junyao’s own hands, had transformed into an exquisite wedding gown—a phoenix coronet and robes. The jade beads clattered together with her movements, striking her heart with every beat.

The sound of splashing water echoed from the side chamber, and Jiang Shengsheng retreated toward the door, her mind in chaos.

She had to escape!

She must escape!

Forget Stone Village, forget the small courtyard; only one thought remained in Jiang Shengsheng’s mind: she would not marry a male ghost!

What else could this elusive, bewitchingly handsome man be if not a ghost?

Ignoring whether the sound of the door would attract the man’s attention, Jiang Shengsheng gritted her teeth, shoved the door open, gathered her layered skirts, and bolted out like a madwoman.

She dashed through the dimly lit garden of bridges and flowing water, not daring to stop.

A path that usually took minutes now felt like an ascent to the heavens.

However, when she finally reached the vermilion gate, gasping for breath, she looked on in despair as a row of paper figures with freshly dotted eyes stood silently blocking her way.

Their dense, unblinking eyes stared straight at the pale woman.

The flush on her cheeks from her frantic running drained away, and Jiang Shengsheng backed away in terror.

"Where does my wife want to go? Today is our wedding night, after all."

Qi Man’s ghostly voice appeared from behind her. Like a startled bird, Jiang Shengsheng trembled and chose a random direction to continue running.

There must be another way out!

She had to hide; she must not let the ghost find her!

Flower beds, stone bridges, long corridors... Jiang Shengsheng was like an ant on a hot pan, anxiously searching for a place to hide.

When her eyes swept over a certain spot, a spark of excitement ignited. Jiang Shengsheng dived in without hesitation, her figure obscured by the garden's rockery.

She covered her mouth and nose, terrified that her heavy, ragged breathing would attract the male ghost.

Qi Man curled his lips in amusement, flicking his sleeves nonchalantly as he strolled through the mansion.

Even though she heard no footsteps, his voice drifted lightly into Jiang Shengsheng’s ears.

"Is my wife playing hide-and-seek with me? We have important business today, but I will play with you properly another day, how’s that?"

"Did I scare you somewhere, wife? I will certainly change it."

"Come out, wife; it is time to return to our room to rest."

Why was she hiding from him? He had been holding back with such difficulty; how could his wife hide from her husband?

Dressed in thin inner garments, his long hair dripping wet, Qi Man walked into the garden, his presence silent as he landed. His eyes swept over the red hem of a skirt fluttering in the wind behind the rockery.

"I see you, my wife..."

Jiang Shengsheng covered her mouth, stifling the sob that threatened to spill out.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, and before she could wipe them away, a grayish-black shadow fell over her.

Jiang Shengsheng froze and looked up, her terrified eyes reflecting the man’s brilliant smile.

"Found you, wife."

"No..." She was scooped up horizontally by Qi Man, struggling violently. "Let me go! I don't want to! I don't want to go back!"

In Qi Man’s arms, his wife’s resistance felt more like a flirtation. He easily suppressed her: "Be good, be good. I still need to bathe you."

Her damp hair dried inch by inch as he walked, and he buried his fuzzy head into the crook of her neck, rubbing against her with satisfaction.

Qi Man squinted in contentment, letting out a silent sigh of bliss.

The male ghost’s cold, damp kisses trailed from her cheek to her earlobe; even as Jiang Shengsheng sobbed and tried to dodge, it was to no avail.

She was sobbing uncontrollably, and in her struggle, she slapped him across the face.

With a crisp "slap," Jiang Shengsheng froze in fear, her pupils shaking as she stared at him, terrified he would snap her neck the next second.

Qi Man was also taken aback by the sudden slap.

His face remained expressionless for a moment before he slowly curled his lips into a smile amidst Jiang Shengsheng’s horrified expression.

Supporting her steadily with one hand, Qi Man raised the back of his hand to lightly touch his stinging cheek.

"Is this a reward from my wife?" Jiang Shengsheng’s eyes widened, shocked by Qi Man’s shamelessness. "I like it very much."

With her limp palm pressed against his cheek, Qi Man hummed a song in delight. This was his wife’s first time taking the initiative to touch him—did this mean his wife loved him too?