"Next, let's welcome the bride!" The enthusiastic voice of the host finally reached everyone's ears.
As if hearing the word "bride", everyone looked up, wearing smiles on their faces. But after a while, seeing that the closed door remained unopened, a maid ran onto the stage in a flurry.
The host looked a bit embarrassed, then turned to the audience with a smile and said, "Next, we're going to play a game! If you answer the questions correctly, the bride will make an appearance!"
Murmurs started to spread among the crowd below. Several children ran onto the stage one after another, seemingly very interested in the game he mentioned. Meanwhile, Yong Shanling sighed as she looked at the door.
"What on earth is Mu Yu thinking?" Liu Ming followed Yong Shanling's line of sight.
"She's a smart girl. She won't mess up her wedding. It seems there are external factors at play," Qing Sui said slowly while sipping her wine.
"The wine is good," she added.
"Shall I go and take a look?" Yong Shanling asked Mu Yijie while eating.
Although she had said she wouldn't help Mu Yu, seeing his worried look, she felt a twinge of reluctance in her heart.
"Is that okay?" Mu Yijie was a bit troubled. Although he was extremely worried about Mu Yu, compared to making Yong Shanling uncomfortable, he chose to consider her feelings.
"I'm only doing this for Uncle Shu's sake. Otherwise, I wouldn't have the slightest inclination to help Mu Yu," Yong Shanling said and then disappeared from the spot. Wu Na looked at Liu Ming worriedly and said, "Shall we go and check?"
"Don't worry about Shanling. She usually knows what she's doing, little one," Qing Yuan said with a smile as she looked at Wu Na.
Back in the house, Yong Shanling sensed that something was amiss with the atmosphere. The servants were all in a panic. They wanted to find Mu Yu but couldn't let others notice anything was wrong.
Suddenly, wisps of intermittent black smoke drifted in front of Yong Shanling's eyes. A faint smile played on her lips. A group of servants rushed outside, while she walked in the opposite direction.
"Miss Yong Shan, is there something I can do for you?" The butler walked up to Yong Shanling.
When he met her gaze, the butler seemed to be in a daze and walked past her. Yong Shanling didn't pay him any heed and continued walking towards the black smoke.
As she walked deeper, the black smoke grew thicker, and a strong stench assailed her nostrils.
When she finally reached the door of a room, she stopped. The pungent smell of blood and the black smoke were about to engulf her. Yong Shanling frowned, waved her hand, and the black smoke and the smell disappeared.
Suddenly, the door in front of her slowly opened. There was a thick black mist inside. Staring at it for a while, it seemed as if countless hands were trying to pull one into the room.
Yong Shanling took out her wooden sword and walked in. The pitch - black room made it impossible to see the way. She sat cross - legged, and as her breath changed, the black smoke around her began to disperse a little.
"Come out. If it weren't for Uncle Shu, no one would play with you today," she said.
Then a voice came out. It was so hoarse and unpleasant, like a saw grating on one's ears, accompanied by bursts of laughter.
"You... finally came... Hahaha. You'll never be able to leave here. Yijie will be mine sooner or later! Mine!"
"Mu Yu, do you think Uncle Shu has feelings for you? He just sees you as an elder sister," Yong Shanling said.
Suddenly, Yong Shanling felt a change in the aura, and more black smoke swept towards her.
"Looks like I'm right. Are you angry now?"
"You... don't deserve to stand beside him."
"You're too afraid to show your face. What right do you have to say that?"
The voice in the room suddenly disappeared, but the black smoke was still extremely thick. Suddenly, the floor seemed to break open, and Yong Shanling began to fall.
But she wasn't the least bit flustered. Just before she was about to hit the ground, Yong Shanling gently turned around and landed slowly on the water. Looking around, there were mirrors everywhere, and the ground was all water, making it hard to find a place to stand.
Yong Shanling seemed to think it was a waste of time. She frowned and said, "Let's end this quickly. I don't want to waste my time here with you."
"Is it because Mu Yijie is waiting for you?"
Suddenly, a human head emerged from the water, and the body slowly rose. When it was completely out of the water, even Yong Shanling felt a bit nauseous.
On Mu Yu's right side, her hair and skin had fallen off, leaving only muscles and bones on her face. On the other side, all the blood vessels on her face had turned black and were protruding, and there were large burn marks.
Yong Shanling took a step back involuntarily when she saw Mu Yu's appearance. A flash of disgust crossed her eyes, and Mu Yu caught all of this.
Mu Yu stroked her face affectionately and said, "Do you think it's beautiful too?"
"What on earth have you done...?"
"Don't look at me like this. Once I change my body, I'll be even more beautiful and more suitable for Yijie."
Mu Yu seemed not to hear her and started talking to herself.
"Do you think Yijie will like it? I think he will..."
...
"You'll only make him feel disgusted," Yong Shanling said impatiently after listening to Mu Yu's self - talk for a while. It was like listening to a deaf person rambling on.
This sentence finally broke Mu Yu's self - delusion. Mu Yu stiffly turned her head and stared at Yong Shanling with wide - open eyes.
"What do you know?"
"As long as you disappear, Yijie and I will... be happy."
"Then why don't you take a look at yourself in the mirror? If you really think you're worthy of Uncle Shu, you can keep dreaming."
Mu Yu looked at herself in the mirror and stood there stunned. She pointed at herself in the mirror with a hand like a withered branch.
"This isn't me, this isn't me, this isn't me!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa."
Suddenly, Mu Yu started screaming like a mental patient, pounding on the mirror. She seemed not to feel any pain even though her hands were bleeding.
"Will you stop? You're getting married now. You can do whatever you want after the wedding."
"Wedding...? I'm still getting married?"
"What on earth have you done...?"
Mu Yu suddenly lowered her head like a child who had made a mistake and said to Yong Shanling.
"I just made a deal."
"Did you sell your soul or your body?"
"I sold... sold..."
"Hey, my memory, why can't I remember?"
Mu Yu held her head in pain and grabbed a large handful of her hair.
"Stop. Come with me first."
As soon as Yong Shanling stepped forward, a red magnetic field appeared around Mu Yu, surrounding her. It started to discharge electricity and flashed at Yong Shanling, preventing her from getting closer.
Yong Shanling activated her barrier and stepped forward, only to find that the lightning was extremely painful when it hit her. The barrier couldn't protect her at all.
Suddenly, the red electricity around turned into several soldiers, holding swords, knives, hammers, etc., and rushed towards Yong Shanling.