The three of them sleep in the small side room, with bamboo trees around.
The room was draped in red silk and red brocade, with the windows and doors painted red and adorned with festive "double happiness" characters.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I entered, I saw two maids standing stiffly in the room.
Two identical faces, dressed in orange-red dresses, their pale cheeks painted a rosy red with rouge, eyes curved beautifully. At a glance, the lift of the corners of their mouths was exactly the same, incredibly eerie.
At first sight of this scene, U Zhu Mian clenched her fingers, her eyes slightly narrowed. These "people"... they don't have breath.
Su Linyi's eyes flashed with determination, a half beat slower in reaching for the soft sword wrapped around her waist. Bi Li Lu Yun was so frightened that he recoiled backward and exclaimed in surprise: "Ah-"
"Lady."
The two maids seemed to be marionettes, turning their heads abruptly with a "click," making one doubt if human necks could really bear such a great force and such an exaggerated arc.
The gray irises locked onto the three, and even their voices were exactly the same. In a strange tone, they said, "Please allow us to serve the young lady in changing her attire."
Looking at the two maids who obviously had no life force, Wu Zhu Mian remained expressionless, smiling and agreeing, "Alright."
Before she could finish her sentence, she heard Bi Li Lu Yun's heart again resonating with almost collapsing shrieks within: "What a ghost! No wonder this cannon fodder will die! They're acting like this? This thing clearly isn't human! Aaaaah! Go away! Stay away from me! Don't come over!"
"System! System! Quick, protect me! I want to file a complaint against you!"
The maids couldn't hear Bi Li Lu Yun's inner voice and didn't care about her thoughts. They stood straight and walked towards the three of them, taking quick small steps with no curve in their knees, and the sole of their embroidered shoes made a "slish" sound against the ground.
Su Lingyi instinctively glanced at Wu Zhu Mian.
However, Wu Zhu Mian only looked at the two maids, her eyelashes slightly lowered, revealing a delighted yet shy expression. She spoke ahead of everyone: "Could you help me with my makeup first? I want to leave a good impression on the goddess of the moon."
Su Lingyi was greatly shocked. Does this mortal not know what "fear" is?
Even a cultivator has his reservations, yet this mortal doesn't seem to have any. One would think she really wants to marry the Moon God!
Su Lingyi whispered, cursing: "You're crazy? Can't you tell they're not human?"
Wu Zhu Mian smiled innocently: "Here we are."
Su Lingyi: "..."
It's hard to argue, after all, we still don't know the situation. Following them is the best choice.
There was only one vanity in the room, and the maids did not refuse Wu Zhu Mian's proposal. It seemed that they were quite fond of her behavior, and the curve of their lips went up a bit more, almost reaching their earlobe.
They supported her on either side, speaking in unison, "Please, Lady."
The maids' hands were as cold as ice, and the coldness penetrated even through the fabric, making them feel like bones. Wu Zhu Mian did not struggle, but instead placed her hand on their arms and rubbed them gently. She then sat down compliantly in front of the copper mirror.
For the next half an hour, watching the two maids dress Wu Zhu Mian, Su Lingyi and Bi Li Lu Yun gradually became expressionless.
A highly ornate and intricate embroidered wedding dress pressed heavily upon her slender shoulders, her slightly straw-colored hair neatly tied up with a six-jewel hairpin, the tassel with red bead jade hanging down, subtly concealing her neck, which was as delicate and slender as the arc of the moon.
It was like a newlywedded bride.
This dressing-up makes her pale and thin face have more color, and the beautiful eyebrows and eyes are more prominent like fresh lotus after the rain.
Seeing that these two maids were not eating people, nor were they posing a threat, but were genuinely just doing makeup and dressing, Su Lingyi and Bi Li Lu Yun reluctantly put their minds at ease and let them help them change into the attire of a newlywed bride.
After they had all been dressed, the two maids stood up stiffly, straightening their posture and announcing in a precise manner: "At the hour of three in the moonlight, the goddess of the moon will arrive. Please be patient, miss."
After confirming that the maids had left, Su Lingyi turned to look at Wu Zhu Mian, completely unaware that she was unconsciously seeking her opinion: "Now that they're gone, what should we do next?"
Bi Li Lu Yun, who had completely relaxed and was still sitting in front of the mirror admiring her face, felt that her new attire was incredibly beautiful. She casually took over the conversation: "Second Sister Su, don't worry. Once Second Brother comes back at midnight, we'll be saved."
Su Lingyi rolled her eyes and didn't respond to her.
Wu Zhu Mian leaned against the doorframe, her gaze falling on the deity statue in the hall, considering her current situation. She decided to be cautious for now: "Let's wait for the two elders to return first. We'll see if they have any discoveries."
Just didn't expect to wait all the way until the time of the evening star.
The sky outside the hall had fully darkened, and the surrounding area was very quiet. Only the lotus lights on the altar were lit, with a greenish-white cold light jumping on the white cloth covering the deity statue. The air besides the smell of incense was gradually emitting a very unusual fragrance.
It floated from the lampshade, neither fragrant nor stinky, but causing a drowsy sensation.
Wu Zhu Mian sat on a stool, her eyes gently closed.
Bi Li Lu Yun was lying on the table, seemingly fast asleep.
"How come Brother Master and Brother Hei haven't returned yet? Could something have gone wrong?" Su Lingyi yawned and her expression changed: "Something's wrong."
She wanted to stand up, but her body only shook slightly, and her voice wavered: "This smell is suspicious."
Su Lingyi wanted to use her spiritual power, but she couldn't sense any spiritual energy movement around her.
She wanted to take out the qingxin zhou (a spiritual mantra) from her jiezi nang (a spiritual bag), but she had no strength.
Now, she was as ordinary as any mortal, having never encountered such a situation before. Her mind was in disarray, and she had no idea how to deal with it.
At this very moment, a slow and heavy footsteps suddenly rang out in the hall, echoing through the empty space and landing on her heart as if pressing down heavily, slowing even the rhythm of her heartbeat.
Following that were the sounds of drums and gongs, veiled in a misty obscurity that did not seem festive at all, more like some eerie incantation.
Soon, the footsteps and drumbeats came to a stop at the door.
No sound was heard outside the thin door panel. No one knew what was waiting outside. Su Lingyi, however, inexplicably felt a blood-red eye peering through the crack in the door, and a coldness seeping down from her head, gradually spreading throughout her body.
She stared at the outside fiercely, only to suddenly feel a warm hand reach around her waist.
The hand took out the jiezi nang and placed it beside her hand.
It's Wu Zhu Mian!
Su Lingyi's eyes lit up, as if seeing a glimmer of hope. With her last bit of strength, she pulled open the jiezi nang and forced out a thin, whimpering voice: "Help me... get the talismans..."
Any talisman will do, for defense or offense...
Suddenly, she remembered something, and her face turned pale. The talismans in her jiezi nang were all for cultivators... they could only be activated with spiritual power. But she couldn't even summon a single bit of spiritual power now. Much less other treasures.
"Ga zhī—"
The door was slowly opened, and Su Lingyi's weak body uncontrollably shivered, but she heard Wu Zhu Mian's calm voice: "Lady, could you lend me a few talismans."
The voice was very calm, as if there would be no ripple even if a mountain collapsed in front of it. It gave an inexplicable sense of invincibility that made Su Lingyi's heart skip a beat.
Generally, a cultivator's jiezi nang would have their own spiritual consciousness imprinted on it, and others cannot open it unless the person's cultivation is higher than theirs and they have previously erased the original spiritual consciousness. Although the situation is urgent, Wu Zhu Mian's spiritual energy is unstable and she can only summon a little bit of it at a time. It's best to ask her to open the jiezi nang herself if she wants to borrow Su Lingyi's talismans.
Wu Zhu Mian took the open jiezi nang, adjusting the sluggish spiritual power to look inside. She quickly found several talismans and pulled them out.
She activated two qingxin (calming) talismans and protective talismans, placing them on Su Lingyi and Bi Li Lu Yun. After all, it was little sister Su's body; she couldn't afford to be injured.
By the time Wu Zhu Mian finished, the door had already been completely pushed open.
A straight line of groomsmen stood outside the door, two deity attendants standing at the front. The other "people" behind them looked like the maids before, wearing stiff and artificial smiles on their faces and staring directly at her with their eyes.
Behind them, nine human-shaped figures were carried, tightly wrapped in white cloth, showing only their pale faces. There were men and women, old and young among them. All of them had wide eyes, unblinking, and wore a bizarrely eerie expression of happiness.
Wu Zhu Mian's gaze fell on one of the faces - that of Ji Qing, the third son of the Ji family.
It seems that these are the nine missing people from Tonghua County.
The shrill voice twisted and stretched in the cold night, like a cry and a complaint: "Miss, the auspicious time has arrived. The offerings are complete. Please get on the carriage."
Wu Zhu Mian didn't pay attention. She withdrew her gaze, randomly took out a talisman for attack, glanced at it quickly, bit her right index finger, smeared the blood onto it, added and altered a few strokes, and threw it outside.
The talisman, enveloped in spiritual power, hovered in mid-air and flew towards the group of groomsmen with the force of breaking bamboo.
The qingxin talisman wouldn't be effective right away, and Su Lingyi was still weakly lying on the table. From her perspective, she couldn't see Wu Zhu Mian's actions. She was frantically worried: "Run quickly... go find the master...
"Boom——"
Before she could finish speaking, a thunderous roar shook the ear of Su Lingyi. In her wide eyes, she saw a burst of flames shooting up into the sky, like a giant snake. The sparks flying off were like a meteor shower going in the opposite direction. The white cloth on the temple of the moon god was dyed red by the flames, and in an instant, it burned through the entire hall.
The thunderous roar and blazing fire suddenly rose up in the temple of the moon god, as if startling something. With the earth shaking and mountains trembling, Chu Yi and He Tingshuang, who were investigating under the Bodhi Tree, stiffened their entire bodies and looked around with a sense of confusion. They were shocked to realize that it was already past midnight when they saw that it was midday at that time.
They didn't have time to think further and hurriedly turned around to rush towards the temple of the moon god.
Chu Yi drew out his Kunyu sword, which was all black, and slashed through the thick door. The heatwave hit their faces, and everyone who was under the Bodhi Tree during the day appeared in the hall. Demons and gods danced around wildly, and cries of despair echoed everywhere. Su Lingyi and Bi Li Lu Yun had recovered some of their strength and were stumbling out of the hall.
But he saw the figure standing beside the deity statue at a glance.
Thin and tall.
A wedding dress in her was more eye-catching than the whole hall of red light.
