Next, they found the Fire Demon beside the old stage in the west courtyard.
The stage had been abandoned for years. The curtains hung in tatters, and dust covered both the stage and the area below.
He sat motionless on a bench, staring blankly at the empty stage, as if a grand play were unfolding with no audience.
Zhang Yuanqing's face darkened. In his vision, the Fire Demon was enveloped in dense yin energy, his soul on the verge of departing—already close to death.
He hurried over, placing a hand on the Fire Demon's shoulder. Blackness surged in his eyes as he continuously drew the yin energy into his palm, devouring and absorbing it.
The Fire Demon shivered, a glimmer of life returning to his hollow eyes. Instinctively, he cried out:
"Cold... so cold..."
The Fire Master trembled, glancing around. Seeing Zhang Yuanqing beside him and Xie Lingxi not far away, he shouted:
"Damn, where did you guys go? The moment I left the main hall, you disappeared..."
"All scattered," Zhang Yuanqing waved off his question and asked instead:
"How did you end up here?"
"I got separated from you all and somehow wandered here. Then I heard someone singing..." The Fire Demon recalled, "I followed the sound, saw a stage with a woman singing on it, glanced a few times... and then I don't remember anything else."
He shuddered again, looking at the dilapidated stage. Where was this singing woman? Grateful, he looked at the Night Wanderer beside him, "Was it you who saved me?"
"That's obvious," Zhang Yuanqing smiled.
The Fire Demon sighed in relief, recalling the ordeal and feeling scared: "My skills and tools are useless against these vengeful spirits. Brother Wang Tai, thanks."
Although every profession had its strengths, vengeful spirits could silently control the Fire Demon mainly through level suppression.
Supernatural "monsters" were strange and unpredictable; if your specialization didn't match, dealing with them was troublesome. Their weakness was their lack of direct attack—less efficient than stabbing with a knife.
Near the stage, in the cobweb-covered dressing room, the three found a golden hairpin.
Holding the hairpin—the Fire Demon's dowry—his heart finally settled. He asked:
"What about Xi Shi and the Great Sage?"
Xie Lingxi shook her head: "Still haven't found them. Hope they're as lucky as you."
The Fire Demon glanced at her: "You want them dead, don't you?"
Xie Lingxi pouted, feigning innocence: "How could you say that? We're comrades~"
The Fire Demon ignored her. They had argued before; her sly attitude irritated him, and he didn't think much of her.
Of course, if the girl matched his taste, that'd be another story.
The three left and moved to another courtyard. This mansion was larger than expected; the backyard was divided into smaller courtyards, some used as gardens, others had stages built.
After some walking, Zhang Yuanqing, with his night vision, saw a figure staggering toward them.
It was the Great Sage, dressed casually in sneakers and slim pants, looking spirited.
"Why are you here?" he asked, approaching with relief.
Zhang Yuanqing's eyes darkened as he studied him, confirming it was really him.
The four gathered and shared their experiences. After getting separated, the Great Sage had wandered into a courtyard with a lit room. He peeked inside: empty, except for a neatly folded wedding quilt on the bed.
He guessed it was part of the dowry but silently left, following his heart's will.
Then he met Zhang Yuanqing and the others.
The Fire Demon stared, amazed: "The most cowardly ends up safest?"
"That's not cowardice, it's caution," the Great Sage defended himself.
True. Sometimes, the ones who survive aren't the smartest or strongest, but the most cautious...
Zhang Yuanqing cut off their pointless debate and asked the Great Sage:
"Where's the wedding quilt?"
The Great Sage looked behind.
Following him, the four arrived at the courtyard. As expected, a room had a candle lit inside.
Seeing his teammates tense, Zhang Yuanqing sighed helplessly:
"I'll get it."
This was the Night Wanderer's turf.
He entered the room, and as he crossed the threshold, the lattice door closed automatically.
Outside, Xie Lingxi and the others saw the door shut, and the figure of "Wang Tai" disappeared. The candlelight dimmed but cast no shadow of him.
Minutes of anxious waiting passed before the door slammed open.
Wang Tai rushed out clutching the wedding quilt, looking disheveled—his clothes torn in many places, stained with blood.
"Great Sage, take it!" Zhang Yuanqing tossed the quilt to him. The Great Sage hugged it joyfully, about to ask what had happened inside, but Zhang Yuanqing said:
"Let's go find Xi Shi."
The Great Sage didn't press further and followed the others exploring the courtyard.
Night deepened, starless and moonless. The only light came from red lanterns hanging from eaves, staining the desolate world blood-red.
A cold wind occasionally blew, shaking the lanterns eerily.
"Come quickly, I'm here..."
Suddenly, a soft and alluring voice came from ahead.
Zhang Yuanqing and the others looked up to see Xi Shi standing beneath a lantern, waving.
She stood stiffly like a clay figure, motionless except for her awkward wave, a strange smile frozen on her face.
"Xi Shi!"
The Great Sage, relieved she was unharmed, was about to approach when the Fire Demon grabbed his shoulder.
At the same time, Zhang Yuanqing's voice whispered: "Look at her shoes."
Shoes? The Great Sage stared closely, his pupils contracting.
She wore red embroidered shoes.
She wasn't Xi Shi!
"Come over, come over..."
The figure kept waving, her smile stiff and eerie.
"Pass her by, don't engage!" Zhang Yuanqing warned softly.
Seeing the Night Wanderer's grave expression, the Great Sage quickly averted his gaze, nervous.
They moved on for a while longer. Zhang Yuanqing looked ahead and said:
"Remember when Xi Shi entered the mansion and said she saw a woman standing beneath a red lantern?"
The Fire Demon glanced back and faintly saw the woman standing still, no longer waving, silently watching them.
"Creepy as hell..." the Fire Master spat.
Xie Lingxi asked, puzzled: "Why did she look like Xi Shi?"
Zhang Yuanqing sighed, staring ahead: "Go see for yourselves."
What did he mean? The three were confused.
They walked a little further and vaguely saw a figure hanging beneath an eave.
"Xi Shi?" Xie Lingxi screamed.
It was Xi Shi, hanging by the neck. Her delicate face was twisted in suffocation, eyes wide open, bloodshot, pale, lips slightly parted.
Her death was tragic.
The Great Sage and Fire Demon were shocked and frightened. She had died silently here.
Zhang Yuanqing, with night vision, had seen this long ago and was past surprise. He led the others to the corpse.
Xi Shi hung quietly. Zhang Yuanqing touched her hand—icy cold, dead for over half an hour.
"That's Xi Shi's wedding invitation," Xie Lingxi pointed to a red booklet at the corpse's feet.
Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the invitation but paid no mind. His eyes darkened as he connected with Xi Shi's remaining spirit.
He needed to verify if Xi Shi died from the vengeful spirit or something else.
Suddenly, foreign memories surged into his mind.
He saw fragments of Xi Shi's past. She was a level 2 water ghost, a spiritual realm walker from Tong Province's Nanhang City. She wasn't official but belonged to a civilian spiritual group.
Her real-world job was a nurse. She maintained relationships with the department head, wealthy businessmen, and spiritual organization managers.
A committed non-marriage believer, she didn't trust love. To her, men were resources.
She was a well-connected social butterfly.
The last memory showed a ghostly figure in a wedding dress appearing. The image cut off abruptly.
She was killed by the ghost bride?!
Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes, stunned and chilled.
He thought, impossible—the ghost bride shouldn't strike before choosing a groom.
If the ghost bride could attack anytime, how would this game even work?
Moreover, if the ghost bride personally kills, why only Xi Shi and not them? Or had she not acted yet?
At that moment, he heard Xie Lingxi and the Great Sage talking:
"Why is her gender crossed out?"
"Don't know. Maybe when you die, they cross it out?"
Zhang Yuanqing was stunned, immediately said: "Let me see."
Xie Lingxi handed over her invitation.
Zhang Yuanqing examined it. The gender was blacked out.
Xie Lingxi's clear eyes asked, "Brother Wang Tai, what did you see inside Xi Shi's spirit?"
The Great Sage and Fire Demon looked over.
"She was killed by the ghost bride!"
"What?!"
The three paled, nervously glancing around.
If the ghost bride attacked, no one here should survive. Even S-rank tasks are tough, but they should leave a chance.
"I have an idea, but it doesn't quite add up..." Zhang Yuanqing pondered, looking at the sharp Xie Lingxi. "Can I see your invitation?"
"Oh!" She readily pulled the invitation clipped to her waistband.
Zhang Yuanqing took it and
carefully examined it.
Xie Lingxi smiled faintly, "I'm female."
"Obviously," Zhang Yuanqing said, "But here the gender is blank."
The group was silent.
The Great Sage muttered, "Is it possible the ghost bride only kills those whose gender is marked?"
"Or only those whose gender is unknown?" Zhang Yuanqing guessed.
The Fire Demon frowned, "That might be why the ghost bride hasn't killed us yet."
Xie Lingxi looked down at her invitation, then glanced at the wedding quilt in the Great Sage's arms.
"If we want to survive this, we must understand the rules clearly," Zhang Yuanqing said, "Otherwise, we're just walking into the slaughter."
The night was cold and long.
They had to prepare for the coming trials.
After confirming Xi Shi's death, Zhang Yuanqing's face tightened. This was no longer just a simple disappearance or misfortune—it was a targeted kill by the ghost bride herself.
The implication was chilling: the ghost bride was actively hunting them, and Xi Shi had already fallen victim.
"Everyone, be on your guard," Zhang Yuanqing said coldly. "The ghost bride is not just a threat; she's hunting us."
The Fire Demon nodded, voice grave. "This means we have to move carefully, not just run blindly."
Xie Lingxi tightened her grip on the wedding invitation, her usual mischievous smile gone. "Then how do we fight something that can kill silently and without warning?"
Zhang Yuanqing scanned the courtyard shadows. "We need to learn the rules from the invitation, and from the clues left behind. If we can understand her pattern, maybe we can avoid her attacks or even trap her."
The Great Sage looked at the wedding quilt in his arms, the fabric stained and torn but still holding a strange power. "This might be the key to resisting her."
Zhang Yuanqing's gaze hardened. "We can't just wait here. We have to find the others, gather our strength, and prepare for the ghost bride's next move."
They moved away from Xi Shi's corpse, the air heavy with tension and the unspoken fear that the ghost bride could be watching from any shadow, waiting for her next victim.