Next, they found the fire demon next to the stage in the west of the inner courtyard.

The stage had been abandoned for many years, with tattered curtains and dust accumulated on the stage and below.

He sat on a stool, looking lifeless, as if he was watching a play on the empty stage.

Zhang Yuanqing's face darkened. In his vision, the fire demon was filled with gloom, and his soul was about to leave, on the verge of death.

He hurried over, reached out and placed his hand on the fire demon's shoulder, his eyes filled with darkness as he absorbed the gloom into his palm, devouring it.

The fire demon shivered, his empty eyes regained a glimmer of light, and he subconsciously shouted:

"So cold, so cold..."

As the fire master trembled and looked around, he saw Zhang Yuanqing beside him and Xie Lingxi not far away, and shouted:

"Where did you guys go? As soon as we entered the main hall, you disappeared..."

"Everyone scattered," Zhang Yuanqing waved his hand, interrupting the other's questioning, and asked:

"How did you end up here?"

"After we separated, I unknowingly walked here, and then I heard someone singing..." The fire demon said while recalling, "I followed the sound and saw a stage here, with a woman singing on it. I just took a few glances, and then, I don't remember anything."

At this point, he shivered all over, seeing the dilapidated stage in the distance, where did the singing woman come from? The fire demon looked gratefully at the nearby night wanderer and said, "Did you save me?"

"That's obvious," Zhang Yuanqing smiled.

Hoo... The fire demon felt relieved and remembered the experience just now. He shivered and said, "My skills and items are useless against the resentful spirits. Thank you, Wang Tai."

Although each profession had different characteristics, it was mostly through level suppression that fire demons were controlled by resentful spirits without a sound.

Supernatural creatures like resentful spirits were unpredictable and difficult to deal with if the profession was not suitable. However, they also had their weaknesses, such as their methods not being direct enough.

Their efficiency was not as good as stabbing with a knife.

The three of them found a golden hairpin in the makeup room next to the stage, covered in cobwebs.

Taking the hairpin, the relieved fire demon considered it as a betrothal gift and asked, "Where are Xishi and the Great Sage Qi Tian?"

Xie Lingxi shook her head, "We haven't found them yet. I hope they are as lucky as you."

The fire demon glanced at her and asked, "Do you want them dead?"

Xie Lingxi looked pitiful and aggrieved, with a face full of grievances, "How can you say such things, brother? We are companions~"

The fire demon couldn't be bothered with her and didn't have a good impression of her due to their previous argument. Of course, it was also because the young girl was not on the fire demon's XP, otherwise it would be another matter.

The three of them left the place and went to another courtyard. This mansion was larger than expected, and the backyard was divided into several small courtyards, some used as gardens and some for stages.

After a while, Zhang Yuanqing, who had night vision ability, saw a figure stumbling towards them from a distance.

This person was wearing bean shoes and tight pants, dressed like a spirited young man. It was Qi Tian, the Great Sage.

"Why are you all here?" He approached them with surprise.

Zhang Yuanqing's eyes darkened as he scrutinized for a moment, confirming that it was his real self.

The four of them met and shared their experiences. After Qi Tian got separated, he accidentally entered a courtyard where there was a house with candlelight. He pushed open the door to check, but there was no one inside, only a neatly folded wedding quilt on the bed.

Qi Tian guessed it was one of the betrothal gifts, but he followed his heart's will and silently left. Then he met Zhang Yuanqing and the others.

The fire demon listened in astonishment, "The most cowardly person is the safest?"

"What are you talking about? I am cautious, not cowardly," Qi Tian defended himself.

It made sense. Sometimes, the ones who survived were not necessarily the smartest or most capable, but the most cautious... Zhang Yuanqing interrupted their pointless argument and looked at Qi Tian, asking, "Where is the wedding quilt?"

Qi Tian looked behind him.

Under his lead, the four of them arrived at that courtyard and indeed saw a house with candlelight.

Zhang Yuanqing saw his teammates showing fear and helplessly sighed, "Let me get it for you."

This was the domain of the night wanderer.

He entered the house immediately, and after he stepped over the threshold, the lattice door closed automatically.

Outside, Xie Lingxi and the others saw the lattice door close, and 'Wang Tai's' figure disappeared. The room became dimly lit, but his shadow was not reflected.

They anxiously waited for a few minutes. The lattice door was slammed open with a 'clang', and 'Wang Tai' rushed out holding a wedding quilt.

He looked somewhat disheveled, with torn clothes and bloodstains.

"Great Sage, continue!" Zhang Yuanqing threw the wedding quilt to Qi Tian, who took it with surprise and held it tightly in his arms. He was about to ask what happened in the room, but Zhang Yuanqing said, "Let's go find Xishi."

Qi Tian didn't ask further and followed his teammates to continue exploring the inner courtyard.

The night was dark, without stars or moon. The only source of light was the red lantern hanging under the eaves, dyeing this silent world crimson.

Occasionally, a gust of wind blew, causing the lantern under the eaves to sway, adding to the horror.

"Come over here, I'm here..."

Suddenly, a gentle voice came from the front.

Zhang Yuanqing and the others looked and saw Xishi standing under the lantern at the corner, waving at them.

She stood there motionless, her body stiff, her waving hand rigid, and her smile on her face was also stiff, with a hint of strangeness.

"Xishi!"

Qi Tian saw that she was unharmed and breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to go over, but his shoulder was held back by the fire demon.

At the same time, Zhang Yuanqing's voice sounded in his ear, "Look at her shoes."

Shoes? Qi Tian stared and slightly contracted his pupils.

She was wearing a pair of red embroidered shoes.

She was not Xishi!!

"Come over here, come over..." Xishi continued to wave, her smile stiff and eerie.

"Go past her, don't pay attention to her!" Zhang Yuanqing said in a low voice.

Seeing the serious expression on Zhang Yuanqing's face as the night wanderer, Qi Tian quickly withdrew his gaze, feeling nervous and afraid to look again.

The four of them continued walking for a while and vaguely saw a figure hanging under the eaves in front.

"Xishi?" Xie Lingxi exclaimed.

That person was indeed Xishi, hanging lifelessly under the eaves. Her delicate face was twisted in suffocation, her eyes wide open with bloodshot veins, her face pale, and her lips slightly protruding.

A miserable sight.

Qi Tian and the fire demon were shocked and frightened. They didn't expect her to die silently here.

Zhang Yuanqing, who had night vision ability, had already seen it and had gone through the stage of shock. He led the three companions with complicated expressions to approach the body.

Xishi hung quietly. Zhang Yuanqing touched her hand, and it was cold. She had been dead for more than half an hour.

"It's Xishi's wedding invitation."

Xie Lingxi pointed to the red card that fell beside the body. There was a red wedding invitation.

Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the wedding invitation and ignored it. His eyes filled with darkness as he communicated with the residual spirit in Xishi's body.

He needed to verify whether Xishi was killed by a resentful spirit or another factor.

His brow suddenly swelled, and memories that didn't belong to him surged in.

He saw fragments of Xishi's broken past. This sister was a Level 2 Water Ghost, a supernatural traveler from the Lingjing region in Tongsheng City. She was an unofficial member of a civilian supernatural traveler organization.

In reality, she worked as a nurse and had relationships with several men, including the head of the department, a wealthy businessman, and the manager of the supernatural traveler organization.

She was a non-marriage advocate who didn't believe in love. In her eyes, men were resources.

She was a social butterfly who mixed quite well.

In the last memory, Zhang Yuanqing saw a figure wearing a wedding dress appear, and the scene abruptly stopped.

Was she killed by the ghost bride? Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes, looking astonished and shivered.

He thought it was impossible. How could the ghost bride take action in advance? Wasn't she waiting to choose a husband?

If the ghost bride could take action at any time, then what was the point of playing the game?

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Furthermore, if the ghost bride personally took action to kill, why did she only kill Xishi and not the others? Or was it just a matter of time?

At this moment, he heard Xie Lingxi and Qi Tian discussing:

"Why was her gender crossed out?"

"I don't know, maybe it gets crossed out after death?"

Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback and immediately said, "Let me see."

Xie Lingxi handed him the wedding invitation.

Zhang Yuanqing took a look and had a strange expression, "Gender: Male?"

The fire demon and Qi Tian leaned over to see, and in the gender section, it was written as "Male."

Qi Tian lamented, "This little girl looks delicate, but I didn't expect her to be a boy?!"

"What?~" Xie Lingxi blushed and explained, "I thought that since the ghost bride is looking for a husband, the husband must be a man. If I filled in 'woman,' it wouldn't comply with the rules and would be directly eliminated."

The fire demon and Qi Tian fell into contemplation.

If Xie Lingxi's gender was written as male, then my guess is correct. The old version of women can directly pass, while the new version of women is directly game over because this is an S-level supernatural realm, and there are no such cheap things... Zhang Yuanqing's speculation was confirmed.

Xishi was directly eliminated by the ghost bride because she didn't fit the groom's criteria.

He took off Xishi's body, gently placed it on the ground, and looked at the remaining three companions. He said, "We don't have much time. We should find the bridal chamber."

Although there was no exact count of time, he could estimate that it had been almost an hour since they entered the mansion.

Xie Lingxi, the fire demon, and Qi Tian quickly pushed aside the matter of Xishi and rallied their spirits.

The four of them continued forward, delving deeper into the mansion, silently traversing through different gardens, accompanied only by the red lanterns.

After wandering for a long time, they still couldn't find the bridal chamber. Suddenly, they saw a courtyard ahead, with an upturned eave and windows and doors adorned with the character 'Xi' for happiness. Warm candlelight seeped through.

On the path leading to the main house from the courtyard, a crimson carpet was laid.

"When the time comes, the bridal chamber will appear." Zhang Yuanqing looked at his teammates' tense expressions and whispered, "Let's go."

He originally wanted to make a joke: Don't be so nervous, the ghost bride might be a well-endowed mature woman.

But seeing the serious faces of the three teammates as if they were going to the gallows, Zhang Yuanqing wisely dismissed the idea of lightening the atmosphere.

So far, they still didn't know the ghost bride's method of choosing a husband. Was it one out of four or all of them?

Likewise, they didn't know if they could survive.

Entering the courtyard and walking on the red carpet, Zhang Yuanqing stopped in front of the door, took a deep breath, and pushed open the lattice door with force.

"Clang!" The two lattice doors swung open, Zhang Yuanqing stepped over the threshold, his muscles tense, scanning the room's layout.

The entire room was decorated mainly in festive red. 'Xi' characters were pasted on the walls, and a round table was placed in the hall with two candlesticks on it. Half-arm-length red candles flickered, and there were several dishes of preserved fruits and peanuts on the table.

On the east side, there was a large bed with festive red bed curtains and sheets, but no bedding.

There was nothing beside the bed, no bride wearing a wedding dress or a red veil.

The ghost bride was not here... Zhang Yuanqing's tense heartstrings slowly relaxed, and he forcefully exhaled. He turned his head to speak to his teammates behind him, but when he turned around, he found that he was the only one in the bridal chamber.

His teammates had disappeared again.

"Did I enter the bridal chamber alone?" Zhang Yuanqing suddenly felt a chill, then realized and muttered, "The ghost bride is really good at playing. She even arranged a bridal chamber for each person..."

Judging from the current situation, it matched his second conjecture: the four betrothal gifts corresponded to four grooms, and the rest were all dead.

"The bride will arrive soon! I just don't know who she will choose..." Zhang Yuanqing closed the door, silently summoned the little funny creature, and let it lie on his head, ready for anything.

He touched the head of the baby spirit and looked at the festive scene in the room. He inexplicably thought of a joke he had seen online, thinking that just after getting married, he had a husband and a child, and the ghost bride had also reached the pinnacle of life!

And the son wasn't even a legitimate child.

The candlelight was brilliant, illuminating the room. Zhang Yuanqing originally wanted to use the burning candles to sense the passage of time, but the candles were particularly strange and didn't seem to burn down no matter how long it took.

After an unknown amount of time, the door of the room was blown open with a 'clang' by the cold wind, and the candles instantly extinguished. The cold wind howled in every corner of the bridal chamber.

The room became pitch black, and Zhang Yuanqing's heart trembled. The baby spirit on his head trembled violently, sinking into extreme fear as if it were the end of the world.

He stiffly turned his neck and looked at the open door. Outside, it was as dark as ink, and with his night vision ability, he vaguely saw a figure wearing a wedding dress and a red veil, stepping on the red carpet and walking towards the bridal chamber...