Dread King's Bride

In the dead of night, at the back courtyard.

The heavy coffin lid was flung aside, and a figure slowly rose from within the coffin. With red lips and pale skin, her alluring beauty exuded a chilling, otherworldly charm.

QingWu twisted her neck, adjusting to her new body.

This flesh had been pierced by several blood holes, and repairing it had consumed most of her ghostly power. Now, an intense hunger gnawed at her.

"Nowadays, the living are bolder than ghosts. They dare to create such a thing as a living curse. Red and white clashing—it's as if they intend to summon a horde of vengeful spirits and slaughter everyone in this mansion."

QingWu curled her lips into a smile, the Judge's pen materializing in her right hand. She twirled the crimson brush between her fingers, "For both personal and official reasons, this must be dealt with."

She stepped out of the coffin. Despite the guards surrounding the area, no one noticed her as they were all blinded by her ghostly presence.

Using the resentment within the Judge's pen as a guide, QingWu made her way toward Yun Yujiao's location. As she passed by the people, no one paid her any attention.

Beside the Ting Xue Yuan Courtyard, there was an attic overlooking the area, offering a clear view of all the happenings inside.

Suddenly, SiTu Jing sneezed. "Hiss... this cold wind."

Xiao Chenyuan turned his gaze toward a certain part of the courtyard, his eyes subtly shifting. Although the night concealed much, he had caught a glimpse of a red figure.

That attire... it looked like bridal gown?

The man's gaze deepened, and he ordered, "Send someone to check on that coffin again."

QingWu glanced toward the attic, her red lips curling into a smile. "Oh, quite perceptive."

Her gaze shifted back to the window. It was as though her eyes could pierce through the window pane, seeing every action and word of the person inside.

"Wu Shuang Daozhang, is it time yet?" Yun Yujiao paced restlessly. This plan had to succeed—there was no way she would settle for being a mere concubine to Dread King.

The female Daoist maintained an air of mystery. "Second Miss, don't worry. I will let you know when the time comes."

"Will summoning a hundred ghosts truly annihilate everyone in Dread King's Manor? Daozhang, this matter is of utmost importance; there must not be a single survivor in the Dread King Manor."

Yun Yujiao repeatedly reminded her, "And you said my blood is needed to ignite the resentment of the living curse. This won't affect me, right? Will that Yun Qingwu turn into a ghost and come after me?"

Her eyes glinted with malice. "No loose ends. That wretch must be obliterated entirely."

The female Taoist, annoyed by the questioning, suppressed her irritation and replied, "Second Miss, please rest assured. The wooden stakes for the living curse were personally crafted by my senior brother Wuji, so there's no chance of failure."

"As for Yun Qingwu's soul, it will serve as bait to lure malicious spirits. Once the spirits arrive, they'll devour her vengeful soul in one bite. After consuming such resentment-filled prey, the spirits' ferocity will intensify, and they'll immediately turn on the living! By then, the Dread King's Manor will meet complete annihilation!"

Of course, she herself was the exception. As for Yun Yujiao, this fool—Minister Yun had never intended for her to survive. If you're putting on a show, you have to see it through.

"Alright, the time has come. Second Miss, use the stake to draw blood, and I will begin the ritual," the female Taoist said.

Yun Yujiao dared not delay. She gritted her teeth and stabbed the wooden stake into her palm. The sharp pain made her hiss in agony.

Beside her, the Taoist held a talisman, pressing it against the wooden stake as she chanted, "All demons and spirits heed my command—appear before me without delay!"

The talisman ignited instantly, burning the wooden stake to ash in moments. A sudden burst of eerie wind slammed the windows and doors open with loud bangs. The room was filled with a chill as countless shadowy forms seemed to pour in, accompanied by faint wails and ghostly cries.

Yun Yujiao screamed in terror, and the Taoist's face changed dramatically. "What's going on? The hundred ghosts should be devouring Yun Qingwu's corpse and soul, not coming here!"

Unless Yun Qingwu's corpse and soul were already here!

As the thought struck her, a bone-chilling fear crept over the Taoist. It was as though the night had unveiled its darkest secrets—a hand emerged from the void and seized Yun Yujiao's neck directly.

A hauntingly soft voice teased mockingly, "With such a venomous heart, if I dug it out and served it with wine, it might just make the underworld's little ghosts weep with envy."

The Taoist shrieked in disbelief, "Yun Qingwu!"

"Isn't Yun Qingwu supposed to be dead? Could it be… a ghost? A ghost?!" Yun Yujiao trembled as she struggled to break free, but her body remained frozen. "Daoist! Save me! Save me!"

The Taoist quickly regained her composure, sneering coldly. "So, an avenging ghost? I truly underestimated you! Second Miss, don't fear. She's just a newborn ghost—too easy to exorcise!" She swiftly drew out a talisman and flung it directly at QingWu. The talisman landed squarely on her forehead.

The grip on Yun Yujiao's neck vanished. Gasping for breath, she clutched her throat and scrambled to hide behind the Taoist, coughing violently. "Kill her! Kill her now!"

"Spirits of the hundred ghosts, obey my command! Tear her apart!"

The eerie wind stirred, and streaks of imperceptible black smoke rose from the ground, coalescing into humanoid forms—shadows that stood upright like an army of darkness. It was a nightmarish spectacle: the Hundred Ghosts' Night Parade.

The Taoist's smug expression froze before turning to terror.

"After all this effort, is this really the best you've got?"

The talisman on QingWu's forehead ignited in flames, disintegrating into specks of black ash that drifted away. She slowly opened her eyes, her gaze locking onto the Taoist's petrified face. With a chillingly eerie smile, she whispered, "Such paltry skills, and you dare provoke a ghost? Let me to teach you what a true specter looks like."

Countless ghostly entities surged at QingWu's feet and gathered behind her like a storm. The overwhelming ghostly aura pressed down with such force that it became suffocating.

Yun Yujiao fainted from sheer terror, while the Taoist fumbled frantically, pulling talisman after talisman from her belongings.

"Ah!!"

All the talismans on the Taoist's body suddenly ignited, burning with an eerie intensity. A haunting feminine voice resonated in the air.

"Command issued—let the hundred ghosts enter their vessels."

Both Yun Yujiao and the Taoist froze in place, their bodies stiffening like statues. QingWu appeared before them in an instant, her Judge's Brush tapping lightly on their foreheads.

"Cause and effect, karma spares no one. You dared to turn someone into a living curse malice magnet, summoning ghosts to harm others? Then let me grant you a grand spectacle—experience it firsthand!"

As her pen descended, the command was given. The Hundred Ghosts surged forward, their forms piercing into the two women's bodies one by one.

"Before the Gates of Hell close, your vile husks will be the playground of these spirits. Enjoy every moment of it!" QingWu declared, twirling her red pen.

A fragmented ghostly figure drifted out of the pen's crimson tip—it was none other than Yun Qingwu. Blood streamed from her ghostly eyes as she glared venomously at the two women.

QingWu's lips curled into a sardonic smile. "The chance is yours—seek revenge for your grudges, settle your scores."

With a blood-curdling scream, Yun Qingwu lunged straight into Yun Yujiao's body.

In the loft, Situ Jing suddenly shouted, "Something's wrong! Why is all the ghostly energy converging here?"

"Dread King!"

The elderly attendant dashed in, his face pale with fear. "The corpse from the coffin—it's gone!"

Xiao Chenyuan's mind flashed back to the fleeting sight of the crimson bridal silhouette earlier. Without hesitation, he commanded, "Enter the courtyard!"

As the group rushed in, the first thing they heard was a woman's eerie and ecstatic laughter.

The sight that greeted them was nothing short of horrifying.

The horrifying scene before them stunned everyone into silence. Yun Yujiao sat stiffly on the ground, her face drenched in blood, laughing maniacally one moment and shrieking the next: "Get out! Get out of my body! … Ahhh! So filthy, so many filthy things…!" She clawed at her own face with wild abandon, tearing away strips of flesh. Then, as if possessed, she slammed her head against the ground, splitting her scalp and staining the floor with blood.

Meanwhile, the female Daoist furiously dug through the flowerbed, unearthing worms and shoving them into her mouth. Suddenly, catching the scent of blood, she let out an animalistic growl and lunged toward Yun Yujiao on all fours. "Meat! Give me meat! I want to eat meat!"

She grabbed Yun Yujiao's face and sank her teeth into it, ripping off a large chunk of flesh. With savage hunger, she latched onto her neck, gnawing like a rabid dog. The air was filled with piercing screams, beastly growls, and the sickening sound of tearing flesh. Blood sprayed everywhere, making it impossible to tell human from ghost in the chaos.

Amid this terrifying scene, someone clapped enthusiastically, their melodic laughter echoing through the night.

QingWu leaned against the door, her crimson bridal gown resembling freshly tanned leather. She twirled a strand of her silken hair between her fingers and looked up at the man, her voice dripping with mockery, "Ah, you finally arrived!"

Xiao Chenyuan locked eyes with her, those mischievous, eerie eyes sending a chill down the spines of everyone around him. His guards quickly drew their long knives in response.

Situ Jing's hand, gripping the compass, was slick with sweat. Yet QingWu seemed entirely indifferent to their tense stance. She clicked her tongue, "The hour arrived too quickly, didn't it?" With a snap of her fingers, the two crazed figures in the yard suddenly froze, their bodies convulsing violently as if struck by epilepsy.

The lanterns around them flickered wildly, their flames dancing as if whipped by a fierce wind, yet not a single person felt any breeze. It seemed as if something had risen from the convulsing bodies of the two, drifting away into the air.

The eerie spectacle lasted a full ten minutes. Ignoring the sharp blades pointed at her, QingWu stepped gracefully over Yun Yujiao's lifeless body, her gaze fixed solely ahead. Stopping before Xiao Chenyuan, she curved her crimson lips into a smile.

"At last, we meet again, Your Highness."

Her tone was light, yet laced with something chillingly familiar.

"It's been a long time, Xiao Chenyuan."