NOVEL NEXT Chapter 71: Weakness
[Red-white clash... Red-white clash... This is a damn red-white clash, damn it!]
Master Zero couldn't help but curse on the spot.
Although his tone was extremely angry, it couldn't hide the terror in his words.
[It is said that in a time long, long ago, people in the Eastern Hemisphere held grand ceremonies for weddings and funerals]
[People placed great importance on these two ceremonies. Generally, if a passerby encountered them, they would step aside to make way and never compete for the path]
[However, if a wedding and a funeral took place simultaneously and shared the same street, sometimes they would fight over "who should give way"... causing several deaths was considered minor. In extreme cases, they would seek revenge on the other party's entire family, wiping them out]
[Based on this custom, those who researched mysticism compiled an urban legend named the red-white clash]
[It is said to be the most dangerous urban legend, with the red and white processions advancing from left to right, inching forward without yielding, jointly approaching the central victim, leaving no room for escape]
[In those legends, once the processions fully manifest, there is absolutely no hope of survival, not even for a God...]
"I don't know about a God escaping, but we definitely can't get trapped here, let alone die here!"
Yun You gritted her teeth, the Red Scale Giant Claw on her arm clenched into a fist again.
Of course, she was afraid, her legs were a bit weak.
Encountering such red and white wedding and funeral processions in a narrow space, to say you're not afraid would be just nonsense.
But fear was of no use.
If one lacks the courage to face reality, then Yun You would never be able to walk out of this alley.
"Master Zero, search your memory again, hopefully, you can find some related folklore."
"I'll find a way to see if I can drive them back."
After saying these two sentences, Yun You braced herself and began to probe the two processions.
She put away the Giant Claw, using a short knife she carried to chip away at the wall, sending brick fragments flying towards the suona players dressed in red and white.
However, just like her earlier encounter with the Night Watchman, the pieces of bricks passed straight through their bodies without producing a collision effect.
This meant that the two red and white processions still lacked physical form, at least for now.
However, the ritual instruments in their hands, as well as the coffins and wedding sedan chairs they carried, actually existed.
The fragments hit them, making a "ding ding dong dong" noise.
But these things were extremely hard, even if Yun You threw a whole brick at them, it wouldn't leave a trace, let alone make the ceremony bearers take a step back.
"Could it be that this suona is something extraordinary?"
Yun You pondered for a moment, then boldly stepped forward, attempting to snatch a suona...
However, even with all her strength, she couldn't pull these instruments from the suona player's grasp.
She felt like she was trying to tug a mountain, unable to move the suona an inch.
"It seems, these instruments and tools have been 'enhanced' by 'rules', so they can't be taken by mere force."
Yun You guessed at the answer.
But this answer wasn't much help in solving the problem.
The red and white wedding and funeral teams continued advancing, squeezing Yun You's space for movement.
At this moment, there was less than 50 meters of distance left between them.
Yun You could already feel the chilling aura emanating from them.
At this rate, it wouldn't take one or two minutes for the teams to converge.
By that time, the situation would be quite dire.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, Master Zero played a role.
[Yun kid, I've got an idea!]
[Some mystics online say that strange events like the red-white clash usually have a "vulnerable point", just like the core of an array in those cultivation novels, and finding it could provide a glimmer of hope for survival!]
"Vulnerable point...?"
Hearing this term, Yun You was momentarily stunned, her eyes scanning over the two processions.
"But, the scale of these teams is quite large, without hints, it's really hard to find the so-called vulnerable point!"
These weren't words of shirking responsibility.
The red procession consisted of about 30 "people", while the white one was even larger, stretching far and wide, with at least 50 people at a rough glance.
Finding the so-called "vulnerable point" among nearly a hundred people in a short time, without any intel, seemed an impossible task.
[Indeed there's no hint, but those mystics did leave us with a saying]
Master Zero sped up his speech, adding...
[The places that seem the most dangerous are often the safest hiding spots]
At these words, Yun You was momentarily stunned.
"Most dangerous, safest, hiding spots..."
She silently mulled over these conditions, scanning the teams once more.
"It needs to fit the 'dangerous-looking' condition and also be a suitable 'hiding spot'."
"Then the answer is..."
Suddenly, the little girl understood.
She widened her eyes, having figured it out in her mind.
It's the floral sedan chair in the red procession and the coffin in the white procession.
At first glance, these two seemed quite dangerous.
They are the "protagonists" of their respective teams, surrounded by people, seeming that once caught within, it's certain death.
But if you observe closely, you will find they are almost the only two places that can provide "shelter".
Because they could prevent Yun You from directly touching the "people" in the ceremonial teams.
The sedan chair is lifted by "people" dressed as footmen using two large wooden poles, their hands won't touch the sedan itself, let alone the "bride" inside.
And the coffin... although it's carried directly on the shoulder by the coffin-bearers, the coffin itself is very thick, protecting the person lying inside from disturbance.
Yun You thought, these two things are most likely the vulnerable points!
So, the little girl started to choose between them.
She first thought of the sedan chair.
Although it's a bit cramped, it's obviously more acceptable than a coffin.
Yun You wasn't particularly superstitious, but lying in a coffin for no reason still felt weird.
So she cautiously approached the sedan chair.
However, before she could lift the sedan's curtain, a pair of gray little feet in embroidered shoes slipped through the curtain's seam, dangling in mid-air, swaying with the sedan's movement...
It left Yun You dumbfounded.
She recalled seeing in horror films before, dangling feet appearing in a sedan usually meant...
The owner of this sedan, inside where no one could see, had hanged themselves from the overhead beam.
"Gulp..."
Yun You swallowed, feeling a chill down her spine.
"Better choose the coffin then."
Thinking this, she cautiously backed away, ran in the opposite direction, and leaped onto the white procession's coffin, silently uttering "no disrespect intended", then lifted the coffin lid.
Yun You was prepared to see a corpse.
But fortunately, there was no corpse here.
The coffin was empty, lined with layers of satin, intended for someone unknown.
"Since no one's using it, I'll use it first..."
She took a deep breath and lay inside the coffin.