C1 Dedication 1

The moon hung high in the sky, casting a silver glow over the deserted streets of Shelry Run. The area, usually bustling with activity, was eerily silent. Not a single soul was in sight.

Despite the absence of war, the Da Xi Kingdom had imposed a curfew. The reason was singular and extraordinary: tonight marked the wedding of the Nether King, Baili Chonghua.

What should have been a day of national rejoicing was instead shrouded in trepidation. Not a single court official dared to approach Nether King's Manor to offer congratulations or seek a celebratory drink. It wasn't for lack of desire but out of sheer fear.

For the Nether King was not entering into a joyous marriage today, but rather into something unprecedented in the history of the kingdom, a ghost marriage. And the bride was a living, breathing person!

Who would dare to witness such a macabre event? Who would dare to attend? The typically desolate Nether King's Manor, even on this supposedly joyous occasion, was adorned with nothing more than a few extra paper cutouts of the character for "happiness," which only added to the chilling atmosphere.

"What are we going to do?" Mrs. Ding's hands shook as she clutched the hemp rope, her entire body quivering. Despite knowing that the woman in the coffin was still breathing, fear gripped her heart.

Applying bridal makeup was second nature to her, a task she could do with her eyes closed. But to adorn a bride for a ghost marriage was a chilling first in her life.

She wasn't alone in her trembling. Across the coffin stood Mrs. Jia, her hand quivering so much that the eyebrow she was drawing nearly veered off course. "Don't—don't speak. Pretend we don't know," she whispered.

But how could they feign ignorance?

Mrs. Ding felt her hands trembling even more. If applying makeup to a bride for a ghost marriage was the second most terrifying thing she had ever done, then discovering that the bride lying in the coffin was not the stunning and talented eldest daughter of the Mu family, Mu Yuxi, but the useless legitimate daughter, Mu Yuhua, was definitely the most terrifying thing she had ever experienced. Nothing could top that!

"Mu—The Mu Family must have lost their minds!" Mrs. Ding's hands trembled even more, her touch losing all finesse. She was so distracted by her own fear that she failed to notice the bride's fingers twitching in pain from her rough handling.

"Quiet, quiet! Whether the Mu Family is in trouble or not, it's none of our business. We don't know a thing, so let's not poke our noses in and just get out of here as soon as we're done!" Mrs. Jia, drenched in a cold sweat, didn't even bother to check if the eyebrows were even as she slapped on two patches of rouge in haste, grabbed her belongings, and bolted.

As soon as she took off, Mrs. Ding was right on her heels, not even daring to ask for her payment.

The bride, jolted awake by their rough handling, emitted a feeble moan.

Her head was throbbing, the pain so intense it felt like it might burst.

But it wasn't just her head that ached; her entire body was sore, and her face felt as if it had been slapped repeatedly.

"Ugh... it hurts..."

Qin Qing's whimper, barely louder than a kitten's mewl, echoed in the empty room, met only by the flickering of the white candles on the celebration table.

Qin Qing struggled to lift her hand to her throbbing temple, but her body wouldn't cooperate. No matter how much she willed her arms to move, they were limp and motionless, as if boneless.

What was happening?!

Qin Qing's foggy consciousness began to claw its way back to clarity.

She remembered finishing a feng shui consultation, then getting back into her car to rest before driving to the next province to assist a wealthy client with a haunting. How had she suddenly fallen into such a deep, unconscious state?