Chapter 85 Cherry Blossom Viewing 3: The Wedding

The thick fog obscured your vision, and you were practically groping in the dark, following the sound of water as you walked forward.

However, the further you go, the more faint the sound of water becomes, as if something is interfering with it.

Xiao Dong nervously held Xiao Mei and Ni's hands and asked in a low voice, "Did you hear that sound? It can't be my imagination... It wasn't just the sound of water, it sounded like there was... something else."

Stop and listen carefully. Sure enough, there was a strange snoring sound mixed in with the gentle sound of water.

It seemed to come from the depths of some unknown stream ahead, yet it also seemed to be hidden in the mist, sometimes near, sometimes far, sometimes clear, sometimes blurry.

"It's probably the wind," Xiaomei whispered to comfort everyone, but her dilated pupils betrayed her inner fear and regret.

Maybe I shouldn't have come to this class today. Taking a sick leave at the last minute wouldn't be difficult... Anyway, this isn't the real world, so it's not impossible to go all out and make the fake real.

She looked at you with a complicated expression, even a hint of envy for the two weeks of sick leave you had taken previously.

You look back at her, and she shakes her head, indicating that she is not thinking about anything strange.

You simply nodded, unconcerned that Xiaomei and Xiaodong were always so preoccupied, and pointed ahead: "It shouldn't be the wind. This sound is rhythmic; it doesn't seem to be anything natural."

"Should we continue forward?" Xiao Dong murmured.

"To live in the face of death, one must first take the most dangerous step in order to find a chance of survival," you said.

The three of them walked forward in silence.

They had traveled for an unknown distance, and the long and tedious journey was wearing down their willpower. Unable to bear the silence any longer, Xiao Dong finally spoke up and asked, "You're really amazing, but how did you know those men would suffer the consequences?"

"Actually, I don't know either." You shrugged, finding it amusing that both of you paused for a second, and then continued to explain, "Trying to negotiate with a tiger for its skin is suicidal."

“If they were simply trying to set a trap to harm me, I might be able to deal with them properly. But they brought in a teacher to help them, which is really digging their own grave,” you said with a sneer. “It’s not that there aren’t any very humane locals, but they won’t easily get involved in the affairs of outsiders. In this matter, we are always on the opposite side.”

"Furthermore, why does the teacher only praise those horrifying ideas? I think there must be something wrong with what a local who has been hostile to us from the beginning approves of."

"It's that simple?" Xiao Dong clicked his tongue in amazement.

"It's that simple. Actually, it mainly relies on gambling. If you gamble wrong..."

"What will happen?" Xiaomei looked at you expectantly, as if hoping you could come up with some powerful tool to turn the tide.

“Then I will die, or I will only have a chance to escape on my own, and you will also die if you cannot protect yourselves,” you said.

Xiao Dong and Xiao Mei were speechless for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"You're very straightforward," Xiaomei said, patting your shoulder.

"Simply saying nice things is useless; when it really matters, you can only rely on yourself," you replied calmly.

"Little Stream!" Xiao Dong pointed ahead, and the three of them quickly shut their mouths and focused on their journey.

As you finally approach the stream, the gurgling sound becomes clearer.

Its tone was eerie, as if it were repeating some ancient incantation.

You try hard to hear clearly, but you can't understand a single word—oh well, maybe not understanding is a good thing.

The stream reflected light from who-knows-where, a kind of obscure blue-white light.

As the rice paddies undulate and meander, the floating petals look like distorted faces.

"Don't get it wet," you immediately remind them. "Keep your distance."

Xiao Dong gripped your arm tightly: "How long are we supposed to wait here?"

You said, "Based on the ending we've given ourselves, let's wait and see what new weirdness comes out."

Xiao Mei and Xiao Dong nodded, their eyes scanning their surroundings warily.

Soon, the surface of the stream suddenly became turbulent.

The petals that were originally drifting downstream slowly sank, while some more distorted shadows appeared on the water's surface.

The shadows resembled human figures, but they had no facial features, only a hollow darkness. Their outlines twisted and elongated from time to time, as if they were about to crawl out of the water.

"Now!" You pull the two of them together and quickly move away from the edge of the stream.

Behind you, those blurry, ghostly figures howled in the wind, surging angrily toward you.

But if we leave like this, there are still monsters behind us, and no direction ahead.

You paused to catch your breath, then said to them, “Listen, the fog is obstructing our vision, but our ears still work. Like in our haiku, imagine ourselves as children of nature, close our eyes, and feel with our hearts, carefully discerning even the slightest sound or something else. The direction of the light should be within our hearts.”

Xiaomei and Xiaodong hesitated at first, but after seeing your determined expression, they also closed their eyes.

The world around you grew quiet. You held your breath, trying to focus your attention on your ears and mind. Gradually, the whispers in the mist became less frightening, and the sounds of birdsong and flowing water came more clearly from a certain direction.

Although the sound was faint, its vibrant energy made people want to get closer to it.

"I've got it, there!" You pointed in that direction and whispered to them. "Go that way, don't open your eyes, keep feeling with your heart."

As you slowly walk, the ground beneath your feet softens, as if you've returned to a more natural forest.

The sounds around you changed from tranquility to liveliness; birdsong was crisp and clear, and the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves was so distinct it was reassuring. You quickened your pace, and everything around you began to feel familiar.

"This should be it!" You breathed a sigh of relief, opened your eyes, and prepared to see a wide cherry blossom forest or a brightly lit mountain path.

but--

You are indeed standing in an open field, the surrounding fog has dissipated, but what appears before you is not a safe mountain path, but a—

wedding.

Before me stood a torii gate decorated with red rope, with many paper lanterns hanging on either side. The light inside the lanterns was warm and bright, but if you weren't blind, these were just the same lanterns from before.

Behind the torii gate is a long stone path, with rows of people dressed in traditional kimonos lined up neatly on both sides.

Their faces were covered by masks with a single smile painted on them, which sent chills down one's spine the more one looked at them.

At the end of the stone-paved path was a magnificently decorated high platform.

On the high platform, a woman dressed in a white kimono stood quietly, her head covered with a white headscarf. She held a small, delicate crimson wine glass in her hand, a slight smile on her lips, but she did not look up at you.

"What...is this?" Xiaomei covered her mouth, her voice trembling.

"A wedding?" Xiao Dong looked around in confusion. "This looks like... a traditional Japanese wedding, but—"

The bride didn't move. Several men dressed in black haori stood around her, staring expressionlessly in your direction.

Seemingly sensing your gaze, the bride slowly raised her head. A smile remained on her face, but it lacked warmth, resembling a mask.

Even more terrifying was her eyes—they were empty, without pupils, only a pale light.

Xiao Dong was so frightened that he took a step back and almost fell: "We chose the wrong path!"

"Calm down!" You forcefully suppressed your fear and held them down. "We can't act rashly. Let's assess the situation first."

As you were talking in hushed tones, the bride turned her head slightly, as if observing you.

Then, she slowly raised one hand and pointed at you.

The entire area fell silent, even the masked figures around them remained motionless, leaving only you standing in place.

"Run?" Xiaomei asked through gritted teeth, "or stay?"

"Wait a little longer." You try to stay calm, but your heart is pounding so hard it feels like it's going to jump out of your chest.

You stare at the bride's movements, what is she trying to do?

However, her smile remained unchanged, and she didn't lower her hand that was pointing at you.

Never mind!

"Quickly lie down!" you whispered urgently, pulling Xiaomei and Xiaodong into a hollow under the shadow of the lantern.

The bride's icy gaze vanished, and the paused music resumed.

You crouched low as you walked through the various decorations, trying to figure out what was going on, when you accidentally bumped into Xiaomei in front of you.

"What's wrong?" you asked in a whisper.

Xiaomei pointed ahead without saying a word.

Before my eyes, some masked figures, holding long spoons, stood beside the stove, performing like silent kabuki performers, one bite at a time.

The surrounding lanterns swayed eerily, and the alternating black and white light cast their masks on the ground, making them look like grotesque smiling faces.

In that instant, you clearly saw that what was churning on the stove was not ordinary soup, but countless tiny, distorted faces, their eyes and mouths slightly open, as if they were crying out silently.

Those faces sometimes swelled up, sometimes were churned into a blurry liquid, and then quickly reformed into new shapes.

"Are these human souls?" you asked, frowning.

“They’re cooking with their souls…” Xiao Dong trembled, his fingers gripping your sleeve tightly.

"What should we do? If we stay any longer, they'll find us."

“Calm down,” you whisper. “Don’t do anything that will attract attention. They’re preparing the feast right now; their attention should still be on the stove.”

Xiaomei bit her lip, trying to suppress her breathing: "Will we be able to avoid them by hiding here? They might be patrolling."

You quickly glanced around. The center of the banquet was the large stoves and steamers, but you noticed a few old, worn-out dishes piled together near a corner, next to a wooden cabinet with its door half-open, revealing a narrow gap.

"See that cabinet?" you whisper to them. "Let's hide there. As long as those masked men don't notice us, we should be safe for now."

The three of them crouched down again, trying to use the shadow of the lantern as much as possible, and quietly moved to the storage cabinet.

You carefully pull open the cabinet door and find some old wooden bowls and porcelain inside, but there is enough space for someone to hide.

"Come in quickly." You call to them. Xiao Dong is the first to squeeze in, followed closely by Xiao Mei. You close the cabinet door last, and the three of them huddle in the small space, holding their breath and listening to the sounds outside.

Just when you thought you were safe for the time being, you heard a light footstep outside the cabinet door.

The sound was strange; it didn't sound like human footsteps, but rather like... the sound of a child's bare feet slapping on a wooden board.

"What is that?" Xiaomei asked softly.

You gesture for her to be quiet and nervously stare through the crack in the door.

The lantern light from outside shone through the gaps, and a small figure could be vaguely seen moving around outside the cabinet. The shadow was very short, seemingly only the height of an average child, but its movements were unusually agile, sometimes crouching down to sniff, sometimes circling around the cabinet.

"How could there be a child?" Xiao Dong muttered to himself.

"No, that's not a child." You grit your teeth, a bad feeling rising in your heart.

Suddenly, the cabinet door was gently pulled open a crack, and a small head peeked in.

It was a doll-like face, fair and rosy, with the corners of its mouth stretched up in an exaggerated grin, revealing two sharp little teeth.

Its eyes were large and round, glowing with an eerie red light, staring at the three people huddled inside the cabinet.

"What are you doing here?" Its voice was soft, like a curious child, but there was a hint of coldness in its tone.

Xiao Dong gasped in fright, covering his mouth with both hands, too afraid to make a sound. Xiao Mei also froze on the spot, her eyes wide open.

It's a small matter, a small matter... You force yourself to remain calm and answer in as steady a voice as possible: "We were invited to the wedding."

The little devil chuckled, as if he had heard a funny joke. "But I've never seen you before. You're not dressed like guests either."

“We… just arrived, you probably didn’t notice,” you said matter-of-factly.

It tilted its head and sized you up, blinking its red eyes a few times, then suddenly broke into an even bigger smile: "You sneaked in, didn't you? Hehe, were you trying to steal some food from the banquet?"

“No, we really just came to the wedding.” You tried to make your tone sound natural.

The little devil suddenly stopped smiling, leaned closer to you, stared into your eyes for a while, and then said in a strange tone, "Then you should know that everyone at a wedding has to follow the rules."

Your heart sank; you realized it was beginning to have doubts.

Just when you don't know how to deal with it, a few small figures appear outside the cabinet.

Several little creatures resembling the imp gathered around, their movements nimble and agile, whispering amongst themselves, their laughter low and grating.

"They're trying to steal some food!"

"No, no, they're here to cause trouble!"

"Let's drag them out, hehehe!"

The noise made you tense, and you used a hundred times the patience to coax a child, saying, "If we really did something wrong, please take us to see...the bride. She'll know what happened." You threatened.

Although I don't know what this little devil is, children should be afraid of adults, right?

This made the kids exchange glances, seemingly communicating with their eyes.

Finally, the leader of the imps smiled and said, "Alright then, I'll take you to see the bride. But don't blame me for not warning you, the bride isn't exactly a good-natured person."

Tsk.

"But the bride is very busy, and it's very impolite of us to bother her like this. You know, the bride has a bad temper, and if she gets angry, you'll all be punished."

Hearing this, the little devils winked at each other and really stopped making trouble.

"How about we give you some snacks, and you can play with us here?" You rummaged around for a while and finally pulled out some small candies.

"That works too!"

The little devils' eyes lit up, and they excitedly circled around you, trying to snatch your candy.

Xiao Dong and Xiao Mei followed suit, offering their snacks and fun items. For a moment, these little creatures treated you like good friends. Some tugged at your clothes, and some even tried to pull your hair, but they stopped nagging you to be handed over.

You've just relaxed for a moment—

"Look, it's a human!" a little devil suddenly shouted, pointing at you.

You brat!

Suddenly, several masked figures around you turned around, their empty eyes staring at you like black holes.

The air seemed to freeze instantly, and you felt a suffocating pressure.

"Run!" you whispered, then grabbed Xiaomei and Xiaodong and rushed desperately toward the edge of the banquet.

The little devils chased after them, their shrill laughter ringing out: "Catch them! Catch them!"

The masked figures began to move slowly. Although their steps were not fast, their legs were incredibly long, each step more powerful than three.

You stumbled and ran during the chase, nearly falling several times, but eventually found a relatively secluded corner at the edge of the field.

You were hiding in that relatively secluded corner, and before you could catch your breath, you heard the shrill laughter of the little devils coming from the thick fog.

Like hunting dogs that have caught the scent of prey, they leap and bound merrily across the feast, chasing you while singing strange and wonderful nursery rhymes:

Who can run away, who can escape?

No one can escape the bridal sedan chair at a wedding!

Cherry blossom white, white kimono.

Who was it that left crying?

The voices of these little devils seem to come from near and far, as if an invisible wind is blowing their eerie laughter toward your hiding place.

You held Xiaomei and Xiaodong tightly, whispering, "Don't make a sound, don't move." But you knew that these little devils would find you sooner or later.

“We can’t keep hiding forever,” you whispered. “If we’re talking about who the king and queen are here… it can only be the bride.”

“But we don’t even know what her weakness is,” Xiao Dong retorted in a low voice, his voice filled with unease and helplessness.

Just as you were about to take action, a hoarse voice came from behind: "Little girls, where are you going?"

You turned around abruptly and saw a hunched figure standing in the thick fog.

It was an old woman, wearing a tattered kimono and leaning on a withered wooden cane.

Her face was hidden in the shadows and could not be seen clearly, but her voice had a strange magnetism that seemed to be able to captivate people's hearts.

"Who is it?" Xiaomei asked in a low voice, her voice full of wariness.

"I'm just an old woman watching the show." The old woman approached slowly, her steps deliberate yet steady. Her eyes gleamed with a dark red light in the mist, and her tone carried a hint of mockery: "So you're human."

“Poor little cat, do you think you can escape? The feast must come to an end, but you are not suited to this place.”

"What do you want to do?" Xiao Dong asked, trying to appear calm.

The old woman stopped, looked down at you, and grinned: "I advise you to stay put. Don't try to find that white kimono; it's not something you can touch."

"Why should we listen to you?" Xiaomei asked tentatively.

“Because if you encounter it,” the old woman sneered, “it will make you see… things you shouldn’t see.” With that, her smile became even more sinister, and the red light in her eyes shone even brighter.

You looked at each other and found it a little funny.

If she hadn't told you, you wouldn't have known where to begin. But now that she's told you, isn't this the answer delivered right to your door?

“We didn’t intend to touch any white kimono.” You quickly adjusted your tone, trying to sound as harmless as possible. “We just got lost.”

The old woman stared at you, her cloudy eyes seeming to see through all your lies.

"Lost?" The old woman smiled. "No one can 'get lost' at this wedding; there are only guests who are taken to the wrong place."

Her tone was laced with a deep threat, and before she finished speaking, she screamed sharply, "Get out here!"

She slowly raised her cane and tapped it lightly on the ground. Suddenly, several wisps of black smoke rose from the ground, and a distorted little ghost face vaguely appeared in the smoke, with a half-smile.

"They said they were guests too, but we felt they were human beings."

The little devils excitedly boasted to the old woman, but the old woman impatiently smashed them into pieces of flesh and blood mist with her cane.

This scene terrified you.

What a violent old lady…

“Grandma, look, we don’t even know the bride’s name, how can we possibly find her white kimono?” You suddenly had an idea and tried to steer the conversation towards her. “Who exactly is she? And why is she having a wedding here?”

Hearing your question, the old woman's smile faded slightly, and her tone became low: "The bride's name... she has no name anymore. She is the center of this wedding banquet, a bride sacrificed for this feast. Her name, her past, have all become offerings."

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Author's Note: Aaaaaaaahhhhhh! Tiger was on the train and didn't manage to post it at the last second, only at 0:0:02... My heart is broken.