Chapter 10 Lian Zhuo, you won't refuse me, right?
"Are you crazy!" Tang Wanwan's mouth could fit an egg. "Lian Zhuo is a Buddhist. A monk getting married? I wouldn't dare to even hear you say that."
"If you don't dare to listen, do you think I would?" Huali thought to herself, but on the surface she had to put on a composed and confident demeanor.
"Why are you so agitated when it's not real?" Forced back two steps by her spittle, Huali wiped the blood off her face.
Ao Bai breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, the host's health has stopped decreasing, and the mission countdown is down to three days."
Tang Wanwan, like a rooster being choked, let out a choked cry, her pupils dilating as she looked at Lian Zhuo.
In the dimly lit room, he was dressed in a white kasaya. Even the moonlight seemed to favor him, falling on half of his profile and turning his long, curled eyelashes into the shape of butterflies about to take flight.
Unseen by her, red Gu threads climbed up Lian Zhuo's eyes, then disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The demonic Gu "Ling Kan" only appears when the person afflicted experiences emotional fluctuations or uses spiritual power. Ling Kan weaves a dense network of meridians in the heart, gradually enveloping it, and there is still no antidote.
To minimize distractions, one must not be tempted by anything. Lian Zhuo had been doing this very well before, so apart from the fifteenth night, the Gu poison was not too difficult for him to endure.
Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, the stern Buddhist monk raised his eyes again, his gaze fixed on Huali.
That familiar feeling of being seen through came back, but this time, Karin wasn't afraid at all.
In the face of death, shame is worthless!
"Among the four people, Lian Zhuo has the highest cultivation level, already at the early stage of the Golden Core realm. As for me, a half-baked cultivator with no spiritual power, of course I need to find the person with the strongest spiritual power to protect me."
"We'll go up the mountain first, and Tang Wanwan, you two can secretly follow behind us and act according to the situation. If there's any real danger, you know each other well and can rescue us immediately."
After Huali finished her righteous analysis, she looked at Lianzhuo and said, "Don't you monks always emphasize compassion? Now that so many villagers are missing and their fates are unknown, are you going to help them or not?"
The Buddhist disciple, his face darkening, was about to reprimand him: "..."
Your words were more insightful than any other conversation; Tang Wanwan was speechless. Although she felt something was amiss, she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Mo Ziyan, after weighing the pros and cons, quickly accepted the idea. "In that case, I'll give this to you, Miss." He took out two bracelets from his Qiankun bag. "These are called the Heart-to-Heart Bracelets. As long as two people wear them at the same time, they can sense each other no matter how far apart they are, which will make it easier for us to rescue them in time."
Ao Bai: "The Bracelet of Love? That's quite a treasure."
Huali didn't hesitate, thanked her, and put the bracelet on. She now wished she could wear all the magical treasures on her body.
The twin lotus pattern engraved on the bracelet flashed with light and shattered into silver spots on the wrist.
Lian Zhuo's gaze unconsciously lingered on the Bodhi beads woven from red thread on Hua Li's wrist. The Buddhist beads were originally pure and serene, but at this moment, they were accentuated by the love bracelet, revealing a touch of worldly dust.
On the other side, Mo Ziyan also put another concentric bracelet on her wrist.
The hand that was turning the prayer beads stopped, and the Gu poison that had just been suppressed exploded again in her meridians, causing Lian Zhuo's expression to change slightly.
To everyone's surprise, the bracelet in Mo Ziyan's hand suddenly slipped off her wrist.
This happened three times in a row, each time.
Mo Ziyan explained with a helpless expression, "It seems that Miss Huali and I are not destined to be together. This bracelet of love cannot be worn by two people who are not destined to be together. Even if you try to force it, it will sever the connection on its own."
Huali was surprised: "I didn't expect it to be so unique."
Then, as if remembering something, her eyes lit up, and she took the bracelet from Mo Ziyan's hand, saying, "Let me borrow it for a moment."
Lian Zhuo stood there watching the girl skip and hop towards him. The concentric bracelet on her wrist bumped against the Buddhist prayer beads, making a clear "ding" sound, like the evening bell of the Buddhist temple.
He suddenly felt a dryness in his throat, and the poison surged through his meridians, causing an unprecedented burning pain.
Hua Li stepped forward, took Lian Zhuo's hand, and slipped the love bracelet onto his wrist. Then, amidst the surprised gazes of Tang Wanwan and Mo Ziyan, she smiled and said, "It seems that I am more destined to be with the mage."
"Lian Zhuo, you won't refuse me, right?"
Lianzhuo turned her head and looked out at the moonlight.
Fearing he might speak, Huali made it clear from the start, "If you don't speak, it means you agree. Monks don't lie, so you can't go back on your word!"
*
The four of them stayed at Mr. Zhang's house that night.
After the villagers learned that someone was willing to take her place in the marriage, they all came out of their tightly closed houses.
Candles lit up the eaves of each house, and the village finally came to life.
Huali and Tang Wanwan shared a room. That night, Tang Wanwan looked at her as if she were an alien, and hesitated to speak several times.
The continuous running around for several days left Huali exhausted. In particular, the thought of being kidnapped by the system and dying if she failed to complete the assigned tasks made her feel so depressed that her liver ached. She immediately went to sleep.
I slept until the next morning, and when I woke up, the room was empty.
Huali took out a water-type card, cleaned herself up, and walked out of the room.
Outside, the spring sunshine was bright and clear. In the corner of the wall, the lilacs, soaked with water, bloomed with a large patch of bright blue and purple flowers. Tang Wanwan was drawing talismans under the tree when she saw Hua Li roll her eyes. "Even a pig can't sleep as well as you. Go eat your food over there."
Huali took a steamed bun and put it in her mouth. "Where are the others?"
Tang Wanwan narrowed her eyes, "You want to ask about Master Lianzhuo, right?"
Rosewood remained noncommittal.
Tang Wanwan gave him that strange look again. "He disappeared early this morning."
Ao Bai jumped down from the lilac tree and onto Hua Li's shoulder again. "Lian Zhuo went into the mountains. I wanted to follow him but he found me. I always felt that he was not simple, because the way he looked at me was not like he was looking at a cute little kitten."
Huali squinted: "It's okay, he probably just doesn't think you're cute."
Ao Bai: "......"
The village was once again adorned with bright red wedding ribbons, but the villagers, with their numb expressions, mechanically repeated the process, adding a touch of eeriness to what should have been a joyous occasion.
In the afternoon, Mo Ziyan returned from the place where the evil demon was sealed.
Just as they had expected, the seal had cracked.
Then, the wedding clothes used for the wedding were found placed under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, with a small red bell hanging on the tree.
Mr. Zhang said that after each ceremony, the bride would ring this bell, and after receiving a response, she and the groom would go to the Goddess Temple.
During the preparation period, Lianzhuo did not appear even once. If it weren't for the good reputation of the Buddhist sect, Huali would have almost thought that he had run away.
The demonic beast Bifang was hiding deep within the Baiyun Mountain swamp, and Lian Zhuo had to go to great lengths to capture it. Fortunately, Bifang's blood could indeed suppress the lurking Gu poison.
Lian Zhuo closed her eyes, looking blankly at the green sprout that had appeared in her spiritual platform at some unknown time. It was completely out of place with the cold, boundless white surroundings. She used her spiritual power to uproot it.
Upon hearing Tang Wanwan say that Lian Zhuo had returned, Hua Li's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down, and she prepared to get down to business.
Huali's wedding dress was a vermilion ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress). Although it was new, the cuffs were stitched with centipede-like patterns. A golden phoenix was embroidered on the hem, which, flickering in the candlelight, resembled a phantom bathed in fire. The phoenix crown was a treasure, interwoven with gold sequins and adorned with strings of gemstone beads.
On the other side, Lian Zhuo was wearing a dark red straight robe, and her eyes under the rosewood veil could directly see the white monk's robe peeking out from the hem of her wedding dress.
The ceremony was quiet and silent, and everyone's expressions were filled with panic and fear, as if they wished they could disappear on the spot in the next second.
Tang Wanwan gripped the spirit sword tightly, her gaze towards Huali gradually becoming serious.
Huali took a deep breath to comfort herself that it was okay. She not only had cards now, but also a connection with Lianzhuo through the Heart-to-Heart Bracelet. Tang Wanwan and Mo Ziyan were also helping her. Now she should treat it as an immersive script-based murder mystery game and make sure she didn't mess things up.
Encouraged by the alcohol, Huali downed the nuptial wine offered by the villagers in one gulp without even blinking.
Lian Zhuo, who was beside her, took the wine cup without looking at the rouge stain on the rim. She raised her arm and let Hua Li place her hand on it, then looked at the copper bell on the locust tree.
Lian Zhuo's fingers twitched slightly, and the bell rang out loudly in the darkness.
The villagers had already fled into their homes while they were drinking the nuptial wine, and Tang Wanwan and Mo Ziyan were also hiding there, leaving only the two of them.
The bells rang incessantly, and the red silk behind them fluttered wildly in the wind.
Lian Zhuo looked up at the old locust tree that was beginning to ooze blood-red fat, picked a leaf and tossed it gently.
The ringing stopped abruptly, replaced by a deathly silence.
A thick fog began to spread through the mountains, and a melodious tune drifted on the wind.
Huali listened intently, and immediately got goosebumps. "Did you hear that?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
