When I saw the bride suddenly stand up, my heart skipped a beat.
But they quickly relaxed.
Because I found no signs that she was possessed.
“Girl, you…”
The bride flinched, her sobs escaping her lips in broken sentences: "I...I'm a little scared...Can...can you talk to me?"
That's when I realized her shoulders were shaking violently.
She quickly stood up and pulled over a chair for her to sit down.
He lowered his voice further: "Don't be afraid, young lady, what's your name?"
She's not in good shape.
As the saying goes, when a person panics, their soul scatters; when their soul scatters, ghosts will follow.
"Chun, Chun Tao..."
She twisted the floral handkerchief, her knuckles turning white: "They said if I don't dress as the bride... they'll cut off my mother's medicine..."
The candles on the offering table were suddenly jolted to one side by the draft, and their orange light cast a warm glow on her red veil.
I stared at her hands hanging down on her knees, her nails neatly trimmed, with bits of unwashed blue ink still on her fingertips.
Those are marks only found on female textile factory workers.
"Chuntao, are you working in town?"
I tried to make my tone sound casual, like chatting about neighborhood gossip: "My cousin also works in a textile factory. I heard that you deal with yarn all day long, so your work must be meticulous."
"Um……"
She nodded slightly, loosening her handkerchief: "I was in the sizing workshop, the machines were roaring, and at first I couldn't even hear people talking."
Mentioning a familiar scene, her voice became more steady: "My mother loves to eat the sugar cakes sold at the factory gate, and I bring her two pieces every day after work..."
At this point, she suddenly choked up.
I saw her Adam's apple bob slightly, as if she was trying to swallow her tears.
A dog barked in the distance, one long bark followed by one short one, startling dust that fell from the rafters.
Chun Tao suddenly leaned closer, her red veil brushing against the back of my hand: "Brother Chen, do you think they... will really let me go?"
My heart clenched, and I took out a handkerchief and handed it to him: "Take this and wipe your sweat. It's terribly stuffy today. Don't worry, I'll take you back to town after I'm done with this."
As Chun Tao took the handkerchief, she slightly raised her head to look at me: "Brother Chen, thank you, but you said... nothing will really happen tonight?"
Something must have happened, how could nothing be wrong?
Why would I come here if there's nothing else to do?
But I can't say that.
She's just calmed down a bit, so we can't just say whatever comes to mind.
I quickly changed the subject: "What are you talking about? What could possibly happen on such a joyous day? Just think of it as visiting relatives. Once this commotion is over, I guarantee you'll have a smooth journey home."
Chun Tao's grip on the handkerchief tightened, her knuckles turning pale: "But they locked me in the woodshed for three days..."
“I heard Aunt Zhou say that she was going to use a living person to bring good luck to the ‘Mountain Goddess’.”
The barking of the dogs outside had stopped sometime ago, and was replaced by the sound of the night wind swirling withered leaves through the windowpanes.
I moved closer to her, and the stool creaked under the weight.
"Don't be afraid. Master Liu and I have traveled all over the country and have seen even the strangest things."
He caught a glimpse of her wrist peeking out from her sleeve, with small scabs of blood next to the purplish-blue marks: "They... didn't hit you, did they?"
"They just pushed each other a few times."
Chun Tao stared down at her embroidered shoes: "Last month, I had just saved enough money to save my mother's life and was thinking of going home to get her medicine, but I was intercepted by them and their men at the village entrance."
She raised her hand and wiped her face hard, the red veil tilting to one side, revealing her tear-streaked chin: "My mother is still waiting for me to bring back the sweet cakes... She has to take her blood pressure medication every day, and if she stops taking it..."
Suddenly, the candle wick on the offering table burst open with a burst of flame.
I frantically brushed the sparks off my wedding dress, but my heart felt like it was being cut by a dull knife.
Remembering Liu Sandao's words about the danger at midnight, and looking at the girl's trembling shoulders, his throat tightened: "When it's light, I'll carry you down the mountain on my back. What's your mother's name? After this is all over, I'll help you take the medicine back."
"Her surname is Wang, and everyone in the village calls her Wang the Cripple..."
Chun Tao suddenly trembled violently, her voice rising sharply: "But I heard Uncle Chen say that he was going to peel off my face and give it to 'Mountain Goddess'! They also said..."
"say what?"
I waited for a long time, but she didn't say anything.
Suddenly, Chun Tao's hand gripped my wrist tightly!
Her voice, tinged with deep-seated fear, came from beneath her red veil: "Brother Lin, listen... isn't someone scratching at the door?"
"Scratching the door?"
My blood rushed to my head, and I listened carefully.
That's right.
"Squeak— squeak—", like fingernails slowly scratching on a rough door panel, one scratch after another.
"Listen."
I took out half a talisman from my pocket; it was the "Heart-Cleansing Mantra" that Liu Sandao had given me earlier.
"Put this on your chest to stabilize your spirit. When a person is nervous, the gate of life opens, and the three souls and seven spirits are easily exploited by yin energy."
"Yes!" Chun Tao trembled as she took the talisman.
Suddenly, a loud thud was heard outside, as if a heavy object had fallen to the ground.
Chuntao screamed "Ah!" and lunged at me, grabbing my arm.
I reached down to her lower back and found a pair of rusty scissors tucked there.
It's probably for self-defense.
I don't know if it's meant to keep out dirt or me.
Before they could think about it, the door to the bridal chamber began to shake violently, and the talisman on the door frame made a sizzling sound.
"Don't open the door!"
I pulled Chun Tao back to the corner of the wall. We heard the sound of fingernails scratching the door outside, mixed with Zhou Guilan's hoarse laughter: "Groom, look who's bringing you wedding candy?"
However, I know that the person outside the door is not Zhou Guilan, but that filthy thing.
Chuntao suddenly trembled violently.
I looked down and saw black blood seeping from her chest where the "Heart-Cleansing Mantra" was applied.
"Don't be afraid."
I reached for the gold chain around my waist, and when I touched the Tai Chi clasp on the pendant, I suddenly remembered Liu Sandao's words: "If you feel anything is wrong, touch the talisman first."
But when he reached behind his back, he found nothing.
Sometime later, the "Soul-Stabilizing Talisman" disappeared!
Chuntao's red veil was completely lifted in the wind.
My pupils suddenly contracted.
What I was looking at wasn't a young girl at all, but clearly an old woman with a face full of wrinkles!
She grinned, revealing sharp canines, and clutched the talisman on my back in her hand. The character "镇" (zhen, meaning "to suppress") on the paper had been soaked in black blood and turned into "缜" (zhen, meaning "meticulous").
With a "whoosh".
The red dates and peanuts on the offering table suddenly moved on their own without any wind.
The shriveled dates rolled to the ground, making an eerie, crisp sound.
Chun Tao's red veil was lifted by an invisible force, revealing a face covered with blue veins that spread like a spider web to her neck.
That was clearly a sign of possession!
And the marks on her wrists were now oozing black blood.
"Midnight, 3:40"
Chun Tao's voice rang in my ears like a broken bellows: "Time to change your attitude..."
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