Chapter 88 Cherry Blossom Viewing 6 This chapter was a misrepresentation; the complete content has been updated...
Doubt, unease, anticipation, and a touch of indescribable awe.
Now that you know the bride's story, what does this white kimono in front of you represent?
Seal the bride, so you can escape?
But what just happened...
But you know you have no other choice.
You reach out and touch the white kimono.
In an instant, all the dust particles were suspended in mid-air, as if an invisible wave emanated from the white kimono.
The pure white fabric swayed gently, and all the places that had shrunk due to gravity swelled up on their own.
A hand emerges from the sleeve and grasps your wrist.
!
Your body moves faster than your mind; you leap backward several feet, only to have your waist slam into something both resilient and soft.
That thing blocked your way back and pulled you forward back to Shiromuku's side.
In the struggle, you looked down and wished you could gouge your own eyes out! A huge clump of hair had completely wrapped around you.
And at the end of the hair, the thing that supports the clothes gradually grows into a face—is it the bride?
You can't be sure, because her face is neither the one you saw from afar outside the mansion, nor the "person" in the play whose face was initially painted white and later stained red with blood, obscuring her features.
That's understandable; a supernatural being can look however it wants, and it can even be seen as the embodiment of a bride with a similar experience.
If you drift off for a moment, your chin will be gently lifted.
The bride's eyes were like pools of water, overflowing with suffering and sorrow. Just being gazed upon her, you couldn't help but be moved.
“You’ve found me…” Her voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, and a hint of trepidation and anticipation were inadvertently revealed in her words.
Her hand slid down your cheek and tucked your disheveled hair behind your ear.
“Poor girl, I’ve brought you so much suffering,” she said, her voice as soft as a sigh.
“I…” you hesitated before speaking, “It’s okay, you’re the one who’s really being persecuted, suffocated by all this… all this so-called etiquette, reputation, and family legacy.” You wouldn’t have criticized her for resisting anyway, especially since she was just as terrifying to you.
Since she seems like someone who can be communicated with, it's always right to speak in a way that goes along with her wishes.
The bride lowered her head, her dark and unfathomable eyes veiled in mist.
She said, "Yes... I had no intention of doing anything wrong. I only wanted to fulfill my duties as a wife, but they criticized me relentlessly and humiliated me. In the end, I... did those things." Her voice trembled slightly as she held back her tears.
"Those things?" You frowned. "Yes, they were indeed very pitiful."
She nodded gently, her lips moving slightly: "Yes, I... lost my mind, I... harmed them. I committed a sin, I took their lives. But I have never stopped feeling remorse."
"But... but if they hadn't driven me to the brink, how could I have ended up like this?" A hint of bitterness was hidden in her tone.
You look at the bride before you; her fingers are gently twisting the edge of her white kimono. Her eyes do not reveal fierceness, but only a deep weariness and regret.
"I understand," you comfort her. "I understand. It's really pitiful."
Your vocabulary is limited, and I regret not having learned more. Fortunately, you spoke with sincerity, and the hair tied around your neck came loose.
You resisted the urge to run away immediately and patiently waited for the bride to say what she wanted to say but didn't.
The main reason is that if I really run away, it might anger her.
“I was innocent…” she began, her voice growing increasingly urgent, “Now I’m trapped in this endless cycle. Every time the wedding is reenacted, every time I see them, I suffer the torment of this sin. Do you know how painful this is?”
Your throat tightens. Having seen so many explicit and horrific scenes, the scenes in the play that excessively romanticize slaughter send chills down your spine: the tragically killed family members, the blood-stained white kimono, the recurring wedding ceremony.
The persecution, the oppression, the image of the bride being driven to despair flashed before my eyes.
"Yes, maybe you're really in too much pain," you whisper, your sympathy genuine.
The bride nodded gently, tears welling in her eyes. "Yes, I just want to end it all. I want to be free, to escape this endless cycle. Can you help me? Take me away—"
Her fingers gently traced her chest, gesturing towards the white kimono.
"Take you away?" you repeat.
“No, don’t misunderstand. I only want to be reborn in paradise, not stay on this boundary between life and death. I just need you to take me out of here,” the bride said earnestly.
"I do, but I don't know where I am," you said slowly, taking your bride's hand. "And how can I do this?"
"This is where I'm trapped." The "bride" blinked, revealing her slender white neck to you in a vulnerable and easily bullied manner. "You just need to take me away."
"Oh, the place that's trapping you." You think to yourself, "Okay, then I'll..."
Your gaze passes over the translucent "bride" and locks onto a rope and pulley on the collapsed roof.
I almost didn't notice these things.
“However,” you said slowly, your tone becoming cautious, “I need to confirm one thing first. You really… won’t hurt me, will you?”
The "bride" paused for a moment, then gave a gentle smile: "Of course not."
But the "bride's" hair—or to put it more bluntly, the thing's hair—silently reaches out towards you.
Pretending not to notice, you took a step back and secretly pulled the pulley rope.
“I believe you,” you said, “but could you let me go a little further out to see if there are any dangers outside?”
A strange look flashed across the ghostly thing's face. It immediately realized you were tricking it, and angrily pounced on you with its hair disheveled.
It really wasn't the bride. You don't believe that the bride could be so easily fooled.
—You're still daydreaming about random things.
Just a few microseconds later, as it gets close, you suddenly throw the rope in your hand at it, and the rope just happens to catch the bulging fabric on its body.
Sensing something amiss, it immediately roared, "You—"
But it was too late.
You pull the pulley with all your might, and the pulley's force causes the curtain on top of the stage to crash down, directly covering it under the dilapidated scenery.
The moment it was pressed down by the backdrop, it screamed and reverted to its original form—no longer the bride, but just a twisted mass of tattered clothes, struggling to break free of the backdrop.
You quickly found the torn curtain—it was all theater stuff, so it should have some effect on the white kimono—and wrapped it around the set with a hard kick. The limp rag was then obediently put back into place by the curtain.
“You are not the bride,” you said coldly. “You are just the embodiment of the white kimono. Now, you want to trick me into releasing you, but how can I believe that someone who can distort right and wrong won’t harm me?”
Before being executed, will a woman who slaughtered her husband's entire family repent for her sins or regret not having taken better revenge?
The white kimono let out a shrill sound, like a curse or a roar.
Its struggles gradually weakened, but you know it won't give up easily.
"You want freedom?" You looked down at the writhing fabric and wrapped it up a little tighter with the stage curtain. "I'll talk about it when I see the bride. For now, you'd better stay here."
Who hates the white kimono the most, which symbolizes "the evil spirit born from the jealousy of the newlywed bride"? It's undoubtedly the bride! This thing hides in Kabuki plays, tricking you into taking it out, simply to devour the bride, or simply to escape.
Of course, a white kimono isn't a good thing, and a ghost bride filled with resentment might not necessarily be on your side.
Putting everything else aside, they eat people! The moment they saw you, they were ready to capture you. The Ghost Bride must be a higher-level boss.
Let's see if we can use this white kimono as leverage to get the bride to spare your lives. We're all women, why make things difficult for each other... At worst...
Although you pitied the ghost bride, at that time you could only suppress her with a white kimono.
Big fish eat little fish, little fish eat shrimp, and then you just wrap the white kimono (a type of Japanese kimono) that you have to coax to leave the play with a curtain.
The plan is in place.
Holding the white kimono in your arms, you walked slowly but firmly toward the gate of the mansion.
Even with all the plans in mind, you can't help but feel uneasy. Who knows how things might turn out?
For example, these masks, of which only a few remained after the fire, caused people to turn around as you passed by, their gazes all fixed on you.
The air was filled with an ancient aroma, like a mixture of glutinous rice balls and burning charcoal.
You look up at the gate of the mansion. The afternoon sky is obscured by fog, leaving only a hazy light. The lanterns, which seem to float in the air, are mainly used for lighting and dispelling the fog.
As you approach the altar, the rotten white kimono doesn't feel heavy, but with each step you take, it feels increasingly weightless.
Everything around seemed to slow down, even my own breathing sounded clear and muffled.
You know the bride is already waiting on the stage, but you're still nervous.
You're afraid of her, yet you're not afraid of her either. You're conflicted.
When you finally stepped off the stage, the stage was already bathed in soft light.
The bride's figure was backlit. She stood there, without any ornaments in her hands; the only symbolic element was the white hem of her dress, which fluttered to the ground without wind.
You know she's watching you, even though you can't quite see her gaze clearly.
"I am the bride's dress! I am the bride! I have the noblest virtues and gentle character, I am the mistress standing above!" Bai Wugou, who had been pretending to be dead, became excited and shouted.
You punched the tattered cloth through the curtain, and it finally shut up. When you finally spoke, you said it with more trepidation than ever before: "You're afraid of this, right... uh, or you definitely don't get along with it. I found it and caught it. I can give it to you, but you have to let us leave."
The bride gazes at you quietly as a lantern silently floats before her, illuminating her face.
A faint smile appeared on her face. The smile held no hostility, yet it left you utterly perplexed.
The bride slowly raised her hand. "Can't you reach an agreement? You're practically about to pull back the curtain."
The next second, the bride gently clapped her hands, and the white kimono in your hand, including the curtain, instantly began to burn.
A wisp of blue will-o'-the-wisp emerged from between the fabric and quickly engulfed its entire body.
You watched helplessly as it screamed and turned to ashes.
You stared in disbelief, and because the flame wasn't hot to the touch, you forgot to throw it away until you felt its weight lift from your hand, at which point you realized what had happened.
"This...how is this possible?" You're a little confused, your mind still processing the previous train of thought:
Was the Bride's strength originally far superior to Shiromuku's? Did Shiromuku hide in the play? But that doesn't make sense either, so why did she want to escape? And where did she get the confidence to think she could contend with the Bride?
No, none of it is right!
You've realized it—just a little bit.
Like a silly little fool, you half-open your mouth and look up, only to see that the bride still didn't say anything, but instead slowly opened her mouth as if imitating you.
Oh no, don't mess with me! You awkwardly shifted your bewildered expression back to a serious, witty, and reliable one.
Ah, that's...
It turns out the bride wasn't making fun of you at all.
She's showing you that she has a bloody hole in her mouth.
The tongue was nowhere to be found, and dark red blood flowed down the chin as the mouth opened.
You scratched your head, unsure how to react for a moment.
The bride simply looked apologetic and closed her mouth. After staring at each other for a while, the bride pointed behind you.
You turn around and look in the direction she's pointing, and you see a familiar figure.
"teacher?"
You absolutely cannot believe it.
Yes, that's your language teacher. She's standing not far away, smiling and waving at you.
The teacher's expression was gentle and calm, as if she were not the one who had led you to this perilous cherry blossom viewing party just a few tens of minutes ago.
Standing beside her were Xiao Dong and Xiao Mei. The two girls were unharmed, with relaxed expressions on their faces, and were even talking in hushed tones.
When Xiaomei saw you, she happily waved her arms at you vigorously.
You feel dizzy and realize that what you thought you understood about everything was the biggest misunderstanding.
In any case, you still went over and stood with Xiaodong and Xiaomei.
At this time, the three of you followed the teacher and watched her walk forward and talk to the etiquette staff with a calm demeanor.
She took a beautifully decorated gift from her bosom and handed it to the ushers.
The ushers opened the box, checked it, nodded, and then opened a thick roster, respectfully recording her name and the name of the gift.
Floral mud.
Moreover, you can clearly see that in the reddish, moist soil inside the box, there are three rings that the tall, thin man is wearing, thinking they are fashionable.
Ah. You, Xiaodong, and Xiaomei locked eyes, your brainwaves connected.
Now, it seems you really understand.
After the ushers handed the teacher's gift to another masked person to put away, they immediately gestured for her to take a seat. The teacher, however, waved her hand, looking quite troubled.
“My students got lost and ended up here,” she said in her usual calm tone. “As their teacher, of course I have to lead them away to fulfill my duty.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the ushers paused for a moment, then looked down and flipped through the roster again, as if to confirm something.
“We should treat our uninvited guest with the utmost courtesy, but since you are determined to leave, we cannot insist that you stay. Miss, you are aware of your wishes, so please forgive us for not being able to see you off.” The hostess bowed.
"Alright, students, let's go down the mountain together." The teacher smiled at you. "I'm very sorry about the accident that happened during today's cherry blossom viewing. It seems that you all need to learn more about Japanese culture so that you won't get lost in the mountains. If it turns into a disappearance, I'll be in trouble."
The teacher sighed, and you could actually see a hint of weariness from her unchanging, classic teacher expression.
"Teacher, please wait a moment." You called out to the teacher, bowed, and without hesitation, ran back to the ghost bride's side.
She remained standing there, unmoved, her head slightly tilted to the side, seemingly wondering why you had returned.
You stop in front of her, your heart pounding, your mind a jumbled mess.
“Perhaps…” you began hesitantly, your voice trembling slightly, “Perhaps I can help you.”
The ghost bride's eyes flickered slightly; she seemed to understand your words, yet also appeared even more puzzled.
However, she simply lowered her head slowly, not stopping you from doing whatever you wanted.
As for you, you hold your breath, reach out, and carefully touch the top of her head.
what you up to?
You want to save her.
Maybe you're being dramatic, or maybe you're overthinking it. You've just seen so many TV shows and movies, haven't you?
Those poor souls, who suffered injustice and abuse in life, became vengeful ghosts after death, but were trapped in the scenes they hated and suffered the most.
Despite being victims, they find no peace, neither in life nor in death.
You really pity them.
You…you think you might be a little foolish, but after seeing the bride's complete life story, you can't help but feel sorry for her. After experiencing all the malicious speculation about her, you realize she's not some irrational, indiscriminate killer, and you can't help but hope that—
Redeem her.
You don't want to be so aloof, but you are just... it's a very simple sadness from the bottom of your heart.
A cool sensation spreads across your fingertips, like icy silk, smooth yet exuding an aura of death. Unlike the decaying, real white kimono, this one is clearly a product of the soul.
Is this the cage that's trapping her?
Can you untie it?
You don't know. You don't know anything, you just want to do something.
The white kimono uses you to pull you into the play, hoping to release you and pit you against the bride. Why you? By what right? Perhaps, it's simply because you are a living person. Like a shaman seeking a blessing, you can help them break free from certain restrictions.
You were intently untying the belt of the garment beneath you, sweat beading on your nose.
Finally, the heavy white kimono veil loosened slightly, and your hand slowly slid down to gently untie it.
When the veil falls, you can hear your heart pounding like thunder, and you're so nervous you can barely hold your fingers.
Will it succeed?
When the veil slipped completely off, the ghost bride's cascading black hair fell down.
Her face became clearer, etched with a deep sorrow and weariness. Looking directly into her eyes, an indescribable emotion welled up within you: pity, awe, and profound regret.
"How long have you been trapped here?" you asked, your voice choked with emotion.
She didn't answer, but simply reached out and gently touched the top of your head.
Just then, the lanterns around them suddenly flew up as if swept by a gust of wind and began to spin rapidly in the air.
You stumbled a step, puzzled, watching the lanterns swirling in the air like birds returning to their nests, the sparks gathering together to become so bright!
The light dispersed the original gray mist, or rather, it cut through the mist like a sharp blade. And just as the light pierced the depths of the mist, you suddenly discovered something.
The lanterns did not float in the air; their "ropes" were actually strands of long, jet-black hair.
With the fog gone, you look along that black hair and then you notice—there's no cherry blossom grove or falling petals.
All around were bare, dead trees!
Those clusters of cloud-like flowers were just clumps of long hair, densely coiled on the branches in various styles such as coiled and hanging down.
The entire canopy of the forest was covered by these thick, black hairs, making it look like dark clouds pressing down.
Your mind goes blank, and you walk backward involuntarily, but your gaze is completely drawn to it.
If you look closely, you'll immediately get goosebumps.
No wonder the ground is always damp, no wonder there are fallen cherry blossoms even though there are no flowers.
Among the thick tufts of hair, the corpses hung there neatly.
Bright red liquid flowed from the hanging men, dripping onto the ground and soaking the entire land.
Haha, it really is! If you don't look closely, it looks a lot like flower petals.
The flower petals, the trees, and even this landscape are all based on these black hairs.
These seemingly beautiful "flowers" are actually bloody illusions.
What cherry blossom viewing party? It's nothing but a slaughterhouse!
You looked up at the ghost bride again, your voice trembling as you asked:
"What...what's going on? Why are there...these things here?"
Her gaze remained gentle, seemingly without any malice. But her silence made everything seem even more eerie. Her outstretched hand was still above your head, gently stroking you, as if to soothe you, or as if to convey some unspeakable message.
Only then did you realize that everything grew out from behind the bride.
Her power is far greater than you think, and her resentment—you don't even know what word to use—is far stronger than you imagine.
You're being nosy.
The bride, however, didn't seem to mind your actions at all.
The vengeful ghost, whose existence here is unknown, possesses a youthful face and figure that belies a deep-seated hatred and a gratifying satisfaction in repeatedly killing potential perpetrators, whether innocent or not, that is difficult for a young, living person to comprehend in their own life.
She doesn't need redemption; she has already redeemed herself.
And she is equally grateful for these self-inflicted acts of kindness and blessings from you in your short life.
You have no time to linger; the bride's wedding is about to begin and will continue indefinitely, so unauthorized personnel should voluntarily leave.
As I walked forward with the teacher, the world first became clearer, then gradually blurred, and my consciousness became uncertain.
When you open your eyes again, you are already outside the cherry blossom forest. The air around you is fresh and peaceful, and the cherry blossoms overhead are as bright as a spring smile.
The teacher took you back to school, gave you some advice on studying hard, and then left.
Xiao Dong and Xiao Mei also said goodbye to you.
You returned to your lodgings alone, and only then did you unfold your tightly clenched hands.
That was a strand of the bride's black hair.
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Author's Note: Tiger is really going crazy. Lately, I've been writing directly on Jinjiang Writing Assistant, and sometimes when I want to quit halfway through, I accidentally click the brighter "Confirm Publish" button... I'm so sorry to all the moms who saw the update and clicked in only to find it was an incomplete chapter TT... But don't worry, if you've already subscribed, you can read the complete chapter directly when Tiger updates! PS: This chapter was actually a bit difficult to write; I was planning to go to sleep first... Luckily, I managed to finish it after working on it all night QAQ
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