Chapter 28: Breaking Away
Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Breaking Away
Hearing that familiar sound, Zhu Ge felt a headache coming on.
It had only been a few days, and the same wedding procession was starting all over again!
The last time this happened, he hadn’t understood Xigui’s intentions and had escaped the bridal chamber with the help of Yu the Scholar.
But now that he knew Xigui was actually Hua Xiaomei—Hua Liusha—he wasn’t so resistant to the idea.
’This is a good chance to make contact and see what’s going on...’ Zhu Ge took a deep breath and sat up in bed.
He dealt with his parents and then headed out the door.
It was the same routine, the same procession, being carried in a sedan chair toward the bridal chamber.
However, during the journey, Zhu Ge observed the people around him.
At a glance, they all looked jubilant, no different from before.
And just as he’d suspected, the one thing they all had in common was their burly builds.
"Ma Laizi, are you still conscious?" Zhu Ge asked softly to the man not far away.
Ma Laizi walked alongside the procession, beaming with joy, as if he were at a real wedding.
At Zhu Ge’s words, Ma Laizi’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He just kept walking forward, full of vigor.
Zhu Ge frowned at the sight and lowered his voice again. "Ma Laizi, don’t let it control you!"
The next moment, a hint of distortion twisted Ma Laizi’s joyous face. His eyebrows, eyes, and the flesh of his face all scrunched together in a grimace.
Seeing Ma Laizi react confirmed Zhu Ge’s suspicion: the people around them, those controlled by Xigui, hadn’t completely lost their consciousness.
The moment that thought formed, Ma Laizi’s body came to a sudden halt. The look of struggle on his face morphed into pure terror.
"G-g-g-god..."
The six-foot-three man collapsed onto the ground. His expression was panicked and his words were a stuttered mess. The scene had clearly scared him out of his wits.
But the wedding procession didn’t stop. It continued forward as if no one had noticed anything unusual about Ma Laizi.
"Ma Laizi! Quiet!" Zhu Ge hissed.
Ma Laizi snapped his head up, his gaze locking with Zhu Ge’s furrowed brow as he sat in the sedan chair.
"If you want to live, get back in line!" Zhu Ge hissed, giving him a pointed look.
As if he’d found his pillar of support, Ma Laizi scrambled up from the ground, hurried to catch up with the procession, and fell in beside Zhu Ge’s wooden sedan chair.
"Z-Z-Z-Zhu Ge, what in the world is..." Ma Laizi tried to whisper, but his trembling voice was loud with panic.
"You’re not being controlled by a god. It’s Xigui, and Xigui is Hua Liusha..." Zhu Ge quickly explained the situation to Ma Laizi.
But he was careful to hold some details back.
Ma Laizi’s face turned pale when he heard that everyone in the village, except for Zhu Ge and Yu the Scholar, had their minds seized.
But when he heard there was a chance for everyone to recover if they could just get rid of the god hiding in the village, hope returned to his face.
"...So, I’m going to make contact with Hua Liusha. You were under her control, so the fact that you were able to break free probably means she allowed it."
Zhu Ge explained:
"Tonight is critical. Tomorrow is the Mushroom Festival. If you’ve got the courage, go walk through the village and check on the arrangements I’ve made. Tomorrow is the day we detonate the shrine."
"Detonate the shrine..." Ma Laizi looked slightly excited. He nodded. "I’ll go right now!"
With that, Ma Laizi broke away from the procession and headed toward the villagers’ houses.
Watching Ma Laizi go, Zhu Ge thought back on the man’s behavior. He narrowed his eyes, a flicker of contemplation and scrutiny in his gaze.
’Everything depends on tomorrow night...’
Zhu Ge thought about the Mushroom Festival and the Long Street Banquet tomorrow night, and he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.
In just a few moments, they were already approaching the bridal chamber.
’Hua Liusha, I hope you don’t disappoint me...’ Zhu Ge stared at the house in the distance, his nerves tightening.
Just then, however, an anxious cry came from the space between two houses nearby.
"Zhu Ge! Run! It’s a trap!"
The voice was clear and sweet, yet filled with urgency.
Zhu Ge whipped his head around and saw Hua Liusha, standing barefoot on the muddy ground.
Bathed in moonlight, Hua Liusha looked like a statue carved from the finest white jade—cool, pristine, and divine. Yet her expression was fraught with desperation.
Hua Liusha?!
’No, wait!’
’Isn’t Hua Liusha supposed to be Xigui?!’
’Where did my and Yu the Scholar’s reasoning go wrong?’
Zhu Ge suddenly remembered the empty coffin at the foot of the mountain, and his heart sank.
’If Hua Liusha is Xigui, and the object Xigui inhabits in the bridal chamber is really her physical body, then who—or what—is this living, breathing Hua Liusha in front of me?’
’Could my and Yu the Scholar’s deduction have been completely wrong?!’
’Or perhaps...’ Zhu Ge narrowed his eyes.
As soon as Hua Liusha appeared, the entire wedding procession ground to a halt. Every single person swiveled their head to stare directly at her.
Nothing like this had happened when Ma Laizi broke away from the group.
But Hua Liusha’s appearance triggered this bizarre reaction.
Zhu Ge’s thoughts raced, and he made a decision in an instant.
He pushed off with his already tensed legs, leaping from the sedan chair to land beside Hua Liusha.
"Whatever you have to say, tell me on the move!" Zhu Ge said in a low, firm voice. "Lead the way!"
This Hua Liusha was decisive. As soon as Zhu Ge reached her, she spun around and took off running.
Her pristine, jade-like feet seemed impervious to the sharp stones and mud on the ground, and she moved with incredible speed.
Having practiced the Martial Dao for the past few days, Zhu Ge was fast as well. In a flash, the two of them had covered a great distance.
"It’s a trap! It’s a Ghost!" Hua Liusha said as she ran.
Zhu Ge followed close behind, his eyes fixed on her, scanning her up and down. His expression was one of constant thought.
At the same time, he was ready to play the trump card he had prepared long ago.
’Twenty-three years of lifespan. I can still use the "Kunpeng" trait two more times!’
"What else?" Zhu Ge asked grimly.
Hua Liusha ran without a single gasp for breath, her voice unnaturally steady. "It’s a Ghost! The Ghost will eat our souls! The master said so!"
"I know that," Zhu Ge replied. "Right, what about your mother?"
"My mother is already dead!" A tremor entered Hua Liusha’s voice. "She died in the plague!"
Hearing this, Zhu Ge nodded slightly.
His suspicions had always focused on Hua Liusha herself; it was common knowledge that her mother was dead.
By now, Zhu Ge had scanned their surroundings. They had run up to the terraced fields, near the forest and the border of Jianshan Village.
He then slowed his pace, glanced up at the moon, and couldn’t help but grin. "Is there anything else you need to tell me?"
Sensing Zhu Ge stop, Hua Liusha also slowed down. She hesitated, then said, "You... You’re already dead..."