Chapter 7: Newlyweds
Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Newlyweds
’Fiancée?’
’The teacher arranged the match?’
Zhu Ge suddenly realized something was definitely wrong.
But his thoughts were a mess, and his already exhausted brain was a blank slate.
He knew, however, that it was best to gather as much information as possible. Once he recovered, he could process it all at once using the Kunpeng’s trait.
And right now, the best way to handle it was to play dumb!
"Isn’t Hua Xiaomei dead? How can we be betrothed?" Zhu Ge’s voice remained devoid of emotion.
"Hua Xiaomei is dead?" Yu the Scholar’s expression changed drastically upon hearing this. "What-what are you talking about?"
"Hua Xiaomei is dead," Zhu Ge repeated.
"Oh no... I have to go back." With that, he abandoned Zhu Ge and hurried back toward his residence.
Zhu Ge sensed there was something fishy about this.
Of course, the most suspicious part was Yu the Scholar himself.
As the teacher’s disciple, his past conduct was that of a perfect gentleman. Why would he make such a mistake now?
After all, if that god was powerful enough to destroy the ’Scholar’ character personally written by the teacher, and if Yu the Scholar also couldn’t resist being possessed, that would make sense.
But the problem was, Yu the Scholar didn’t look like he was possessed at all.
It was more like he hadn’t resisted.
’Something’s fishy!’
’Once I gather a bit more information, I’ll use the Kunpeng again,’ Zhu Ge thought.
Now that Yu the Scholar had left, Zhu Ge prepared to go out as well.
He glanced at his mother.
His mother sat in the darkness, out of the sunlight streaming through the open window, subconsciously weaving a straw basket. Her movements were mechanical and stiff.
The woven basket no longer looked as beautiful as it used to. Instead, it resembled a spiny sea urchin, giving off a creepy and bizarre feeling.
"I’m heading out."
After speaking, Zhu Ge opened the door and walked out.
After he left, his mother slowly raised her head in the darkness.
Her vacant, numb eyes stared at the half-open door. After a while, she slowly lowered her head and continued weaving the straw basket in her hands.
However, the shape of the basket gradually changed from a sea urchin to something rounder. The bristly ends of the straw stuck out sharply into the air, like hair.
Overall, the basket looked like a human head, complete with hair and a face.
And his mother’s mouth repeated Zhu Ge’s name:
"Zhu Ge... Zhu Ge..."
...
After leaving the house, Zhu Ge felt a chill on his head and neck.
"The sun is so bright, yet I still feel cold under it. This really is bizarre..."
Zhu Ge sighed softly.
He really just wanted to fall over and sleep right now.
But to stay alive, he had to stick to the plan he’d made last night while wearing the Kunpeng.
’Gather enough information, find the god’s dwelling, destroy it, and then wait in the village for the teacher to return!’
There was no other choice. If he stayed in the village, he at least had fences, walls, and the like. He also had tools and weapons.
’But if I were to flee into the vast forest?’
That would be no different from suicide.
Gods, Ghosts, Demons, and Spirit Monsters were everywhere. Leaving meant certain death.
He had to save himself within the village!
Besides, he couldn’t do it alone. He had to preserve as many of Jianshan Village’s able-bodied people as he could!
From what he could see, many people had already become walking corpses.
But some of the stronger ones, like Ma Laizi and his group, seemed quite normal.
’First, I’ll go to Ma Laizi’s house. That guy better not be running his mouth.’
Zhu Ge’s original plan was to visit everyone, from south to north, one by one.
Now, to prevent that big-mouthed Ma Laizi from spreading panic by blabbering everywhere, Zhu Ge had to pay him a visit.
Earlier, Ma Laizi and those other laborers seemed to be helping some family replace a roof beam, but he didn’t know which one.
As he searched, he thought back to the Hua Xiaomei he remembered.
No matter how he looked at it, whether she was dead or alive...
The Hua Xiaomei who sang the nursery rhyme was definitely not the Hua Xiaomei from his memories.
However, Yu the Scholar’s expression had changed dramatically after hearing that Hua Xiaomei was dead.
This meant Hua Xiaomei was indeed a crucial point.
But Zhu Ge still found it difficult to discern Hua Xiaomei’s intention when she had appeared before him earlier.
’Was it for good?’
’Or for ill?’
It was hard to tell.
But the information Hua Xiaomei provided had become a powerful clue for him to identify the god’s true form.
And then there was Yu the Scholar.
His behavior just now was truly bizarre!
’There are too many strange things...’ Just as he was thinking this, Zhu Ge suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Not far away, a house that looked brand new was under construction.
A group of middle-aged men were enthusiastically carrying logs, driving piles, and pouring a mixture of sticky rice and mud.
’Building a house?’
Zhu Ge searched his memory. He had no recollection of a house being built in Jianshan Village.
This made Zhu Ge realize that either there was a problem with his memory, or there was a problem with reality.
But in any case, something was wrong!
Zhu Ge walked over quickly. As he got closer, the sense of absurdity grew even stronger.
A huge "Double Happiness" character was posted on the outside of the earthen house, the paper as red as blood.
"Hey! The groom is here!"
Seeing Zhu Ge approach, several burly men greeted him with a smile.
"Me?"
Zhu Ge was stunned. In the next moment, looking at the house before him, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.
This bizarre sense of familiarity, combined with the clear memories in his mind, gave Zhu Ge a feeling of being torn apart.
He took a few steps forward but was suddenly stopped by a man.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, today’s not the wedding night. It’s bad luck for the groom to enter the bridal chamber early." The man was all smiles. "The main door can only be opened on the wedding day."
"That’s right, that’s right! In a couple of days, the teacher will be back, just in time for you two to get married!"
"Hua Xiaomei was just here, haha."
"Don’t call her Hua Xiaomei! Use her formal name, Hua Liusha!"
The surrounding men were also jeering good-naturedly, all of them smiling.
Someone also asked in surprise, "Young Zhu, why are your eyes so red? Didn’t you sleep well?"
Zhu Ge scratched his head sheepishly. "I was thinking about things yesterday, and the noisy insects kept me up all night."
"They were pretty loud."
"Yeah, yeah! The bugs are in heat too, haha!"
"Nonsense. It’s the Beginning of Summer now. What ’heat’ are you talking about?"
"The one in heat is Young Zhu, haha!"
Amidst the boisterous laughter, Zhu Ge ignored them and looked toward Ma Laizi.
Ma Laizi and his group were silently setting up the beams, their heads lowered and eyes downcast.
"Ma Laizi, I need to talk to you," Zhu Ge called out softly.
Ma Laizi shuddered, raised his head, and looked at Zhu Ge in terror. "Y-y-you, looking... for me? Yu the Scholar was just looking for me, why are you looking for me too?"
’Terror?’
Zhu Ge frowned imperceptibly, wondering why Ma Laizi would look at him with such a terrified expression.
’And Yu the Scholar looked for Ma Laizi, too?’
’Looks like that Yu the Scholar is definitely up to something!’
"That’s right." A smile appeared on Zhu Ge’s face as he walked up to Ma Laizi in a few steps. "I have something to discuss with you."
Zhu Ge was about five-foot-eight.
Ma Laizi was a head taller than him, over six feet tall, with a burly build.
But as Zhu Ge approached, Ma Laizi subconsciously took two steps back.
Fortunately, everyone around was busy, and no one noticed Ma Laizi’s strange behavior.
"What did you discover?"
Once he was close, Zhu Ge couldn’t help but frown and ask in a cold voice.
At this change in Zhu Ge’s expression, Ma Laizi was so scared he almost screamed.
Zhu Ge noticed this, so he narrowed his eyes and hissed in a low voice:
"Scream, and we all die!"