“Hm?”
Suddenly, two figures darted out from an alley beside the bridal escort procession. They looked utterly out of place amid the deathly still procession. The two of them hurriedly glanced at the bridal sedan, then quickly vanished into the depths of the alley.
“Living people?”
A strange look flashed across Yang Jian’s face. In this dead-silent village, the sudden appearance of two living people was clearly abnormal.
Yang Jian and the others had only been able to enter this village safely because of Zhang Wei’s previous identity as the “groom.” If ordinary people came in, they would undoubtedly die.
Yang Jian could almost confirm that these were not ordinary people who had accidentally wandered into a supernatural incident. They were very likely two ghost controllers. Yang Jian would not allow any mistake in what came next, so he quickly followed after them.
Following those two figures, Yang Jian arrived beside a low building. Two dark-red lanterns hung from the eaves on either side, and two large “囍” characters were pasted onto the door panels. A red carpet lay at the entrance. This seemed to be the bridal chamber.
Dim red light radiated from inside the house. Vaguely, two people could be seen pacing back and forth uneasily in the room.
“Bang!”
Yang Jian suddenly kicked the door open and strode inside.
At that moment, Yang Jian was soaked from head to toe. There was not a trace of blood on his pallid face, and his deathly silent gaze, together with the scarlet ghost eye on his forehead, made one’s hair stand on end. He looked like a fierce ghost.
The two people inside the door were stunned by this sudden intrusion. One man instinctively took a step back, the expression on his face swiftly changing from terror to vigilance. His hand reached toward a red bracelet on his wrist, his movements quick, clearly making some kind of preparation.
The scarlet ghost eye swept over the two of them. Yang Jian wasted no words.
“My time is limited. I’ll only ask once. Who are you, and what is your purpose in coming here?”
The two people standing inside the door had clearly been frightened by Yang Jian’s appearance, cold sweat seeping from their foreheads. But after Yang Jian spoke, their expressions eased slightly.
However, the two of them did not seem to want to communicate with Yang Jian. They merely stared at him warily, keeping their mouths shut.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Silence filled the room.
Suddenly, red light flashed, brief yet dazzling. In the next instant, a headless male corpse lay sprawled on the floor. There was not a trace of blood at the severed stump of his neck, making the scene extraordinarily eerie.
Yang Jian stood where he was, an old hatchet gripped in his hand. Cold water remained on the blade, sliding down along its edge.
Yang Jian did not have time to waste here, so he could only choose the most direct method to make them talk: kill one of them outright.
Yang Jian raised his head and quietly looked at the woman, waiting for her to speak. The woman only felt a wave of pressure crashing toward her.
“We’re tenants from the third floor of the post office!”
The woman suddenly spoke, her voice trembling from nerves, but her pace was extremely fast. She finished the entire sentence in almost a single second.
“We received a letter instructing us to come to this village and hand the letter to the bride after she entered the bridal chamber.”
After saying this, the woman pointed toward a dark-red coffin in the corner of the room.
Only then did Yang Jian turn around and observe this house filled with dark red.
The furnishings in the room were simple. It seemed as though someone had hurriedly moved away most of the furniture, leaving only a few items scattered about. A dilapidated dressing table leaned crookedly against the wall, its mirror covered in dust, making it almost impossible to see any reflection.
An oil lamp stood quietly on the tabletop. The dark-red lamplight was emanating from within it.
A dark-red cabinet stood upright in the corner, its surface covered in cracks, looking as if it might collapse at any moment.
The most conspicuous object in the room was the dark-red coffin in the corner, placed there abruptly and out of harmony with its surroundings.
All the furniture was a deep, dark red. The entire room was filled with a suffocating chill.
“Letter? Give it to me.” Yang Jian held out his hand.
The woman trembled as she handed a letter to Yang Jian.
Yang Jian looked at the letter. The black envelope felt icy cold in his hand, and its material seemed more like it had been made from human skin.
“Keep talking.” Yang Jian’s icy tone allowed no refusal.
“Originally, we shouldn’t have received a letter from the post office at this time, but last night, a man appeared.”
The woman swallowed and continued.
“He was holding a large blade and killed everyone on the third floor, leaving only the two of us alive. He was the one who put these two letters into our hands. We had no choice at all. We were forced to come here...”
Just then, the man Yang Jian had beheaded suddenly stood up. The wound on his neck had actually disappeared, as if Yang Jian’s slash had never happened.
There was a somewhat complicated look in the man’s eyes as he glanced at Yang Jian, but he made no move to resist. His lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to speak, but in the end, he fell silent.
‘Is it because of that bracelet...’ Yang Jian’s gaze quickly locked onto the man’s wrist. A drop of fresh red blood happened to fall from the bracelet onto the floor.
“Continue.”
Yang Jian stood between the two of them, holding the hatchet. He did not continue attacking the man either. After all, he was not some perverted serial killer.
The woman was named Liu Qingqing, and the man was named Li Yi.
From the two of them, Yang Jian learned of the existence of a strange post office in Dahan City...
Yang Jian stood there quietly, listening carefully and analyzing every detail.
Time passed second by second. Yang Jian silently calculated the time in his heart while rapidly organizing his thoughts based on Liu Qingqing’s information. His expression did not change, but inwardly, he grew increasingly decisive.
“That’s enough. More or less.”
Yang Jian suddenly spoke, turning to look at the man named Li Yi.
“Give me the bracelet. The two of you stay here.”
Li Yi did not speak. He silently took off the bracelet and handed it to Yang Jian. He knew that under these circumstances, any negotiation was useless. If he resisted, Yang Jian might very well cut him down again.
Afterward, Li Yi walked over to the dark-red wardrobe in the room and opened it.
Yang Jian vaguely saw Li Yi remove another identical bracelet from the wrist of a headless wooden puppet whose figure was roughly the same size as his own.
“This bracelet can transfer a fierce ghost’s attack on you to another person wearing a bracelet. After you finish what you need to do, I hope you can still remember the two of us.”
After that, he said nothing more.
Li Yi was a smart man. After Yang Jian had instantly killed him, he could confirm that this three-eyed man before him was not someone he could defeat.
Since resistance was impossible, it would be better to actively seek cooperation. That way, perhaps he could still fight for a slim chance of survival.
Yang Jian glanced at Li Yi and said,
“I’m a man who keeps his word. From now on, as long as you stay here, I guarantee that at least one of you two will be able to leave safely.”
After saying that, Yang Jian turned around and strode away, quickly disappearing into the cold, gloomy morning light.
Chapter 29 has been blocked. I’m applying to have it unlocked again.