Welcoming the Bride, Li Sen's Suspicion

I turned to look at Xu Qiuyan.

Her face was pale, her expression filled with loneliness.

"All of this is fake, you know that. We're in an illusion."

She didn't speak, biting her lip tightly.

"What's fake? What illusion? Son, have you gotten delirious from the fever? Your mother has to say it, why are you running around when you're sick? You're about to get married, how can you still be so immature."

Looking at the woman before me, she truly looked like my mother.

My mother, Chen Fang, was a nurse at the obstetrics and gynecology hospital.

She reached out and touched my forehead, then looked at Xu Qiuyan beside me. But her eyes clearly saw nothing: "Who were you just talking to?"

Just as I was about to answer, my hand went loose, and then I realized Xu Qiuyan had disappeared.

She just vanished suddenly.

My heart sank. I quickly ran towards the outside of the yard. Could she have run off in a fit of anger, unable to bear the blow?

But my father grabbed me: "Where are you going now? Hurry and get ready, the wedding procession is still waiting for you. It won't be good if we miss the auspicious time."

Only then did I notice that the entire yard was decorated with lanterns and streamers, truly filled with a festive atmosphere.

They pulled me into the house, where I changed into a brand-new suit, and someone even applied a little light makeup.

Xu Anmei, Xu Anmei.

I muttered the name twice in my heart, and suddenly a person flashed in my mind.

She was a girl two years older than me, the daughter of Uncle Xu from the east alley. But she had died the year before the incident at Little Ancestral Hall Entrance, drowned.

I was getting married, and the bride was a girl who had already drowned. A chill ran down my spine.

And what about Xu Qiuyan? She had been by my side just now, how could she have disappeared without a trace?

The sounds of celebration filled my ears, yet I felt completely out of place.

I saw Yin Wuyu, smiling at me.

"Are you behind all of this? You're not Yin Buyu, and this isn't Little Ancestral Hall Entrance."

He shook his head: "None of that matters. What matters is that you're about to get married. Aren't you excited at all?"

Excited my ass!

I grabbed his collar: "Are you that Onmyoji?"

"Xiao Bai, what are you doing?" My father shouted at me. He stepped forward and twisted my arm, and I let go of Yin Wuyu.

I took a deep breath, telling myself this was an illusion, that none of this was real, including my parents.

I said to my father: "I'm not getting married."

After speaking, I tore off the red flower on my chest and walked towards the outside of the yard. As I passed Yin Wuyu, I gave him a cold glance.

My mother panicked and hugged me from behind: "You can't go."

I struggled with all my might, but she held on tight.

"Slap!" A slap landed on my face. It stung fiercely. My father was truly angry.

"It's one thing if you're a bit wild normally, but what time is it now to be so willful? If you leave like this, how can I explain to your Uncle Xu? How can you face Xiao Mei?"

I touched my stinging cheek. The pain felt so real.

I even began to doubt, was this truly an illusion?

But even if it was an illusion, I couldn't bring myself to lay a hand on my parents. Yet I couldn't break free, leaving me unsure of what to do.

"Chengyue, is the child ready? The auspicious hour is almost here, it's time to pick up the bride."

I froze. The person walking towards us was Uncle Long. He was holding his favorite long-stemmed pipe. Seeing me held tightly by my mother, his expression wasn't good, and he asked: "What's wrong? Why is he throwing a tantrum? Today is your big day, hurry up, don't miss the time."

I stopped struggling. I suddenly admired the person who designed this illusion. How did they know so many people from Little Ancestral Hall Entrance? Uncle Long is here, so what about Aunt Qin? Would Aunt Qin also appear in this illusion?

Everything I had experienced stemmed from Xie Xiaotang's death, and Xie Xiaotang's death and Gu Song's crisis were due to the Twin Fish Jade Pendant. In other words, this should have nothing to do with Little Ancestral Hall Entrance; they were two completely separate cases.

Yet, the other party was scheming against me in this way. Were they intentionally putting in so much effort on me, or...

I thought of another possibility: could the incident at Little Ancestral Hall Entrance also be related to this group of people? If this was simply a trap set for me, it would be quite a lot of effort.

"Uncle Long, thank you for your trouble."

"Don't mention it. We're neighbors. Who doesn't know that Long Laosi is the famous Gift Escort of Little Ancestral Hall Entrance? The door-blocking wine is my responsibility, and I'll make sure to drink them all under the table."

Uncle Long was the fourth child in his family, and he always referred to himself as Long Laosi. Uncle Long had an incredible tolerance for alcohol; almost no one in Little Ancestral Hall Entrance had ever seen him drunk.

And he was indeed a renowned Gift Escort. Gift Escorts were usually people of high moral standing and considerable drinking capacity.

Aunt Qin indeed appeared: "Why are you still dawdling? We're about to leave."

Following her was Li Sen.

Li Sen, who had already jumped off the building.

Li Sen had a grim expression, and his gaze towards me was a bit off, but he quickly composed himself: "Jiang Xiaobai, everyone is waiting for you!"

I responded with a sound. At this moment, I had calmed down and wasn't in a hurry to leave this illusion. Since I was here, I might as well make the best of it. I wanted to see what they could possibly stir up.

Moreover, I had a feeling that I could find some clues within this illusion.

If my guess was correct, and the incident at Little Ancestral Hall Entrance was indeed related to the group trying to seize the Twin Fish Jade Pendant, then they must have left some traces in this illusion.

The more they wanted this illusion to be real, the more they had to inject some substance into it.

I followed Li Sen and Aunt Qin out. A group of people were already waiting outside.

Uncle Long followed closely behind and shouted, "Let's go! We're going to the Xu family's house to pick up the bride!"

I walked numbly among the crowd. I recognized some of these people, while others I had no impression of.

But what I was more curious about was Li Sen. This was a person who had already committed suicide by jumping off a building, yet here he was now.

Keep in mind, this scene wasn't from my childhood; it was happening now.

I was about to get married.

"You don't seem very happy."

I asked Li Sen. He glanced at Uncle Long and Aunt Qin. Seeing that they weren't paying attention to us, he said with some resentment, "Why should I be happy? It's you getting married, not me. Didn't you always like Xu Qiuyan? Why are you marrying Anmei?"

I was stunned. I realized he seemed to care a lot about Xu Anmei.

He also mentioned Xu Qiuyan.

But just now, my parents didn't seem to know who Xu Qiuyan was. This was a bit strange.

"Do you like Xu Anmei?" I asked him.

He nodded.

I continued, "I don't know if I'm misremembering, but I seem to recall she drowned playing in the water at Xiao Che River when she was nine. Is that true?"

He widened his eyes. "What nonsense are you talking about? If she really died, how could she be marrying you?" However, his expression suddenly became dejected, and he muttered to himself, "Xiao Che River, Xiao Che River!"

His face slowly turned grim. He suddenly turned to me. "Did she really drown?"

I didn't know why he was reacting like this. He wasn't like this when he was confronting me earlier.

"Your jumping off the building was also related to Xu Anmei, wasn't it?" I asked again.

Li Sen seemed electrocuted. "I jumped off the building? Why would I jump off the building?"

Actually, I just wanted to test him and see his reaction.

I wanted to know if the people in this illusion, like me, possessed some kind of memory.

I nodded seriously. "That's right. Xu Qiuyan said she personally saw you jump from the building."

"No, I didn't." Li Sen's emotions were a bit out of control. Aunt Qin's gaze shifted towards us, Uncle Long also looked over, and many other people were looking at us.

Uncle Long asked, "What's wrong?"

I shook my head and smiled. "Nothing. We were just chatting about some embarrassing childhood stories, and he's feeling self-conscious."

Uncle Long then said, "Oh," but Aunt Qin's eyes held a strange glint.

Li Sen tightly grabbed my arm. "Don't you think all of this feels very unreal?"

He secretly glanced at the people around them.

I didn't answer. He continued, "Just before this, I was still dazed, wondering why I was here. I clearly remember that Little Ancestral Hall Entrance was gone long ago. Yes, gone, just disappeared."

When he said the last sentence, his voice was incredibly soft, but I still heard it clearly.

Is this really an illusion?

And, is Li Sen really that Li Sen?

He should have been dead, but he appeared before me. Moreover, he was the first person besides myself to doubt this illusion since I entered it.