The Time Ghost truly existed; it did not manifest through a reflection in the mirror.
The aluminum basin had merely allowed him to see her, but her existence did not depend on it.
The second bow was complete, and invisible hands pulled Ji Li upright.
By now, blood and cold sweat had soaked through his clothes, sticking wetly to his back. The crimson blood blended with the bright red, concealing the grievous wound his shoulder had suffered.
His increasingly labored breathing marked the danger he was in. Both attempts had failed, leaving only the final bow—husband and wife bowing to each other.
He had a premonition that if this third bow was completed, a calamity would occur that he could never accept, perhaps never undo.
Ji Li's mind raced. The controller behind him, the officiant's voice, the ritual's procedure... every detail churned through his thoughts.
Other than the arrangement of the wedding hall, there were not many key figures, and the information was not overly complicated. After all, the most important and terrifying figure, the Time Ghost, showed no intention of making a move.
Ji Li even deduced that, precisely because they were currently at the "bowing stage," this ritual had effectively restrained the Time Ghost, the Bride.
Like Ji Li, she was one of the parties involved. She too had to remain within the rules and could not act rashly, or she would pay a price.
With that in mind, he noticed a connection he had previously overlooked: the officiant and the controller behind him.
In this wedding ceremony incident, the officiant was undoubtedly the most important figure aside from the two newlyweds.
And in what had just happened, there was a hidden pattern—the linkage between the officiant and the controller behind him!
Whenever the officiant spoke, the invisible