The Wedding Day

Inside the Wooden House, everyone paced back and forth, anxiously waiting for the three people on the back mountain to return.

Everyone had heard the loud crash from the back mountain.

The few people from Zhu Village had returned home safe and sound. They had simply said that the people on the mountain would leave the Wooden House after finishing the final rites of their worship.

Just as the old man was about to drive them out, three familiar figures finally appeared at the Wooden House's entrance.

Hu Yu had regained some of her strength by then, and on the way back she had heard most of Madam Zhao's story.

After rejoining everyone at the Wooden House, Zheng Wuyou solemnly took out the hairpin.

She told them everything that had happened there.

That included how the offering had been Sun Wu's body, as well as Madam Zhao's story.

She also took out a broken watch, its strap half torn off and its face smeared with blood and flesh. She had dug it out of the pulp.

Seeing that they had completed their task successfully, Miao Laisheng stopped explaining what they had experienced.

He only said that Madam Zhao could never escape the Zhu family's grasp.

But judging by what had happened, she might have finally found freedom.

As soon as the time came, the old man appeared in the Main Hall and drove everyone to their respective lodging places.

Zheng Wuyou took Wansi back to the second floor. Both her hands were covered in blood.

She told Wansi to keep a little distance from her to avoid getting any on her.

The only way to wash the grime off was to go down to the river the next morning.

Perhaps because she had been exhausted for two days and a night, Zheng Wuyou slept soundly that night.

Even the children's song outside failed to wake her.

She had a lovely dream.

In it, she was strolling by a river when she passed a man in sportswear who was running by, and she even happened upon an artsy young woman reading beneath a streetlight.

When Wansi shook her awake in the morning, Zheng Wuyou could hardly believe she had slept so deeply in an unfamiliar place.

The first light of dawn streamed into the room, carrying the chill of the morning breeze.

She had learned her lesson the night before and left the window half shut, but a human-shaped pile of black ash had still appeared beside her.

At least for now, the lodging seemed to be a safe house. The black ash had made no move.

Today was the wedding day—the day the Matchmaker would lead the couple through the daytime bowing ceremony.

She couldn't go prepare the wedding feast with both hands covered in blood.

Who knew what custom she might be accused of violating?

Frowning at her hands, Zheng Wuyou finally gritted her teeth and decided to go wash them in the river before breakfast.

Just as she reached the Wooden House's entrance, she ran into an unfamiliar old woman who had come from Old Zhu's family to invite the old man.

A large red flower sat atop her head. She wore a red-and-black top, and her eyes were narrowed to slits.

She looked as though she were always sizing up passersby.

She was none other than one of the day's main figures—the Matchmaker.

The Matchmaker had held her chin high and arrogantly ignored Zheng Wuyou as she hurried away.

But when she caught sight of Zheng Wuyou's blood-covered hands out of the corner of her eye, her expression changed at once.

She was about to scold her.

Zheng Wuyou hurriedly explained first that they had performed rites on the back mountain the day before and hadn't meant to offend any customs.

The Matchmaker seemed unconvinced, but since it was a wedding day, she couldn't make too much of it.

She tossed her head and went into the Backyard. In a shrill, ingratiating voice, she invited the old man to set off for Old Zhu's family.

After getting herself ready, Zheng Wuyou followed everyone to the wedding venue to help out.

After all, the words about helping with the work hadn't disappeared, so they couldn't casually break the rules.

The middle-aged man who had found the hairpin with the outsiders wore a blissfully threatened look. Because of it, he had been spared a beating.

The middle-aged man bustled about in the courtyard. The festive atmosphere still held a trace of something eerie.

A wedding day should have been lively and bustling. Apart from them, though, why wasn't there a single helper?

Wisps of smoke curled up from the Backyard.

Old Zhu's family seemed to be packed with guests, yet there wasn't a soul in sight.

As they entered the courtyard, everyone noticed that the food on each table had been arranged strangely—nothing like the customs they knew.

There were oddly shaped pastries and whole cuts of meat that hadn't been sliced.

Why did it look like an offering to the ancestors?

Zheng Wuyou was still wondering when—

A chicken suddenly darted out from under Hu Yu's feet and startled her. She hopped away from it as it pecked nonstop at a long worm.

"Do they not even keep the chickens penned up when someone's getting married?" Hu Yu grumbled bitterly.

When she realized the middle-aged man had noticed her, and recalled what the short-haired woman had said, she shrank back into the group.

"Did that girl do anything last night?" Uncle Cai asked, still a little worried after she had accidentally bumped into him.

Hu Yu thought for a moment and shook her head. That crazy woman had seemed asleep last night.

She had kept her head down ever since Hu Yu returned.

No matter how much Hu Yu called to her, she didn't respond.

Hu Yu was already used to her acting mute. If she suddenly spoke, that would be what startled her.

"The food's laid out like it's for ancestor worship." Guo Mu glanced over each table and gave a scornful shrug at the thought.

Everyone there agreed.

Wen Dian elbowed Guo Mu. Agreeing was one thing, but why couldn't the man keep his mouth shut? Why did he have to say everything out loud?

It was someone's wedding day, and he was saying it looked like ancestor worship.

Was that appropriate?

The middle-aged man passed by them with a broom in hand, looking puzzled.

He thought for a moment, then stopped in front of them. "What are you doing here today? You can go. We don't need any help for now."

There was no work today?

Now it was everyone's turn to stare at the middle-aged man in confusion.

Wen Dian was a little flustered. "Isn't today the wedding day?"

The middle-aged man paused. His serious expression didn't look like he was lying. "Who said it was today? It's always been tomorrow. The Matchmaker and the others have already arranged everything."

I'm marrying her tomorrow, but today I insist on having my fun! If you still can't give me a son this time, you can forget about touching those filthy things again!

Those had been the old woman's exact words.

"Your mother..." Hu Yu's voice rose from the crowd, but Zheng Wuyou stopped her with a quick gesture.

"..." If they hadn't made a mistake at any point, there was only one possibility.

"We must have remembered wrong. We'll head back to the village chief's place, then. Just call us if you need anything." Zheng Wuyou considered it for a moment, then said with a smile. She took Wansi by the hand and led her toward the gate of Old Zhu's family.

With her other hand, she tugged at the hem of Hu Yu's clothes.

The tug pulled the collar down a little, exposing Hu Yu's left shoulder.

Hu Yu was annoyed at being dragged back to the Wooden House. She yanked her clothes free and snapped at Zheng Wuyou, "What's wrong with you, being so polite? If you want to work, go ahead. I'm not coming with you. The sooner he gets married, the sooner I can go home!"

With that, she started back toward Old Zhu's family to demand an explanation.

Everyone stayed where they were in the Wooden House, their eyes fixed on the furious Hu Yu.

When she saw that no one was following, Hu Yu turned around in disbelief.

Were these people all idiots?

"Sorry about that. I used too much force. But I dragged you out because he'll never be able to go through with this wedding. If you rush over there, you'll only put yourself and the rest of us in danger."

Seeing that Hu Yu had paused, Zheng Wuyou knew she wasn't stupid. She apologized for what she had just done.

Miao Laisheng leaned against the side and silently nodded.