Tonight, Chen Mo is the Groom!

Li Yuan flipped over abruptly, her waist and hips twisting as she pinned Chen Mo to the bed like a tigress.

Bolstered by a surge of fury, she actually managed to gain the upper hand for a moment.

"You lecher, how dare you, how dare you... I'll fight you to the death!"

Li Yuan's eyes flashed with indignation as she raised her palm to strike.

Chen Mo caught her wrist, his voice low and steady: "Get this straight—it was clearly you who fell under an illusion and wouldn't stop clinging to me. I was only trying to bring you back to your senses."

He felt a slight twinge of guilt as he said this.

It had indeed started as an attempt to wake her, but the sensation had been so good that he'd gotten carried away...

He had been too immersed, losing himself in the moment.

"An illusion?"

Recalling the scenes from the dreamscape, Li Yuan's expression turned unnatural.

"Even so, men and women should keep their distance. You had no right to strike there..."

Chen Mo shook his head. "You're overthinking it, Commander Li. I have never once looked at you as a woman."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan's gaze turned icy in an instant.

"Bastard!"

She raised her hand to strike, only to find both her wrists firmly clamped.

Seeing Chen Mo's smug expression, she grew furious and, casting all caution aside, bit down hard on his shoulder!

"Hiss!"

Chen Mo drew a sharp breath.

She really was a tigress—who bites people?

Just then, the sound of a copper gong echoed from the street outside:

"Dong!—Dong! Dong!"

One slow beat followed by two fast ones; it was the third watch of the night.

Chen Mo frowned.

With the string of murders plaguing the city, every household was locked tight. Why would anyone still be out on patrol?

That was dedication to a fault!

"Listen, stop biting! Something's wrong!"

"Mmph, mmph, mmph!"

How could Li Yuan listen to him now? She bit down harder, refusing to let go.

Chen Mo, well-practiced in this, raised his hand and delivered a slap.

Smack!

"Ngh~"

A strange sound escaped Li Yuan's throat.

The stinging, burning pain was laced with an indescribable sensation that sapped her strength, causing her to release him involuntarily.

Chen Mo didn't linger to tangle with her further; he rose and bolted out of the room.

Li Yuan lay limp on the bed, her chest heaving, feeling as though every bone in her body had been pulled out.

It took a long while for her to recover.

Once she calmed down, she realized the urgency of the situation.

She forced herself up, leaning on her Modao, and stumbled out in pursuit.

The night was dark and gloomy.

Chen Mo leaped across the rooftops, soaring through the air.

"Dong!—Dong! Dong!"

The sound of the gong echoed through the streets, maintaining a distance that seemed to shift between near and far.

Every time he felt he was about to catch up, the sound would reappear on another street.

"Playing hide-and-seek with me?"

Chen Mo's eyes darkened.

Following the pattern of one death every three days, a murder was highly likely to occur tonight.

And since Lady Liu had been willing to expose her identity just to stall him, it meant tonight was crucial for her.

It was already the third watch; only half an hour remained until tomorrow.

Whatever she was plotting, the key was right now!

Chen Mo did not hesitate in the slightest, pouring his remaining True Spirit into Wind-Thunder Leap, elevating this movement technique from "Proficient" to "Minor Achievement."

True Essence circulated, and lightning surged beneath his feet.

His speed skyrocketed in an instant, whistling away with the momentum of a thunderbolt!

Boom!

Crossing several city blocks, his figure, wreathed in lightning, slammed into the center of the street!

"Dong!—Dong! Dong!"

Chen Mo raised his eyes to look.

The sound of the night watchman's gong was right at hand, yet the street before him was completely empty.

Suddenly, the gong fell silent.

The night wind whimpered; the bluestone road was desolate and vacant, and the moonlight, clear as water, stretched shadows out long and thin.

"The hour has arrived."

There seemed to be a sigh in the wind.

Immediately following, a clamor shattered the silence.

From the end of the street, a joyous wedding procession tune erupted, the sound of trumpets and firecrackers blaring incessantly, sounding exceptionally grating.

The air echoed with the playful laughter of children, accompanied by a crisp, rhythmic nursery rhyme:

"Bright red wedding characters hang upon the wall, the rat's daughter is to be wed."

"The daughter knows not who she marries, so she must ask her father and mother."

"Father and mother are both muddled old fools, arguing back and forth until it was decided."

"Whoever is the most spirited, she shall marry, let the daughter choose for herself!"

"Bright red wedding characters hang upon the wall, the rat's daughter is to be wed..."

The singing grew closer and closer, almost ringing right in Chen Mo's ears!

He suddenly felt a chill wash over him, as if a cold wind had pierced through his body, making the hair on his arms stand on end!

The sound stopped abruptly, and the surroundings returned to silence.

Drip... drip...

The sound of water droplets hitting the ground came from behind him.

Chen Mo turned around slowly to see a woman standing alone not far away.

She wore an embroidered red robe with a ceremonial cape draped over her shoulders, red trousers and a red skirt below, and red embroidered shoes upon her feet.

Her scarlet wedding dress was soaking wet, filthy water dripping constantly from the hem, and she wore a red bridal veil, obscuring her features.

The woman raised her hand, revealing a segment of a fair, white wrist, her slender fingers beckoning as if calling him over.

Chen Mo sensed something amiss and looked down, only to find that, at some unknown point, he had been dressed in a wedding robe...

He was the groom for tonight!

"Falling in love with me already? You're far too easy to woo."

A smile curled the corners of Chen Mo's mouth. "Fine, I'd like to see what this bride who fell into my lap looks like."

He strode up to the bride and reached out to tear away the veil.

What kind of face was that?

The face was narrow and covered in black fur, with a pointed snout and two pitch-black eyes devoid of any whites.

It was just like...

A rat?

Upon that graceful, shapely body grew, quite shockingly, the head of a rat!

Its bulging eyes stared greedily at Chen Mo, viscous drool flowing down from the corners of its mouth.

"Husband..."

"You must be truly hungry. Here, eat."

Chen Mo extended his arm, offering it to the creature's mouth.

Seeing such cooperation, the Rat Bride paused for a moment, then revealed a hideous grin.

"Eat you... and we shall be... together forever!"

It opened its blood-red maw, its pointed snout splitting into three sections, the entire layer of facial skin flipping backward to reveal a mouth filled with dense, needle-like teeth!

It bit down fiercely toward Chen Mo!

In an instant, flames surged!

The Horizontal Blade burned with a scorching fire, appearing like a sun rising in the middle of the night!

"Awoo!"

The Rat Bride let out a shrill wail, her red dress swirling as she retreated violently.

"Wife, don't run away."

High-end domestic violence often employs the most primitive method of blade-work.

The Horizontal Blade in Chen Mo's hand whistled, sweeping her into its wake, tearing at her body like a hurricane.

Bolstered by abundant true qi, the power of his perfected blade technique was unleashed to its fullest extent!

The eighth strike!

The momentum of the blade was so overwhelming that the very air was compressed and distorted!

As a monster, this was the first time the Rat Bride had felt fear from the depths of her soul!

If this blade landed, she would truly die!

"Sigh..."

A faint, lingering sigh drifted over.

Black mist swept past, and though the blade aura shredded the wedding dress, the Rat Bride had vanished!

Chen Mo sheathed his blade and stood still, looking toward the shadows in the corner.

Lady Liu moved with lotus steps, walking out gracefully with a small mouse perched on her shoulder, its eyes looking at Chen Mo with timidity.

"This concubine has no grudge against you, my lord; why must you press so relentlessly?"

Lady Liu's almond eyes were filled with resentment.

"You like to kill people, and I like to kill monsters; it is simply a matter of who has the greater skill."

Chen Mo said indifferently.

In his eyes, these were not monsters or ghosts, but a bounty of true spirits!

Lady Liu shook her head, saying helplessly, "This concubine had no desire to make an enemy of the Heavenly Qilin Guard, but since things have come to this, I can only invite you, my lord, to die."

There was a rustling of footsteps behind her as several figures emerged.

The wives and concubines of the Liu household were all present, staring at Chen Mo with expressionless faces.

Chen Mo nodded in satisfaction, "Not bad, a family should be kept together; it saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one."