Wedding Wine

"What's going on? Why isn't this NPC moving?"

The passerby looking up at the light screen waited for quite a while, but after the bride entered the bridal chamber, she stood rooted to the spot as if frozen.

"I only came to watch because I heard the system broadcast the wrong perspective. This isn't very interesting..."

The passerby spoke with little enthusiasm and was about to leave when the screen suddenly shifted.

A figure had appeared opposite Li Xian at some point. As the man entered the frame, the passerby got a clear look at his face.

The man was handsome and tall, the sort who would stand out in any crowd. Yet the dangerous air surrounding him made people instinctively overlook his appearance. Their first reaction was fear and wariness.

He raised an eyebrow and glanced around, seemingly a little surprised, before finally resting his gaze on Li Xian.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

Li Xian's heart slowly sank. His limbs were still held firmly in place, leaving him no choice but to wait in darkness for the owner of those footsteps to act.

After a stretch of unnerving silence, he felt the veil in front of him brush across his face.

It slowly fell to the floor.

The passerby, who had lingered another moment because of the man's sudden appearance, froze at the sight of Li Xian with his veil lifted.

After a long while, he muttered:

"...That's a fucking NPC?"

The man who had been certain the system would never assign a player the role of bride was stunned too. The "bride" on the light screen had delicate features and flawless skin. His thin lips had been painted with vivid lipstick, adding a touch of striking beauty to his fair face, while slightly curled long hair fell beside his temples. To make matters worse, the system gave that face a close-up.

The people hurrying through the lobby seemed to freeze, stopping one after another to look at that beautiful face.

The system soon switched from the close-up of Li Xian's face back to a full-body shot. Only then did everyone come to their senses. They immediately opened their own light screens to search for Li Xian's livestream, grabbing the people beside them and whispering:

"Holy shit, where did such a gorgeous newbie come from?"

"Quick, quick! What's this instance called?"

"Stone River Village? A roleplay instance? Then the character she's playing... isn't she guaranteed to die?!"

"Would the system assign a player a role like that? She's an NPC, right?"

"Have you ever seen an NPC that beautiful? If she's an NPC, I'll run Stone River Village every single day!"

"Let me check the beauty's stats. Stamina 75, okay, average. Mental Value 100? Seriously? Is the display bugged? Health... 25?!"

"What happened? Won't one touch from a monster kill her?!"

"With health that low, even full Mental Value is useless! What on earth was the streamer doing before entering the instance?"

Li Xian knew nothing about the discussion in his livestream. Ever since his veil had been removed, he had stared at the man before him without moving.

Because the instant he saw the man, something seemed to trigger, and a string of voices rang out in his head:

[Player Li Xian has met the skill activation conditions!]

[Distributing skill...]

[Ding!]

[Congratulations! Player has acquired the skill: Marry on the Spot]

[The player may select a living being other than an instance character to form a marriage bond. Once the bond is established, both parties gain the effect: "Share Weal and Woe"]

[Share Weal and Woe: Shared Health Points (the health displayed on the status panel is the combined total of both parties. Injuries to either party deduct from this total. Once health is depleted, both parties die simultaneously). While the marriage effect is active, neither party can harm the other.]

[Marriage bonding method: The player may spend 100 points to obtain one "Marriage Certificate." Place both parties' handprints in the designated spaces. If the other party meets the requirements, the marriage bond will form automatically. If not, the player will lose 20 Mental Value, and the "Marriage Certificate" will automatically become invalid.]

[Only one marriage bond with one living being may be maintained at a time, and it cannot be voluntarily dissolved. The marriage bond will automatically dissolve when the instance ends.]

[Meet hidden conditions to unlock special effects.]

"..."

What kind of skill was this?!

As Li Xian listened to the skill description, he looked up at the figure before him with a complicated expression.

The man was very close, and Li Xian still could not move. Even straining to look up, he could only see the man's chin.

As he considered this, Li Xian keenly noticed that he could move his limbs again.

He moved back two steps, putting some distance between them, and finally got a clear look at the man's face.

Hmm... not bad-looking.

Was he the person I was supposed to marry?

The undisguised appraisal in Li Xian's eyes piqued the man's interest.

Not only was the person before him unafraid, there was even a hint of... covetousness?

Quite bold.

The man chuckled, assuming Li Xian simply had nerves of steel. He had no idea that what Li Xian was thinking at that moment was...

He looks pretty fit. His health bar should be substantial too. With a face like that, he doesn't look like cannon fodder.

I only have 25 Health Points right now, and I urgently need a refill. Using him as a walking blood bag wouldn't be bad.

But he might be one of those "instance characters," and I don't have any "points" either.

...What a shame.

Li Xian's expression slowly turned regretful. Seeing that the man showed no sign of aggression, he tentatively spoke:

"...You-"

[Ding!]

A crisp chime interrupted him the moment he opened his mouth.

[Notice: Only 1 minute remains for the task "Enter the bridal chamber and drink the prepared wedding wine." Please complete your personal task promptly. Failure will result in the player's elimination.]

"If you don't focus on your task, you might die in a moment."

As though he could see Li Xian's system notification, the man pointed at the table in the center of the room.

The players watching also came to their senses and realized something about the scene was wrong. Comments began flying across the stream.

[Has anyone seen this man in the Stone River Village instance before?]

[Now that you mention it, I don't think I have.]

[He doesn't have a livestream, so he definitely isn't a player. Is he a villager?]

[I've watched Stone River Village plenty of times. With his presence, I'd definitely remember him if he'd appeared before.]

[That's strange, then. How did a new character show up in a beginner instance that never changes?]

Li Xian had to set the matter aside for now and walked over to the table the man had indicated.

A wine cup containing dark red liquid sat on the reddish-brown wooden tabletop.

Wedding wine?

Then why was there only one cup?

Li Xian glanced at the man standing in the room, seemingly watching him with interest, then reached out and picked up the cup.

But he did not rush to drink it. Instead, he brought the rim close to his nose and sniffed.

By all rights, the dark red liquid should have been red wine. Yet it gave off a pungent smell closer to strong grain liquor, making Li Xian wrinkle his brow.

With barely any time left, Li Xian held his breath and swallowed the wine in one gulp.

Although he swallowed it as quickly as possible, a strange flavor still lingered in his mouth. Besides the burning taste of liquor, there was also a hint of... rust?

Li Xian smacked his lips uncomfortably. His vision suddenly swam, and he hurriedly caught himself against the table to avoid falling.

[Mental Value -5]

A notification sounded.

Li Xian straightened again and suddenly felt a chill on his shoulder. But when he turned, he saw nothing except the man standing a few steps away.

[Personal task: Enter the bridal chamber and drink the prepared wedding wine. Completed.]

[New personal task: Go to the village chief's home before nightfall tonight and meet up with the other 6 players. (Time remaining: 1 hour)]

That was it?

The marriage ceremony had been strange in every respect, leaving Li Xian baffled for a moment. But since a task had been issued, it was best to follow it for now.

To reach the village chief's home, he would have to leave this room.

With that thought, Li Xian walked to the closed door and twisted the handle.

But the door did not budge.

Li Xian paused.

Was he... locked in?

At the same time, faint voices came from outside:

"...So they're married now, right? Nothing else will happen in the village?"

"The village chief said everything would be fine as long as we kept an eye on this woman."

"How much longer... sigh... doing something like this is bad luck."

"Just bear with it. In a few days..."

"Once the bride dies, everything will be fine."

After that, the two exchanged a few more idle remarks.

"I heard Li Xiaojuan usually looks grubby, but she's apparently quite pretty with makeup on?"

"Pah, pah, pah! Didn't the village chief say nobody could look at the bride's face once her makeup was done? Where did you hear that?"

"From Auntie Li, who did her makeup."

"Stop talking about it. Maybe Auntie Li died because she saw Li Xiaojuan's face."

"This is seriously creepy..."

At that point, the two seemed to feel they had touched on something taboo and fell silent together.

Only then did Li Xian lower his hand from the door handle, his expression growing grave.

He had felt something was wrong with this marriage, but he had not expected the "bride" he was playing to be under house arrest, waiting to die.

Everything the villagers had said seemed to suggest that nobody in the village objected to this marriage. Otherwise, they could not have escorted the bride here so openly, nor would the villagers guarding the door have discussed it without restraint.

In that case, the task the system had issued made very little sense.

Even if he escaped the bridal chamber, reached the village chief's home, and met up with the other six players, what then?

Most likely, he would simply be caught again and locked back in this room.

Li Xian did not know how large the village was, but against villagers who had lived here all their lives, his chances of escaping were vanishingly small.

The viewers clearly realized this too.

[Isn't this asking the impossible? The others have a meetup task too, but their roles at least let them move freely around the village!]

[Why does it feel like the instance is targeting the streamer? He's only a newbie!]

...What should he do?

A trace of bewilderment flashed through Li Xian's eyes.

And when it came down to it... was the man before him really the person he was marrying?

The man wore a plain black shirt with a rather formal cut, yet the top two buttons were casually undone, revealing the clean lines of his collarbones. His languid air had nothing whatsoever to do with a "groom."

Li Xian withdrew his gaze.

The villagers had not mentioned another man being locked in with him at all. Was that a coincidence? Or... did they have no idea there was an "outsider" in the room?

Then who was he? Had he broken in? But he hadn't done anything.

Had he been locked in by accident? Yet there was no trace of panic on his face. When he saw Li Xian standing still, he even settled himself on the edge of the bed, as though this were his own home.

Li Xian took a few tentative steps, searching the room for clues. When the man did not question his actions, he grew a little bolder.

If someone was guarding him outside and the person inside was watching his every move too, he might as well give up on the task.

Li Xian circled the room, picking up the fallen veil along the way and tucking it inside his clothes.

After all, escaping the room was essential to completing the next task. Since that was the case, he might as well look for a way out first. Perhaps these questions could only be answered once he got outside.

The room was not large and contained little furniture. Aside from the table in the center, there was only a bed at the far end.

The character for "double happiness" had been pasted on all four walls, and the bed was covered with bright red sheets. The whole room had been decorated like a standard bridal chamber.

But despite the careful decorations, the furnishings were extremely sparse. Even the only window had been sealed tight, though he could see the sky beginning to darken beyond it.

After a quick search, Li Xian turned his gaze toward the only thing he had not yet touched.

The bed the man was sitting on.

The man was only perched on its edge. Looking past him, Li Xian thought he could see a slight bulge beneath the quilt spread over the bed.

Li Xian drew a breath, approached the bed, and swiftly reached out to lift the bright red quilt. The man's gaze followed his movement-

An embroidered shoe lay there quietly.

"Yours?"

Li Xian shook his head and hesitantly picked up the embroidered shoe.

The instant he touched the fabric, a distinct chill rose behind him.

Li Xian turned and saw "her" clinging to his shoulder.

A woman with loose, disheveled hair and a pale, swollen face, dressed in red underclothes.

Her eyes were filled with vicious hatred, and she stared at Li Xian as though she wanted to tear him apart.