Jiang Nuo's expression was indifferent, but a smile lingered on her lips. She gripped the painting tightly, her Spiritual Power, which had carried away the ghosts' and monsters, resisting the spirit of the statue.
I know what you're rejecting, but you're a god, how could you not see that without this demonic power, I would die a terrible death?
Even though I'm doing good, you should still reject me.
The gods love all living beings, so why do they make things so difficult for me?
If that's the case, you'd better behave yourself if you're not happy about it.
Just over ten seconds later, the spiritual repulsion from the statue gradually disappeared, and the painting was successfully removed. Jiang Nuo gripped the frame tightly, his palms dripping with blood, his smile growing stronger, his eyes filled with a dark and triumphant expression.
He lowered his gaze, paused for a moment, and when he looked up again, he was as calm as ever. He held the statue in his hand and shook it. "We can go out and kill ghosts now."
"Give me."
Si Yan reached out to him, her tone surprisingly forceful.
"You have three, why are you trying to steal mine?" Jiang Nuo exclaimed in surprise.
"... Nuonuo, I'm talking about your hand."
"... oh."
Jiang Nuo pinched her lips, smiled, and offered her hand. Her palm was a bloody mess, the skin torn and bleeding.
But he seemed oblivious to the pain, a faint smile playing in his eyes as he calmly allowed Si Yan to treat his wounds.
On the contrary, Si Yan, ever since she saw Jiang Nuo bleeding, couldn't relax her tense expression. Her movements were as gentle as could be, as if she were polishing a priceless piece of porcelain.
Oh my god... it looks painful.
Why did Jiang Nuo get into trouble for taking the idol? Was it because his sins were too heavy...?
"That god went way too far!! So ruthless!"
[Waaaaah, Nuo Bao!! Mommy blows!]
"Can't these two stop wasting time? There are so many ghosts waiting to be killed outside!"
[Laughing at myself for my sins, isn't this just karmic retribution? Serves me right!]
"Okay, that's enough."
Jiang Nuo withdrew her hand, stopping Si Yan from wrapping the wound layer upon layer with gauze. "It's not that serious, it'll be fine in a bit."
He grabbed Si Yan's hand and shook her, saying, "Why am I the one who's hurt? You look so uncomfortable."
"I told you not to take it..." Si Yan muttered, still feeling the pinch, "Why bother arguing with a stupid thing that's only developed intelligence?"
The way you're saying that, you were just praising how difficult it is for a statue to gather spiritual energy in an era of scarce spiritual energy.
Jiang Nuo laughed out loud, but her eyes seemed to be glowing with fireflies, brimming with a soft brightness.
The bandaged hand touched Si Yan's face.
" Brother Nuo-- "
Outside the ancestral hall, Pu Sang shouted, his voice drawn out, "Quickly—come help—"
As the two ran out, Pu Sang was holding up two statues of gods, aiming them at the ghosts. However, there were too many of them, and the spiritual power of just two statues was not enough to completely subdue them.
Jiang Nuo took the three from Si Yan's hand and was about to climb the wall to control the situation from above when Si Yan grabbed her hand.
" Nuonuo, I'm coming."
Si Yan's eyes pleaded, but her movements were forceful as she pulled him behind her. "Don't let me see you get hurt again."
"... Then be careful."
Jiang Nuo opened her mouth, but ultimately did not refuse.
Watching Si Yan leap onto the wall, clumsily yet resolutely raising the statue while also fending off the ghost's attacks.
It's about protecting him, not about Love Soul.
Jiang Nuo pressed her palm hard; the pain actually cleared her mind, and her tangled emotions seemed to find their end, gradually becoming clearer.
Before long, under the combined suppression of the statue and Spiritual Power, all the ghosts and monsters disappeared.
The four of them returned to the main street, just as the slowly moving bridal sedan chair approached.
Seven bridal sedan chairs lined up in two rows, resembling a funeral procession, Guiding Souls, and red veils fluttering in the air.
They watched the bridal sedan chair pass by from the roadside. Jiang Nuo observed the Guiding Souls and discovered that Lin Yu was not in the procession.
They ran away as expected.
Jiang Nuo licked his lips, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.
It seems that Lin Yu, that bastard, is indeed inside Lin Yu's body right now.
Judging from that thing's behavior, it probably wants to absorb the Ghost King to increase its strength, and then kill him.
" Nuonuo, look over there."
Si Yan put her arm around his shoulder and gestured for him to look to the other side of the bridal sedan chair.
Through the veil of the bridal sedan chair, Jiang Nuo saw the corpse driver who shouldn't have appeared in the Ghost King Illusory Realm.
No, it should be the phantom of a corpse driver.
"The mirages that appear as phantoms in the Ghost King Illusory Realm correspond to scenes that are happening now or recently in reality."
Jiang Nuo explained in a low voice.
The group of corpse drivers were covered in blood, glancing back in terror every now and then, running faster and faster than the last, clearly being chased.
Si Yan: "We entered an illusion in that room, and afterwards the corpse driver returned to the village and was chased?"
"Perhaps."
Although Jiang Nuo said this, she had some other guesses in her heart, but they had not yet been confirmed.
In the blink of an eye, the bridal sedan chair had already left and gone deeper into the mountains.
"The hour of death has arrived, the contract is complete! Seven Guiding Souls will come to escort the bride through the gates of hell!"
With a shout, the bridal sedan chair slowly landed.
The scene shifted instantly, and in the blink of an eye, they were at the village chief's house.
The Guiding Souls slowly walked over, stiffened its arm to open the sedan chair door, but at that moment, the sedan chair was empty and had not been opened.
It was only then that Lin Yu's absence was discovered.
All the ghosts fell silent. " The Guiding Souls... is missing one."
"How could one be missing...?"
The matchmaker ghost, her beautiful yet rough face raised, tilted her body and looked at the four humans, "Choose one more."
Jiang Nuo and the other three. "..."
An unexpected disaster.
Where did Lin Yu go??? I watched the whole live stream, how come I didn't notice he was missing??
"Damn, Lin Yu's got some skills! He's not dead at all!"
[I'm dying of laughter! Lin Yu did the right thing!! He should have chosen Jiang Nuo! Why did he get away unscathed?]
All the ghosts approached them, but did not immediately make a move, as if they were considering who should be the seventh.
Jiang Nuo: "We can talk things over, but we're just missing a flower-decorated sedan chair!"
He quickly snapped his fingers.
The red-haired zombie, who has been of no help so far, has jumped back.
This time, it was very cautious, hopping left and right, and probing forward as if searching for a ghost. Only after confirming that it was gone did it jump to Jiang Nuo's side as fast as it could.
Jiang Nuo punched it in annoyance.
"What are you doing, circling around me like that! Go and open that bridal sedan chair."
The red-haired zombie was knocked to the ground, then stood up stiffly in a flash and hopped to the last bridal sedan chair.
The matchmaker was barely satisfied. "Let's send them off in a flower-decorated sedan chair to the gates of hell!"
The seven bridal sedan chairs were opened simultaneously.
Before Jiang Nuo could even see clearly what else was buried besides the Ghost Bride, she suddenly lost consciousness and closed her eyes.
The three of them, including Si Yan, closed their eyes almost simultaneously.
The four then completely disappeared from the spot and appeared in a separate space, becoming part of the newlyweds' funeral hall.
Wu Chou is trapped in the coffin and cannot escape.
Pu Sang discovers he has been inexplicably made a substitute bride and is destined to be trapped in this village forever, with no way to escape.
And... Si Yan, surrounded by vengeful ghosts who coveted him in the mourning hall.