Married to the One Who Is Not Human

The naked eye of a mortal could not penetrate the thick darkness, nor could it glimpse the truth within it. 

Ji Yu pondered for a moment, then decided to leave the room and investigate. 

Hong Xiao was very worried and said, "Young Master, why don't you rest here while I go and investigate?"

　　Though she didn't know what had happened, it was clear that the room was temporarily safe, so it was a good opportunity for her young master to rest here. She simply couldn't bear to let him go out and take risks.

　　Ji Yu sighed helplessly and said gently, "Hongxiao, we don't know what's happening outside. If you leave and leave me alone, what if the room becomes unsafe? Won't I be in danger too? It's better if we go out together so we can watch out for each other."

　　Upon hearing this, Hongxiao couldn't say anything else.

　　She would rather both of them stay inside the house and wait for things to unfold. But she also knew that the demons causing trouble at Yanyue Mountain Villa had finally revealed their true colors, and it was impossible to stop the young master from investigating.

　　Ji Yu dressed herself, took out two red cords, and twisted them between her slender, white fingers. Then she took out two gold beads, one large and one small, and skillfully tied them to the red cords. 

After tying them, she handed the red cord with the small gold bead to Hong Xiao and tied the other red cord to her own wrist.

　　Hongxiao tied it securely and admonished, "Young Master, no matter what happens later, don't be reckless." 

　　Ji Yu nodded in agreement. 

　　Hongxiao looked at her uneasily, feeling that the more readily she agreed, the more obedient she seemed, yet the less likely she was to follow instructions. 

　　After tying the golden beads to the red strings, the two of them left the house together.

　　The darkness outside the door was overwhelming, thick and deep, like a dividing line separating the inside and outside into two worlds.

　　Ji Yu did not hesitate, stepping into the endless darkness that filled the doorway.

　　-

　　Ji Yu opened her eyes, her head spinning slightly, her mind beginning to grow hazy. However, she quickly regained her clarity as her body became familiar with the pain.

　　She raised her eyes and looked at the pavilions and towers in the night.

Red lanterns hung everywhere under the eaves and corridors, stretching out like a long dragon, illuminating the entire area.

Ji Yu recognized that this was Yanyue Mountain Villa at night.

She looked around and saw that Yanyue Mountain Villa was brightly lit, and in the distance, she could hear the faint sounds of revelry, along with the sounds of gongs, drums, and suona horns, as if some kind of celebration were taking place.

She turned her head but did not see Hongxiao's figure, which was not surprising. Ji Yu walked toward the sounds of revelry.

As she walked, the sounds of revelry grew louder, and Ji Yu realized that it must be coming from the front hall of the mountain villa.

　　The crowd around her grew larger, consisting of servants from Yanyue Manor, all dressed in festive attire and bustling about.

　　Ji Yu stopped a servant and asked, "Is there a celebration at your manor?"

　　The servant smiled broadly, "Indeed, today is the joyous occasion of our young master's wedding. Our estate master is overjoyed that the young master is finally getting married. Soon there will be a young master or mistress born, and Yanyue Mountain Villa will have an heir." 

　　The young master? 

　　Ji Yu pondered. The estate master of Yanyue Mountain Villa had a son and a daughter, but the two had gone missing long ago, their whereabouts unknown. 

　　She wondered if the young master getting married was the estate master's son, Yue Shaohua.

　　Ji Yu walked toward the main hall in the front courtyard.

　　The wedding was being held in the main hall.

　　The hall was crowded with people, including not only the residents of Yanyue Mountain Villa but also many guests who had come to attend the wedding.

　　When she saw the group of guests seated in the guest section, Ji Yu's expression grew solemn.

　　These guests... were the demon exorcists invited to Yueyue Mountain Villa to exorcise demons, and most of them were here.

　　Ji Yu even saw Hongxiao, who had been missing earlier, sitting there as a guest, with a joyful smile on her face, as if she were genuinely happy about the upcoming wedding.

　　This scene was inexplicably strange.

　　Not only Hongxiao, but all the other exorcists were the same, with joyful smiles on their faces, happily awaiting the wedding and offering their blessings to the couple. 

　　Ji Yu's gaze shifted to the front row of the main hall, where he saw the master and mistress of Yanyue Mountain Villa sitting there, also with joyful expressions on their faces. 

　　Moreover, the master of the villa looked perfectly normal, strong and healthy, unlike his weakened state earlier that day.

　　For a moment, she even wondered if her memories were reversed, if the memories of the incident at Yanyue Mountain Villa were fake, and this was the real one?

　　Ji Yu squeezed the gold bead on the red string tightly to stay awake.

　　After a long while, the scene before her eyes remained unchanged.

　　Her eyes were dark and her brows were cold as she took a step toward Hongxiao.

　　Upon seeing her, Hongxiao exclaimed joyfully, "Young Master, you've arrived! Come sit down quickly; the wedding will begin shortly."

　　Ji Yu stared at Hongxiao for a moment, confirming it was indeed her and not a demonic entity possessing her, merely her mind clouded by confusion.

　　She asked, "What wedding?"

　　"Of course, it's the wedding of the young master of Yanyue Manor." Hongxiao looked at her in surprise. "Young Master, have you forgotten? We came to Yanyue Manor this time specifically to attend the young master's wedding."

　　Ji Yu: "..."

　　She pinched the golden bead on the red string again, her expression growing somber.

　　At that moment, the sound of firecrackers and drumbeats echoed from outside, creating a lively atmosphere.

　　Hongxiao peered out the window and said excitedly, "Young Master, the wedding is about to begin. The groom and bride are about to arrive."

　　She looked like a guest eagerly awaiting the arrival of the newlyweds.

　　As she spoke, a group of people indeed entered, escorting the groom and bride.

　　The groom was dressed in festive red, looking dignified and triumphant, his eyes filled with love as he gazed at his bride. 

The bride was wearing a wedding gown and a red veil, supported by the wedding maid. 

Ji Yu stared at the bride. The wedding gown she was wearing was exactly the same as the one he had seen in the underground chamber of Yanyue Manor earlier that day.

　　Besides that, wasn't the bride's chest a bit too flat? Flat like a man's.

As the bride walked by, Ji Yu kept staring at her, his fingers twitching slightly.

The wedding proceeded in a lively manner. When the ceremony was over, the master of ceremonies shouted in a loud voice, "Enter the bridal chamber—"

　　Before the last word was finished, a sudden gust of wind blew the red veil off the bride's head, revealing her breathtakingly beautiful face.

　　In an instant, the entire world fell into an eerie silence.

　　The artificially created, extravagant commotion faded away like a receding tide, and even the Yanyue Mountain Villa, bathed in lamplight, fell into an unsettling stillness.

　　The faces of the guests who had been smiling froze, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads, their eyes filled with horror and fear. 

　　Especially the bride, whose veil had been blown off, trembling all over, her face turning pale. 

　　Ji Yu saw this scene and was not surprised; instead, she curved her lips into a smile. 

　　Her fingers twitched, dispelling the magic from her fingertips.

　　The bride happened to see the smile on her face, and the fear and terror in her eyes turned to anger. She glared at her, and if the situation had been different, she would have pounced on her and torn off the mocking smile on her face. 

　　After a long moment, the Moon Manor Master, seated at the head of the table, spoke in a sinister tone: "What are you doing? Continue. My son's wedding cannot be interrupted."

　　With those words, the scene once again became lively.

　　However, the guests could no longer laugh as they had before, and the atmosphere became extremely eerie.

　　The master of ceremonies shouted again, "Enter the bridal chamber—"

　　"No—" The bride struggled violently, shouting in shame and anger, "I don't want the bridal chamber! I'm a man!"

　　However, the two bridesmaids beside her held her tightly, their strength overwhelming, leaving her unable to break free.

　　The bride's actions caused the atmosphere to grow silent once more. Everyone except the guests stared at the bride, their eyes cold and menacing, the fake smiles and forced liveliness vanishing from their faces.

　　Yue Shaohua looked at her expressionlessly and asked, "My wife, why won't you consummate the marriage with your husband?" 

 The bride shouted in shame and anger, "I'm a man!" 

 Yue Shaohua said, "Men are also acceptable." 

 The bride: "..." 

 The exorcists: "..."

　　As the bride was about to be restrained by the two bridesmaids and taken into the bridal chamber, Chen Qingfeng and the others finally intervened. 

Several magical artifacts flew toward them, striking the two bridesmaids, who screamed and vanished into a wisp of green smoke. 

The bride took the opportunity to run away, but was caught by Yue Shaohua, who gripped her tightly and said in a cold voice, "My wife, where are you going? We haven't consummated the marriage yet." 

　　The bride was on the verge of breaking down. He had already said he was a man, so why was this guy insisting on marrying him? Did he have some kind of special fetish? 

　　But he didn't have a thing for men, and he didn't want to marry a man he didn't know was some kind of demonic creature and consummate the marriage with him. 

　　Facing her breakdown, Yue Shaohua said, "My wife has the beauty of a heavenly being; I am greatly pleased."

　　Upon hearing this, the bride finally understood why she, a man, had been chosen as the bride. She broke down and said, "What heavenly beauty? Isn't there someone more beautiful over there?" 

　　Her finger pointed at Ji Yu. 

　　Instantly, all eyes fell on Ji Yu. 

　　Ji Yu looked at her indifferently, unconcerned by being pointed at, merely twirling the golden beads on the red string from time to time.

　　Hong Xiao suddenly stood up and shouted, "Chen Qingzhe, shut up!" 

Chen Qingfeng and the others also thought, "This is bad." 

Chen Qingzhe had already been driven to the brink of collapse by being forced to marry a man; she had no rationality left. She struggled fiercely and said, "She's a woman, and she's more beautiful than me, a stinking man. Choose her quickly!"

　　Yue Shaohua indeed let go of him.

　　All the "people" at Yanyue Mountain Villa fixed their gaze on Ji Yu, their dark eyes staring intently at her, clearly having chosen her as today's bride.

　　Xu Xiu Jue and the others grew anxious.

　　If Ji Yu was targeted, given her physical condition, she might not be able to endure it...

　　Two bridesmaids appeared and reached out to grab Ji Yu.

　　Hong Xiao drew her sword and swung it at the bridesmaids. A flash of light emanated from the blade, and the bridesmaids turned into wisps of smoke. As she was about to swing her sword a second time, a red sleeve appeared out of nowhere and stopped her. The red sleeve wrapped around her sword and threw Hong Xiao backward.

　　At the same time, more red sleeves descended from the sky, trapping Hongxiao within them.

Not only Hongxiao, but all the demon exorcists present were trapped by the red sleeves coming from all directions, unable to move.

Ji Yu was captured by the two bridesmaids who reappeared and brought to the center of the main hall.

　　Her gaze swept over Chen Qingzhe, who had been bound like a dumpling by the red sleeves falling from the ceiling, and she even had the nerve to say, "What a pity. This wedding was almost successful."

　　Her face was filled with regret, as if Chen Qingzhe's failure to marry Yue Shaohua had greatly disappointed her.

　　Chen Qingzhe's eyes widened in fury, and she roared, "Ji Yu!"

　　However, when he saw the wedding maid bring the wedding gown and put it on Ji Yu, he gloated and laughed, "Now it's your turn. Soon you'll become a ghost bride too..."

Ji Yu couldn't be bothered to respond to him. As the wedding maid put the wedding gown on her, she suddenly felt that this scene was familiar, as if she had just worn a wedding gown not long ago...

　　Before she could think it through, a thunderclap suddenly rang out outside, like a bolt from the blue.

When the thunder sounded, the Moon Clan Master and others at the front row showed fear on their faces. Moon Shaohua instinctively took a few steps back, and the bride's attendant also released her grip on Ji Yu.

Countless black threads rushed in from the door. The black threads were incredibly hard, sweeping everything in their path.

　　The "people" screamed in terror. All those attacked by the black threads turned into a puff of green smoke and vanished, along with the red sleeves binding the demon exorcists, which scattered into fragments across the sky.

　　In an instant, the vast hall became empty, leaving only the group of demon exorcists.

　　The exorcists paid no heed to the vanished "people," instead staring warily at the door. Some were so tense they swallowed nervously and held their breath. 

　　They sensed an extremely powerful presence outside the door—likely the master of the black threads—capable of instantly purging this room of demons, a being far from ordinary. 

　　Under everyone's gaze, a figure clad in crimson brocade robes slowly entered.