There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

She had to avoid it!

While the girl's mind was in a haze, the bride who had originally stood at the door seemed to have taken a step closer to the kang bed.

On the ground.

There was a bloody footprint left behind.

If she did nothing at all, perhaps what awaited her would be a fate as miserable and piercing as the scream she had just heard!

The girl placed her hands, which had been covering her mouth, onto her chest, trying hard to suppress her body that was shivering like a sieve, then moved her throat, curled her tongue, and tried to make her voice as sharp and thin as possible...

"Sister..."

She stared at the bride, uttering a trembling syllable.

The voice was almost inaudible.

It was filled with the girl's fear.

Without any hint of a will to resist, she simply used this voice to convey her fear, fright, grievance, and crying.

But after a long while, the red figure in the room had quietly disappeared.

The dark shadow of death that had arrived with the bride also vanished in an instant, as if the tight grip throttling her throat had loosened, and the girl gasped loudly for air.

Her flat chest heaved violently.

...

...

"She comes out to kill every mid-July each year?"

On the mountain path of North Mountain, Xu Shuo and the Old Village Chief were still trapped here, caught in a 'ghost hitting the wall' phenomenon.

But neither of them seemed to be in a hurry, and the Old Village Chief simply sat down on the grassy stone, starting to tell Xu Shuo about the story of Osmanthus Village.

The Village Chief corrected him, "It's not about killing. The bride doesn't usually kill people outright, it's just that those villagers often die before they can get help."

Xu Shuo raised an eyebrow, "Is there a difference from murder?"

Although I have chopped off your head, you could actually resurrect if you just wait for the Divine Artifact.

But you didn't wait, you died.

So it doesn't count as me killing you.

Xu Shuo: "?"

Is that even logical?

Learned something new.

The Village Chief continued to explain, "If those tormented by the bride can survive until the next day, indeed there is something in the village's ancestral hall that can save people, but many villagers don't have the will to last until dawn and then die."

Xu Shuo: "Oh."

He appeared to seriously consider this explanation, but simultaneously, it seemed as if he didn't take it to heart.

Facing the threat of 'ghost hitting the wall,' the elderly Old Village Chief contemplated and decided to share some information he knew with Xu Shuo.

The biggest piece of information was about—the bride.

This was a spirit that had existed for decades, coming out to kill during the middle of July each year, killing for three consecutive days, from the 13th to the 15th of July, taking one life each night.

But the killings weren't random.

For decades, the victims were always from the Wang family.

That is, from the family of the Osmanthus Village landlord—Mr. Wang's clan.

The Wang family, having developed for nearly a hundred years, had innumerable branches and offshoots, but the bride only targeted the main line members of the Ms. Wang's family to torment, rarely laying a hand on members of the branches.

Furthermore, she never targeted girls.

Only male descendants were killed.

This was the reason why every member of the Wang family felt insecure, yet they had no solution whatsoever.

Because they had tried all kinds of solutions decades ago.

The Wangs tried moving out of Osmanthus Village, only for that branch to suffer accidents shortly after leaving the region of Osmanthus Village, leading to their complete demise.

The Wangs also tried sending children of the main lineage away, but that too never ended well.

They sought Taoist priests, worshipped gods, pleaded for mercy, built temples—none of it worked!

Therefore, the Curse just continued being passed down like this.

Xu Shuo couldn't help but comment, "Their family sure has a lot of people to spare."

The Village Chief gave him a sidelong glance, "You too are of the Wang bloodline."

Xu Shuo: "I'm a branch so distant it couldn't be further."

Trapped in Osmanthus Village, the Wangs, in order not to die out, used their wealth and status for decades to marry and have concubines, developing countless offshoots, to the point where now, practically all of the village's descendants have some Wang blood in them.

This is the dominance of the landlord!

This village could be renamed "Wang Family Estate" without any problem at all!

But after decades of killing.

Now there really weren't many people left in Wang Family Estate.

As for the current generation of the main Wang bloodline, aside from the courageously surviving current family head, the two boys of the direct lineage had both died more than a decade ago.

So for the past few years, the bride started killing members of the branches.

Judging by the look of it, she may never stop until she has killed off the entire Wang bloodline.

And Wangs were just as stubborn, refusing to give up—you kill with all your might, and I'll procreate with all my might!

After all, you only have three days to kill.

But I can make babies all 365 days!

This resulted in a feud that has been tangled for over sixty years without ending, and it also caused the entire Osmanthus Village to fall into this dark and bloody vortex.

No one could escape it.

The Village Chief sighed, "What a sin!"

Xu Shuo asked, "So, how did the bride come to be? You haven't finished your story."

The Village Chief suddenly felt a bit awkward, "That, I do not know. I was only a child myself back then, what did I know. Anyway, I don't know when it began, but something like this happens every year in the middle of July in Osmanthus Village."

Xu Shuo looked at him, narrowed his eyes slightly.

The Village Chief stiffened his neck, "It's no use if you don't believe it, I really don't know anything beyond that."

Xu Shuo nodded, "Alright, I'll believe you."

As for whether he truly believed, that was something only he knew.

After a brief exchange of information, the Village Chief seemed about to speak but stopped. Xu Shuo, however, already waved his hand signaling for him to move aside from their current position.

Realizing what he was about to do, the Village Chief quickly scrambled up from the ground.

After the Village Chief stood to one side, leaning on his cane...

Xu Shuo also suddenly produced a dark green Bamboo Joint Cane.

He handed the woodcutter's knife to the Village Chief to hold and tapped the ground with the cane before stepping forward and forcefully thrusting it into the stalk of grass growing out of the rock.

Crack—

The stone shattered.

A circle of invisible ripples spread out.

No world-shattering phenomena occurred, and there were still no birdsong or insect chimes around, still deathly silent.

But at that moment, the Village Chief heard singing.

"On the thirteenth of July, an auspicious day..."

"Adorned in red attire, the groom carried high..."

"..."

Ethereal and filled with Resentment, flickering in and out, it seemed to follow the tune of an opera.

The Village Chief seemed to understand why Wang Tiezhu had asked if "the thirteenth of July was an auspicious day," was this man already hearing the voices?

Such sharp senses!

The Village Chief looked at Xu Shuo somewhat warily; at least until that moment, he hadn't heard anything, or he would have realized he had fallen into a 'ghost hitting a wall.'

Xu Shuo looked down the mountain, and as his gaze swept over the entire village, there was a slight pause.

The next moment, he swiftly ran down the mountain.

"Hey, wait up!"

"Wait for me, this old bag of bones!"

"Crap, I really am an old bag of bones!"

The Village Chief followed behind, crazily pursuing him with his cane raised.

He wasn't lying, the Old Village Chief definitely was an old bag of bones; walking might look powerful, but running was truly a challenge for the elderly man.

Especially on the mountainside path!

Since it was a downhill journey, Xu Shuo ran almost leaping, striding over obstacles in a flash, soon disappearing into the winding mountain road.

The Village Chief cursed loudly in his hurry, but he dared not stop.

He could be calm before.

But now, having heard the song in the air, he wanted nothing more than to find a safe place to stay.

Inside Osmanthus Village, the safest place was by Wang Tiezhu's side!

Because apart from Wang Tiezhu, the whole Osmanthus Village was a giant spider's web, where all its people were bound to die sooner or later!

He had lied.

He knew the origin of the bride.

This was the sin of the entire Osmanthus Village.

"Come back! I'll keep talking to you!"

The Village Chief shouted, raising his cane.

...

...

In the dark of night, the houses stood solemnly.

The white flowers were scattered all around.

But there was no scent of osmanthus.

Xu Shuo's gaze burned as he stared at a target within the village, appearing somewhat agitated at that moment. The dark green Bamboo Joint Cane struck the ground, sending out a circle of invisible sound waves.

The streets of Osmanthus Village were neatly laid out, the alleys squared off; nothing complicated at all.

He deftly avoided any abnormal spots and accurately made his way toward the village houses at the foot of West Mountain without encountering any hindrances.

The white flowers fluttering in the air would fall, passing through his body and also through those building structures, finally disappearing quietly onto the ground.

Presumably, the flowers were illusory.

Suddenly, Xu Shuo stopped in his tracks.

In the darkness illuminated by the moonlight, there was nobody in the alley ahead.

But on the ground were four white Paper Men.

The Paper Men were carrying a white paper palanquin.

"Adorned in red attire, the groom carried high..."

"..."

She was singing.

...