Lu Cai slowly straightened his back.
A question popped into his mind: "?"
He had originally thought Zhang Xue would let him pull her out of the puddle only to drag him back in when he actually reached out.
Instead, she seemed afraid he wouldn't notice something was wrong with her and she specifically asked for her head to turn back.
Not being able to turn it back was normal. Would a normal person turn their head almost 180 degrees?
Lu Cai's silence elicited an even more eerie smile from Zhang Xue. "Why aren't you talking? Do you think it's too frivolous of me to approach you?"
As she spoke the bubbling sound in her throat grew more pronounced. It felt as if she were being held underwater struggling to speak. The pool of water in her lower body also bubbled restlessly as if something was stirring.
Lu Cai frowned, disapproving of the splashing water but as soon as he took a step back he felt as if he had stepped on something.
Instinct prevented him from turning back, his left hand tucked behind his back expertly throwing a hand gesture—Strong Suppression.
Not reciting the incantation would significantly diminish the effectiveness of the decree but figuring nothing more dangerous was present otherwise Zhang Xue wouldn't have needed to appear, Lu Cai considered executing only a simple attack.
The effect was remarkable. A formidable wind swirled through the dense fog behind him and something was crushed amidst the whistling sound. The mingling of flesh and juice was loud and clear then slowly faded away.
When Lu Cai encountered no further obstruction as he retreated he stood still and calmly replied, "I don't think so but try to be self-reliant."
Zhang Xue had clearly witnessed what had just happened. Her expression changed slightly then she forced a stiff smile: "Huh...really...is that so..."
Then she fell silent and indeed, she managed to turn her head.
Lu Cai numbly watched her his voice clacking his mind agitated. His eyes unconsciously drifted to the pool of water beneath her.
Why didn't she get up? Could it be that because she died in the pool her body couldn't leave?
If so, then her strength must be very weak.
Lu Cai's eyes shifted gazing at the thick fog surrounding them.
So whose house is this evening?
Where is Xiao Yu now?
Is he still alive?
"Click... turning... clicking... coming... over here..."
Zhang Xue turned her head back resuming her sitting position with her back to the water but Lu Cai noticed her body suddenly trembling.
"I'm so happy I'm finally getting married.'
The strange intermittent tone of her voice expressed her joy. Lu Cai frowned and walked around to Zhang Xue's side. Sure enough, she was crying.
Her pale face, as pale as gold paper, had a strangely drawn corner of her mouth. The whites of her eyes were almost invisible and her pupils were so dilated that her eye sockets were pitch black like holes. Tears flowed continuously from these holes forming a stark contrast to her smile.
She looked at Lu Cai: "But why am I here... why am I here..."
Lu Cai's patience had worn thin and she replied coldly: "Yes, why are you here? Where's your husband?"
Zhang Xue was stunned and then Lu Cai noticed that the waves beneath the pool had become even more turbulent as if reflecting her emotions churning violently—
"Ah, yes, where's my husband... my husband..."
She paused and the pool fell silent for a moment. Then, the water began to churn as if boiling accompanied by Zhang Xue's sudden scream—
"Ah—!!!!"
Lu Cai had already reinforced his spiritual power the moment the other opened her mouth. He then reached out and cast a restraining decree at her but Zhang Xue suddenly became agile without any trace of the previous "clacking" she had been. Like a fish just pulled from the shore she struggled to avoid Lu Cai's decree and leaped towards him with all her might.
Lu Cai raised an eyebrow, a little surprised.
He initially thought this thing would drag him out but even with its sudden attack he remained calm.
It was no different from the game of whack-a-mole his senior brother had once described. Lu Cai raised his hand and thundered down with overwhelming pressure—physical exorcism without a prerequisite, usually leads to human destruction.
But Lu Cai had a trick up his sleeve. Since he was the only one caught up in the incident this time with no one to clean up the mess he wanted to give Zhang Xue a chance to breathe and pry some useful information out of her.
Well, the situation was special; he'd try to pry open the mouths of anyone who could speak.
With this in mind, Lu Cai formed hand gestures and chanted, "Rise."
Invisible hands grabbed Zhang Xue who was lying prone on the shore after being hammered and pulled her to her feet.
Her lower body rose from the water, apparently perfectly normal...
At first, Lu Cai wondered if a "Dragon King" or some other mutant creature had devoured her lower body but the damp red skirt clearly covered her legs including her shoes—
"Ah ... When the feeling faded everything around him changed.
The bustling sound of people drifted nearer and nearer and the crisp clatter of dishes brought Lu Cai's attention back to the present moment.
He found himself standing in the center of the village a few steps ahead of him at the wedding banquet buffet. Everyone was eating and drinking happily. At a glance almost the entire village was there save for Xiao Yu, whose whereabouts were unknown and Xiao Yao who had been knocked unconscious by his own axe.
There were no lamps or candles and the faint crimson moon alone provided no illumination. But the villagers seemed unfazed. Every dish was devoured and endless bottles of wine were constantly being served. Their eyes were filled with the joyful and open-minded spirit of living life to the fullest.
This all lasted for an unknown amount of time in the darkness until Lu Cai suddenly appeared—
Everyone seemed to pause and the gazes of dozens of people suddenly shifted, all those eating, drinking and laughing staring directly at Lu Cai.
It was like being in the seafood section of a wet market. The smell instantly made Lu Cai nearly vomit.
He suppressed his discomfort and stared coldly at the crowd. He had already prepared for a fuss when he chased Xiao Yu out. Seeing the scene before him he simply pursed his lips slightly and began to consider whether to try purification first or go straight to salvation.
Zhang Daquan, a member of the crowd was the first to move. He stiffly twisted his neck, a sharp creaking sound in the silence, and slowly raised his head.
"Bride..."
Lu Cai frowned.
Then, the people around him followed suit shouting over and over in emotionless voices: "Bride..."
"Bride..."
"Bride."
They stood up and walked towards Lu Cai in slow unison steps. Their once numb and rigid gazes gradually took on a tinge of madness.
"Bride!"
"Bride!"
"Bride!"
Lu Cai's usually calm heart let out a rare curse.
It's not like he had never seen horrific scenes before but this kind of scene of a group of people calling him "bride" was unheard of. Just as Lu Cai's thoughts wandered he heard the sudden sound of something heavy falling behind him.
He turned back immediately, his pupils constricting.
"Bride—!!!"
Zhang Daquan roared heartbreakingly, his eyes bloodshot as he lunged at Lu Cai!
Lu Cai dodged easily but a flicker of shock crossed his eyes—Zhang Xue had been right behind him the entire time!?
According to common sense he hadn't used his hands but rather a decree... essentially, a Taoist technique to control Zhang Xue. It was impossible for him to carry her through the dark matter with him; his power wasn't that great.
Then how did she get here?
Thinking of this, Lu Cai's expression suddenly turned cold. He turned back to glance at the swarm of villagers charging toward him and casually formed a hand seal: "Imprison!"
His voice was rich and powerful, a stark contrast to his usual clear and calm voice but it completely stunned the crowd of villagers.
He leaped in front of Zhang Xue in two strides. This time without hesitation, Lu Cai reached out and pressed down on Zhang Xue's head but what he touched was a cold, damp and stiff corpse.
Lu Cai was even more baffled. If it were simply a dark matter object perhaps it could be dismissed as a coincidence, transported parallel to the changing environment. But what he saw before him was a genuine corpse.
He pursed his lips, double-checking that the body before him was truly dead, absolutely dead and there was no chance of it resurrecting. He slowly withdrew his hand.
His fingers were numb. He wanted to curl and clench his fist but was afraid of contaminating his palms. Lu Cai felt a little irritated.
Just as he was getting anxious the villagers' chickens crowed.
The crowing was like a timed alarm clock. The villagers imprisoned by Lu Cai felt as if struck by lightning their joints trembling with crackling sounds as if a corpse that had slept for centuries was about to reawaken.
At the same time the strong smell seemed to briefly pause, no longer intensifying or circulating.
Lu Cai stood up and turned squinting at the crowd. He walked over to a trembling man and placed his hand on his wrist. He released his spiritual energy to probe him, sensing two energies merging and cleaving within him back and forth.
He tested a few more people and the situation was similar: all were infected.
Lu Cai thought for a moment then found the village chief among the crowd. The old man was also crackling and trembling like he had Parkinson's. Lu Cai expressionlessly squeezed in standing against the crowd opposite him and probed his energy.
He was infected to the same degree as the others around him.
Lu Cai lowered his eyes, unsure what to think. Then the rooster crowed a few more times. Seeing something in the villagers' cloudy eyes fade, Lu Cai hesitated for a moment, turned, stepped out of the crowd and snapped his fingers. Removing the restraints wasn't a big deal. Lu Cai didn't have to say anything; the villagers were already able to move. However, they weren't fully awake yet and their movements were very stiff. The mass effect was incredibly strange.
Lu Cai frowned, thinking he'd look for Xiao Yu during the day. Just as he turned around a sinister voice called out to him:
"Xiao Lu, you're so lucky to be alone with your bride on your wedding night!"