Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 84: Secondary Marriage
Ren Yuan wanted to refuse, but Master Shen offered too much, so he finally agreed reluctantly.

Manor Master Shen was overjoyed and immediately called the maids and servants to take Brother Ren to change into the pure white wedding dress.

Although he couldn't tell anything from the color, Ren Yuan still noticed something unusual from the tall hat and wide belt, and asked the leading maid, "Sister, why does this dress look like the groom's?"

"Wouldn't it be better to dress nicely?" the old woman asked.

"Okay." Ren Yuan nodded and asked, "Where's the groom?"

"The groom's situation is a bit special, so he can't show up." The old woman answered while helping him adjust his crown and belt behind him, "So later, I'll have to trouble you to perform the wedding ceremony for him."

"Have him the wedding ceremony?" Ren Yuan thought it was funny and asked, "Do I have to have the wedding ceremony for him as well?"

"That's not necessary, just the wedding ceremony will be enough." The old woman showed off her long nails, aimed at the back of Ren Yuan's head and said, "Help others to the end, young master, please don't refuse, okay?"

"That won't work either. I haven't had a cup of wedding wine with anyone yet, so I have to... pay more." Ren Yuan seemed unaware and said with a mercenary look on his face.

"Jia Jia Jia, as long as you don't mess it up, I'll give you an extra string of coins as a gift!" The old woman put away her four fingers, turned to face him and said.

"Deal!" Ren Yuan was overjoyed and said, "You have to pay first, then work."

"Haha, no problem..." The old woman laughed happily. She felt that making such a big wedding day look so ugly would make her look incompetent.

As expected, money can make an old man push a cart. When Ren Yuan got the money, he not only did not feel resistant, but was rather impatient.

He looked at the sky outside and asked, "It's already dark, why haven't you started yet? What if we miss the auspicious time?"

The wedding ceremony in this era was actually written as "hunli". As the name suggests, it is a wedding ceremony held at dusk. Because people believe that dusk is the time when yin and yang meet, the newlyweds choose this time to get married in accordance with the nature of heaven and earth.

"Wait a minute, the guests haven't arrived yet." The old woman sighed and said, "No matter what you see later, don't panic. Just do whatever the master of ceremonies says."

~~
Ren Yuan waited and waited until midnight, when he suddenly heard a commotion outside the house.

"The guests have arrived." The old woman lifted the door curtain and looked out.

Ren Yuan nodded, and with his eyes scanning, he saw that all the people who came were dead...

No wonder it starts at midnight, it turns out it’s the time to visit the underworld.

There were men and women, old and young, some wearing decent clothes, some in tattered clothes, and many of them were in pairs.

But without exception, their faces were all covered with thick white powder and had dark circles under their eyes. The women also put on blush and lipstick.

The farmhands in charge of reception were trembling the whole time, and it was obvious that they knew the origins of the guests.

Fortunately, these dead people were not here to cause trouble today. Although they looked dull and staggered, they all held invitations in their hands and brought gifts. They were here to attend the wedding banquet in a decent manner.

Soon, the wedding venue, which was empty just now, was filled with people.

With the sound of the cloud board, the wedding ceremony officially began.

The wedding ceremony in this era was an extremely serious matter. Apart from the sound of the cloud board announcing the start, there would be no other music, and there was no need to worship heaven and earth. All ceremonies were conducted in a solemn atmosphere.

Ren Yuan was led by the master of ceremonies out of the waiting room and came to the wedding scene. He saw that in front of each dead person, there were bacon, steamed cakes, water, a burner of incense, and a lit white candle on the snack table.

They seemed to be sitting upright, but the food, incense and candles on the table were decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Ren Yuan knew at a glance that they were not wandering ghosts, but corpses from the grave. Because the corpses were formed when the seven souls were buried with the body after death, they could not move freely, so they could only have a full meal when the family visited the graves during festivals. If no one visited the graves, they would have to starve.

But if someone sends a secret message to invite them, that’s another matter.

~~
Ren Yuan followed the old woman's lead into the wedding hall.

In the wedding hall, even the dragon and phoenix candles on the table were white. Coupled with the white lanterns and curtains, and the ghostly guests in the room, it was really like the north wind howling, and the ghostly atmosphere was so spooky that it would be unforgettable for a lifetime.

The Shen manor master and his wife sat upright beside the ancestral tablet. Ren Yuan saw that the Shen manor master's smile was uglier than crying. He took a closer look and found that although he was a living person, his wife was a dead person...

Because there was no wedding ceremony in that era, Ren Yuan was directly led into the back hall.

In the back hall, which was surrounded by white curtains, there stood a large coffin with the word "喜" (happiness) on it.

"Huh? Why can't I even see the bride, and only see this coffin?" Ren Yuan asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"The bride is in the coffin." The old woman smiled with relief. She coaxed and tricked the bride to the coffin, and she considered the mission accomplished.

Then she raised her voice and said, "The bride opens the door to welcome the groom."

The coffin board was slowly moved away, and a bride sitting up was seen wearing white gauze, white silk shirt, and purple tassel.

The bride's cheeks were extremely pale and her lips were painted bright red. Without the need for divine eyes, one could tell that this was also a dead person, not a ghost like Madam Feng.

She stared at Ren Yuan, wishing she could swallow him in one bite.

"Ah, how come it's a dead person?" Ren Yuan exclaimed: "I don't want to earn this money, let the groom do it himself."

"You have to struggle even if you don't want to, because you are the groom, so go in!" The old woman revealed her true colors, and pushed his back with a grim smile, trying to push him into the coffin.

But his attack was in vain. Ren Yuan dodged nimbly and yelled, "Damn it, you lied to me!"

"Boy, you're going to die anyway, so keeping it a secret from you until the end is all for your own good." The old woman pounced on him again, and the bride couldn't hold back any longer, so she jumped out of the coffin and helped him catch the groom.

Ren Yuan was about to play around a bit more when he suddenly saw a white shadow flash before his eyes. The old woman's head and body were already separated...

What killed her was a white bone sword, and the hand holding the sword was as white as jade, and it was almost impossible to tell the difference between the hand and the sword.

I saw the senior sister's face was full of anger, her eyes spitting fire, staring at the bride.

The bride rushed towards her, and was split in half by the senior sister's sword...

Seeing that the bride and the matchmaker were both killed, the corpses in the tomb left their seats and pounced on the two of them.

Ren Yuan was about to draw out the Evil-Slaying Blade, but his senior sister pushed him back. "Stand still, I'll be back soon!"

Before he finished speaking, the man had already flashed and rushed to the front of the wedding hall, transformed into a white shadow, and charged into the encirclement with a sword in hand. His moves were sharp and ruthless, and in a short time, he had split all the tomb ghosts into two.

Only Master Shen was left, huddled under the table and shivering.

ps. There is one more chapter to be updated.

(End of this chapter)