Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 352 Getting married
what?
Before Professor Zhang could react, the layers of tentacles reversed, wrapped around his waist, and pulled him backward.

Only now did that cold face truly reveal anxiety.

"What are you planning to do? Don't forget! I'm the one who released you, I'm the one who allowed you to have incense offerings again, and your reappearance in the world is entirely due to my own efforts."

However, the mountain god ignored it completely, remaining stubborn and determined to hold onto Professor Zhang's body.

The terrifyingly large maw slowly opened, revealing countless sharp teeth overlapping each other, from which foul-smelling sludge gushed forth, and on it, fragments of the previous victim's flesh could still be seen—

Professor Zhang is a smart man.

Although he did overlook an unexpected person when arranging the offerings, he was still a fairly intelligent person.

Seeing that his first approach was not working, he immediately changed his tone, switching from scolding to negotiating.

"Wait, don't do this! The dream isn't complete yet. If you kill me here, everything will be for nothing."

The activity continued.

Soon, the voice changed from negotiation to pleading.

"I know you're hungry, but don't worry, that was just the first one, there will be more soon."

Whether scolding, negotiating, or pleading, the octopus's actions remained consistent.

Seeing that he was about to be eaten, he finally couldn't help but start cursing.

"Are you fucking an idiot?! You're planning to ruin everything just for the sake of a little bit of gluttony?"

However, the sentence was not finished.

Seemingly finding him too noisy, or perhaps unable to bear the hunger any longer, the octopus world tossed Professor Zhang into its mouth.

After a few chews, there was no more sound.

—See? This is what happens when you worship the wrong god.

Zhou You pursed his lips below.

That's how it is with the gods of incense offerings. If you worship a righteous god, it's fine; even if your wishes aren't granted, nothing bad will usually happen. Even if you offend them or curse them, at most you'll experience a period of bad luck. But if you worship a filthy god...
Although the returns are indeed quick, the outcome is almost always not good – this one is no exception, as was the case with that cult leader last time.

But then again, how am I supposed to deal with this thing?
Zhou You dodged an incoming, slimy tentacle, his longsword flashing several times before lightly splitting into several pieces, then he looked up.

This thing was about four or five stories high. In the past, it wouldn't have been too much trouble for him to deal with it himself—after all, after being sealed for hundreds of years, it was just an empty shell. But now he had lost the Evil-Slaying Arrow and the Heaven-Shaking Arrow, and for some reason, the Buddha Relic he had just obtained couldn't be used in reality. So, here's what happened.
Faced with this utterly clumsy giant, he was at a loss as to how to proceed.

Fortunately, Cangchuan above called out to them just in time.

"Young Master Zhou."

"What's the matter?"

"This thing is, after all, the real murderer who killed Qing'er. I want to kill it with my own hands. Do you think that's alright?"

"No problem, but what do we do?"

"It's very simple, just restrain it."

"it is good!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou You suddenly sped up.

Although there was no foothold in mid-air, those tentacles were the best place to stand. With a few light steps, he was already looking directly into the eyes of that thing.

There is no intelligence within them, only hunger and desire suppressed for hundreds of years.

Now that it has lost its manipulator, it has completely gone mad. Seeing food delivered to its door, it doesn't care about anything else, and rolls its tentacles back, trying to pull someone into its mouth like before.

but.

Zhou You is not like Professor Zhang, who is merely a piece of meat on the chopping board!

Before the opponent could strike, he had already leaped up, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and performed a somersault, easily dodging the thick tentacle. Then, with the sword blade pointing downwards, he didn't use any special moves, but simply followed the force and slashed forward.

Deep blue blood flew everywhere, accompanied by the mountain god's agonizing roar—

Instinctively, it pulled back all its tentacles, trying to crush Zhouyou with its layers of tentacles.

Otherwise.

But it forgot something else.

High in the sky, with no more restraints, the giant tiger exhausted its last bit of magical power, causing its entire body to blaze with flames.

Cangchuan looked down at the village below and sighed softly.

The ignorance and naivety of childhood.

The innocent dreams of youth.

The hardships and betrayals of youth.

And finally, utter despair.
What that man surnamed Zhang said was indeed true; this small town was a cage that trapped him, trapped Qing'er, and trapped himself.

"So, it's time to end here."

The already crumbling foundation finally shattered, but the last bit of power had been poured into the illusion.

Like the rising sun, it rises high, and then...

Like the setting sun, it falls to the ground.

The air was filled with a smell similar to takoyaki.

The corrupt god was already at its last gasp, and with this attack, a huge hole was pierced through it on the spot. After struggling for a few moments, it collapsed weakly.

The roe deer suddenly appeared out of nowhere, sniffed the crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside octopus, and was about to take a bite to taste its saltiness—when it was immediately slapped back.

"Go away, go away, go away! This filthy god is born from the turbid air of heaven and earth, be careful it doesn't eat you to death—besides, aren't roe deer supposed to be vegetarians? Why do you love eating meat so much?"

Upon seeing Zhou You speak to it, the roe deer forgot about the takoyaki in front of it and snuggled into Zhou You's arms with its head on its body.

It took a lot of effort to push that thing away. Zhou You looked up at the sky and scratched his head again.

Normally, the original owner would have died, and the dream should have shattered by now. But for some reason, although the whole world was teetering on the brink of collapse, it still managed to stay intact.

Of course, even so, given his ability to travel, going out wouldn't be difficult—even taking a little female ghost with him wouldn't be a problem.

But the problem is there are still so many people lying here dead. He can't just leave them all here, can he?

But just as he was scratching his head, Zhou You suddenly caught a glimpse of a shadow.

It is Cangchuan.

Or rather, the black cat possessed by Cangchuan.

Although there was no visible damage on the outside, the person inside was clearly as fragile as a candle in the wind. His golden vertical pupils had begun to become cloudy, and he looked at Zhou You for a long time before he seemed to be able to recognize who it was.

"I'm sorry to trouble you so much this time. We've only just met, yet you've gone to so much trouble for me." Zhou You seemed quite indifferent, simply shrugging his shoulders.

"That's alright, after all, I'm here to make money too. But what about you? Are you alright?"

"I can probably hold on for a few more hours. But it doesn't really matter. Back then, I was just as badly injured as the mountain god, and we were only kept going by the incense offerings from the town. When the incense offerings suddenly decreased, I was not far from death. It's just that I only came here now."

He spoke quite frankly, or rather, after his childhood sweetheart died, he had no more attachments, and death was nothing more than a relief to him.

Seeing this, Zhou You said no more, but simply pointed upwards.

"So, how should I get this group of people out?"

Cangchuan realized at this moment that the dream had not ended. He also looked at the dark night sky, his face initially filled with confusion and bewilderment, but he quickly realized something and his expression turned into a bitter smile.

"I see. It seems that even after being sealed off for so many years, I've been misled as well. Young Brother Zhou."

Those golden pupils looked at Zhou You, and then spoke softly.

"Excuse me, could I trouble you with something else?"

The sound was perfectly normal, but for some reason, the person vaguely sensed that something was amiss.

About twenty minutes later.

Zhou You spoke sincerely to Cang Chuan.

"Well, this kind of thing was probably normal back in your day, but I need to tell you something—in our time, this is a crime, a very pure crime, the kind that would even warrant being shot with a machine gun for twenty minutes, really."

At this moment, he had changed his clothes.

The blood-stained, filthy tracksuit was tossed aside and replaced with another outfit.

He wore a crimson robe embroidered with gold, a belt of jade around his waist, a winged crown on his head, and black boots on his feet.

all in all,
This is the groom's attire.

The black cat stretched out its paw and carefully adjusted Zhou You's crown. It then took a step back and observed him closely—only after confirming that everything was in order did it nod.

“Normally, something like this can only be broken open if either the creature inside dies or its desire is fulfilled. The mountain god’s desire is very simple, nothing more than food and women. That’s why that Zhang went to great lengths to obtain these offerings and then built this wedding room, all to help the mountain god escape. Unfortunately, my essence has now become mixed in with it, which means you also need to fulfill my desire.”

Seeing that he could not resist, Zhou You could only sigh.

"I just want to earn some living expenses. Is it that hard to make money in this world? Okay, okay, I understand."

What is Cangchuan's wish?
It's very simple. His biggest regret in life was losing his childhood sweetheart, his cowardly escape, and ultimately not being able to be with her.

Now, however, there is a perfect opportunity to make up for the regret.

The shrine had been ruined beyond recognition, with flames and broken pieces everywhere, making it unsuitable for any wedding.

Fortunately, this was also his dream, and there were a few people who lent a hand.

"Your Majesty, everything that needs to be prepared has been prepared. Is there anything else you require?"

The town mayor stood with his hands at his sides, asking respectfully—but in between words, he didn't forget to give Zhou You a cold glare.

The reasons behind this can probably be understood by Zhou You.

Back then, this town was divided into two factions: one sought to revive the mountain god and restore its former glory, while the other, grateful for Cangchuan's righteousness, worshipped him as a god. This group had finally managed to drive away the mountain god faction and endured centuries of solitude, steadfastly holding their ground. Who would have thought that a traitor and a group of outsiders would break the seal?

Indeed, although the mountain god was finally killed once and for all, the cat god of their own family was also about to be annihilated.

Cangchuan doesn't mind, but that doesn't mean they don't mind.

Faced with these emotions, he hastily shook his head and whispered.

"That's settled then. Thank you for your trouble. Leave the rest to me. Although that guy surnamed Zhang is a bastard, he's not wrong. This responsibility has bound you for so many years, it's time to let it go."

The mayor opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing, and simply led the townspeople, whose faces also looked grim, away.

Zhou You couldn't help but sigh.

"So these guys have other expressions, huh? I thought they were all expressionless."

Cangchuan shook his head and sighed softly.

"People who are isolated from the world for a long time will generally look like this. I hope they will be more free after they go out."

After saying that, those golden pupils looked at Zhou You again.

"You don't need to try to change the subject or lie. If you want to take everyone out, this is basically the only way now. But it's also thanks to the mountain god that you can't be pulled into a dream and can only act from my perspective. Otherwise, even this condition couldn't be met."

Seeing that the person was still unwilling, the black cat sighed again in that old-fashioned voice.

“I saw that girl too. She’s definitely a beauty, and she was very close to you. Although she’s indeed dead, it wouldn’t be difficult for you to recreate her body. Why are you sighing like this?”

Zhou You rolled his eyes forcefully.

"Why do you all think I'm some kind of reincarnated god, able to resurrect people like it's nothing? And that's not the problem either. As I just said, this is a crime from both an ethical and legal standpoint."

But what could Zhou You say now that things had come to this?
Resigned to his fate, he straightened his clothes and then walked along the path he had barely managed to clear.

Her roommate was still the same as when she grew up, wearing a wedding dress and sitting in a sedan chair—this thing seemed to have the function of separating the inside from the outside, so even now she had no idea what had happened.

Zhou You looked back at the black cat.

The black cat's eyes were firm and unwavering.

So he could only sigh deeply and pull his roommate out.

In the blink of an eye, the surroundings had changed completely.

That was Cangchuan's home in his memory. Although the place wasn't big, it was now decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and filled with joy.

At this very moment, it is a wedding feast.

There weren't many people, but they were all familiar friends from the town. Everyone toasted and exchanged drinks, their words filled with envy, but also with blessings for the newlyweds.

Before long, with the matchmaker's announcement of "The auspicious time has arrived—", the reluctant Zhou You and the bewildered little ghost girl were helped in.

This wasn't exactly a normal wedding, yet Cangchuan just watched it calmly, as if he were experiencing it himself.

"Worship heaven and earth!"

In a daze, he returned to that time, and Qing'er once again said those joking words to him.

"Two thanks to the high hall!"

If I could do it all over again, what would I say?

"Couple greetings!"
.
No, there's no need for an answer. If I could do it all over again, what I would say would already be predetermined, so...
I'm sorry, Qing'er.

In the blink of an eye, the dream shattered.

(End of this chapter)