“I dreamt about Wang Xiaoyue last night too,” a female player chimed in. “She was wearing a white dress, standing at the foot of my bed with her back to me, talking.”
As the female players shared their experiences, they realized almost all of them had similar dreams.
The scenes were weirdly similar: Wang Xiaoyue standing with her back to them, speaking.
Jiang Xiuxiu wasn’t surprised, as she had the same dream. But unlike the others, her dream ended with Wang Xiaoyue turning into a paper bride.
It was clear from the players' conversations that they had no clue about the previous night's events or why three female players had vanished.
While they all slept soundly until morning, Jiang Xiuxiu was the only one who woke up in the middle of the night. The content of Wang Xiaoyue's conversations in their dreams varied too, causing many players to look uneasy.
“Wang Xiaoyue told me she got married,” one player said. “She said she’s very happy and we shouldn’t worry. She even mentioned we’d see her soon.”
Recalling her own dream, where Wang Xiaoyue looked frail in her thin white dress, Jiang Xiuxiu couldn’t help but think, "Her idea of happiness sure has a low bar."
But jokes aside, Jiang Xiuxiu felt uneasy. The scary bridal ceremony from last night and Wang Xiaoyue's transformation into a paper bride made it clear this was far from over.
Obviously, the three missing players likely had the same dream. They were probably taken away by that bridal procession and were likely already... gone.
What on earth was going on here? Wang Xiaoyue mysteriously disappeared, the villagers avoiding them like the plague, and that creepy bridal ceremony...
Wang Xiaoyue mentioned in the dream that she had gotten married and they would meet again. Jiang Xiuxiu guessed that their fate might mirror Wang Xiaoyue’s. They'd be taken away by the ceremony to an unknown place to get married.
Maybe this explained why there were so many female players in this game. After all, the bridal procession needed brides, and brides were usually women.
But then, who was the groom?
Jiang Xiuxiu thought it would be hard to uncover the truth in the Wang household. The shady NPC villagers likely knew more. Deciding to gather information from the villagers, she shared her plan with Ye Ming.
“The tricky part is finding an NPC willing to talk,” she said, frowning. “Yesterday, the villagers were tight-lipped and avoided us completely.”
Jiang Xiuxiu worried that even if they asked, the villagers might not spill anything. Though she lived in the city, her parents were from a rural area, so she knew how fast news spread in small villages. By now, the villagers probably knew the players were looking for Wang Xiaoyue.
Getting information out of them would be extremely difficult.
Ye Ming suddenly looked at her neck thoughtfully. Instead of continuing the topic, he asked, “How’s the injury on your neck?”
"My neck?" Jiang Xiuxiu touched it and shook her head. “It’s fine, it won’t affect our actions.”
To prove it, she moved her neck around, but a sharp pain made her wince.
“Okay, maybe a little inconvenient,” she admitted.
In this game, your health was crucial. Although she didn't feel it was serious, she couldn't afford to push herself too hard.
“Let me handle the questioning,” Ye Ming suggested, smiling gently. “You need to rest.”
“But will you be okay on your own?” Jiang Xiuxiu hesitated.
“I’ll be fine,” Ye Ming reassured her. “If I'm polite, they'll talk.”
Jiang Xiuxiu considered this and agreed. NPCs existed to progress the plot and provide information. Ye Ming was handsome and kind, perhaps he’d make the villagers let their guard down.
She felt grateful. Ye Ming had always been kind and gentle. He had saved her several times even though they barely knew each other. Now, he was willing to gather information while she rested. Choosing him as a teammate was the best decision she had ever made.
So, Jiang Xiuxiu stayed behind to gather more intel while Ye Ming went out to question the villagers.
However, after a while, Jiang Xiuxiu couldn’t help but worry. She decided to follow him quietly to see how he was doing. The villagers were too strange, and if anything happened to Ye Ming, it would be bad. If things went south, she’d bring him back, and they’d think of another plan together.
She then saw Ye Ming cornering an elderly man who looked about seventy or eighty years old.
“Don’t be afraid, I just want to ask a few questions,” Ye Ming said, his voice soothing and gentle. “But if you insist on staying silent, I might feel a bit sad.”
After saying that, he swung the stick in his hand, smashing it against the wall behind the old man with a loud thud. The impact left a small dent in the mud wall, making the old man tremble in fear. His face turned pale as he stammered, “I-I-I’ll talk.”
Jiang Xiuxiu was speechless.
Wait a minute, isn't he supposed to be a kind citizen? Why is he so good at this?
Despite her inner turmoil, Jiang Xiuxiu had to admit that Ye Ming’s method was surprisingly effective. Under the threat of violence, the old man stopped dodging questions and spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube. “The girl from the Wang family didn’t go missing. She was sent off to get married. It’s our custom here, and her parents agreed to it.”
As if trying to cover something up, the old man added, “She’s gone to enjoy a happy life. Others envy her.”
His explanation matched Jiang Xiuxiu’s earlier guess.
“What about the others?” Ye Ming asked, not pressing further but switching to another question. “Sending Wang Xiaoyue to get married is your business, but why did three of our female classmates go missing last night?”
This was what Jiang Xiuxiu wanted to know too. Who exactly was Wang Xiaoyue marrying, and why did they need so many brides?
“Three? What do you mean three?” To her surprise, the old man’s face twisted in shock at Ye Ming’s reply.
He stared at Ye Ming urgently, repeating, “Are you sure it’s three? Really three?”
The old man’s panicked expression and trembling voice showed genuine fear in his cloudy eyes.
What was going on here?
Seeing this, Jiang Xiuxiu’s eyes narrowed. Unlike other players, she understood the old man's reaction. Last night, she had almost been taken away by that bridal ceremony. The old man clearly knew something would happen and was expecting four women to disappear.
Ye Ming’s questioning soon ended as the old man refused to say more, even when threatened with the stick again. After being released, the old man hurried back to his house, seemingly to do something important.
Jiang Xiuxiu observed quietly, feeling suspicious. Once the old man left, she emerged from her hiding spot and discussed with Ye Ming, deciding to stay and see what the old man would do next. Given his fear, he was likely to take action, and they just needed to wait to uncover the truth.
With their plan set, they hid behind a haystack outside the old man’s house, remaining still. However, the old man was more cautious than expected. He stayed inside for hours, doing who-knows-what. Finally, they saw him sneak out the back door with some incense and candles.
Spotting the movement, Jiang Xiuxiu tugged on Ye Ming, and they quietly followed. The old man went around alerting other villagers, spreading the news. Soon, a small group gathered at a corner of the village, discussing something.
After their conversation, the villagers split into two groups. One headed back into the village towards the Wang family’s house, while the other group, smaller but still four or five people, moved towards a hidden path in the forest.
Jiang Xiuxiu and Ye Ming exchanged glances and decided to follow the second group. They cautiously trailed behind, almost getting caught several times as the villagers remained vigilant. Eventually, the villagers moved too far ahead, and Jiang Xiuxiu and Ye Ming lost sight of them as they disappeared down a secretive path deep into the woods.
“We should head back,” Jiang Xiuxiu said after assessing the situation. “It’s getting late. We can return later when no one is around to check out this path.”
Continuing to follow the group now would likely result in getting caught. It was better to return later when it was safer.
Ye Ming agreed without objection.
They memorized the path the villagers took and headed back to the Wang family’s house for a meal. By the time they returned, it was early afternoon, and the sky was growing dark with thick clouds hinting at rain.
Worried about the villagers who might visit the Wang family’s house, Jiang Xiuxiu hurried back, only to find the other players looking unusually cheerful.
“What’s going on?” she asked, puzzled.
“The NPCs brought us lots of food and blankets,” a female player said excitedly. “They said they misunderstood us yesterday, thinking we were troublemakers. But today, they realized we’re friends of Wang Xiaoyue, so they brought us these things.”
The player glanced at Jiang Xiuxiu and asked, “I remember you’re staying in the woodshed, right? It’s pretty cold there. Do you need extra blankets?”
Jiang Xiuxiu shook her head firmly. “No, thanks. We have enough.”
She was taken aback by the villagers’ generosity but remained wary, not trusting their sudden kindness. Some other players shared her skepticism, but the lure of the villagers’ offerings was strong. The players had only managed to prepare simple vegetable dishes, while the villagers brought delicious meats and clean blankets.
Under such circumstances, it was hard for them not to be tempted.
“Are you sure you don’t want any?” the female player asked. “We’ve tried the food, and it’s fine. The blankets are clean too.”
Jiang Xiuxiu eyed the lavish spread on the table, swallowed hard, and shook her head again. “You go ahead and eat. We’ll make our own food.”
Just as she was speaking, a piercing scream echoed from outside, “Ah! Someone’s dead!”