When Jiang Xiuxiu heard the scream, she dashed out immediately.
The scream came from the courtyard of the Wang family. As Jiang Xiuxiu rushed out, she saw the female player staring intensely at a stack of straw outside the house.
Her face was deathly pale, and her voice trembled, "There's a body in here. There's a dead person in here!"
A corpse?!
Following her gaze, Jiang Xiuxiu saw that the female player had been digging through the straw. As the straw was cleared away, a decomposed body was revealed.
Yesterday, Jiang Xiuxiu and Ye Ming had also dug through this straw, thinking it would make the hard, cold floor more comfortable to sleep on. Little did they know, it concealed a long-dead corpse.
The body was so decayed it was unrecognizable, but from the clothes, Jiang Xiuxiu could tell it was a woman. And not just any woman—a young one, judging by the trendy clothes popular among teens and young adults.
Jiang Xiuxiu narrowed her eyes.
This probably wasn't Wang Xiaoyue. She had gotten married and left. If marriage led to death, the three female players who disappeared last night should have turned up as bodies too.
So, who was this?
Jiang Xiuxiu hurried back to the Wang house and went straight to Wang Xiaoyue’s room.
She circled the awards on the wall before her eyes fell on the old elementary school textbooks on the bookshelf. Each one was labeled "Wang Xiaoyue."
But when Jiang Xiuxiu picked up one of the books and flipped through it, she found a small pencil-written note in the corner of a page.
"Xiaoyue and Xiaoyun forever."
Xiaoyun?
Jiang Xiuxiu froze for a moment and memorized the name.
When the players entered the game, the system had told them that they were students trying to uncover the truth behind Wang Xiaoyue's disappearance. At first, Jiang Xiuxiu thought that Xiaoyue had simply gotten married and was unreachable.
But now, the truth seemed more complex.
This person named Wang Xiaoyun was likely Wang Xiaoyue’s sister. Given the poor financial state of the Wang family, the sisters probably shared a room. With no school in the village, if Xiaoyue went to school, she must have boarded there most of the year.
That meant the one who lived in Wang Xiaoyue’s room most of the time was likely Wang Xiaoyun, not Xiaoyue herself.
After the Wang family moved, they took many things with them, selling off what they could. They left nothing too personal behind. In her initial quick sweep, Jiang Xiuxiu didn’t notice much and assumed the Wang family had only one child.
So, who was the dead person in the straw stack?
Jiang Xiuxiu was puzzled, but she didn’t ponder too long. She continued to search through Wang Xiaoyun’s room. As mentioned, the Wang family hadn’t left much information behind. Jiang Xiuxiu didn’t find any diaries or significant papers.
School Books were important, so Wang Xiaoyue wouldn’t dare scribble in them. But after some effort, Jiang Xiuxiu found old notes written by the Wang sisters in the gap between the bed and the wall.
These notes contained simple, girlish themes about who would play the princess and who would play the queen. It was clear that the sisters were very close.
There were hardly any signs of arguments. If there was a disagreement, one would quickly apologize, and they’d make up.
Moving these useless notes aside, Jiang Xiuxiu found one a bit more important:
"Xiaoyun, don’t be sad. When I get home from school, I'll secretly teach you to read and do math."
This was a note from Wang Xiaoyue.
But why teach her secretly?
Jiang Xiuxiu glanced at the textbooks labeled only with Wang Xiaoyue's name and the awards solely for her. She began to form a hypothesis.
In a rural family, they couldn’t afford to send both children to school, especially if both were girls. The most likely scenario was they chose to educate Wang Xiaoyue and left Wang Xiaoyun at home to help with chores.
After finding no more useful information, Jiang Xiuxiu left the room and showed Ye Ming what she found.
Ye Ming immediately noticed something strange, "These sisters don't seem right.
"I think so too," Jiang Xiuxiu replied quietly, making sure that no one was around. "The one who got to study was likely the one their parents invested more in. If the old man’s words are true and Xiaoyue was married off due to some local custom, then the one to be sacrificed shouldn't be her, but her sister, Wang Xiaoyun."
Even though the old man claimed that marriage was a blessing, Jiang Xiuxiu wasn’t foolish. She knew it was a lie.
If it were truly good, the Wang family wouldn't have left their lifelong home and moved away.
"Interesting."
Ye Ming smiled after hearing Jiang Xiuxiu’s analysis. His deep black eyes sparkled with interest as he looked at the notes, as if seeing something beyond them. "I didn’t know there were so many hidden truths here."
"So, who’s the one in the straw stack?"
Ye Ming seemed very curious and blinked as he asked.
Jiang Xiuxiu shook her head. "I can’t tell."
The person hidden in the straw had been dead for nearly a month, leaving only a skeleton and some clothing. She later wanted to examine it more closely, but perhaps out of fear, other players had disposed of the body. By the time she got back, it was gone, whereabouts unknown.
"But I believe the secret between the two sisters will definitely help us," Jiang Xiuxiu continued. "Investigating Xiaoyue's disappearance is the task the game gave us, and this is a clue."
Ye Ming’s previous question was exactly what Jiang Xiuxiu was struggling with.
If someone was sent to marry, it couldn’t be the dead one in the straw.
To uncover the truth behind Xiaoyue’s disappearance, they needed to determine if she was the dead person in the straw or the one sent off to marry.
If she was married, then what did marriage in this village really mean?
These were the things the players needed to know.
Once they confirmed their plan, Jiang Xiuxiu and Ye Ming had a fast meal and then walked towards the village.
They wanted to check the place where the villagers had gone up the mountain, but when they saw two strong villagers guarding the path, they decided against it.
The afternoon passed quickly.
Jiang Xiuxiu spent some time replacing the old straw with fresh one and made a simple dinner. Before they knew it, it was evening again.
At dinner, the villagers brought more stuff and food.
Jiang Xiuxiu still refused to eat, but unlike her, four or five other players were wavering.
Let's face it: in modern China, most people could afford meat at every meal. Those who could buy VR pods and play full-dive games definitely weren't short on money. The game's harsh environment, forcing them to eat just vegetables and cook for themselves, was really tough on them.
Especially since the Wang family’s food supply was limited, no one had eaten their fill.
While the female players remained cautious, the male players, who weren't considered for the "bride" role, gave in after two days of hunger and started eating voraciously.
Following Jiang Xiuxiu's orders, Ye Ming didn't eat.
They had a meager dinner and then went back to the woodshed to sleep.
Night fell quickly in the village, and soon, the woodshed was engulfed in darkness.
Staring at the ceiling, Jiang Xiuxiu started to ponder.
In the afternoon, she went to the riverside again. Just like the previous day, the bizarre wedding ceremony was still noisily active by the river. The sedan chair carried the same paper bride she had seen before.
Would she dream about it again tonight?
As random thoughts swirled in her mind, sleep gradually overcame her.
And just as she thought about it, it came. Jiang Xiuxiu found herself dreaming again soon after falling asleep.
But unlike the first dream, this time there was no Wang Xiaoyue, no paper bride.
In the dream, she stood in the woodshed where she and Ye Ming were resting. Outside stood several villagers with indistinct faces.
Compared to the real Wang family's deserted and cold courtyard, the dream version was much livelier.
A group of villagers in festive red clothing crowded the courtyard, decorating every corner with lanterns and banners.
Red lanterns hung everywhere, creating a real wedding atmosphere.
Was this a memory from Wang Xiaoyue’s wedding?
"Here comes the bride!"
When Jiang Xiuxiu appeared, the faceless women surrounded her, "Hurry up, it’s almost time. Go get ready."
"I'm not your bride."
Jiang Xiuxiu remained unusually calm, "You’ve got the wrong person. I’m not her."
"How are you not?" an old woman said, "You accepted the dowry during the day, so by the rules, you must marry him."
"Dowry?"
Jiang Xiuxiu thought for a moment, "You mean the food and items you brought to the Wang house today?"
"Exactly," another villager replied, "Since you accepted the dowry, you must fulfill your duty. We let you off for one day, but you can’t escape now."
They pointed to the gate.
Jiang Xiuxiu looked and saw three male players who had accepted food and blankets from the villagers earlier, now wearing elaborate wedding robes and heavy makeup, standing there in a daze.
Jiang Xiuxiu was speechless.
What? They didn’t even care about the bride’s gender?
Jiang Xiuxiu was shocked and at a loss for words.
The women seized the moment, bringing a lavish red wedding gown and trying to dress Jiang Xiuxiu.
But there was no way Jiang Xiuxiu would let that happen.
She quickly stepped back and raised her voice, "You’re lying! I didn’t accept any of the things you brought today. I didn’t eat your food. Ask around if you don’t believe me."
She had seen through the villagers' trickery long ago and avoided touching their offerings.
Hearing this, the villagers' actions halted.
All eyes turned to her, their indistinct faces and unseen gazes in the dream made it all the more eerie.
Jiang Xiuxiu took a deep breath and stared back fearlessly.
These villagers, like the ghosts in her previous games, needed a condition to harm her, and that condition was accepting the dowry. Since she hadn’t touched their offerings, she was confident they couldn’t do anything to her.
"She indeed didn’t accept the dowry."
As both sides were at a standstill, a calm voice sounded from outside the courtyard.
The voice was gentle, like a spring breeze brushing past a willow tree, warming the heart slightly. "She bears no mark of the dowry."
The villagers exchanged uneasy glances.
But Jiang Xiuxiu’s eyes widened as she looked towards the source of the voice.
She would never mistake that voice.
Xu Bai was indeed this game's boss as well.
Standing outside the Wang family courtyard was the same familiar wedding ceremony.
But unlike her memory, this time, besides the bride's sedan chair, there was a groom on horseback at the forefront.
The first thing she noticed was his hand holding the reins.
Long, slender fingers, neatly trimmed nails, skin pale against the red robes.
Then she looked up at the young man in the typical groom’s attire.
With long black hair, pale skin, and clean, refined features, his black eyes were calm and deep.
Seeing Jiang Xiuxiu looking at him, he tilted his head, a smile playing on his lips.
It was Xu Bai.
And as soon as Xu Bai spoke, the courtyard fell silent.
"What should we do then, sir?"
After a moment, a villager asked timidly.
They needed a bride for the wedding. They couldn’t just let her go because she didn’t accept the dowry.
Xu Bai smiled slightly, "Then force the deal."
Jiang Xiuxiu was dumbfounded.
Wait, what did he mean?
The next second, she watched as the villagers brought in a pile of furniture, fabrics, jewelry, and even poultry, filling the woodshed she was in.
These items quickly filled the small woodshed, making the dilapidated place seem luxurious.
The groom on the white horse smirked, "Continue."
Jiang Xiuxiu was at a loss for words.
Why were they doing all that?