Zhong Mu carefully put away his notebook, oblivious to Zuo Meng's complicated expression, and instead looked up to examine the small courtyard and the surroundings of the house.
Ye Tianxuan took the lead and stepped inside, followed by Yin Xiu with two figures on his left and right.
The already noisy and restless courtyard became even more lively after the arrival of several strangers was noticed.
Someone hurriedly stepped forward to greet them, and amidst a burst of urgent suona music, led Ye Tianxuan inside. Their voice was urgent, yet tinged with a hint of relief, as they said, "You've finally arrived! It's almost dark! If you had come any later, we would have missed the deadline, and then we would have been in big trouble."
"Come on, everyone's here, we're just waiting for you to host, don't miss the moment."
The leader hurriedly pushed Ye Tianxuan, who was walking in front, into the inner hall, and handed over the main emcee role to him.
Upon seeing this, Yin Xiu quickly stepped aside and mingled among the guests to avoid having to go in and help. He had never seen a master of ceremonies before and had absolutely no idea how to do it, let alone be forced into this situation at the last minute.
Zhong Mu and Zuo Meng, who were following behind, stopped the moment they stepped into the inner hall.
In that spacious and brightly lit house, there were many red lanterns and red silk flowers. The bright red color almost occupied the entire field of vision. Even the relatives and friends crowded on both sides were shrouded in a dim red light. Their pale faces were expressionless, and the light from the big red lanterns made them look even more eerie.
It wasn't festive; it just felt cold and eerie.
But these are nothing compared to the two figures at the center of the scene.
After Ye Tianxuan was pushed into the center of the venue, between the two newlyweds, everyone else took a step back and remained silent, making the entire house quiet except for the sounds of firecrackers and suonas in the courtyard.
The onlookers were silent, and so were the newlyweds.
Beside Ye Tianxuan was a sickly man with a pale face, almost devoid of any color, looking like a dead man. His thin body was supported by a bright red garment. He was emaciated, his face was ashen, and even his eyes were lifeless, making one feel uneasy at first glance.
On the other side... there wasn't even a single person.
It was a paper-mache bride, with a white face and rosy cheeks, wearing a wedding dress and a veil, but the outline of the paper bamboo clips on her body was clearly visible.
Behind the two was a coffin with a large red "囍" (double happiness) character pasted on it, which was both festive and eerily strange.
Ye Tianxuan stood in this environment, with a dying man on one side and a paper figure on the other, and who knows what was lying in the dark coffin behind him.
Large red lanterns hung high overhead, their eerie light illuminating the quiet faces of everyone present, adding to the chilling atmosphere of the otherwise silent space.
Zhong Mu felt a chill run down his spine. This scene didn't look like a normal wedding at all.
"On such a joyous day, everyone is so quiet, I don't know how to start the conversation." Ye Tianxuan, who was in the middle of it all, smiled and glanced around. He silently beckoned Zhong Mu to step aside. He joked with a smile, his relaxed atmosphere out of place with the surroundings, as if he really was the only one there to attend the wedding.
"Hurry up, or we'll miss the auspicious time!" someone urged anxiously from the side.
Ye Tianxuan said unhurriedly, glancing at the sky outside. "No rush, it's not dark yet, there's still some time, right?"
The people around immediately fell silent, giving the smiling emcee a strange look. Putting aside how he knew that darkness was the key, they wondered why he was so different from the other emcees, showing no fear at all.
In the ensuing silence, Ye Tianxuan slowly took a step back, making room for the two newlyweds.
Making room for him was the right thing to do, but... he stepped back and casually sat down on the coffin lid. This action made the people around him gasp and stare at the unfamiliar emcee. Who was this person? He wasn't surprised that there was a coffin at the wedding venue, and he just sat on it.
But Ye Tianxuan ignored him and, in a serious manner, pulled out a small booklet from his pocket and began to read the words aloud.
"On this sunny afternoon, we are fortunate to celebrate the happy union of a couple. Today is an auspicious day for their wedding. On this joyous and celebratory day, I wish the two of you a happy marriage and a long and happy life together."
He smiled as he looked at the ashen-faced, silent man, then at the paper bride.
"The newlyweds are a perfect match, a happy marriage is surely in the making."
The groom remained unmoved, and the bride naturally had no reaction. Only Ye Tianxuan was there, lying through his teeth, earnestly performing the duties of the master of ceremonies, praising the two of them to the skies, acting with great professionalism, and speaking in a high-pitched, cheerful, and relaxed tone.
If it weren't for the eerie atmosphere created by the dying groom and the paper-mache bride, everyone would almost believe that this was a lively and festive wedding hall.
Zhong Mu held a pen and wrote down every word Ye Tianxuan uttered, even noting down the nonsense Ye Tianxuan was spouting. His gaze kept sweeping over the coffin where Ye Tianxuan was sitting.
After Ye Tianxuan finished reciting those complicated words, the last ray of light in the sky sank into the horizon, and the sounds of suona horns and firecrackers in the courtyard gradually stopped, plunging the entire village into silence.
As soon as Ye Tianxuan stopped speaking, a cold wind suddenly swept across the courtyard and into the inner hall. Almost instantly, everyone felt an inexplicable chill run from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads. They clearly sensed that something was coming, something unseen walking through the crowd.
Yin Xiu, who had been dozing off and listening to Ye Tianxuan's nonsense, suddenly opened his eyes and looked around.
The guests who had gathered together all shrank their heads and kept silent. Faced with the sudden gusts of cold wind and the eeriness, no one uttered a single word. Instead, they all lowered their heads cautiously and pretended to be mute.
Yin Xiu looked up and exchanged a glance with Ye Tianxuan. They could sense that something unseen had appeared here, but they didn't know its exact location yet.
Ye Tianxuan calmly raised his hand and waved it casually, then announced loudly, "The ceremony is complete! The bride and groom will be personally escorted to their bridal chamber by their elders! May they live in harmony and happiness forever!"
He got up, slowly walked away from the coffin, and then strolled forward.
As soon as the words were finished, someone among the guests finally moved. It seemed to be an elder from the groom's family who came out. He had red eyes, sniffled, and looked very sad, but he still went forward to help the groom, who hadn't moved at all throughout the entire ceremony, walk towards the coffin.
Under the silent gaze of everyone, the groom was helped into the coffin by his elders, along with the paper bride.
Zhong Mu frowned, his gaze quickly sweeping across the scene, noticing the groom who hadn't moved an inch. Beneath the bright red wedding attire, his hands and feet were withered beyond recognition, the skin festering and peeling away, revealing the bare bones beneath; his limbs were so severely damaged that he was completely unable to move.
The paper bride, when placed in the coffin, reveals a pair of eyes with painted pupils beneath her red veil.
Its pitch-black eyes were staring intently at the people outside, a truly terrifying sight.