Chapter 7: Red and White Collision of Evil

Only Qi Wuyuan stood inside the main hall, at the innermost spot against the wall, several meters away from the doorway.

Through the reflection on the portrait frame, Qi Wuyuan saw someone standing behind him.

He did not rise, but instead calmly used his hand to gently wipe the glass of the frame, carefully cleaning away the dust.

Qi Wuyuan observed the groom through the glass.

Outside the hall, the sounds were lively. Most people focused on the bride’s every move inside, yet no one noticed the groom’s figure standing behind Qi Wuyuan.

The chill pressing against Qi Wuyuan’s back grew stronger.

As the groom drew closer, Qi Wuyuan felt the surrounding temperature drop below freezing, numbing his bones with cold.

Even though his body was freezing, Qi Wuyuan did not reveal the slightest trace of abnormality.

Beneath the thin red robe, the youth’s narrow waist bent slightly, and in his dark, shining eyes there was only the reflection of a portrait frame.

His pale fingers wiped every corner of the frame, never turning around, never meeting the groom’s gaze.

Though frozen to the bone, his expression remained unchanged as he carefully finished cleaning the groom’s memorial portrait.

The man behind him carried thick ghostly energy, stopping just one step away.

Under the candlelight, only the youth’s shadow flickered on the ground, twisting faintly with the wavering flame.

The man silently observed the youth’s every move.

In his deep, dark-red eyes lurked malice.

He was waiting for the moment the youth would turn around.

He did not need a bride.

Better to let the bride die on the very first day.

Brutally following his own thoughts, he never considered how the youth might feel.

Bound by rules, the man still waited for his chance to strike, but saw that Qi Wuyuan never turned around.

In some regions, the “main hall” is also called the “Tao hall,” a room used for funeral rites, keeping the coffin, or for daily ancestor worship with memorial portraits and incense.

The main hall is a room that every household in the village deliberately builds when constructing a house.

It is also the largest room in a self-built house, located at the very center of the structure, with the biggest main beam running across its ceiling.

For villagers, the hall’s meaning is extremely important, and its arrangement is very particular.

At the front entrance of the hall, a double door is specially built, with a very high threshold. The hall’s doors are not opened without reason, and when opened, one must step over the threshold to enter—never tread directly on it.

Inside the hall, each family enshrines their ancestors, naturally receiving ancestral protection. This is also referred to as “household immortals’ protection.”

This particular hall belongs to the Chen family.

Even stepping on the hall’s threshold is considered disrespectful to the family’s ancestors.

Qi Wuyuan raised his eyebrows, thinking that if he did anything offensive here, he would most likely be “killed by the plot.”

Not to mention that he hadn’t done anything yet, and already a vicious ghost was glaring at him from behind.

Behind him stood the boss who wanted to kill him, his whole body shrouded in terrifying cold. The environment gave him no advantage, and within the few minutes of choice he absolutely could not reveal any action inconsistent with his character.

In such a situation, how could one avoid the boss’s attack?

Qi Wuyuan understood his predicament clearly, but he was not flustered at all.

After finishing wiping the portrait frame, he naturally stood up and took three sticks of incense from the cabinet above where cigarettes were placed.

The painful chill kept gnawing at his body, but he endured the numbness that was close to loss of sensation and continued moving, as if unaffected by the boss’s ghostly aura.

Several sticks of incense had already been lit in front of the memorial portrait; Qi Wuyuan smoothly used the burning cigarette to ignite the three incense sticks in his hand.

He didn’t need to do anything more—his bowed head as he lit the incense was already enough. The rising smoke stung his eyes red, and physiological tears blurred his vision until he could no longer distinguish between people or ghosts.

Qi Wuyuan had bought many of these long incense sticks used for offerings to the dead.

He knew that if one faced the smoke from such incense directly, a person’s eyes would quickly be stung and become very uncomfortable.

Confidently, Qi Wuyuan turned around. With the strong aid of the incense smoke, his blurred vision meant he wasn’t afraid of meeting the groom’s gaze.

“Tsk.”

The man saw Qi Wuyuan turn to face him, his beautiful dark eyes already reddened at the corners from tears.

Annoyed, the man furrowed his brows, then vanished before Qi Wuyuan.

Since the bride hadn’t broken the rules, there was no longer any reason for the man to remain.

Qi Wuyuan sensed the man’s irritation. After the figure dispersed, he wiped away the tears still streaming from his eyes, and in the unnoticed gap calmly spoke two sentences to the livestream:

“Surprised?”

“I’m still alive.”

In his dark eyes lingered a malicious joy. The ghostly chill, sharp as knives, slowly receded from his bones, though strictly speaking he still felt unwell.

Yet every viewer could see that Qi Wuyuan’s mood was good. His face showed not a trace of fear at being targeted by a ghost; instead, it revealed a hint of madness that made hearts tremble, exposing a glimpse of his inner truth.

That glimpse of truth was terrifying.

Even the slightest exposure created a strong sense of alienation.

The scrolling chat in his livestream, which had been buzzing with chatter, fell silent in unspoken agreement at that moment.

The youth’s deceptive appearance was too strong—almost everyone said he couldn’t possibly survive this dungeon.

Even if the streamer was a newcomer with strong intellect and mental resilience, with such an unlucky NPC identity, no one believed a rookie without teammates or a guide’s protection could face dungeon ghosts alone.

But Qi Wuyuan did it.

With just three sticks of incense, he forced back the boss’s killing intent once.

[Right now I actually feel… this newcomer might not necessarily die?]

[Honestly, if the streamer really survives, maybe after the instance settlement he could directly enter the newcomer rankings.]

[The newcomer rankings are too crazy, but I’m kind of looking forward to the streamer’s next moves.]

[The streamer just spoke to me—he’s so handsome!]

Qi Wuyuan casually resolved this crisis.

Ruan Li, seeing how Qi Wuyuan handled the boss, couldn’t help but praise him a little.

“Xiaoxiao, this newcomer really is quite good.”

Ruan Xiaoxiao snorted: “I bet most idiots in this situation wouldn’t even realize they can’t look the boss in the eyes.”

Everyone knows the system’s hint words are important, but not everyone can figure out what three seemingly unrelated words are supposed to mean.

Even if they do figure it out, there are still plenty of players who hesitate and don’t dare confirm their guess.

Ruan Xiaoxiao judged Qi Wuyuan to be an uncut jade. Ruan Li, however, thought the opposite.

“No, not an uncut jade. I think he was already a polished, finished gem.”

Ruan Li’s gaze looked further ahead.

“He is very suited for the ‘Fourth World.’”

Qi Wuyuan loved the thrill of hovering between life and death.

But he had always been sick, and the Qi family, afraid he might get hurt, never allowed him to do anything dangerous.

Qi Wuyuan had long yearned for this feeling.

He knew that the ghost just now had murderous intent toward him.

But so what?

This was what it meant to feel alive.

This was the sensation Qi Wuyuan craved under his strong will to survive.

Calmly, he carried three sticks of incense out of the hall.

Seeing him emerge, Aunt Chen and the villagers watching outside smiled even more brightly.

“Next comes the wedding ceremony!”

“Congratulations, congratulations.”

Qi Wuyuan looked coldly at the villagers outside the hall, who were trying to pressure him with words to carry out the wedding step by step according to their demands.

Inside the hall, there was not a single mourner; all of them were outside, smiling at Qi Wuyuan.

Qi Wuyuan glanced at the five players in the corner who were not currently being addressed by NPCs. Zhao Jinming and Wang Xue’s eye

s had already returned to their normal black color.

He shifted his gaze back to the villagers.

Qi Wuyuan said thoughtfully: “The wedding ceremony?”

“Alright then.”