Chapter 289: Joyful Fate 10

Chapter 289: Joyful Fate 10

A chill breath brushed against the back of his neck, causing his skin to shiver.

The player's expression remained calm, his eyes slightly lowered, concealing the turmoil within.

There was nothing behind him, yet he could feel a hand tracing down from his neck to his waist, then encircling his body.

Pulling him into an embrace that exuded coldness.

Qin Fei shifted his shoulders uncomfortably, only to be held tighter.

Qin Fei: "..."

Ever since entering the ancient painting, Qin Fei found himself in this position when he regained consciousness.

Unfortunately, he was immobilized, completely losing control over his body.

He could barely move his head side to side or sway his body slightly. Even taking a step or turning around was impossible.

Moreover, the invisible "groom" behind him kept entangling him.

One might say...

Grope him all over.

For an entire afternoon, he did so tirelessly.

Sometimes pressing Qin Fei against the corridor, sometimes shifting his center of gravity into His embrace, flipping him around like a child playing with their favorite toy.

The icy temperature enveloped Qin Fei along with a familiar presence. Although he couldn't see the source of contamination, he could clearly sense its existence.

The embrace tightened further, making it hard for the young man to breathe.

He was pressed too close, allowing Qin Fei to feel every movement of the other's body. When he turned his head, however, he saw only the empty corridor, which stirred a subtle feeling within him.

Feifei: Gritting teeth/jpg

Qin Fei understood that as the deceased lover of the bride, the current source of contamination was in a spirit form. It lacked much self-awareness and acted purely on instinct.

But!!

Even so, wasn't this going too far?

Something drew closer to Qin Fei's ear, getting nearer and nearer, rubbing against him in a familiar manner.

Qin Fei clenched his teeth audibly.

Due to standing still for too long, half of his body had gone numb, as if someone had split him in two with an axe, one half still belonging to him, the other gone somewhere else.

Unable to move, Qin Fei could only endure the oppression. He laughed in frustration and shifted his gaze downstairs.

This vantage point was quite good; he could observe everything happening in the courtyard below.

However, seeing was one thing.

Qin Fei could do nothing about it.

"You." The young man squeezed out a question through gritted teeth, "When will you let me go???"

Even if he managed to break free from the embrace, he still wouldn't be able to move. But at least it would be better than this...

"Cough!!" Qin Fei coughed forcefully, trying to deter the wandering hand with his voice, "Where the hell are you touching??"

Heat rose to his ears. If possible, Qin Fei would have turned around and punched the guy behind him.

Alas, he could only submit to whatever was being done to him.

The source of contamination ignored Qin Fei's questioning.

Although it had no shape and couldn't speak, Qin Fei somehow shared some of its thoughts.

The current source of contamination had weak perception of human emotions. It seemed unaware that the person in its arms was angry, focusing solely on holding him tighter.

Qin Fei: "..."

Let it all end.

Forget it, what else could he do?

The player chose to give up.

In fact, in the scenario, players rarely had such idle time. No need to act or solve puzzles; they just had to stand here lazily and enjoy the scenery.

Qin Fei tried to make the best of a bad situation and began examining the food downstairs.

It looked decent, but how did it taste?

— Terrible!

In the courtyard below, Lu Cheng and Mi Yang were suffering.

Not just them, all the players present felt a dull ache in their stomachs.

The NPCs at the table kept eating mechanically, chopstick after chopstick, repeating the same actions since the banquet started, creating a uniform scene throughout the courtyard.

To avoid looking out of place, the players had to keep eating as well.

Lu Cheng stuffed himself with paper, even causing his health bar to slowly drop.

He struggled to suppress the twitching at the corners of his mouth, opening a bottle of blood and pouring it into his mouth during a break in serving dishes.

When would this ordeal finally end?

Surely, they didn’t need to finish all the food on the table?

The players' faces alternated between green and white.

Just as someone was about to succumb to nausea and vomit, the sound of salvation rang out like a heavenly melody.

"Please welcome the bride—"

Once again, it was that elderly voice, emanating from an unknown source.

As the voice faded, the NPCs suddenly transformed from their previously lifeless state. Their smiles deepened, they began toasting each other, and even started chatting among themselves.

The entire courtyard seemed to come alive only at this moment.

Lu Cheng secretly perked up his ears to listen; the conversations were mostly trivial matters about neighbors and daily life, completely unrelated to the eerie plot.

Music filled the courtyard, but it wasn't cheerful; instead, it was long and melancholic.

The sounds of gongs and suona flutes echoed together, evoking sorrow and tears.

Lu Cheng, taking advantage of the NPCs' chatter, whispered under his breath, "This wedding music feels like it could send me off anytime."

Mama Sheep nodded in agreement.

At the same time, he lifted his face, his gaze fixed intently on the far end of the courtyard, at the corner of the staircase.

A slender, tall figure in dark red slowly emerged from the shadows.

The bride had appeared.

More and more eyes focused on that spot.

From a certain moment onward, everyone in the courtyard was looking in the same direction.

Two red-robed servants supported the bride, guiding her step by step into the courtyard.

The bride in the center wore a plain red robe with matching silk trousers, her face covered by a veil, making her features indiscernible.

Behind them followed a line of servants, each holding a red tray with identical red porcelain cups on them.

...

Under the red veil, there was no doubt it was Qin Fei's face.

The moment that call sounded, the force restraining Qin Fei vanished. Under the guidance of the newly appeared NPC servants, Qin Fei covered his face with the veil and slowly descended the stairs.

The red bridal veil obscured the player's vision, but beneath it, Qin Fei's eyes were not idle, darting around constantly.

Although he could move again, the presence of the pollutant had not dissipated.

This unseen groom remained by his lover's side, sometimes walking ahead of the procession and other times circling around to the back.

Qin Fei could sense that He seemed... somewhat elated.

"..."

It's not a real wedding toast; what are you excited about?

Ignoring the occasional hand that returned to wreak havoc on his waist, Qin Fei was led by an NPC to the tables.

"Serve the guests—"

Another announcement echoed.

A servant picked up a red porcelain cup from a tray and handed it to Qin Fei.

All Qin Fei needed to do was accept the cup and pass it forward.

At the table in front of him, the NPC designated for receiving the toast mechanically raised their cup.

The two porcelain cups touched, producing a light, crisp sound in the air. The guest drank the water from their cup, while the bride spilled hers on the ground. Then, the servants led the bride to the next guest at the table.

One table after another.

Before long, Qin Fei arrived at the table where Lu Cheng and Mi Yang were seated.

The two had been watching the bride for quite some time.

Though they couldn't see her face, and her figure was concealed by the voluminous wedding gown, the familiar aura between companions couldn't deceive them.

"Cough, cough." Before it was Mi Yang's turn, he lowered his head and let out two muffled coughs from deep within his throat.

The bride was entirely covered by her garments, except for her hands, which extended beyond the veil. Her skin was fair, her fingers slender, and her well-manicured nails glowed with a healthy pink hue.

In the next moment, her index finger lightly tapped the cup twice without leaving a trace.

Upon receiving this signal, their eyes immediately lit up.

Their missing companion, who had vanished for the entire afternoon, had returned unharmed!

Not only that, but the identity card he had drawn seemed to be a crucial part of the entire subplot.

How could this not bring joy?

If it weren't for the inappropriate timing, Mi Yang would have loved to give Qin Fei a hearty pat on the shoulder and throw his head back in a loud laugh three times.

"To the guests—"

It was Qin Fei's turn to offer a toast to Mi Yang.

Having seen this ritual performed so many times before, Mi Yang did not think much of it and picked up his cup with ease.

However, just as he was about to hand the cup forward, his movement suddenly paused.

The breeze caused by lifting the cup brought the scent of the liquid in the porcelain cup to the player's nose.

It lacked any intoxicating aroma and instead carried a faint fragrance of plants.

Clearly, it wasn't alcohol but tea.

For a moment, Mi Yang was confused.

He had been sitting at the banquet table all afternoon.

Since none of the NPCs touched their cups, he had only focused on picking up dishes.

Until now, he hadn't really paid attention to whether the cup contained alcohol or tea.

If he hadn't reviewed the rules beforehand, Mi Yang might have let his guard down during this part.

But now,

Rule number three of the Wedding Courtyard Guest Etiquette:

Can drink—, cannot drink—

The two words scratched out by the tip of a knife were now crystal clear.

Mi Yang didn't dwell too much on the order of "wine" and "tea." Firstly, because the act of offering a toast naturally involved alcohol. Secondly, because Mi Yang recalled that in this strange tale, "tea" wasn't something good.

In the morning, when he looked at the paper play, there was a rule stating no drinking of tea.

Logically, tea in the Tulou tale was set up as something that could control the paper figures.

And now, having entered an ancient painting filled with paper figures through the Retrograde Mirror, what would their identities be?

Mi Yang pursed his lips and did not push the cup forward. Instead, he placed the porcelain cup back on the table.

Immediately, all the red-clad figures beside the bride turned to look at him.

Mi Yang felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

The act of offering a toast couldn't be skipped.

But he couldn't offer tea either.

So—

The gazes from the servants grew increasingly intense, and the player no longer hesitated. With a swift and decisive motion, he picked up the wine cup from another guest NPC's place at the table and pushed his own cup away with his left hand.

Mi Yang's heart raced as he lifted the cup and offered it to Qin Fei.

The crisp sound of clinking cups rang out once again. Mi Yang tilted his head back and drank the cup of wine, while Qin Fei spilled his own onto the ground.

Nothing happened; everything proceeded as usual.

They safely passed through.

At the banquet table, the guest NPC who was inexplicably affected didn't even understand what had transpired, blinking in confusion.