Chapter 303 The Real Talisman

Chapter 303: The True Talisman

The players were cornered in the northwest, and the North Courtyard Bride, who had attempted to confront the Ghost Lady, was cast aside. With the East Courtyard Bride still engaging the old butler in the eastern courtyard, and no escape route left, their situation seemed utterly hopeless.

Suddenly, a cat’s meow echoed nearby.

In the next instant, the players watched in astonishment as the black "talisman" that the Ghost Lady had casually worn on her wrist transformed in a flash into a small black cat. With a "meow," it pounced directly at the Ghost Lady’s face.

Simultaneously, numerous translucent cats materialized on the Ghost Lady’s body, restraining the eerie entity’s limbs and torso, rendering her momentarily immobile.

Perched on Huang Qi’s shoulder, Wen Wen glanced eastward and suddenly realized that the black braided cord was, in fact, a "talisman" given to them by the "bride" from the East Courtyard.

"Run!" Sha Linghai, unsure how long these sudden cats could hold off the Ghost Lady, seized the opportunity to dash out and sprint towards the eastern courtyard.

Huang Qi, carrying Wen Wen, followed closely behind Sha Linghai. After a few steps, Lin Wenhua noticed the scissors the Ghost Lady had dropped earlier. Without a moment’s hesitation, he crouched down to retrieve them before catching up with Sha Linghai and the others.

Su Bai knew well that novice players were no match for the Ghost Lady. Even if beginner games didn't feature exceptionally terrifying entities, these newcomers could hardly fathom the power of the supernatural beings in this world. That was why he had lent Wen Wen the "peace charm," which was actually the black cat Kaixin in a transformed state.

In the narrative Su Bai had pieced together, there was likely a reason why the Ghost Lady chose to possess that particular bride. If Su Bai hadn't misheard earlier, the West Courtyard Bride was the only one who had consumed that bowl of broth, meaning she had fallen into a coma shortly after Wen Wen and the others departed.

For a ghost like the Ghost Lady, who resided in the mansion but wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, an unconscious person served as the ideal medium for possession. Thus, the West Courtyard Bride became the Ghost Lady's host that very day.

However, Su Bai suspected that long, long before that, an elderly woman might have foreseen these events—the grandmother of the West Courtyard Bride. When the bride first met the players, she had mentioned that her grandmother had promised to protect her when she turned sixteen.

The old woman had specifically pinpointed the age of sixteen. Even though she ultimately couldn't be there for her granddaughter until then, she had still left behind a talisman.

Su Bai believed the old woman might have possessed abilities beyond ordinary people, much like the revered shamans found in remote villages in the real world, who practiced divination, fortune-telling, and even healing. In the Nightmare World, a mysterious realm that had hosted various civilizations, the existence of such individuals was hardly surprising.

Regrettably, forced by the villagers to don a wedding dress and compelled to enter this mansion, the West Courtyard Bride had left her talisman at home.

Had she kept the talisman with her, she might not have been so easily possessed by the eerie entity.

"Bride sister!"

Wen Wen’s voice and the players’ footsteps pulled Su Bai from his thoughts. He stepped aside, gesturing for the players to enter the eastern courtyard, while he remained outside the gate.

"Does she want to protect us?" Back in the eastern courtyard, Huang Qi looked at the "bride’s" back, his expression touched.

"Only temporarily. These brides can't stop that ghostly thing," Lin Wenhua said, gripping the scissors tightly, his attitude pessimistic. He clearly hadn't forgotten how easily the Ghost Lady had tossed aside the North Courtyard Bride moments earlier.

Meanwhile, the Ghost Lady, entangled by the cat spirits, suddenly let out a piercing, earsplitting wail. The power emanating from the red moon surged violently.

The eerie force was beginning to run wild.