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墨書 Inktalez
I pulled Lin You along, chasing after the waiter. He wasn't walking very fast, and we were jogging, yet by the time we reached the hotel entrance, he had vanished from sight.
“Did we lose him?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded, watching the bustling street filled with people.
In fact, when everything happened earlier, there were many people coming and going in the banquet hall. Besides the wedding guests, there were hotel staff and other diners, so it wasn't surprising that the waiter appeared here.
However, from the moment I caught a glimpse of him, I had a strong feeling that he definitely knew something.
But we didn't catch up to him. Even as we chased after him, I didn't catch that familiar scent on him, which made things even more puzzling.
“How about this,” Lin You said, pulling me back to reality. The previously clear sky suddenly began to drizzle lightly, the sound reminiscent of a woman crying softly, filled with sorrow. “You go back and ask Jun Chong what he thinks. I'll check out that wedding dress shop.”
“No way, I'm going with you. Just in case something happens, it's better to have someone to discuss it with.”
Lin You shook his head and pulled an umbrella from his bag, opening it over his head to shield us from the rain.
“My sources are broader than yours. Let me handle gathering information; you can trust me. It’s not like I’m going to that shop; it’ll be fine. Worst case scenario, I could go find Su Ziqian?”
After mentioning Su Ziqian, Lin You shook his head and chuckled. “Forget it. Back when I didn’t know he was a Yin-Yang Master, I handled things this way too. Now that I know his identity, I shouldn’t deliberately seek his help for anything. Don’t worry about me; I’ll be fine. We’ll stay in touch. It’s still daytime; even if a ghost intends to attack someone, it’s mostly at night. And you saw what happened earlier; let’s assume that ghost took Fang Shasha thinking she was his wife—he probably won’t harm her for now. So for now, our priority is to gather information, understood?”
With Lin You's words hanging in the air, I could no longer argue and decided to part ways, each of us going our own way. I hurried back home as fast as I could.
"Jun Chong, Jun Chong."
As I entered, I slammed the door behind me and dashed toward the bedroom. Suddenly, a shadow flashed before my eyes, and I felt a tight grip around my waist. In the next moment, I was enveloped by a cool breath.
Jun Chong spun me around in his arms, frowning slightly. "Did you get caught in the rain? Go take a shower so you don't catch a cold."
He insisted on leading me to the bathroom. I was lifted off the ground and had no choice but to cling tightly to his neck. "Put me down first; I have something important to tell you."
"To me, your health is the most important thing. If you have a fever, you can't afford to catch a cold from being in the rain. How am I supposed to be close to you later?"
Jun Chong turned on the faucet, letting hot water flow while he removed my dress and placed me in the bathtub.
His clothes hung loosely on him due to my tugging, exposing large patches of his fair skin. He glanced down at himself and without saying a word, took off his robe. With long legs, he stepped into the bathtub and sat down with me.
A chill ran down my spine, and my face flushed as I felt his broad chest against me. I swallowed hard. "Um, Jun Chong, it's still broad daylight."
"So what if it is?" Jun Chong wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his chin in the crook of my neck. His strong embrace sent shivers through me as his smooth skin brushed against mine. "Anxin, I just want to take a shower with you. Are you thinking too much? Your mind is always in the gutter."
"…"
I pouted, placing my hands under the water to splash it back at him.
I didn't expect Jun Chong not to dodge; caught off guard, I burst into triumphant laughter. "Not my fault! You should have moved out of the way."
Jun Chong's hair was wet, sticking to his face, droplets of water dripping down. He neither showed anger nor smiled, just stared at me with eyes so deep they seemed to ripple. I felt a chill under his gaze but tried to act tough, saying, "You better not hold this against me later!"
"Don't worry, I won't hold it against you. For me, if a debt needs to be settled, it must be done clearly."
"Ah—hahaha—let go, haha, that tickles! I can't take it anymore."
Jun Chong's long fingers were tickling my waist, moving side to side. I was trapped between his legs and couldn't escape; I laughed so hard that tears streamed down my face.
"Jun Chong, I was wrong, really wrong! It tickles so much, stop it! I admit my mistake, hahaha..."
"Do you know the best way to admit your mistake?"
Jun Chong stopped his hands, and I leaned weakly against his chest, unable to wipe away the tears of laughter as I looked up at him in confusion. "I don't know?"
"So foolish." Jun Chong cupped my face and leaned down, our eyes meeting. "It's this."
A soft kiss brushed against my water-dampened lips—gentle and tender. Before long, I felt a cool sensation spreading from my mouth through my throat and into my entire body.
Jun Chong was giving me Eerie Aura.
"Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
His hoarse voice was cautious. I shook my head and wrapped my arms around his neck to sit up straight. "No, don't worry about me. I've been able to handle it before; what’s different now?"
"No." Jun Chong lifted me out of the bathtub and began drying my body with a towel as he spoke. "Earlier, there was nothing in your body. Receiving Eerie Aura is like drinking a new beverage; aside from the initial discomfort, you'll quickly adapt. But now there’s a pure spiritual energy gathering inside you. Although it's not heavy, it forms a protective barrier in your body. If you can't resist external invasions, it could harm your original self."
"Spiritual energy?" I looked at him in surprise. "You can sense the spiritual energy within me too? Is it from Jun Jun?"
"No. That is the power originally sealed within your body. Due to the influence of the Underworld, it has begun to slowly awaken. It's very weak, so you can't perceive it, but it's an undeniable presence." Jun Chong wrapped me in a bathrobe, dressed himself, and bent down to carry me out. "That's why I'm even more worried."
"You don't need to worry." I cupped Jun Chong's face with my hands and said solemnly, "We will definitely be together and never apart."
Jun Chong was momentarily taken aback by my intensity. After a while, he regained his composure, placed me on the sofa, and used a hairdryer to dry my damp hair. "Did something happen today? You have an eerie aura about you."
"So that transparent shadow really is a ghost?"
"Does that mean you need to come clean about what happened?"
After I finished recounting the events at the hotel, Jun Chong had dried my hair and poured me a glass of water, sharing his thoughts. "It's likely a lingering connection from the past, coming back to entangle this life. Do the two missing women have anything in common?"
"I'm not sure; they don't look alike. We need to wait for Xiao You's news for specifics."
"When night falls, we should go take a look together. Some things can't be figured out just by guessing."
Because of all this commotion, we hadn't eaten lunch. Jun Chong made a call and summoned Taotie over. Taotie thought something serious had happened but was surprised to find it was just to get me something to eat. I felt a bit embarrassed, but Jun Chong sat there like a king, exuding authority—who would dare oppose him?
The joy and sweetness in my heart couldn't be suppressed; I knew how fortunate I was to have such a man who indulged and cared for me. I should cherish this even more.
Around three in the afternoon, Lin You called me. She had found information about The Vanished Bride and confirmed that the incident indeed existed, but someone had suppressed it.
The Vanished Bride was named Li Xiaoyu, 28 years old, a university teacher. Her family situation wasn't very good, but she held her banquet at such a luxurious hotel because she had won a grand prize earlier. The banquet didn't cost them a penny, so when something went wrong, they remained silent due to pressure from the hotel.
It was Li Xiaoyu's husband who posted that photo of the Paper Wedding Dress online. He came from a rural background and, out of his deep love for Li Xiaoyu, wanted to spread the word about it, but it was futile due to their lack of money and influence.
"Li Xiaoyu and Fang Shasha have no connection whatsoever. Aside from being each other's spouses, they had no other men in their lives before. The wedding dresses they wore were provided by that bridal shop, but only the ceremonial dress was the Paper Wedding Dress; the rest were made of real materials, including the dresses prepared for toasting. Also, let me take a sip of water."
Lin You gulped down half a glass of water before continuing, "I specifically looked into that bridal shop and found that besides Li Xiaoyu and Fang Shasha, there were two other women around the same age who also disappeared after wearing wedding dresses for their ceremonies, just two weeks before Li Xiaoyu's incident. One case happened in the countryside, while the other occurred during a family banquet. I haven't gotten any news from the countryside yet, but for the one that took place at home, I heard that the bride didn't want to marry her current husband, so she suddenly vanished. Her family thought she left in a fit of anger. There hasn't been any concrete information about it—just rumors that a ghost took the bride away—but some say they indeed saw a Paper Wedding Dress in her bridal chamber."
"So this matter is still tied to the bridal shop," I said, feeling puzzled. "But how did they all end up at that shop? And so close together in time?"
"Hehe, who knows me better than Anxin? I knew you would ask that question." Lin You laughed heartily and then proudly explained, "That bridal shop has an online event called 'Free Wedding Dresses for Future Brides.' Basically, if you enter your birth date and upload your photo, those selected can receive a wedding dress from the shop for free. The shop has good ratings, so women are bound to fall for it. Plus, it's been open for quite some time now, but only those four were chosen."
"Another birth date coincidence?"
"Yes! They were all born on the same day but are of different ages, and all four have a beauty mark under their eyes."
Having the same birth date and identical marks on their faces indicated that the perpetrator was a ghost. Moreover, both Li Xiaoyu and Fang Shasha had called that ghost 'husband' before they disappeared.
Isn't this enough to clarify the issue?
Lin You's investigation undoubtedly provided a significant breakthrough.
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