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墨書 Inktalez
"If a ghost has unfinished business, it will not leave. The fact that he frequently seeks out women with similar characteristics is enough to show that he is searching for his wife to fulfill his unfulfilled wishes. Xiao You's investigation confirms this."
Listening to my analysis, Jun Chong chuckled and pushed my forehead lightly. "You seem to understand the world of ghosts better than I do."
"Isn't that true?"
"That's correct, but there is another type of ghost that seeks out people with similar traits not to fulfill unfulfilled wishes, but to increase their cultivation."
"Ah?"
"Regardless, let's first check out that wedding dress shop tonight."
Lin You initially wanted to join us, but Jun Chong refused. I didn't know the reason, but it was clear that he didn't want anyone else tagging along.
As night fell and enveloped the earth, Jun Chong and I held hands while walking down the street.
He was still dressed in simple casual attire, light-colored, with his dark hair tied back with a light blue headband. His large hand held my smaller one as we strolled along the roadside, attracting countless gazes.
This was the first time I walked with him in public, surrounded by so many onlookers.
He exuded confidence and had a cool demeanor. His serious face only softened for me, and even the smallest gesture was filled with affection, causing passing women to gasp in excitement.
"How can there be such a handsome man!"
"Oh my gosh, I'm going to faint! He looked at me; someone help me!"
I laughed all the way and didn’t mind other women eyeing my man. Instead, I felt an overwhelming sense of happiness.
Because such a man belongs to me; no matter how envious they are, they cannot have him. This is a manifestation of vanity among women when surrounded by other women.
"Did you see her?" I looked at him with a mischievous smile, pretending to be displeased. "You really did watch her."
Jun Chong lowered his gaze slightly, his eyes, tinted with neon light, momentarily stunned before curving up like soft black feathers. "I just saw a ghost."
"You say that so seriously. Are you afraid I'll get jealous?"
"No." He tightened his grip on my hand. "I'm afraid you won't get jealous. When your jealousy flares up, that's when I feel satisfied."
"Smooth talker."
"For you, I'd even be a rogue. I just hope you'll always be by my side, my forever wife." He paused, suddenly serious as he stopped walking and looked at me. "Anxin, I truly love you."
Every time Jun Chong expressed his feelings so dramatically, I would feel shy, yet he always seemed completely earnest, never realizing how cheesy his words sounded.
But no woman can resist such words, and I was no exception.
Since we had attracted too much attention, I decided to take a taxi to the bridal shop. As I got out and opened the door, I asked Jun Chong to hide himself, explaining that he was too eye-catching and it would complicate things.
Jun Chong said nothing, a smile appearing at the corners of his lips, warming my heart.
"We're here; it's this one." I pointed to a bridal shop still open for business. Peeking inside, I noticed only one staff member sitting there; there were no customers.
"Should we go in and take a look? Last time I saw a wedding dress with blood on it."
"Is it blood like this?" Jun Chong pointed at the wedding dress worn by the model in the window. He then took hold of my wrist, and suddenly I felt a chill creeping up from my wrist. "Look."
Following his finger, I could vaguely see faint red stains on the pure white wedding dress. As the chill intensified, the red seemed to deepen in color, flowing from the model's eyes.
I gasped in shock, and Jun Chong loosened his grip slightly; my vision faded as soon as our eyes met.
"What is going on?" I glanced around and noticed that a new mannequin had appeared in the display window, looking much newer than the previous ones, and that wedding dress seemed particularly familiar.
"Why is there an extra mannequin? Four of them." I pondered aloud, "Xiao You said there were four missing women. Before anything happened to Fang Shasha, I saw three mannequins here. Could this one be Fang Shasha?"
"It is her."
Jun Chong's affirmation sent a shiver through me. The mannequin representing Fang Shasha was on the far left of the display, completely clean with no traces of blood. I grasped Jun Chong's arm tightly and said urgently, "She has no blood on her. Does that mean she's still okay?"
"One could say that, but it won't last long. Look at the bloodstained areas on these three wedding dresses and the areas that are clean. What do you notice?"
Jun Chong's hand remained on my wrist, the coolness still penetrating through, sharpening my focus once more.
I realized that the unstained areas were indeed real wedding dresses made of chiffon lace and other materials.
In contrast, the bloodied areas showed a gradual spread of crimson. When it reached a certain extent, instead of continuing to spread, it began to fade until it was completely absorbed by the white fabric, revealing white Ghost Money in the stained areas.
"How can this be? Why do the bloodstained areas turn into Ghost Money?" I had a bold guess but felt it was too far-fetched. "Could it be that all those Paper Wedding Dresses inside are made from the blood of these women?"
"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Jun Chong squinted at the bridal shop as the night breeze tousled his long black hair, brushing against my face in an irritating way. I reached up to push it away and wound it around my finger. "This shop doesn't show any signs of malevolence on the surface; it feels very weak. Did you feel uncomfortable when you first came here but couldn't pinpoint what was strange?"
"Yes."
Jun Chong pursed his lips in silence, his brow slightly furrowing. Suddenly he tightened his grip on my hand and pulled me into his embrace. In an instant, he concealed his presence and moved into the crowd, blending into the nighttime throng.
I didn't know what was wrong with him but chose not to ask further. It wasn't until we were at a safe distance from the bridal shop that he finally stopped.
"There were people from the Su Family just now."
"Huh?" I wanted to turn back but held myself back. "Was it Su Ziqian?"
"No. The other party carries your scent, which means they must have come into contact with you before."
"Akame." Aside from having interacted with Su Ziqian, the only other woman from the Su Family was the one he had fought against during the second seal. "It's the woman you fought before; have you forgotten?"
Jun Chong's expression revealed his extreme dislike for the Su Family. "I never want to remember the Su Family."
"Akame, Akame." Jun Chong suddenly murmured this name, his brows furrowing even tighter. "Everyone in the Su Family has a code name, arranged in a certain order. If I remember correctly, the code name 'Chi' was long since abolished. Those who held that code were stripped of their spiritual power and turned into ordinary people, and all memories related to the Su Family were erased. So are you sure she really calls herself Akame?"
"Yes, she introduced herself as Su Family's Akame; could it be fake?"
"Of course it's fake. The Chi code names have all been eradicated."
Su Ziqian suddenly appeared before us like a plague god, and Jun Chong's face showed displeasure.
I saw Akame bound by a rope, unable to move, her mouth sealed so she couldn't make a sound.
"Su Ziqian, how can you treat a fellow clanswoman like this?"
"She lost a bet and misused the Chi code name, violating the taboos of the Su Family. As her master, shouldn't I punish her? Don't you agree, Zi Jin?"
Zi Jin visibly trembled, her watery eyes looking at me, hoping I would save her. Just as I was about to speak, Jun Chong pulled me back, indicating his unwillingness; I understood his reasoning.
"Why is she following me?"
"You should ask her yourself."
With a wave of her hand, Su Ziqian allowed Zi Jin to speak again. The proud beauty now appeared pitiful in front of Su Ziqian, looking at me with longing. "Because you showed up, I got excited and sought you out; who knew I would be caught by him? It must have been a trap he set on purpose. Anxin, don't believe him; he looks like a gentleman but is actually—"
Before Zi Jin could finish her sentence, she lost her voice again. Su Ziqian shot her a warning glance but did not deny that it had indeed been intentional.
"Considering that we caught Zi Jin today, I'll share a piece of news with you. The matter with that wedding dress shop is related to the Necromancer, the same one from last time."
Su Ziqian dropped this line and walked away leisurely, her demeanor relaxed and casual, slowly disappearing from view.
Since the last time we lost track of the Necromancer at Fourth Cafe, he hasn't shown up again. The information Tao Wu managed to follow up on suddenly went dark as well, which means he realized we were onto him and has yet to reveal himself.
As for that Photography Studio, I also inquired about whether there was such a photographer. I found out he had resigned, but it was confirmed that he is indeed the Necromancer.
Ever since the incident with the Mirror Demon came to light, business at that Photography Studio has been lukewarm, not even close to matching that of the wedding dress shop.
It's quite normal for two shops facing the public to have periods where one thrives while the other does too, but with Su Ziqian pointing this out, if both shops are connected to the Necromancer, then there must be something wrong.
"Necromancers are already rare and their movements are mysterious; if they don't appear on their own, they're not easy to find."
"The connection between the Necromancer, that Photography Studio, and the wedding dress shop indicates there must be more hidden truths behind it. If we don't catch him, we'll surely face one issue after another."
Jun Chong stood silently, the streetlight casting a patchy glow into his unusually dark pupils, clearly reflecting me. His thin lips curled slightly, forming a subtle arc. "You should go find Lin You. Involve her in this matter."
"Why?"
A flicker of light suddenly flashed in the darkness of Jun Chong's eyes, veiled by a transparent eeriness. His hoarse voice revealed a chilling strangeness.
"Have her pretend to be a bride and then target the wedding dress shop."
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