​​Chapter 119: The Haunted Amusement Park

​"Butterfly..."

Who?! Who was calling her?!

Chi Yi pressed her back tightly against the doorframe, her eyes wide with terror as she stared at the bride seated by the bed.

"Butterfly..." The voice was eerie, as if squeezed through the gaps of a needle, carrying a sharp, cold laugh. "Why did you betray me?"

Chi Yi was on the verge of tears, too scared to answer—or even know how to answer. She slowly slid up along the doorframe, forcing down her fear as she kept a wary eye on Pan Qiping, ready to bolt if the bride suddenly teleported closer.

"Butterfly..." Yet Pan Qiping, sitting primly by the bed, didn't move. Instead, the ghostly voice began to weep. "It hurts so much... Butterfly... help me..."

The cries were shrill and full of resentment. Chi Yi seemed to feel the pain herself, covering her ears in discomfort. Unconsciously, she took two steps forward. "Miss..." Her voice softened with pity. "Where does it hurt?"

"That steel frame... it's pierced through my body..." Beneath the red veil, Pan Qiping's voice was cold and agonized. "Pull it out for me. Butterfly, pull it out..."

Chi Yi's gaze gradually turned vacant. She lowered her hands from her ears and, step by step, walked numbly toward the bridal bed.

The bright red wedding dress reflected in her empty eyes, casting a sinister crimson glow. Chi Yi slowly bent down, reaching out to touch the corpse before her.

​​BANG! BANG!​​

"Butterfly! Butterfly, are you in there?!"

The loud knocking and shouting snapped Chi Yi back to reality. She jerked her head up—only to find the red veil dangling right above her. From this angle, she could see the rotting face beneath the veil, its eyes wide open and glaring down at her. The cold, venomous gaze sent a shiver down her spine. With a scream, Chi Yi scrambled backward, crawling away in terror.

"Zhi... Madam!" Chi Yi frantically crawled to the door. "I'm in here!"

Outside, Li Zhi tugged at the massive copper lock before pulling out her skeleton key and unlocking it. The moment the door opened, Chi Yi rushed out, her face deathly pale. The second she saw Li Zhi, her lips trembled, and tears streamed down her face.

Li Zhi grasped her hand and raised her voice. "Butterfly, we're short-handed outside. Come with me to greet the guests."

Chi Yi stifled her sobs. "Yes, Madam."

Li Zhi glanced inside. In the dim crimson light of the room, Pan Qiping sat stiffly by the bed in her red wedding dress, as though still alive.

Beneath that red veil, Li Zhi could keenly sense the venomous gaze directed at her.

With a calm expression, Li Zhi shut the door.

Only after leaving the courtyard did Chi Yi finally burst into tears, now that no one else was around. "Oh my god!!! That was terrifying!!! I almost died, Zhi-Zhi! It was horrible!!! She has a mind-control skill!!"

Li Zhi was both amused and heartbroken. The role Chi Yi had drawn was indeed miserable—on par with Ou Wendong's.

After sobbing for a bit, Chi Yi quickly added, "Zhi-Zhi, I think Pan Qiping's death is suspicious. She must have been murdered! She said a steel frame was lodged in her body and wanted me to pull it out."

Li Zhi recalled that Pan Qiping's corpse was indeed propped up with steel frames. At first, she thought they were just supports, but if Pan Qiping had died from that impaling steel frame, the murderer might have filled her entire body with frames to disguise the murder weapon.

But tampering with the corpse without the Pan family's knowledge was impossible.

So...

Chi Yi realized it too, her expression turning shocked. "Did her own family kill her? Was it you or Xiao Qi?"

Was it Pan Qiping's mother? Her brother? Or... Butterfly?

"She asked me why I betrayed her." Chi Yi shuddered at the memory. "I feel like the entire Pan household is shady—even that old nanny."

Li Zhi patted her shoulder soothingly. "Let's find the exit first. Once we do, we'll be safe." She shared her earlier deductions with Chi Yi. "If any NPCs ask, just say I lost an earring and you're helping me look for it."

Chi Yi noticed Li Zhi was indeed wearing only one green jade earring.

She nodded. "What about the others?"

Li Zhi said, "Everyone's been notified. Except for Ou Wendong, who has to manage the banquet, the rest are searching for the exit. This haunted house probably has a time limit." She added, considering Chi Yi's experience, "Pan Qiping wanted you to pull out the steel frame in her body. The fact that she hasn't started killing yet might mean she's restrained by it."

Once that restraint was removed, the ghostly bride would likely go on a rampage.

"But even if we don't help her remove it, she'll probably find another way later. We need to hurry. If we don't find the exit before nightfall, Ou Wendong will have no choice but to enter the bridal chamber."

Forget whether Ou Wendong would survive—once the bridal chamber event started, no one else could enter. If Ou Wendong got mind-controlled like Chi Yi and pulled out the steel frame, breaking the seal, none of the six of them would make it out alive.

"But we don't even know what the exit looks like." Chi Yi was frantic. "Is it like a haunted house exit with a green 'EXIT' sign? Otherwise, even if we find the real exit, we might not recognize it."

Without finding the exit first, even Li Zhi couldn't guess its appearance.

"Maybe it's like the six arched gates we entered through," she mused. "Or maybe it's just an ordinary door. Stay alert—the system wouldn't leave us completely in the dark."

Chi Yi nodded. "Got it."

At a fork in the path, the two split up to cover more ground.

The Qing Garden wasn't large, its layout compact. Given the rushed wedding preparations, Madam Pan hadn't renovated the entire estate after purchasing it, only tidying up the newlyweds' courtyard and the guest reception area. The rest remained untouched, down to the rusted, dust-covered locks on the gates.

A single kick from Li Zhi was enough to break the old doors open. Before Madam Pan bought it, the Qing Garden must have been abandoned for years—cobwebs draped everywhere, leaves rotting on the ground, the air thick with dust and mildew.

Li Zhi searched every corner, kicking down several doors, but found nothing resembling an exit.

At one point, she ran into You Jingmeng, who lit up at the sight of her. Since their roles restricted normal interaction in front of NPCs, You Jingmeng eagerly rushed over now that they were alone. "Zhi-Dalao! Any luck? Found anything?"

Li Zhi shook her head. "You?"

You Jingmeng sighed. "Nothing. I checked every possible exit, but no luck. But I did find this!" She pulled out a tattered, rain-stained flyer from her robes. "It must've blown in and stuck to the ground. Took me forever to peel it off carefully."

Li Zhi examined it. The flyer resembled old-fashioned propaganda posters, common in times when information spread slowly—often used for urgent announcements.

This one warned of encroaching warfare, stating that rival warlords were battling fiercely in the south, and their town might soon become a target.

A few sparse lines, but enough to reveal the dungeon's historical backdrop.

Li Zhi frowned. "Warlords at war..."

You Jingmeng perked up. "Zhi-Dalao, is this useful?"

Li Zhi turned and patted her shoulder, smiling. "Very. You've done great."

You Jingmeng puffed up with pride. "I knew it!" Then, sheepishly, "But... how exactly is it useful?"

Li Zhi asked, "Do you know the Pan family is one of the wealthiest households here?"

You Jingmeng nodded eagerly. "Yeah! They offered thirty thousand silver dollars to marry their dead daughter!" She counted on her fingers. "I calculated—ten thousand is about a million, so thirty thousand is three million!"

Li Zhi asked, "If those warlords fighting for territory reached here, who'd suffer first?"

You Jingmeng gasped. "The Pan family! Warlords would target the rich! So... what does that have to do with this ghost wedding?"

"The Pan family has no male heirs except the eldest son. In these chaotic times, Madam Pan, a woman, would need powerful allies to protect their fortune." Li Zhi's tone was calm. "Pan Qiping was nineteen—prime marriage age. What do you think Madam Pan would do?"

You Jingmeng hesitated. "She... would marry her daughter to a warlord for protection?"

Li Zhi nodded. "But I suspect Pan Qiping refused. Something went wrong during the conflict, leading to her death."

You Jingmeng whispered, "So Madam Pan held this ghost wedding out of guilt?"

Li Zhi didn't answer.

After exchanging info, they resumed their search. But hours later, after turning the Qing Garden upside down, they still found no trace of an exit.

By dusk, Qi Yongyi arrived with Han Wenlin from the Pan residence.

The group met at the prearranged spot, all looking grim. The Pan residence had yielded no clues either. Since the residence and the garden were the most likely locations for the exit, they were at a loss for where else to search.

Han Wenlin grew impatient. "Maybe we're wrong? What if the task isn't about finding an exit?"

Chi Yi, ever the loyal defender, snapped, "Then what is the task?"

Han Wenlin faltered, unable to answer.

Qi Yongyi hesitated. "Actually, there's one place we haven't checked."

Li Zhi looked at him. "The bridal chamber?"

Qi Yongyi nodded. "This haunted house's theme is a ghost wedding—even the name is The Red Wedding Dress. The most likely place for the exit is the bridal chamber. In Chinese, 'bridal chamber' (洞房) literally contains the word 'exit' (洞)."

Chi Yi paled. "But I was in there. I didn't see any exit."

"Maybe it hasn't appeared yet?" You Jingmeng scratched her head. "It might only show up at a specific time."

Then they noticed Li Zhi's odd expression.

Even the unflappable expert looked troubled—was the situation that dire?

Chi Yi asked nervously, "Zhi-Zhi, what's wrong?"

Li Zhi paused. "I was thinking... if the exit only appears after each of us completes our role's task, then one person still hasn't finished theirs."

You Jingmeng gasped. "Ou Wendong! His task is to marry the ghost bride and then... consummate the marriage with a corpse...!"

Her face twisted in horror.

Li Zhi sighed. "If that's the case, it's too cruel for him."