Chapter 123: The Ghost Amusement Park
The moment the green-lanterned archway vanished, the talisman that had been holding Pan Qiping in place also disintegrated into ash.
As the players left, the world within the 副本 (副本 here refers to the game level or scenario) returned to its original state.
In a candlelit room, a thin man sat on the floor, clutching a section of bloodstained steel frame—now dry and cracked. He stared in horror as the bride in red dragged her steel-bound body across the threshold and out the door.
"Leave this place,"
he heard her say.
Still wearing his red wedding robe, the man’s jacket was crooked and disheveled. When he finally climbed to his feet and peeked cautiously out the door, the bride had already vanished.
Well, he thought, whatever—he’d already gotten the money. Might as well take it and leave this town behind, head to the bustling city for a new start!
He stripped off the wedding clothes and disappeared into the night.
Inside Qing Garden, white banners fluttered in the wind.
Amid the sea of white sorrow, the single splash of red stood out like spilled blood.
Bound to the pillar with red silk, Madam Pan and her eldest son watched in terror as Pan Qiping approached step by step. Behind her, the steel frame scraped against the stone floor with an eerie screech—the very same frames they had personally tied to her corpse, one by one.
"Qingqing!! Qingqing!!! Brother was wrong! I didn’t mean it!! I never wanted you to die!!! Mmm—!"
Pan Qiping raised her hand, and a strip of red silk wrapped around his mouth, silencing him.
Madam Pan's face went pale. She watched her daughter draw near, her lips trembling, wanting to speak but finding no words.
"Mother…" Her once-beautiful voice, melodious as a nightingale’s, now rasped hoarsely from her throat: “Why did you do this to me…”
She lifted her head. Still wearing the phoenix crown, tears of blood streamed down her face beneath the delicate pearl veil, as if even death could not bring understanding to her pain. She cried out in a whisper:
"Why?!”
"Your mother only did it for your own good…” Madam Pan sobbed. “Qingqing, your mother only wants what’s best for you. If warlords came, and the Pan family had no protection, you would have suffered too. Mother only did it for your sake…”
"You're still lying to me!!!" Pan Qiping burst into wild laughter, her decaying fingers tightening around her mother’s neck as blood tears flowed faster. "Even after I’m dead, you’re still lying to me!!!"
She recalled that night—three days before the wedding.
Pan Zixing had come again to persuade her. It was clearly for his own benefit, unwilling to part with the family fortune, yet cloaked always in the guise of concern for her.
Once more, they argued. In fury, she had lashed out without thinking: "Even if I marry, I won't help you gain anything! Instead, I’ll make sure Old Liu comes to take everything away! You won’t get a single coin then!"
She hadn’t meant it. She was just angry—angry that her mother and brother valued wealth over her happiness. She only said it because it hurt so much.
But Pan Zixing believed her.
And Old Liu wasn’t a good man either. If her sister-in-law-to-be whispered in his ear, this marriage could easily invite a wolf into their home.
Furious beyond reason, Pan Zixing slapped her hard across the face. The force sent her stumbling backward, falling onto the ground.
Near the wall lay leftover steel scraps from the stage built for their mother’s birthday banquet.
Pan Zixing tried to hit her again, but found his sister curled up on the floor, unmoving.
Blood spread beneath her body. He heard her cry out in pain.
When he frantically called for their mother, Pan Qiping was already cold.
Shaking, mother and son turned the lifeless body over. Her eyes were wide open, hands clutching at her abdomen where the steel frame had pierced through. On her face, once full of innocent brightness, lingered unbearable pain and hatred.
"Mother…! Mother! What do we do?! I killed her! I killed my sister!!! What do I do?! She’s already engaged to Old Liu—we’re finished!!"
Though already dead, she heard her brother’s panicked voice, and her mother’s trembling attempt to comfort him: "Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Mother will think of something."
No one mourned her death. They were only trying to figure things out.
How to cover up the truth of her death. How to avoid police investigation. How to explain things to Old Liu.
Why? Weren’t they both born from her womb? Weren’t they both her children?
She heard her mother call upon the old nursemaid who had raised her since childhood: "I remember your husband’s family used to deal with such matters, right? Think of something quick—Qingqing died so horribly, her resentment must be immense. We can’t let her harm Zixing."
The old nurse’s voice trembled slightly: "Madam, Qingqing is also your child…"
"I’ve already lost one child—I cannot lose another!"
After a long silence, the old woman gave a weary chuckle: "Yes, madam. I understand. Ghosts need a path to rest. Let’s give Qingqing a ghost wedding. Once she’s married, she won’t haunt Young Master anymore."
So piece by piece, steel frames were inserted into her corpse, propping her upright.
They dressed her in wedding attire, placed the phoenix crown on her head, and sent her off to wed.
On that quiet morning, the old nurse held her in her arms, just as she had when telling her stories as a child: "Miss, this is as far as I can help. Remember your hatred, remember your pain. Your vengeance—you must claim it yourself."
Now, at last, her time had come.
Three days later, the Pan family’s newlywed son-in-law stayed at a roadside inn and read the latest newspaper.
It reported a horrifying massacre—a wealthy Pan family household had been robbed and burned to the ground overnight. The bodies of Madam Pan and her eldest son were found among the ashes.
Beside them lay the previously deceased Miss Pan, all three reduced to charred remains.
Beneath the bright sun, the thin man sat by the window reading the article, chilled to the bone.
……
Even after exiting the haunted house and seeing the familiar lights of the amusement park, Ou Wendong remained dazed.
The boss isn’t dead??
The person holding my hand is Li Zhi—but who was that other person whose neck was snapped by Pan Qiping right in front of me???
"It was the dummy I made," Li Zhi released his hand, smiling gently. "Thanks for trying to carry my 'body' while escaping."
Ou Wendong couldn’t tell whether to laugh or cry.
If Li Zhi hadn’t prepared that dummy, he might have fainted from fear when Pan Qiping approached. That decoy not only bought him time to pull out the steel frame but also shocked him into action—rushing forward to slap the restraining charm onto Pan Qiping.
As though Li Zhi had predicted every move.
Ou Wendong felt ashamed, stammering: "Did you know I’d mess up??"
He had mentally prepared himself, yet still froze in fear—what a disgrace! The audience must think he’s useless. His vote count must be terrible…
Li Zhi patted his shoulder with a smile: "You did great. And you succeeded."
Pulling the steel frame, finding the exit, applying the charm—
everything she asked him to do, he completed. Though the process wasn’t exactly planned, the result was perfect.
Emotions surged within Ou Wendong, eventually turning into a long sigh.
They had spent an entire day inside the haunted house, but clearly, time moved differently outside. The fifth round of voting hadn’t started yet. A staff member in red overalls smiled and handed them a red box marked with a double-happiness character: "Congratulations on completing Red Wedding Dress and clearing the haunted house. This is your reward."
Li Zhi opened the box. Inside was a single card with four characters written neatly: Beautiful Woman Without Bones.
You Jingmeng flipped the clue box inside out looking for more: "Only one clue??"
Before entering, the staff had explained the haunted house challenge was a single-round system, different from the others which had three rounds. They had expected a single round might still yield three clues, but没想到只有一条.
Ou Wendong immediately cursed: "This damn system is so unfair! With just one clue, how are we supposed to guess??"
"This clue actually points pretty clearly," Li Zhi held up the card. "‘Beautiful woman without bones’ means nothing but skin remains. Most likely referring to the Hua Pi (Painted Skin Demon)."
Qi Yongyi thought for a moment: "Maybe the clue was clear enough, so they didn’t give a second? But I remember there's another ghost on the Hundred Ghost Wall called Jia Zhi, similar to paper people, capable of transforming into beautiful women. Paper figures also lack bones—it could fit this clue too."
Li Zhi glanced at the closed door of the haunted house: "Let’s wait for Pei Hongyu’s group. See what clues they got."
Under the single-round rule, each player could enter only once. Even if she wanted to go back in, she couldn’t now. All she could do was hope Pei Hongyu’s group received a different clue.
Since she had exited safely, Pei Hongyu should be out soon.
Sure enough, after waiting outside for a bit, movement came from the exit.
Pei Hongyu stepped out first, lit by the red glow, appearing somewhat disheveled. Tang Nanshan followed closely behind, looking unwell. As soon as she exited, she leaned on the railing and vomited.
"Han Nan! Jia Yue! Tian Ran!" Han Wenlin waved excitedly as their former teammates emerged safely.
The green light at the exit dimmed.
Li Zhi counted—they had only five people. He Yuan, Pei Hongyu’s loyal follower, hadn’t come out.
Li Zhi walked toward Tang Nanshan. She had just finished vomiting, looking weak. Seeing Li Zhi approach, she managed a faint smile: "You all made it out safely."
Li Zhi asked, "What happened?"
Tang Nanshan’s expression darkened: "He Yuan... was killed by the ghost groom. He died in there."
"The ghost groom?" Chi Yi, standing nearby, looked surprised. "You encountered the ghost groom? We met the ghost bride."
Tang Nanshan nodded in realization: "So our storylines were different. I took the role of the bride—substituted for someone else in the marriage."
Meanwhile, Pei Hongyu had already collected the clue box from the staff. After opening it, he walked over with a grim expression: "Only one clue. Likes to eat human hearts."
Li Zhi pulled out her own card: "Mine says beautiful woman without bones. So we can confirm the answer is Hua Pi."
Each clue alone strongly pointed to Hua Pi. If only one group had entered and received just one of these clues, the most logical choice would still be Hua Pi. Now having both, they were even more certain.
As they spoke, the park’s red warning lights flickered on.
The cards turned to ash in their hands. Li Zhi dusted hers off casually: "Let’s go back and vote."