51: Chapter 51: The Mystery of the Old House (Twenty-Five)

As she approached the black mist, the look of amazement in Chiba's eyes vanished without a trace, and instead, the corners of her lips curled upward.

“Hee-hee, I’ve caught you~”

In the next instant, she stepped directly into the black mist, her entire being swallowed by it.

In a flash, the entire space was filled with black mist, making it impossible to see what was happening behind the stone door.

The black mist churned incessantly, rushing toward Chiba's body, clearly intending to burrow inside her.

Chiba remained unhurried, a smile playing on her lips. Upon closer inspection, her eyes even held a hint of excitement. She allowed the black mist to pour into her body. Seeing that she showed no signs of discomfort, the black mist hesitated and tried to retreat.

“Hee-hee, do you think my body is a place you can just enter and leave as you please?~”

“Since you wanted to go in, then stay...”

Chiba licked her lips, a strange smile on her face. “Stay and become my nourishment.”

At those words, the black mist churned even more violently; it was almost losing control of itself.

“You... what on earth are you?”

“No, it's impossible.”

“I am not reconciled...”

The black mist continued to surge and struggle, trying to escape the suction coming from Chiba’s body, but the more it struggled, the stronger the suction became.

“Not reconciled? Come, tell me your story. If it can move me, perhaps we can continue our deal.”

“You... you knew it was me...”

Chiba's mouth twitched. Was this ghost a bit slow in the head? The voice hadn't changed, so why wouldn't she be able to tell?

Seeming to sense her disdain, the ghost fell silent for a moment.

“I... I just want to kill that heartless man. I must kill him.”

“A heartless man?”

Chiba had a bad premonition.

“Jin... Ran.” The voice spoke through gritted teeth.

“It was all because of him that I am in this state today. I have only one obsession: to kill him! Kill him!”

Chiba waved her hand, and the black mist that had been stuck to her body regained its freedom.

As the black mist dispersed, a peerless beauty appeared before her eyes. Dressed in bridal attire, she was breathtakingly beautiful, though the malice in her eyes deeply marred that beauty.

Chiba's eyes lit up at the sight.

Just for the sake of this appearance, she was willing to help. How could she bear to make such a beauty angry?

Seeing her gaze, the beauty gave a chilly smile.

She flicked her wide sleeves and brushed her hand against the bridal attire. “Look, it's beautiful, isn't it?”

The entire wedding dress looked like a golden phoenix spreading its wings to fly, noble and elegant.

“When I first saw it, I was also stunned.”

“He said that from the first moment he saw me, he had already commissioned embroiderers to work on it, and he said he must marry me.”

“Eyes full of deep affection, a heart full of devotion... why? Why can love also be faked...”

As she reached the end, her face became distorted.

“All those words of love, and then on the wedding night...” At this point, the black mist on the beauty's body surged continuously, and she was nearly submerged in malice.

“Hahahaha...”

“How ridiculous!”

“It was all nothing but a scam.”

Chiba listened quietly, her eyes showing no ripples of emotion.

“He said he heard from a high monk that as long as he used royal blood to break the seal on this bridal attire, and then irrigated it with the blood of ninety-nine women, a god would descend and grant his wish.”

“Unfortunately, he was wrong, hahahaha...”

“What a pity...”

“I am not of royal blood. To think I am not of royal blood... no wonder the Mother Empress didn't like me at all and even detested me. My Father Consort didn't like me either. So that was why, that was why...”

She only existed because her Father Consort had been sent to someone else's bed by the Mother Empress to consolidate political power. Her existence was a constant reminder to both of them of the rift and the stain between them.

“I actually thought I had met someone who truly loved me...”

“But I never imagined that in the end, it was nothing but a scheme...”

As she spoke, tears of blood began to flow, and the entire space was filled with sorrow.

“You want the power of this wedding dress too, don't you?”

Chiba raised an eyebrow but did not answer.

The beauty took it as silent admission. “I can agree to it, on only one condition...”

“As long as you help me kill that heartless man.”

Chiba grinned. “It seems you aren't actually able to control this power.”

The beauty's entire body stiffened.

How did she see through it?

“You...”

Chiba pointed to the space between the beauty's eyebrows.

“A contract.”

“But unfortunately, you are the servant, and it is the master.”

Chiba spoke the truth directly. The strength drained from the beauty, and she gave a bitter smile.

“Yes, who could have imagined that I, a dignified Imperial Princess, would actually become the servant of a wedding dress...”

“Killed so many people...”

“Swallowed countless souls.”

“Hehehehe...”

“I hate him!”

“How could I not hate him!”

“So you cursed him, making the entire Jin Mansion be buried with you, forgotten by the world. The people of the Jin Mansion are neither dead nor living, existing like the walking dead.”

“Without the tribute of a Bride, they will never know peace for generations.”

The smug look on the beauty's face froze halfway, and she looked at Chiba in bewilderment.

Why did she know everything?

“Heh, yes, so what!”

“He betrayed me, and yet he wanted a happy ending? How could that be possible? He ruined this Princess, so how could they be allowed to be well!”

The woman laughed crazily. He said he loved her, then carved out her heart while she was still alive. She had felt her blood being absorbed bit by bit by the wedding dress she wore. She was afraid and wanted to run, but there was no one, no one to save her. She could only watch as the wedding dress merged with her.

After death, she was locked in a pitch-black coffin for exactly forty-nine days.

She was afraid of the dark!

He clearly knew that!

Her soul was trapped within the wedding dress, unable to escape. Her resentment deepened bit by bit as time passed.

Finally, one day, she felt she could control the wedding dress on her body.

“My soul awakened, only to watch him marrying another woman, who was wearing this very bridal attire.”

“Hahahaha...”

“How ironic. It turns out the truth was that he used my heart to save another woman. That woman was his true love.”

“What high monk, what immortal... he said it was to become an immortal, but it was all just to save the girl he loved.”

“He just didn't expect that this wedding dress really did possess a mysterious power, hahahaha...”

“They all must die!”

The woman raised her head, her eyes full of longing.

“The bridal attire looks so beautiful when worn...”

In the next second, her face twisted, her eyes filled with sheer delight. “So, I made him watch as his Bride was consumed by the wedding dress, bit by bit, until nothing was left.”

“Hahaha, how do you like marrying a withered corpse?”

Chiba looked at her crazed face and turned to leave.

“Stop, you can't leave!”

“You haven't promised me yet.”

Chiba looked back with a half-smile. “Am I not preparing to go out and kill him?”

“Once he's dead, won't you be liberated?~”

A mysterious light flashed in Chiba's eyes.

The woman's smile stiffened. “No, I mean I want to kill him with my own hands.”

“With your own hands?”

Chiba's smile carried a deep meaning.

“And how do you plan to kill him with your own hands?”

“Didn't you say you'd make a deal with me? I kill him for you, and you give me the power. Everyone's happy.”

“Isn't that right?~”

Chiba grinned, holding the hong ling umbrella, her entire being radiating a wicked aura.