I Went Crazy Killing in the World of Gods and Demons - Chapter 46

Chapter 46

The Red Wedding Dress, long absent from the mortal realm, requires some time to travel from the River of Forgetfulness to the world. When red covers the walls, when the hanging Black Hair turns into a bridal sedan curtain, when the Red Candles begin to burn, the Red Wedding Dress will come to claim its first wedding gift.

Heavy with yin energy, the Red Wedding Dress is condensed from countless resentments and curses. It does not need the flesh and blood of a Psychic, but it requires their blood to dye the white cloth wrapped around it crimson. It intends to dye a vibrant red Wedding Garment for its beloved.

Xie Qingling stared intently at the wall. The originally pristine white wall was now being permeated by a deeper, expanding red.

It was like a drop of red ink falling into a glass of clear water within a breath, one small section of the wall had turned entirely scarlet.

…So fast.

Wasn’t it said that the Red Wedding Dress needed some time to travel from the River of Forgetfulness? Why was the red spreading so quickly?

At this rate, in less than five minutes, the red would completely cover the room.

By then, this sealed little room would truly resemble a red Bridal Sedan.

“When the hanging Black Hair turns into a bridal sedan curtain, when the Red Candles begin to burn…” Xie Qingling murmured these words in her mind.

Though she didn’t know what would happen once the Black Hair turned into a curtain and the candles ignited, her instincts warned her to prevent it at all costs.

Suddenly, a soft rustling sound emerged, as if something were slowly crawling across the floor.

Xie Qingling looked down. Black, hair-like strands or perhaps black worm-like entities had appeared on the floor, extending like tentacles from every corner of the room.

Like wildly growing seaweed, they all stretched toward Xie Qingling’s location.

When the Black Hair turns into a bridal sedan curtain…

Xie Qingling severed the oncoming strands with her blade.

The severed ends writhed frantically, emitting piercing shrieks, as if alive.

She slashed once, twice, three times…

The hair fell away, only to regrow anew.

Endlessly, ceaselessly.

It was futile there was no way to stop them!

Clearly, the Red Wedding Dress was different from any other spirits Xie Qingling had encountered before.

It was a ghost formed from condensed resentment and curses, without a physical form.

Her Aura-Breaking Blade was not very effective against it.

Xie Qingling ceased her meaningless slashing.

Brute force was clearly not the solution against the Red Wedding Dress.

She had to find its weakness to overcome it.

By now, three walls had already been painted red, and the crimson hue was still spreading across the ceiling.

The red moved like a living organism, crawling slowly across the walls like flowing blood gaining sentience, soon to cover the entire room.

Suddenly sensing something, Xie Qingling turned and saw a pair of white candles adorned with the Double Happiness Character faintly taking shape on the bedside table.

At the wicks, a small flame flickered intermittently, on the verge of igniting.

Though there was no wind, it swayed gently.

The Red Candles were about to burn!

In the deep of night, faint sounds of gongs, drums, and suona horns echoed in the room, brimming with joyous celebration.

Amid the cacophony of instruments, some were crying while others were laughing.

The weeping rose again, mingled with laughter a bizarre alternation of sobs and chuckles.

These two starkly contrasting emotions intertwined, causing throbbing pain at the temples, sharp and intense.

A mournful female voice wailed softly in a chant:

“…Light the Red Candle, let Candle Flowers bloom, nine sisters accompany me.

Gather round the table to swear kinship, closer than sharing a mother’s womb.

Tonight I pour the wine, bidding farewell to ancestors in the hall.

A daughter is her mother’s skirt tie, grown to know right from wrong…”

The cadence rose and fell, the melody light and cheerful lyrics that should have been beautiful blessings. Yet, in this moment, the joyous tone felt utterly eerie.

This was…

This was the scene of the Red Wedding Dress’s wedding day!

What did it want?

To reenact its wedding scene?

No, more accurately, it sought to recreate the moment of its death.

Because the day the Red Wedding Dress married was also the day it died!

Soon, something dreadful would likely unfold.

For vengeful spirits like this, their most agonizing memories often freeze at the moment of death a moment that also marks the most significant event of their lives. Great sorrow and great joy intertwine, giving birth to the terrifying Auspicious Ghost!

“…Twelve branches on the Saraca Tree, we share the same roots and boughs.

Saraca Tree facing the terrace, may sister’s heart be at ease…”

The chanting voice shifted to another, growing sharper and more frantic, like a knife repeatedly piercing the eardrums.

The distressing lament continued.

This time, yet another voice joined in:

“Bronze gongs and the Bridal Sedan urge the bride to depart, so many words left unsaid.

The world adds a leap month every three years, why not add one at the fifth watch?

Alas, the daughter leaves, the mother cannot keep her…”

The Red Wedding Dress was about to appear!

Xie Qingling’s face paled. Hazily, she seemed to see a figure clad in red bridal attire emerging in her vision.

In the oppressive darkness, that flash of red gown grew increasingly vivid.

Wrong, this was very wrong.

From the first warning until now, less than five minutes had passed.

If the Red Wedding Dress could arrive this quickly, the voice in her mind wouldn’t have said it needed some time to get here.

In under five minutes how was that “needing some time”? It clearly aimed to claim her life on the spot!

So, what had gone wrong?

The Red Wedding Dress shouldn’t know the way.

Xie Qingling’s eyes scanned the crimson-drenched room, finally settling on the clay statue of Kṣitigarbha.

At that moment, the statue still emitted a soft, radiant glow, standing like a beacon in the eerily red room.

Yet, the originally earthen-colored statue was now stained red.

Drip, drip red blood trickled down, making it appear grotesque and horrifying.

If she remembered correctly, the Kṣitigarbha statue had turned red before the red walls appeared.

This was a mystical item crafted by Ling Fang; it ought to possess some protective power of its own.

Shen Huaizhou once said that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is a bodhisattva who resides in hell.

Xie Qingling stared at the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Clay Figurine for several moments before walking over to dismantle the Killing Field.

The brilliant light faded, the crimson hue receded, and instant silence fell upon her ears. The exuberant melodies of gongs, drums, and suona horns vanished, along with the bridal lamentations of the Red Wedding Dress. Everything in the room returned to its original state, as if nothing had ever happened.

Just as expected.

Xie Qingling had guessed correctly.

The directionally-challenged Red Wedding Dress shouldn’t have been able to find its way here so easily, but the Ksitigarbha Killing Field had become a beacon guiding it straight to them.

After all, Ksitigarbha dwells in hell, while the Red Wedding Dress originates from the banks of the River of Oblivion. Being from the same realm, the Red Wedding Dress could easily trace Ksitigarbha’s aura to locate them.

[Astute Psychic, resolute Psychic, your courage has once again saved you, allowing you to escape unscathed from the Red Wedding Dress’s curse. You have also slightly hindered the Red Wedding Dress’s descent. Without the Killing Field as its foothold, the Red Wedding Dress has temporarily lost its bearings.]

[You were nearly claimed by the Red Wedding Dress, forced back into the Bridal Sedan to die once more on the wedding procession’s path, becoming another wandering spirit.]

[But no matter – the Red Wedding Dress has set a second trap. It has clad your feet in Three-Inch Golden Lotus Embroidered Shoes, embroidered with the resentful curses of the Red Wedding Dress. With each step upon the earth, you’ll feel piercing needles, unable to run or even walk properly.]

[You can only wait in place for the Red Wedding Dress’s arrival, watching as it harvests your life.]

[Yield, Psychic. The Red Wedding Dress’s curse has enveloped you. It never shows mercy to the prey and offerings it has claimed.]

A sudden, sharp pain shot through her feet, as if immense force were crushing her toes, draining the color from Xie Qingling’s face.

Though her feet appeared unchanged to ordinary sight, Xie Qingling knew that from the perspective of spirits and ghosts, her feet were now bound within Three-Inch Golden Lotus shoes.

She had only read about Three-Inch Golden Lotuses in ancient texts, finding the practice utterly bizarre and absurd. Never had she imagined she would experience this torment firsthand.

After this personal experience, Xie Qingling’s conviction grew stronger: whoever invented this was a depraved monster among monsters! Absolutely ridiculous!

Her face cold, Xie Qingling attempted to remove the invisible Three-Inch Golden Lotus Embroidered Shoes. Yet no matter how she struggled, the piercing pain persisted without relief.

It seemed these shoes were another cursed object – easy to put on, impossible to take off.

The Red Wedding Dress inflicted suffering through curses. While this method appeared troublesome, it had its weakness: it worked too slowly.

If the Red Wedding Dress could simply take up a blade and end her directly, Xie Qingling would have no chance of turning the tables.

Gritting through the pain, Xie Qingling instead laughed softly, a light chuckle escaping her lips.

Did it think that by making her wear the Embroidered Shoes, stripping her of the ability to run and jump, it could imprison her within a confined space, bind her, and leave her helplessly waiting for death?

Even if she had to crawl and creep on the ground, she could still move.

Enduring the heart-piercing pain, Xie Qingling made her way to the bedside, took everything out of her canvas bag, and laid it all out before her.

Inside the canvas bag were the life-saving equipment Ling Fang had given her before she set out.

Among these items were two “Enslaved Ghost” clay figurines that Ling Fang had entrusted to Xie Qingling.

So-called “Enslaved Ghosts” were the minor spirits confined within the Ghost Binding Banner. After making certain agreements with the Curse Caster, they could lend their specific abilities to be utilized and commanded by the Curse Caster.

One of these two clay figurines was an Enslaved Ghost crafted from a Swift Ghost.

As the name implied, Swift Ghosts excelled at rapid movement. By using it, one could instantly traverse a great distance, completely disregarding any physical obstacles in the real world.

The other was an Enslaved Ghost made from a Crossroad Ghost, whose ability was to disorient paths.

Using it could instantly cause someone to lose their way the paths they had traveled and those they were about to take would no longer be the same. Although there were certain distance limitations, it could also transport a person to a desired location.

The Crossroad Ghost that had once aided her, confined within the Ghost Binding Banner for so long, could finally serve its purpose.