Chapter 81 Can the Bride Control the Wooden Sign?

The woman gently lifted the red bridal veil from her head. She stepped forward, extended her slender fingers, and pinched Little Jade's cheek with a look of exasperation, her tone tinged with disdain and certainty: "What are you afraid of? Just because he says he can control that wooden tablet, does it mean he actually can? Have you ever seen it?"

Little Jade frowned slightly from the pinch and hurriedly shook her head, her eyes still filled with a hint of timidity.

The woman turned and paced to the dressing table. With a flick of her fingertip, she pulled open a drawer, took out a sealed letter, handed it to Little Jade, and instructed her with a serious tone:

"In a moment, I will find a way to stall him. You take the letter, just run straight out, go to the place I mentioned, and deliver the letter to my husband."

Little Jade nodded blankly, clutching the letter tightly in both hands. She looked up at her young mistress with curiosity and asked in a low voice:

"Young Mistress, I heard the Master say that Young Master Mu Qing can truly control the wooden tablet at the village entrance. If he can really do that, does that mean we can leave this trapped village?"

Gu Ye and Luo Yuerou exchanged a glance, both seeing expressions of astonishment in each other's eyes.

Listening to Little Jade's words, it meant that the villagers also could not leave the village, so the village chief chose to marry off his daughter to him to achieve his goal.

"Tsk! I'd sooner believe I am the Ghost Sword Heavenly Venerate than believe him!"

Little Jade hurriedly lowered her voice and muttered, "Young Mistress... you cannot call the Heavenly Venerate by name."

When Gu Ye heard the four words "Ghost Sword Heavenly Venerate," his pupils suddenly constricted, and a flash of undisguised shock and complexity crossed his eyes.

However, for only an instant, he quickly composed himself and returned to his usual calmness. Luo Yuerou, who was beside him, was only focused on the movements inside the room and did not notice this subtle change in him.

But after hearing the title of the Ghost Sword Heavenly Venerate, she became very interested in it, silently noting down the name to investigate later.

Just at this moment, the woman inside the room suddenly spoke, revealing a shocking piece of news:

"To tell you the truth, I have already found the real way to control the wooden tablet."

Little Jade was full of shock, suddenly looking up at her young mistress with eyes full of disbelief, as if seeing her for the first time:

"Young Mistress, are... are you telling the truth?"

Perhaps because the woman's statement was too shocking, a sound of a loose roof tile suddenly rang out above their roof.

Who!!

The woman's expression changed abruptly, and she sternly demanded, her voice filled with a hint of vigilance and coldness. The person on the roof instantly realized they had been discovered and did not dare to linger for even a second. With a flash of their figure, they tried to turn and flee.

"Want to run? Leave your life behind!" The woman sneered, raised her hand, and released a card. A sharp cyan sword light instantly shot out, piercing through the roof tiles and stabbing toward the fleeing figure.

Suddenly, chaos erupted on the roof as several black shadows hastily leaped from the roof, attempting to flee in all directions.

At the same time, rapid footsteps came from inside the courtyard. A team of Household Servants dressed in black with sinister auras, holding long blades, quickly surrounded the area below the roof, evidently having been arranged to stand guard nearby.

"What should we do!" There was panic in Luo Yuerou's voice.

"Let's go."

Seeing this, Gu Ye knew that although the two of them had not been discovered, the Household Servants had already appeared, so they had no choice but to retreat.

The two of them quickly left the courtyard and returned to the banquet, pretending as if nothing had happened.

As Gu Ye was retreating, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of several dazzling beams of light suddenly shooting out from the courtyard, carrying sharp killing intent, heading straight toward the figures fleeing from the roof.

Immediately after, several shrill screams came from the air, sharp and ear-piercing, but they vanished in an instant. Evidently, those who were fleeing had been hit by the beams of light and died on the spot.

Not long after, the village chief, Bold Ox, returned to the banquet scene.

Gu Ye's gaze inadvertently swept across his mouth, and he was shocked to see a trace of undried, dark red blood.

Perhaps it was because they saw the miserable state of the eavesdroppers' deaths, but the others became uncharacteristically quiet.

Those people most likely triggered the village chief's rules, which was why he killed them without hesitation.

Otherwise, constrained by the village rules of "No Fighting," even if Bold Ox were furious, he would not dare to kill people so blatantly.

It seems that this village chief's rules are far more bizarre and deadly than they had imagined.

Today's banquet lasted until late at night and only slowly ended when it was about to reach the time stipulated by the village for "No Going Out."

Gu Ye and Luo Yuerou also left with the crowd. On the way, Luo Yuerou said in a low voice:

"The banquet will last for three days. For the next two days, we can continue to stay at the village chief's house and take the opportunity to inquire about news regarding Mu Qing. Perhaps we can find the key to controlling the wooden tablet and leaving the village."

Early the next morning, everyone arrived at the village chief's courtyard again to attend the banquet.

Unlike yesterday, today's program was no longer the soft dances of the maids, but instead, the Household Servants of the village chief's house came forward to demonstrate their martial arts.

The Household Servants, each dressed in tight-fitting outfits and holding weapons, practiced in the center of the courtyard. Their moves were sharp and their momentum fierce, drawing rounds of cheers from the watching Guai Monster villagers.

Seeing no opportunity to leave, Gu Ye set his sights on Bold Ox. Since Mu Qing was going to be his son-in-law, how could he not appear to meet the guests?

Gu Ye picked up his wine cup and slowly stood up, his gaze looking toward Bold Ox in the main seat, his tone respectful yet tinged with a hint of enthusiasm:

"Village Chief, we have come to attend your daughter's wedding, and it has been almost two days, yet we have not seen the groom, Young Master Mu Qing, even once."

"It is said that the groom is a rare talent in this world, and we also want to see him with our own eyes, to soak up some of the Young Master's festive spirit, and also to soak up some of your good fortune, Village Chief."

As soon as his words fell, the surrounding Guai Monster villagers also chimed in one after another, each with curious expressions, loudly egging them on:

"That's right, Village Chief! Hurry and invite the groom out so we can take a look!"

"Hurry and invite the groom out!"

Luo Yuerou's expression was calm; this was the plan that she and Gu Ye had discussed to make Mu Qing appear.

On the other side, the Card Masters and Examinees at other tables heard Gu Ye's words and frowned, their faces showing expressions of confusion, not understanding why he wanted to see the groom.

After all, of those who had eavesdropped on the roof last time and ultimately died miserably, only Gu Ye and Luo Yuerou had survived. The others did not know about the conversation inside the room and were unaware of Mu Qing's special nature, only assuming he was an ordinary groom.

Upon hearing this, a trace of vigilance flashed deep in Bold Ox's eyes, and he smiled:

"Since everyone wants to see Mu Qing, I will have him come out to meet the elders."

Bold Ox waved his hand, summoned a servant, gave a few instructions, and the servant left.

Soon, a young man wearing groom's attire walked out from the courtyard and onto the ceremonial platform.

Mu Qing's first impression on Gu Ye was that he was very ordinary, gentle, and refined.

There was no feeling of him being incredibly handsome, and furthermore, there was not a single feature on him that belonged to a Guai Monster. The villagers in the village all had some Guai Monster features to a greater or lesser extent; even the powerful village chief had hands that were in a state of decay.

Mu Qing was very strange. The people who came to attend the banquet also noticed Mu Qing's peculiarity one after another. Each of them wore curious expressions, their gazes fixed tightly on him, and they began to whisper, their eyes filled with inquiry.