6.
After disconnecting from Tiểu Cao Happy, I ended the livestream.
Bạch Lê and I had agreed to enter the ancient tomb together the day after tomorrow, so I needed to set aside some time to prepare.
At that moment, I suddenly felt a bit of regret—if I’d known I’d have to visit a tomb now, I would have listened to the old man and trained harder.
With my current mediocre spiritual power, at best I could only handle minor ghosts.
If I ran into a powerful ghost, I’d have no choice but to stand there and surrender.
I stuffed everything the old man left behind—like the Xuanji Mirror, Xich Lan Banner, Xuanyang Umbrella, and so on—into my bag.
I also prepared a bunch of talismans.
Binding Talismans, Exorcism Talismans, Teleportation Talismans... I brought along every one I could carry.
If we couldn’t defeat him, at least we could still run away.
As long as we keep the green forest, we won’t run out of firewood.
In the blink of an eye, the appointed day arrived.
Bạch Lê drove to my place, and with her was a familiar face.
That day, it was Ethan Brooks who had gotten a reading in my livestream.
Bạch Lê reached out to greet me. "Hello, Alex Hill, we finally meet in person."
I shook her hand and replied, "Hello."
She pointed to the man beside her. "This is Director Ethan Brooks, whom you’ve met before."
I nodded.
Not only had I met him, but this guy got a fortune reading and didn’t pay—he still owes me USD 0.002.
After a brief introduction, our group got in the car and headed toward Cooperstown.
The ancient tomb was hidden on Dai Thanh Mountain.
At the foot of the mountain was a small village called Cooperstown.
Cooperstown sat with its back to the great mountain, surrounded by beautiful scenery. When filming, Bạch Lê’s crew had stayed in this village.
On the way, Bạch Lê chatted with me about her experience that day.
"Master, these past two days I’ve been thinking about something really strange."
I nodded for her to go on.
"Actually, I never intended to take this film because it didn’t fit my career plans, but somehow I ended up signing the contract without realizing it."
"And on the first night I came here to film, I had a dream—there were always some strange scenes in it. But I thought I was just too tired at the time, so I forgot about the dream."
What Bạch Lê said confirmed that she and that male ghost had a connection from a previous life, though for some reason, that bond had carried over into this one.
Maybe she’d understand when she saw the male ghost.
The more troublesome thing now was that during the livestream, I’d done a fortune reading for Bạch Lê’s trip to the ancient tomb.
At the time, the omen was clearly good, but now, because I’m involved, it’s turned bad.
I looked at the layers of dense forest not far away, shrouded in clouds and mist, making it look a bit gloomy.
From a distance, it looked like a giant monster opening its huge mouth.
I suddenly had a bad feeling.
When we arrived in Cooperstown, we found a local farmer’s house to stay in temporarily.
The village head welcomed us warmly.
We said we wanted to go to the ancient tomb, but the village head's expression suddenly changed: "You want to go to that ancient tomb? That place is very evil."
Bạch Lê explained, "Last time I dropped something in there, so I want to go look for it."
The village head’s expression softened a bit, but he still warned us: "You can’t stay there too long. It’s best to come right back after you find your things."
We smiled and nodded.
The village head then told his daughter to guide us, saying she knew the mountain paths well and could save us a lot of time.
7.
The village head’s daughter was named Nhị Nha. She looked about fifteen or sixteen, but she was very sharp.
“Honored guests, please follow me. I know a shortcut to the ancient tomb.”
Nhị Nha led us along the nearest narrow path toward the ancient tomb.
The ancient tomb was enormous, spanning hundreds of square meters and covered in wild grass. From a distance, it looked just like a hill.
As we walked, Nhị Nha told us, “People say this tomb was originally the mausoleum of a high-ranking official from the Qing dynasty. Before, no one in our village even knew it was an ancient tomb.”
“By the time we discovered it, grave robbers had already dug up everything inside. Later, an archaeological team came, but they didn’t find anything and left after just a few days.”
I glanced at Bạch Lê. “Where exactly did you find your item in the tomb that day?”
“I remember it was an open area with eight stone pillars and a stone door in front.”
Nhị Nha’s eyes lit up. “Sis, you must be talking about the outer gate of the tomb. Sometimes the village kids play outside there.”
I couldn’t help but tease her, “Didn’t your dad say the tomb was really evil? You kids aren’t scared at all, coming here to play?”
Nhị Nha answered innocently, “Of course we’re not scared. It’s just the grown-ups trying to fool us. A few years ago, the adults from the village used to come here every day, but for some reason, they stopped coming after a while.”
What Nhị Nha said made me suspicious. If they came here every day, why did they say this place was evil?
But I quickly shifted my attention, because we’d reached the entrance.
Sure enough, there were signs of human destruction at the tomb’s entrance. We walked along the narrow, dark passageway, and after about ten meters, the space ahead gradually opened up.
The open courtyard and stone gate Bạch Lê mentioned appeared. Above the stone gate was a plaque, but it was blank.
Pushing open the stone door, we saw a large vermilion door draped in red silk. On the golden plaque above it were the words "Nhiếp Mansion."
The red door swung open on its own, revealing a lively courtyard. Red silk fluttered everywhere, banquet tables were set up all around—it was clearly a wedding celebration.
Inside the main hall, where the double happiness character [囍] should have been posted, there was instead half of the character [喜] and the other half was [奠].
([囍]: Double happiness, made by combining two 喜 characters, commonly used at weddings.
喜: Happiness, joy
奠: Memorial, used in funerals.)
At the head table sat a well-dressed middle-aged couple, their faces deathly pale and their pupils a strange blue.
At the far end of the hall were two coffins—one sealed shut, the other open.
Suddenly, the sound of horns blared. Not long after, two servants carried in a frail man dressed in performance costume on their backs, bringing him into the main hall.
The man’s face couldn’t be seen. He struggled as he was forced into the coffin. The two servants slammed the lid shut and nailed it down with hammers.
Outside the main hall, the sounds of wedding celebration and funeral wailing rose together, blending into a bizarre melody that could drive anyone mad.
Nhị Nha clutched my hand in fear. “Sis, what are they doing?”
“This is an ancient ghost marriage ritual. Don’t be scared—it’s just an illusion meant to deceive us.”
“Bạch Lê is missing!” Ethan Brooks suddenly cried out in panic.
When I looked back, Bạch Lê—the one who had just been behind me—had truly vanished.
I took out the Road-Breaking Talisman and lit it. The scenes of joy and sorrow before my eyes gradually faded away like ripples on water, leaving only the empty, desolate tomb.
In the center of the mausoleum was a coffin. Bạch Lê, dressed in a red wedding gown, lay inside with a peaceful expression.
Ethan Brooks hurried over, calling out Bạch Lê’s name loudly.
“She’s been trapped in a dream spell.”
I took out a Spirit-Cleansing Breath Talisman to clear her mind and placed it on her forehead.
After a moment, Bạch Lê slowly regained consciousness, startled to see herself in a wedding dress.
“What happened to me? Why am I wearing a wedding dress?”
I glanced at the shadow behind her and said coldly, “Leave.”
A refined man in a blue performance costume stepped out from the darkness. He was handsome, but the resentment on his face made him look a bit frightening.
“I originally wanted Lê to come alone, but I didn’t expect so many guests.”
Bạch Lê eyed him warily. “Who are you? Why do you want to take a part of my soul?”
The man sighed softly. “Lê, my soul is about to be utterly destroyed. I just wanted to keep that part of you with me for my final days.”
“Lê, I really can’t accept this. You’ve reincarnated and started a new life, but I’m the only one still trapped in the past.”
Bạch Lê glanced at me, then asked the man, “Why is your soul being destroyed?”
The man didn’t answer. He looked toward the northwest corner of the ancient tomb and sighed, “It doesn’t matter if my soul is destroyed. I’m tired of living like this.”
I stepped forward and sized him up. “If I’m not mistaken, the man who was forced into the ghost marriage earlier was you—the one who was supposed to marry Bạch Lê in your past life.”
The man in blue nodded, giving a bitter smile. “My name is Casey Johnson. In our past life, Lê and I were a couple. But her family was prominent, and I was just a performer, so her parents refused to let us be together.”
“After that, Lê was forced into marriage. The night before the wedding, she swallowed gold and took her own life. Her parents, furious, dragged me in and forced a ghost marriage with her, then buried us together here.”
“They found a powerful Taoist priest to trap my soul, so I couldn’t leave or reincarnate. I’ve been guarding this tomb for hundreds of years.”
That explained why the fates of Casey Johnson and Bạch Lê from their past lives were so entangled even now.
It seemed the priest had used some secret technique to bind their destinies together.
Bạch Lê spoke, her voice hoarse. “I’m so sorry.”
Ethan Brooks held her hand, silently comforting her.
When Casey Johnson saw their gesture, a look of sadness crossed his face. “Lê, being able to see you happy before my soul is destroyed—now I have no more regrets.”
As soon as he finished speaking, that missing part of Bạch Lê’s soul returned to her.
“You all need to leave Dai Thanh Son quickly. It’s very dangerous here.”
Casey Johnson’s soul gradually faded away, leaving only his words echoing in the empty tomb.