Chapter 25: The King of Hell’s Wedding (2)
【The 24-player instance had assembled. Loading… Player Jian Yuntai, loading successful.】
【Welcome to Life Crystal Great Escape.】
The moment he steadied himself, a chill rushed toward him.
Jian Yuntai found himself seated inside a luxurious palace. The décor resembled imperial architecture from before the Alliance was established. In front of him stood a small nanmu wood tea table, laden with delicacies of every kind—an extravagant feast that tempted one to immediately pick up the jade chopsticks and dig in.
He did not act rashly. Instead, he surveyed his surroundings.
There were at least two or three hundred similar tea tables arranged around him. The expressions on the people seated at them varied widely, each one complicated in its own way.
They all wore similar attire—mostly dark red long robes embroidered with phoenix patterns. Jian Yuntai instinctively lowered his head to look at himself. He, too, wore a dark red robe of the same style.
The wide hem spread out like a blooming winter plum blossom, and pale moon-white pleats unfurled layer upon layer from within the robe.
“Damn, this outfit looks expensive as hell!” a voice muttered behind him.
Jian Yuntai turned around and smiled. “Not bad. Looks like we were lucky to be placed together at the start.”
“That probably had nothing to do with luck.” Fatty leaned sideways. Behind him, Yu Xingcao adjusted his sleeves and said, “Dorm mates were assigned together at the start. I checked—everyone else was the same.”
Jian Yuntai looked more carefully at the others.
Yu Xingcao was right. Each dorm group had been placed together, seated in three rows. The players all sat on the right side of their tea tables, leaving an empty seat on the left.
As for the other non-streamer players, they appeared to be scattered randomly, seated without any fixed grouping.
While Jian Yuntai observed the others, more than a hundred thousand viewers on the other side of the screen stared at him with shining eyes.
“Wife!!! Boohoo, we haven’t seen each other for 385 hours, 56 minutes, and 29 seconds!!!” As soon as the stream opened, the chat exploded with comments, exclamation marks flooding the screen. “Wife looks so good in that outfit, today’s beauty level doubled again, I just want to hold him and kiss him!!!”
【Streamer Jian Yuntai】
【Since you have entered a brand-new instance, your data has been recalculated.】
【Current Likes: 373, Coins: 17, Bookmarks: 13,000. Please keep up the good work!】
【A total of 473 streamers are participating in the Life Crystal instance. Your current ranking: 456.】
Dozens of women were dancing inside the hall. Their faces were deathly pale. Although their movements were graceful and fluid, their expressions were stiff and unnatural. They looked like eerie white porcelain dolls—almost human, yet not quite.
Behind the tea tables on both sides, silk and bamboo instruments played in chaotic harmony. The melody was mournful and resentful, drowning out the whispers within the hall.
Jian Yuntai leaned back slightly and said in a low voice, “Don’t forget—we’re here to rescue the political elite’s son. Let’s find out where he is.”
Fatty squinted as he looked around, then smacked his forehead. “That guy looked way too ordinary. I suddenly forgot what he looked like.”
“Idiot,” Yu Xingcao cursed from behind.
Fatty was just about to snap back when the instance’s electronic voice suddenly echoed through the hall. All the players stiffened at once.
【You are now in the Underworld.】
【A thousand years ago, King of Hell and the Chief Judge of the Yin Law Division, ‘Cui Yu,’ turned against each other and fought. By accident, they released countless souls from the Eighteen Hells into the Sea of Life and Death, bringing down heavenly punishment.】
【When the heavenly punishment descended, the endless lifespans of all ghost officials in the Underworld came to an end. Their soul forms gradually weakened, and death would eventually arrive. To atone for his sin, Cui Yu ascended to the Heaven and knelt outside the Southern Heavenly Gate without rising. The Buddha, moved by his compassion, granted the Record of Soul Contracts.】
At the words “soul contract,” the three dorm mates exchanged glances, their expressions turning grave.
—Those who had successfully cleared the instance had all become fools. Just days ago, they had visited one of them. His eyes were cloudy, his expression vacant, and he could only repeat two words over and over again: soul contract.
Jian Yuntai immediately focused even harder, listening intently.
【The Record of Soul Contracts can identify the fated partner of each ghost official. On the day of marriage, the ghost official and their destined person will exchange soul jades. When their spirits and flesh unite, the heavenly punishment will be lifted, and their soul forms will gradually recover.】
As soon as those words were spoken, scattered gasps erupted throughout the palace. The newer players looked stunned, while the veteran players appeared unsurprised, their expressions growing even more complicated.
Amid the murmurs, Jian Yuntai turned back in confusion and asked, “What does ‘spirits and flesh unite’ mean?”
Fatty looked equally confused and turned back as well.
Yu Xingcao answered concisely, “Sleep together.”
“…????”
The livestream chat froze for a split second—then exploded even more wildly.
“Wife’s pupils just had a massive earthquake hahaha!”
“Leave wife alone, he’s only eighteen hehe!”
“Isn’t eighteen even better? Full of energy!”
“I suspect you guys are driving this in a very questionable direction hahaha… But honestly, I didn’t expect this instance to be this hardcore. Will the stream get banned halfway through?”
“They can show murder scenes, but anything sexual is absolutely forbidden. The Alliance is seriously bizarre!”
They waited for about two minutes, but the electronic voice did not speak again.
A player about a meter to Jian Yuntai’s right looked terrible—dark circles under his eyes, his gaze dull. He muttered blankly, “It’s looping again. Why is it looping again…”
Quite a few players in the hall wore expressions of utter despair. Some of the less mentally resilient even burst into tears on the spot.
“I’ve already heard this opening eight times. I could recite it by heart. Am I going to be trapped here forever?”
“I’d rather just die. I can’t die, and I can’t… It’s unbearable. No other instance has ever made me feel this miserable. I just want to go home.”
“Can we kill our destined partner?”
“No! In the second round, some idiot tried that—and ended up dying along with them.”
Jian Yuntai did not fully understand these remarks.
But he sharply caught one particular word—
Loop.
Which meant that everything before his eyes would very likely happen again in the near future.
For players who had not cleared the instance, it was equivalent to starting over and challenging it again.
Jian Yuntai felt a twinge of confusion. What kind of mission was this? So many people couldn’t clear it, and those who did had all gone insane. Could it really be that difficult?
Just as this thought crossed his mind—creak—
The heavy, muffled sound of a door opening echoed. A group of people in dark brocade robes entered the hall. Their faces were pale and cold, as if dusted with frost, and their long, black hair fell smoothly to their waists, shining like expensive silk.
Jian Yuntai glanced at them, then quickly focused on the person leading the group—he was impossible to miss!
Among the dark-haired ghost officials, the only white-haired figure walked at the front. Every player in the palace was looking at him.
And his face justified all that attention.
The man’s features were noble and composed; as he walked, his robes fluttered elegantly. He looked as if he had stepped straight out of a painting of an exiled immortal from the Heavenly Palace. His pale eyes showed no trace of human emotion. To meet his gaze was to stare into a bottomless, dark abyss.
Under the scrutiny of all eyes, he stopped ten meters from the palace entrance and slowly scanned the crowd. Finally, his gaze fixed on Jian Yuntai.
Step by step, he walked calmly toward him.
He took a seat.
Jian Yuntai’s own dark red robe now had another layer of the man’s dark silk draped over it. The two entirely different colors intertwined, both magnificent and grand.
“…”
Jian Yuntai couldn’t help but glance at the man’s profile—those eyes reminded him of Song Yulu.
He couldn’t say exactly why, but there was a definite similarity.
Yet, though the eyes were similar, the aura was completely different. Song Yulu’s gaze had always been pure, clear, and steadfast, but these eyes were indifferent, untouchable, and almost intimidating.
For some unknown reason, even now, many players continued to watch the white-haired man. Their expressions were a mix of shock and disbelief.
Jian Yuntai’s hearing was sharp; he heard someone exclaim, “He wasn’t in the last round, right? None of the previous rounds had him!”
…What did that mean?
Could NPCs be swapped mid-instance? That didn’t make sense.
Just as he puzzled over this, the white-haired man leaned slightly forward and picked up a teapot, pouring a cup of wine.
Shh…
He gently pushed the cup forward with his index finger. His voice was low and melodic. “This is a nuptial cup. After tonight, we will be bound together in marriage. You will always be my only partner.”
“…???” What the hell??
Jian Yuntai’s eyes widened in shock. For a moment, he doubted his own ears. He even wanted to look behind him to see if anyone else was there—was the white-haired man really speaking to him?
Pfft! Fatty behind him spit out his tea, spraying it all over the floor beneath the tea table.
He was laughing so hard he nearly died, covering his mouth as he watched the white-haired man and Jian Yuntai’s backs, tea still dripping through his fingers.
But very quickly, the laughter died. And to be honest, Fatty nearly split in two on the spot.
The man beside him was using his sleeve to wipe Fatty’s mouth!
No, no, no! Don’t touch me!!!
Panic shot through Fatty as he scrambled at least half a meter away from the table. Instinctively, he threw a desperate glance at Jian Yuntai—but Jian Yuntai didn’t even look at him. Fatty had no choice but to cast a pleading glance toward Yu Xingcao behind him.
Yu Xingcao was seated next to a pale woman. But the moment he saw her, he tensed. The woman leaned just slightly closer, and he practically wanted to crawl under the tea table. His face was pure terror, silently screaming: Save me! Save me! Save me!
【Player Jian Yuntai, Soul Contract Value: 100】
【Your fated partner: Judge Cui Yu】
Jian Yuntai looked at Cui Yu, stunned. “Wait… do we know each other?”
“No.” Cui Yu’s gaze flickered slightly. He pressed his lips together. “Although we’ve never met, I knew two hundred years ago that you are my fated partner. I have come to Fengdu* specifically for you… if we delay any longer, we will both die, our souls extinguished.”
Jian Yuntai was taken aback. He focused his gaze on the entire hall.
Note: Fengdu: another hell.
All the empty seats on the left side of the players were now filled. Some had people of the same sex, some of the opposite. And only now did he realize something… the lavish robes they wore looked like wedding attire!
This palace… could it really be meant for weddings?!
Which meant that all the players present would be marrying someone tonight, completely clueless?!
The livestream viewers were in chaos—half shouting “No, don’t!” and half exclaiming over the white-haired immortal beauty.
Before anyone could settle their minds, Cui Yu dropped an even heavier statement, leaving Jian Yuntai utterly dumbfounded.
Cui Yu tilted his head slightly, as if trying to appear more approachable. A faint, awkward smile lifted one corner of his lips. His pale, beautiful eyes stayed locked on Jian Yuntai, flickering nervously.
After a tense ten seconds, he pressed his lips together and finally spoke, “Tonight… we consummate our union. Is that alright?”
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