Sacrificial Lamb (10)
It was just a light pat, but System 001 still looked deeply aggrieved.
Looking at the glowing ball in his arms, Chen Li thought for a moment and decided to voice the bold idea that had just come to him: [001, do you think there’s a chance… that the ‘father’ you keep talking about is actually Fu Moyang?]
System 001: […What?]
If heartbreak made a sound, the room would be filled with the crackle of shattering pieces right now.
Chen Li shook the glowing ball in his hand with a puzzled expression.
Hmm, it looked like it had just suffered a huge blow.
The originally soft white glow of the ball dimmed all at once. Even its voice was trembling: [W-What are you saying?]
Chen Li absentmindedly rubbed the ball in his hand: [Do you have any memories of your father?]
System 001 froze.
[N-No, I’ve known what my mission was since birth. After being given that mission, I found you.]
[I remember you said I was selected through a random draw,] Chen Li said thoughtfully. [But I’ve always had doubts. Out of all the people in the world, why was I chosen? And you had my information from the very beginning.]
The host is even smarter than expected. Though System 001 prided itself on being a highly advanced life form, its mind went completely blank at this moment. It was horrified to realize it couldn’t refute any of it.
The selection of the host had been predetermined when System 001 was created. As for Chen Li’s information—his fear of ghosts, timid behavior, and the contradictory combination of rigid habits and an odd fascination with eerie aesthetics—all of it had been there from the start.
It hadn’t collected that data itself. Which only left one possibility: the person who created it had implanted all of that information from the beginning.
Chen Li: [What I don’t understand the most is this—everything in existence operates with a purpose. Just like this Horror Game exists to continually harvest fear points. At first, I thought you were the same, but you never asked for anything. It really seemed like you were created solely to assist me. That’s why I stopped thinking you were working with the Horror Game.]
And it wasn’t until today, after witnessing Fu Moyang’s incredible and meticulous crafting abilities, that Chen Li felt like he had finally grasped the elusive butterfly by its wings.
Fu Moyang had also mentioned before that he’d lost part of his memory. Even if it sounded like he was fishing for sympathy, it wasn’t the kind of thing someone would make up just for fun.
System 001 wasn’t stupid. The host had said so much already—no matter how much it tried to deny reality, it could piece together the rest from here.
For once, it spoke with a pitiful tone: [So you’re saying that… Fu Moyang’s core separated from his body four years ago, and during that time, the core took a liking to you, kidnapped you for a wedding, then returned to his body. Knowing he’d forget everything upon reuniting with his body, he created me as a chance for the two of you to meet again?]
No wonder it could manifest in this place—this city was created by Fu Moyang. As his creation, it naturally had the right to appear freely here.
Even though the system was just calmly analyzing the facts, Chen Li’s face slowly began to flush.
W-Why did this sound like he’d been kidnapped by a bandit for marriage?
System 001 was so shaken it couldn’t say another word. It dimmed into a solitary little ball, growing more and more horrified the more it thought.
If Fu Moyang really was its father, then what had it done??
From the start, it had been vehemently opposing the two of them being together, even going so far as to badmouth him to the host.
Thinking back to the things it had said when they first met, System 001 gave another violent shudder. It felt like its career as a system was officially over.
There wasn’t much time left for discussion—soon, a voice came from outside, calling them to come out.
This time, the voice sounded like a woman over forty. She deliberately pinched her voice into a high-pitched tone, her words theatrically exaggerated: “Bride, come on out now! Don’t miss the auspicious hour~”
Hearing that, Chen Li instinctively wanted to step back, but System 001 bumped into him and urged in a quick voice: [Host, if you want to break out of this memory node, you have to stop repeating the past! Things can’t unfold the same way!]
With that, it automatically vanished.
“Things can’t unfold the same way… it can’t…” Chen Li pressed his aching head.
All those memories he had deliberately repressed after being traumatized came flooding back. He suddenly remembered more details.
Four years ago, he hadn’t tried to escape. He had just curled up woodenly in the corner of a room. Even when he heard someone calling him from outside, he didn’t go out, causing them to miss the auspicious wedding hour. The rest of the wedding rituals were skipped, and he was simply dressed and shoved into a room to wait for the groom.
He couldn’t let it be the same as four years ago. Which meant—this time, he had to go through with marrying Fu Moyang at the auspicious hour.
Chen Li mumbled very quietly: “Why does this feel like someone’s wish fulfillment?”
Whose wish was being fulfilled… didn’t need to be said.
He didn’t hesitate anymore and opened the door.
The moment they saw Chen Li, the man outside—dressed as a woman—froze, then looked down at him and shrieked: “Aiya aiya! Hurry up, don’t miss the auspicious hour! If we’re late, that master will kill us all!!”
His voice suddenly shot up on those last two words.
It was a sentence that should have been terrifying, yet the man still wore a stiff smile on his face.
After all, it was the Ghost King who got married—how could the ghosts not smile?
The ghost reached out and clapped his hands. From around the corner, several children carrying a sedan chair appeared. But on closer inspection, they weren’t children at all—they were dwarves. They carried the sedan chair so low that Chen Li could easily sit down without any effort.
Once seated, the ride was steady and smooth—he wasn’t jostled at all. It was eerily similar to the paper figures wedding procession in the earlier game instance.
Clearly, whether it was the core or the main body, the aesthetic preferences were exactly the same.
Having already experienced one bizarre wedding procession, Chen Li was relatively calm this time. Still, he clenched his fists nervously, his face pale, as he was carried into the bustling main hall.
With the red veil covering his head, he couldn’t see what was happening outside, but he could feel the change. The rowdy, festive atmosphere instantly vanished the moment he entered. Even the faint clinking of dishes and chopsticks ceased. The silence was so complete, it was as if someone had hit the pause button.
And it wasn’t surprising.
A certain Ghost King, after being separated from his main body, had become even more arrogant and domineering. He casually conjured up a hundred ghosts from resentment just to follow human wedding customs—so the little bride he snatched would feel honored by the grand ceremony.
But the moment that little bride appeared, dressed in the clothes he had prepared and veiled in red, he still couldn’t suppress the wicked intent surging in his heart.
All those ghosts had lost their “eyes” and “mouths.”
His bride didn’t need to hear any other voices, didn’t need to be seen by anyone else.
It was enough for him to see only him, listen only to him, and desire only him.
If Chen Li were to lift the bridal veil right now, he would see the handsome Ghost King—origin of all ghosts—standing at the top of the ceremonial platform, his face twisted by his own obsessive desire. The look in his eyes seemed desperate to imprison him.
This was the truest, most unfiltered side of Fu Moyang, one he had never shown before.
But unfortunately, Chen Li knew nothing. Unaware and oblivious, he raised his head and gazed at him through the hazy red veil.
A soft wave of ghostly energy lifted his right hand, and Chen Li, going along with it, rose to his feet and stepped up the altar stairs. The matchmaker ghost beside him didn’t dare to touch him and nervously whispered: “Please lift your foot over the fire basin.”
Even the fire basin was made of gold and encrusted with gems and jade. The lifelike golden dragon encircling it was clearly crafted by a master. Only Fu Moyang would squander a priceless artifact like that for a one-time use.
The entire wedding scene was steeped in opulence and indulgence. The word “luxury” wasn’t nearly enough to capture the brilliance of it all. The floor was paved with fine Hetian white jade and refined gold; pink sapphires worth billions at auction were tossed aside as flowerpot decorations. Exotic flowers from the Western regions were bunched together like common wildflowers. All of this—just to win a single smile from his beloved.
Fu Moyang’s eyes were full of anticipation. If he had a tail, it would’ve been wagging like crazy.
Only the matchmaker ghost, who officiated the ceremony, still had a mouth to speak. He glanced up at the sky—which had just been clear and bright—and saw it suddenly darken as thick, heavy clouds rolled in. Yet he looked pleased and shouted: “The auspicious hour has arrived! Let the ceremony begin!”
Fu Moyang stared at the human standing before him, his silver-grey vertical pupils unblinking.
Even through the veil, Chen Li could feel the man’s piercing gaze on him. The bird in his heart—one that had been fluttering all along—suddenly beat its wings wildly, leaving his mind a jumbled mess.
It had been four years, and yet everything felt so different now.
“One bow to Heaven and Earth—”
“Second bow to the parents—”
“Husband and wife, bow to each other—”
Fu Moyang never looked away from him for a second, his eyes filled with nothing but him.
This was the little bride he had chosen—his prey, his offering, his lamb.
Even though he hadn’t had a drop of wine, Chen Li felt intoxicated. His steps were light and dreamy as he was led into the bridal chamber.
The moment he stepped inside, his chaotic mind finally started to clear.
Through the bottom of the red veil, he looked around the room—the one that had haunted his dreams since he was sixteen. With a mixture of emotions, he quietly walked over and sat on the bed.
Unlike the fear he had in his dreams or memories, this time, sitting on the soft mattress, he felt a strange and secret joy.
So this is what it felt like—he had just married Fu Moyang.
System 001 didn’t dare show itself, but from the dramatic fluctuations in the host’s emotions, it could more or less guess what he was thinking.
It was speechless. It should’ve known—despite appearing timid, its host had a heart more passionate and straightforward than anyone else’s. Once he set his sights on something, he would never let go.
Though as timid as a lamb, he had an unexpected obsession with the supernatural. If any normal person had gone through a ghost wedding, they’d be terrified and desperate to escape. But he? Not only was he happy, he even wanted to draw it as a keepsake… In a way, he and Fu Moyang were a perfect match.
Soon, footsteps approached from outside. Fu Moyang opened the door and walked in, holding a wedding scale1 made of wolf bones as he slowly approached.
“My little lamb.” He leaned in close, his eyes filled with a violently suppressed possessiveness.
Even through the red veil, Chen Li felt something light and soft fall on the top of his head.
Unlike four years ago, the man was in a much better mood now that the ceremony had gone smoothly. He didn’t seal Chen Li’s movements. Instead, he reached out with the wedding scale, just about to lift the veil when—
Chen Li suddenly trembled without warning, a chill rising from the base of his spine.
A shadowy voice whispered low and slow:
“I finally found you.”
And then, something cold and wet gently licked his soft, delicate earlobe.
Author’s note:
Things are heating up.
