Chapter 230: Both Sides Tremble in Fear
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
“I’m so scared of the dark…”
Wen Ning’s face was pale as she clutched a silk handkerchief tightly, her eyes filled with unease.
For the past few days, she could only catch brief naps during the daytime. Perhaps the sunlight was a blessing, allowing her to sleep soundly without the torment of nightmares.
But as soon as night fell, she was dragged into a relentless abyss of horror from which she could not wake.
She was fully aware it was just a dream—yet there was no escape.
“He… he said he would come to marry me tonight.” Wen Ning’s heart pounded wildly.
The world was merciless to women. If word spread that she had encountered a man in her dreams, the rumors would be unbearably cruel.
And worse, she couldn’t explain it to anyone.
“I even went to the temple to seek a Peace Talisman, yet it couldn’t keep him away. He even sent me a betrothal gift…” Wen Ning walked to her bed and retrieved a pair of small paper dolls from beneath her pillow.
The figures, cut from yellow paper, depicted a boy and a girl with glaring red patches painted on their cheeks.
Their lips were smeared a deep crimson, as if dripping with blood, and their twisted smiles sent shivers down the spine.
“I don’t even know if this is a dream or reality. If it was just a dream, then why are these paper dolls appearing at my bedside?” Wen Ning trembled in fear.
“Chao Chao, I love your second brother. I only want to be his wife. But if I cannot escape tonight…” A fierce determination flared in Wen Ning’s gaze.
“If I have no way out, then I will stake my life to destroy him along with me!”
Lu Chao Chao’s tiny face turned grim with fury.
Her second brother had gone to war, yet she couldn’t even protect her future sister-in-law.
Her Sunshine Sword was itching to be drawn!
“Sister Ning, don’t be afraid. Did he tell you an address?” Lu Chao Chao asked.
Wen Ning’s eyes reddened as she nodded.
“He did. He told me to come and recognize my new home. But I was too scared and never went.” She hesitated, feeling a bit embarrassed to be confiding in a mere two-year-old in her desperation.
“Chao Chao, you’re still just a child. Sister Ning will find a way to handle this. You should go back to school.”
Lu Chao Chao pouted. “No way! You’re my future sister-in-law.”
“I promised Second Brother to protect you, Sister Ning.”
Wen Ning’s cheeks flushed as Lu Chao Chao took her hand and led her outside.
“Yu Shu, get me a day’s leave.”
Yu Shu grimaced. “How am I supposed to do that…?”
Lu Chao Chao scrambled into the carriage and snuggled into Sister Ning’s arms. “Sister Ning, where is his house?”
Wen Ning pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. “In my dream, he told me… his home is three miles east of the city. At the village entrance, there’s a giant locust tree. The place is called Great Locust-Tree Village.”
“There are many households in the village, with a river flowing before them…”
“He keeps urging me to go to him. I was too frightened and never dared. Last night, he became angry…” In her dream, he had raged at her, demanding why she hadn’t come, why she hadn’t sought him out…
“Great Locust-Tree Village? Three miles away?” Lu Chao Chao rubbed her head, feeling the name was strangely familiar.
The carriage rumbled toward the outskirts of the city.
Along the way, the maid constantly asked for directions.
“Old sir, could you tell us the way to Great Locust-Tree Village?” the maid inquired of an elderly traveler.
The old man froze. “Great Locust-Tree Village? Why are you going there?”
Wen Ning lifted the curtain.
The old man was dressed in tattered clothes, his feet clad in straw sandals with his toes exposed to the biting cold. Seeing this, Wen Ning ordered her maid to bring out a thick blanket and handed him some silver coins.
“A relative of mine lives there. I’m going to visit them.”
The old man expressed his gratitude but furrowed his brows at her words.
“Miss, you have a kind heart. May fortune bless you, but you should turn back. You must have been deceived. Great Locust-Tree Village has been gone for many years.”
“During the reign of the tyrant Emperor Xue, the people suffered terribly. That village, being so close to the capital, offended the emperor and was massacred.”
“That place is now a mass grave. There are no living souls—only endless graves.”
“People passing by tremble in fear. You should go back…” The old man, wrapped tightly in his new blanket, pleaded earnestly.
“Just recently, there were rumors of hauntings.”
“A ghostly infant, dead in infancy, was said to crawl out of its grave, dragging a soul-locking chain, searching for a living soul to take its place…”
“Miss, heed my advice and turn back. Even the bravest fishermen refuse to go near that place now.” The old man shuddered as he spoke.
Wen Ning’s expression stiffened. She forced a smile and thanked him before retreating into the carriage.
“A mass grave?”
“Could it be… that he really is a wandering ghost?”
The thought of the ghost visiting her dreams night after night made Wen Ning shudder violently.
“We’re already outside the city, so why not take a look? Don’t be afraid, Sister Ning…” Lu Chao Chao gripped Wen Ning’s hand tightly, offering her encouragement.
Wen Ning took a deep breath.
Pale-faced, she said, “Let’s go take a look.”
Following the old man’s directions, they veered onto a narrow path.
Lu Chao Chao found the surroundings increasingly familiar.
Wasn’t this the same mass grave she had slept in when she ran away from home?
“I’ve been here before…” she whispered.
“Up ahead is a river, and by the river stands a massive locust tree.”
“I didn’t notice any ghosts…”
“But there was an old lunatic who liked to fish.”
“Last time, I only said two words to him, and he burst into wails and ran off. Scared me to death!” Lu Chao Chao patted her chest dramatically.
“He was crazy—really crazy, truly terrifying!”
Wen Ning couldn’t help but chuckle. “That frightening?”
“Yes! He howled and cried… who wouldn’t be scared?” The little girl’s soft voice made the eerie situation feel oddly endearing.
The carriage came to a halt beneath the Great Locust Tree.
“Locust trees attract yin energy. There’s always been a legend that they call spirits… it’s truly frightening…” The maid hovered anxiously behind Wen Ning.
Lu Chao Chao pointed toward the riverbank. “Over there! That’s where I met the crazy old man.”
Wen Ning’s face turned deathly white as she looked toward the countless gravestones behind them.
Her body swayed, nearly collapsing.
“Miss, let’s go back! Or perhaps we should seek help from a high monk at the National Temple?” The maid’s teeth chattered as she gazed at the sea of unmarked graves.
“The National Temple’s abbot won’t return to the capital for another three months—we don’t have that much time,” Wen Ning murmured, clutching her silk handkerchief.
“Sister Ning, what is his name?” Lu Chao Chao asked.
“Zhu Yong He.”
Lu Chao Chao held Wen Ning’s trembling hand as they stepped forward.
The mass grave was filled with nameless, abandoned graves. Some had headstones, worn and cracked.
Most had none at all.
As Wen Ning walked, she suddenly froze, eyes darting around in panic.
“Wife… wife, have you come to see me?”
“Tonight, you shall be my bride… wife… you are my chosen bride…”
Wen Ning clutched her ears, scanning her surroundings in terror.
“Who’s there?!” She forced herself to suppress her fear and shouted.
The cold wind howled, lifting a flurry of snow.
The trees shuddered violently.
The maid had turned deathly pale, trembling uncontrollably.
At some point, Lu Chao Chao had drawn her Sunshine Sword.
Though the blade remained sheathed, its presence concealed a lethal intent.