"There seems to be a switch here," Cui Mantong said, hugging Cui Tong and moving forward to flip it. With a click, the oil lamp on the simple wooden table cast a faint light, illuminating the room.
"Is this the bride's house?" Wen Zhiyan asked, his gaze flickering briefly over the ancestral tablets in the main hall, a movement so quick no one noticed.
Chen Huan stepped forward and touched the surface. "It's very clean here. Someone must have come to clean it."
Cui Tong cautiously sat on the long bench. "What if the bride isn't dead?" Otherwise, who would want to stay in such a haunted place?
Chen Huan shook his head. "Not necessarily. We need more evidence."
Ye Fei remained silent and strode towards the canopied bed, lifting the veil. Inside, there was nothing but a pillow.
"What is it?" Wen Zhiyan asked, catching up.
Ye Fei glanced at it again, uncertain, before saying, "I just caught a glimpse of someone here out of the corner of my eye."
"Someone? Where?"
Cui Mantong followed, but not noticing the raised platform, she stumbled and fell towards the bed.
"Mantong!" Cui Tong rushed over anxiously.
"Hold on, I'm fine," Cui Mantong said, holding her waist with one hand and reaching for the pillow with the other. "This pillow... it feels a bit off."
"What's wrong with it?" Cui Tong reached out and touched the pillow, which instantly deflated. His fingers froze, then he casually withdrew his hand. "Uh, I didn't mean to. I didn't know it was so fragile."
As he spoke, the loudspeaker announced that Cui Tong, who had damaged the pillow, needed to undertake a solo mission. Cui Tong's face turned even more grim than if he were crying.
[This incident teaches us, President Cui, that one needs to think thrice before acting, or one only ends up harming oneself. But seriously, President Cui, you got this! You're the best. You should look up to Sister Mantong and be the bravest man in the world.]
[President Cui, fly bravely! We're here to cheer you on! President Cui, Sister Mantong will definitely be impressed by your handsome retreating back.]
[I've already recorded it, comrades. We must always be prepared to capture Brother-in-law's most manly moment.]
[You guys upstairs are true fans. I seriously suspect you're employees from President Cui's company, just here for the drama.]
"Can't someone else go in my place?" Cui Tong asked, his voice hollow.
"Of course," the loudspeaker replied. "If you're really scared, you can have someone else go for you."
"Are you kidding me?" Cui Tong straightened his chest instantly. "How could I be scared? I was just joking. Tell me, what is it?"
Everyone's gaze fell on Cui Tong.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Cui Tong instinctively took a step back.
"Nothing, it's just that we didn't realize you'd become so brave," Wen Zhiyan said with a smile.
"Tch," Cui Tong rolled his eyes. "You don't know a lot. What's the big deal? Tell me, what mission? I'll show you all today how capable I am."
The loudspeaker announced: "Cui Tong's mission is to go down the well to confirm something very important."
Hearing this, Cui Tong's mouth twitched. Go down the well for something important? Did he have to talk to the bride? Was this serious? What if something suddenly popped out of there? Thinking of this, Cui Tong's legs felt weak again. Can't I get a more human mission?
"Now, Cui Tong, please go out and descend the well. Remember, the well needs to be guarded by two strong men simultaneously, or unexpected accidents could occur at any time."
[Did you see Cui Tong's face? When they first told him to go on the mission, he thought he could definitely complete it. Then he heard he had to go down the well and he clearly panicked. In the end, he even needed two burly men to stand guard and watch him. His expression changed immediately.]
[Cui Tong says: Fear is fear, but some people absolutely cannot know about it. This is about a man's dignity.]
[It's fine, it's fine. I can't wait to see the consequences of President Cui's bravado. It's a shame the camera is a night vision one. If it were normal light, it might be even better to watch.]
[You on the floor, get real. If it were normal light, would President Cui still be afraid?]
Escorted by two men, Cui Tong was shoved onto a bucket and lowered down.
"Don't worry, if you see anything down there, just shout, and we'll pull you up immediately."
Cui Tong rolled his eyes at the schadenfreude in Wen Zhiyan's voice. Without waiting for Cui Tong's reply, Wen Zhiyan directly lowered him.
Down the well.
The moment Cui Tong landed, streaks of red light appeared in the well.
"Who's there?" Cui Tong looked vigilantly towards a spot. "Come out."
He heard faint sobbing. Cui Tong swallowed and, mustering his courage, walked further in. *Creak.* Cui Tong looked at the screen blocking his path and fell silent.
"Is anyone in there?" he called out.
"Help."
Hearing the voice from behind the screen, a chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He instinctively took a few steps back.
"Cui Tong, big brother, hurry and untie me."
Cui Tong stopped. The voice sounded familiar.
"Cui Tong, big brother!"
Cui Tong's broken train of thought finally clicked. "Are you Fang Miaomiao?"
"Help me quickly!"
Cui Tong quickly strode past the screen, and a coffin came into view.
"You're in the coffin?"
Fang Miaomiao was tapping on the coffin from inside. Cui Tong cursed and, using all his strength, opened the coffin.
"Hi there," Fang Miaomiao said with a smile, greeting Cui Tong.
"You almost scared me to death," Cui Tong said, seeing the wedding dress she was wearing in the lamplight. "You met the bride?"
Fang Miaomiao nodded, struggling to climb out of the coffin. "Don't ask. I went back with Mantong to get the key to find you, but I was directly kidnapped by the bride."
"The bride made me put on her clothes and lie here instead."
Cui Tong frowned slightly. "So, the bride might have taken off her wedding dress and is hiding among us?"
Fang Miaomiao shook her head. "I don't know. But what if it's not just one bride?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Fang Miaomiao pointed to the lid of the coffin. "When I was locked inside, I found many clues."
"Such as?"
"For example, there were no less than ten bride's bodies lying in this coffin."
"Ten? So many?"
Fang Miaomiao nodded. "So I'm wondering if there's more than one bride causing trouble in the village." After all, who wouldn't resent being abandoned by the villagers?
"Cui Tong's mission is complete. You can go up and reunite with your teammates."