When the ghost groom, wearing Lu Ji’s face, acted so brazenly, Gu Jiu’s feelings became… complicated.
There was a strange sense of familiarity.
Finally, Gu Jiu looked directly at the ghost groom, discreetly observing him while reflecting on everything that had happened since she entered the game world. Gradually, she sensed something was off.
Though her scrutiny was subtle, the ghost groom’s sharp senses still caught it.
A perfectly timed look of surprise appeared on his face, full of joy and excitement, as if he was genuinely delighted that she was finally acknowledging him.
“Madam, I really…” He nervously bit his bright red lips. The vivid color against his pale skin added an eerie charm, making him seem almost alive.
Gu Jiu raised her hand to interrupt him and asked seriously, “Are you truly set on this marriage?”
The ghost groom nodded.
“Then you should understand,” Gu Jiu continued, “I’m human. If I enter Youdu City with you, I’ll die.”
The ghost groom’s expression became equally serious. “It’s fine. When the time comes, you’ll transform into a ghost. That way, we can be together forever.”
Gu Jiu: “…Sorry, I’m not interested in becoming a ghost.”
Surprisingly, her rejection didn’t anger him. Instead, he appeared a bit aggrieved, his voice carrying a hint of melancholy. “Madam, do you really have no feelings for me?”
“I…” Gu Jiu stared at his face, the words on the tip of her tongue changing to, “I don’t particularly like you.”
“But you don’t hate me either, right?” The ghost groom’s shy smile bloomed, his happiness clear.
Gu Jiu: “That’s because…”
This time, he interrupted her, smiling faintly as he said softly, “You don’t need to explain. I understand! But from now on, you’ll only be my wife. No one else’s.”
So confident?
Gu Jiu raised her eyebrows slightly, a clearly fake smile spreading across her face. “Let’s see about that.” She shifted the topic. “For now, can you let me leave?”
The ghost groom glanced at her and said shyly, “We’ve only just met after so much effort. Can you stay with me a little longer?”
“No!” Gu Jiu rejected him outright. “Ah Ji is waiting for me outside. I have to go find him.”
The ghost groom lowered his head slightly, his fingers fidgeting with the hem of his robe. His pale face looked both frail and fragile, enough to tug at anyone’s heartstrings.
Seeing his familiar little habits, Gu Jiu’s mood soured.
Not only did this ghost groom look like Lu Ji, but even some of his mannerisms when facing her were eerily similar—habits only she would know about. If Lu Ji weren’t right outside, she might have actually believed this was him.
Once again, Gu Jiu realized just how tricky this game world was.
If it could dig into the deepest, most private corners of a player’s heart, then the death traps it set would likely be nearly impossible to avoid.
Just as Gu Jiu was debating whether to use another Spirit Communication Card to leave, the ghost groom suddenly raised his head, his gaze fixed on the staircase leading to the sixth floor.
Something seemed to ripple in the depths of his eyes. Before Gu Jiu could see it clearly, he abruptly stood up and grabbed her hand.
“Madam, I’ll come back for you tonight. I’ll take you to see the Nether River at night.” His tone was impossibly shy, his eyes filled with longing, his expression one of deep reluctance.
Gu Jiu felt a powerful force approaching, as if something was about to break through the space of this Death Notice. The surrounding area grew unstable, and an ominous feeling began to take shape.
As the ghost groom before her faded away like morning dew, the uniquely human clamor from the outside world echoed faintly, breaking the eerie silence of the space.
Gu Jiu was still on the seventh floor of the tower, but it was no longer the Ghost Tower—it was a normal, ancient pagoda.
“Ah Jiu!”
Lu Ji appeared at the staircase leading to the seventh floor. Seeing her standing there, he strode toward her and pulled her into a tight embrace.
The seventh floor wasn’t empty; there were other tourists. They glanced casually at the two girls hugging before returning their attention to the windows, peering out at the old town below.
Lu Ji hugged her so tightly that Gu Jiu began to feel the strain on her waist. She coughed lightly and patted his shoulder, saying, “Ah Ji, ease up a bit. My waist needs some care.”
Lu Ji hurriedly released her, his hands nervously checking her waist for any discomfort. His reddened eyes stared at her as he softly murmured, “Ah Jiu, I’m sorry.”
Gu Jiu couldn’t handle seeing the pitiful look on this “beautiful girl’s” face. She gave in immediately and said, “It’s really nothing…”
Having a boyfriend disguised as a pretty girl was too unfair. Even though she knew the “monster” under his skirt was far more intimidating than that of an average man, who could resist him when he acted like this?
After confirming that her waist was fine, Lu Ji slipped one hand between her fingers, intertwining them with hers. Looking like a pitiful puppy, he muttered, “Ah Jiu, that male ghost came again, didn’t he?”
“…How do you know?”
“Because you never left the Death Notice Time.”
When players entered Death Notice Time, the time flow was identical to that in the real world. However long they stayed in the Death Notice, the same amount of time passed in reality.
So when Lu Ji couldn’t find her in the pagoda for a long time, he suspected she had been trapped in Death Notice Time.
Gu Jiu coughed lightly, feeling a sudden need to explain herself. “Maybe the ghosts in this ancient pagoda are too strong, and I got trapped?”
“Impossible!” Lu Ji rejected the idea without hesitation. “Ordinary ghosts aren’t a match for you.”
The bloodline of a heavenly demon was overwhelmingly powerful. When ordinary ghosts encountered it, they could only be crushed. How could they possibly keep her trapped? Unless… it was a rule intrinsic to this game world.
As he thought about it, his expression darkened significantly.
Gu Jiu felt a pang of guilt. Although she didn’t think she’d done anything wrong, there was something unsettling about facing her boyfriend’s calm and reasoned deduction.
Sure enough, he soon murmured, wounded, “Ah Jiu, this is the first time you’ve defended someone irrelevant. Do you care about that ghost?”
“No…” Faced with her boyfriend’s knowing gaze, Gu Jiu had to admit, “Okay, maybe a little.”
Lu Ji’s expression grew even more pained, and he looked utterly devastated.
Gu Jiu quickly added, “I just think he’s a lot like you—not just in appearance, but also in personality, and even in…” She trailed off, realizing that if she continued, Lu Ji might grab his sword and storm straight into Youdu City to slay the ghost groom.
“Ah Jiu, he is absolutely not me!” Lu Ji said coldly. “You need to remember that.”
Gu Jiu stared at him for a moment before replying, “Alright, I’ll remember. But… he said he’d come back tonight.”
Lu Ji: “…” I should’ve just killed that ghost groom first.
The two left the ancient pagoda together.
On the way out, they were both unusually silent. Perhaps it was the ghost groom, or perhaps it was the sinister undertones of this game world that kept them quiet.
Not long after they left the pagoda, they encountered Chai Yingying and Jiang Ze.
“Miss Gu, Lu Ji!”
Chai Yingying approached, dragging Jiang Ze along. Her face was pale, and Gu Jiu’s keen senses caught the faint scent of blood emanating from both of them.
“You’re injured?” Gu Jiu’s expression shifted slightly.
Jiang Ze forced a wry smile. “Just minor injuries, nothing serious. What about you two? You just came down from the ancient pagoda, right? Did you…?”
“Yes, we encountered something, but we’re fine!” Gu Jiu replied, deciding against continuing their tour of the old town. Instead, they chose to return to the Xiao Qiao Inn with Chai Yingying and Jiang Ze.
—
Upon returning to the inn, they discovered that Tan Lan and her group had also returned. Their pale faces and the faint scent of blood hanging around them suggested similar troubles.
“You’re hurt too?” Chai Yingying asked.
Tan Lan nodded, her voice weak. “We were crossing the suspension bridge on the east side of town when we received a Death Notice on our phones. It led to a fierce battle.”
Her words brought a flash of post-traumatic fear to everyone’s eyes. The sheer relief of surviving was evident.
After exchanging a few brief words, everyone went to their rooms to treat their injuries.
Gu Jiu and Lu Ji followed Chai Yingying and Jiang Ze into their room.
Chai Yingying, expecting Gu Jiu to help with her wounds, cheerfully began removing her clothing. Lu Ji, however, immediately turned his back to face the window, as if even a single glance would scar him.
“Yingying, there’s a man here! Do you think I’m not a man?” Jiang Ze weakly reminded her.
Chai Yingying shot him a sideways glance. “If you’re brave, go ahead and look.”
Jiang Ze silently turned his back. Fine, he wasn’t brave enough.
With him facing away, Chai Yingying continued undressing. She stripped down to just her undergarments, revealing her battered body to Gu Jiu. Long, gory wounds crisscrossed her skin, as if inflicted by blunt wooden rods.
Hissing in pain, Chai Yingying grimaced and said, “Miss Gu, could you please help me apply the medicine?”
Gu Jiu took the medicine she handed over and began cleaning her wounds, applying the ointment with care. “Where did you get hurt?”
“On the west side of town, during the stilt-walking performance,” Chai Yingying answered weakly. “Jiang Ze and I were watching the performance. It was so lively, packed with tourists everywhere. Then, out of nowhere, the sky darkened. Those stilt performers—when did they even turn into ghosts? They started leaping on their stilts like acrobats, lunging at us. The wooden stilts on their feet were like murder weapons. A single stomp could shatter the floorboards…”
The stilt-walking performance was a popular attraction in the old town, drawing numerous tourists. Performers dressed in vibrant costumes, with heavy makeup, sang and danced on stilts, creating a captivating spectacle.
Chai Yingying and Jiang Ze hadn’t expected the Death Notice to arrive during such a moment. The lively atmosphere drowned out the phone alerts, leaving them unprepared. It wasn’t until the ghosts attacked that they realized they had entered Death Notice Time.
After barely escaping, they managed to check their phones. The notification had indeed been tied to the stilt-walking performance.
The ghostly stilt-walkers were not only numerous but also frighteningly skilled. Their agility on the stilts made them even more terrifying, as they could leap through the air and chase players wherever they ran. Chai Yingying and Jiang Ze narrowly escaped with their lives.
After tending to her wounds, Gu Jiu noticed that Chai Yingying’s complexion had improved. She dressed herself and moved to help Jiang Ze with his injuries.
Seeing that Lu Ji still had his back to the room, Chai Yingying couldn’t resist teasing him. “Lu Ji, we’re all women here. What are you so embarrassed about?”
Lu Ji’s voice was calm but firm as he replied, “I’m not that kind of woman.”
Lu Ji ignored her teasing. Only when he sensed she had finished dressing did he finally turn around and sit next to Gu Jiu.
Jiang Ze’s injuries were similar to Chai Yingying’s, all caused by the ghosts striking them with their wooden stilts.
As Chai Yingying applied medicine to Jiang Ze’s wounds, she asked Gu Jiu and Lu Ji about their experiences. After hearing about their ordeal in the ancient pagoda, she concluded that their Death Notice had been equally dangerous.
In reality, the Death Notices that Gu Jiu and Lu Ji received in the pagoda were identical. However, they had been separated by the ghost groom, and Lu Ji had managed to leave the Death Notice Time shortly afterward.