Chapter 48

For the village chief of Happiness Village, whether Shi Jian was glowing or showing divine powers was not as convincing as Shi Jian being able to subdue the female ghost.

He now trusted Shi Jian completely.

Shi Jian had thoroughly become the spiritual pillar of Happiness Village.

A spiritual pillar. A celestial maiden. Shi Jian just wanted to ask if the bridal dress looked good, although she had already received the answer she wanted from everyone’s amazed gazes.

It was the streamers who gave Shi Jian a positive answer: “Absolutely beautiful!”

Having gotten the new clothes, the new skin, Shi Jian now had the energy to respond to Grandma Yu. She asked, “Grandma Yu, did you really want me dead? Sorry to disappoint you.”

Grandma Yu: “...”

This is what they mean by a troublemaker for a thousand years—this woman is just too much!

Grandma Yu felt a bitter taste in her throat, furious at Shi Jian. But that was not the end, because once Shi Jian spoke, the villagers’ attention also turned to Grandma Yu.

The villagers were in high spirits and would never allow anyone to slander the celestial maiden. One by one, they looked sternly at Grandma Yu.

How could anyone speak ill of the celestial maiden?

The village chief again reprimanded Grandma Yu severely and warned, “This must not happen again, or you must leave our Happiness Village.”

Shi Jian and the other streamers didn’t take this threat seriously; if it weren’t for the mandatory mission, they definitely wouldn’t stay here.

But Grandma Yu, hearing that the village chief wanted to drive them out, was more heartbroken than if it were her own grandson.

She cried and hit her thigh, wailing to the heavens.

“I have given so much to our village, and now you want to drive us out? Is that reasonable?”

The village chief gave a signal to the villagers and dragged Grandma Yu aside.

He wanted to know the detailed situation inside the ancestral hall—had the celestial maiden used powerful magic? Was the battle intense?

He respectfully asked Shi Jian, “Celestial maiden, did you eliminate the female ghost?”

The detailed situation was indeed a fierce battle. Shi Jian had used all her strength to strip off the ghost bride’s wedding dress and felt exhausted, even sweating.

Of course, she couldn’t say all this; she dodged the details and said only what mattered: “The female ghost ran away.”

The village chief didn’t see any problem with that. Although he felt it was a pity the ghost wasn’t completely destroyed, the fact that even the female ghost was scared off proved the celestial maiden’s power was boundless. The day she fully subdued the female ghost was not far off!

...

It was a rare clear day in Happiness Village. Although the sun came out only at noon, it gave the streamers some hope.

If things kept going this way, maybe the sunrise would appear tomorrow?

Though everyone felt the difficulty was very high.

However, once afternoon came, the village was again engulfed in thick fog. The mist stretched endlessly, and if people moved even slightly far apart, they couldn’t see each other.

“What do we do now?”

“Wait.”

“Actually, life is pretty good now, even though it’s because of the big shot’s help. Have you ever been in a battle royale dungeon where something chases and kills you the whole time? The amount of running is insane. I never want to enter that kind of dungeon again...”Suddenly having some free time, the streamers began discussing how to leave this dungeon.

This village was strange and eerie; from the moment they entered, everyone started encountering ghosts. The streamers also wanted to clear it.

But as always, the weather was beyond their control.

The final goal of this dungeon was different from Shi Jian’s last dungeon involving Cinderella. It seemed more like they had to survive in Happiness Village, holding on until the sunrise appeared.

Moreover, since settling here, thanks to Shi Jian’s flashy moves, she had directly become a celestial maiden, and the streamers’ status naturally improved a lot as well.

Some of the more mentally resilient streamers felt they could keep holding on.

After all, there was no life-threatening danger, right?

The life-threatening dangers had all been faced by Shi Jian, so the other streamers were relatively safer.

In Shi Jian’s previous dungeon—even if it was a beginner dungeon—some streamers died at the start. Here, after several days in Happiness Village, there were originally eight streamers, and there were still eight.

When people face no threat to life, they tend to slack off and lower their guard. So far, this dungeon seemed like a dispute between villagers and female ghosts.

Then something happened.

Shi Jian was inside the house continuing to sign—drawing talismans—with some streamers helping her, since they still had to maintain the image of celestial maiden followers in front of the villagers.

Suddenly, not far away, faint but panicked screams could be heard: “What is this thing… can someone come save me?”

Shi Jian felt the voice was familiar, unlike a villager’s.

Zhou Fan, who was helping arrange talismans nearby, instantly turned pale. She stood up abruptly and told Shi Jian, “It’s the streamer who shares a room with me.”

It was the female streamer who shared a room with Zhou Fan.

She was clearly facing some very hard-to-solve trouble.

Zhou Fan immediately rushed out, and Shi Jian followed closely behind her. The other streamers also began rushing out of their rooms.

As soon as Shi Jian stepped outside, she heard lively sounds of drums, gongs, and suona horns—like a wedding procession. Then she saw an astonishing sight.

A bright red bridal sedan chair was swaying in midair. There was no one—no living being—carrying it, yet the sedan chair was moving steadily away at a good pace, accompanied by the drumming.

The streamer who had been shouting for help was on the bridal sedan chair. She was leaning half her body out of the window, struggling with her hands nonstop. When she saw Shi Jian and the others, she looked like a drowning person clutching at a floating log, her eyes filled with hope.

“Save me!”

“I can’t get down; my body feels like it’s being controlled.”

“I don’t know what’s happening; this bridal sedan chair sucked me in...”

Shi Jian also wanted to save that streamer. Wearing her Barbie-pink high heels, she chased the bridal sedan chair with the speed of someone fleeing a ghost. But by the time everyone noticed, it was already late—the sedan chair had pulled far ahead.

It quickly disappeared into a thick fog, carrying the streamer away. All that remained were the festive suona sounds and the children’s giggling nursery rhyme.

The nursery rhyme sang: “The bright red bridal sedan sways and sways, the bride obediently rides inside, the bride cries, the groom laughs.”

This sudden appearance of the eerie bridal sedan carrying away a female streamer sent chills down everyone’s spines.

But that wasn’t the end. The innocent childlike voice, filled with malice, rang out again, as if counting.

“One, two, three... very good, three brides left!”A total of eight streamers entered this dungeon—four men and four women. One of the female streamers was just taken away in front of everyone.

The suona music abruptly stopped, the children's voices disappeared, and the surroundings suddenly fell silent—an unsettling silence.

“Where... was she taken to?”

Someone asked in a trembling voice.

The remaining streamers shook their heads blankly; no one knew, but most likely she was dead.

“Did you hear what it said just now? That there are still three brides left?”

This question was asked by the female streamer who shared a room with Shi Jian.

Shi Jian nodded blankly; she heard it.

Now including Shi Jian, there were only three female streamers left.

The bridal sedan chair was coming for them, and it only targeted female streamers. That last phrase seemed to hint that Shi Jian and the others would be taken away just like the one before.

[“I was just thinking the dungeon was going smoothly, and now trouble’s coming so fast?”]

[“That bridal sedan chair is so eerie, I saw the female streamer get sucked in, super fast.”]

[“I barely dared to watch; my palms were sweating.”]

...

Although the sudden appearance of the bridal sedan chair made the streamers no longer able to relax like before, it was still clear that the male streamers were more at ease than the females.

After all, they were not in the brides’ range.

For Shi Jian and the other two female streamers, it felt like a sword hanging above their heads that could fall at any moment. No one knew when it would drop or whose life it would take.

Things were already chaotic, but some still wanted to stir up more trouble.

Trying to make the already turbulent waters even more restless.

That same afternoon when the bridal sedan chair took away the female streamer, a male streamer privately approached Zhou Fan.

The male streamer’s name was Lin Yang. He first asked Zhou Fan about the bridal sedan chair, “Are you scared?”

Zhou Fan answered honestly, “Who isn’t scared?”

No one wanted to die; everyone wanted to live.

Lin Yang looked around to make sure no one else was nearby, then lowered his voice, “Actually, although this isn’t much related to me, I have a way. Want to hear it?”

“The bridal sedan chair takes away one female streamer each time, but it’s not clear who will be taken first. If you don’t want to die so soon, you can find someone to take your place.”

Zhou Fan’s expression started to change strangely as she frowned and repeated, “Find someone to take my place?”

She didn’t respond immediately. Lin Yang patiently waited; in matters of life and death, this wasn’t a small issue.

“For example?”

Zhou Fan finally spoke, signaling Lin Yang to continue.

Lin Yang gave a knowing smile he had been expecting and coaxed Zhou Fan, “Actually, Zhou Fan, you have pretty good qualities yourself. You’ve probably been through several dungeons already, right? If Shi Jian weren’t here, your image would definitely stand out, but with Shi Jian here, the audience is all drawn to her...”At this point, Lin Yang’s plan was already very clear.

He was subtly telling Zhou Fan that when the bridal sedan chair came next time, she should push Shi Jian onto it, letting Shi Jian die first.

And Lin Yang was confident that Zhou Fan would do exactly that.

Some people were laid-back and indifferent, like Zhang Dong’s type, who just wanted to cling to Shi Jian’s coat-tails shouting “666,” hoping every time to meet a powerful player who could carry them to win the dungeon effortlessly.

But there were others who, despite having no real ability themselves, didn’t want capable people to have it easy.

Lin Yang was the latter.

He estimated that if things proceeded normally, Shi Jian would definitely be the top scorer in this dungeon, and Lin Yang wanted to compete for that.

Of course, Lin Yang knew the entire process was being livestreamed. He could avoid other streamers, but not the audience.

But being scolded was also a kind of attention; to Lin Yang, it didn’t matter if people cursed him as long as he profited.

Lin Yang’s livestream, as well as Zhou Fan’s, were full of people scolding Lin Yang.

Too evil, 24k pure evil.

What made the audience even angrier was that Lin Yang didn’t just approach Zhou Fan; he also went to Shi Jian. He wanted to curry favor with both sides and sow discord between them.

...

[“Can someone please kill Lin Yang? Such a despicable person, his smug face makes my chest hurt.”]

[“He’s really a stirrer!”]

[“I don’t want my wife to die, my wife, wuwuwu.”]

[“I thought the biggest difficulty the streamers faced was the bridal sedan chair or the female ghost, but it turns out it’s internal strife. Shi Jian is really pitiful—she’s been carrying the other streamers the whole time…”]

[“What a top-tier manipulative guy, disgusting.”]

[“Ah, cursing aside, you have to admit Lin Yang’s stirring the pot is effective. Putting yourself in Zhou Fan’s shoes, if I were her, I’d agree too… pushing Shi Jian onto the chair so Zhou Fan could survive. Zhou Fan is quite good-looking, but with Shi Jian around, her brilliance is overshadowed.”]

[“Manipulative guy has too many tricks, trying to kill two birds with one stone. Don’t really think Lin Yang wants to help Zhou Fan, right? Believe it or not, even if Shi Jian dies, it’ll soon be Zhou Fan’s turn. Lin Yang’s schemes are all for himself.”]

[“Human nature can’t withstand such tests. Lin Yang just laid the dark side under the sun. I bet Shi Jian would also not hesitate to let Zhou Fan die in her place.”]

[“??? You understand again? Are you a worm in Shi Jian’s belly?”]

[“Don’t argue, place your bets! Believe Shi Jian can pass the test of human nature and ignore Lin Yang, press 1. Feel Shi Jian will be persuaded, press 2.”]

...

When Lin Yang found Shi Jian, she was seriously styling her hair by the big water jar in the courtyard.

She was making a beautiful bridal hairstyle to match the wedding dress she was wearing.

Shi Jian thought: The makeup and styling had to be perfect, to prepare for the deadly bridal sedan chair that could come at any time.

Shi Jian remembered that the bride ghost’s hairstyle was quite good. Although she looked good with her hair down, it clashed a bit with the traditional Chinese wedding dress. It was best to come up with a suitable hairstyle to fully showcase her beauty.

Shi Jian also ran through the scenario in her mind: if she got on the sedan chair, she absolutely had to show the most appropriate expression and posture. Crying was not allowed to be loud and ugly—it needed to be beautiful. She would have to use the diamond tear technique again.

Of course, to Lin Yang’s eyes, her behavior looked like: acting arrogantly with impunity.The fire was almost burning the eyebrows—if they weren’t already sure of themselves, who would still have the mood to do their hair?

Lin Yang greeted Shi Jian, and Shi Jian had a deep impression of him.

It wasn’t that Lin Yang had anything worth Shi Jian’s attention, but he was exactly the one in the “Night Tour of Happiness Village” who kept shouting, “Don’t be afraid, let me protect you,” and then when the ghosts actually came, he ran faster than anyone else.

Shi Jian found it hard not to remember him.

Lin Yang still used the same line he told Zhou Fan, but here he left out the part about the audience, since it didn’t apply to Shi Jian.

At first, Shi Jian was listening half-heartedly, until she understood what Lin Yang meant.

“You mean, Zhou Fan could be my substitute to die?”

Lin Yang nodded, “Something like that. Actually, not just Zhou Fan, anyone who shares a room with you could do.”

Isn’t he clever? Did Shi Jian take it in?

The mood of Shi Jian’s livestream audience was also complicated—Lin Yang had indeed hit on a weakness of human nature.

Shi Jian made an international insulting gesture toward Lin Yang and said, “You’re truly a rotten bastard.”

Right then, Shi Jian saw Zhou Fan approaching from afar. Shi Jian waved at her and loudly told her, “Lin Yang came to me, trying to convince me to make you the substitute.”

The audience guessed wrong; Shi Jian chose a third option.

Shi Jian directly exposed Lin Yang’s words in front of him.

Lin Yang: ??? What’s wrong with Shi Jian?

Shi Jian didn’t think she did anything wrong—if he dared to say it, why shouldn’t everyone know?

Originally, the streamers were all nearby. After Shi Jian shouted like that, everyone gathered around and looked at Lin Yang with “You’re so scary” eyes.

[“Well done!”]

[“I really didn’t get it wrong—wife, I love you!”]

[“Where are those who said Shi Jian would push Zhou Fan to die without hesitation? Does your face hurt?”]

The viewers who were sure Shi Jian would find a substitute fell silent.

[A little relieved, but here’s the problem: Shi Jian exposed Lin Yang openly. What if Zhou Fan still does what Lin Yang suggested?]

Lin Yang was exposed by Shi Jian on the spot, his face red with embarrassment, but he was still faintly proud.

Shi Jian playing fair and open? Doesn’t matter—Zhou Fan had already been persuaded by him and planned to secretly harm Shi Jian.

When the bridal sedan chair appeared, Shi Jian would be the one crying.

But Zhou Fan walked straight toward Shi Jian and smiled at her.

“I came to tell you this.”

“Lin Yang approached me before, asking me to be your substitute.”

“I have a device—a voice recorder—and I recorded everything.”

Zhou Fan took out the voice recorder. Inside, the conversation between her and Lin Yang played. The owner of the recorder hadn’t expected to record, so the conversation started from the middle.Not only did Shi Jian have no intention of finding a female streamer to be her substitute to die, Zhou Fan didn’t either.

The two of them were now standing on the same level, completely separate from Lin Yang.

Lin Yang was trying to play both sides, but now he was being squeezed from both directions.

“...”

Even now, Lin Yang found it unbelievable. How could this be?

Why didn’t Shi Jian and Zhou Fan play dirty against each other, attack each other?

Shi Jian understood Lin Yang’s confusion. What’s so strange about that?

Shi Jian looked down on Lin Yang, her red lips lightly parted: “Our girls’ mindset isn’t that petty.”

Isn’t this too much of a stereotype, watching too many chaotic TV dramas, thinking that girls, especially pretty girls, only fight and sabotage each other?

In reality, since the deadly bridal sedan chair appeared, the three of them had been actively discussing how to coexist.

...

Lin Yang completely lost face and stayed out of everyone’s discussion from then on.

Of course, no one cared where he went.

Some people were still alive, but in everyone’s minds, they were already dead.

Everyone was basically focused on how to avoid getting on the bridal sedan chair, how to self-rescue if taken, or how others could rescue those taken by the sedan chair.

Shi Jian had an idea: “Can we just get rid of the bridal sedan chair?”

Other streamers: ???

Get rid of what?

Shi Jian affirmed, “Get rid of it, like setting it on fire—what would happen then?”

Shi Jian remembered the bridal sedan chair seemed to be made of wood and cloth.

Then why not burn it down?

Eliminate the root cause.

Zhou Fan: “Wouldn’t it probably burn down?”

It really seemed feasible!

Audience in the livestream: ???

This time, the deadly bridal sedan chair appeared at night. It still swayed and shook, with no one carrying it, moving on its own, accompanied by suona, drum sounds, and a creepy children’s song.

“The bright red bridal sedan sways and shakes, the bride obediently climbs on, the bride cries, the groom laughs.”

It was coming to take the second bride.

The sedan chair paused briefly because Shi Jian, wearing a traditional Chinese bridal outfit and her hair pinned up, stood right in the middle of the road. Shi Jian held a torch in each hand and, without hesitation, like a mischievous child setting off firecrackers,

threw them into the bridal sedan chair.The fabric on the bridal sedan chair quickly caught fire, the flames crackling loudly.

Shi Jian showed a surprised expression, her eyes brightened, "It works!"

However, burning down the bridal sedan chair still took some time. Suddenly, a child’s voice sounded out of nowhere, eerie and chilling: "Bride, it’s time to get on the sedan chair."

Even if the bridal sedan chair was burning, absorbing Shi Jian into it would still count as taking one.

Shi Jian said, "Wait, you can’t take me yet!"

Shi Jian switched to a flamethrower and sprayed fiercely at the bridal sedan chair. The torches were just an appetizer for ceremony’s sake; the flamethrower was the main weapon.

Five other streamers did the same. Most held two flamethrowers, and those with a free hand held oil in the other.

They sprayed fire while pouring oil on the bridal sedan chair.

Shi Jian looked up at the rapidly burning sedan chair and commented, "Adding fuel to the fire really works, look at this blaze, how fierce it burns."

Suddenly feeling inspired, she poured a lot of oil onto the sedan chair herself and quickly asked, "Can I add fuel to the fire this year and become really famous?"

The fire roared, flames shooting into the sky.

Shi Jian smiled happily: Alright, she can.