Chapter 51

The instigator, Shi Jian, had escaped, leaving behind two ghosts who were originally supposed to deal with her, now facing each other in a violent showdown.

Although the streamers had already figured out Shi Jian’s style… you know, the whole thing with the black-hearted grandpa, the bad kids she had arranged so clearly, and her fairy act to fool the entire village... But the audience still couldn’t help but be shocked again by Shi Jian’s bold moves.

The barrage kept scrolling, and if the streamers could see it, they would definitely be dazzled, unable to catch a full sentence.

It was scrolling too fast!

[Wow! I thought the streamer was scared silly, but it turns out everything was under the streamer’s control! I’m the clown here!]

[So exciting, so beautiful, the red butterfly flew right into my heart! Darling, don’t fly alone, take me with you! cries]

[The streamer must have been a star before, right? She must be great at acting, look at this timing, perfection!]

[Welcome to the first episode of "Happy Village: The Runaway Bride." The bride has fled, the two pursuers are fighting it out, who will get the final choice in the end? Let’s wait and see.]

[I firmly support our bride ghost! Who could possibly ship the village chief with Shi Jian? What a twisted ship, the real OTP is the dumb beauties pairing!]

[Shi Jian: ??? I heard someone said I’m a fool?]

[A little clarification here: the streamer failed math in the school dungeon and wanted to score some points, but ended up losing points.]

[This is going too far, babe! Our streamer is no fool! She’s way smarter than the bride ghost! (dog head emoji)]

[I have evidence to suspect that the person above is a hater. They are either praising or putting down, comparing the streamer with the bride ghost? The bride ghost can’t even understand what’s being said! (dog head emoji)]

The audience could chat excitedly, but in reality, the battle between the village chief and the bride ghost had just begun.

The bride ghost’s nails dug deeply into one of the village chief’s eyes. His eyeball exploded, and he screamed in agony, clutching his eye. The bride ghost wasn’t doing much better, though. The village chief swung his scythe with great force, slashing the bride ghost diagonally across her shoulder, splitting her in half.

The bride ghost’s body crumpled to the ground in two halves.

The audience shipping the bride ghost with Shi Jian: ? We just started shipping this couple, and now it’s over?

And it's a tragic ending.

But, the bride ghost was born of resentment—was she truly dead or just alive in another way?

As for Zhou Fan and the others, they definitely wouldn’t be shipping any couples. Their lives were always at risk, and the true threats to their safety were these ghosts and monsters.

Zhou Fan first breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Shi Jian had successfully escaped. Then, she was shocked again—was the bride ghost really this weak?How did the bride ghost get directly slashed to death by the ghostified village chief?

Or was the village chief too strong?

However, the bride ghost soon showed signs of life again.

Her body, which had been split in half, rejoined itself. It wasn’t long before she stood up, looking no different than before.

The bride ghost grabbed her claws and charged at the village chief. The village chief, in turn, swung his scythe, engaging in a fierce battle with her.

At this point, both of them had no attention for Shi Jian, only focusing on the ghost that had previously hurt them.

How dare he (she) slash (scratch) me?!

Shi Jian managed to escape unscathed, though she herself felt that it had been a close call, her heart pounding as though it might burst out of her chest.

But thankfully, she made it!

As Shi Jian calmed her breathing, she couldn't help but feel a little smug as she replayed the scene in her mind: she must have looked really cool just now, right? She must have appeared amazing!

The audience must have been impressed by her style, right?

Shi Jian, worried that the village chief and the bride ghost might not be fighting each other but instead rushing toward her, had escaped quickly. Now, she had already gotten quite far.

Of course, Shi Jian also realized there were no pursuers behind her. Everything was going according to her plan.

The surroundings were quiet, with only the sound of crickets. The distant sounds of fighting and roaring from the ancestral hall were faint, and Shi Jian could barely make them out.

Shi Jian didn't plan to stay outside for long. After all, when she was running earlier, her adrenaline had kept her from feeling much, but now, standing alone in the field at night, it was pretty scary.

"…" After surveying her surroundings, Shi Jian decided to head to where Zhou Fan and the others had gathered.

But what Shi Jian never expected was that, apart from those two enemies, there was a third person who hated her… and that person had now turned into a ghost.

It was none other than Granny Yu.

Granny Yu had been the village chief's accomplice, and naturally, she had become a vengeful ghost.

Previously, Granny Yu had been sidelined by the village chief. She hated Shi Jian so much that she wanted to drink her blood and eat her bones. But she hadn’t had the chance. Now, she was lying in wait, ready to ambush Shi Jian on her way.Shi Jian’s head ached. Why did she have so many vengeful ghosts after her?

Granny Yu was fast and well-prepared. With a sudden, unexpected ambush from behind, she immediately bound Shi Jian up.

After turning into a vengeful ghost, Granny Yu’s strength had surged, and she was no longer the frail old lady she used to be. The ropes were tightly bound, and Shi Jian couldn’t break free.

“Stop struggling. It’s useless,” Granny Yu said with narrowed eyes, glaring at Shi Jian, her gaze filled with hatred. She gave a strange laugh. “Got you all tied up. Now, I can wait here for a good while.”

Shi Jian realized she couldn’t escape, so she stopped struggling. She stood there, maintaining a proud and cold posture. “Oh, is that so? My schedule is busy, so waiting for me is the least you should do.”

Granny Yu: “……”

She fell silent for a moment, then moved forward to grab Shi Jian, intending to carry her.

Shi Jian wanted to resist, shouting, “Don’t carry me! I can walk on my own.” Being carried like that was undignified! How could it look good?

But Granny Yu completely ignored Shi Jian. She ordered, “Shut up! Or I’ll eat you right now!”

After that, Granny Yu casually hoisted Shi Jian onto her shoulder, treating her like a sack of sand.

Shi Jian fell silent.

A wise person knows when to submit.

A seventy or eighty-year-old woman could easily carry an adult woman—it was quite fantastical, and could only happen in this kind of setting.

With her prize on her shoulder, Granny Yu’s mood lightened, and she cheerfully began to share her plan.

“You pretended to be a goddess, but you really brought disaster to me.”

“But it’s fine. In a little while, I’ll tell the village chief that I caught you.”

Granny Yu wanted to take credit for capturing Shi Jian, but she didn’t immediately head toward the ancestral hall because she feared Shi Jian might cause trouble again.

Granny Yu thought to herself: The one on my shoulder is full of tricks.

Though Shi Jian had no choice but to remain quiet, she wasn’t one to easily surrender. She quietly gathered her strength in a spot Granny Yu couldn’t see.

Shi Jian was tightly bound and unable to move, but she wore a look of enjoyment on her face. She muttered softly into the air, in a whispering tone.

“It’s actually pretty comfortable. I don’t have to use any energy.”"She's just slow, maybe she didn't have enough to eat."

Shi Jian, a woman who even when bound and unable to speak, still maintains a positive posture.

The hungry Granny Yu brought Shi Jian back to the village.

Most of the villagers in the village had already turned into monsters, and the majority followed the village chief to the ancestral hall, leaving only a few behind. The remaining ones were all female vengeful spirits, like Granny Yu.

Shi Jian recognized a few, including Granny Yu’s daughter-in-law.

When they reached their destination, Granny Yu roughly dropped Shi Jian.

Shi Jian sensed this when Granny Yu was about to let go, and she quickly took action. Although standing straight was a bit difficult, she managed to avoid falling flat on her back.

Granny Yu snorted when she saw Shi Jian’s movement but didn’t care. She spoke to her daughter-in-law.

“Watch her, brainwash her. I’ll go find the village chief.”

Granny Yu was eager to take credit with the village chief. After speaking, she hurried off, and the other vengeful spirits nodded in response.

Even as ghosts, there was still a hierarchy.

Shi Jian had previously noticed that Granny Yu held some respect among the daughter-in-law and the other women in the village, so now they all listened to her.

The other vengeful spirits didn’t lift Shi Jian like Granny Yu did. When their eyes all focused on Shi Jian, she said, "I can do it. I can manage."

So, under the guidance of the vengeful spirits, Shi Jian hopped into the house.

It wasn’t that Shi Jian wanted to hop; her legs were bound, and she had no choice but to hop.

Earlier, Granny Yu had placed Shi Jian in front of a house, and the vengeful spirits seemed to want her to go inside. Unable to fight back, Shi Jian had no choice but to comply.

But what she didn’t expect was that once inside the house, Granny Yu’s daughter-in-law untied her. Perhaps they were confident that even if Shi Jian was unbound, she wouldn’t be able to escape, as there were six of them.

Shi Jian: ???

A beautiful woman, speechless.

If they could untie her, why didn’t they do it earlier? What was the point of her hopping around just now?“What’s happening outside?”

“It seems like the women who were trapped have crawled out of the pits.”

Ghosts also exchange information and gossip. After entering the house, these vengeful spirits began chattering and discussing.

Shi Jian thought for a moment and joined the conversation.

“They’re seeking revenge on the people who harmed them before. You should’ve been kidnapped to Happiness Village as well, right?”

Shi Jian admitted it. Initially, she had hoped to incite some discord.

She had already realized that there were no real women in this village; the gender ratio was seriously imbalanced. So, the ones in front of her must have been trafficked here as well.

Their companions were already seeking revenge. Did they have no other thoughts?

Unfortunately, they didn’t.

The vengeful spirits were like the middle-aged woman who had led the village chief to capture Shi Jian and her group. They coldly said to Shi Jian,

“We can’t let you go. Granny told us to keep an eye on you.”

They had blocked Shi Jian’s path from the start.

Shi Jian tilted her head back at a forty-five degree angle, her expression filled with resentment. “…Why do they still have intelligence? If they were like the bride ghost, it would be much better.”

“Don’t you hate it?”

Shi Jian couldn’t hold back and asked. She wanted to know what was going through their minds. Had they been completely domesticated?

Even when given a chance to resist, did they not want to?

The vengeful spirit shook her head.

“No, we don’t hate it. It’s our fate.”

“As women, we always have to get married and have children. No matter who you marry, it’s still marriage. Marry a chicken, follow the chicken. Marry a dog, follow the dog.”

Their reasoning was the same as the middle-aged woman’s.Shi Jian smiled, a pure, angry smile. She shook her head.

“You speak as if the only thing women are left with is marriage and childbirth. Don’t represent all women… There’s so much more that women can do. They can shine brightly on stage, or quietly toil behind the scenes. How many top professionals in various industries are women?”

Like her, for instance. She was one of them.

Shi Jian straightened her back.

She wanted to tell these vengeful spirits, “Open your eyes and see the world!”

The vengeful spirits showed no reaction to what Shi Jian said, acting completely numb.

Some were resigned, submissive types, while others were more radical.

The daughter-in-law of Granny Yu suddenly laughed nervously at Shi Jian, “You really are different, huh? Come join us!”

Her face, which had always been expressionless, became animated, but this animation was filled with malice. She moved toward Shi Jian, angrily questioning her.

“Why are you so different from us? I can’t suffer alone. If I can’t live a good life, no other woman can…”

Shi Jian had already known that everyone in this village was evil. Even the women who had been trafficked, aside from the ones who had died, had already been assimilated.

But now she understood more deeply what it meant to be a vengeful spirit.

To be a "traitor spirit" means to be someone who, after being killed by a tiger, turns into a ghost and leads others to be harmed by the tiger.

These vengeful spirits were just like that. They were unfortunate, but they didn’t dare to fight against the stronger forces. Instead, they extended their claws toward their own suffering kind.

Granny Yu’s daughter-in-law clapped her hands and loudly called to the other vengeful spirits, “Let’s brainwash her!”

Shi Jian remembered that Granny Yu had previously ordered the spirits to brainwash her.

Shi Jian wasn’t afraid of that; she remained calm, with no ripples in her heart, even wanting to laugh. She sat comfortably in the chair, as there was a chair in the room.

When Granny Yu tried to brainwash her, she didn’t react at all, let alone the lower-tier daughter-in-law.

However, Shi Jian’s calmness was interrupted when she noticed the other vengeful spirits either boiling water or sharpening knives.

???

Shi Jian reluctantly spoke up, “Are you saying that the brainwashing requires water?”Granny Yu's daughter-in-law was sharpening a knife. She turned her face, and the light from the knife illuminated half of her face. She bared her teeth and affirmed to Shi Jian, "Yes."

"Otherwise, how else would we brainwash you?"

Shi Jian, "..."

Her heart was in turmoil. What she had thought brainwashing meant was just constantly pouring concepts into her mind, and indeed, Granny Yu had done that before.

But now, after their mutation, their methods had become more extreme.

The brainwashing was now physical.

The vengeful spirits planned to use a kitchen knife to open Shi Jian's skull and then wash her brain with hot water.

Shi Jian was screaming inside, shouting: This is outrageous!

If that knife comes down, would she even survive?

Shi Jian could no longer stay calm. At first, she thought just staying in the room was fine since there was no life-threatening danger, but now the danger was right in front of her, and she had to save herself.

...

"Ugh..."

Shi Jian sighed heavily.

Her movement wasn't small, and all the vengeful spirits in the room caught onto it. Granny Yu's daughter-in-law, although she knew it was best not to engage with Shi Jian, couldn't control herself.

Shi Jian's emotions were so contagious that it made the ghost want to ask, "Why are you sighing?"

Granny Yu's daughter-in-law and the other vengeful spirits glanced at Shi Jian.

Shi Jian, with her legs crossed, leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, and held her face in her hands. She clicked her tongue and said, "Granny Yu, how pitiful."

[What’s so pitiful about Granny Yu?]

[My gut tells me, the streamer is about to stir things up.]

[It’d be best if she succeeds—using a kitchen knife to open a skull and brainwash someone, this is insane!]

When it came to her own mother-in-law, Granny Yu's daughter-in-law was quicker to speak than think. She asked Shi Jian, confused, "What’s so pitiful about my mother-in-law?"

Shi Jian answered her, "Your mother-in-law was excluded and not trusted. That’s really pitiful.""This time, she went to find the village chief, but who knows if the village chief will treat her kindly? Who knows if he will scold her or even hit her? The village chief already said that he wants to drive Granny Yu out of Happy Village."

"Actually, it has nothing to do with me, I just feel a bit emotional about Granny Yu's efforts. Even an outsider like me can see them."

"She hasn’t been sleeping at all, staying up 25 hours a day, trying to brainwash the young girls who were trafficked here. Even with a high fever, she still made them accept marrying old men who can’t get wives... But as you can see, how did the village chief treat Granny Yu?"

A vengeful spirit gritted its teeth, "The village chief is useless! Granny Yu worked so hard, gave her all, and still didn’t get the respect and position she deserved!"

Shi Jian nodded in agreement, fully agreeing, "Granny Yu should be comforted. At least she still has you all, but she only has you left."

The vengeful spirits listened, feeling both angry and stirred up, as if the weight of responsibility on their shoulders had increased.

One of the vengeful spirits had tears in its eyes, "Yes, Granny Yu only has us left. What should we do?"

Shi Jian raised her fist, passionately declaring, "Of course, we should immediately fight against that unscrupulous village chief!"

"Protect the best Granny!"