IMMFBCG Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Ghost Marriage

Just as Ye Xue threatened to smash the ghost’s “immortal water,” the ghost, who had been hiding in the mirror, immediately appeared.

Her hair was disheveled, her soul pale and dim, not yet fully formed. The red wedding dress she wore enveloped her, making her appear even more eerie and unsettling.

When Xu Zhou saw the ghost’s attire, he immediately understood—she was not a vengeful spirit, but simply someone who had died wearing a red wedding dress.

No wonder the talisman hadn’t fully worked to drive her away.

The ghost, dressed in the vibrant red wedding gown, looked at Yu Minghe with a mournful expression and said, “We were married, and yet you brought someone to exorcise me.”

Yu Minghe was even more confused after hearing this. Afraid of causing a misunderstanding, he quickly explained, “But I don’t know you.”

The ghost in the mirror faintly curled her lips into a twisted smile. Her voice was full of sorrow as she said, “But I am your bride… We are already betrothed!”

Ye Xue put down the cosmetics, as if understanding something, and frowned, saying, “Show me the marriage contract.”

The ghost reacted strongly and refused, “I won’t! You just want to break me apart from my husband!”

Her reaction was intense, her skirt fluttering, and her hair uncontrollably swaying as a faint resentment emanated from her.

Yu Minghe paled, clearly unsettled by her actions.

Ye Xue didn’t harm her but pointed her sword at the cosmetics in front of the mirror, saying, “Calm down, or I’ll destroy your things with a single strike.”

The ghost froze, her brows knitting as she glared at Ye Xue. In the end, reluctantly, she reined in her resentment.

Still, she refused to hand over the contract. “I…”

“Hm?” Ye Xue gave her a light glance, the sword edging forward.

Fearing she might strike, the ghost cried out, “Ah! Stop moving! I’ll show you!”

She then reluctantly pulled out a red paper and handed it to Ye Xue.

Both Ye Xue and Xu Zhou glanced at the contents. It was a marriage contract, with the names, birthdates, and even strands of hair from both Yu Minghe and the ghost, written in a mix of standard and archaic script. Ye Xue quickly scanned it and deduced that it stated the two were to become “shadow spouses” with a seven-day deadline to complete the ceremony, after which they would be buried together.

The contract had been written five days ago, so there was still time. If seven days passed and the marriage was completed, burning the contract would likely mean Yu Minghe’s life was in danger.

Xu Zhou sighed, “So it’s a ghost marriage.”

A ghost marriage refers to the practice of two spirits marrying each other.

In ancient times, people believed that if a family had an unburied tomb for an unmarried child, it would affect the prosperity of future generations. To resolve this, they would hold a ghost marriage for deceased unmarried individuals, burying them together.

However, ghost marriages were typically for the dead and never involved living people. It was also forbidden to force a living person into such a union, though some families, especially those with outdated beliefs, would go so far as to sell their daughters into such marriages for financial gain, burying the living with the dead.

Although Yu Minghe didn’t fully understand this, he had heard of ghost marriage folk tales. As he thought about the recent events, a shiver ran down his spine.

Ye Xue suddenly asked, “Have you offended anyone recently? Someone who could easily get their hands on your hair?”

A ghost marriage requires detailed birthdates, and only those closely related to the Yu family would know such specifics. As for Yu Minghe’s hair, only someone who had access to the Yu family would be able to acquire it.

Ye Xue had once heard Yu Qi’s butler mention something about the Yu family.

Old Master Yu favored his youngest son, but his youngest was an utter failure, while the family’s business had been built by Yu Minghe’s father, Yu Huarong. This caused tension, as the business was essentially under Yu Huarong’s control, while Old Master Yu had little involvement. This situation was somewhat similar to the Yu Qi family.

Yu Huarong, out of brotherly duty, had always tried to help his brother, Yu Huayuan, but Yu Huayuan had always seen this as charity. After Yu Minghe’s mother fell ill, Yu Huarong handed the company over to Yu Minghe to take care of, while he focused on his wife. Yu Minghe’s cousin, however, felt that Yu Minghe had stolen what was rightfully theirs.

Later, a distant branch of the Yu family tricked Old Master Yu into bringing in some so-called “local shamans” claiming to cure Yu Minghe’s mother, causing chaos in the family and nearly causing Yu Minghe’s mother’s health to worsen.

After that, the two families completely cut ties.

Realizing the implications of this, Yu Minghe fell silent for a moment before saying, “I think I know who’s behind this.”

A while ago, his cousin had visited the Yu family and left in a hurry.

Though nothing had been stolen and his mother was stable, Yu Minghe hadn’t thought much of it at the time.

Now, with the ghost marriage in play, Yu Minghe realized why his cousin had left so quickly.

He had never intended to bring family grievances to the next generation, but it turned out that his cousin never considered him family.

What he thought were just swindlers were well-versed in these dark arts, though unfortunately, it was being used for evil.

Since this was a family matter, Ye Xue didn’t press further and turned to the ghost. “Come on, sister. Let me help you leave. What kind of exorcism would you prefer?”

Her words were chilling.

The ghost’s pale face grew even whiter. Originally, she had wanted to hide behind Xu Zhou, but seeing him silently taking out a talisman, she cursed under her breath, “Stupid Taoist, you don’t know how to pity a woman,” and quickly hid behind Yu Minghe instead, fearfully calling out, “Husband, I don’t want to go!”

The ghost’s coldness was overwhelming, sending a chill through the air as it neared.

Yu Minghe, hearing her, seemed to have a headache from it.

Ye Xue couldn’t resist, “Sis, judging by your birth year, you’re a modern person. How could you still believe in these feudal customs? Arranged marriages are outdated.”

The ghost gave Yu Minghe a glance, murmuring, “But he’s handsome.”

Ye Xue couldn’t be bothered to argue and threatened, “One last time—your husband or your cosmetics?”

The ghost, abandoning the handsome man, immediately replied without hesitation, “Cosmetics!”

A man’s possessions were nothing compared to hers—she had worked hard to save money for them!

…

After performing the exorcism on the female ghost and tearing up the marriage contract she had brought, Ye Xue completely severed the bond between them.

After all the commotion, it was already nearing 4 AM.

Ye Xue sent a message to Yu Qi, and then walked out of the bedroom with Xu Zhou and the others.

At that moment, the hallway light turned on.

Yu Minghe looked ahead and called out, “Mother?”

He walked over to support Mrs. Yu and asked with concern, “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“The sound of your father’s snoring is too loud, I couldn’t sleep, so I got up to check,” Mrs. Yu said softly, then her gaze shifted to Xu Zhou and Ye Xue.

She seemed calm, and her look toward Ye Xue and the others was gentle.

Mrs. Yu asked, “Minghe, are these your friends?”

Yu Minghe had not told his family about his encounter with the ghost. He nodded and said, “Yes, they are my friends.”

Mrs. Yu smiled. “I remember making some small cakes earlier. Let me go get some for your friends to try. Wait…,” she suddenly appeared troubled, “I haven’t made any pastries in a long time… when did I last make them?”

Yu Minghe’s expression changed, and he was about to call for a doctor.

Mrs. Yu took a deep breath and gradually regained her composure.

She held her son’s hand and softly said, “I’ll go sit in the living room for a bit.”

Yu Minghe said gently, “Alright, let’s go rest in the living room.”

He glanced at Ye Xue and Xu Zhou, then nodded at them.

Xu Zhou, though unaware of the situation, didn’t say anything and followed Ye Xue to the living room.

Mrs. Yu sat down in the living room, and Yu Minghe brought her a glass of warm water, and then asked Xu Zhou and Ye Xue if they wanted anything to drink.

Both of them shook their heads.

Mrs. Yu did not drink the water. Instead, she looked at Ye Xue as if seeing her for the first time and gently asked, “Child, what’s your name?”

Ye Xue replied, “My name is Ye Xue.”

“Ye Xue…” Mrs. Yu repeated the name softly.

Then, she smiled again and asked, “I made some cakes, would you like to try some?”

It was the same question as before.

Ye Xue hesitated, not wanting to upset her, and gently shook her head. “It’s late, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep if I eat now.”

Mrs. Yu seemed a bit disappointed but still smiled. “That’s true, you shouldn’t eat too much at night.”

Ye Xue couldn’t bear to see her disappointed, so she added, “But in the future when I have time, I’ll come over to try your pastries.”

Mrs. Yu immediately brightened, her eyes curving into a smile. “Really? Oh, you’re Minghe’s friend, so you must come often!”

Ye Xue nodded, “I will.”

Ye Xue’s phone rang shortly after, and when she checked, it was a call from Yu Qi.

She had assumed Yu Qi was already asleep, which is why she sent him a message saying that Yu Minghe would drive them home. She hadn’t expected him to see the message so quickly.

Ye Xue held the phone and said, “Sorry, I need to take this call.”

A few minutes later, she returned and said her goodbyes to Yu Minghe and the others.

Yu Minghe, still concerned, asked, “Do you need me to drive you?”

Ye Xue smiled. “No, someone is coming to pick us up.”

Xu Zhou was still surprised. “Mr. Yu hasn’t gone to rest yet?”

Xu Zhou felt something was off but couldn’t quite place it.

Yu Minghe said, “Then let me walk you out.”

He first escorted his mother back to her room.

When Yu Huarong woke up and didn’t see his wife, he rushed out without even putting on his shoes. He only relaxed when he saw the mother and son return.

Yu Minghe saw them off at the villa and only left after confirming that Ye Xue and Xu Zhou had gotten into the car.

Xu Zhou looked at the young man driving and called out, “Mr. Yu.”

Yu Qi responded with a slight hum.

Xu Zhou opened the car door, intending to let Ye Xue sit first, but Ye Xue smoothly got into the front passenger seat.

“…” Xu Zhou paused for a moment, then had no choice but to sit in the back seat by himself.

Ye Xue, already exhausted, fastened her seatbelt, barely speaking to Yu Qi. She grabbed a headrest and laid it behind her, quickly falling asleep.

Yu Qi turned off the car’s music, and watching her sleeping face, he still wasn’t reassured. He raised the temperature in the car but then pulled out a thin blanket, carefully draping it over her and tucking it in.

Just as he withdrew his hand, he caught a glimpse of Xu Zhou’s stunned expression in the rearview mirror.

Yu Qi turned slightly, meeting Xu Zhou’s gaze.

Xu Zhou seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

Yu Qi placed his finger to his lips, signaling Xu Zhou to stay quiet.

Noticing that Ye Xue had fallen asleep, Xu Zhou suppressed his many questions.