The Mystical Feng Shui Files - Chapter 6 - The Bridal Chamber

I was utterly shocked.

Weren’t most of the women in Stone Village supposed to be possessed?

Especially Shi Zhu’s wife-wasn’t she one of them? But now, she was grinning from ear to ear, looking as cheerful as could be. There wasn’t the slightest trace of anything abnormal about her.

She was the most enthusiastic of the bunch, waving her hand and calling out, “Bring her in! You men don’t need to meddle anymore. Leave it to us!”

This was beyond strange.

I glanced back. Aside from the rain-slicked stone path, there was nothing but darkness.

Turning my attention back to the courtyard, I saw the men had all settled down, drinking and laughing as if it were a festival.

One of them, a wiry man with a red sash draped over his shoulders, was grinning ear to ear, clinking glasses with everyone around him.

“Shi Suo, looks like you won’t need to be sneaking around Widow Ma’s window anymore, peeking at her while she bathes!” someone teased.

“Ha-ha!” The group burst into laughter.

“Last time, you ran so fast you left your shoes behind!”

“Ha-ha-ha…”

“Shi Suo, do you even know what to do on your wedding night? If not, we can give you a little lesson later!”

“Ha-ha-ha…”

The courtyard was filled with raucous laughter, the clinking of glasses, and an almost festive atmosphere.

“Heh-heh,” Shi Suo chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head, clearly not bothered by the crude jokes.

“Shi Suo, you’re not seriously clueless, are you?” Shi Zhu stood up, his expression mischievous. He exchanged a knowing look with a few of the other men. “How about this-when it’s time for the wedding night, I’ll give you a demonstration first. You can just watch and learn, then take over when you’re ready.”

“Yeah, yeah! Shi Zhu’s got a point! If you still don’t get it, we can all take turns showing you how it’s done!”

A wave of anger surged through me. The villagers were clearly possessed, yet here they were, spouting such vile nonsense. They were worse than animals!

I strode into the courtyard, not caring whether they noticed me or not. Even if they did, what could they do to me?

Once inside, I froze in place, utterly dumbfounded by what I saw.

A group of women had pulled a woman out of one of the sacks.

The woman was bound with ropes, her mouth stuffed with cloth. Tears and snot streaked her face, but even that couldn’t hide her delicate, striking features.

Her clothes were stylish, the kind you’d only see in the city. She was clearly not from around here.

The women dragged her onto a bed and began tearing at her clothes. The woman, too weak to resist, could only feebly struggle, her efforts utterly futile.

As they stripped her, the women kept up a running commentary, occasionally pinching or twisting her skin for no apparent reason.

Red marks soon began to bloom across her pale, flawless skin.

“Look at this one,” one of the women sneered, her lips curling in disdain. “So fair and smooth. No wonder Shi Zhu couldn’t take his eyes off this seductress. If she weren’t meant for Shi Suo tonight, I bet he wouldn’t have been able to hold himself back!”

Shi Zhu’s wife pinched the woman hard, causing her to cry out in pain, her body trembling.

“And what about you?” Shi Zhu’s wife shot back. “Your man couldn’t keep his eyes off her either, could he?”

“Men are all the same! Tonight’s Shi Suo’s wedding night, so you’d better keep an eye on your own husbands!”

“My man knows his limits, unlike yours. Remember what happened with Shi Kui last time? He was the last one to leave, wasn’t he?”

“What did you just say?”

“You heard me. You saw it yourself, didn’t you?”

The women were on the verge of a heated argument when someone interjected, “Enough already! This woman doesn’t seem like she’s from around here. We should inform the village head before her family comes looking for her and drags the whole village into trouble.”

I froze. The speaker was none other than Shi Dan’s mother.

“Shi Dan’s mom, what are you saying? Your man’s gone, no one’s looking for you, and now you won’t even let others find someone from outside the village?”

“You…” Shi Dan’s mom was livid, glaring at them before storming out.

I stood there, dumbfounded, as if my feet were nailed to the ground, unable to move. I wanted to call out to her, but my throat refused to make a sound. All I could do was watch helplessly as she walked past me.

The remaining women stripped the captive woman completely, tied her hands and feet again, and tossed her onto the bed, covering her with a quilt before finally stepping back with a sigh of relief.

“All done! Let’s head out now,” Shi Zhu’s wife announced. “Time for us to join the wedding feast!”

The group of women walked past me as if I didn’t exist, not sparing me so much as a glance. It was as though they couldn’t see me at all.

I turned to look at the woman on the bed, only to find her staring directly at me. Her gaze sent chills down my spine, making my hair stand on end. My lips moved as I stammered, “Don’t be afraid! I’ll set you free right now!”

But her eyes seemed to look right through me, focusing instead on something outside.

A group of men, laughing and joking, ushered Shi Suo into the room. Outside, the women had already gathered around the tables and started eating.

“Shi Suo, do you even know what to do? Need us to demonstrate?” Shi Zhu and the others teased, their laughter filling the room as they circled the bed, eyeing the woman’s delicate features.

Terrified, the woman shrank back, trying to make herself as small as possible. But the bed was only so big, and with her back against the wall, there was nowhere left to retreat.

Shi Zhu and the others began to act inappropriately, their hands slipping under the quilt, groping and pinching. The woman, bound and gagged, could only let out muffled cries of pain.

Shi Suo stood there, stunned, as if he had never imagined having such a beautiful bride of his own.

Furious, I swung my arm to hit them, but my hand passed right through. Shi Suo suddenly snapped out of his daze and started shoving the others away with all his strength.

“Get out! Get out! She’s my wife. Don’t you dare touch her!”

“Whoa, Shi Suo’s getting mad!”

“Come on, Shi Suo, this is just how it’s done on the wedding night!”

“Out! I said, OUT!”

I let out a sigh of relief. At least Shi Suo had some semblance of decency left.

Such things were not uncommon in remote villages like this. I didn’t want to get involved any further and turned to leave.

But just as I was about to step out, a blood-curdling scream erupted behind me. I spun around in shock.

The woman had somehow freed herself from the ropes and was now holding a pair of scissors. Shi Suo clutched his chest, blood gushing out as he collapsed to the ground.

“You…” Before I could react, the woman bolted for the door like a madwoman.

“Quick! She’s getting away!” The people outside hadn’t dispersed yet.

The woman, barefoot and still undressed, dashed down the wet stone-paved road. The roadside brambles and thorny acacia bushes tore at her legs, leaving trails of blood. But the men were closing in fast, and she had no choice but to run for her life.

Terrified, I ran after her, shouting at the top of my lungs for my master. “Master! Master! Where are you? Someone’s been killed!”

My voice echoed hollowly in the desolate village, reverberating back at me like a ghostly refrain.

“Master!”

I kept shouting, panic gripping my heart. When I glanced back, I saw Shi Zhu and the others heading straight toward me.

Frightened out of my wits, I turned and fled, running blindly until I found myself back at Shi Suo’s house.

From inside the room came the sound of men shouting angrily.

“Shi Suo is dead!”

“That woman killed him!”

“Drown her in the pond!”

“She’s taken a life! She doesn’t deserve to live!”

“Stop! Everyone stop! Killing her outright is too easy! Let’s avenge Shi Suo first!”

“Yeah, let’s make her pay before we finish her off!”

“Hold her down!”

“Ahhh…” The woman’s screams pierced the air. I couldn’t bear it any longer and was about to rush in.

Suddenly, a thick white mist rolled in, obscuring everything in front of me. I waved my hands frantically, trying to find my way through, but when I emerged from the mist, I wasn’t inside the house anymore. Instead, I was standing on a remote mountain.

Dark shadows flitted around me, darting closer as if trying to envelop me. I dodged them in a panic, barely avoiding their grasp.

Since becoming my master’s disciple, I hadn’t encountered anything like this. Fear gripped me as I scrambled to my feet and ran.

Out of nowhere, a procession appeared ahead of me, startling me so badly that I tripped and fell hard to the ground.