Chapter 6: The Crimson Nuptial Attire
“Congratulations to everyone for finding the missing child and successfully completing the challenge!” Little A stood by the door, seemingly waiting for quite some time. She led the group to a wooden round table, adorned with a magnificent chandelier that cast a soft light. Five comfortable sofas surrounded the table. “Please rest here for a while, I’ll go get some snacks. Let’s replenish our energy while we review the game.”
As Little A left, everyone started discussing excitedly.
“Sinan, this escape room was truly top-notch, impressive!” Mo Yu gave Sinan a thumbs-up gesture.
“Indeed, there wasn’t a single black-out moment. Sinan, you’re lucky to have saved yourself from a keyboard!” Lin Yi teased Sinan, sitting next to him. “But, what do you think was the most terrifying thing about this escape room?”
“If you mean terrifying in terms of sensory stimulation, I didn’t feel it. However, if you mean psychological oppression, that was definitely real,” Wu Hen frowned. “Did any of you notice that each level seemed to be connected to our past? You all don’t know about my past, so how did they know?”
“Everyone is unique? No, that’s not realistic. I can’t figure it out. Let’s wait for Little A to come back and ask her in detail later. Speaking of terror, don’t you think the bridal sedan chair in the art gallery was particularly terrifying?” Tian Tian said with a serious expression.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yi’s face turned pale. “The bridal sedan chair, that painting, it was just fine… It was a bit eerie, but I couldn’t figure out why…”
“Didn’t you all notice? The sedan chair was empty…” Tian Tian lowered her voice. She paused mischievously until she saw Lin Yi’s nervous yet eager expression. “There should have been a bride… Where is she?” She suddenly raised her voice and shouted at Lin Yi, laughing triumphantly.
“Ah, you scared me again!” Lin Yi jumped up from the sofa in fright. Just then, the lights in the lounge unexpectedly went out.
Darkness always brings innate fear. In an instant, screams from Yi Yi and Tian Tian filled the lounge, but it was only for a moment. In the blink of an eye, the magnificent chandelier disappeared, replaced by faint red lights flickering on the ground, outlining a deep and eerie space. Everyone trembled, afraid to make a sound, trying hard to let their eyes adjust to this sudden change, breathing rapidly as they observed their surroundings.
“I heard you were looking for me…” A sharp and resentful female voice echoed from where Sinan was sitting.
Lin Yi turned to look, a crimson bridal gown emitting an eerie glow filled her field of vision. She slightly lifted her head, a blood-red veil hanging from a broken golden thread swayed before her eyes. Under the veil, black hair glistened, damp… was it blood? Or tears? The crimson figure moved closer and enveloped Yi Yi, the scent of decay and a chilling breath overwhelming.
Cold! She dared not scream, paralyzed with fear, her stagnant mind only registering one sensation: why was it so cold?
“Yi Yi, run!” Tian Tian urgently called out, snapping Lin Yi back to reality. Yes, run, quickly run, but where was Sinan? Where was Sinan? Trembling, she raised her hand and stretched it towards the bride’s veil. “Si…Sinan?”
“We took too many turns, I only vaguely remember the general direction. We’ll find it when we get closer.”
“Don’t worry, I’m here. If we encounter the bride again, I’ll distract her. If necessary, I’ll hold her back while you and Yi Yi run. Besides, it’s just an escape room, even if Sinan turns into a ghost, it can’t be real, right?”
After deciding, everyone quietly felt their way back. Along the moss-covered old walls, stepping over uneven stone steps, passing through winding corridors, they finally found a hidden small door by a wall. The door blended with the wall’s color, and a flickering lantern hung on it, swaying as if it could go out at any moment.
“Squeak…” The sound of the door being pushed open was particularly piercing in the silence. Everyone entered a dilapidated courtyard, overgrown with weeds and spider webs. There was a room along the corridor, with faint candlelight flickering inside, resembling a lighthouse and yet also resembling a ghostly flame luring moths.
Anxiety filled their hearts, careful steps crunched on the ground. Everyone approached the corridor, about to push open the door, when the ghostly bride suddenly floated out from the darkness of the corridor.
“Don’t…run…stay…with…me…” The ghostly bride grinned, reaching out her hand towards everyone. Tian Tian, who was at the front, dodged the ghostly hand and tightly hugged Yi Yi from behind, forcefully pulling her back. She shouted, “Quickly go inside and close the door!”
Wu Hen and Mo Yu pulled Yi Yi into the room and closed the door. The outside was calm and silent, without any sound. After waiting for a few minutes, Mo Yu, mustering up his courage, looked out from the window and saw Tian Tian lying in the corridor outside the door.
He gently opened the door and dragged Tian Tian into the room, patting her face and calling her name, but Yue Tian Tian showed no response. Mo Yu panicked. Wu Hen urgently said, “The walkie-talkie! The walkie-talkie should be on you, right? Try it quickly!” Mo Yu took out the walkie-talkie, no longer caring about the escape room’s setup, and loudly called for help. Wu Hen ran to every corner that could possibly have a camera, waving his hands to signal to exit, but it was all in vain.
“What should we do? What happened to Tian Tian? How can we escape?”
Wu Hen, who was usually clear-headed, became unusually agitated. He grabbed Lin Yi, who was crouching in the corner, and pushed her next to Tian Tian.
“Lin Yi, stop standing there foolishly, quickly check on Tian Tian.”
“But, I…” Lin Yi’s hands couldn’t stop trembling.
“But what? You’re a doctor!” Wu Hen couldn’t help but shout at Lin Yi.
“You’re a doctor!” These five words hit Lin Yi hard. There was once someone who smiled and said to her, “You’re going to be a doctor, right!”
……
On the day of their one-year acquaintance with Sinan, Lin Yiyi sat in a meticulously decorated private dining room, yet she felt no joy. These past few weeks, she had been restless. Coming from a medical dynasty, she aspired to be a great doctor. However, her ambition was now on the verge of being sentenced to death. She silently endured, afraid of disappointing her parents.
“Clang!”
“Excuse me, your fork fell. Let me get you a new one,” Sinan waved at the waiter. “What were you so absorbed in?” he gently asked Yiyi.
“It’s nothing. I was just thinking of a question for an upcoming exam,” Yiyi dismissed.
“Hmm, it must be quite a difficult question,” Sinan smiled lightly, placing the newly replaced fork beside Yiyi’s hand. “Eat something, replenish your brain power, and then think about it properly.”
“Alright,” Yiyi evaded, picking up her knife and fork, preparing to cut into her steak. However, the knife continuously clashed against the plate, and the fork refused to cooperate, falling to the ground again with a clang. Yiyi couldn’t bear it any longer and rushed out of the restaurant.
Sinan later learned about her essential tremor, and also discovered her intention to give up on studying medicine. Both her parents were exceptional surgeons who had always hoped she would follow in their footsteps. The unpredictable shaking of her hands brought her career to an early end.
Sinan had no intention of giving up. He studied the causes of her condition and found that it worsened during excessive concentration, mental tension, fatigue, and hunger. Combining his expertise as a psychologist, Sinan first devised a rehabilitation plan for Yiyi. He then gradually guided her to communicate with her parents and eventually proposed the idea of switching from surgery to internal medicine. To Yiyi’s surprise, her parents happily accepted and encouraged her to explore the new field.
Of course, the recovery process was not smooth. Yiyi was always hesitant and her mood fluctuated. She couldn’t help but feel defeated and even vented her frustrations on Sinan, saying harsh words. However, he just smiled as if nothing had happened. After her condition improved, Yiyi asked Sinan why he had done so much for her. Sinan simply smiled gently and said, “I’ll be by your side facing anything. After all, you are going to be a doctor!”
……
“Yes, I am a physician,” Lin Yi knelt beside Tian Tian, who was unconscious, and composed herself. She carefully examined Tian Tian’s pupils, measured her pulse, and felt her body temperature to conduct a basic examination. “Tian Tian’s vital signs are temporarily stable, but she cannot be awakened. With the current conditions, we are unable to proceed further and must seek medical attention immediately,” she said decisively.
Mo Yu, not idle either, utilized her skills as a journalist and rummaged through the bookshelf in the room, pulling out a pile of ancient texts. Lin Yi quickly skimmed through them.
“The contents recorded in these ancient texts are quite diverse. There are five records related to the Ghost Bride. The first four describe how to restrain her, using props such as black dog’s blood, inked string, the Bagua formation, and the Demon-slaying Sword. The last record mentions fulfilling the Ghost Bride’s wish, but what is her wish?”
“Where are these props?”
“There is no record of their whereabouts, but I understand that finding just one will suffice. Each prop corresponds to a different method of use. Shall we each search for them separately?”
“Tian Tian is too cold on the ground. Let’s lift her onto the table first.” As the three of them moved Tian Tian, an iron sword fell from her waist.
“This? The Demon-slaying Sword?… Mo Yu, quickly see how this thing is used.”
“The Ghost Bride roams within the abandoned garden, searching for the maid who accompanied her. If a single woman lingers and stops within the garden, the bride will appear. Unsheathe the sword, recite the exorcism mantra, and plunge the blade into the Ghost Bride’s chest to drive away the evil spirit.”
“Allow me.” Lin Yi snatched the Demon-slaying Sword, unsheathed it, and glanced at the blade. “This sword is indeed very sharp.” She hesitated for a moment. “But what if that is Sina? It would harm him.”
“One Yi, that certainly isn’t Sina. If it were Sina, why would Tian Tian be unconscious?”
Lin Yi lifted the sword, turned around, pushed open the door, and walked to the center of the courtyard. Suddenly, she felt the temperature drop around her. She turned back and saw the Ghost Bride floating towards her from the side. Without time to think, Lin Yi unsheathed the sword and gazed at its icy blade, resolute in her decision.
In the next moment, she discarded the sword and flashed a radiant smile at the approaching Ghost Bride. With one hand brushing aside her black hair and the other removing her veil, she embraced the Ghost Bride with open arms.
“You promised that you would face anything together with me, and so will I. I will accompany you and will not flee.”
As Lin Yi embraced Sina, the entire room lit up. A bright exit appeared outside the courtyard gate, and Xiao A once again stood outside the door, seemingly having waited for quite a long time.