The Demon Venerable Is Delicate and Charming (GL) Chapter 71

“Move faster. If she wakes, it will be bad. A ghost-marriage sacrifice cares most about the hour. Do not delay the important matter!”
“Yes, understood.”
“…”
The sound of nails entering wood echoed under dim blue candlelight. The sound of metal piercing flesh made one’s teeth tremble. Li Lingjiang was woken by pain. When she opened her eyes, all was black. She tried moving her wrists and found they were tied tightly with rope. She quickly gathered her awareness. In the next moment, a long nail pierced through her right shoulder. The pain seemed to be magnified tenfold. She breathed out silently and worked hard to control her voice.
“Spirit Matron, who is inside?” A flattering male voice was pressed very low.
“Who?” The Spirit Matron turned, dressed in bright red with heavy makeup and hair ornaments. “Do you know that famous female disciple of the Immortal-Entering Sect, Li Jiushi? This person seduced her and was punished by Master Li. As luck would have it, she matched the birth characters of a sickly young master who died many years ago. A ghost marriage can be made. It is actually letting her off easy.”
Li Jiushi. A ghost marriage.
Li Lingjiang sensed something wrong. Only then did she discover her body was empty. She could not call up even a trace of inner power, and the bandages that had bound her body had all disappeared. What exactly had she entered?
“Hurry. Move faster.” The Spirit Matron’s voice was sharp as she urged them again.
The sound of hammering nails sped up. Li Lingjiang could feel that this one was aimed between her brows. She gritted her teeth and forcefully broke free of the rope. The rough hemp rope directly scraped blood from her wrists. She had no time to care about the pain. She covered the nail point with her palm, and the tiny sound of it sinking inch by inch into her flesh was magnified.
In the cramped space, square on all sides like a cage, Li Lingjiang’s breathing grew quick. She heard the sharp voice outside demanding they kill her faster. She briefly closed her eyes. Her legs struggled. Weight on the wooden board kept increasing, rubbing the nails that had pierced her bones up and down.
“Damn it, how did she wake? Hold her down! Nail faster!” The Spirit Matron’s voice kept rising.
The dim blue candle flames shook without stopping. The sound of strikes against hollow wood echoed through the vast ancestral hall.
Thump.
Each sound was like countless fingernails scratching, making sweat seep down the listener’s back and chill the spine.
A pair of blood-covered hands gripped the edge of the wooden board. Hairpins hung heavily at her cheeks. With blood-red eyes, Li Lingjiang lifted the board. She looked around and finally realized the thing trapping her was a coffin.
Her lips were bright red, and lines had been drawn at the corners of her eyes. She rarely looked so richly made up, and it made her seem much sharper. A bright red wedding robe was worn on her body, but there was not the slightest joy in it. Only endless fear remained.
“Catch… catch her!” Even the Spirit Matron’s final sound trembled. Her sharp nails pointed at Li Lingjiang.
Only then did the dazed servants come back to themselves. Li Lingjiang’s eyes were full of vicious energy. The coffin had been raised very high. When she climbed down, she brought it rolling down with her. The candle flames suddenly went out.
That dazzling red was seized tightly. Li Lingjiang fell to the ground. She rolled over and moved backward step by step. The Spirit Matron’s face became hateful. A long trail of bloody handprints dragged behind Li Lingjiang, but she met the woman’s gaze without fear.
The Spirit Matron looked at her and smiled strangely. “Why are you not obedient? You should be getting married. It will be bad if you miss the lucky hour.”
Li Lingjiang pressed her lips tight. She was still retreating. Only when her hand touched the edge of the door did she breathe in relief. A faint trace of moonlight fell in, tinting half her face. She suddenly gathered a breath, forcefully broke free from the Spirit Matron’s grip, hooked her fingers into her hem, and ran forward. Behind her, people chased relentlessly.
Her dancing robe rose and fell in the air. Several pairs of hands kept reaching to catch it, touching it again and again but brushing past.
Just as the cloth fell into someone’s palm, Li Lingjiang stumbled into an embrace. Her hands clutched the other person’s shoulders, and without thinking, she called, “Yin Wu.”
“My Lord.” Yin Wu held her steadily. She knelt on one knee and looked at the bloodstains on the person before her. Her gaze suddenly turned fierce, like a hunter feeding in the dark night. It forced the Spirit Matron to stop.
Yin Wu held Li Lingjiang tight in her arms, her arms tightening again and again. She listened to Li Lingjiang’s clearly disordered breathing and gently rubbed her fingertip along Li Lingjiang’s spine.
“Young… Young Master!” The Spirit Matron stared for a long while, then her face suddenly turned deathly pale. She screamed, “The young master has returned! The ghost marriage has come home! The ghost marriage has come home!”
Then she muttered to herself, “The ghost marriage is complete. The ghost marriage is complete!”
Yin Wu frowned. Her voice lowered. “Do you want to check whether my body is still warm?”
One sentence stirred up waves. The Spirit Matron suddenly stared straight at Yin Wu. Her lips trembled. Yin Wu did indeed look like a living person.
The Spirit Matron suddenly grew bold. She actually dragged Li Lingjiang out and shoved her forcefully to the servants. “Quick, send her to the room. Quick!”
The Spirit Matron’s eyes looked especially terrifying. The servants froze for a moment before reacting. Several people dragged Li Lingjiang toward a certain place. Yin Wu’s hand clenched hard. Wind rose around her and stirred her hair. Flames had just leaped up in her palm when, in the next second, Li Lingjiang could not bear it and vomited a mouthful of blood. “Yin…”
Yin Wu immediately withdrew her hand. She lowered her eyes and looked at her palm. Could she not use magic power? It actually hurt Li Lingjiang.
She had no choice. The Spirit Matron blocked her from the front and told her to wait a moment. Yin Wu’s knuckles cracked from how hard she clenched them. She wanted to forcibly break this illusion.
Li Lingjiang was taken to a room. Wedding happiness papers covered the walls. Candlelight shone on red curtains, almost swallowing a person whole. Her whole body grew weak, and she was thrown hard onto the bed. The servants’ movements could be called rough. Her hands were lifted high and tied with ropes. Her wounds were simply treated with medicine and wrapped carelessly.
Before she could struggle, a rope tightened around her neck. The feeling of suffocation was not too strong. The rope pulled backward, forcing her to tilt her head up. In the next instant, something was poured forcefully into her mouth. She choked and coughed. Her messy clothing slipped down a little more. The ropes swayed, and her chest rose and fell violently.
“Do you think he is human or ghost? I only ever saw him in a portrait.”
“How would I know? This is too unlucky. Anyway, just do what the Spirit Matron says. Hurry, hurry.”
“…”
“My Lord!” Yin Wu’s voice was suddenly very close to her. Li Lingjiang abruptly raised her head and met Yin Wu’s eyes directly. Her breathing was burning hot, and sweat slid silently down the side of her face.
“Yin… Wu.” Li Lingjiang was somewhat slow. The rope on her wrists had been untied, but the one around her neck still bound her tightly. She could barely support herself before falling into Yin Wu’s arms.
“My Lord, this should be an independent world formed on its own by the resentment Wen Si gathered. You were pulled in because of empathy. I will bring you out very soon… My Lord?”
Only after untying her for a while did Yin Wu notice something was wrong with Li Lingjiang. She instinctively caught her. Those slender arms climbed around her neck, pulling the distance between them much closer.
Only now did Yin Wu have time to examine Li Lingjiang carefully. It was rare to see her so vivid and lovely. The makeup suited Li Lingjiang very well. The corners of her eyes seemed to hold feeling. Her usually bloodless lips had also grown red, and the hairpins made her look very noble.
In truth, Yin Wu had noticed the moment she entered. Li Lingjiang’s clothes had half slipped away. A little farther down, spring light would have been revealed. Pale skin entered her sight without warning. The wedding robe had been rubbed high, and Li Lingjiang’s long legs were crossed. The waist beneath the clothing was almost impossible to hide. Here, Li Lingjiang was not wrapped in bandages, and her hair had turned black again. Her neck was tilted up as she stared fixedly at Yin Wu.
“Yin Wu,” Li Lingjiang still called. “Go out.”
She could clearly barely sit steady. Her body trembled in waves, and only by holding Yin Wu could she barely keep herself upright.
Then she did something very bold.