Shen Ning was very nervous. In front of so many friends, relatives, and subordinates, forming a lifelong Contract with the girl she loved felt incredibly indulgent.
Xiao Si Nuo, Yu Yuwei, and the others were also very nervous because in front of so many… they stiffly turned their heads to take a look.
In the vast Farmhouse Courtyard, a patch of gloomy gray stretched out. Countless people with ashen faces and gray-white bodies sat on stools, staring this way without moving an inch.
They looked like dead people… no, they were simply dead people.
At that moment, Xiao Si Nuo pointed toward the front in a daze of terror. “Head Teacher, look at them!”
Yu Yan turned back in confusion, only to realize it wasn’t just Xiao Si Nuo making a fuss; the scene was indeed terrifying. For some reason, these nearly one thousand dead people were all revealing ghastly smiles in unison.
She spent several seconds confirming it. Yes, they were indeed rotting smiles.
“Head Teacher, they all suddenly started acting like this. Are they going to…”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Be polite.”
Right, polite.
Yu Yan thought about it. These people were the bride’s side of the family, right? Since Xu Chuyao was an orphan raised full-time by Shengling Academy, these teachers and leaders were also her family. So, this was probably a greeting between families. Moreover, since they had been dead for so long and hadn’t seen living people in ages, they were naturally a bit stiff.
So, she turned back and gave a polite smile.
On the Stage, the young girl took several deep breaths, gradually adapting as her nerves settled.
The ghastly expressions on the thousand faces disappeared instantly, but Yu Yan had already turned back and didn’t see it.
Li Xueli, the most cultured person in the Academy, was dragged in to serve as the officiant. Standing beside the two girls, she spoke with deep emotion:
“Student Xu Chuyao, are you willing to take Student Shen Ning as your… spouse, through sickness and health, until death…”
“Wait.” Big Thunder, the girl, interrupted softly. “Teacher Li, for us… we can’t have children, and it’s not very likely we’ll get sick.”
Li Xueli froze for a moment. “Then, until old age and death.”
“Isn’t it a bit unlucky to mention death?”
It certainly was unlucky.
Fortunately, as the most cultured person in the Academy, Li Xueli quickly thought of new words: “Then, until the seas run dry and the rocks decay, until the stars shift and the mountains level…”
“Fine, fine, fine. I’m willing, I’m willing.” Xu Chuyao nodded hurriedly. “I’m willing.”
If she let her continue, the mountains would crumble and the heavens would merge with the earth.
Li Xueli held a bottle of champagne and poured a glass for the girl, then turned to the white-haired girl. “Student Shen Ning, are you willing…”
“She’s willing too,” Xu Chuyao answered immediately.
Shen Ning pulled Xu Chuyao’s small Hand with a blushing face. “I’ll say it myself. I wil… cough, cough. I’m willing.”
She was so excited she choked on her own saliva.
Xu Chuyao rolled her eyes silently, as if to say, see, I knew you couldn’t speak smoothly. I tried to help you, yet you don’t even appreciate it.
“It’s good that you’re willing, it’s good… I mean, now the two of you may exchange the wedding wine.”
Shen Ning held the wine glass and watched as Xu Chuyao hooked her small arm with hers and gulped it down.
“Minors should drink less wine…”
Hearing the Head Teacher’s voice from below the Stage, Shen Ning didn’t dare to stay dazed any longer and followed suit by drinking it.
Gulp, gulp. Ah—
Once the wedding wine was finished, the core part of the Wedding was complete. A round of applause that wasn’t very heavy rang out from below. There was no helping it; the living people present were trying their best, but they were vastly outnumbered by the dead, and their sound was swallowed by the silence.
However, the girl was still very happy. Her ears were filled with lively sounds as several ghostly shadows appeared from somewhere, shaking various percussion instruments. They might have been pulled out from under the table of the milk-drinking shadow. Anyway, the gongs and drums were very festive. Broken Gong Cannon even snatched a microphone from Shen Ning’s hand and began singing passionately:
“Listen to me, hold my hand, we’ll walk together…”
The melody and rhythm were very catchy, even the girl herself couldn’t help but hum along, until a notification rang in her mind—
[Congratulations Host for completing the Five-Star Milestone Task.]
[Reward One: Spirit Power level, Four Stages Initial to Four Stages Middle.]
[Reward Two: Obtained two random Wind Element Traits…]
She didn’t look at the rest. There was another special function that hadn’t been settled yet because now wasn’t the time to focus on that. Shen Ning realized a problem.
The requirement to complete the Mission was to hold a wedding while singing. When did she sing?
The girl looked up and realized the scene had become very quiet. She didn’t even know when a microphone had been placed back in her Hand.
“You can really sing, Shen Ning.” Her new bride, Xu Chuyao, patted her shoulder. “When did you learn that?”
“I didn’t mean to…”
Shen Ning blushed and tried to return the microphone, but Xu Chuyao held her back and said with a smile, “There are so many people here today. The opportunity is rare. Say a few words.”
Xu Chuyao knew she had a bit of a habit for giving speeches; she had seen it the few times she went on stage before. Today happened to be her day, and everyone present was looking at her.
“Then I’ll try.”
Shen Ning raised the microphone again, looking at the people below. Aside from the teachers and classmates in the front row and people like Liu and Mei in the second row, the rest were all unfamiliar faces.
She didn’t know them, but they knew her. They recognized her as their Queen.
In that moment, the girl suddenly had many thoughts. She spoke slowly:
“Everyone, I am very happy today, and I think you must be very happy too because of that special reason. But—that happiness doesn’t belong to you. It only belongs to me.”
“You should have your own emotions. Even if you have lost them for now, they can be found again.”
***
A group of people followed behind, quietly escorting the short man as he left. Throughout the entire process, they never saw the other person’s face.
Returning from the airport perimeter, Jasmine looked at everyone with a smile. “Are you all dying to know who he is?”
The crowd, including the bald man, leaned forward instinctively, their curiosity reaching its peak.
“Wait, do you really not want to know?”
“No, we don’t, Lady Jasmine,” the man in the suit said while trembling. “More than that, we want to know if we should stay in Center City and wait for instructions.”
Jasmine circled the group a few times with an airy grace. Forget about turning around; the others didn’t even dare to shift their eyes. They kept their heads lowered to listen to her.
What they feared most was this kind of new superior—someone who loved to cause trouble and was incredibly fickle. They had to be extremely careful not to cross her.
“Actually, I told you last time, didn’t I? Center City is a very special place.” Jasmine stood behind them, her ghostly voice like a cold wind blowing against their necks. “Many years ago, the predecessor of our Supreme Society, that nameless organization, was established right here. That person just now was our Leader. He and his old friend of many years made a pact here, granting us supreme power.”
Looking at everyone’s terrified expressions, she laughed softly.
“From then on, we turned from humans into ghosts.”
***
“I have a way to let everyone regain their memories. We have the Naihe Bridge, so everyone can visit their living relatives in dreams. We have the Fossil Wall… although it doesn’t have much of a practical use yet, I will give everyone the chance to light their own light.”
Dressed in a pure white wedding gown and standing on her own wedding Stage, the white-haired girl held the microphone, looking at her subjects in the identity of the Queen.
“I know how precious memories are, and I am feeling their beauty right now. So, I will help everyone find them again!”
She wanted to pull them back, from ghosts to humans.
This was the Ghost Protocol Shen Ning pledged here.
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