NOVEL NEXT Chapter 45: The Best Bride!
Chapter 45: The Best Bride!
They hurried to wash up and get into the bed. However, sleep eluded them tonight, half for fear that they would be met with an unexpected ambush, while the other half was due to dreadful hunger. Aside from the few pieces of biscuits in the morning, they had only drunk water to pad their stomach all day long and it made them feel more uncomfortable instead.
"Nian'er," Jin Jiuchi lay on his side and stared at the jade doll's exquisite side profile. "You told me last night that it's the fourth night and beyond that we have to be wary of. Tonight is the fourth night. Do you think something will happen?"
"Definitely," there was no hesitation in Nian's tone when he said this. He opened his eyes and tilted his head sideways, only to be stunned when he looked into Jin Jiuchi's eyes. Was it only him or... this silly husky's eyes seemed to glow brighter? Must be the trick of light. Shaking his head, he added, "It's already weird that the nightmare creature in our room doesn't appear aside from the first night. It's been giving me a bad feeling, like the calm before a fierce storm. I mean, just look at Old Guan and Sister Hong whose rooms were also occupied by the nightmare creatures. Both of them are dead. Next... it should be our turn."
Even though Nian said that, less than ten minutes later Jin Jiuchi found that his breathing had become deep and long. He had fallen asleep so deeply, just like a baby.
Jin Jiuchi propped his head up with a palm and let out an amused scoff, "Be careful, he said..." He reached out to pinch the jade doll's tiny adorable nose. Even then, he did not react except for the twitching of his brows.
Jin Jiuchi, however, lay wide awake as he stared at the ceiling until the hour hand of the clock pointed at ten.
Almost immediately, the light bulbs outside snapped off one after another and the paper dolls roused from their slumber, playing their celebration music that reverberated all over the apartment. Jin Jiuchi had no idea whether it was because they had finished decorating the wedding venue, but the music sounded especially clear and melodious tonight, almost as if a joyous wedding was commencing right at the moment.
Somehow, if he closed his eyes, he could imagine the resplendent of the bride's wedding dress that trailed behind her back with every step she took. Crimson silk hung over the entire apartment as the tenants leaned over the corridor railing to scatter flower petals in the air, whistling and singing along with the music...
Jin Jiuchi snapped his eyes open, and the scene in front of him abruptly changed.
He was still in room 301, albeit the interior was drastically different now. Crimson canopy draped over the bed posts above him, and the bed he was laying on was covered in bright red sheets.
He propped himself up in confusion. "Wait, hasn't Nian taken these off the first night we..." his voice trailed off when he turned his head, only to find that the space beside him was empty.
"Nian'er?!" Shocked, Jin Jiuchi shot up to his feet and looked into the bottom of the bed to see if the jade doll had accidentally fallen off in his sleep. But he found no one. "Nian'er, where did you go?!"
Jin Jiuchi's eyes fell on the flickering candle on the table that cast a golden glow in a small circle, illuminating the person who had been sitting there since God-knows-when.
The bride was clad in her silk crimson dress adorned with intricate embroidery and ornate designs in gold. Due to the red veil covering her head, Jin Jiuchi couldn't discern her expression clearly but he could tell that she was staring fixedly at him.
Jin Jiuchi's eyes lit up when he recognized who it was. "Miss Zhao!" He bounded to the table and made a gesture around his torso. "Did you see Nian'er anywhere? He's this tall, super pretty and adorable but oops– of course, the bride is the most beautiful on her wedding day! Are you getting married today, perhaps? Have you seen the wedding venue we decorated? How is it, how is it? It's quite good, if I have to say! The others are waiting for this thing called the return tickets. You don't happen to have those lying around, do you?"
When he saw the bride went deathly still without answering any of his inquiry, Jin Jiuchi tilted his head, puzzled. "Miss Zhao...?"
Finally getting the chance to insert herself amidst Jin Jiuchi's long spiel, the bride lifted her arm, the silky long sleeve sliding down her smooth skin as she pointed at the empty seat opposite hers.
"Um, I don't think it's very good for me to stay here for long lest your groom comes back later..." Though he said that, he still gingerly sat his butt down on the wooden chair. He cleared his throat, "So, have you seen Nian'er around?"
The bride still did not speak, but all of a sudden a very appetizing aroma wafted into Jin Jiuchi's nose. His eyes widened when he lowered his gaze to see a plate of roasted peanuts, baked cookies and a pot of fragrant tea. Having not eaten all day long, Jin Jiuchi started salivating as soon as his eyes landed on the food. "W–What is the meaning of this?" he peered up at the bride with hopeful eyes. "Are you offering these to me? Can I...?"
The bride nodded.
"Miss Zhao...!" Jin Jiuchi was so touched that he was going to cry. "How can you be so kind?! You are the best bride in the world!" The last of Jin Jiuchi's words were muffled for he was already stuffing his mouth with the cookies and chewing with his cheeks bulging. "Hmm, delishcious!!"
"You... are not afraid... of me..." she muttered in halting words, her voice scratchy and unpleasant as though it had been a long time since she last spoke.
Jin Jiuchi cracked the peanuts and threw them into his mouth, his eyes held confusion within. The meaning behind it was clear, 'Should I?'
"Even though... I look like this...?"
Without a warning, a strong breeze blew by in the enclosed room and lifted the crimson veil off her head. The candle flickered wildly as if it was going to die out at any moment, and the faint light fell on the bride's bloody and badly mangled face that looked as if someone had used a sharp weapon to chop it again and again. Her eyes were two terrifying black holes staring straight at Jin Jiuchi, while her exposed flesh was red with its muscle tissues twitching and pulsing.
In the next instant, blood began to ooze out of her entire body and pooled around her feet, permeating the entire room with the thick metallic stench.
Jin Jiuchi's jaws dropped, but he hurriedly closed it again for fear that the food would fall out of his mouth. He chewed and swallowed in haste, only for the food to be stuck on his throat. Coughing, he scrambled to grab the small cup of tea in front of him and downed it in one gulp, then he let out a sigh of relief.
"You..." Jin Jiuchi started to say, his gaze complicated.
***
On the other hand, while Jin Jiuchi was spending leisure time with the nightmare creature, another completely different scene was taking place in the same room.
The chair was toppled; the bed had a few slashes on them as though a sharp blade had torn through them, the bright red sheets and silk canopy that originally on the chair was now strewn all over the floor.
At the moment, Nian lay amidst the rumpled silk with his face flushed red from exertion, both of his hands were pressed to the floor beside his head by the man looming above him – Jin Jiuchi.
A low growl resounded from Jin Jiuchi's throat as he leaned forward and took a sniff of Nian's neck. His chest made a pleased rumble like a predator who was satisfied with the quality of prey he had caught. Gasping, Nian tried to knee Jin Jiuchi's stomach but a large hand gripped his leg before he could do so, pinning him to the ground with no way to escape.
Nian gritted out with veins popping on his sweaty forehead, "Snap out of it, you damned husky!!"