Chapter 75: Striking Features
At this moment, they were still half a street away from the Li Mansion.
About twenty red-robed figures stood on the street like marionettes, completely motionless. All were male in appearance, but their faces were thickly painted with rouge, and their empty, fixed stares made them look deeply unsettling.
At the center stood the ornate, slightly antiquated bridal sedan. Inside sat a living person, holding their breath and focusing intently on a large painting in front of them.
'It… really looks different from before…'
The third persona observed the bizarre scene in Ji Li's mind, marveling at it, while Ji Li himself was entirely fixated on the painting. He didn't even notice that the sedan had stopped moving. Within just a few minutes, the bride in the painting had lifted her red veil once more.
Now Ji Li could see the dead bride's jaw—pale and bloodless. Her crimson lips were delicate, yet clashed sharply with the ghostly whiteness of the rest of her face. The pose made Ji Li think of the red-and-white clash. He wasn't sure if it was a coincidence, but the painting seemed to echo the opening scene of the mission.
Ji Li clenched a metal lighter in his hand, thumb on the switch, ready to burn the painting. The image was too sinister.
At the moment the veil lifted, Ji Li could no longer sense any movement outside the sedan. He had repeatedly tried to lift the curtains to check on Tongguan and the others, but they seemed fused to the sedan; no matter how hard he pulled, they wouldn't budge. He couldn't tell that the sedan had actually stopped or feel it moving. Wind, footsteps, and passerby sounds were all cut off in Ji Li's perception.
It was as if he had been completely sealed off from the outside world. All his actions had to be confined within the sedan. And the source of this change was obvious: the eerie painting in front of him.
Ji Li realized the cause: the bride in the painting was slowly lifting her veil.
'The red veil keeps rising. We must decide—stay or leave!'
The third persona warned in his mind. If the bride's true face was revealed, it could trigger a far greater crisis. The problem now was how to escape the sedan.
Ji Li gripped the lighter, intending to burn the painting, but hesitated for multiple reasons: first, the painting was largely a supernatural entity—he wasn't sure if it could ignite; second, even if it did, if he couldn't escape the sedan in time, he would be consumed by the flames along with it.
He shifted his focus to the sedan itself.
The structure resembled an ordinary ancient bridal sedan: entirely wooden, giving off a dull sound when struck. He was seated on a raised platform beside the painting, essentially a chair. Red fabric surrounded him, reflecting a crimson hue on his skin, making him feel almost like the bride-to-be.
The top of the sedan formed a square canopy, extending upward into a pyramidal shape at the corners. Ji Li considered that since the main door was blocked, perhaps he could escape through the canopy.
He temporarily ignored the painting, stood on the platform, and lightly touched the junctions of the canopy. Shining his flashlight, he realized the sedan had no metal—pure wood, with even the edges interlocked in overlapping boards.
This discovery excited him. If the entire sedan was wooden and old, perhaps it could be broken open from the inside.
He glanced back at the painting—the bride's red veil had lifted halfway. About ten minutes had passed since it started rising. In roughly another ten minutes, it would be fully lifted, revealing her true face. Even with the veil half-lifted, Ji Li's senses were already cut off; once fully revealed, he could foresee his fate.
Yet he remained calm. Ten minutes, he believed, was enough to escape the sedan with his abilities. At worst, he could destroy the painting entirely, though that would be a last resort. For now, he had sufficient time.
Ji Li briefly hesitated, then ignited the lighter and set it in a corner of the sedan. The flame burned fiercely, steady and strong.
He took a deep look, then raised his gaze to the top of the canopy. Reaching behind his waist, he drew a knife, tore away the decorative silk, and exposed the underlying wooden boards.
He thrust the knife repeatedly into the joints.
The peculiar smell of sawdust drifted down like raindrops. Ji Li flinched, pausing his actions. He grabbed a handful of the dust and inhaled—something about it felt oddly familiar.
'It's the scent of death, but not entirely…'
The third persona also detected the source and muttered something that seemed trivial—but Ji Li understood. The sedan was steeped in the stench of corpses. Ordinarily it would be foul, but blended with specific spices, it created this strange odor. This indicated the sedan had long been in close contact with bodies, causing its unusual scent.
Ji Li paid it no further mind and used his strength to dismantle the canopy's wooden panels one by one. As each board was removed, a patch of stars appeared above.
The night wind from outside tousled his hair. Savoring the autumn air, he swiftly tore off several more boards. Then, tossing his backpack aside, he gripped the top of the sedan and glanced at the painting once more.
He couldn't clearly see how much of the red veil had lifted, but it was nearly fully uncovered. In the dim light, he noticed two black eyes set in a ghostly pale face.
Beneath the bride's right eye, a tear-shaped mole stood out—a subtle mark that, in the darkness, became a key point of recognition. This gave him an inexplicable sense of disorientation.
Prompted by the third persona, Ji Li vaulted out of the sedan.
The long, deserted street stretched before him under the cold night wind; everything around him felt unreal. Far ahead, Tongguan and the funeral procession had completely vanished.
"Could it be… I guessed wrong before?"
He reached into his pocket for a pack of cigarettes. The wind lifted his loose hair, and he suddenly remembered—the lighter had been left in the corner of the sedan.
Glancing back, the sedan and the bridal party had entirely disappeared from the street.
Ji Li held the cigarette in his palm, frowning as he murmured, "No fire… how am I supposed to smoke?"
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