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Chapter 14: Bloody Bride

Jin Jiuchi awoke in the middle of the night with a start.

Before he could even open his eyes, he already sensed an unfamiliar presence in the room that caused his senses to go on full alert. He snapped his eyes open to see an unfamiliar ceiling above him. It took him approximately two full seconds to realize where he was and what he was doing before this.

Oh right, he had hopped into a yellow kindergarten bus out of a whim and ended up stranded in this corpse apartment...

A gentle voice drew Jin Jiuchi\'s attention back to the present and he withdrew his gaze from the ceiling to look at the foot of the bed, then he promptly held his breath.

A woman was sitting beside Jin Jiuchi\'s feet, exactly the place where the bridal shoes were supposed to be. She was clad in a bright crimson robe with white embellishments, the exquisite silk gossamer highlighted her thin frame and tapered waist. Luscious black hair cascaded down her back, fluttering gently even by the absence of wind inside the room.

She was humming a song that sounded awfully familiar to Jin Jiuchi, her voice echoing distantly as if it had come from someplace far away.

The scene in front of him was practically straight out of a horror film, but right now the only thought in Jin Jiuchi\'s mind was – \'It\'s over, it\'s over! The bride has come to claim her room! I have warned Nian\'er about it but he just didn\'t listen to me!\'

A glance to the side told him that the jade doll was still soundly asleep. \'And you even dare to sleep so well on her bed!\' Jin Jiuchi gritted his teeth, pushed himself into a sitting position and cleared his throat.

"I\'m sorry... err, Miss..." he apologized awkwardly. "I think there is a huge misunderstanding here. Don\'t worry, we will leave as soon as it\'s daylight – no, we can even leave now if you want! I don\'t mean to occupy your bridal room at all, Miss! It\'s all because of that damned curfew that I couldn\'t leave the room!" He reached out to shake the jade doll awake, exasperated. Was it only him who cared about propriety and decorum here?! "Hey, wake up, Nian\'er! We have to move now!"

Nian stirred in his sleep, eyelids twitching.

The woman suddenly stopped humming and tilted her head to the side. "When did you come back?" she asked gently with a slight gurgle on her throat.

"Huh?" Jin Jiuchi pointed at his own nose, baffled. "Me? I\'ve never been here at all..." Did the woman somehow mistake him as the groom?

But the woman asked again, more insistent this time. "When did you come back?"

Jin Jiuchi opened his mouth, ready to explain that he was but a poor soul trapped in this room until his gaze suddenly dropped to the bride\'s body and all words abruptly stuck on his throat. Crimson was rapidly spreading on the white embellishments of the bridal robe. No, that\'s not right... the robe should have been white from the start, and it only turned crimson due to the blood oozing out of the woman\'s body.

And now, the blood was steadily dripping to the pristine white mattress.

Jin Jiuchi jumped from the bed as if scalded, while cradling the sleepy jade doll in his arms. "Y–You..." he finally saw the appearance of the bride for the first time. Her face was ghastly pale, dark eyes occupying one third of her face akin to two black holes that were drawn haphazardly on a piece of paper. Lines of blood smeared her skin like spiderwebs, making it look as if her flesh had been torn apart only to be pieced together again.

She stood up to face Jin Jiuchi, sleeves billowing. Blood continued to pool around her feet in a steady stream.

Wait a moment, her feet...

Jin Jiuchi\'s eyes widened in shock. She was wearing the bridal shoes that Nian\'er had locked inside the drawer earlier!

"...What has happened to you?" Jin Jiuchi finally found his voice with much difficulty, too taken aback by the appearance of the bloody bride.

In his arms, the jade doll finally managed to shake off the haze of intense sleepiness that was weighing down on his eyelids. As soon as he opened his eyes, he discovered that he was no longer on the bed, and in front of him was...

"Fuck!" He jolted in shock, a curse slipping out of his mouth. "W–What happened?!" He asked, extremely flustered. He had never allowed himself to fall into real slumber inside the Cycle for fear that something – or someone – would come attacking in the middle of the night, just like now. Such an instance where he was utterly oblivious of his surroundings had never occurred before!

This was the important first night in the Cycle where he should be finding out about the death conditions, so how was it possible for him to lower his guard down and fall asleep?!

However, Jin Jiuchi clearly misunderstood the meaning behind Nian\'s question. Still recalling the shame of being caught intruding into another person\'s territory, he squeezed the jade doll in his arms and shook him in exasperation. "What happened? You still dare to ask what happened?! Isn\'t it you who told me not to leave the room? Now look, the real owner has come back! What should we do to make it up for her?!"

Nian: "..." So that\'s the thing you\'re most worried about, huh?

Somehow, Jin Jiuchi\'s ridiculous words managed to calm him down a lot. Alas, the bloody bride did not give him any time to think. She took a step forward, causing Jin Jiuchi to stagger toward the door.

"Woah, woah, woah!" He lifted a hand to express his harmless intention, while the other hand was still wrapped around the jade doll\'s body. "Okay, don\'t be angry, Miss! We will leave! We will definitely leave your room now!"

"No!" Nian yanked on his hair to stop him from running out, earning him a yelp of surprise. "What do you mean by leaving? Haven\'t you heard the rules?! We must not leave the room no matter what!"

Jin Jiuchi stared at him in sheer disbelief. "...I didn\'t expect your face to be thicker than me, Nian\'er." To insist on staying even though the bride had returned, even he was not shameless enough to attempt something like that!

Nian shot him a vicious glare. However, before he could say anything, the bloody bride suddenly parted her lips and sang in a soft voice, all the while taking one step after another toward them.

Leaving behind the only home I\'ve known

Walking down this aisle, I feel so alone

Dad by my side, I hold on tight

Jin Jiuchi heard the jade doll cursing beside his ear, but right now, he could not afford to pay attention to what the other person was up to. This song was very familiar... he was certain that he had heard it somewhere before. Each verse awoken a memory buried deep inside him, and before he knew it, he opened his mouth and sang along with the bride,

"To this life that I\'m leaving tonight..."

All of a sudden, the air became deathly still.

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A/N: I know it\'s a creepy chapter but please enjoy a fanart of our beautiful jade doll by Ying! Do open the comment section and show your love there! Isn\'t he a total little prince? I wanna poke his cheek so bad!! ><