Lou Tingxue jolted awake inside a bridal sedan chair.
The moment he moved, a sharp, searing pain shot through his neck.
He knit his brows tightly in pain and instinctively reached up to feel the spot, only for his fingertips to brush against a slick, icy, and sticky wetness.
Blood!!!
Lou Tingxue’s eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.
He had hemophobia, but now was definitely not the time to be passing out!
Someone had cut his throat, and he was actively bleeding out!
Lou Tingxue took a sharp gasp of air and snapped back to consciousness in terror.
Oddly enough, he remembered celebrating his eighteenth birthday when a sudden heart attack sent him straight to the hospital. How on earth had he ended up inside a bridal sedan?
Was this some twisted prank to make him play a ghost bride? But wouldn’t they know he was terrified of blood?
“Don’t waste your energy. We are both dead.”
A cold, raspy voice echoed within the narrow confines of the sedan. It sounded identical to Lou Tingxue’s own voice, yet it carried a dead, hollow chill—as if drifting up straight from the underworld.
Lou Tingxue froze, his entire body stiffening as a faint, translucent ghost materialized right before him.
The ghost looked exactly like him—the eyes, the features, even the faint cinnabar mole at the corner of his eye were identical. However, its expression was entirely foreign.
The ghost wore a lavish, bright red wedding robe, but its brow was heavy with grief and resentment. Knowing he was never the brooding, melancholic type, Lou Tingxue was certain this ghost was a completely different person.
Lou Tingxue’s throat tightened, feeling as though the blood in his veins was freezing solid.
He tried to back away, but the sedan was far too cramped. After clumsily scrambling back a few inches, his spine bumped hard against the ice-cold wooden wall.
“You need not fear me,” the ghost said, floating forward slowly. “I, too, am named Lou Tingxue.”
Lou Tingxue shuddered violently, his heart leaping straight into his throat.
He desperately wanted to speak, but his throat had been slashed. The moment he parted his lips, he nearly choked to death on his own blood.
“This body was mine. When you died, your soul happened to claim my empty vessel,” the ghost said with a sorrowful, bitter smile.
Lou Tingxue: !!!
Observing his bewildered, helpless expression, the ghost continued, “As things stand, there is no point in me fighting for it. I am already dead, and my soul cannot return.”
The ghost paused, locking its gaze onto Lou Tingxue with an intense, almost coercive plea: “I can yield this body to you and let you live well under my identity. But in return, you must help me!”
Lou Tingxue had always known there was no such thing as a free lunch.
The ghost stated, “I need you to do two things for me.”
“First, revenge. Find the people who murdered me and end them. Blood must be repaid with blood.”
“Second, gratitude. I lost my parents at a young age, and the Lou family raised me as their own. Their kindness is as heavy as a mountain, yet I never had the chance to repay it. You must protect the Lou family in my place guard every single person under that roof and ensure they suffer no grievances,” the ghost added.
Floating closer until their noses were nearly touching, the ghost rasped, “If you agree, I will fade away completely and never haunt you again, allowing you to live peacefully as Lou Tingxue. But if you refuse, I will haunt you for eternity!”
By the final sentence, the ghost’s voice escalated into a piercing shriek.
Staring into the ghost’s wide, enraged eyes, Lou Tingxue didn’t care about the blood drowning his throat—he nodded frantically in agreement.
Having received its answer, the ghost vanished into thin air.
Only then did Lou Tingxue let out a breath of relief.
However, his peace was short-lived. Outside the sedan, a man’s voice called out, “Relax, it’s been taken care of.”
Another man’s voice, far colder and sharper, replied, “Good! Now that Lou Tingxue is dead, no one stands in Our Master’s way anymore!”
As soon as the words fell, a few sinister sneers echoed from outside.
The first man paused before adding, “Ah, what a pity though. Lou Tingxue was remarkably handsome—skin like snow, cheeks like powder, fair as a beggar-plant blossom. Even in the Imperial Capital, you couldn’t find a beauty like him. Such a shame he lost his life at such a young age.”
“What good is beauty? He blocked Master’s path, so he deserved to die! Hurry up and dispose of his corpse! If anyone investigates later, Master won’t be suspected!” the other snapped.
Lou Tingxue: !!!
“Understood, I’m going now,” the first man said.
With that, one set of footsteps faded into the distance, while the other began steadily approaching the sedan. Inside, Lou Tingxue’s fingertips turned ice-cold with terror.
If they found out he was still alive, he would be killed! If they didn’t find out he was alive, he would bleed to death anyway!
Grit his teeth, Lou Tingxue made a desperate decision.
A rough hand pulled aside the sedan curtain. The man outside held an iron shovel caked in mud.
However, in the very next second, the man froze in place, all the color draining from his face instantly.
A blood-drenched hand was slowly creeping out from inside the sedan…
Exerting every ounce of strength left in his body, Lou Tingxue raised his hand, letting droplets of blood drip from his fingertips onto the man’s wrist.
He desperately wanted to cry out, “Save me!” But blood choked his throat, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t utter a single intelligible sound.
The man flinched violently as if scorched, yanking his hand back instantly.
He raised his eyes in terror, colliding directly with Lou Tingxue’s blood-soaked face.
The wound on Lou Tingxue’s neck was still gushing blood. Red liquid streamed down his jaw, staining most of his face. His once-gorgeous features were obscured by crimson stains, leaving only a pair of bloodshot eyes wide open. He looked every bit like a vengeful specter returned from hell!
“G-Ghost… A ghost!” The man screamed, his soul nearly leaping out of his body.
His legs went limp, and he collapsed onto the ground, throwing the iron shovel aside. Scrambling backward on all fours, he babbled in sheer panic, “Don’t take my life! I didn’t want to kill you! It was Master’s order! I was forced into it!”
In coherent with fear, his voice trembling uncontrollably, the man scrambled to his feet and sprinted away into the night without daring to look back.
Lou Tingxue: He wasn’t taking a life, he was asking for help!!!
Watching the man’s figure disappear into the dark, despair washed over Lou Tingxue.
In that fraction of a second, he had gambled on a desperate thought: if he begged this man for help, he might stand a tiny chance at survival. Even if the man was sent to dispose of his corpse, a single moment of pity could have saved him. What he hadn’t anticipated was scaring the man off entirely!
Lou Tingxue clutched his neck. The wound burned as if torn raw, and his severed blood vessels continued to pour warmth down his skin. Warm blood flooded his throat, causing him to choke and cough uncontrollably.
Within moments, an overwhelming sense of suffocation closed in. It felt as though he would drown in his own blood at any second.
He was unwilling! He simply could not accept this!
In his past life, he had been trapped by heart disease and never got to truly live. Now, the moment he opened his eyes in a new world, he was about to die in a malicious conspiracy.
Lou Tingxue’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
He felt the strength rapidly draining from his body until he collapsed onto the ground.
At this point, he didn’t care about anything else. Whoever it was, as long as they could save him, he would do whatever they asked.
Perhaps answered by fate, a faint, heavy crunching of footsteps echoed softly through the snow.
Lou Tingxue froze.
Driven purely by the instinct to survive, he paid no mind to his condition and dragged himself out from the wreckage of the bridal sedan.
Whoever was approaching whether good or evil he only wanted to grab onto this fleeting lifeline and stay alive!
Through the swirling snow, Lou Tingxue blurredly made out the tall, imposing figure of a man.
The man was walking unhurriedly through the snow drifts, seemingly without any intention of stopping.
Yet, he clearly hadn’t expected the person who was supposed to have perished inside the bridal sedan to still be breathing—much less crawling out toward him.
The man’s footsteps paused, coming to a complete halt. The air surrounding him felt as frigid as the surrounding ice and snow.
Lou Tingxue couldn’t care less about the cold.
Exerting his absolute last reserve of strength, his fingertips dug into the frozen earth as he dragged himself inch by inch toward the only living figure in the snowy night.
Across the white expanse, his red wedding gown carved a long, bloody trail through the snow.
The biting frost seeped through his robes, making Lou Tingxue shiver violently, yet he dared not stop for a single second.
Finally, Lou Tingxue managed to reach the hem of the man’s robe. He gripped the fabric tightly with his pale, bloodied fingers, clinging to it as if it were his ultimate thread of hope.
Yet, the man remained utterly unmoved. The icy aura surrounding him didn’t thaw in the slightest, treating the person fighting for their life on the ground like nothing more than a clump of meaningless street snow.
Lou Tingxue raised his head, his eyes brimming with desperation and helpless pleading.
He gazed up intently at the blurred figure, praying to catch even a sliver of mercy from this stranger.
At that exact moment, the harsh winter wind blew aside the heavy clouds shrouding the night sky, allowing clear, cold moonlight to cascade downward.
Lou Tingxue blinked, his vision suddenly clearing to reveal the man’s face.
The stranger possessed features so exquisitely handsome they bordered on fiendish, yet his profile was as sharp and cold as carved ice. A pair of deep, dark eyes looked down at him from above, entirely devoid of warmth containing only an unyielding, detached indifference.
Lou Tingxue stared blankly at him, inadvertently coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Though the man offered no response, Lou Tingxue refused to let go. He held on stubbornly until the man finally reached down and took hold of his hand. Only then did Lou Tingxue succumb to the darkness and pass out.
…
Lou Tingxue opened his eyes, instinctively reaching up to touch his neck.
However, his fingertips didn’t meet rough fabric, but rather layers of soft, neatly wrapped gauze that carried a medicinal scent. It was bound meticulously, clearly the work of someone attentive.
A voice suddenly rang out, “You’re finally awake!”
Lou Tingxue shifted his gaze toward the sound, meeting a pair of light brown eyes.
The eyes were an extraordinarily pale amber like agate submerged in clear water, pristine yet holding a hint of exotic depth that suggested an ethnic minority heritage.
The speaker was a young woman with distinctly striking features. Sharp brows and clean contours gave her an air of heroic spirit rather than conventional feminine softness.
Seeing him look her way, the woman spoke again, “I’ve just finished dressing your wound. Don’t worry, you are out of danger now. All you need to do is rest well and let me change your bandages daily I guarantee it won’t leave a scar!”
“Even if it leaves a scar, it doesn’t matter. A scar is nothing to a man,” Lou Tingxue rasped, his voice so hoarse and scratchy it surprised even himself.
“You’re so handsome! How could we possibly let it leave a scar?” The girl replied, sounding equal parts exasperated and anxious.
Lou Tingxue slowly looked around to take in his surroundings.
He was resting on a soft daybed inside an elegantly decorated room. A carved wooden table held delicate celadon teacups, while a subtle incense burned in the corner, its gentle smoke dispersing the bitter smell of medicine and lending a cozy warmth to the space.
Lou Tingxue’s heart stirred as he recalled the terrifying ordeal in the snow.
After his desperate pleading, that man had actually saved him and brought him to such a refined inn, even arranging for meticulous care. He really had treated him well.
Noticing his expression settling, the girl stepped half a pace closer and offered a warm self-introduction: “I forgot to mention, my name is Yuwei. Master happened to run into you when he stepped out that night, so he casually brought you back here to recover.”
Hearing the word “Master,” a cold shiver ran down Lou Tingxue’s spine.
Last night, the two men had spoken of a “Master” who was the mastermind behind his murder. Was this man who saved him an enemy or an ally?
Yuwei looked at him with curiosity, unleashing a flurry of questions: “Seeing how beautiful you are, I wonder what your name is? How old are you? At your age, do you have a man you like?”
Lou Tingxue was caught entirely off guard.
He was a guy—why on earth would he like a man?
Yuwei’s smile faded, replaced by a much more serious expression as she asked, “Master hasn’t let any beauty near him for years, yet last night he carried you back in his own arms. He must have fallen for you. Tell me, would you like to marry Master?”
The words exploded in Lou Tingxue’s mind like a bolt out of the blue.
His entire body went rigid, his eyes widening in absolute shock as his lips trembled.
Lou Tingxue exclaimed in pure horror, “I’m straight! I’m not marrying any man!”