Let's give space a touch of Chinese horror!

Chapter 8 Inviting the Bride

Just as Luo Feng was still in shock, the old man spoke again: "Miss, the wedding is about to begin."

"You should go back inside and prepare. If you miss the auspicious time... that would be bad."

As he spoke, he stepped aside, clearly gesturing for Luo Feng to follow him inside.

What "wedding"? What "auspicious time"?

Luo Feng hadn't figured out why his personality had changed, so of course he wouldn't follow this strange-looking old man into this equally peculiar house.

So, he instinctively took a step back.

At this very step, the old man inside the door suddenly changed his expression. His already unpleasant face turned even more grim: "Miss... is she not going to obey?"

What? What?

Luo Feng looked up and saw the old man inside the door make a hand gesture. The next second, two burly old women came out from behind the door.

They were burly, dressed in coarse brown linen clothes, and stood on either side of the door like two iron towers. Then, like lightning, they reached out their hands to Luo Feng.

Luo Feng's combat skills made him want to retreat immediately, but he forgot that he was in a different body. So his mind quickly made the best decision, but his body... remained motionless in place.

Then, he was caught red-handed.

Two old women grabbed his arms tightly, one on each side. Their thick fingers gripped his arms like iron hoops, their nails digging deep into his flesh. The force was so great that Luo Feng wondered if he could hear his own bones cracking.

"What are you going to do—" Luo Feng began. But after only a few words, he shut his mouth again and began to struggle silently because of the soft, delicate female voice that came out of his mouth.

Because he had been inexplicably switched into another body, Luo Feng couldn't break free from the control of the two old women. He could only brace his feet against the ground to prevent himself from being dragged into this strange-looking house.

He didn't actually know what would happen after entering the house, but his sixth sense told him that if he really entered the house, he wouldn't be able to leave.

The soles of my shoes scraped against the rough flagstones with a desperate groan, yet I was still dragged toward the wide-open, deep, vermilion gate.

This was the first time Luo Feng had ever been so disheveled. His shoulder blades were being twisted in the opposite direction by brute force, and struggling only resulted in an even stronger control. All resistance was like sinking into a quagmire, like an ant trying to shake a tree; it did nothing but deplete his remaining strength.

The two old women holding him remained silent, but they roughly dragged Luo Feng across the threshold.

"Squeak—"

The vermilion gate closed behind him, signaling the failure of Luo Feng's struggle.

Now that things had come to this, Luo Feng began to discreetly observe the surroundings.

After crossing the threshold, the towering blue brick walls shut out the outside world, and every brick and tile exudes an old and decaying smell, turning this house into an independent world.

The bluestone slabs in the courtyard were covered with slippery, dark green moss. The vegetation on both sides was untrimmed, and the old locust tree, with its gnarled branches and leaves, was covered with bright red ribbons that were fluttering gently in the air.

Every few steps, a red lantern hangs high, with the silhouette of the character "囍" (double happiness) faintly visible on it. The red light sways gently, distorting the shadows cast on the ground.

The entire courtyard exuded an absurd atmosphere that was both desolate and bustling.

"Oh, the bride has arrived..."

A middle-aged woman dressed in a purplish-red satin dress approached with a cheerful expression.

Luo Feng looked up at the sound and then gasped sharply.

The middle-aged woman's face was covered with a thick, pale layer of makeup, like a heavy mask, obscuring the skin's texture. Two perfectly symmetrical patches of bright red blush adorned her cheeks, stiff and jarring. Her lips were also painted unusually full, with the corners of her crimson lips deliberately drawn into a slightly upturned shape.

"The auspicious time is almost here..."

The middle-aged woman waved her handkerchief, and the strong, cheap scent of cosmetics emanating from it made Luo Feng sneeze uncontrollably.

"Hurry up and take the bride to her room to change her clothes!" She pointed to a room with her bright red nail polish.

The two old women immediately lifted Luo Feng up and headed towards the room the middle-aged woman pointed to.

The door was pushed open roughly, and Luo Feng was dragged into the room.

He immediately began to look around the room, trying to find a way to escape.

The room was not large, with bright red silk hanging all over the beams and pillars, the windows tightly closed, and red "囍" characters pasted on the yellowed window paper.

Upon entering, one is greeted by a full-length bronze mirror with an intricately carved lotus scroll pattern on the frame. The gold paint has peeled away, revealing the blackened wood beneath. Unfortunately, the mirror is blurry and riddled with cracks, making it impossible for Luo Feng to see his own appearance or who he truly is.

Beside the full-length bronze mirror stood a large ebony dressing table. In the center of the table sat a wooden comb and a gilded powder box. Two bright red wedding candles stood on carved candlesticks, illuminating the entire room. The flickering candlelight cast long and short shadows on the walls and floor.

The air was filled with the heavy, pungent smell of melting wax, which mixed with the scent of aged cosmetics, creating a cloying and suffocating musty odor.

Luo Feng originally thought he would be led to sit down in front of the dressing table. He had already started planning in his mind how to escape the moment the two women let go of him. However, the two old women dragged him past the dressing table without stopping, around a carved wooden screen, and came to a carved canopy bed.

Upon seeing what was standing in front of the bed, Luo Feng's pupils suddenly contracted—

It was a bright red dress standing on the shelf.

It hung before layers of crimson curtains, its color as scarlet as freshly congealed blood; the satin fabric gleamed with an oily, damp sheen, cascading down like a waterfall, its hem spreading and piling on the floor; the intertwined lotus blossoms embroidered in gold thread flickered in the dim candlelight, gleaming with a cold light.

Alarm bells rang in Luo Feng's mind, immediately sounding the highest level of combat readiness.

He didn't know what the clothes were made of or what they were for, but his intuition told him that the clothes were extremely dangerous.

This was his unerring sixth sense, proven by his encounters with vicious space pirates and brutal insectoids.

He instinctively began to struggle again, not wanting to get close to the gorgeous yet cold-looking blood-red dress.

For some reason, the blood-red garment simply hung there quietly, yet it evoked a more terrifying feeling in Luo Feng than when he faced space pirates and insectoids.

Despite the struggle, the two old women didn't even flinch. Their iron-like arms held Luo Feng firmly, pressing him down onto the cold, carved canopy bed. His back slammed hard against the hardwood edge, making Luo Feng's weakened body feel dizzy.

Once the golden stars in front of them had dissipated, one of them had taken down the blood-red garment and carefully held it over.

Luo Feng's hair stood on end instantly.

He can't be put in that outfit!

He's doomed if he puts on that outfit!

He suddenly bent over and kicked with all his might at the shin of one of the people standing there, intending to rush out when the other staggered back. But he forgot about the weakness of this body; the old woman he attacked didn't budge, but he felt as if he had run into a wall made of cast iron.

"Bride, it's time to put on your wedding dress—" The old woman's rough voice exploded in Luo Feng's ears.

The iron-like hands pressed down on Luo Feng even harder, pinning him firmly to the cold bed. Before Luo Feng could even struggle again, the cool silk was roughly wrapped around his shoulders.

The silk was cool and smooth. The moment it touched his skin, Luo Feng felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. All the heat and strength in his body were absorbed by the garment, and his body instantly became extremely stiff.

The two nannies were like manipulating a lifeless puppet. Soon, the immobile Luo Feng was not only changed into that blood-red dress called "wedding dress", but was also supported by the two nannies and sat in front of the dressing table.

Luo Feng saw himself in the bronze mirror—

In the blurry mirror, he seemed to see a thin woman in a bright red wedding dress, her face ashen, being pressed in front of a dressing table, silently weeping as she was being made up with festive makeup, her tears leaving pathetic marks on her bloodless face.

That bright red and heavy wedding dress was like a huge, scarlet shroud, binding people tightly within it, from which they could never escape for all eternity.

In a daze, he saw an old woman pick up a comb from the dressing table.

"If you comb your hair all the way to the end, the bride will never return home."

The wooden comb slid down his long hair, which had somehow grown longer.

"Combing twice to the end, we'll be together in the netherworld."

"Combing the hair three times to the end will bring eternal prosperity to the family."

As the old woman finished speaking, the last thing Luo Feng saw was himself in the mirror with a bright red veil covering his head.

The world suddenly turned bright red, and before Luo Feng could react, a burst of gongs and drums suddenly came from outside the door.

Immediately afterwards, shrill celebratory music rang out, and he heard a piercing female voice shout:

"The auspicious time has arrived—"

"Please welcome the bride!"