Chapter 13 (Novel)

**This Venerable One's Bride** is the thirteenth chapter of *The Husky and His White Cat Shizun*.

## Summary

Mo Ran jokes about drinking with the guests, Chu Wanning does not laugh. They hear footsteps in the distance and reflexively move to hide behind a large rock. Two long lines of people appear out of the fog and are led by a golden boy and a jade maiden towards the manor.

Mo Ran and Chu Wanning continue watching them before the latter notices that the lines of people are made of corpses, most of whom, who look quite young. They then notice that Shi Mei, Mistress Yao and Chen Bohuan are part of the group. Unlike everyone else, Chen Bohuan is paired up with a ghost bride made of paper. Mo Ran attempts to run forward and bring Shi Mei to safety but Chu Wanning stops him, telling him that if he acts carelessly it might trigger the enforced barrier and have them ambushed by the faceless ghosts and advises him to instead join the procession and act like a corpse. Mo Ran obeys and stands behind Chen Bohuan while Chu Wanning takes his place behind Shi Mei.

They enter a large courtyard decorated with lanterns and colourful banners. A faceless ceremony official announces that grooms and brides have arrived. Mo Ran looks at Chu Wanning in confusion. Children dressed in red begin tugging each person into the rooms lining the courtyard, Mo Ran once again looks up at Chu Wanning, who gestures him to go along with it. Mo Ran admits he has no idea what to expect as in his last life, Chu Wanning had saved Shi Mei and had broken out of the illusory realm all by himself and Mo Ran had been daydreaming about the kiss when he had run through what had happened.

The child gestures Mo Ran to sit on the bench before helping him wash and change. He notes that the ghosts aren't very clever because as long as he doesn't speak, they won't suspect that he might not be dead. A haitang blossom flies in through the window, this is the Yuheng of the Night Sky. Chu Wanning tells Mo Ran that he used Tianwen to confirm that the illusory realm had been set up by Butterfly town's ghost mistress of ceremonies. It had managed to cultivate into a deity due to the villagers' incense and worship. It enjoys the ghost marriages which make it even more powerful each time they are held and that the corpses it calls back into the illusory realm are likely from the weddings it witnessed.

Mo Ran wonders how riveting corpse orgies could possibly be that this deity summons them from their graves each night to do it over and over again. Chu Wanning's message continues, telling Mo Ran to continue following the jade maiden and golden boy and although the ghost mistress is not here right now, she will make an appearance later on to absorb the energy. He assures Mo Ran that Shi Mei and Mistress Yao are only both unconscious due to the powder and that he will take care of everything.

The child finishes fussing over Mo Ran's clothes and leads him outside. There are a line of corpses on both sides of the courtyard. The lines begin to shorten and Mo Ran realises that Mistress Yao would be matched up with Shi Mei, he yanks her backwards and jumps in line in front of her. The ghosts around are confused for a little but do nothing about it. Concurrently, on the other side Chu Wanning notices that Shi Mei is front of him, he switches their places in order to protect him from any possible dangers. At the end of the corridor, an attendant stands with a red and black tray and greets him before covering his face with a veil and leading him away into another room.

## Characters

*In order of appearance:*

* Chu Wanning
* Mo Ran
* Chen Bohuan
* Shi Mei
* Mistress Yao
* Xue Zhengyong (mentioned)
* Ghost Mistress (mentioned)