Marry the NPC with Money, Wife Comes Knocking - Chapter 46

Chapter 46

“Hua Hua, I’m here!”

Hua Suihe had no idea when Ye Susheng had appeared up ahead. She lifted her skirt and ran over, stopping at the foot of the steps by the doorway.

“Hua Hua, I’m here to pick you up.”

Hua Suihe got to her feet and took two or three quick steps down. Looping her arm through Ye Susheng’s, she giggled. “Ye Zi, you got here fast.”

Ye Susheng only smiled, saying nothing. She tilted her head to look at Chai Chai, and there was no warmth in her eyes.

That little brat. He’d actually played tricks on purpose to lure Hua Hua all the way out here.

Chai Chai looked timid, speaking in a small, hesitant voice. “Ye Susheng-jie.”

Ye Susheng ignored him. Lowering her head, she pressed her forehead to Hua Suihe’s cheek. “Hua Hua, you must be hungry, right? It’s already lunchtime. I’ll take you back to eat.”

Hua Suihe glanced back at Chai Chai. “Kid, do you want to come eat with us?”

Chai Chai slowly shook his head. Reluctance showed in his eyes, like a little stray waiting to be taken in. “Teacher Hua Hua… can you come back to see me again? I’ll wait here for you.”

“It’s too far,” Ye Susheng said for Hua Suihe, refusing outright. “It’s not convenient for her to come.”

Hua Suihe couldn’t bear that look in his eyes. “I’ll come again when I have time, okay?”

Chai Chai’s eyes brightened. “When will you have time?”

Hua Suihe promised, “Within three days. I’ll be back.”

Without another word, Ye Susheng tugged Hua Suihe away.

They followed the road for a short while, soon passing the houses in the lodging area. After walking a bit more, they returned to the main hall.

Ye Susheng led Hua Suihe to a seat and helped serve her food. The table was piled with a lavish spread.

Life was good again. Hua Suihe ate with delight.

Ye Susheng sat beside her, watching her eat. Her mood was clearly low, and she couldn’t help asking, “Hua Hua… do you really like that little brat?”

“Hm?” Hua Suihe swallowed her bite. “You mean Chai Chai?”

“He’s just a kid who’s starved for affection. Mr. Zhuang has him living so far away and doesn’t care about him at all. He finally met someone he knows-of course he’d want to play with me. That’s understandable.”

Hua Suihe sneakily checked Ye Susheng’s expression. Seeing that there still wasn’t a trace of a smile, she added, “I don’t like him. I just feel sorry for him.”

When Hua Suihe said she didn’t like him, the tail end of Ye Susheng’s brows lifted. Her mood finally eased, and she even echoed her. “He is pretty pitiful.”

“Oh, right. Yi Shuang and Fang Ge went with me. They went inside and said they were going to look for the young master. Chai Chai came out to talk to me-I don’t know whether they ran into anything.”

Ye Susheng lowered her eyes and didn’t respond, only picking up her chopsticks to add more food to Hua Suihe’s bowl.

Hua Suihe had only mentioned it offhand. With good food in front of her, she quickly buried her head and kept eating.

“Feels like there are fewer people coming to lunch.”

Her gaze swept the room. Ten big round tables, with only small clusters of people scattered here and there. It didn’t look like even fifty people.

“Maybe they’re not hungry,” Ye Susheng said. “Went to look at the flowers.”

Went to look at the flowers.

Hua Suihe suddenly thought of what she’d seen at the entrance that morning.

‘He just went to look at the flowers. What could possibly be wrong?’

Her expression slowly turned grave, a chill crawling up her spine.

“Something’s off.” Hua Suihe asked Ye Susheng, “How many people did he invite over?”

“Eighty.”

Hua Suihe counted the people left in the hall. Fifty-two in total. It wasn’t impossible that some hadn’t come back for lunch because they weren’t hungry, and she was probably just being too on edge.

*

Yi Shuang and Fang Ge entered the squat little house and didn’t run into anyone.

The room didn’t even have windows. You could see the whole space at a glance. Withered rose petals carpeted the floor, and every wall was covered in rose thorns. Black-and-red blossoms bloomed across the surfaces.

When they turned back, the door was gone-nothing left but four walls and a ceiling.

Cold, clammy air circulated through the room, brushing the flowers on the walls and knocking more petals down to the floor.
Fang Ge watched as a whole row of gifts and tools in the points shop went dark, a notice popping up: this task does not allow exchanges.

The mission was to find the real young master and give him a gift that satisfied him. She’d originally planned to redeem the gift with points, but now that route was blocked.

Yi Shuang searched the room for clues, but there was nothing in the perfectly square space. Fang Ge’s confidence wavered. “Sis Shuang… I feel like it’s suffocating in here. Like we’re inside a coffin.”

Yi Shuang said, “We are inside a coffin.”

Fang Ge’s hair stood on end. “Y-You mean… for real?”

Yi Shuang looked completely unconcerned. “If you come in, you’d better be prepared to die.”

“The young master has been dead for a long time. This is his coffin.” Yi Shuang used her dagger to lightly nudge aside the thorny vines on the wall, studying the patterns beneath. “I just don’t understand why the task emphasizes the real young master.”

This dungeon looked like it offered five different tasks. Clear just one and survive four days, and you could pass.

In reality, the players were guaranteed to be wiped out-herself included.

It was a Sure-death Scenario. Even completing the main quest wouldn’t change anything. Compared to chasing the main plot, she was more interested in this side branch. Since she was going to die anyway, she might as well come take a look.

Compared to Yi Shuang’s calm, Fang Ge’s voice shook with fear. “I knew it was possible, mentally, but I’m still scared. I’ve never died before.”

“Mm.” Yi Shuang didn’t know how to respond, so she added, “It’s fine. Once you’ve died more times, you won’t be scared.”

Fang Ge: …

Wow. What a solution.

She thought of Hua Suihe squatting outside the door. “Can we leave Peanut out there?”

“She’ll be fine.”

Fang Ge gave a distracted “oh,” then her gaze snapped into focus.

A child was standing right in front of her, back turned. His clothes were plain, and there was even a hole torn in the fabric across his back.

Instinctively, she grabbed Yi Shuang’s wrist hard. The scream stuck in her throat; she didn’t even dare make a sound, only stared stiffly at the child.

Following her line of sight, Yi Shuang saw a little boy-seven or eight years old.

The boy turned around to look at them. His big eyes, stark black and white, were lifeless. “Two big sisters… why did you come to my home? Are you here to see me?”

Yi Shuang met his gaze steadily. “Are you Mr. Zhuang’s son?”

“I told you I’m not!” The moment he heard that, Chai Chai’s emotions flared. The rose thorns on the wall moved like living snakes, lashing toward them with sharp barbs to bind them.

The random Teleportation Talisman talisman card she’d redeemed with points still worked-yet even after using it, they were still trapped inside this tiny coffin. They’d only shifted to a different spot, barely avoiding Chai Chai’s attack for the moment.

Yi Shuang’s eyes sank.

So it really was a Sure-death Scenario. The talisman card’s effect was negligible. In this run, no one would make it out alive.

Yi Shuang voiced the question in her mind. “You’re the fake young master, aren’t you?”

Thorny vines bound Fang Ge and Yi Shuang together. The barbs pierced their skin, drinking nourishment from their bodies.

The pain nearly made Fang Ge pass out. She couldn’t believe that with death right in front of them, Yi Shuang still had the mood to talk. With that kind of mentality, she probably wouldn’t fear anything.

“I am Zhuang Chaichai.” Chai Chai walked toward them barefoot, stepping over withered petals.

“I’m me. I’m not anyone’s son.”

Yi Shuang stared at him. Then, a smile suddenly bloomed at the corner of her lips.

“I get it.”

So that was it.

Chai Chai was only a Vengeful Ghost.

To find the real young master, they would have to find his remains.

But inside this perfectly square coffin, there were no remains to be found.

From the outside, that squat little building had a second floor.

Only… they no longer had any chance to find the stairs leading up.

Two lives ended here.