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墨書 Inktalez
The house suddenly fell silent, an oppressive silence that was terrifying, with only their breathing softly lingering in the air.
At that moment, Chu Feifan was sitting in another room with Arian, and they too were quiet, no one speaking. Arian's dark, bright eyes were fixed on Chu Feifan's tightly furrowed brow. She knew he didn't love her at all because she had seen him looking at another girl during the wedding—the girl who was so beautiful she seemed not of this world.
Did he love her?
Arian cautiously observed Chu Feifan. Ever since he agreed to marry her, his brow had never relaxed. So why did he agree? When she heard her father say he had consented, she felt as happy as a child, but it seemed that the happiness was only hers.
Feifan, you don’t love me. Why did you agree to marry me?
She wanted to ask but lacked the courage to speak.
Chu Feifan glanced at the girl; her eyes were filled with tears as she looked at him innocently. This marriage was merely a transaction, yet Arian was innocent; she was also a victim, but he could give her nothing.
Chu Feifan sighed, intending to tell her the truth.
“Arian, first of all, I need to apologize. This marriage is not my choice; it was forced upon me by your father.”
He noticed Arian's body trembling, a suppressed shiver.
A transaction? So her father was still using her as a bargaining chip. Her body felt as if it had been plunged into icy water, and she trembled even more violently.
“I know this is very unfair to you, but I didn’t want it this way. I just wanted to save my friend. Although spying on your Ritual was our mistake, your father—who is the village chief here—did not fully intend to take anyone's life,” Chu Feifan said, trembling as he struggled to suppress his anger.
“Isn’t it your choice to marry my father’s wishes?” Arian asked in surprise. Her father had told her that he wanted her to marry him, and from the moment she first saw Chu Feifan, she had been drawn to him. Hearing that he was willing to marry her made her incredibly happy without any doubt.
"Your father said that if I don't agree to marry you, he will kill all my friends, just because we witnessed your Ritual."
Arian lowered her head, not realizing that her marriage was forced by her father. After a while, she raised her head and said, "In that case, I will let you go."
"Really?" Chu Feifan's face lit up with joy.
"Yes! I've long disapproved of my father's actions. He listens to that old man's words so obediently, treating him like a god, but I think he's just a lunatic."
Arian's words puzzled Chu Feifan: "Which old man? The one who digs out hearts during the Ritual?"
"Yes, that's him. He has set a lot of rules, like no women or children can be present during the Ritual, no outsiders are allowed to see it, and outsiders cannot enter the village. What's worse is that the first night of a married woman must be offered to him; otherwise, it goes against the will of the gods."
"What? Then you..."
Arian nodded: "Last night, I also offered myself to him."
Tears welled up in Arian's eyes.
Chu Feifan's eyes twitched; what kind of ridiculous rule was this?
"We don't even know what that old man looks like. He hides in his house every day and only comes out occasionally wearing a mask."
"Weren't you able to see him last night?"
Arian shook her head again. "He said that lighting candles is not allowed here. We don't have electricity, and every month, someone goes out to buy candles."
"Then how do you get your money?"
"We grow vegetables and crops, and then sell them outside. We don't need much money; we are not allowed to use things like what you have."
"When did you start having this system?"
Arian looked up at Chu Feifan and said, "I can't say. It's a secret of our village, and revealing it would bring great disaster."
Arian bit her lip hard.
"Okay, since you don't want to say, I won't force you. But I think your village is not safe. Are you really willing to let us go?"
Arian thought for a moment and then nodded vigorously. She knew that if she let them go, her father would definitely not spare her, but she truly did not want to see anyone die anymore. Every year they would kill one person; wasn't that enough? Just as Chu Feifan said, they had no right to take anyone's life.
"I will bring your friend out after midnight. At that time, I will escort you out."
"Why wait until after midnight?"
"Because the person my father calls a wizard said there are unclean things here. After midnight, it's unsafe outside, so every household locks their doors and doesn't go out as it approaches midnight."
Chu Feifan nodded; the village chief must particularly believe in this wizard.
Chu Feifan began to feel curious about the mage. He particularly wanted to know who this mage was, but beyond his curiosity, there was another strange feeling; he felt as if he should know this mage and that they were quite familiar, yet he couldn't recall who it might be. Perhaps it was this odd feeling combined with his intense curiosity that led him to decide to stay.
"Arian, I've decided not to leave. I would like to ask you for a favor."
Arian was delighted to hear that he was staying and said, "What favor?"
"I'm very curious about your mage, so I would like you to send my friends away tonight while I stay behind and continue being your husband."
Hearing his words, Arian was even happier; she never expected him to actually want to be her husband.
"Okay, I promise you."
After midnight, Arian carefully brought Chu Feifan to the small house where Su Jin'er and the others were staying. From a distance, they could see that candles were still lit inside; they hadn't rested yet. Chu Feifan felt a pang of sympathy; they probably hadn't had a good rest in the past two days!
Arian opened the door, and the moment they saw Chu Feifan, each person's expression was different. Zuo Yi snorted and turned his head away, Linyuan shot him a glare before turning around, Gaya Ze shrugged helplessly, while only Su Jin'er smiled at him and said, "What brings you here?"
Hearing Jin'er speak to him, Linyuan pulled her aside and said, "Why are you talking to him?"
"He's done nothing wrong to us; why shouldn't I talk to him?"
Su Jin'er's words made Chu Feifan's heart ache even more. He furrowed his brow and looked at her in pain, momentarily unsure of how to respond.
"Feifan is here to let you go; you should hurry and leave! Otherwise, they won't let you go," Arian said anxiously.
"Oh? So you still remember us! But thank you for your kindness, we won't leave," Zuo Yi said in a strange tone.
"You saw their Ritual, so they will definitely kill you," Chu Feifan said urgently.
"Weren't you the one who saw it too? Oh! Right, you're already one of them now, different from us," Zuo Yi deliberately provoked him.
"Ayi, I haven't changed. I'm still the same Chu Feifan, please believe me."
"Please don't treat him like this. He married me under duress; my father threatened him with your lives," Arian said, her eyes red.
"Even if it was under duress, you can't do something against your conscience!" Zuo Yi continued to press on.
"I know you're angry with me, but it's really dangerous here. Just leave!"
"If we leave, you'll be here having fun with this little demon! We're not going," Linyuan said loudly.
"Alright, everyone stop arguing. Each person has their own choices; there's no need to blame him. But I still remember my purpose for coming here. Until I achieve that purpose, I won't leave," Su Jin'er said gently.
Chu Feifan sighed and walked out of the house. Since it was their choice, he could only respect it.
Just as they were about to lock the door and leave, Su Jin'er suddenly said, "Arian, can you return the things we brought with us?"
Arian looked at Chu Feifan and then said, "All your things have been handed over to the mage; I can't get them back."
Su Jin'er nodded.
Once they heard the sound of their footsteps fading away, they suddenly laughed.
"How was my performance? Did I do well?" Linyuan said with a smile.
Su Jin'er gave her a thumbs up.
"Haha, I could see Chu Feifan's face turning green."
"My poor brother really is in trouble."
"My intuition tells me we are getting closer to the truth," Su Jin'er said, squinting her eyes.
"I hope Arian will really fall for it and tell Feifan everything she knows," Gaya Ze said, leaning against the wall.
Su Jin'er stood by the window, looking at the pitch-black sky outside, wondering how Du Xiaonan and Li Yiqian were doing. Would Li Yiqian testify for Du Xiaonan?
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