It is not far. I will accompany you.

"A ghost marriage?"

Old Xu's entire family looked bewildered.

Not just him; Old Cui and Ah Yang were also utterly confused.

It was Old廖 (Old Liao) who suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Who on earth is capable of such cruelty? Setting up a ghost marriage for a living person—isn't that destroying someone's life? No wonder this young lass hadn't even opened her eyes; I'm afraid she's down to her last breath right now!"

Seeing that he seemed to know something about it, Ah Biao asked curiously, "Uncle Liao, do you know about ghost marriages?"

"Heh, how could I not? My ancestral home is in Xiangnan. Back there, if a young boy in a family passes away prematurely, to let him rest in peace in the netherworld, they would arrange a ghost marriage for him. They'd select a young girl who also died prematurely, match their birth characters, exchange betrothal gifts, and write a marriage contract. My father told me they even burn paper palanquins and paper matchmakers so the groom's family can welcome the bride and perform the wedding ceremonies."

Ah Biao raised an eyebrow. "We don't seem to have that custom here in Cuicheng."

Old Xu, Old Cui, and the others nodded in agreement.

"Hey, it's normal for customs to vary by region. You have the God-Parading festival here every year, but they don't have that in Xiangnan either."

Old Liao sighed as he spoke. "Whose conscience is so black, arranging a ghost marriage for a young girl? This is like binding a dead male ghost to her body. It's a wonder her yin energy isn't overwhelming—no wonder she looks almost like a skeleton, with all her living yang energy being sucked dry."

"Then, then what should we do?" Old Xu asked urgently, almost pleading.

Old Liao pointed at Su Chen, who was busy drawing talismans.

"Isn't the young man taking care of it right now? What are you panicking about? Finding this young man means your girl's time hasn't run out yet. He has great abilities; he'll definitely sort it out."

Hearing this, Old Xu and the others quickly looked at Su Chen with renewed hope.

Seeing this, Old Cui and Ah Yang felt an even deeper sense of desolation in their hearts.

Right now, they were harboring greater hopes, which meant they would soon face even greater despair.

They wondered if they would be able to endure it.

After finishing the paper figurine, Su Chen intended to draw some talismans, only to find that the cinnabar had run out yesterday.

"Biao Ge, help me go to Uncle Zhong's place and get some cinnabar. Bring plenty."

"Alright, alright, coming!"

Only then did Su Chen look up. "Do you know her birth characters?"

Old Xu and the others shook their heads repeatedly.

"You must at least know the year, month, and day she was born, right?"

Only then did Old Xu nod. Together with his wife and sister, they recited the date. Su Chen narrowed his eyes and began to calculate. Once Ah Biao returned, breathless, with the cinnabar, Su Chen swiftly brushed the birth characters onto the paper figurine.

Then, he attached the previously drawn substitution talismans to the front and back of the paper figurine.

"Step back a bit."

Old Xu and the others quickly scattered.

As Ah Yang pulled his father backward, he noticed that, unawares, a large crowd had gathered around.

Yet they seemed quite polite, not pushing forward, but watching from a distance of about ten meters.

Fragments of conversation drifted to their ears.

"What's going on this time? Poisoned?"

"No way? They're saying it's a ghost marriage—the kind where a living person marries a dead one."

"Did you see that? The woman looks just like a skeleton. I almost thought they'd dug up her bones."

"Shh, keep it down."

"Do you think the master can fix it this time?"

"Duh, didn't you see how calm and composed the master is? It's definitely gonna work."

"Exactly, exactly. The master is awesome."

……

Ah Yang: "???"

Wait a minute.

Did Ah Chen ge buy off the entire street?

Why does it feel like everyone is singing his praises?

Old Cui also vaguely sensed something was amiss, his face full of skepticism.

Just at that moment, Su Chen's fingers flew, forming a Dao seal. They watched as the paper figurine, which had been lying on the table, slowly levitated and floated above A'ning.

The two men's eyes widened, their mouths forming an "O" shape.

"Oh, oh, oh, it's floating! It's floating without the master even touching it."

"Saw it, saw it, don't shout, careful not to disturb the master."

"I knew there'd be something rare to see. Watching the master in action never gets old."

……

Ah Yang and Old Cui's hearts began to beat wildly.

Could it be that Su Chen actually possessed genuine skills?

"Order!"

A robust Dao chant boomed from Su Chen's lips, and the paper figurine began to spin violently.

A'ning, who lay unconscious on the wooden board, also began to struggle. Her entire abdomen arched upward, and her hands thrashed about blindly.

"Hold her down!"

Before Su Chen's words had even faded, while Old Xu and the others were still stunned, Ah Biao had already stepped forward and pinned down one of her thin, withered arms.

Seeing this, Old Xu hurriedly leaned over and pinned her other arm. His wife warned anxiously, "Don't press too hard, A'ning will be hurt—"

Watching as the wisps of black qi were gradually drawn out and poured into the paper figurine, Su Chen waited until the very last thread of black qi merged within before executing a few hand seals. The paper figurine slowly floated back, while A'ning, who had been constantly struggling, suddenly froze and let out a long, shuddering breath.

The paper figurine landed on the table. Su Chen narrowed his eyes, picked it up to inspect it, and set it aside. Then, picking up his brush again, he drew a nourishment talisman, stood up, and pressed it onto A'ning's shoulder.

"You can let go now."

Ah Biao and Old Xu lifted their hands.

A'ning's previously unconscious eyelashes fluttered twice, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Old Xu cried out in pleasant surprise, "A'ning, A'ning, you're awake?"

Before A'ning could speak, he was gently pushed aside. "A'ning, it's Little Auntie. Do you still recognize me?"

A weak voice sounded. "Little Auntie, why did you come back... Huh? Where is this?"

It would have been fine if she hadn't spoken, but the moment she did, Old Xu's family burst into tears, especially her mother, who covered her mouth as tears streamed down, not daring to step forward for fear of alarming her daughter.

Ah Yang and Old Cui were left dumbfounded.

Su Chen reminded them, "Ah Yang, go buy something warm. She's probably hungry and needs to eat a little something to line her stomach."

Awakening from a dream, Ah Yang nodded hurriedly, glanced down the street, and darted into a congee shop.

Su Chen signaled Old Xu and the others to help her up, letting A'ning sit on a chair to rest for a moment before turning his attention to them.

"Have either of you ever disclosed your daughter's birth characters to anyone?"

"A ghost marriage requires precise birth characters to work."

Old Xu exchanged a glance with his wife, frowned, and shook his head. "No!"

His sister, however, stared wide-eyed. "What do you mean, no? Didn't we consult someone before when matching birth characters for Ah Yang?"

Only then did Old Xu and his wife remember.

"Ah, right, right, right! We had the town's spirit-medium match the birth characters!"

Then he paused. "Master, you mean……"

"Ge, are your brains flooded? My niece is obviously being harmed by someone; there's definitely something wrong with that spirit-medium."

"No wonder! We had her drink the talisman water and it had zero effect, even though everyone in town says she's powerful. It must have been her doing all along. Just you wait till I go back, I'm going to beat that black-hearted old hag to death!"

Hearing this, Ah Biao involuntarily shrank his neck.

That woman was fierce!

Better stay out of her way!

"A-kui, don't talk nonsense. Maybe someone stole the birth characters from her place," Old Xu said, looking over at Su Chen.

Su Chen explained, "Uncle, right now I'm using a substitution method to draw the yin energy into this paper figurine, but this is not a permanent solution. We must find the source, obtain the other party's birth characters, state the reason clearly, and annul the marriage contract before your daughter can fully recover."

Old Xu asked in a panic, "Then, then how do we find it? Should we go around the town asking people one by one?"

"Stupid!" Old Liao slanted his eyes at him. "People in Cuicheng don't even know what a ghost marriage is. Why don't you find out who in your town isn't a Cuicheng native and ask around if their hometown has customs related to ghost marriages?"

Old Xu's eyes lit up.

"Right, right, right!"

Su Chen glanced at Old Liao and asked Old Xu, "Where are you folks from?"

Learning that they were from Shuitou Town, right next to Liangshan, Su Chen nodded. "It's not far. I'll make the trip with you."

"Really?"

Su Chen nodded, then cautioned, "Alright, make some room and don't crowd around here. Let your daughter get some more sunlight; it will help her recovery."

"Oh, oh, oh, okay!"

Su Chen put away the substitution paper figurine, quickly drew a safety talisman, folded it, and placed it to one side. Then he went back to coloring the paper house.

After a short while, he drew another one and continued coloring.

By the time Ah Yang brought back a bowl of warm congee and A'ning had finished eating it in small, careful sips, the coloring of the paper house was complete, and ten safety talismans were laid out neatly on the table.