The sound stopped after about two or three minutes, but Shen Muyu still felt a buzzing in her ears.
Shaking his slightly dazed head, Shen Muyu followed the woman out of the car.
Seeing the two approaching, the stem blocking the car swayed, gesturing for them to look over.
A basket woven from flowers was hanging at the front. After the bride nodded, Shen Muyu carefully walked to a short distance away.
Although her backpack can retrieve items remotely, there are distance requirements, so even if it's dangerous, she has to get within range before she can do so.
As the basket disappeared, the surrounding flowers began to make sounds again.
"Return gift, return gift, return gift..."
Fortunately, with her previous experience, Shen Muyu felt much better this time. However, amidst the noise, her word "leave" stood out.
Shen Muyu immediately recognized the woman's voice. It seemed she wasn't planning to return the gift. But that made sense; the woman didn't look like she was carrying anything, so it wouldn't be right to ask her to return the gift on her behalf.
Without hesitation, Shen Muyu immediately began playing the Goodnight Flute.
In an instant, the swaying flowers around them stopped. Shen Muyu saw that the woman had gotten into the car, so he quickly followed.
Upon hearing Shen Muyu's command, Xiao A immediately sped off. The flower field wasn't particularly large, so they managed to escape before time ran out.
Perhaps because they were still a bit dazed from just waking up, the flowers didn't immediately launch their attack. They only reacted after Shen Muyu had gone quite a distance.
Suddenly, the sky was filled with those extremely thin plant stems and leaves flying everywhere. However, Shen Muyu's car was already out of range of the attack, which made the flowers even more agitated, causing trouble for the group chasing behind.
"That was close." Looking at the cracked ground behind him, Shen Muyu gasped. No wonder he could stop a car like that; his strength was truly impressive.
Fearing that the big, smelly creatures would suddenly appear and follow, Shen Muyu sped up along the way and arrived at the next village in no time.
There were even fewer people in the village this time, and the elderly people standing in front all had some kind of disability, some missing a hand, and some even missing an arm.
Before long, Shen Muyu learned the whereabouts of their limbs.
The basket containing the offerings was filled with many severed limbs, and there was fresh blood at the cuts, indicating that they had been cut down not long ago.
Shen Muyu frowned slightly as she accepted the "tribute" they offered. What kind of coercion must they have been driven to choose self-harm to hand over this thing?
An indescribable feeling welled up in Shen Muyu's heart. Was this the only way for people to live in such a bizarre world, without any dignity or quality of life? If she failed to complete the mission, would she also end up like this?
After getting into the car, Shen Muyu stared at the woman in front of him for a long time. What would become of her?
They may seem powerful now, receiving worship in any village, but those are all from humans. When faced with the truly bizarre, they are nothing more than helpless prey.
And was she willing? She clearly had reservations.
Just as Shen Muyu was lost in thought, the woman's red wedding dress suddenly began to slowly turn white from bottom to top.
"There's no time left," the woman in front of her said with a soft sigh.
"What?" Shen Muyu didn't quite understand what she meant, but this change didn't look like a good omen.
"I will no longer be a bride soon." The bride stood up, her voice somewhat indifferent.
"I assigned you this task," the bride said slowly.
"Huh?" Shen Muyu found it a bit unbelievable. Shouldn't this punishment task be set by the game's administrators or organizers?
"When my clothes turn completely white, you need to stop the car and let me out, because then I will no longer be the bride."
"After I get off the bus, you will still need to go to the remaining two villages to collect the 'tribute'. As long as you bring them to the destination and drop them off on time, your task will be completed, and then you can choose to leave this world."
As if sensing something, the woman's voice became somewhat hurried.
"Why should I believe you?" Shen Muyu narrowed his eyes.
"You don't need to believe me, you just need to believe the rules. According to the rules, you'll definitely go through this process, won't you?"
"I only told you this because I wanted to befriend you. I hope you can do me a favor." As she spoke, the woman took off a jade bracelet from her wrist.
"In exchange for this opportunity to make a move, you don't need to do anything outrageous. Just play the flute you just used when you arrive at the destination and put down the offerings. Once the time is up, you can leave this world immediately."
Shen Muyu didn't reply, but instead glanced at the bracelet.
"Aren't you afraid I'll take the gift and not do anything?" Shen Muyu asked as he took the bracelet.
"I can only gamble. The old river god is dead. This is the only chance for all our villages. Once the new river god takes over, we may all be gone." The woman's tone changed for the first time, as if it were tinged with sadness.
"Actually, you shouldn't be the one being escorted to the wedding. The River God sent people, and they're following behind right now. The reason they didn't come directly over is just like a cat teasing a mouse."
"But don't worry, now that the old river god is dead, they will be eager to go back after they pick me up, so you will be safe on this journey. That's all I can tell you. As for the truthfulness of this, you will naturally feel it later."
Shen Muyu didn't respond. She couldn't guarantee she would intervene; she would only get involved once she was sure of her own safety.
Of course, the woman did not ask for any guarantees, but got off the bus on her own after her clothes were all white.
After closing the car door again, Shen Muyu had Xiao A walk forward tentatively a little. Seeing that there was nothing unusual, he drove off with peace of mind. It seemed that the woman was indeed no longer the bride.
What she just said is right. Even if she hadn't said anything, Shen Muyu would have followed the instructions step by step. It's really unacceptable to deliberately break the rules.
We arrived at the next village without any problems, and following the directions on the brick, the car stopped at the ancestral hall.
However, since there was no bride present this time, the villagers simply handed over the offerings to Shen Muyu and left.
The offerings were still severed limbs, and the same was true in the next village.
Perhaps because they were getting closer to their destination, no other strange things came out to cause trouble along the way, and Shen Muyu arrived at his destination safely and smoothly.
This place looks like a temporary structure, with a rather simple building sitting inside, far less elaborate than the ancestral halls I've encountered before.
A wooden fence enclosed a large courtyard, where many tables and chairs were scattered about, and now they were all occupied by eerie figures.
Most of them were monsters with fish heads and human bodies, looking like seafood transformed. However, the table at the head of the group had bizarre creatures with fish tails and human bodies, which looked like the legendary merfolk from a distance.