Chapter 32: A Joke

Seated in the old wicker chair, Ji Linmo meticulously observed every corner of Room 202.

Though the home of Granny Gu and Old Master Ma appeared small, it was crammed with things. Garbage bags, delivery boxes, worn-out rags, old calendars... All these odds and ends were stacked together in a sort of careful disorder, likely too cherished to discard, yet with nowhere proper to be stored, so they were stuffed into every nook and cranny.

“Old Master Ma, may I look around and have a tour of your home?” Ji Linmo asked.

With Old Master Ma’s consent, Ji Linmo stood up and carefully inspected the room. At present, there were no slips of paper about the room’s rules in the living room. But in such a cluttered space, if a note had truly been hidden in some corner, it would indeed be difficult to find.

Ji Linmo glanced at the open door of the bedroom, narrowing his eyes. A bright red “Double Happiness” character was pasted on the nightstand beside the bed.

—Again, the “Double Happiness” sticker was affixed to the bedside in someone’s bedroom.

The last person to do this had been in Nie Xiaolan’s home.

But he hadn’t seen any such sticker in “Ghost Star—Yang Xingxing’s” home before. Was there some special reason that required putting up the sticker?

“Old Master Ma, I dropped my key in your bedroom. May I go in and pick it up?” Ji Linmo poked his head around the corner to ask.

“You brat, why didn’t you drop your key in the toilet instead? Go on, but don’t mess with anything in the bedroom,” Old Master Ma waved him along, signaling Ji Linmo not to dawdle.

Thus, Ji Linmo stepped into the bedroom with the utmost caution.

—The bedroom was in stark contrast to the living room piled with sundries; it was spotless and tidy to the extreme.

Bright, old-fashioned quilts were neatly folded at the head of the bed. An old photograph, clipped in a frame, sat atop a little table. Other than that, the bedroom contained nothing else.

Ji Linmo took a closer look at the photograph. In it was a striking woman, dignified and radiant, draped in an opera costume, only half her hair ornaments in place, smiling at the camera as she sat before a vanity—seemingly just finished with a performance and in the process of removing her makeup.

Could this woman in the photograph be Granny Gu in her youth?

Ji Linmo withdrew his gaze, seeing nothing else peculiar in the bedroom, and prepared to leave.

But suddenly, his eyes fell upon the heavy curtains in the room.

The thick, purple curtains were drawn tightly, sealing off the window completely, as if deliberately concealing something.

Ji Linmo grew suspicious. After all, the room already faced the shade; was there really a need to keep the curtains so tightly closed?

Feeling something was amiss, Ji Linmo yanked open the dust-laden drapes.

With the curtains drawn back, sunlight flooded the room, illuminating a large floor-to-ceiling window.

Cherry blossoms.

Brilliant cherry blossoms were blooming gloriously outside the window.

No, something was wrong—this was the second floor!

Could a cherry blossom tree really grow so tall and bloom right at this height?

Ji Linmo pressed against the glass, which seemed never to have been cleaned, peering out.

Because of the thick layer of dust, he could only make out a vague impression.

Outside the window, there appeared to be a balcony. And the magnificent cherry blossoms bloomed on the far side of it.

Cautious as always, Ji Linmo refrained from opening the window or stepping onto the balcony, choosing only to observe from a distance.

The balcony was connected only to the bedroom, with no other passageway leading to it aside from this window.

Wait—there seemed to be a smell...

Ji Linmo lowered his head, pressed his nose near the window’s edge, covered it lightly with his hand, hesitated, then sniffed again.

It wasn’t his imagination. By the window’s edge, a strange odor lingered—not exactly foul, but distinctly unpleasant.

It was somewhat like the smell of cured meat?

Ji Linmo silently returned to the living room. Old Master Ma set aside his chess manual and beckoned him over conspiratorially.

“What is it, Old Master Ma?”

“Heh heh, boy, how was your wedding night last night?” Old Master Ma glanced at Granny Gu busy in the kitchen, lowered his voice, and whispered excitedly to Ji Linmo.

“That ring yesterday must have helped you quite a bit.”

The Ring of Appraisal?

[Ring of Appraisal]

[Item Quality: Low (E-Rank Instance)]

[Item Description: The wearer of the ring can be randomly identified as possessing one sub-instance item on their person, which can then be examined in detail by any player within one meter.]

[Special Note: This ring will change material according to the wearer, though surely no fool would wear it as mere decoration, right?]

“Yes, Old Master Ma, it was all thanks to your help,” Ji Linmo replied, nodding in agreement.

If not for that ring, he never would have discovered that the “Ghost Bride’s” wedding robe was the very item that turned Qin Feng into an NPC.

But how had Old Master Ma known he needed that ring?

“Boy, this old man knew you were tough. In the future, be sure to play chess with me whenever you’ve got time,” Old Master Ma said, self-satisfied as ever, which only deepened Ji Linmo’s curiosity.

Could it be that Old Master Ma had known all along the reason Qin Feng became the ghost bride was the item “Ephemeral Wedding Dress”?

If so, did that mean Old Master Ma also knew he himself had once been a player in the horror game?

“Old Master Ma, why did you give me that kind of item?”

Old Master Ma chuckled, glancing at Granny Gu bustling in the kitchen. For a fleeting instant, a bashful look crossed his deeply wrinkled face.

“Well, I’m an old hand at these things,” he said. “Back in our day, we didn’t fuss about rings and such. But on our wedding night, I imitated the foreigners and slipped a ring onto that old lady’s finger. Her smile—I still remember it to this day...”

He closed his eyes, as if recalling something, and smiled.

Then, the little old man with his white beard patted Ji Linmo on the shoulder, his expression grave and mysterious.

“Boy, be smart. Just think, that one who’s always all dolled up as a woman—inside, he’s probably like a little girl. If he receives a ring... and gets a bit happy, maybe he’ll go easy on you and let you live, eh?”

“But if you ask me, there’s no need to be upset. Marriage is just like that—no matter what strange quirks or tempers the other might have, as long as you make the best of things, days can be as sweet as honey.”

Old Master Ma’s earnest advice left Ji Linmo at a loss for words.

How odd—was Old Master Ma really this open-minded?

After all, both he and the ghost bride were men, and from the sound of it, Old Master Ma was perfectly aware of that fact.