Actually, Lu Xun and Luo Jin didn’t have too robust physiques; they were lean and lanky. But their height was a curse, especially when they squeezed into the pink dresses that barely covered their knees. The sight of them was enough to make anyone’s eyes pop out of their sockets.

    The matchmaker felt a chill run down her spine as she gazed at the two monstrous brides with veils over their faces. She wondered if she had stumbled into a nightmare. She glanced at Gu Jing Rong, hoping for some explanation, but the young master looked as if he had given up on life. His face was pale and his lips were tight. He didn’t seem surprised at all. Sear?h the Novёl?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The village was buzzing with excitement as the wedding procession made its way through the dusty streets. Most families used a simple cart to transport the bride, but Gu Jing Rong’s family was the wealthiest in the village, and they liked to show off. They had arranged for an ox cart to carry the bride, and a donkey for the groom to ride.

    The ox cart was spacious enough for one bride, but there were five of them. They crammed into the cart, elbowing and jostling each other. They had to hold on to the rails or each other to avoid being thrown off by the bumpy road.

    The village head’s house had been a sombre place the day before, with a memorial hall for the deceased. But today, it was a festive place, with big red “double happiness” banners and lanterns everywhere. The wedding ceremony was simple and quick, and soon the five brides, still veiled, were led into the bridal chamber.

    The bridal chamber was dark and gloomy, with only a few joy candles flickering. Yu Xiao lifted her veil and looked around. On her left, she saw two small brides, who looked like dolls. On her right, she saw two giant brides, who looked like discount drag queens.

    The five of them removed their veils and stared at each other. They felt a mix of emotions: fear, anger, confusion, shame.

    Yu Xiao turned to Lu Xun and Luo Jin, who were both wearing fake smiles. She sighed and said, “I never thought we would end up like this.”

    Lu Xun’s smile twitched. “Heh.”

    On the other side, Zhou Xiao Zhen was also in shock. She had questions, but she didn’t know how to ask them. She said, “What are we supposed to be to each other now?”

    Zhao Lan was no stranger to palace intrigue. She had devoured countless dramas to recognize the twisted games of the palace. So she played along, smiling sweetly and saying, “We’re like sisters, I guess.”

    Lu Xun shuddered at the words as they made him feel uncomfortable. He didn’t want to think about it. He changed the topic, “What’s happening later?”

    Yu Xiao pondered for a moment, as if it was a hard question. She answered, “Following the procedure, the next step is the bridal chamber.”

    “…”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen baulked at the idea. She said, “I don’t want to.” She wrinkled her nose and added, “I don’t want a ghostly bridal chamber. If I have to be with a ghost, it should at least be a handsome one like Gu Shu, not Gu Jing Rong.”

    Lu Xun felt a pang in his chest. He didn’t like where this was going. He said, “I mean, after Gu Jing Rong comes in, what do we do? Interrogate him about the village plague?”

    “Of course,” Yu Xiao said, looking at him strangely. “Isn’t everything we do for that? Unless you really want a bridal chamber?”

    “…”

    Lu Xun clamped his mouth shut. He had nothing to say. Luo Jin watched him, a faint smirk on his face. Though he didn’t show much expression, his mood was evidently good. He seemed to enjoy Lu Xun’s discomfort. His eyes sparkled with mischief.

    The village was a gloomy place. Yu Xiao had rarely seen anyone smile here. Even the wedding was a dull affair. It was over in less than an hour. Then they heard footsteps coming closer.

    Yu Xiao and the others scrambled to cover themselves with the veils.

    “Squeak—”

    The door creaked open, followed by a murmur of hushed whispers. A pair of footsteps retreated, and another pair advanced, shutting the door with a click.

    “Cough, cough…” Gu Jing Rong choked on his breath as he beheld five brides crammed onto the wedding bed.

    Before he could recover, all five brides flung off their veils.

    “You cough, cough, cough… shouldn’t cough, cough, cough… yourselves…” Gu Jing Rong slumped on a chair, gasping as if his lungs were collapsing.

    Yu Xiao gestured from the bed and said, “Don’t you realise that he’ll die without seeing his new brides? You two don’t want to end up as widows so soon, so get a move on and fetch him some water.”

    Lu Xun wondered which two people Yu Xiao meant, but Luo Jin, next to him, had already risen.

    “…” Lu Xun thought. Old Luo, what’s with the eagerness?

    Gu Jing Rong was still wheezing when he saw two men in pink dresses closing in on him. He forgot how to cough and breathe, feeling a prickling sensation all over his body.

    Luo Jin filled a cup with tea and slid it across the table to Gu Jing Rong. “Drink.”

    “Thanks…” Gu Jing Rong muttered, picking up the cup with a weak hand.

    Yu Xiao rose from the bed, her clothes giving her the air of a refined lady. She wore a few jewels, unlike Zhao Lan and the others, who had nothing to adorn themselves with.

    She sat down across from Gu Jing Rong and flashed him a faint smile.

    Yu Xiao looked like a different person in this outfit. Usually, she seemed young, like a girl who had not yet blossomed. But with makeup, she gained a hint of mature charm.

    Gu Jing Rong was taken aback by her smile. He felt a surge of relief. Despite being trapped in a marriage with two men, at least his wife was pretty, more so than the village girls.

    “Little Gu,” Yu Xiao said, leaning forward as if to confide in him, “now that we’re all married, we’re family. Don’t you think we should be honest with each other?”

    Gu Jing Rong saw no harm in that. He nodded and said, “Sure.”

    “I’ve been in your village for a short while, but I’ve noticed a plague spreading like wildfire,” Yu Xiao said, fixing her eyes on him, “your father is the village chief, you must know a lot. Can you tell me what’s happening with this plague?”

    Gu Jing Rong looked uneasy. He shook his head and said, “My father forbids the villagers to talk about this with outsiders.”

    Luk Xun slammed the table with a loud thud. “Are we outsiders?”

    Gu Jing Rong flinched, looking pale and pathetic as he glanced at Yu Xiao. “N-no, of course not.”

    “Then why are you holding back?” Yu Xiao said, narrowing her eyes at him. “Spit it out.”

    “I don’t really know, to tell you the truth. I’ve been sickly since I was a kid, and my parents only wanted me to stay alive, not to meddle in all that messy business.” Gu Jing Rong said, his face clouded with memories. “I vaguely remember it was about a year ago, or maybe less, someone in the farthest house of the village got sick. It was a terrible sickness, untreatable. They died in just a week, and then their kin got sick too.”

    Luk Xun said, “What was the name of the first one who got sick?”

    “I know that. His name was Gu Ban.” Gu Jing Rong said, his expression twisted. “His family was ignorant, even in naming, they were…”

    He didn’t sound like he was lying, confirming that Gu Ban was the first victim of the plague. But that wasn’t the answer they needed, as they still didn’t know how he got infected.

    Yu Xiao pressed on, “How did this Gu Ban catch the sickness?”

    “I don’t know.” Gu Jing Rong said, shaking his head. “Even the old doctor Gu Shu doesn’t know. How would I know?”

    After giving up so much without learning anything useful, Luk Xun decided to put some heat on Gu Jing Rong. He lifted his hand, snapping his fingers sharply, glaring at Gu Jing Rong. “You’re not lying, are you?”

    Gu Jing Rong’s eyes widened, and he shivered as he got up, hiding behind Yu Xiao. “No, I’m not lying. I swear that’s all I know.”

    Yu Xiao gave Gu Jing Rong’s hand a reassuring squeeze. Then she switched her tone, saying, “But your dad, damn, he’s obsessed with ancient superstition, sacrificing outsiders to appease the gods. He’s playing with people’s lives, and it’s hard for us to feel any sympathy for his son, you get me?”

    Gu Jing Rong quivered all over, tears spilling from his eyes. He couldn’t forget that in this room, everyone else, no matter their gender, was an enemy.

    He was petrified, blurting out, “It’s not ancient superstition. Our village’s gods are really miraculous.”

    Worried that Yu Xiao and the others would doubt him, he went on, “I’ve been weak since I was born. The village doctor said I’d be dead by seventeen. Last fall, I was at death’s door. One day, my dad came home and brought me some meat, telling me to eat it raw. He said he got it from the temple by praying. My sickness didn’t go away, but my life was spared.”

    “Oh?” Lu Xun’s eyes sparkled. “What kind of meat was it? And where is this temple?”

    “I don’t know.” Gu Jing Rong, stunned by his own words, kept talking, his face turning white. “It had no skin or bones. How could I tell what kind of meat it was? But when you eat it, it’s oddly gamey.”

    Oddly gamey?

    The group looked at each other, wondering in their minds what animal’s meat would be oddly gamey.

    “The temple is north of the village, up the river.” Gu Jing Rong, sensing their strange looks, nervously asked, “You guys aren’t thinking of going to the temple, are you?”

    Lu Xun: “Why not?”

    “It’s forbidden.” Gu Jing Rong shook his head, saying, “No one, except the village chief, can enter the temple in the village. There’s always a guard at the door. Anyone who tries to sneak in, other than the village chief, will be dragged out and clubbed to death.”

    Something was definitely off about that temple. They had to investigate.

    But with the village chief dead, Yu Xiao smirked and asked, “Your dad’s gone. Are you the new village chief?”

    “Uh…” Gu Jing Rong stammered and said, “Technically, it should be me, but my health…”

    “Don’t worry.” Yu Xiao slapped him on the back, cheerfully adding, “Even if you’re not fit, your five wives are all tough, right?”

    …

    They had a plan now: first, make Gu Jing Rong the village chief, and then use him to slip into the temple.

    The wedding had been worth it, and Yu Xiao was feeling good. She got up and said, “It’s getting late. Don’t we need some sleep?”

    Gu Jing Rong felt a surge of panic. Was he expected to sleep with these two men?

    Yu Xiao went on, “The bed is too small. It won’t fit six people. How about we sleep apart? We can improvise a bed on the floor.”

    Gu Jing Rong let out a breath and nodded eagerly.

    Yu Xiao grinned, “The bed is ours, girls, and you boys can rough it on the floor. Any complaints?”

    Gu Jing Rong faltered, and Lu Xun and Luo Jin shook their heads, “No complaints.”

    Whining noises… Did anyone care what I thought as the master of this house? Gu Jing Rong nearly cried himself into a stupor.

    Soon, the bridal chamber was quiet. The three on the bed slept soundly, as the village chief’s bed was much nicer than the ragged ones in the rundown rooms.

    On the floor, the three men lay motionless next to each other. Luo Jin was on the left, Lu Xun on the right. Gu Jing Rong was sandwiched in the middle, scared to twitch.

    *

    *

    In another house, Zhang Feng and his group finished their meal.

    The meal felt tasteless, and Sun Yun, eating without a word, suddenly turned gloomy, “Tonight, I’m not in the mood for sleeping.”

    The others agreed. Wang Yang said, “You know, in the past, when we were in instances, we never slept all at once. Someone always had to stay alert.”

    Zuo Qing added, “We did the same…”