HEAVEN'S OFFICIAL BLESSING (Mo Xiang Tong Xiu)

Things started to get out of hand ever since then. In the hundred years afterwards, a total of seventeen brides went missing in the Mount Yu Jun region. Sometimes there would be a dozen or so years of peace. Other times, two brides would go missing in the time span of a short month. Before long, a frightening legend rapidly spread around: within Mount Yu Jun lived a ghost bridegroom. If he fancied a woman, he would kidnap her during her wedding procession before devouring the party of relatives that were sending her off.

Originally, this situation wouldn't be communicated to the Heavens. Although there were seventeen missing brides, hundreds of thousands of other brides in the world had passed their wedding days safe and sound. In any case, it was impossible to find those brides or protect them now, so people had no other choice but to make due in this kind of event. The families who dared to marry their daughters off in this region merely lessened a bit, and the local newly-weds didn't dare to make their weddings a big event. However, it was precisely the seventeenth bride who had a bigshot official for a father. This father rather doted on his daughter; and when he caught wind of this legend, he meticulously selected forty brave and outstanding military officials to escort his daughter to her bridegroom. However, despite all of his preparations, his daughter still disappeared.

This time, the ghost bridegroom really stabbed a hornet's nest. This official could not find anyone in the human realm who could do anything to help. As a result, he furiously made an alliance with his government official friends, and then crazily performed a ritual. This official even followed an expert's advice and opened the granary to help the poor. After making an uproar, he finally managed to startle a Heavenly Official. Otherwise, it would have been almost impossible for those tiny, mortal voices to reach a Heavenly Official's ear.

Xie Lian said, "That's more or less the big picture."

As the two martial gods' expressions looked very uncooperative, he wasn't sure if they were listening or not. If they hadn't been listening, Xie Lian didn't have any choice but to explain the situation once again. Yet contrary to what he had expected, Nan Feng raised his head before wrinkling his forehead. He asked, "Do the missing brides have anything in common with each other?"

Xie Lian replied, "There were some rich brides and some poor ones. There were beautiful ones and ugly ones. Some were wives, and others were concubines. In short, the disappearances completely lack a pattern. One simply cannot determine the preferences of this ghost bridegroom."

"Mm," Nan Feng grunted once, before raising his tea cup and taking a sip. He seemed to have started pondering over their problem. On the other hand, Fu Yao didn't even bother touching the tea cup Xie Lian pushed toward him. He just leisurely and continuously wiped his fingers with a white handkerchief before he asked indifferently, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, how did you decide that the ghost is a bridegroom? That can't be certain. No one has ever seen it before. How can you tell if it's a man or a woman, if it's old or young? Are you thinking of things too simply?"

Xie Lian smiled before answering, "The conclusion written on this scroll was a summary by the Heavenly Officials from Ling Wen's Palace Hall. 'The ghost bridegroom' is just the popular name used among the people. However, what you've said really makes sense."

After these exchanges, Xie Lian realized that these two martial gods' thought processes were quite sharp. Although their expressions didn't look good, they weren't careless about their work affairs. This made Xie Lian feel considerably gratified. Since the sky outside the window was darkening, the three of them temporarily left the small teahouse. Xie Lian put on his bamboo hat before he started to walk. After walking for a bit, he suddenly became aware that the two people behind him hadn't followed. Bewildered, Xie Lian turned around to take a look, before realizing that those two were staring at him in bewilderment as well. Nan Feng asked, "Where are you going?"

Xie Lian replied, "I'm going to search for a place to stay. Fu Yao, why are you rolling your eyes again?"

Nan Feng asked again in bewilderment, "Then why are you walking toward the mountains and the wild?"