Chapter Thirty-Eight: Weeping Bride (Part 8)

Su Man had only thought of the name that the bride had cried out in the ancestral hall—she had called for Dayuan to save her.

When Su Man stopped her hand, Dayuan realized his life was probably no longer in danger. His eyes darted to his severed hand lying on the ground, and he put on a fawning expression. "Since you know who I am, can I treat myself first?"

He was truly worried that if he didn’t do something soon, the bleeding from his severed hand would make it impossible to reattach.

"You know how to treat it?" Su Man did not stop him.

"A little, just a little. I can at least control the bleeding for now." He forced a smile through the pain.

With his uninjured hand, he pulled a yellow talisman from his pocket, muttered a few incantations, and pressed it against his wrist.

A miraculous thing happened—the blood at his severed wrist really did stop flowing.

Suddenly, Su Man recalled what Lin Qi had told her before: everyone in the Heavenly Master Village was a Taoist master, though their skills varied.

Her heart, which had just relaxed, became tense once more. If she became careless and allowed such an important clue to slip away, it would be a grave mistake.

Dayuan seemed to notice the change in her expression and hurriedly added, "It’s just a little trick—the power is in the talisman."

Seeing she remained unmoved, he gritted his teeth and, pained to part with it, offered her his last talisman. "It’s just a simple healing charm, only for stopping bleeding. People in the Heavenly Master Village often suffer from minor ailments, so the village chief hands these out as a benefit—only one per month. I’ve saved this one up; I can’t run away now."

Whether or not he was telling the truth, Su Man did not trust him. She took the talisman and stowed it away in her backpack.

Only then did she speak. "So tell me—what’s really going on between you and the bride? Wasn’t today your wedding? Why aren’t you wearing wedding clothes? Do you know that your bride is dead?"

"I…" Dayuan sighed. "I know."

But before he spoke further, he asked Su Man uneasily, "If I tell you everything, will you let me go?"

Though he suspected the village’s threats might not work on her, he couldn’t help but warn, "You’ll regret making an enemy of the village."

"Of course I’ll let you go. I have no grudge against you—I’m just curious. I only didn’t trust you because you tried to run. But if you keep rambling, I might change my mind."

Su Man was not afraid of his threats; more importantly, she was certain he wouldn’t dare do anything.

Her candid attitude made Dayuan even more uneasy, unable to see through her at all. He found her stranger than ever, and his wrist throbbed anew.

He sighed in resignation, no longer daring to lie.

"The truth is, we all knew Xiaohuan would die."

He meant the bride—her name was Xiaohuan.

"So I didn’t need to go through the motions at all." Dayuan sat on the ground, now that he had started, there was no need to hide any longer. What he revealed was so outlandish it sounded absurd. "In fact, on this day every month, a bride dies in the village."

This month, it was Xiaohuan’s turn.

"Why was it Xiaohuan? Was it by chance, or was it arranged? Did Xiaohuan know?" As soon as Su Man asked, she realized it was a redundant question. She recalled Huang Mei had said Xiaohuan was unwilling to marry—Xiaohuan must have known.

Sure enough, Dayuan’s answer confirmed her suspicion. "Xiaohuan knew, but she had no choice."

"Because she and I were together, and the village chief found out."

Dayuan explained an unspoken rule in their village: on this day each month, one bride must be sacrificed for the village’s safety. If there was no bride, others in the village would suffer instead. So, for self-preservation, everyone accepted the rule. Normally, brides were chosen by drawing lots, each family taking turns.

But every child was precious to their own family, and no one wanted to send theirs to die. So people started looking for loopholes.

By chance, they discovered that if a woman from outside the village had relations with a local man, she could substitute as a bride.

So a new rule was established: if an outsider woman was discovered to have been with a local man, she would immediately be made the bride.

Everyone approved of this rule. After all, all the village girls had grown up together—no one wanted to watch them go to their deaths. But an outsider girl was no one’s concern. As for the man involved, he’d be sad, but that was better than everyone suffering. Sacrificing one for the many—they’d even look after him more in the future.

Fortunately, this didn’t happen often, since their village was remote and few women ever came, and those who truly loved outsiders wouldn’t send their beloved to die.

Xiaohuan, it seemed, had simply been unlucky.

"You know how it is—I’m a man. Faced with the woman I love… well, I couldn’t help myself. But it wasn’t just me—she tempted me too. I was planning to bring her home to meet my parents and get married; getting caught was an accident."

Dayuan, having said so much and seeing no obvious reaction from Su Man, assumed she agreed with him, and grew bolder.

"We’re both adults, right? Besides, she started it—what was I supposed to do? She wanted me, so I gave in."

"If it was truly mutual, then there’s nothing to say," Su Man replied, her expression unchanged.

Dayuan, thinking he’d found a kindred spirit, grew excited. "Exactly! That’s what you think too…"

Su Man cut him off with a sideways glance. "But did you tell her what would happen if you were found out? That she might die?"

"Well… she loved me so much, she was willing to stay for my sake. Even if I’d told her, I think she would have agreed."

"So you didn’t tell her," Su Man ignored his excuses.

Exposed, Dayuan’s face showed annoyance and displeasure. He kept repeating, "She loved me—she loved me more than anything."

"And did you love her?"

He hesitated for a split second, then said loudly, "Of course!"

But the higher his voice, the less conviction it carried.

"Well, in the end it’s your business." From her tone, it was impossible to tell what Su Man really thought.

Yet Dayuan suddenly felt uneasy, not daring to meet her eyes.

Next, Su Man asked about the ritual in the ancestral hall, and about the coffin, but Dayuan knew nothing.

"My skills are too low; I’m not allowed near such things. The village chief never calls on me for those matters," he admitted truthfully.

Su Man nodded, then asked an unrelated question. "So, is Changgui working as a guide here to bring more women to your village?"