Wen Xuanyuan bought a few cups of bubble tea for the group before continuing on.
Qiao Xinyue's expression slowly softened. She felt that her relationship with Wen Yan seemed to have drawn much closer.
They wandered to the side of a lake, where the surrounding decorations grew increasingly bizarre.
There were skulls, skeletons, and eerie red lanterns. By the lake stood a peculiar oval building, resembling a rockery.
Wen Xuanyuan excitedly pointed at the structure and exclaimed, "That's the new haunted house! Let's go play, it's themed as a traditional Chinese ancient wedding! It's bound to be terrifying."
"Really? Let's go check it out!"
Qiao Xinyue's interest was immediately piqued. She loved watching ghost movies, but had never been to a haunted house before.
The ancient wedding theme sounded thrilling, and she instantly thought of a ghost bride.
Her excitement drew the attention of the others.
Wen Xuanyuan knew Qiao Xinyue loved horror films, so she was sure she'd be interested in the haunted house.
She raised an eyebrow at Qiao Xinyue and said, "You like it, so we definitely have to play!"
Then, she turned to Wen Yan, "We're all going, are you coming? If you're too scared, you can wait for us outside."
Wen Yan cast a glance at her with his narrow eyes, his voice cool, "You don't need to provoke me. I'll be bored standing outside alone, so of course I'll go."
"That's good then."
Wen Xuanyuan stifled a laugh, giving Qiao Xinyue a meaningful look, thinking to herself, *Is this girl really this naive? She shouldn't take it so seriously right now.*
Qiao Xinyue truly didn't understand her meaning. Her mind was entirely focused on the immersive adventure that awaited.
She loved this kind of thrill, the state of heightened tension. After watching a horror movie, she always felt an inexplicable sense of physical and mental pleasure.
The haunted house was shaped like a small mountain, but its entrance was designed like a traditional Chinese gate with hanging flowers, adorned with festive red silk. Strangely, the lanterns at the entrance were white.
The plaque hanging on the carved wooden gate read "Haunted House Terrors."
To the left of the entrance sat a sedan chair, with a large poster behind it.
In the center of the poster stood a bride in a wedding dress, her face covered by a red veil. Behind her was the dark entrance to a mansion adorned with white lanterns, exuding an inexplicable sense of dread.
Wen Xuanyuan inexplicably felt a pang of hesitation.
She was a little scared, what should she do?
But for the sake of her best friend and her brother's happiness... she steeled herself.
Wen Yan, knowing her perfectly well, looked at her with a slight lift of his eyes and teased, "Don't wet your pants when we go in."
"I won't," Wen Xuanyuan snorted and linked her arm through Li Bowen's. "My Li Bowen has strong yang energy; he's immune to all evil."
Wen Yan's gaze was inscrutable as he looked at Li Bowen. A light chuckle escaped his lips.
Li Bowen cleared his throat and said, "I'll go buy the tickets."
While they waited, Qiao Xinyue kept peering inside, catching glimpses of something from the cracks in the door.
Wen Xuanyuan's skin crawled just looking at it, but with Wen Yan present, she couldn't show any unusual reaction.
"It really has to be Chinese horror! For us people from Country L, it's like a bloodline suppression. If this were a foreign haunted house, I wouldn't be this excited."
Seeing her completely engrossed in exploring the haunted house, Wen Xuanyuan felt utterly speechless and wanted to flick her forehead to snap her out of it.
She kept winking and making faces at her, trying to discreetly signal her, but the girl's eyes were solely fixed on the haunted house.
Soon, Li Bowen returned with the tickets.
The four of them entered the haunted house one after another. As soon as they stepped inside, the light dimmed.
Qiao Xinyue led the way, with Wen Yan behind her. Wen Xuanyuan, however, immediately buried her face in Li Bowen's back.
They were now walking down a long corridor, similar to an ancient gallery, but the walls on either side were plastered with many terrifying posters.
The exploration hadn't even officially begun, but the atmosphere was already incredibly creepy.
A song played on repeat from all directions.
"Mama, mama, hold my red wedding dress tight... don't let me die too soon…"
The voice was mournful and melodious, full of sorrow.
Wen Xuanyuan got goosebumps all over. She closed her eyes, burying her face in Li Bowen's back, and only followed his steps forward.
Qiao Xinyue looked around curiously, but couldn't help but be slightly awestruck.
"This song is called 'Red Wedding Dress.' I've heard several versions of the legend…"
"Qiao Xinyue, shut up," Wen Xuanyuan couldn't help but yell. She was already scared enough, she didn't want to hear any more ghost stories.
This silly girl really thought she was on an adventure. Why was she trying to act tough now? Hurry up and run into my brother's arms!
Wen Yan followed behind Qiao Xinyue with a calm expression and couldn't resist saying, "You should follow behind me."
Even though she seemed brave, she was still a girl after all.
"It's okay, it's okay, I'm not scared."
Qiao Xinyue was caught up in the excitement, her mind filled with scenes from horror movies she had watched. She couldn't hear anyone else, and even ignored Wen Yan.
Wen Yan didn't show much reaction, merely raising an eyebrow slightly.
Wen Xuanyuan, on the other hand, was exasperated. This silly girl was really something…
After passing through the corridor, they arrived at a round archway, like the gates in the backyards of ancient noble houses.
Inside the archway was a sea of red light, while they stood in dim yellow light.
Qiao Xinyue continued walking without stopping. Before she could step through, a red curtain dropped, covering the doorway, revealing the heads of Black and White Impermanence on either side.
The sudden movement startled Qiao Xinyue, causing her to step back and bump directly into Wen Yan.
Wen Yan caught her steadily, his expression still composed.
Li Bowen abruptly stopped, causing Wen Xuanyuan to collide with his back.
She didn't dare to move, nor could she ask what had happened.
"Holy crap, they really go all out to scare people. Even if you're not a ghost, you've scared me enough."
The Black and White Impermanence were played by actors. They quickly retreated and pulled the red curtain back up.
Qiao Xinyue rolled her eyes and continued forward, completely unaware that she had just run into Wen Yan's arms.
When the embrace suddenly emptied, a strange feeling flickered through Wen Yan. He felt inexplicably disappointed.
After all, Qiao Xinyue had been focused on him all day. Now that she was suddenly not interested in him, he was unaccustomed to it.
Stepping through the archway was like time-traveling, leading directly into a wedding hall.
A red "囍" character was pasted on the main hall. Red candles were lit on the table, along with peanuts, almonds, and other offerings.
But instead of people, two paper figures in ancient costumes sat on the main hall's dais.
They were lifelike, with vivid expressions, giving off an eerie aura.
The bowing ceremony in front of the dais was even more unsettling: a dark coffin, with a bride kneeling beside it.
It was unclear if the bride was real or fake. She remained motionless under her red veil.
The scene sent a thrill through Qiao Xinyue, a mixture of excitement and fearful curiosity.
Wen Yan and Li Bowen's expressions remained largely unchanged.
Wen Xuanyuan, on the other hand, had kept her eyes closed the entire time, hiding behind Li Bowen.
There were arrows on the ground guiding their path, but to leave this place, they had to pass through the wedding hall.