The Dahe Niangniang (River Goddess) showed no signs of leaving. A Biao's fear was overwhelming; now he could only hope for a miracle, or... or that the door in front of him could stop her.

But ideals are rich, and reality is harsh. As the Dahe Niangniang raised her hand, the door, already flimsy, shattered instantly.

The massive impact sent A Biao flying, first crashing into the tables and chairs, then slamming hard against the wall.

New wounds aggravated old ones. A Biao tasted a sweet, metallic tang in his throat, and vomited a mouthful of blood.

The desperate situation brought out A Biao's ferocity. Over the years, he had taken many lives, and he owed several blood debts to his disciples.

"I'll fight you to the death!" A Biao roared, slamming his hands on the ground and standing up. The scars all over his body spewed out a gray mist. He was willing to risk being corroded by the door to repel the Dahe Niangniang.

As he recklessly drew upon it, the swarm of insects gathered with unprecedented explosive force, then charged fiercely towards the Dahe Niangniang.

The explosive power of the swarm, combined with the feeling of overwhelming strength surging through him as he neared complete corruption, made him certain that this attack, even if it didn't seriously injure his opponent, would be enough to drive her back.

But what happened next was completely beyond A Biao's comprehension.

The Dahe Niangniang didn't even move, yet the swarm of insects seemed to receive some kind of command, quickly coalescing into a stream and burrowing into the Dahe Niangniang's sleeve.

Then, the faint connection he had with the swarm disappeared.

He could no longer sense the insects' existence.

Immediately afterward, a butterfly emerged from the sleeve, crawling along the Dahe Niangniang's fair arm.

It was a rare, ice-blue butterfly, beautiful and enchanting. A Biao had never seen such a butterfly before.

As if just awakened, the butterfly exuded an aura of laziness and nobility. It gently fluttered its wings and flew up.

The moment the butterfly appeared, Wu, in another room, couldn't help but frown.

A Biao stared blankly at the butterfly, unsure of what the Dahe Niangniang was up to. The butterfly didn't seem dangerous at all.

Could it be... the Dahe Niangniang had something to say to him?

The butterfly spread its wings and fluttered towards A Biao, its figure graceful, drawing beautiful lines in the air.

Finally, it landed on A Biao's fingertip.

A Biao raised his hand, staring wide-eyed at the butterfly. He absolutely didn't dare to swat or shoo it away; that would be disrespectful to the Niangniang.

"Ugh..."

A Biao groaned. He widened his eyes, looking incredulously at the butterfly on his fingertip. This butterfly... actually bit him.

No, that wasn't right!

It pricked him with a stinger.

In the next second, an icy sensation spread from his fingertip.

His gaze became horrified, and his mouth opened involuntarily, because he saw a flash of ice-blue flame.

"Ah... Aah!!"

The flame didn't burn quickly, but slowly scorched his body, making it all the more agonizing.

Burning wasn't accurate, because what A Biao felt was an icy, bone-chilling cold. This coldness was frantically devouring his soul, not just his physical body.

From that moment on, all of A Biao's hope was crushed. Under the absolute suppression of power, he couldn't even muster the will to resist.

Accompanied by a painful wail, the ice-blue flame engulfed him, and his life came to an end.

Strangely, the flame didn't ignite anything nearby, and after A Biao died, it disappeared.

The butterfly fluttered and flew back into the Dahe Niangniang's sleeve, and she turned and left.

The room was silent, with a corpse curled up on the floor, face down.

It seemed the corpse had no burns on its body. But if the corpse were turned over, you would see the two empty sockets on its face.

The eye sockets were empty; the eyeballs were gone, with no signs of tearing or removal. It was as if they had been erased by an invisible force.

In another room not far away, Jiang Cheng had taken off his mask and was peering through the crack in the door, trying his best to see what was happening.

A Biao's heart-wrenching wails sent shivers down his spine. He wondered what kind of inhuman torture he had suffered.

The mist dispersed, and Jiang Cheng saw the Dahe Niangniang leave, step by step.

Just as Jiang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the night would end peacefully, a sudden change occurred.

The Dahe Niangniang, as if sensing something, suddenly turned around, her face towards Jiang Cheng's location.

Even with the red veil obscuring her face, Jiang Cheng still felt an icy gaze, piercing perfectly through the crack in the door, staring at his face.

Jiang Cheng instantly froze.

Before Jiang Cheng could react, a force pulled him away, dragging him from behind the door.

Wu replaced Jiang Cheng's position, standing in front of him.

Suddenly, Jiang Cheng could breathe again.

He gasped for air, as if he had just escaped death, his eyes filled with lingering fear.

After a moment, Wu withdrew his gaze, turned around, and looked at Jiang Cheng.

"How is it?" Jiang Cheng couldn't help but ask. He felt the ghost bride might have discovered him, even... even recognized him!

"It's nothing serious," Wu said softly, his face expressionless.

Jiang Cheng exhaled, slowly standing up from the ground. It seemed the other party hadn't discovered him. He was finally relieved.

"Just wait to offer gifts for the wedding," Wu added.

Jiang Cheng: "!!!"

His legs went weak, and he almost knelt on the ground with a *plop*. Fortunately, Fatty was quick-witted and supported him. "Doctor, why are you kneeling now? It's not time to offer gifts for the wedding yet."

"Besides, you're kneeling to your wife before you're even married. Won't she bully you to death when you're married?" Fatty advised him with a tone of concern: "You're a man; you have to stand up for yourself!"

"What exactly is going on?" At this moment, Du Moyu showed a rare bit of conscience, not congratulating him immediately, but asking what was happening.

Jiang Cheng was barely able to sit in a chair, supported by Du Moyu and Fatty on either side, his face pale and his legs trembling.

"It's nothing big, there must be a remedy," Jiang Cheng said with a dismissive smile, holding a teacup. "The ghost bride is looking for Lu Jianli, what does it have to do with me, Jiang Cheng?"

Fatty licked his lips and said softly, "Doctor, can you stop shaking? You're spilling your tea."

Jiang Cheng ignored him and looked at Wu, "Right... right? You must have a way, good brother?"

Wu shook his head, his tone firm and direct: "There's no way."

"It's okay to face difficulties, but you can't back down!" Jiang Cheng stood up, poured Wu a cup of tea, his tone unusually kind. "Good brother, for the sake of all the times I've taken you to buffets, help me this time, okay?"

Wu pondered for a moment, stood up, and, to everyone's shock, poured Jiang Cheng a cup of tea as well, a slight smile curving his lips. "Good brother, you wouldn't want... to see your brothers in a difficult position, would you?"