Metaphysics Live Stream, Going Viral Across the Internet Ch. 23

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After reading through this whole mural story, Shen Huo was left shaken—and filled with even more questions.

Even though it was a ghost marriage, the spirit tablet was blank. Not a single character written on it.

There's no way the artist messed up by accident. Which meant the bride had been married to something unnameable?

So these villagers worshipped some unspeakable monster as their god?

Could it be that fat monkey thing that attacked him earlier?

That thing was clearly some man-eating creature, but instead of killing it, the villagers actually worshipped it like a deity?

And in the mural, the bride had been nailed alive into the coffin and buried under the statue.

This wasn't a ghost marriage—it was a human sacrifice.

The bride was a living offering to that unspeakable entity!

And look—the mural showed the bride being nailed into the coffin, but her head wasn't cut off. So her head must've been chopped off after she died.

But where did her head go?

Who cut it off? And what did they want with it?

Surely not... to swap heads, right?

"You looking for something?"

A rough, raspy voice came from behind. The cold tone made goosebumps crawl down Shen Huo's back.

He quickly stepped back a few paces to widen the distance before turning around to see who it was.

"You're still not asleep, tour guide?"

The tour guide was wearing a straw rain cape, but this one looked clean—he must've changed into a fresh set.

"It's late. Please return to your room," the guide said coldly, then turned and headed downstairs.

As he brushed past him, something at the guide's waist flashed in the light.

It looked... kind of like a blade.

Shen Huo watched him go down the stairs and saw him open the hotel's front door.

It was still pouring outside. In the wind and rain, the tour guide lowered his bamboo hat and stepped into the storm.

Bang!

The front door slammed shut.

As soon as he left, the temperature in the building dropped sharply.

In the blink of an eye, the hotel turned icy cold. The candle flames inside the red lanterns all turned an eerie shade of green.

Frost gathered underfoot. Shen Huo stomped down—crack!—and shards of ice scattered, leaving a pale footprint behind.

This time, he decided to go downstairs.

The first floor was where the director's team and crew stayed. It was clearly older than the second floor. The original wood floor had been worn down smooth from years of footsteps. Each room had two giant red lanterns hanging by the door.

[Wooo ooo!]

It was the sound of a ghost woman crying!

Shen Huo looked around, then spotted a pair of red embroidered shoes in an open room to his right.

He pushed the door open. It creaked like an old man letting out his last breath.

The room was narrow and small. Perfectly square. It didn't look like a space meant for anyone to actually live in.

It looked a whole lot more like... a coffin.

Just then, the camera following Shen Huo's perspective flickered.

But in the livestream, all that showed up was hate comments from trolls.

Only a few viewers were having a serious discussion.

[Why does this room look just like a coffin?!]

[Same, I was thinking the same thing. Perfect square—totally looks like one.]

[Got to say, this scene is seriously creepy. Especially when Shen Huo was looking at the ceiling—the paintings gave me chills, so real like they were alive!]

[The tour guide's way scarier, okay? Suddenly popping up behind Shen Huo and making a noise—I nearly dropped my only hard-boiled egg, damn it!]

[Trolls: Shen Huo, you f**ing #$%&!]

Just as Shen Huo stepped inside, a white cloth blocked his view. Lifting it, what he saw made him catch his breath.

The viewers who were just chatting and the trolls instantly went silent—no comments popped up for half a minute.

[Oh my god, is that... a spirit tablet?]

[Shen Huo, come closer! I want to see it clearer, looks like there's something placed on it?]

[I've got good eyesight, I'll help you check! On it!!!]

[Upstairs, I'm still waiting on your update. You still there?]

[Guys, I'm back! Here's a not-so-surprising surprise: it's a pair of shoes being offered! Chinese embroidered shoes, no less! Who's boring enough to worship a pair of shoes?]

Shen Huo moved closer, and everyone got a better look—indeed, it was a pair of embroidered shoes, finely crafted, elegant and dignified.

What made Shen Huo feel familiar was that the shoes matched exactly with the ones on the ghost and in the mural—these shoes were being worshipped with incense offerings.

The incense smoke curled upward, thick with the scent of burning wax, but it hadn't burned down much, meaning someone had left not long ago.

Shen Huo thought about the tour guide who brushed past him earlier—he also smelled like incense.

Why was this person worshipping someone who died so tragically?

Was it guilt?

Or was it to make amends?

What was the relationship between the tour guide and the headless ghost bride?

While Shen Huo was pondering, the owner of the embroidered shoes suddenly appeared beside him.

A hand with bright red nails rested on Shen Huo's shoulder. A cold wind swept through, blowing out the red candle on the altar.

White cloths fluttered wildly around the room, and among the countless white strips, the red wedding dress worn by the ghost stood out the most.

Suddenly, a hole opened up in the floor. Unprepared, Shen Huo fell straight into the darkness.

As he lost his balance, the sounds of gongs and drums echoed in his ears.

In a daze, he saw the bright red "Double Happiness" character and red lanterns.

It felt like he had returned to a simple countryside, surrounded by the strong scent of nature and noisy festivities.

Shen Huo looked around, eyes widening slightly.

This was...

The viewers discussing the embroidered shoes saw the screen go completely dark. After a few minutes, the video resumed, showing a bright, festive red scene.

At that moment, the sound of gongs and drums came from the video.

It was a grand wedding celebration in a rural village.

The houses were still made of earth walls and tile roofs, with thatched cottages.

The villagers wore simple clothes, even with a few patches clearly visible.

And Shen Huo was blending right in.

All credit goes to the original author
Feel free to pinpoint us if there are any grammar error or typos
Please don't use Guazi's translations to re-translate in other languages

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