Don't provoke mentally ill people in the infinite flow genre!

The river water was bone-chillingly cold, almost freezing Qin Shaoyu's limbs. He wasn't very good at swimming, barely able to drown, but now, in his haste to escape, he could only use all his skills, half-breaststroke and half-doggy paddle, desperately thrashing forward.

He was certain that the person who had just boarded the ship was not Yi Zanglan. The real Yi Zanglan would never abandon his teammates in an unknown and dangerous situation before the facts were clear, while rushing to get ashore to save his own life. He would also never hypocritically say such things to him.

That damned water ghost, it actually impersonated the captain to deceive him!

Qin Shaoyu struggled to the surface to catch his breath, constantly looking back nervously. He saw that the fog behind him was still thick and he couldn't see anything clearly, but it seemed that the ghost had stopped following him.

The problem is, where do we go now? The incense has burned out, the boat is gone, and the people have fallen into the water.

...Just as he was feeling utterly hopeless and accidentally choked on some water, he looked up and saw a faint light appear in the mist ahead.

It looked like the outline of a large wedding boat, with big red lanterns hanging on it, swaying in the night breeze.

A pleasure boat! It's a pleasure boat!

He found it!!!

Qin Shaoyu was immediately invigorated, as if he had been injected with endless hope, and swam with all his might toward the painted boat.

Several times during this period, he felt like he was about to collapse from exhaustion, but he quickly struggled to hold on and continued to move forward frantically.

Until he touched the hard hull of the ship, and then reached out a few inches to the side, he finally grabbed a rope ladder that he could climb.

He coughed and climbed up the ship, soaking wet and disheveled. When he reached the top, he flipped over and fell heavily onto the ship's side.

...Then, the next second, a sharp sword was placed against his neck.

Qin Shaoyu looked up blankly and saw Yi Zanglan, her red clothes fluttering, looking down at him.

Their eyes met, and she recognized him. The cold light in her eyes faded, and she quickly sheathed her sword, bent down, and reached out her hand to him.

"So it was the God of Wealth. I thought something was going to board the ship and launch a sneak attack."

Qin Shaoyu grasped her hand for support to stand up, but he was still shaken and couldn't help but take two steps back to ask her tentatively.

"Is this the captain?"

"Oh, that depends on how you interpret it. It could also be the emperor at present."

"I...I've been chosen to perform at the ceremony. Are you happy? Who would you prefer?"

"I'm happy," Yi Zanglan replied calmly. "I just hoped it was you."

"real?"

"It's fake, just to make you happy."

"..."

Qin Shaoyu didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved. In any case, he was relieved. This serious yet manipulative speaking style was indeed Yi Zanglan himself.

Yi Zanglan leaned closer, carefully observing his expression, a half-smile on his face: "It seems you just encountered something unpleasant."

"Um……"

"So what happened?"

"A water ghost disguised itself as you to trick me into rowing the boat back to shore," Qin Shaoyu said. "Now it seems that I was chosen. If I had listened to it, tonight's mission might have failed."

"That's true." Yi Zanglan nodded. "Then how did you see through it?"

"It wanted to abandon Lao Shen, Ye Wang, and Song Zi on the river, and was in a hurry to take me back. It even said I was smart, brave, and determined, the most suitable candidate in its mind. But that doesn't sound like you at all! It's just faking it!"

"It's not particularly fake."

"……what?"

"I'd say it's not entirely fake." Yi Zanglan tidied up the wet hair that was covering his forehead, then patted his shoulder, her tone relaxed and gentle. "You're smart to see through the water ghost's scheme, you're brave to jump ship decisively, and you're determined to swim all the way to the pleasure boat without giving up—every single one of those assessments applies. The water ghost is indeed a water ghost, but his judgment is still pretty good."

Qin Shaoyu was stunned, and it took him a long time to recover before he looked hesitant.

"Is that just another way of trying to cheer me up...?"

"That's true," she laughed. "Actually, I'd be happy no matter who comes, since they can all be of help anyway."

He laughed upon hearing this, then let out a deep sigh and began to look around.

"How did your morning go? What are we going to do next?"

"We don't have any clue yet, mainly because I don't know the ceremony procedures for this ghost marriage."

Before Yi Zanglan could finish speaking, a melodious guzheng sound suddenly rose from the water, its lingering melody echoing and swirling above the painted boat.

Her face darkened, and she turned to look.

When the opera aria ended, she heard the sound of crashing water. In the light of the lantern, she could barely make out a blurry outline in the distance, square and slightly raised at the edges, but she didn't know what it was.

At this moment, the guzheng music begins, and the outline is lifted up and down by the waves, seemingly drifting a little closer.

...She saw it clearly.

It is a coffin, and the body is slightly wide, clearly a double coffin.

At the same moment, Qin Shaoyu also realized what was happening and exclaimed in a low voice, "Am I seeing things? That's a coffin?"

The environment was too creepy. He instinctively wanted to hide behind Yi Zanglan, but then he thought that a brave person shouldn't do that, so he circled back in front of her and started circling around her for no reason.

"Alright, stop with the fancy footwork."

Yi Zanglan grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to her side. She took a few steps forward and approached the railing, just about to take a closer look.

Instead, the guzheng music gradually softened, and a high-pitched yet clear singing voice drifted on the wind:

"The newlyweds ascend the hall, bowing once—a gesture of profound grace from Heaven and Earth—"

She subconsciously looked into the distance and discovered that the coffin lid had been lifted at some point. In the thick fog, there stood a pair of figures dressed in red wedding attire, but their features were too blurry to be discerned.

"The ceremony has begun." She tugged at Qin Shaoyu's sleeve and led him to the table where the marriage certificate was placed, whispering a reminder, "We must do as instructed."

"it is good."

At the same time, the two saw the two red figures standing on the coffin, facing east side by side, bowing deeply.

"Observe them carefully."

She and he strictly followed each other's movements and directions, tucking their sleeves and bowing in unison.

"Second bow—a gesture of reciprocity for both the living and the dead—"

The chanting continued, and suddenly the two red figures knelt down, clasped their hands together, and bowed their heads.

Perhaps it was just an illusion, but the distance between them and the painted boat seemed to have suddenly shortened considerably.

"Three bows—the wedding ceremony is complete—"

The outline of the red figure became clearer, and in an instant it had drifted to the bow of the painted boat, dancing wildly in the fog, exuding an eerie aura.

Yi Zanglan and Qin Shaoyu bowed to each other. She looked up and glanced behind him, her eyes growing cold.

"Please drink this nuptial wine, and may we be together forever, through the netherworld and the heavens."

She picked up the wine pot from the table, filled two cups, handed one to Qin Shaoyu, and asked softly.

"Did you bring weapons?"

"I brought it."

"Okay, no matter what happens later, remember to protect yourself."

The music stopped abruptly the moment the two finished their nuptial wine, and the two lanterns at the bow of the boat went out instantly.

A red figure emerged from the night and quickly boarded the painted boat in the center.

Beneath the wedding robes were two pale, skeletal corpses. The one in the lead had a golden crown tied around its head and held an imperial sword. The blade plunged straight in, and it immediately lunged at Yi Zanglan.