Stepdaughter of a wealthy family? The little darling of a Beijing tycoon

Seeing this, Li Beichen simply plopped down next to him, patted his shoulder heavily, and said with absolute certainty, "Would I lie to you? It's not just the Peach Blossom Curse; my company had a series of misfortunes recently, and my luck was down. It was Jing Shu who helped me resolve them. We grew up together, and our family friendship is there for all to see. How could I joke about something like this?"

The Gu family and the Li family are long-standing friendly families with frequent business dealings. Although the Gu family's foundation is slightly inferior to that of the Li family, it is still a well-established and powerful family.

He knew that Li Beichen was always calm and composed and never spoke empty words, so these words dispelled most of his doubts.

He looked at Shen Jingshu again, his expression now serious and sincere: "In that case, I'll trouble Miss Shen to take a look at me. I wonder if Miss Shen can discern the strange things I've been encountering lately?"

In fact, as soon as she stepped into the private room, Shen Jingshu sensed a chilling aura surrounding Gu Yunzhou. She had just quietly activated her Heavenly Eye and had already seen the whole story clearly.

She spoke softly, her voice calm and even: "Lately, when Brother Gu falls asleep at night, he often feels as if he is in a strange place, and his dreams are incredibly realistic. He even experiences a wedding in his dream. Am I right?"

These words hit the nail on the head, and Gu Yunzhou was stunned. He subconsciously turned to look at Li Beichen.

Li Beichen quickly waved his hands to distance himself from the situation: "Don't misunderstand, I haven't mentioned your situation to Jing Shu at all. From the time I called her to make an appointment until now, I haven't said a single word."

Gu Yunzhou was even more shocked, and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "That Miss Shen can see through everything just by looking at her face? She doesn't even need to know her birth date and time. Such ability is truly too miraculous."

Seeing Shen Jingshu's calm and composed demeanor, without the slightest hint of arrogance, he completely let go of his last trace of doubt and became certain that the girl in front of him was no ordinary person, but a true master with extraordinary skills.

"Why don't you tell me the details?" Shen Jingshu said softly.

Gu Yunzhou composed himself and slowly revealed his inner turmoil: "Just as Miss Shen said, about a week ago, I started having the same strange dream every night. In the dream, I was in an antique mansion, going through a wedding ceremony with someone. I desperately wanted to see the bride's face clearly, but a thick fog always shrouded my vision, and I couldn't see her clearly no matter what I did. Every time the ceremony was over, just as I was about to lift the bride's red veil, I would suddenly wake up and be unable to fall back asleep."

Shen Jingshu nodded slightly upon hearing this, and asked precisely, "This bizarre dream has lasted for a full six days now, hasn't it?"

Gu Yunzhou nodded repeatedly, his eyes filled with solemnity: "That's right, exactly six days, tonight will be the seventh day."

Shen Jingshu's gaze darkened slightly, her tone calm yet carrying a chilling edge: "You're extremely lucky to have found me today."

She slowly revealed the danger within: "This dream is not an ordinary nightmare, but a soul-locking illusion."

Six nights of dreams have only troubled your mind and disturbed your vital energy. But if tonight, the seventh night, you step into that wedding dream again, you will never wake up again.

"Seven days complete, the dream becomes a prison, your soul will be completely imprisoned in that ancient illusion, forever trapped in that wedding, day after day, eternally sinking into depravity."

"But in reality, your physical body still has a breath and a heartbeat. To outsiders, you are just a living dead who has fallen into a deep sleep for no reason. No matter how others call out to you or try to treat you, you will never wake up."

After these words were spoken, the private room fell into a deathly silence.

Gu Yunzhou, who had initially just felt annoyed and dismissed it as a strange dream, suddenly felt a chill run through his body, his back instantly broke out in a cold sweat, and all the color drained from his face.

He stared at Shen Jingshu in disbelief, his voice trembling slightly: "Never to wake up again? A living dead?"

Those few words were enough to make one's breath catch in their throat.

The relaxed smile on Li Beichen's face vanished completely, his brows furrowed deeply, and his eyes were filled with lingering fear.

He only knew that his friend had been having nightmares every night and was mentally exhausted, but he never expected that this seemingly illusory dream actually contained a deadly trap that would lock his soul for seven days!

Shen Jingshu remained calm, nodded slowly, and revealed the secret word by word:

"This is not an ordinary nightmare; it's a marriage alliance of vengeful spirits, a seven-day soul-locking scheme."

"For the first six nights, she merely lured you into dreams, entangled your breath, and captivated your thoughts, gradually eroding your yang energy and binding your soul's trajectory. Six days of preparation were all for the sake of tonight's seventh night of fulfillment."

"At midnight tonight, once you fall asleep again and step into that wedding illusion, the Yin and Yang will be united, and the dream will solidify. Your soul will be completely locked in the illusory wedding by that vengeful spirit, and you will be trapped there day and night, accompanying her in the wedding ceremony day after day, never to escape."

"Your physical body remains in the mortal realm, its vitality undiminished and its pulse steady, yet it possesses no spirit or consciousness whatsoever, having lost all perception of the outside world, becoming a utterly sleeping living dead. Hospitals cannot diagnose the cause, feng shui masters cannot find the root of the problem, and no one can save you."

Gu Yunzhou felt a chill run down his spine and a cold shiver run through him. He felt a sinister aura emanating from his body, as if the unknown red-clad ghost was lurking in the shadows, silently watching him.

Having worked in the industry for many years, he had always been rational, calm, and did not believe in ghosts or gods. But now, faced with Shen Jingshu's confident words and accurate calculations, and recalling the six nights of dreams that were so vividly real, he could no longer harbor any doubts.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he solemnly clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, his voice filled with pleading and lingering fear: "Miss Shen, please save me! I have never offended anyone, nor have I ever crossed any evil spirits. Why have I been entangled by this thing?"

Li Beichen quickly chimed in, "Jing Shu, you must help Yun Zhou!"

Shen Jingshu's gaze fell on Gu Yunzhou's brows. Under her Heavenly Eye, the faint, dark red Yin energy swirling around his life palace was crystal clear. She spoke softly:

"You don't need to panic. You didn't provoke it on your own; rather, your fates align, and you've been targeted by a malevolent spirit."

"This female ghost died a hundred years ago with resentment. Before her death, she was unmarried, undressed, and her marriage was not completed. Her obsession was so deep that she was trapped in the same place for a hundred years. Her obsession was stuck on the idea of ​​'getting married'. For a hundred years, she searched for her destined partner, specifically choosing men with compatible destinies and pure fortune to enter her dreams and marry her."

"Your destiny is pure and your fortune is abundant, making you the most suitable person to fulfill her obsession, which is why she has her eye on you so precisely and appears in her dreams every night."

Gu Yunzhou's face turned pale: "Then... what should I do? Tonight is the seventh day, isn't it extremely dangerous?"

"It is indeed dangerous." Shen Jingshu said frankly, "Tonight is the last night, and also the night when her resentment, obsession, and yin energy are at their strongest. Success or failure depends on this one move. If you break this dream-locking soul formation, everything will go smoothly for you from now on, and you will never be haunted by evil spirits again. If you cannot break it, tonight will be your calamity."

Li Beichen's heart leaped into his throat, and he asked anxiously, "Jing Shu, what should we do now? Do we need to set up an array? Or do we need to prepare magical artifacts?"

Shen Jingshu smiled slightly, her expression calm and composed: "No need to be nervous, it's a small matter."

"Tonight I will follow you into your dream and personally meet this vengeful spirit in red who has been persistent for a hundred years and forcibly forced people into marriage."