The Heroine Fell Deeply For Her [Quick Transmigration] 233p1

Chapter 233: What’s This About Marrying First and Loving Later? 18 (1)

Red clothes piled on the floor, a silent storm brewing within the bridal sedan.

Xuan Miao’s arm hooked around Tao Ning’s neck, her body warm, her eyes seductive.

Yet her words didn’t match her actions: “I’m as cold as a corpse. Aren’t you afraid?”

Xuan Miao didn’t consider herself a persistent person, but tonight, she was filled with an unprecedented curiosity, asking this question.

Tao Ning’s hand caressed Xuan Miao’s soft skin, moving downwards, and she leaned in, asking, “Then do you think my hands are too hot and will burn you? Your answer is my answer.”

Xuan Miao’s eyes fluttered, but she still insisted, “You can’t warm me.”

Faint, sticky sounds echoed, the movements slow and teasing. Xuan Miao knew Tao Ning was doing it on purpose, but she still fell for it, her hips moving impatiently.

“Mmm…” Xuan Miao’s brow furrowed slightly, her heart racing.

A chuckle escaped Tao Ning’s lips, and she kissed Xuan Miao’s slightly parted lips: “Of course not, see, you’re feeling it.”

…

While they were enjoying their wedding night, the fire that had raged for three days was finally extinguished, leaving only ruins.

No one could have survived such a massive fire. Two figures in the distance finally emerged from the endless forest, resolutely embarking on a new path.

The burned-down village was charred black. It hadn’t rained in Lingxiu Village for many years, but today, miraculously, it rained, completely extinguishing the hidden embers.

The rain grew heavier, becoming a white curtain, obscuring everything.

After an unknown amount of time, an invisible force restored the village to its original state, the deceased villagers reappearing and returning to their homes.

Lights flickered on, and the murmur of voices filled the air. Lingxiu Village once again became a secluded ancient village nestled at the foot of the mountain.

On the forum outside the village, all posts about “Mountain God’s Bride” silently disappeared, causing quite a stir.

This had happened before, meaning the instance was completely gone and wouldn’t reappear.

[“Mountain God’s Bride” is gone?]

[One less instance, that’s good.]

[Good? If “Mountain God’s Bride” is gone, it means there’s a new unexplored instance, without any clues, making it even more difficult, right?]

[Use your brain…one less instance doesn’t mean you have one less level to clear…]

[It’s over, “Mountain God’s Bride” was a low-level instance, at least there were clues, now there’s nothing.]

[Those clues weren’t very useful anyway, players who cleared it couldn’t tell others how to avoid the dangers, everyone still had to figure it out themselves.]

[Has anyone cleared “Mountain God’s Bride” recently? Can you tell us what happened?]

However, the post sank without a trace, no one replying.

[No one’s saying anything, probably everyone in the last instance died.]

The three who had actually cleared the “Mountain God’s Bride” instance chose to remain silent. Those who appeared on this forum were, frankly, all people nearing the end of their lives.

People easily became extreme when their lives were threatened for a long time, and there were many desperate individuals among them. Keeping a low profile was the best choice for survivors.

And…

Yan Wenruo, slacking off in class: [I’ve been thinking for three days, and I still can’t figure out what she was going to say that day.]

Liang Chun, at the gym: [You’re still thinking about this? Now I’m curious too.]

Lin Lu, usually lurking, suddenly said: [The “Mountain God’s Bride” instance is back, but the name has changed…?]

Yan Wenruo: [Huh? Just the name? Does that mean we can still enter and clear it?]

This was strange. What danger could there be in a burned-down village?

Were they supposed to go grave-robbing in Lingxiu Village?

At the same time, in different locations, the three opened the familiar forum, and indeed, it was lively, everyone discussing the new name.

The previous posts about “Mountain God’s Bride” had been renamed “Lingxiu Ancient Village” and reappeared on the forum, the content unchanged.

Someone tried, and they couldn’t type “Mountain God’s Bride” anymore.

The clues remained—The lantern will protect the holder from evil spirits. No matter what happens, do not let go of the lantern.

[It’s back? This name doesn’t sound very dangerous.]

[Not dangerous my ass, didn’t you see the instance has been upgraded from B-rank to A-?]

[The difference between ranks is huge, from B directly to A-, skipping two levels, damn. Guess sending a bride to the Mountain God doesn’t work anymore.]

The silent trio: “…”

The Mountain God of Lingxiu Village had been stabbed to death, she couldn’t get up to marry a bride anymore.

Day and night cycled, and a new round of the game began.

A bright yellow tour bus drove along the winding mountain road, carrying passengers, and stopped at the ferry crossing.

Nervous tourists got off the bus, immediately alert, looking around.

This time, there were no clueless, crying newbie players who wanted to walk back. They were all experienced players.

“So unlucky, randomly assigned to the newly renamed instance.”

“If we need lanterns, can we just snatch them from the NPCs?”

“If you think you’re stronger than the NPCs, be my guest, but don’t drag others down.”

Across the deep, dark river, they looked at the village, the place where they would spend the next seven days.

On the other side of the river, the village chief, his face weathered, led a group of people to the riverbank, ferrying the tourists across in small boats.

The boats turned, heading towards the village, delivering the tourists to the other side.

Meanwhile, the game interface displayed the instance overview:

[You are tourists visiting an ancient village to experience the local culture. This tour lasts seven days, including activities like farm stays, visiting the ancestral hall and historical sites, experiencing ancient village life, and participating in sacrificial rituals.]

[Village rules:

1. To protect the ancient village environment, there are no hotels in the village. Tourists will stay in villagers’ homes.

2. Villagers refuse to trade with currency. You can pay for your stay with labor.

3. If you are hungry, you can ask the villagers for help, they will be happy to provide you with food.

4. You can go up the mountain to help the villagers cut bamboo to make lanterns.

5. Do not eat the food prepared by the villagers casually.

6. Absolutely do not tease the breathtakingly beautiful NPC!!! Run if you see her!!!

7. The Mountain God likes devout believers. Pray to her often, and your wishes will come true.

8. To be added…]

Everyone: “…?”

After reading the rules, the players were confused, exchanging glances as they looked at the chattering old village chief and the young men he brought.

These Lingxiu Village NPCs looked like escaped mummies from a museum, how could there be a breathtakingly beautiful NPC?

But these rules seemed contradictory, they couldn’t be completely trusted. Perhaps it was the most terrifying NPC, but they might be able to obtain some clues from her.

With their minds full of thoughts, the players began their journey to clear the instance.

As night approached, everyone quickly settled into the villagers’ homes, not going out all night.

Because they were all experienced players, the first night passed peacefully, except they all smelled something burning in their dreams.

After breakfast, they gathered to discuss, but their opinions differed.

Some said they smelled it, some said they didn’t, and others said they smelled roasted meat at night.

After some discussion, the players didn’t gain any further clues and had to split into groups of two or three to search for more clues in the village.

They discovered that all the buildings in the village were built around the ancestral hall, and to leave the village, they had to pass by it.

However, the ancestral hall, a key location for investigation, wasn’t open today, but the small wooden building beside it was accessible.

Inside the wooden building, a strong woody scent permeated the air. The stairs were narrow, and the second floor layout was simple, much like the boudoir of an ancient lady.

Meanwhile, other players chose not to enter the wooden building with the crowd, going to explore other areas and map the village.

As they walked, they looked up and realized they had left the area where the villagers were gathered. In the distance ahead was a small house, with a mountain path behind it.

Xuan Miao had recently taken a liking to moving. Sometimes, Tao Ning would wake up and find herself moved from the cave on the mountain to the house down below.

The process was silent, without disturbing her.

Today, she woke up in the small house in the village, her arms empty, the person who usually lay in her arms, listening to her heartbeat, nowhere to be found.

She was probably off amusing herself somewhere and would be back within an hour.

Tao Ning sat up, easily finding her toiletries and going out to boil water for washing up.

The village seemed lively today, and she could hear voices from afar.

Tao Ning bent down to fetch water, looking up to see a few tourists approaching, two women and a man, talking amongst themselves, their gazes meeting the figure by the river unexpectedly.

The familiar scene replayed, like the day Tao Ning first arrived, a moment of silence between them.

Tao Ning casually poured the water in her hands into a wooden bucket, preparing to go home and boil more water. She planned to boil more so they could bathe together later.

She didn’t know where the Ghost King’s petty thoughts came from, but if they had overexerted themselves the night before, she would deliberately move closer to Tao Ning, her coldness making Tao Ning shiver.

Bathing together in hot water solved this problem.

They could both warm up, body and soul, without Tao Ning having to patiently warm her up bit by bit with her body heat.

Thinking of this, Tao Ning knew that if 520 were here, it would definitely complain about her love-struck brain, coming up with all sorts of ideas for the sake of intimacy.

But these days, 520 hadn’t appeared, so quiet that even Tao Ning had an illusion.

As if she belonged to this world, offered as a sacrifice to the Mountain God by the villagers, becoming the Mountain God’s wife, trapped under this gray sky, never to leave.

The players watched as Tao Ning glanced at them, pulled down her rolled-up sleeves, and walked past calmly.

Unlike the composed Tao Ning, the players were: “!!!”

The rules weren’t kidding, the breathtakingly beautiful NPC actually existed!

They had never seen such a beautiful person. These players had all cleared three or four instances and had seen all sorts of beautiful and seductive NPCs and final bosses.

But they had never seen anyone this beautiful.

Just standing there quietly was enough to attract attention, like a jewel on black velvet.

Simple yet dazzling.

Seeing her about to enter the house, the players hesitated.

The rules said to run if they saw the beautiful NPC, but they hadn’t had time to verify this rule, and they didn’t know if missing her would lead to some fatal consequence.

But if they approached her, they didn’t know what would happen.

Tao Ning didn’t rush inside, fiddling with the pile of firewood as tall as a person outside the door.