Chapter 137: Chapter 135: Physical Title: Netherworld Single

Chaochao’s mother reached out and poked it. The feel, the texture... it was definitely just paper. Even though it had grown larger, it was still just paper.

Oh, no, perhaps a paper cutting?

A person made from a paper cutting?

’Doctor Wen is truly incredible!’

"Stop poking. It’s not easy for me to make this trip. Here’s what I’m giving you. After you’re done, remember to come find me."

Chaochao’s mother nodded, only to see a pocket suddenly appear at the paper person’s waist.

The paper person... oh, no, Doctor Wen’s hand reached into the paper pocket and pulled out a small box, which was also made of paper. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Inside the paper box were... ’Three droplets of water?’

The droplets were crystal-clear, remaining distinct and holding their positions without merging or even wetting the paper box.

"Time is limited. You need to get to Chaochao’s body and place this colorful droplet between her eyebrows. You absolutely must, understand? As long as the droplet enters the space between her eyebrows, the ghost marriage will automatically be nullified."

"This white droplet goes into your eye. It will be effective for twenty-four hours, and during that time, you’ll be able to see Chaochao."

"This last blue droplet will allow everyone in your village to see Chaochao, understand?"

The paper Wen Ying relayed the instructions to Chaochao’s mother one by one, and Chaochao’s mother nodded with firm resolve.

’I’ve memorized everything. I won’t make a single mistake.’

First, she placed the white droplet into her left eye. Chaochao’s mother felt her vision flash bright, then go dark, before finally settling on a hazy, gray expanse before her.

Next was the blue droplet. After reciting the words Wen Ying had taught her, she watched as the blue droplet burst on its own.

Through her left eye, Chaochao’s mother saw the world turn black in an instant, while her right eye still saw the world as it had been.

Doctor Wen was gone.

Chaochao’s mother walked to the door. The wooden door, which had been locked, opened with a simple pull.

Meanwhile, the two people standing outside saw the sky change drastically. No, their entire world had changed before their very eyes.

Day had turned into night, and no one paid any mind to Chaochao’s mother.

"What’s going on? Why did the sky suddenly go dark?"

"Do you feel a chill? It’s so strange. It’s only July, how can it be cold?"

"It’s a bone-chilling cold... I have a really bad feeling about this. My God! Look at that black wind!"

"Let’s hurry and find the others! I think something terrible is about to happen!"

Chaochao’s mother watched them run away. She was not in a rush, walking step by step toward the place where Chaochao had been laid.

The bright red coffin had been newly built by her parents-in-law. Chaochao lay inside, dressed in a bright red wedding gown.

The coffin was not in the family’s residential courtyard but in a more distant mourning hall.

The mourning hall had been erected in a secluded spot outside the courtyard, partly to keep other villagers from gathering and stirring up trouble.

It was in the opposite direction from where Chaochao’s mother had been confined.

As Chaochao’s mother walked, the world seen through her left eye was buffeted by sinister winds. This place no longer seemed to be the familiar world she knew.

Suddenly, horrific screams rose and fell one after another, enough to make anyone who heard them tremble from head to toe.

It was as if Chaochao’s mother saw...

’This... Could this be Hell?’

’Have I entered Chaochao’s world?’

Even knowing it was an Illusion Realm, Chaochao’s mother felt a moment of confusion, feeling that this was no longer the world she lived in.

Seeing the piles of white bones beneath her feet, Chaochao’s mother leaped up with a start, but when she landed, there was still a CRUNCH.

It sounded like she had snapped something.

[This System isn’t trying to complain, but the Host’s design for the Ghost Realm is really quite poor. Piles of white bones? Is this what the Ghost World is like? This is a setting from a Mystical Cultivation World, isn’t it?]

Wen Ying ignored the system’s complaints. She would design it however she pleased!

*

Chaochao’s mother ran quickly, heading toward the mourning hall where she remembered Chaochao had been placed.

’Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid,’ she told herself over and over.

In the blink of an eye, Chaochao’s mother was standing before the mourning hall. The people who had been guarding it were now wailing, backing away continuously as if they had seen something terrifying.

Chaochao’s mother watched all this with suspicion. ’Are they not seeing the same world I am?’

"Mama." The sudden voice made Chaochao’s mother spin around, her eyes instantly welling with tears.

Her Chaochao, dressed in bright red, was standing right in front of her.

She had two long braids and beautiful hair ornaments. Most importantly, Chaochao was looking at her and smiling.

Chaochao’s mother bent down and swept Chaochao into her arms.

"Mama, I missed you so much."

"Chaochao, my Chaochao, Mama missed you too."

Tears streamed uncontrollably down Chaochao’s mother’s face. Chaochao reached out to wipe them away. "Mama, I want you to be happy, okay?"

"Okay, okay. Mama is happy, really happy," Chaochao’s mother said, crying and laughing as she held her daughter gently.

She was afraid that the slightest wrong move might shatter her.

"Mama, the pretty lady is the one who let me see you, right?"

Chaochao’s mother nodded, not stopping to wonder how Chaochao knew. The reminder, however, made her think of the droplet.

"Chaochao, the pretty lady gave this to you. She said it needs to be placed between your eyebrows."

Chaochao opened the paper box and took out the droplet. It was soft and bouncy, just like a jelly candy.

Chaochao pressed the droplet to the space between her eyebrows, and it vanished in an instant.

Compared to the heartwarming scene between Chaochao and her mother, the others were now in a state too gruesome to watch.

Monsters and ghouls that had appeared from nowhere were grabbing, biting, and tearing at their bodies, some even ripping them in two.

In this scene, the screams seemed particularly harmonious.

Yet, Chaochao and her mother were completely unaffected by these creatures.

"Mama, the pretty lady is my benefactor. I’ve received everything she gave me. You have to help me thank her."

Chaochao’s mother nodded. "Don’t you worry, Chaochao. Mama will definitely repay Doctor Wen."

Time seems to fly when you’re with those you care about.

But for those who held malice toward Chaochao, who wanted to sell her off in a ghost marriage, every second felt like a year.

’This is definitely the Eighteen Layers of Hell.’

"Mama, don’t be afraid. Those things won’t hurt you," Chaochao said comfortingly, glancing at the gruesome scene.

Chaochao’s mother nodded. "I know. Those people are getting what they deserve."

Suddenly, Chaochao’s mother saw four words appear above Chaochao’s head, just floating there.

[Single in the Netherworld]

"Chaochao, what is that?"

Although Chaochao couldn’t see it, she seemed to understand everything in that moment. "That must be what the pretty lady gave me. This way, I won’t be married off to that person."

Only then did Chaochao’s mother recall Doctor Wen’s words—that Chaochao’s ghost marriage would be broken.

’But I never expected it to be this... conspicuous.’

And she wasn’t the only one who saw it—