Changsheng Building
Chapter 265: Welcome, esteemed guests, to my lady’s wedding.
Under the intense, suggestive gaze, Wen Jianyan couldn’t help but shiver slightly, and he responded without hesitation as quickly as possible, “Of course not.”
“Really.”
Wu Zhu leaned in closer, his long, strong arms tightening a little, “Then why don’t we——”
Before he could finish, Wen Jianyan hurriedly interrupted, “Stop!”
Wu Zhu: “?”
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze still locked firmly on the human before him.
“Can’t you read the room?!” Wen Jianyan felt a throbbing in his temples. “Aren’t you about to enter the fifth floor? The fifth floor is just ahead, and you, you now…”
“So what?”
Unexpectedly, Wu Zhu answered lightly, as if it didn’t concern him at all.
Hot.
He toyed with Wen Jianyan’s earlobe, as if it were something he cherished, until that small patch of pale, soft flesh blushed red, becoming tender.
Wu Zhu bent down and bit it, grinding it with his sharp teeth for a while before finally, reluctantly, licking it.
Wu Zhu stretched out his hand, cold fingertips pressing on the tip of the young man’s ear, rubbing along the ear’s curve, and finally pinching the soft earlobe.
“Your body, your soul, both belong to me.”
He stared at the young man before him with his golden eyes, full of invasive desire. “What does it matter where, when, or who’s watching?”
He spoke with such confidence, so naturally.
Wen Jianyan: “……”
He was at a loss for words.
He should have known it long ago.
This pseudo-god, cloaked in human skin, had no human moral compass at all. Although his intellect seemed more intact compared to the first two levels as the fragments pieced together, he was still a beast driven purely by desire and instinct, completely ignoring any notion of decorum, shame, or even basic boundaries.
“Regardless, you can’t show yourself now, got it?” Wen Jianyan took a deep breath, calming himself before continuing, “The Nightmare is still watching you, don’t you know?”
Wu Zhu blinked, a hint of novelty flashing in his eyes:
“Are you worried about me?”
Wen Jianyan: “……”
Calm down, calm down; getting angry will only make things worse.
Bracing himself, he said, “Yes.”
“I’m very worried about you,” Wen Jianyan took a deep breath, gritting his teeth. “So, now that you know, get going!”
Upon hearing this, Wu Zhu squinted slightly, a rare glimmer of satisfaction and joy showing on his usually cold, expressionless face.
“Fine then.”
Wu Zhu let go of Wen Jianyan’s waist, preparing to retreat into the darkness, but was pulled back by Wen Jianyan, who suddenly remembered something: “Wait.”
Wu Zhu: “?”
Before he could react, Wen Jianyan moved in closer, pressing his lips against Wu Zhu’s.
“…”
Wu Zhu froze.
“Anyway, thanks this time.”
Wen Jianyan squinted, smiling softly. The lines of his features seemed to melt, and his voice was like sweet honey:
“I am feeling warmer now.”
*
Not far from the muddy road, his teammates anxiously waited.
Due to the red-clad corpse’s deadly “look-you-die” rule, they couldn’t turn their heads the entire time and could only rely on sound to gauge what was happening behind them.
After a long, suffocating silence, they finally heard the stiff footsteps again, but instead of approaching, the footsteps seemed to be moving away.
Only then did they dare to believe that Wen Jianyan’s method had worked, really driving the terrifying red-clad corpse away.
But when they turned around, they saw that at some point, a thick darkness had enveloped the end of the road, making it impossible to see Wen Jianyan’s figure.
The darkness was so deep and intense that even the lanterns they carried couldn’t dispel it. They didn’t dare approach, only shouting anxiously into the void:
“Wen Wen!!”
“Are you alright?!”
Just as they were panicking, unsure of what to do, the darkness suddenly and unexpectedly began to recede, revealing Wen Jianyan lying motionless on the ground not far ahead, his face covered with a blood-red cloth, lifeless.
Everyone was shocked and rushed toward him.
But before they could reach him, Wen Jianyan’s previously still body suddenly sat up!
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[Huh?!]
[What’s going on? The signal was cutting out just now, but now it’s stabilized?]
[Yeah, I thought the anchor was a goner… But somehow, he pulled through!]
[Aaah! That scared me! Thank goodness he didn’t die!]
[Right? He came up with a solution, and if he’d died due to life force depletion, that would’ve been too tragic!]
[!?]
Everyone froze, stopping in their tracks, afraid to approach. But unexpectedly, Wen Jianyan slowly raised his hand, pulling off the red cloth that had covered his head.
His hair was disheveled, and his brows furrowed as he took deep, labored breaths.
He seemed unharmed and hadn’t turned into some horrifying non-human entity.
Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief and hurried over to him.
“Are you alright? You scared us to death!”
“Did it work?”
“Are you okay? Do you need—”
Wen Jianyan shook his head, declining the offer of support from An Xin and the others, and stood up with Su Cheng’s help.
“?”
Su Cheng, holding Wen Jianyan’s hand, was momentarily stunned.
This guy’s hand…
How is it warmer than mine?
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[Am I imagining things? The anchor’s face looks a lot healthier…]
[Yeah, his complexion is really rosy, much more lively than even Su Cheng’s. It doesn’t seem like he’s suffering any life force loss!]
[??? Do the talismans on the red-clad corpse have healing effects?]
[No idea! Not many people have encountered the red-clad corpse in this dungeon before, and even fewer have made it this far, so I don’t know what effect placing a talisman on it might have!]
After being helped up, Wen Jianyan took a deep breath and quickly addressed the group in front of him: “Yes, it worked, but only temporarily.”
Everyone froze, “What do you mean?”
“If I’m not mistaken, the talisman I placed on the corpse is slowly fading over time,” Wen Jianyan said, taking a deep breath, “Whether or not someone removes it, the corpse will come back eventually, so we need to hurry and enter the fifth floor.”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions turned grim.
“You’re right, we’d better move quickly.”
With that, the group turned and hastily headed down the path.
Meanwhile, in the “Integrity First” live broadcast room, the conversation had taken a subtle turn:
[By the way, the anchor’s lips look a bit swollen, don’t they…?]
[Huh!!]
[Maybe it’s just because he was breathing hard? But I swear I saw a bite mark on his earlobe when he raised his head.]
[I thought so too! It looked so soft and kissable!]
[Are you seeing things?]
[We can’t see it anymore; his hair’s too long; it’s covering everything up!]
Since the red-clad corpse had left, the blood slowly seeping from beneath the ground had vanished, and the path was no longer muddy. The sense of distance had also returned to normal.
As they quickened their pace, the courtyard in the distance was no longer unreachable.
In the darkness, an old courtyard loomed ahead, its entrance adorned with a pair of red and white lanterns, casting an eerie glow that made everyone increasingly uneasy as they approached.
As the group had walked about halfway, suddenly, Orange Candy, who was at the front, came to an abrupt stop: “Wait a minute!” Everyone was startled and followed her gaze, feeling a chill run down their spines as they halted.
Not far away, next to the dim, gloomy path, there was a scarlet table, and on the table sat a wooden box, also painted red, almost identical to the one they had seen by the staircase. The only difference this time was the presence of a person behind the box, standing motionless. Dressed in plain white clothing, the figure was especially striking against the dark surroundings. He stood there like a statue, not moving an inch—more corpse-like than human.
The moment they spotted the figure, everyone felt a sudden shudder up their spines.
“Let’s go check it out,” Wen Jianyan pondered for a moment and took the lead. Although the fifth floor didn’t entirely belong to Changsheng Building, it was still technically “one of its floors,” so encountering a donation box on the way from the fourth to the fifth floor wasn’t too surprising. Based on their experience from the previous levels, it seemed unlikely to directly attack them.
They cautiously approached.
As they drew closer, the dim glow from their oil lamps illuminated the scarlet table, the wooden box, and the person behind them. The faint yellow light gradually revealed the person’s body and face. He was dressed in stark white clothes, reminiscent of funeral attire. His face, bluish-purple, contrasted sharply with the pale clothing, and his face and neck were covered in dense patches of decay, emitting a strong, rancid odor.
What shocked them the most was his familiar facial features…
“It’s the security guard from downstairs!” Qi Qian gritted his teeth and whispered.
No one could have predicted that the security guard, who had only appeared on the first floor of Changsheng Building, would now show up outside this courtyard—and in such a terrifying form.
Suddenly, the corpse’s clouded, white eyes rolled and turned to look in their direction.
“!”
In an instant, a cold sweat broke out on everyone’s backs. The “security guard” opened his bluish-white lips and slowly spoke: “Welcome, esteemed guests, to my lady’s wedding.”
His voice was the same as it had been on the first floor—stiff, flat, and devoid of emotion—sounding especially eerie in the pitch-black night. He raised his hand and pointed to the scarlet box in front of him: “Please place your wedding gift in the box.”
Wedding gift!
Everyone froze in place.
It became immediately clear to them that in order to enter the fifth floor and attend this so-called “wedding,” they would have to leave behind a wedding gift. From their previous experiences, it wasn’t hard to deduce what the gift was supposed to be—the hell money they had collected on the earlier floors!
At this moment, Wen Jianyan felt a surge of cold sweat. If he hadn’t stopped Qi Qian from spending the hell money in the faux passage between the fourth and fifth floors earlier, none of them would have any “gift” to offer right now.
However, even so, they only had four pieces of hell money.
That meant only four people could enter the fifth floor and attend the “wedding.”
“So…” Wen Jianyan turned to the corpse not far away and asked, “What happens to those without a wedding gift?”
The security guard’s corpse stiffly replied, “They will be asked to leave.”
In other words, they would return to the original Changsheng Building.
The group exchanged glances and nodded.
After a brief discussion, they quickly settled on the four people who would enter the fifth floor: Wen Jianyan, Qi Qian, Su Cheng, and Orange Candy. Each of them took one piece of hell money and handed it over to the stiff “security guard.”
The “security guard” reached out and accepted the money. Wen Jianyan noticed that his hand, too, was bluish-purple, exactly like the dead hands that had appeared from the donation boxes on the previous floors when they placed hell money inside.
After receiving the money, the guard handed them each a crimson invitation.
Four pieces of hell money, four invitations.
Wen Jianyan took the invitation from the guard’s hand and discreetly glanced at it. The invitation was scarlet, thin, and unable to be opened. There were no words, no names of the bride or groom, nor any auspicious messages, just a massive character for “double happiness” that almost filled the entire card. What should have been a joyous symbol instead felt deeply unsettling.
“Let’s go,” Wen Jianyan said, clutching the invitation and nodding to the other three.
“Alright,” Orange Candy shrugged indifferently, stuffing the invitation into her pocket.
The four of them then stepped forward. But as soon as they took a step, the scene before them changed dramatically.
The previously distant courtyard now appeared directly in front of them, in an instant. A pair of red and white lanterns hung squarely above their heads, swaying eerily in the darkness.
The red lantern bore the character for “double happiness,” and the white one bore the character for “mourning,” both radiating a foreboding aura.
Cold sweat broke out on Wen Jianyan’s back. He turned and glanced behind him.
The path, the corpse, the donation box—all of it was gone, leaving nothing but an endless sea of darkness.
There was no way back.
No way to escape.
Only the four of them, who had received the invitations, had been brought to this eerie house without warning.
No wonder they couldn’t approach it earlier, even when running. It seemed that this courtyard didn’t exist in a simple, straightforward manner. Even when they had been on the path, it was not within this plane of reality. Only those who exchanged the hell money for an invitation were brought here.
Suddenly, a system notification echoed in their ears, breaking the silence that had persisted since they entered the instance:
【Ding!】
【Congratulations, anchor, for triggering… “Changsheng Building” Ultimate Main;ine Task: ???】
【Completion time: 10 minutes】
Ultimate mainline task…?
Wen Jianyan’s eyes narrowed.
Suddenly, a quiet creak echoed.
Still lost in thought, Wen Jianyan was startled and quickly refocused, looking straight ahead.
In the light of the red and white lanterns, the old, dusty courtyard door slowly swung open in front of them, gliding inward.
As if silently saying:
Please, enter.
Thanks for translating!
Ngl, that red corpse is by far the scariest one WJY has encountered.
Thank you for not leaving it on that cliffhanger of prev. chapter *deep bow
this story keeps getting better and better, i wonder what the climax will be like, although i prefer the slow-burn. I wouldn’t mind not having any climax or end to this ))