In the end, Tang Xiao and the others were ‘invited’ back.
Saying ‘invited’ was just a polite way of putting it—it was no different from imprisonment. The door of the wooden house was locked, the windows were nailed shut with wooden planks, and guards were stationed outside, ensuring that not even a rat could escape.
At least, that’s how it seemed.
The wooden house fell into a heavy silence. Fear and anxiety flashed across Li Bohao and Li Po’s faces. Clearly, these two freelancers, who had barely stepped into society, had always chased after dangerous things. But now that disaster had truly befallen them, they suddenly realized they were nothing more than Ye Gong admiring dragons.
“W-what do we do?” Li Po’s face twitched slightly. “They mentioned a sacrificial ritual. I just remembered—there were murals in that ruined temple describing the custom. It’s just like those ancient live sacrifices. They have to choose a ‘bride for the evil god.’”
It was obvious that among them, only Li Po fit the criteria of a bride.
After his initial fear, Li Bohao was filled with deep anger. “It’s already this day and age, and they still dare to do something like this?!” The bodyguard named Jun Tesi remained silent the whole time, his gaze never straying from Tang Xiao. He had been like this ever since they came down from the mountain. However, since he rarely spoke in the first place and was in the special profession of a bodyguard, Li Bohao and the others didn’t find it particularly strange. Tang Xiao remained silent, taking out his phone and flipping through something. Li Bohao thought he was stubbornly searching for a signal and sighed in defeat. “Give it up. I already tried this morning—there’s no signal at all.”
Tang Xiao kept tapping on his phone, seemingly unfazed. Then he said, “Yeah, no signal.”
“I told you—”
Just then, the door suddenly cracked open slightly, and an object wrapped in black cloth was thrown inside. “It’s almost time. Put this on.”
No one moved to touch the package. Li Bohao raised his voice. “What exactly do you want to do?! Do you realize this is illegal?!”
“We’re not planning to do anything…”
An old voice came from outside the door. “We’ve only chosen one of you. He must stay behind. We won’t harm the rest of you. As long as the ritual is completed, as long as that person marries Zu God and lives with Zu God—” Zu? The Taizu God?
The people outside didn’t respond anymore. They only muttered vague, incomprehensible words: “This is the only way to end it. The only way…”
“This is just like ancient live sacrifices!” Li Po was so scared his eyes welled with tears. “I can’t do this—I don’t want to be a sacrificial bride—”
“Who said it was you?” someone outside interrupted. “It’s that one—the one with the surname Tang, the one who looks very good.”
The target was clear. Everyone inside immediately turned to look at Tang Xiao. Tang Xiao pointed at himself, rare surprise flashing across his face. “Me?”
“That’s right. You’re the bride Zu has chosen. As long as you obediently do as we say, we won’t make things difficult for your companions.”
Tang Xiao fell into an eerie silence. Then, as if recalling something, he opened the black bundle.
Inside was a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe—bright red fabric with exquisitely stitched phoenix patterns, completely out of place in this impoverished mountain village.
But no matter how you looked at it, there was no doubt—it was women's clothing.
Tang Xiao: “...How about you all go see an ophthalmologist?”
A bride for the evil god—wasn’t a bride supposed to be, at the very least, female?
“That’s none of our concern. We’re only following Zu’s will.”
The people outside ignored his skepticism. Their final words were, “If you don’t put it on, someone will come in and dress you.” Then they shut the door.
Silence fell over the wooden house. Even Li Po and Li Bohao were momentarily stunned by this unexpected turn of events, unsure how to react.
Li Bohao: “Uh… bro, are you gonna wear it?”
“What, you volunteering to help me put it on?” Tang Xiao asked sarcastically.
Behind him, Jun Tesi suddenly took a step forward. “Boss, I…”
“You shut up.”
Tang Xiao cut him off irritably, tossing the black bundle farther away. He rubbed his temples and said, “Don’t say anything. Actually, we’re not at a dead end yet. They only locked the main door. They think they nailed the windows shut last night, but they didn’t check. The planks aren’t actually secured.”
His voice lowered as he pointed toward a slightly wobbly wooden board.
The house had only one door but multiple windows. Only one of them was big enough for a person to squeeze through. The problem of the wooden board could be solved, but making noise might alert the guards.
Tang Xiao said, “Since their target is me, I’ll draw their attention. You two find a way to escape through the window.”
“Huh? But w-what about you?” Li Po couldn’t help asking.
“I have my own way.”
Li Bohao and Li Po didn’t agree with this plan, but under Tang Xiao’s insistence, they had no choice but to carry it out. Because Tang Xiao said—
“Do you think it’s better for all of us to be trapped here, or for you to escape and call for help?”
As long as one of them got away, there would be hope. At the very least, it would put pressure on these criminals—after all, illegal imprisonment and premeditated murder were two entirely different charges.
Before the plan began, Tang Xiao held out his hand to Li Bohao. “Since we know each other, I’ll leave it to you… This time, you have to escape successfully.”
Li Bohao was stunned for a moment. Then he gripped Tang Xiao’s hand tightly. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly felt a weight in his palm. Looking up, he met Tang Xiao’s calm gaze. “…Alright. Leave it to us.”
The plan went smoothly. With Tang Xiao’s distraction, the guards didn’t notice any other movement inside the house, allowing Li Bohao and the others to escape successfully.
Only Jun Tesi remained inside with Tang Xiao, refusing Li Bohao’s offer to leave together.
After some time, once Li Bohao and the others had gotten far enough away, Tang Xiao turned to look at Jun Tesi. “You’re really not leaving?”
“I took your money. Naturally, I have to protect the employer’s safety,” Jun Tesi replied.
Tang Xiao, however, just smiled. “How long are you planning to keep up this act? Have you really gotten addicted to pretending to be human?”
The room fell into complete silence. Jun Tesi tilted his head slightly, his voice soft. “How did you find out?”
“My phone’s photo album,” Tang Xiao said. “I checked the records of the two bodyguards beforehand. You might be able to fool human memory, but you can’t fool electronic devices.”
When Tang Xiao had looked through his phone, he immediately realized that Jun Tesi was not the original bodyguard. Which meant his identity was obvious.
And once that layer of deception was broken, more memories surfaced in Tang Xiao’s mind.
Jun Tesi mused, “I see… I’ll remember that.”
From the moment Tang Xiao exposed his disguise, the previously low-profile man finally revealed an inhuman presence.
Or rather, that eerie aura had always been there—he had just used his ability to obscure human perception. But now that Tang Xiao had seen through it, there was no longer any need to hide.
Jun Tesi’s hair started growing, reaching all the way down to his ankles. His ordinary human clothing transformed into the ancient, solemn garb seen on deities in statues. He exuded both majesty and an unsettling sense of the uncanny.
“But, Xiaoxiao,” Jun Tesi stepped closer to Tang Xiao, reaching out to touch his face. Tang Xiao smacked his hand away, but Jun Tesi wasn’t angry. “What’s the point of exposing me now? Did I win again this time, or have you finally given up trying to leave?”
At that, Jun Tesi’s pupils glowed faintly as he gazed at Tang Xiao, his expression filled with anticipation.
At this moment, besides the inhuman aura surrounding the god, there was also a faint, peculiar hint of innocence.
Because this was not the first time.
Suhui(curse dwelling) Village.
Huisu(dwelling curse).
Time reversal.
Jun Tesi—or rather, the true power of the Taizu God—was reversing the time.
From the moment Tang Xiao first set foot in this village, Jun Tesi had noticed him.
Awakening from a long slumber, the first thing that caught his attention was the scent of this human.
So fragrant. So, so fragrant.
It made him want to devour him in one bite, yet he couldn’t bear for those bright eyes to dim.
He didn’t understand the concept of love at first sight. He simply had an instinctive desire to possess—to entwine with him, inseparably, like mushroom growing around a tree.
So, in the first cycle, Jun Tesi eagerly designated Tang Xiao as the sacrificial bride. And when they were on the verge of escaping, he captured him.
But his little bride never stopped trying to run or resist him, which left Jun Tesi feeling both helpless and amused. So, he made a deal with Tang Xiao—he would allow him to keep trying to escape in each cycle.
Until he finally gave up and became his true bride.
How many times had it been? He had lost count.
Jun Tesi gradually began to enjoy this game—especially the way Tang Xiao’s eyes shone when he racked his brain to oppose him.
Gods did not understand human desire, yet he instinctively longed for Tang Xiao’s attention—not just his resistance, but also his response.
“Give up?” Tang Xiao let out a soft chuckle. “Who said I was giving up?”
“This time, are you pinning your hopes on Li Bohao and the others?” Jun Tesi had, of course, noticed them.
Normally, it should have been Tang Xiao who retained his memories in each cycle. But this time, his recollection had become much fuzzier, while Li Bohao had started remembering things instead.
To keep the game going, Jun Tesi had given Tang Xiao a seed, allowing him to preserve his memories across loops. But now, it seemed Tang Xiao had given that seed to someone else.
At first, Jun Jiesi only had a vague suspicion. But as time passed, Li Bohao would recall more and more.
But so what?
Jun Tesi had noticed Tang Xiao’s actions but couldn’t understand his reasoning.
If Tang Xiao gave the seed to Li Bohao, then he himself would never be able to remember past loops again. No matter how many times he tried, he would never escape this place.
And did he really think this would let Li Bohao and the others leave?
The reversal’s range was the area around Suhui Village. The time reset always started from the moment Tang Xiao woke up in the car. Li Bohao and the others were also part of the cycle.
Even if they were about to cross the village’s boundary, Jun Tesi could catch them in the blink of an eye. Every inch of this land was covered in his mycelium. With a single thought, he could pull them right back.
Jun Tesi didn’t believe Tang Xiao was unaware of this.
“Of course, I know you’ll chase after them. But…” Tang Xiao smirked. “Will you chase them?”
What does that mean?
Slowly, Tang Xiao unbuttoned his collar, revealing a small patch of pale skin on his chest.
Noticing that Jun Tesi’s gaze uncontrollably lingered, Tang Xiao raised the corner of his lips. Indeed, he was not human. He wondered how cunning human schemes could be.
The beauty trap was just a beauty trap. In this endless cycle, Tang Xiao had tried countless plans, yet he could never escape the grasp of the Taizu God. The other party was almost omniscient and omnipotent within this land.
The only hope was to escape and call for help.
However, the Taizu God would never let Tang Xiao go, so the only chance was for Li Bohao and the others to escape.
Before that, Tang Xiao needed to attract the Taizu God's attention.
Tang Xiao had undressed in front of Jun Tesi more than once, but most of the time it was the mycelium forcibly tearing his clothes. This was the first time he took the initiative, even putting on the wedding dress.
The bright red women’s wedding dress—Tang Xiao didn’t know where Jun Tesi had gotten it from—was exquisitely made and fit him perfectly. His pale skin, often in the lab, was contrasted against the bright red, making him shine like white jade.
Once Tang Xiao began wearing the wedding dress, Jun Dangs’ gaze could not be torn away.
He knew it was part of Tang Xiao’s plan, that he was stalling for time to help the others escape.
But why, no matter what, couldn’t he pull his attention away from him?
Not only that, but at some point, the entire village fell into an eerie silence. Even the villagers collapsed one by one. Beneath the ground, the mycelium, originally spread all over, rushed back frantically. Jun Tesi had no expression, but the shadow behind him grew larger and larger, writhing with something inside.
When Tang Xiao finished putting on the wedding dress, the blood-red mycelium, almost impatient, began wrapping around him from beneath the matching-colored wedding dress, but it didn’t immediately tear the dress off. As he leaned back, he turned his head to find, at some point, a wedding bed had appeared behind him.
The same red bedding, everything one would expect for a human wedding.
Would the evil god care about such tedious rituals?
Tang Xiao felt a turbulent wave in his heart and almost laughed, thinking this was nothing more than a clumsy imitation by a non-human monster.
“Xiaoxiao!” Jun Tesi eagerly embraced him, his golden eyes shining like stars in the dark night. “Will you be my bride?”
What foolish words.
Tang Xiao wanted to throw this question back at Jun Tesi’s face, but remembering he had to buy time for Li Bohao and the others, his sharp attitude softened into a teasing smile, “Of course.”
He said it sarcastically, but then unexpectedly saw a faint pink tinge appear on Jun Tesi’s otherwise dark skin.
Tang Xiao: ... Really? Is he shy?’
“I’m very happy,” Jun Tesi looked at him with bright eyes, speaking softly, “Even if it’s fake, I’m still happy.”
Seeing him so happy, Tang Xiao became irritated. Just as he was about to taunt him, he couldn’t help but bite his lip in the next moment, narrowly stopping himself from letting out a moan.
The mycelium moved restlessly under the wedding dress. Tang Xiao had called it a clumsy imitation, but the cultural marks on him were far deeper than those on Jun Tesi. After Jun Tesi wore the same wedding dress, Tang Xiao couldn’t help but close his eyes.
“Look,” Jun Tesi’s warm breath was right in front of him. “My bride.”
Tang Xiao tightly closed his eyelids, remaining silent, but he couldn’t resist the movements of the person behind him. Eventually, under the pressure from the mycelium, he reluctantly opened a small gap. The next moment, he was stunned.
The handsome groom, from his neck up, could no longer maintain his human skin. The seams opened beneath his eyes, revealing countless eyes.
“Did I scare you?” Jun Tesi leaned in, apologizing without remorse. “Sorry, you got me too excited…”
Tang Xiao stared at Jun Tesi’s trembling eye sockets and realized he had made a wrong move.
Because the monster obviously couldn’t handle such a dismissive gesture.
The bright red bedding, a human’s slim waist paired with what looked like a white water snake, skin visible with the outlines of the spine. When Jun Tesi held the thinnest part, he liked to bend down, repeatedly using his lips to trace the protrusions of the spine.
Every time he bent down, Tang Xiao, buried in the pillow, couldn’t help but let out a trembling, breaking sound.
The luxurious wedding dress still clung to his body, pressed to his chest but unwilling to take it off. Unable to bear the pressure from behind, Tang Xiao bit the edge of the dress, barely stifling his voice.
But soon, the mycelium noticed this. They cunningly slipped into the gap in Tang Xiao’s lips, using their strong roots to force him to stay open, greedily stirring inside.
“Even if it’s fake, it’s fine,” Jun Tesi said, gazing lovingly at the person beneath him, speaking softly in his ear, “One day, it will be real.”
Tang Xiao’s mind went blank. Hearing this, he instinctively sneered, “That’s not going to happen.”
“Let’s wait and see.”
Jun Tesi was calm, holding the person beneath him firmly. His sacrifice, his bride.
At the end of this cycle without rebirth, only they would be eternal.
The Evil God’s Bride end.
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