Although their faces all seemed to say, "Dream on, like we'd listen to you," William Carter was still quite satisfied. With a clap of his hands, he said, "Alright. Lastly, the third and most important point—if something absolutely must be thrown away, then please throw me out, not the food."

George finally dug out the steamed bun he had picked up and was holding in his hand, looking for a chance to eat it. Unable to bear it any longer, he said, "If it fell on the ground, just don't eat it!"

The next day, they met again at the small shop.

The tea master was once again stretching his legs at the door, basking his bones in the sun, and from afar saw the three approaching. A Daoist in simple white robes, carrying a bamboo hat, walked in front, followed by two tall, black-clad youths.

The Daoist walked over with his arms folded, looking even more leisurely than the tea master himself, and said, "Shopkeeper, three cups of tea, please."

The tea master smiled and replied, "Coming!"

He thought to himself, "These three silly lads are back again. What a pity, they're all so decent-looking, but each one's brain is more messed up than the last. Gods this, immortals that, ghosts and heavens—what's the use of looking decent if you're crazy?"

William Carter still chose the seat by the window. Once they were all seated, George said, "Why did we have to come here to talk? Are you sure no one will overhear us?"

William Carter replied gently, "It's fine. Even if someone hears, they won't care. They'll just think we're crazy."

"......"

William Carter said, "To avoid the three of us wasting time like this, let's get straight to the point. After cooling off for a night, have you two come up with any ideas?"

Emma's eyes lit up, and he said coldly, "Kill!"

George said, "Nonsense!"

William Carter said, "George, don't be so fierce. Emma isn't wrong—ultimately, the way to solve the problem is to kill. The question is, where to kill, who to kill, and how to kill. My suggestion is..."

Just then, the sound of gongs and drums came from the street, and the three looked out the window.

It was that same gloomy "wedding procession" again. The group made a ruckus, shouting and playing instruments as if afraid no one would hear them. George frowned and said, "Didn't they say that locals near Junshan don't dare to hold big weddings?"

Everyone in the procession was a burly, strong man, their faces and muscles tense, sweating on their foreheads, as if they were carrying not a festive bridal sedan, but an executioner's guillotine. Who knew what kind of person was sitting inside that sedan?

After a moment's thought, William Carter was about to go out and take a look when a cold wind blew by, lifting the curtain on one side of the sedan.

The person behind the curtain was slumped inside in a very strange posture. Her head was tilted, and beneath the bridal veil was a mouth painted bright red, the smile at the corners far too exaggerated. As the sedan jolted, the veil slipped off, revealing a pair of wide-open eyes staring this way.

It was clearly a woman with a broken neck, silently laughing at them.

Perhaps the sedan bearer's hands were shaking too much, for the sedan was unsteady, and the woman's head wobbled along with it. As it wobbled, with a "thud," the head fell off and rolled onto the street.

The headless body inside the sedan also toppled forward—"bang"—and the whole figure tumbled out of the sedan door.

Author's note: I'm disappointed too, it's not a big-d*** girl.

A heads-up: in the upcoming arc, the author wants to write a very tacky trope. Please be tolerant of the author's bad sense of humor, and thank you in advance.

Chapter 6: Ghostly Wedding—The Crown Prince Rides the Bridal Sedan

One of the sedan bearers wasn't paying attention and stepped on an arm, yelling first. The wedding procession immediately erupted, and in a flash, everyone whipped out gleaming broadswords, shouting, "What's going on?! Has it come?!" Who knows where they were hiding those before. The street was in chaos. Looking more closely, William Carter saw that the separated head and body weren't a real person, but a wooden doll.

Emma added, "Too ugly!"

Just then, the tea master came up with the copper kettle. Remembering his attitude from yesterday, William Carter asked, "Shopkeeper, I saw this group making a racket on the street yesterday, and again today. What are they doing?"

The tea master replied, "Courting death."

"Hahaha..."

William Carter wasn't surprised and said, "Are they trying to lure out the ghost groom?"

The tea master said, "What else could they be doing? A bride's father has offered a huge reward to find his daughter and catch the ghost groom, so this group makes a scene like this every day."

That father offering the reward must be the local official. William Carter glanced again at the crudely made woman's head on the ground, realizing they were using this fake person to pose as the bride.

Emma said in disgust, "If I were the ghost groom and someone sent me such an ugly thing, I'd wipe out this whole town."

William Carter said, "Emma, that's not something an immortal should say. Also, can you break your habit of rolling your eyes? Maybe set a small goal for yourself—like only rolling them five times a day."

George said, "Even fifty times a day wouldn't be enough for him!"