And the red string of se duyên tightened around both their little fingers—fate finally fulfilled, even beyond death.
For centuries, no one came. Until one stormy night, a poor, stubborn scholar named stumbled inside, fleeing bandits. Chapter 1: The Uninvited Guest Phong was not brave. He was simply unlucky. With his bamboo backpack full of old love poems (which he secretly wrote but never dared to send), he tripped over the palace’s threshold.
Slam. The doors locked themselves.
Phong’s face reddened. “That’s the weirdest compliment I’ve ever received.” Linh offered a deal: survive three nights inside Ma Cung , each night a trial of heart, desire, and memory. If Phong succeeded, Linh would let him go. If Phong failed… he would stay forever as the Ghost King’s consort.
A cold breath brushed his ear. Then, a voice—low, teasing, and ancient—whispered: ------- Ma Cung di Se Duyen Bl
The palace hummed. Lanterns lit themselves one by one, revealing a long, red-carpeted hall. But instead of ghosts jumping out, a brush and inkstone floated toward him. A silken scroll unrolled, with elegant, chilling words: “Ngươi có duyên với chủ nhân nơi này. Hãy viết lời thề kết tóc. Nếu không, vĩnh viễn không được ra.” (You share a fate with the master of this place. Write a wedding vow. If not, you shall never leave.) Phong blinked. “I… I’m a broke scholar. I don’t even have a wife. Or a husband, not that I’d mind, but—wait, master ?!”
“Ah… a haunted house. Wonderful,” Phong whispered, teeth chattering. And the red string of se duyên tightened
“Your line ‘moon like a cold dumpling’ is terrible, husband.”