Hearing the unusual emotion in Cui Wangshu’s voice, Jiang Chenbi raised an eyebrow. “It seems Young Master Cui really hates this thing?”
Cui Wangshu didn’t speak. Her expression grew even colder, as if she had fallen into some kind of memory.
In a pitch-black, cramped, dim, and damp basement, a massive Corpse Fragrance Devil Taro spewed scarlet petals, releasing waves of intoxicating mist.
Huddled in the corner was a child. The luxurious clothes embroidered with gold thread on her body highlighted her extraordinary status, but the bloodstains on those clothes contrasted sharply with her noble position.
Her bruised face made her features unrecognizable, but those eyes were exceptionally beautiful—sword brows and starry pupils. At that moment, however, they were filled with terror. It was Cui Wangshu as a child, forced to undergo the Cui Family’s perverse training.
Every day, besides practicing martial arts and studying, the young Cui Wangshu had to endure training unlike that of other family heirs: psychological conditioning.
After being subjected to utterly humiliating whippings she couldn’t resist, she was locked in a basement planted with Corpse Fragrance Devil Taros. Psychologically, she suffered even more twisted torment.
The deaths of loved ones, the destruction of her family… pressures no child should bear played out repeatedly in the illusions woven by the Corpse Fragrance Devil Taro.
Only when she no longer broke down no matter what she saw, and couldn’t utter a single word about the Cui Family secrets, would they release her.
But after the training ended, nothing awaited Cui Wangshu except a cold, empty room. Cui Daoyuan ordered that no one in the residence could offer her any comfort or solace until she processed it herself.
Would such training produce a “perfect” heir?
The answer was yes.
In Cui Daoyuan’s eyes, Cui Wangshu’s martial prowess might not match those frontier generals, but she was already outstanding among martial artists.
Her mastery of Divination Chips allowed her to scheme against the world and hold steady in the imperial court. Not to mention her expertise in astral divination, which let the Cui Family watch from afar, sitting safely on their fishing terrace.
For such a “perfect” heir to have a flawed psyche from childhood trauma, willingly becoming a puppet on strings in Cui Daoyuan’s hands until the Cui Family rose meteorically—how could Cui Daoyuan not be smug?
“Slap—”
The crisp sound of the slap was especially clear. Cui Wangshu touched her swollen cheek, her eyes clouded with obscure emotions. She seemed still trapped in some illusion, trembling silently like an emotionless walking corpse.
Jiang Chenbi frowned and slapped Cui Wangshu’s other cheek, this one even harder than the first.
Cui Wangshu’s cheek swelled up instantly, but the external force couldn’t pull her from the illusion. Jiang Chenbi clicked her tongue and began rummaging through Cui Wangshu’s “treasures.”
Soon, Jiang Chenbi found a vial of medicine. She applied it to Cui Wangshu’s philtrum, and soon the emotions in Cui Wangshu’s eyes gradually cleared, as if she was regaining some awareness.
Jiang Chenbi wasn’t in a hurry. She quietly waited for Cui Wangshu to fully recover.
The scene before her eyes rapidly faded, revealing a familiar yet alluring face wearing the teasing expression Cui Wangshu hated most.
Cui Wangshu clenched her fist tightly, suppressing the urge to slap it away.
Soon, she felt the burning pain on her face. Looking at Jiang Chenbi, her gaze carried a hint of coldness, a shadow flickering in her eyes.
Jiang Chenbi leaned in closer, her eyes blatantly seductive.
She reached out and poked Cui Wangshu’s swollen cheek, smiling. “Looks pretty good. Feels like your complexion improved.”
The stinging pain made Cui Wangshu fall silent: “…”
She swatted Jiang Chenbi’s hand away and stood up without a word, pursing her lips as if embarrassed by her earlier lapse into the illusion.
Jiang Chenbi didn’t ask what Cui Wangshu had seen in the illusion. Instead, she handed over the medicine vial.
She said, “There are too many Corpse Fragrance Devil Taros here, and they’re centuries old. Their hallucinogenic power is extraordinary. Apply this to your philtrum and temples to prevent hallucinations.”
Cui Wangshu took the medicine and applied it to her temples before looking at Jiang Chenbi, as if asking why she didn’t need it.
Jiang Chenbi gave an awkward laugh. “I took an antidote before going down the well, and I’m immune to poisons anyway…”
Cui Wangshu: “…”
Cui Wangshu sneered coldly. “Miss Jiang is even more prophetic than I am.”
Jiang Chenbi didn’t respond. Instead, she said, “I carefully observed this Accompanying Burial Pit earlier. The terracotta figures inside number about sixteen thousand by scale and spacing—eight thousand infantry and eight thousand cavalry. I suspect they were living people buried alive, turned into terracotta just to better nourish the Corpse Fragrance Devil Taros.”
Cui Wangshu examined a nearby terracotta figure and narrowed her eyes. “Is there no chance the corpses inside have turned into Corpse Demons?”
Jiang Chenbi licked her lips. “On this scale… impossible, right?”
Cui Wangshu lowered her gaze. “Spontaneous transformation is impossible, but parasitic transformation isn’t out of the question.”
Jiang Chenbi pinched her brow, serious. “How about we just die right here?”
Cui Wangshu sneered. “You slapped me twice and humiliated me, but I didn’t plan to die. Why are you the first to surrender?”
Jiang Chenbi touched her nose. “Why bring that up again? Wasn’t it to save you?”
Cui Wangshu turned and closed in on Jiang Chenbi, looking down at her with anger in her eyes.
She suddenly grabbed Jiang Chenbi’s wrist and yanked her close, her tone laced with cold laughter. “Miss Jiang, if you want some excitement in this godforsaken Imperial Mausoleum, feel free to keep provoking me.”
The woman’s face was half-shadowed, mirroring her unpredictable temperament. But how could Jiang Chenbi be one to back down?
She tiptoed and lightly pressed her lips to the woman’s cool earlobe, murmuring, “Young Master Cui, if we get out, don’t chicken out.”
Cui Wangshu stared intently into Jiang Chenbi’s eyes. Her smile widened until, after a moment, she raised an eyebrow. “Deal.”
A flash of triumph crossed Jiang Chenbi’s eyes. Cui Wangshu saw it but didn’t call her out. Instead, she asked, “How do you plan to break this?”
Jiang Chenbi said, “The mist from the Corpse Fragrance Devil Taros is blood-red, but the fog in this Accompanying Burial Pit has more than that. I think the mixed black mist might serve another purpose.”
Cui Wangshu nodded. “You said eight thousand infantry figures, but normal burial pits also have kneeling archers. Maybe the thick fog hides them.”
“Based on Mo Jiuhuan’s habits in designing mechanisms, these terracotta figures aren’t just fodder. We don’t know the trigger yet, but with their strength and speed, our chances of passing safely are slimmer than the sun rising in the west.”
Previously, they could devise a plan through observation—even if it left them battered, there was a path.
But this time, the mist blocked their vision completely. They didn’t dare risk a plan based on what little they’d seen.
Jiang Chenbi closed her eyes and paced at the entrance, gently sniffing the air.
After a long while, she said, “Not sure if you’re brave enough to gamble. These Corpse Fragrance Devil Taros might not be on every terracotta figure. I smell slight differences in concentration from different directions. The safe path might lie in those differences.”
Cui Wangshu bit her lip. “What do you have in mind?”
Jiang Chenbi said, “Observation won’t cut it anymore. Let’s go in and test it. Worst case, we die.”
Normally, Cui Wangshu would never act without a plan, but with no other choice, they reapplied Jiang Chenbi’s medicine and jumped into the Accompanying Burial Pit.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they jumped down, something coated their pupils. There was no pain, but they instantly lost their vision.
Cui Wangshu: “……”
Jiang Chenbi: “……”
After a long moment, Cui Wangshu’s throat rasped. “I can’t see…”
They had jumped together and hadn’t moved after landing. Jiang Chenbi was right beside her and admitted with some miscalculation, “Me neither.”
Cui Wangshu sighed. “Is this what you meant by ‘worst case, we die’?”
Jiang Chenbi was speechless. She’d only said it casually—who knew jumping in meant instant death?
Jiang Chenbi seemed to think of something. “I remember, Corpse Fragrance Devil Taro spores don’t cause blindness.”
“But when I was wandering the rivers and lakes, I heard some tomb robbers mention that large burial pits sometimes have ‘Blind Grass’ spores in the corners—short and hard to spot. Their black spores form white phosphorus dust in the air, creating a temporary blind film on the eyes when attached.”
“The black mist we saw earlier must be from that Blind Grass. Damn Mo Jiuhuan is so insidious, using Corpse Fragrance Devil Taros as cover. I’ll blow up this Imperial Mausoleum sooner or later.”
Cui Wangshu chuckled at her frustrated voice. “No matter. Since it’s not permanent blindness, you must have a way, right?”
Jiang Chenbi rolled her eyes, though no one could see. “You think too highly of me. I don’t. The blind film dissolves on its own after three hours. Forcing it off could cause permanent damage.”
Cui Wangshu let out a long breath. “Then we’ll rely on your sense of smell and my directional perception.”
With vision gone, Jiang Chenbi’s sense of smell sharpened. “Zi hour direction—the Corpse Fragrance Devil Taro scent is fainter than around it. Go forward, stop one chi before the terracotta figure.”
Cui Wangshu replied, “Got it.”
She took Jiang Chenbi’s hand and headed in that direction.
Stopping one chi before the terracotta figure, Cui Wangshu said, “I think I hear bronze gears turning.”
Jiang Chenbi nodded. “Me too. This one ahead shouldn’t have a Corpse Fragrance Devil Taro on it. Inside are bronze gears—part of the mechanism.”
Cui Wangshu frowned. “Aren’t we more in danger getting this close to the terracotta figures?”
Jiang Chenbi pursed her lips. “Close to ones with Corpse Fragrance Devil Taros, and the intense scent might plunge us into lethal illusions. Close to ones without, and we might trigger a mechanism and die by the blade.”
Cui Wangshu paused, then said, “Let me sense the surroundings again.”
She twitched her ears and suddenly heard faint, heavy breathing like the Copper Coffin Corpse Demon’s.
Cui Wangshu swallowed. “The corpses in those terracotta figures seem alive.”
Jiang Chenbi sucked in a cold breath but said nothing.
Cui Wangshu listened again. “There might be vents above the Accompanying Burial Pit, affecting scent concentration.”
Jiang Chenbi ground her teeth but stayed silent.
Cui Wangshu added, “Some terracotta figures might have bianzhong inside, like in that stone room before.”
Jiang Chenbi couldn’t take it anymore and gritted out, “You—shut—up—”
Cui Wangshu licked her lips. She didn’t want live corpses or bianzhong in the figures either, but that was the reality—not to mention what might be in the distant cavalry ones.
Jiang Chenbi pulled out a small knife, tore a strip from her hem, and cut her palm. She soaked the cloth in blood. Cui Wangshu grabbed her wrist. “Are you crazy? What if the live corpses smell it?”
Jiang Chenbi shook her off fiercely. “By the time you’ve schemed everything out, we’ll be dead already. Didn’t Mo Jiuhuan cram all his old tricks into this Accompanying Burial Pit?”
“That means the Xuanji Strategy isn’t far. Since he made it this chaotic, why not make it even more so?”
Cui Wangshu frowned. “This huge pit—how much good will your explosives do?”
Jiang Chenbi waved the blood-soaked cloth in the air, spreading the scent. “Who said anything about explosives? I prefer a spectacle.”
