Chapter 5

I didn’t do it on purpose, would you believe me?

Li Yueying clearly didn’t. The mad devil venerable who had just barely regained her composure was subjected to another massive shock, and she began to go crazy again!

Clutched in her arms, Li Jiangying’s ears picked up a grinding, clicking sound. She focused, searching, and realized it was the sound of Li Yueying gritting her teeth.

Li Jiangying trembled in fear, suspecting she was about to be bitten to death.

The madwoman looked at Li Jiangying with utter despair. Her beautiful face was drenched from crying, and coupled with those eyes that revealed total hopelessness and helplessness, she looked like a beautiful young wife heartbroken by her scumbag husband.

Staring at her, a bizarre feeling suddenly arose in Li Jiangying: She wasn’t the one who did the bad thing—I was.

How was that possible?!

It was clearly this madwoman who had forcibly brought her back here.

Li Jiangying thought coldly. Seizing the moment when Li Yueying’s mental state was unstable and she was shaking, dazedly trying to touch her face, she nimbly slipped out from under her arm.

She slid off the bed without looking back, but didn’t flee directly outward. With the difference in their speeds, escape was simply unrealistic.

At this critical moment, Li Jiangying’s brain whirled frantically. In this life-or-death crisis, a flash of inspiration struck. She turned around and hugged Li Yueying from behind!

Li Yueying, who had suffered one blow after another and was standing on the brink of collapse, suddenly felt the long-sought warmth of an embrace. She froze, not daring to move a muscle.

She feared that if she moved, this current warmth would shatter.

“Yueying.” Li Jiangying imitated the way she had been held, embracing her and whispering with a low laugh near her ear, “I was just joking with you.”

The body in her arms was trembling slightly. After a while, an extremely quiet “Mm” came in response.

Li Jiangying’s heart was pounding, yet she had to maintain a calm, fake smile. She was actually incredibly nervous; her arms wrapped around Li Yueying were stiff.

However, there was no turning back now. Li Jiangying tentatively pushed her down. The woman beneath her was utterly pliant, collapsing as if boneless, soft and springy, yet the bones of her shoulders were a bit sharp and thin.

Shamelessly, Li Jiangying coaxed her, “Yueying, you scared me.”

The pinned woman, facing downwards, seemed to turn her head a little dazedly, panicked and apologetic. “Sorry—”

“Don’t!” Li Jiangying reached out and blocked her face. While preventing her from turning her head, she coaxed her with sweet words, “Shh, don’t move. Be quiet. Don’t you like it when I hold you like this?”

The madwoman indeed believed her. She obediently lay on the bed, no longer trying to raise her head, and whispered, “I like it.”

“That’s right, I like holding you like this too.” In a place Li Yueying couldn’t see, Li Jiangying gritted her teeth fiercely. She quietly raised her upper body and reached out, her hand moving towards the valuable jade ornament on the bedside table.

“Jiangying, what are you doing?” Li Yueying quickly sensed something was wrong. She was obedient, though, not moving recklessly, only asking uneasily.

A cold glint flashed in Li Jiangying’s eyes. “I’m thinking about something.”

“About what?” The unease in her instincts once again pushed Li Yueying into an uncontrollable state. She clutched the bedsheets, her head trying restlessly to lift.

Li Jiangying seized the moment. Before she could raise her head, she focused her energy into her Dantian, grabbed the jade ornament, and ruthlessly smashed it downwards!

Thud! A muffled sound rang out. The jade ornament shattered into pieces on the ground. The recoil numbed Li Jiangying’s hand. She growled fiercely, “I couldn’t pierce your skin, but I can still give you a concussion!”

Li Yueying, who had been trying to lift her head while lying on the bed, slumped before she could even finish hearing her words. Her head dropped, and she stopped moving.

Only then did Li Jiangying, trembling, slide to the floor. She supported herself with her hands, gasping for air.

She had been so nervous that she’d unconsciously held her breath for so long her lungs ached!

No, she couldn’t stay. Who knew when she would wake up.

Frowning, Li Jiangying raised her hand and blew away the jade dust stuck to it. When she’d propped herself on the ground earlier, she’d accidentally gotten some small, fine cuts. They weren’t serious, so she ignored them.

With distaste, Li Jiangying picked up the dagger with the bent tip again. Even though the tip was bent, having something was better than nothing.

This time, charging out the door, Li Jiangying didn’t retrace her previous escape route. She chose a different direction.

For one, she had already traveled that path and found no edge. Perhaps a different direction would be closer to the palace wall. Secondly, she wasn’t sure if that unidentified woman, strong as an ox under the moonlight, was still there. What if she ran into her again?

This time, Li Jiangying ran in a different direction.

She also didn’t bother trying to be silent. She had basically figured out that this place was vast and sparsely populated; being careful not to run directly into people was enough.

But luck didn’t smile upon her. It seemed that ever since she’d arrived in this world, the word ‘luck’ had nothing to do with her.

Running and running, Li Jiangying ran into a dead end.

Before her stood a small, pyramid-like structure. Under the night sky, it was exceptionally somber and dark, like a small mountain suppressing a ferocious beast.

A giant stone gate was slightly ajar, revealing a dark, narrow crack.

If she wanted to continue forward, she would have to climb over this pyramid. But the corners of the pyramid extended outwards and were buried in piles of rubble. Li Jiangying couldn’t be sure if going around would work.

But turning back was even more impossible!

Because Li Jiangying could faintly hear the word ‘Jiangying’ carried on the howling wind. That madwoman had woken up so quickly!

The voice was getting closer, mixed with the scraping sound of something heavy being dragged along the ground. Li Jiangying had no choice. Gritting her teeth, she rushed into that dark crack of the door.

She was met with total darkness. She couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. The silence was so profound she could hear her own breathing.

For a moment, Li Jiangying felt a flash of withdrawal, but soon, a faint, cold light suddenly flickered to life.

Li Jiangying looked up. Embedded high in the stone walls on both sides were stones that emitted a fluorescent glow.

Although the pale blue-white cold light was somewhat eerie, it at least allowed Li Jiangying to see the path. But the Luminous Stones were too few; no matter how bright they were, they couldn’t illuminate much. And for some reason, a chill permeated the air.

Li Jiangying didn’t delay. She walked along the corridor stretching deep into the darkness before her.

The corridor curved downwards. There were blurry murals on the walls, but the light was dim, and the murals were damaged by age, making them impossible to discern.

Occasionally, one or two rooms and branching paths would appear on either side of the corridor. Most rooms were locked. The unlocked ones were empty at a glance, offering no place to hide. As for the branching paths, Li Jiangying didn’t dare to take them, fearing she’d get confused and be unable to find her way out.

At some point, the haunting calls had disappeared, but the scraping sound of something heavy being dragged grew more pronounced. Li Jiangying dared not stop, so she had no choice but to continue forward.

Finally, she didn’t know how far she had walked, but she suspected she had reached the deep underground.

The space in front of her suddenly became open and vast. This place, which appeared to be a large hall, had no embedded Luminous Stones. It was pitch black, as if devouring all light.

Should she go in?

It was dark and cold here. Humans are naturally drawn to light. That instinct, rooted deep in the soul, made Li Jiangying hesitate for a moment.

Shhh… Shhh…

Fearing the suspicious sound behind her, Li Jiangying reached out to support herself on the rough stone wall and walked inside. If only the Luminous Stones weren’t embedded so high up, she really wanted to pry one off and take it with her.

Hoo…

In the deep, dark space, even the slightest sound was incredibly noticeable. Li Jiangying heard a sound like someone blowing air rise up ahead. Along with this sound appeared a single dot of deep blue cold light.

Was there a lamp inside, or someone there?

Li Jiangying froze in place, staring straight ahead. Why did it feel like there was nothing where the cold light was?

The dot of cold light trembled slightly, bobbing up and down as it came towards Li Jiangying. At the same time, Li Jiangying heard a faint click-clack, click-clack.

What kind of strange sound was this? Li Jiangying was dumbfounded.

Because she realized, as that dot of cold light gradually drew closer, she could finally see what was holding the Luminous Stone—a skeleton!

It was a white-boned skeleton wearing a large hooded black robe!

The hood hung very low, and its entire body was covered by the black cloak. Only when it walked did it occasionally reveal half its skull and the finger bones holding the Luminous Stone!

That strange click-clack sound was naturally the clacking of its bones as it moved!

What the hell?!

Li Jiangying held her breath, spun around, and ran for her life! Forget whether that little madwoman had caught up or not—if she didn’t run now, she’d be caught by this White Bone Spirit!

Finding humor in misery, Li Jiangying thought: If I have a choice, I’d rather die at the little madwoman’s hands. At least she’s beautiful. What they say is true: to die beneath a peony flower, even as a ghost, one is a romantic.

Of course, even thinking this, Li Jiangying wouldn’t give up on survival until the very last moment.

She didn’t return the way she came but darted into a complex, winding side passage.

If the route was more complex, they wouldn’t catch up so quickly!

At some point, the click-clack of the skeleton’s footsteps disappeared, leaving only that scalp-tingling shhh shhh sound that arose from time to time. Li Jiangying nearly ran her lungs out. She leaned against the wall, rapidly gasping for air in short, small pants.

She didn’t dare sit down casually. When someone is too exhausted, once they sit, they don’t want to get up again.

Uneasily, she looked back and forth. Not seeing any figures, a sense of relief washed over her.

Her decision to take the side path was indeed correct. It was just that the light in this passage was even dimmer than the main corridor. If her eyesight hadn’t been good, she could have just lain down and called it quits long ago.

A smile appeared on Li Jiangying’s face. Indeed, Heaven never seals off all exits—

The sensation of stepping into empty space came at the most unguarded moment.

The smile on Li Jiangying’s face froze. Her body pitched forward, and she hurtled irretrievably into the abyssal pit that had suddenly appeared before her!

Swoosh!

However, at that moment, something lashed out with a whistling wind sound, hooking itself around Li Jiangying’s body with extreme precision from above, leaving her suspended in mid-air!

What was it? Was it her… road?

Hanging upside down in the air, her blood flowing the wrong way, Li Jiangying struggled to breathe. Tears welling up in her eyes, she reached out to touch the thing wrapped around her. Cold scales, hard, smooth, and icy. The force was so great it threatened to snap her ribs.

It was a giant snake as thick as her thigh!

So, the light here had been so dim not because the Luminous Stones were poor quality, but because this snake had been coiled around a pillar on the ceiling, blocking the light!

Ssss… Ssss…

The giant snake flicked its tongue, slithering slowly. Its flexible body slid through the air, and Li Jiangying saw a massive snake head turn to face her.

It had a pair of blood-red, vertical pupils. It opened its mouth wide, revealing sharp, terrifying fangs. A crimson, forked tongue, slick with viscous saliva, swiped across Li Jiangying’s cheek.

Li Jiangying sucked in a sharp breath, feeling like her heart had stopped.

“I have one last thing to say.” With feigned calm, Li Jiangying said, “Make my death quick.”

With that, she closed her eyes, her head lolled to the side, and she fainted.

Li Jiangying had a nightmare. She dreamed she had transformed into the monkey trapped under Five Elements Mountain.

“Help! Is there any Master who can come save me!” Li Jiangying stretched out her hand and yelled in despair.

Alas, she would never get to meet her Bald Master.

Finally, just before being crushed into a meat patty, Li Jiangying couldn’t stand it anymore and woke up, suffocating.

“So heavy… Did that little madwoman coil around me again?” Li Jiangying thought hazily, instinctively reaching out to push. But this time, her reaching hand didn’t touch some soft little madwoman, but instead—

Something cold and hard!

In an instant, all the memories of the previous night flooded back. Li Jiangying’s eyes widened as she looked at the giant snake coiled around her.

The giant snake, awakened by Li Jiangying’s movements, slowly crawled. Its horrifying huge head leisurely turned around and flicked its tongue at Li Jiangying.

“Ssss… Good morning.”

Li Jiangying raised her one free hand and pointed, trembling, at the snake head. “Y-you! Why do you sound like that little madwoman?!”

The massive snake head tilted. Its red eyes flashed with a human-like hint of confusion.

Then, as if suddenly having a revelation, it rapidly shook its head up and down. Whoosh! The snake head disappeared!

In its place was the beautiful little head of that madwoman, Li Yueying!

Snow-white skin, red lips, ink-black brows, blood-colored pupils. Seductively beautiful, yet with a childlike, innocent naivety. She curved the corners of her mouth, revealing just a little tip of a fang. A narrow, forked tongue flicked out and retracted swiftly. Li Yueying yawned lazily. “Morning, Jiangying.”

Silently, Li Jiangying looked at her beautiful face, then at the snake body connected beneath her neck.

Her eyes closed, her head lolled, and she fainted again.